Bilen people

Bilen
Total population
100,000
Regions with significant populations
 Eritrea 100,000
Languages

Blin
Religion

Christianity (Roman Catholic or Eritrean Orthodox), Islam
Related ethnic groups

Afar • Agaw • Amhara • Beja • Oromo • Saho • Somali • Tigray • Tigre

The Bilen, Blin or Bilin, also known as the Bogo or North Agaw,[1] are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They are primarily concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around the city of Keren, and south toward Asmara, the nation's capital.

Contents

Overview

Some of the Bilen entered Eritrea from Ethiopia during the 16th century.[2] Primarily agriculturalists, they number about 96,000 and represent around 2.1% of Eritrea's population.[3]

Religion

The Bilen practice both Christianity and Islam. Muslim adherents mainly inhabit rural areas and have interbred with the adjacent Tigre, while Christian Bilen tend to reside in urban areas and have intermingled with the Biher-Tigrinya.[1]

Language

The Bilen speak Blin as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Many also speak other Afro-Asiatic languages such as Tigre and Tigrinya. In addition, younger Bilen often employ Arabic words and expressions in their everyday speech.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c James Minahan, Miniature empires: a historical dictionary of the newly independent states, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 1998), pp.77-78.
  2. ^ Niaz Murtaza, The Pillage of Sustainability in Eritrea, 1600s-1990s: Rural Communities and the Creeping Shadows of Hegemony, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 1998), p.45
  3. ^ U.S. Department of State - Background Note: Eritrea