Beautiful ethnic Afar woman from Eritrea in her traditional Wedding Dress at the, Danakil Coast, Eritrea holding a beautiful and colourful gourd of wine to be given to her prospective husband to drink. The region where the Afar live is often referred to as the Afar Triangle, covering Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti, the place is also called Danakilia, and the afar people as Danakil; 300,000 afars live in Eritrea, The Afar people also known as Adal, Adali, Oda’ali, Teltal and Dankali are Cushitic-nomadic people located in the East African countries of Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. The Afar (Danakil) claim to be descendants of Ham (Noah’s son). They prefer to be known as the Afar, since the Arabic word “danakil” is an offensive term to them. They are a proud people, emphasizing a man’s strength and bravery. Prestige comes, as it always has, from killing one’s enemies.
The Afar practice exogamous marriage and polygamy is exercised in accordance with Islamic laws. There are several marriage patterns. These include inter-clan marriages between unrelated people, cross-cousin marriages (Absuma) and leviratic arrangements (widow inheritance). It is claimed that cross-cousin marriages are stronger than marriages between unrelated persons because no serious harm is inflicted on ones own blood and flesh in times of conjugal conflict.
In the interior parts of north Afar country, cross-cousin marriages are almost always mandatory. In some areas particularly in the south fierce inter-clan fighting may arise as a result of failure to adhere to such a norm. In areas close to the ethnic borders, however, such a norm is loosely observed as a woman can marry men other than her mother’s brother’s sons.
On the other hand parallel cousin marriages are strictly forbidden for cultural reasons. One informant commented: “even though this [parallel cousin marriage] is not completely forbidden (haram) in religious terms, our Ada[custom] does not allow us to exercise it.” There is, of course, an explanation for this. A person cannot marry his father-brother’s daughter because ideally these children belong to one father.
A Father-brother may, upon the death of father, replace the biological father and marry the widow of his deceased brother. The same applies for the mother-sister’s children. In short, father- brother and the mother-sister are potential fathers and mothers. Betrothal for marriage engagements may begin during childhood. This is done following a nominal payment in cash. The actual wedding however usually takes place when girls reach their mid teens during which there is a transfer of bride wealth (alekum) amounting to about 1000 Birr or more. The amount to be paid in bride-wealth varies from family to family as it is ultimately decided, in negotiations, by the girl’s father. The paid money is partly spent on the purchase of some food items and material for establishing an Afar mat house (Senan Ari) for the new couple.
Wedding ceremonies take place in the house of the bride’s family where friends and relatives enjoy their porridge. Upon marriage, residence is normally patrilocal and the couple may stay there until the bride gives birth to a child. If the husband wants to take his wife, he has to pay 30 to 50 Birr to her family.
This money is actually used for buying butter (subah) and wheat flour for the newly married couple. This is done on one market day (Thursdays). A few days later, the boy’s father brings two camels, loads them with the butter (subah), wheat flour and mat (Senan) and takes the couple to the place where they will construct their own house. The wife’s mother usually accompanies the couple to help them construct their house and returns home after three days. When the wife gets pregnant, the husband usually takes her back to her family for delivery. The husband would then dismantle the mat house.
After a period of up to four months following delivery, sometimes after a whole year, the couple return to their home, which they would have to re-erect. The same procedure is commonly followed at the second and third pregnancies. Depending on the capacity and willingness of the husband to support his wife economically and socially, a wife may continue to deliver at her parents’ home even after the fourth child. The northern Afar tend to have as many children as possible. One justification for this is that children are viewed as an opportunity for the diversification of household income as they may engage in a variety of activities, such as trade, salt caravans, labours migration and herding thereby averting the consequences of a decline in income from any one particular activity. In the early years of marriage, however, the birth of many children may constitute a burden on the husband. One common solution is migration by the husband to Saudi Arabia or Djibouti in which instance the wife and children move to live with the wife’s parents.
As highlighted earlier, it is evident among the northern Afar (conceivably more than in the southern part of the Afar region), that people adopt sororate and levirate marriage arrangements. A man is forced to marry his brother’s widow when the original husband dies. Similarly, a woman must replace her sister as a wife when the latter passes away. This practice is said to be for the sake of the children of the widow (Gubna) or that of the widowed (Ardiglu). In accordance with Islamic laws, for a few months after the death of her husband, a widow (Gubna) is expected to exhibit some self-punishing behaviours including avoiding luxury things such as delicious food, perfume and so on.
Summing up, the Afar social organization is highly segmented with small social units such as clans, sub-clans, lineages, and households. Each of these has the autonomy to deal with its own domestic matters. Within these units, kinship groups enjoy a multitude of reciprocal rights while at the same time fulfilling certain obligations that are instrumental for inter-group solidarity, and continuity of the group as an economically and socially viable entity. Within a pastoral context, the rights and obligations include, the sharing of bride wealth and blood.
BY: Kweku Darko Ankrah