Aweer people

The bonuses are an ethnic group in northern Kenya and southern Somalia, which traditionally lived as hunter-gatherers, but now only partially maintain this lifestyle. They live in different groups in the hinterland of the coast between the rivers Tana and Juba. Their language belongs to the Cushitic languages, and is most closely related to the Somali.

Daniel Stiles estimated their number in 1981 to 1200 in Kenya and Somalia in 1500-2000.

Designations

The bonuses in Kenya call themselves Aweer, the northern groups in Somalia Kilii. In Swahili they are called ( Wa) bonuses, which is increasingly taken over by them. This name could come from the Somali term boon be derived for those with low status. It was therefore proposed to replace them in the scientific literature by Aweer, but this is controversial because not all subgroups use this self-designation.

Also, a general designation for " hunter-gatherers " such as ( Wa) Sanye in Swahili and Waata Oromo are used for the bonuses, but they are nonspecific and may also refer to the Dahalo and others.

Language

The bonuses speak their own language, which is also called bonuses or Aweer. In addition, dominate most Swahili, Somali or Oromo. Bonuses is part of the Omo - Tana - subgroup of ostkuschitischen languages. Within the Omo - Tana languages ​​the bonuses belongs together with Somali and Rendille to that sub- group that calls Bernd Heine as Sam languages. Together with the Somali it forms the eastern branch of the Sam languages.

Origin and History

For the origin of the bonuses there are linguistically two options: you might have lived before the immigration of Sam - speakers in the dry forests near the coast and have later taken over by contacts with Sam Shepherd at the forest edges a Sam - language. More likely, however, that it is a part of the eastern Sam, who moved into these forests and abandoned the cattle in favor of hunting and gathering. It may be that they had lost their livestock due to drought, war or robbery, but also that they initially came with cattle in the woods, but then lost it through transmitted by tsetse flies animal diseases.

Of the subgroup of Kijee most Oromo originally supposed to have been that the bonuses joined after they had been defeated by Somali. Kijee is the name of the bonuses for Oromo.

In the area Gosha on the lower reaches of the Jubba in Somalia bonuses were probably the only permanent population until the mid-19th century former slaves of the Somali came, founded villages and practiced agriculture. Initially these new settlers had to deliver the native bonuses tribute, but soon they were outnumbering them by far and they were able to subdue.

Presence

Today, most bonuses in Kenya live only partially from hunting and gathering and supplement this by shifting cultivation, wage labor, and ( exchange ) trading. The expansion of settlements, roads, irrigation projects and other infrastructure in their area makes it difficult for them to maintain their way of life. In addition, the hunting was banned conservation reasons, which greatly impairs the bonuses, the activities of poachers (mainly Somali ) but could not prevent. A part of its territory is as bonuses National Reserve under protection. The Kilii complement their traditional livelihood mainly by livestock.

In Somalia, the bonuses since 1991 are also affected by the civil war.