Kunama people

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Kunama


Total population
202,000
Regions with significant populations
Eritrea: 182,000 Sudan: 18,000 Ethiopia: 4,141(all recent war refugees)^[1]
Languages
Kunama
Religions
Sunni Islam

The Kunama are an ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia, making up only 2 percent of the population of Eritrea, where they are one of the smallest ethnic groups. Most of the estimated 100,000 Kunama live in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. The Ethiopian-Eritrean War (1998-2000) forced some 4,000 Kunama to flee their homes to Ethiopia. As a refugees they reside in the tense area just over the border with Eritrea and in proximity to the contested border village of Badme.

[edit] The People and the Land

The Kunama speak a Nilo-Saharan language unrelated to the dominant languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity (Roman Catholic and Protestant) or Islam. The fertile plains of the Gash-Setit, also known as the Gash-Barka, region where the Kunama live are sometimes referred to as the “breadbasket of Eritrea.” Formerly nomadic, today they are farmers and pastoralists. Historically, the Kunama have been dominated by other ethnic groups and they are often forced from their traditional lands. The official policy of the Government of Eritrea is that all land is state property and the Government encourages large commercial farms.