Caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

systems in Africa are a form of

social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As ...

found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. These caste systems feature

endogamy Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

, hierarchical status, inherited occupation, membership by birth, pollution concepts and restraints on commensality. The specifics of the caste systems in Africa vary among the ethnic groups. Some societies have a rigid and strict caste system with embedded

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, whereas others are more diffuse and complex. Countries in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

that have societies with caste systems include

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBurkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and others. While it is unclear when and how the caste systems developed in Africa, they are not ancient and likely developed sometime between the 9th century and 15th century in various ethnic groups.

East Africa

There has been much recent scholarship on caste systems in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. They have been studied in communities that speak Semitic,

Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...

, and

Omotic languages The Omotic languages are a group of languages spoken in southwestern Ethiopia, in the Omo River region. The Ge'ez script is used to write some of the Omotic languages, the Latin script for some others. They are fairly agglutinative and have com ...

. The term "Manja" or ""Manjo" is found repeatedly. The terminology used by various scholars has varied but they have found consistently found links between social groupings and occupations, often potters, metal workers, weavers, leather workers. This list of sources is incomplete, but contains important sources.

Amhara people

The social stratification of the

Amhara people Amharas ( am, አማራ, Āmara; gez, ዐምሐራ, ʾÄməḥära) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which is indigenous to Ethiopia, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly inhabiting the Amhara ...

includes castes. According to

Donald Levine Don Levine (April 1, 1928 – May 22, 2014) was a business executive at toy manufacturers Hasbro credited as the "father" of G.I. Joe action figures. The Amhara caste system consisted of: (1) endogamy, (2) hierarchical status, (3) restraints on commensality, (4) pollution concepts, (5) each caste has had a traditional occupation, and (6) inherited caste membership. This caste system has been a rigid, endogamous and occupationally closed social stratification among Amhara and other Afro-Asiatic-speaking Ethiopian ethnic groups. However, some state it as an economically closed, endogamous class system or as occupational minorities, whereas others such as the historian David Todd state that this system can be unequivocally labelled as caste-based.

Borana people

The Borana people are found in southern Ethiopia and northeastern Kenya. They have historically had castes, among which the hunters and artisans have constituted the depressed strata. These are endogamous castes each with a specialized inherited occupation, and include a stratum that constitutes outcastes. They are found in virtually every Cushitic or Semitic community of this region. The lower castes of the Borana people, states

Herbert Lewis Sir John Herbert Lewis (27 December 1858 – 10 November 1933) was a Welsh Liberal politician. Background and education Born at Mostyn Quay, Flintshire, Lewis was the only child of Enoch Lewis and Catherine Roberts. It is possible that Lewi ...

– a professor of Anthropology specializing on East African societies, show no physical differences from the noble castes of Somalia and Somalilands. Other than endogamy and occupational differences between the castes, their ritual, social and political positions are different, as are the beliefs held by each about the nature of the other. For example, the castes have long considered each other as ritually impure, and food prepared by either nobles or artisans castes is considered a taboo to others. Similarly, traditionally, the craftsman and the noble are ritually forbidden to enter the house of the other. Low caste people are expected not to handle farm equipment or cattle.

Oromo people

The

Oromo people The Oromo (pron. Oromo language, Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic people, Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), ...

are the largest ethnic group in

, also found in northern Kenya and Somalia, with an estimated total population of over 35 million.Ethiopia: People & Society
CIA Factbook (2016), See total population and % Oromo ethnic group Like other ethnic groups in East Africa, Oromo people regionally developed social stratification consisting of four hierarchical strata. The highest strata were the nobles called the ''Borana'', below them were the ''Gabbaro'' (some 17th to 19th century Ethiopian texts refer them as the ''dhalatta''). Below these two upper castes were the despised castes of artisans, and at the lowest level were the slaves. In the Islamic

Kingdom of Jimma The Kingdom of Jimma ( om, Mootummaa Jimmaa) was an Oromo people, Oromo kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. It shared its western border with Limmu-Ennarea, its eastern border with the Sidama people, Sidamo K ...

, the Oromo society's caste strata predominantly consisted of endogamous, inherited artisanal occupations. Each caste group has specialized in a particular occupation such as iron working, carpentry, weapon making, pottery, weaving, leather working and hunting.

Eike Haberland Eike is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Eike Batista (born 1956), entrepreneur * Eike Bram (born 1965), handball player * Eike Duarte (born 1997), actor * Eike Duckwitz (born 1980), field hockey playe ...

(1993), Hierarchie und Kaste : zur Geschichte und politischen Struktur der Dizi in Südwest-Äthiopien, Stuttgart : Steiner, (in German), pages 105-106, 117-119 The castes in the Oromo society have had a designated name, such as ''Tumtu'' were smiths, ''Fuga'' were potters, ''Faqi'' were tanners and leatherworkers, ''Semmano'' for weavers, ''Gagurtu'' were bee keepers and honey makers, ''Watta'' were hunters and foragers. While slaves were an endogamous strata within the Oromo society, they themselves were also victims of slavery. By the 19th century, Oromo slaves were sought after and a major part of slaves sold in Gondar and Gallabat slave markets at

Ethiopia–Sudan border The Ethiopia–Sudan border ( ar, الحدود الإثيوبية السودانية; ''ye’ītiyo sudani diniberi'') is a disputed border between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of the Sudan since the 19th centur ...

, as well as the Massawa and Tajura markets on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

Somali people

The

Somalis The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...

are an ethnic group of between 15 and 20 million people, constituting the largest ethnicity in Somalia, many of whom also live in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. They have historically exhibited social stratification that has included embedded castes referred to as ''Higal'' (or ''Higalki'', ''Argobba''). The upper noble strata has been called ''Gob'' (or Asha), while the lower servile strata have been referred to as ''Sáb''.Е. de Larajasse (1972), Somali-English and Somali-English Dictionary, Trubner, pages 119, 178 The three main Somali castes are called ''Tumal'' (sometimes spelled ''Tomal''), ''Midgan'' and ''Yibir'' (sometimes spelled ''Yebir''). These fell outside of the traditional clan structure. The castes have been endogamous, a person born into it inherited its occupation. The ''Midgan'' have been the hunters, ''Tumal'' were the smiths, pottery and leatherworking caste, and the ''Yibir'' have been the saddle and prayer mat makers and magician caste. Below the castes have been the

Somali Bantus The Somali Bantus (also known as Gosha, or Jareerweyne locally) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu origin Minority group, ethnic minority group in Somalia who primarily reside in the southern part of the country, primarily near the Jubba River, Jubba a ...

''Jareer'' community, and these have been descendants of former slaves, including those who were runaway and emancipated slaves. According to Mohamed Eno and Abdi Kusow, the Somali caste communities are ethnically indistinguishable from each other, but upper castes have stigmatized the lower ones with mythical narratives such as they being of unholy origins or being engaged in dirty occupations. The four strata social system – high lineage, low lineage, caste groups and slaves – found among the Somalis has been common in the Horn of Africa region, states

Donald Levine Don Levine (April 1, 1928 – May 22, 2014) was a business executive at toy manufacturers Hasbro credited as the "father" of G.I. Joe action figures. However, adds Besteman, the Somali people from the upper strata have also been egalitarian in matters of clan leadership, while they have included concepts of social status, inferiority and exclusion of ''Sáb'' and slaves. In the northern regions where Somalis are traditionally found, states Iaon Lewis, Somali communities have traditionally distinguished between the artisanal Somali castes and their slaves, but in the south they have blurred these distinctions. The castes among Somali people have also existed in other East African ethnic groups. For instance, cognates to Somali castes have been recorded in 16th century texts among the

, states Cornelius Jaenen. The table below illustrate some alternate terms for castes mirroring the Somali

Madhiban The Madhiban ('), also known as Gaboye, They are also referred to as Midgaan, an appellation which is sometimes used pejoratively. The Madhiban have been one of the low status castes among the Somalis, along with Tumal and others. Distribution ...

in other ethnic groups that share this region with the Somali people. Similarly, equivalent terms for castes in other northeast and east African ethnic groups mirror other castes such as the

Tomal The Tomal, also known as Tumal or Tumaal, is an artisanal caste among Somali people. Their traditional hereditary occupation has been as smiths and leather production, and they have been endogamous. The Tomal have been one of the low status cast ...

and the

Yibir The Yibir, also referred to as the Yibbir, the Yebir, the Yahhar or the Yibro, derived from an Aramaic ‘iḇray' word which means Jews, are a caste of Somali people. They have traditionally been endogamous. Their hereditary occupations have been ...

of Somali people.

North Africa

Moors

The Muslim Moors society in the Maghreb parts of the

was traditionally (and still is, to some extent) stratified. According to Rebecca Popenoe – a professor of Anthropology, while the Islamic scriptures do not dictate a caste system, and while caste systems are not divinely ordained . In Mauritanian context, the

Kafa'ah Kafa'ah or Kafaah ( ar, الكفاءة; ') is a term used in the field of Islamic jurisprudence with regard to marriage in Islam, which in Arabic, literally means, ''equality'' or ''equivalence''. It is thus defined as the compatibility or equiv ...

doctrine has been developed as a justification for considering family status before marriage, annulment of marriages between unequal people, and endogamy. Moors have owned slaves for centuries. The slaves are traditionally called

Haratin Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahar ...

and ''`Abid'', and they were the lowest status endogamous castes, largely segregated

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

-dwelling

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

people, in the Moors society., Quote: "Haratine. Social caste in several northwestern African countries consisting of blacks, many of whom are former slaves (...)" The Haratin of

, states Joseph Hellweg – a professor of Anthropology specializing on West African studies, were part of a social caste-like hierarchy that likely developed between 1300 to 1500 CE because of a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

legacy. The "Hassan" monopolized the occupations related to war and politics, the "Zwaya" (

Zawaya The Zawaya are tribes in the southern Sahara who have traditionally followed a deeply religious way of life. They accepted a subordinate position to the warrior tribes, whether Arab or Berber, who had little interest in Islam. The Zawaya introduce ...

) the religious roles, the "Bidan" (White Moors) owned property and held slaves (Haratins, Black Moors), and the slaves constituted the lowest of the social strata. Each of these were castes, endogamous, with hereditary occupations and where the upper strata collected tribute (''horma'') from the lower strata of Mauritanian society, considered them socially inferior, and denied them the right to own land or weapons thereby creating a socio-economically closed system. Among

Hassaniya Arabic Hassānīya ( ar, حسانية '; also known as , , , , and ''Maure'') is a variety of Maghrebi Arabic spoken by Mauritanian Arabs and the Sahrawi. It was spoken by the Beni Ḥassān Bedouin tribes, who extended their authority over most of M ...

speakers in southern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and Mauritania, states Sean Hanretta – a professor of African History, the term ''Bidan'' is a "caste synecdoche" that refers to ''Hassani'' (warrior) and ''Zwaya'' (clerical) clans. In the slave castes, they recognized two layers, the ''`Abid'' (slaves) and ''Haratins'' (freed slaves). According to Remco Ensel – a professor of Anthropology specializing in Maghreb studies, the word "Haratin" in Moroccan is a pejorative that connotes "subordination, disrepute" and in contemporary literature, it is often replaced with "Drawi", "Drawa", "Sahrawi", "Sahrawa" or other regional terms. The ''Haratins'' historically lived segregated from the main society, in a rural isolation. Their subjugation regardless of their religion was sometimes ideologically justified by nobles and some Islamic scholars, even though some scholars took a more nuanced view that Muslims can only enslave non-Muslims and they should not enslave other Muslims, states Hamel – a professor of History specializing in African Studies. They along with ''Swasin'' in Morocco and other northern fringe societies of the Sahara, were a part of a social hierarchy that included the upper strata of nobles, religious specialists and literati, followed by freemen, nomadic pastoral strata and slaves. The Haratin were hierarchically higher than the ''`Abid'' (descendant of slaves) at the very bottom, but lower than ''Ahrar''. This hierarchy, states Ensel, has been variously described as ethnic groups, estates, quasi-castes, castes or classes.

Tuareg people

The

Tuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Al ...

are a large Berber ethnic confederation found in North Africa. They principally inhabit the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert, in a vast area stretching from far southwestern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

to southern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. Traditionally

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal s ...

, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern

. Tuareg society has traditionally featured clan membership, social status and caste hierarchies within each political confederation. These hierarchical systems have included nobles, clerics, craftsmen and unfree strata of people. In Tuareg hierarchical caste system, the nobles constitute the highest caste. They are known in the Tuareg language as ''imúšaɣ'' (''Imajaghan'', "the proud and free" in the amazigh language). The nobles had a monopoly on carrying arms and camels, were the warriors of the Tuareg regions. They may have achieved their social status by subjugating other Tuareg castes, keeping arms to defend their properties and vassals. They have also collected tribute from their vassals. This warrior nobility has traditionally married within their caste, not to individuals in strata below their own. A collection of tribes, each led by a noble, forms a confederation called ''amanokal'', whose chieftain is elected from among the nobles by the tribal chiefs. The chietain is the overlord during times of war, and receives tribute and taxes from tribes as a sign of their submission to his authority. The vassal-herdsmen are the second free strata within Tuareg society, occupying a position just below that of the nobles. They are known as ''ímɣad'' (''Imghad'', singular ''Amghid'') in the Tuareg language. Although the vassals were also free, they did not own camels but instead kept donkeys and herds of goats, sheep and oxen. They pastured and tended their own herds as well those owned by the nobles of the confederation. The vassal strata have traditionally paid an annual ''tiwse'', or tribute to the nobles as a part of their status obligations, and also hosted any noble who is traveling through their territory. In late medieval era, states Prasse, this weapon monopoly broke down after regional wars took a heavy toll on the noble warrior strata, and thereafter the vassals carried weapons as well and were recruited as warriors. After the start of the French colonial rule which dislodged the nobles from their powers over war and taxation, the Tuaregs belonging to the noble strata disdained tending cattle and tilling the land, seeking instead warrior or intellectual work. A semi-noble strata of the Tuareg people has been the endogamous religious clerics, the ''

marabout A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...

s'' (Tuareg: ''Ineslemen'', a loan word that means Muslim in Arabic). After the adoption of Islam, they became integral to the Tuareg social structure. According to Norris, this strata of Muslim clerics has been a sacredotal caste, which propagated Islam in North Africa and the Sahel between the 7th and the 17th centuries.; For an abstract
ASC Leiden Catalogue
For a review of Norris' book: Adherence to the faith was initially centered around this caste, but later spread to the wider Tuareg community. The marabouts have traditionally been the judges (''qadi'') and religious leaders (''imam'') of a Tuareg community. According to the anthropologist Jeffrey Heath, Tuareg artisans belong to separate endogamous castes known as the ''Inhædˤæn'' (''Inadan''). These have included the blacksmith, jewelers, wood workers and leather artisan castes. They produced and repaired the saddles, tools, household items and other items for the Tuareg community. In Niger and Mali, where the largest Tuareg populations are found, the artisan castes were attached as clients to a family of nobles or vassals, and carried messages over distances for their patron family. They also are the ones who traditionally sacrifice animals during Islamic festivals. These social strata, like caste systems found in many parts of West Africa, included singers, musicians and story tellers of the Tuareg, who kept their

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

s. They are called ''Agguta'' by Tuareg, have been called upon to sing during ceremonies such as weddings or funerals. The origins of the artisanal castes are unclear. One theory posits a Jewish derivation, a proposal that Prasse calls "a much vexed question". Their association with fire, iron and precious metals and their reputation for being cunning tradesman has led others to treat them with a mix of admiration and distrust. According to Rasmussen, the Tuareg castes are not only hierarchical, as each caste differs in mutual perception, food and eating behaviors. On this point, she relates an explanation by a smith on why there is endogamy among castes among Tuareg in Niger. The smith explained, "Nobles are like rice, Smiths are like millet, Slaves are like corn." In the Tuareg areas of Algeria, a distinct tenant-peasant strata lives around oases known as ''izeggaren'' (or ''

haratin Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahar ...

'' in Arabic). Traditionally, these local peasants were subservient to the warrior nobles who owned the oasis and the land. The peasants tilled these fields, whose output they gave to the nobles after keeping a fifth part of the produce. Their Tuareg patrons were usually responsible for supplying agricultural tools, seed and clothing. The peasants' origins are also unclear. One theory postulates that they are descendants of ancient people who lived in the Sahara before they were dominated by invading groups. Some speak a Songhay dialect along with Tuareg and Arabic. In contemporary times, these peasant strata have blended in with freed black slaves and farm arable lands together. According to the historian Starratt, the Tuareg evolved a system of slavery that was highly differentiated. They established strata among their slaves, which determined rules as to the slave's expected behavior, marriageability, inheritance rights if any, and occupation. The ''Ikelan'' later became a bonded caste within Tuareg society. According to Heath, the ''Bella'' in the Tuareg society were the slave caste whose occupation was rearing and herding livestock such as sheep and goats.

West Africa

Fula people

The

Fula people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

are one of the largest and a widely dispersed Muslim ethnic group in

and

. They number between 20 and 25 million people in total across many countries of this region, and they have historically featured a caste system.Marguerite Dupire (1985)
A Nomadic Caste: The Fulani Woodcarvers Historical Background and Evolution
''Anthropos'', Bd. 80, H. 1./3. (1985), pages 85-100; Quote: "The woodcarvers associated with the Fulani and neighboring societies in West Africa were nomads. All criteria retained by specialists to defìne a caste group (Berreman, Pitt-Rivers, Vaughan), may be applied to them. This is true even today in spite of their sedentarization and the conversion of certain of them to sculpture. The second part of this study raises the question of the conditions underlying the creation of artisan castes, drawing upon examples taken from agricultural societies, certain of which are state-based (Fulani, Serer of Sine), others of which are more or less acephalous (Marghi, Senufo, Cangin Serer)." The Fula caste system has been fairly rigid and has medieval roots. It was well established by the 15th century, and it has survived into modern age. The four major castes, states Martin Kich, in their order of status are "nobility, traders, tradesmen (such as blacksmiths) and descendants of slaves". According to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Fulani people have held on to "a strict caste system". The upper caste consists of the nobles. Below these are the marabouts or clerics, then the cattle owning Fula people. Below all these are the artisan castes, which includes the blacksmiths, potters,

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

s, genealogists, woodworkers, and dressmakers. They belong to castes but are not enslaved and are ''free people''. Then there are those castes of captive, slave or serf ancestry: the ''Maccuɗo'', ''Rimmayɓe'', ''Dimaajo'', and less often ''Ɓaleeɓe'', the Fulani equivalent of the Tuareg

Ikelan The Ikelan (Éklan/Ikelan or Ibenheren in Tamasheq; Bouzou in Hausa; Bella in Songhai; singular Akli) are a caste within Tuareg society, who were at one time slaves or servile communities. The Ikelan's situation is somewhat analogous to that of ...

known as Bouzou (Buzu)/Bella in the Hausa and

Songhay languages The Songhay, Songhai or Ayneha languages (, or ) are a group of closely related languages/dialects centred on the middle stretches of the Niger River in the West African countries of Mali, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. In particular, ...

respectively. The Fulani castes are endogamous in nature, meaning individuals marry only within their caste. This caste system, however, wasn't as elaborate in places like northern

, Eastern

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesCameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. According to some estimates, by the late 19th century, slaves constituted about 50% of the population of the Fulɓe-ruled

Adamawa Emirate The Adamawa Emirate (Fula: Lamorde Adamaawa 𞤤𞤢𞤥𞤮𞤪𞤣𞤫 𞤢𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤢; ar, إمارة أداماوة; german: Adamaua; french: Adamaoua) is a traditional state located in Fombina, an area which now roughly co ...

, where they were referred to as ''jeyaɓe'' (singular ''jeyado''). Though very high, these figures are representative of many other emirates of the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

, of which Adamawa formed a part. The castes-based social stratification among the Fula people was widespread and seen across the Sahel, such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, and others.

Igbo people

The Osu caste system in

and southern

of the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A ...

can be traced back to

Odinani Ọdinani (), also ''Omenala'', ''Omenana'', ''Odinana'' or ''Ọmenani'', are the traditional cultural beliefs and practices of the Igbo people of south east Nigeria.Afulezy, Uj"On Odinani, the Igbo Religion", ''Niger Delta Congress'', Nigeri ...

, the traditional Igbo religion. It is the belief of many Igbo traditionalists that the Osus are people historically owned by deities, and are therefore considered to be a 'living sacrifice', an outcast, untouchable and sub-human (similar to the Roman practice of '' homo sacer''). This system received literary attention when it became a key plot point in '' No Longer at Ease'' by

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

. People regarded as modern-day Osu in

Igboland Igboland (Standard ), also known as Southeastern Nigeria (but extends into South-Southern Nigeria), is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. It is a cultural and common linguistic region in southern Nigeria. Geographically, it is divided b ...

are descendants of individuals who volunteered and were sacrificed to the various gods. These fore-fathers pledged themselves and their descendants to these gods. They enjoyed protection and privileges but were segregated from ordinary folks. These Osu people married, fraternized and socialized among themselves. The practice continued to this day. An ordinary Igbo person would not marry or permit any of his relations to marry an Osu person. In a few instances where that has happened, every member of that non-Osu who married an Osu became infested and were regarded as Osu. It can be said that the only aspect of Igbo life that keeps the Osu segregation intact is marriage. An Osu could and could only marry a fellow Osu, and no more. It is a taboo and abhorrent for an Osu to marry a non-Osu - love or lust being immaterial. Some suggest that due to the introduction of modernization, the Osu system is gradually leaving

and tradition. The influence of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(specifically

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

) has caused

to start slowly disappearing from

. Obinna, in 2012, reports that in the Igbo community - especially in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

Anambra Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...

, Imo,

Abia Abia or ABIA may refer to: ABIA * Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, in Austin, Texas, United States * Australian Book Industry Awards, national literary and industry awards People * Abia (name) * Abia (mythology), the nursemaid of Glenus ...

Ebonyi Abakaliki is a Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It's headquarters are in the town of Nkaliki. It has an area of 443 km and a population of 126,837 based on the census conducted i2006. Thehe postal code A postal code (a ...

, Edo and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

states - Osu caste system remains a social issue. The Osu caste is determined by one's birth into a particular family irrespective of the religion practised by the individual. Once born into the Osu caste, this Nigerian person is an outcast, with limited opportunities or acceptance, regardless of his or her ability or merit. Obinna discusses how this caste system-related identity and power is deployed within government, Church and indigenous communities.

Mande people

Among the Mande societies in

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, people are divided by occupation and ethnic ties. The highest hierarchy in the Mande caste system, the Horon (nobles/freeborn), are traditionally farmers, fisherman, warriors and animal breeders, the lowest caste are the Jonow, a "slave" caste, made up of people whose ancestors were enslaved by other Africans during wars. An important feature of this system are castes based on trade, such as

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s and

Mandinka people

The

Mandinka people The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic gro ...

are a West African

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

with an estimated population of eleven million with roots in western

, in

, but now widely dispersed. Over 99% of Mandinka are Muslim.< The Mandinka people live primarily in West Africa, particularly in

and the

where they are the largest ethnic group. Major populations of the Mandinka people also live in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. Their traditional society has featured socially stratified castes, from at least the 13th century. The Mandinka society, states Arnold Hughes – a professor of West African Studies and African Politics, has been "divided into three endogamous castes – the freeborn (''foro''), slaves (''jongo''), and artisans and praise singers (''nyamolo''). The freeborn castes are primarily farmers, while the slave strata included labor providers to the farmers, as well as leather workers, pottery makers, metal smiths, griots and others. The Mandinka Muslim clerics and scribes have traditionally been a separate endogamous occupational caste called ''

Jakhanke The Jakhanke -- also spelled Jahanka, Jahanke, Jahanque, Jahonque, Diakkanke, Diakhanga, Diakhango, Dyakanke, Diakhanké, Diakanké, or Diakhankesare -- are a Manding-speaking ethnic group in the Senegambia region, often classified as a subgroup o ...

'', with their Islamic roots traceable to about the 13th-century. The Mandinka castes are hereditary, and marriages outside the caste was forbidden. Their caste system is similar to those of other ethnic groups of the African

region, and found across the Mandinka communities such as those in Gambia, Mali, Guinea and other countries.

Senufo people

The

Senufo people The Senufo people, also known as Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé, are a West African ethnolinguistic group. They consist of diverse subgroups living in a region spanning the northern Ivory Coast, the southeastern Mali and the wes ...

are found in a region spanning the northern

, the southeastern

and the western

. One sub-group, the

Nafana The Nafana are a Senufo people living in the central north-west of Ghana and the north-east of Côte d'Ivoire, in the area east of Bondoukou. They number about 45, 000 (SIL/GILLBT 1992) and they speak Nafaanra, a Senufo language. They are surro ...

, is found in north-western

. The Senufo people have traditionally been a socially stratified society that has included castes and slaves. These endogamous divisions are locally called ''Katioula'', and one of the strata in this division includes slaves and descendants of slaves. According to Dolores Richter, the caste system found among Senufo people features "hierarchical ranking including despised lower castes, occupational specificity, ritual complementarity, endogamy, hereditary membership, residential isolation and the political superiority of farmers over artisan castes".

Soninke people

The

Soninke people The Soninke people are a West African Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, Fouta Djallon, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia. They speak the Soninke language, also called the Serakhulle or Azer language, which is ...

are a West African ethnic group found in eastern

and its capital

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, northwestern

and southern

. Predominantly Muslims, the Soninke were one of the early ethnic groups from Sub-Saharan

to convert to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

about the 10th century.Asante, Molefi Kete. ''The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony''. New York: Routledge, 2007. 121-2. The contemporary population of Soninke people is estimated to be over 2 million. The cultural practices of Soninke people are similar to the Mandé peoples, and includes social stratification.Monica Bella (1987)
AFRICA STUDIES: THE EXPLORATION OF ALTERNATIVE LAND TENURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BAKEL SMALL IRRIGATED PERIMETERS
University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States Agency for International Development, Quote:"Soninke society is not egalitarian, but rather is stratified into castes. At the top there is the noble or hore caste. The hore consist of debeaumme, nyinvaaumme, and the marabouts or religious leaders. The power of the marabouts is less than that of other nobles. Next are the artisan castes or nyakhamala. ...";
According to the anthropologist Tal Tamari, the Soninke society became highly stratified after the thirteenth century. The Soninke strata have included a free category called ''Horro'' or ''Horon'', a caste system category called ''Namaxala'' or ''Nyaxamalo'', and slaves called ''Komo''. In the Jaara subgroup of the Soninke people, the nobility called ''Tunkanlenmu'' was another strata. The slaves were the largest strata, one at the bottom among the Soninke like other West African ethnic groups, and constituted up to half of the population. The slaves among the Soninke people were hierarchically arranged into three strata. The village slaves were a privileged servile group who lived apart from the village and took orders from the village chief. The domestic slaves lived in with a family and could not be sold. The lowest level among slaves were the trade slaves who could be bought and sold. With time, each of these strata became endogamous, states Daniel Littlefield – a professor of History. Above the slaves were the castes of Soninke, which too were hereditary, endogamous and had an embedded hierarchical status. They included, for example, the ''garanke'' (leather workers) below the ''fune'' (bard), the ''fune'' below the ''gesere'' or ''jeli'' (griots, singers), the ''jeli'' below the ''tage'' or ''numu'' (smiths, pottery workers).

Susu people

The

Susu people The Susu people are a Mande-speaking ethnic group living primarily in Guinea and Northwestern Sierra Leone, particularly in Kambia District.ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, one of the

Mandé peoples The Mandé peoples are ethnic groups who are speakers of Mande languages. Various Mandé speaking ethnic groups are found particularly toward the west of West Africa. The Mandé Speaking languages are divided into two primary groups: East Mandé ...

living primarily in

.Susu people
Encyclopædia Britannica Influential in Guinea, smaller communities of Susu people are also found in the neighboring

and

. The Susu are a patrilineal society, predominantly Muslim, who favor endogamous cross-cousin marriages with polygynous households common. They have a caste system like all Manding-speaking peoples of West Africa, where the artisans such as smiths, carpenters, musicians, jewelers and leatherworkers are separate castes, and believed to have descended from the medieval era slavery. The Susu people, like other Manding-speaking peoples, have a caste system regionally referred to by terms such as ''Nyamakala'', ''Naxamala'' and ''Galabbolalauba''. According to David Conrad and Barbara Frank, the terms and social categories in this caste-based social stratification system of Susu people shows cases of borrowing from Arabic only, but the likelihood is that these terms are linked to Latin, Greek or Aramaic. The artisans among Susu people such as smiths, carpenters, musicians and bards (''Yeliba''), jewelers and leatherworkers are separate castes. The Susu people believe that these castes have descended from the medieval era slaves. The Susu castes are not limited to Guinea, but are found in other regions where Susu people live, such as in Sierra Leone where too they are linked to the historic slavery system that existed in the region, states Daniel Harmon. The Susu castes in the regional Muslim communities were prevalent and recorded by sociologists in late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Temne people

The

Temne people The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group, They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the northwestern and central parts of

, as well as the national capital

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

.Temne people
Encyclopædia Britannica Some Temne are also found in

. The Temne constitute the largest

, at 35% of the total population.Sierra Leone
CIA Factbook, United States Temne society consists of patrilineal clans, is predominantly a mix of Muslim and polytheists, and some clans feature castes. The artisans and musicians in the Temne society have been endogamous caste people. The terminology of this social stratification system and the embedded hierarchy may have been adopted among the Temne from the nearby Mandinka people, Fula people and Susu people. The caste hierarchy and social stratification has been more well established in the northern Islamic parts of Temne territories. The endogamous slave castes were held in Temne clans as agriculture workers and domestic servants, and they formed the lowest subservient layer of the social strata. Enslaved women served as domestic workers, wives and concubines.

Toucouleur people

The

Toucouleur people __NOTOC__ The Tukulor people ( ar, توكولور), also called Toucouleur or Haalpulaar, are a West African ethnic group native to Futa Tooro region of Senegal. There are smaller communities in Mali and Mauritania. The Toucouleur were Islamized ...

are a Muslim West African ethnic group found mostly in

Futa Toro Futa Toro (Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮''; ar, فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and ...

region of

, with some in

and

. The Toucouleur embraced Islam in the 11th century, their early and strong Islamic heritage is a matter of great pride for them.Tukulor
Encyclopædia Britannica They have been influential in the spread of Islam to West Africa in the medieval era, later founded the vast Tukulor Empire in the 19th century under Umar Tal that led a religious war against their neighboring ethnic groups and the French colonial forces. The Toucouleur society has been patrilineal, polygynous and with high social stratification that included slavery and caste system. Toucouleur society is divided into strict and rigid caste

hierarchies A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

. The highest status among the five Toucouleur

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

s is of the aristocratic leaders and Islamic scholars called ''Torobe''. Below them are the ''Rimbe'', or the administrators, traders and farmers. The ''Nyenbe'' are the artisan castes of the Toucouleur society. The fourth caste strata is called the ''Gallunkobe'' or the slaves or descendants of slaves "who have been freed". The bottom strata among the Toucouleurs are the ''Matyube'' or slaves. The slaves were acquired by raiding pagan ethnic groups or purchased in slave markets, or the status was inherited. The hierarchical social stratification has been an economically closed system, which historically has meant a marked inequality. Property and land has been exclusively owned by the upper caste members. Occupations and caste memberships are inherited. The Toucouleur castes have been endogamous, segregated and intermarriage has been rare. The clerics among Toucouleur like the

Wolof people The Wolof people () are a West African ethnic group found in northwestern Senegal, the Gambia, and southwestern coastal Mauritania. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~43.3%), while elsewhere they are a minority. They refer to t ...

formed a separate group. The religious leaders were not necessarily endogamous nor an inherited post in Toucouleur people's long history, but it has been rare for lower caste people to become religious specialist, states Rüdiger Seesemann, as they were viewed as not sufficiently adhering to the "clerical standards of piety".

Wolof people

The

are a West African Muslim ethnic group found in northwestern

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, and southwestern coastal

. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~ 39%), and their combined population exceeds 6 million. The Wolof people, like other West African ethnic groups, have historically maintained a rigid, endogamous social stratification that included nobility, clerics, castes and slaves. The Wolof caste system has existed at least since the 15th century. The social strata have included a free category called ''geer'', a castes category called ''nyeenyo'' or ''neeno'', and a servile category of slaves called ''jaam''. Caste status has been hereditary, and endogamy among the men and women of a particular caste status has been an enduring feature among the Wolof people, states Leonardo Villalón – a professor of Political Science and African Studies. The Wolof's caste status, states Villalón, has been and is a greater barrier to inter-marriage than is either ethnicity or religion in Senegal. The castes have also been hierarchal, with lowest level being those of griots. Their inherited inferiority has been culturally stated to be close to those of slaves (''jaams'' or ''kaals''). The castes, states David Gamble, were associated with ideas of relative purity-impurity. The leatherworkers, for example, were considered the lowest of the ''nyenyo'' because their occupation involving animal skins was considered dirty. Slaves have historically been a separate, endogamous group in the Wolof society. Slavery was either inherited by birth in the Wolof society, or were kidnapped, purchased as children from desperate parents during difficult times such as a famine, or slavery was imposed by the village elders as a punishment for offenses. By the early 18th-century, all sorts of charges and petty crimes resulted in the accused being punished to the slave strata. Slaves acquired by kidnapping, purchase or as captives of war were called ''jaam sayor'' in the Wolof society. The ''geer'' or "freeborn" too had a hierarchical structure. At the top were the royal rulers, below them were the regionally or locally powerful noble lineages who controlled territories and collected tribute, and below them were commoner freeborn called the ''baadoolo'' or "lacking power".

Zarma people

The

Zarma people The Zarma people are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost Niger. They are also found in significant numbers in the adjacent areas of Nigeria and Benin, along with smaller numbers in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Suda ...

are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, along with smaller numbers in

and

.Zarma people
Encyclopædia Britannica The Zarma people are predominantly

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s of the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

-Sunni school, and they live in the arid

lands, along the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages The Zarma people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, like the

Songhai people The Songhai people (also Ayneha, Songhay or Sonrai)'' are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and ''lingua franca'' is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in ...

, featuring

s, state Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan, Tal Tamari and other scholars. According to the medieval and colonial era descriptions, their vocation has been hereditary, and each stratified group has been endogamous. The social stratification embedded slavery, wherein the lowest strata of the population inherited slavery, and second the ''Zima'' or priests and Islamic clerics had to be initiated but did not automatically inherit that profession, making the cleric strata a pseudo-caste. According to Ralph Austen – a professor emeritus of African history, the caste system among the Zarma people was not as well developed as the caste system historically found in the African ethnic groups further west to them. The different strata of the Zarma-Songhai people have included the kings and warriors, the scribes, the artisans, the weavers, the hunters, the fishermen, the leather workers and hairdressers (Wanzam), and the domestic slaves (Horso, Bannye). Each caste reveres its own guardian spirit. Some scholars such as John Shoup list these strata in three categories: free (chiefs, farmers and herders), servile (artists, musicians and griots), and the slave class. The servile group were socially required to be endogamous, while the slaves could be emancipated over four generations. The highest social level, states Shoup, claim to have descended from king " Sonni 'Ali Ber" and their modern era hereditary occupation has been ''Sohance'' (sorcerer). The traditionally free strata of the Zerma people have owned property and herds, and these have dominated the political system and governments during and after the French colonial rule. Within the stratified social system, the Islamic system of polygynous marriages is a part of the Zarma people tradition, with preferred partners being cross cousins, and a system of ritualistic acceptance between co-wives. This endogamy is similar to other ethnic groups in West Africa.

Central Africa

Mandara people

The

Mandara people __NOTOC__ The Mandara people, also known as Wandala or Mandwara, are a Central African traditionalist ethnic group found in north Cameroon northeastern Nigeria, and southeastern Chad.Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

n Muslim ethnic group found in north

, northeastern

, and southeastern

.Mandara/Wandala
Muller-Kosack Ethnic Handbook (1999)E Mohammadou (1982), Le royaume du Wandala ou Mandara au XIXe siecle, African Languages and Ethnography 14, Tokyo, pages 7-9 They have lived in the mountainous region and valleys north of the

Benue River The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...

in Cameroon, converted to Islam sometime around the 16th century, and have long been a part of the Mandara Sultanate. The Mandara society developed into a socially stratified system, with Sultan and royalty, farmers, horse breeders, artisans, iron workers and smiths forming a distinct endogamous occupation-inheriting castes. The caste system among the Mandara people integrated the concept that the strata have innate pollution and therefore they are stigmatized, however there is no evidence that their Islamic belief integrated the differences between the socially differentiated castes in their society to have been divinely sanctioned. The Mandara people also featured an endogamous slave strata.

Toubou people

The

Toubou people The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads or as ...

are an Islamic ethnic group inhabiting northern

, southern

, northeastern

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

.Teda people
Encyclopædia Britannica The Toubou people, states Jean Chapelle – a professor of History specializing on Chadian ethnic groups, have been socially stratified with an embedded caste system.Jean Cabot (1965), Trois ouvrages sur les populations du Nord du Tchad de Jean Chapelle, Annie Lebeuf et Albert Le Rouvreur,

Annales de Géographie The ''Annales de Géographie'' is a French journal devoted to geography, first published in 1891. From the start the journal was an influential and respected academic journal. History The ''Annales de Géographie'' was founded in 1891 by Paul Vid ...

, Volume 74, Numéro 401, pages 104-107, Quote: "des castes particulières: Azza (forgerons, chasseurs, tanneurs), les Kamadjas (...)" The three strata have consisted of the freemen with a right to own property, the artisanal castes and the slaves. The endogamous caste of ''Azza'' (or ''Aza'') among Toubou have the artisanal occupations, such as metal work, leather work, pottery and tailoring, and they have traditionally been despised and segregated by other strata of the Toubou, much like the ''Hadahid'' caste in southeastern Chad among the

Zaghawa people The Zaghawa people, also called Beri or Zakhawa, are a Sahelian Muslim ethnic group primarily residing in Fezzan North-eastern Chad, and western Sudan, including Darfur. Zaghawas speak the Zaghawa language, which is an eastern Saharan language. ...

. Marriage between a member of the blacksmith caste and a member from a different strata of the Toubou people has been culturally unacceptable., Quote: ""Like the Tuareg, the Toubous have a distinct hierarchy, with three separate levels: Teda/Daza, Aza artisans and slaves. (...)

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

the blacksmiths were segregated from the larger populace and seen as contemptible. (...) No Teda/Daza would think of marrying a blacksmith. They are a caste apart, marrying only among themselves." The strata locally called ''Kamadja'' were the slaves. The language used by the Azza people is a variant of the Tebu language, but mutually intelligible.

Zaghawa people

The

, also called ''Beri'' or Zakhawa, are a

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

n Muslim ethnic group of eastern

and western

, including

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

. The Zaghawa are mentioned in classical Arabic language texts by Islamic historians and geographers. The century in which the Zaghawa people adopted Islam has been a subject of debate and little consensus, with estimates ranging from the 13th to the early 17th century. The Zaghawa society has been socially stratified and has included castes. The upper strata has been of nobles and warriors, below them have been the traders and merchants, below whom have been the artisan castes called the ''Hadaheed'' (or ''Hadahid''). These castes have been endogamous, and their inherited occupations have included iron work, hunters, pottery, leatherwork and musicians such as drummers. The artisan work has traditionally been viewed within the Zaghawa society as dirty and of inferior status, being people from different pagan and Jewish roots who slowly assimilated into the Islamic society. The term "blacksmith" has been a derogatory term in Zaghawa culture, states

Anne Haour Anne Haour (born 1973) is an anthropologically trained archaeologist, academic and Africanist scholar. She is Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa at the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the ...

– a professor of African Studies and Medieval Archaeology, and "if born a blacksmith one will always be a blacksmith". Non-blacksmith castes of Zaghawa neither eat nor associate with the blacksmith castes., Quote: "HADAHID. (...) As is usual in north-central Africa from east to west they are held in general contempt and the rest of the population do not intermarry with them. This feeling of aversion towards the workers in iron is strongest among the Zaghawa, who so far from intermarrying with them would not eat or associate with them. They are a hereditary caste and are called Miro by the

Fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

." The lowest strata has been the slaves. The social stratification and castes such as for the leatherworker strata within the Zaghawa people is similar to those found in nearby

Fur people The Fur (Fur: ''fòòrà'', Arabic: فور ''Fūr'') are an ethnic group predominantly inhabiting western Sudan. They are concentrated in the Darfur region, where they are the largest ethnic group.Gettleman, Jeffrey, "Chaos in Darfur on rise as ...

Southern Africa

Merina people

The

Merina people The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar.Merina ...

are the largest ethnic group in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

.Merina
people
Ethnic Groups of Madagascar
Encyclopædia Britannica They historically have had a highly stratified

system. The Merina society emerged in the 15th century in the central high plateau region of Madagascar. Its society, like many ethnic groups in Africa, had two category of people, the free locally called the ''fotsy'', and the serfs or ''mainty''. These were divided into three strata: the ''

Andriana Andriana refers to both the noble class and a title of nobility in Madagascar. Historically, many Malagasy ethnic groups lived in highly stratified caste-based social orders in which the ''andriana'' were the highest strata. They were above the ...

'' (nobles), the '' Hova'' (freemen), and the lowest strata called ''Andevo'' (slaves)., Quote: "Historically, Merina had the most stratified caste system in Africa (...)" Each strata was hierarchically subdivided. The ''Andriana'' are divided into six sub-strata, for example, each had an inherited occupation, and were endogamous. The nineteenth century records show that ''Andevo'' or slaves were imported black Africans, and they constituted about a third of the Merina society. The Merina society sold highland slaves to both Muslim and European slave traders on Madagascar coast, as well as bought East African and Mozambique-sourced slaves from them for their own plantations between 1795 and 1895. Marriage and any sexual relations between the upper strata ''fotsy'' and the lower strata ''mainty'' were a taboo. According to a 2012 report by Gulnara Shahinian – the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the descendants of former slave castes continue to suffer in contemporary Madagascar Merina society, and inter-caste marriages continue to be socially ostracized.

Chronology

The caste systems in Africa have been linked to the a pre-developed trading network, invasions from North Africa and the Middle East after the 7th century, followed by a slavery system that targeted the pagans. According to Susan McIntosh – a professor of Anthropology specializing in African societies, archeological evidence shows that Arabs and Berbers had expanded and established an integrated sub-Saharan trade and transport network with West Africa, building upon the pre-existing trade routes through Western Sudan. This trade by 9th to 10th centuries, states McIntosh, included commodities and slaves. The reach of slave trading had extended into

and the western Atlantic coast by the 11th century, and the slave raiding, capture, holding and trading systems became increasingly sophisticated in 13th and 14th century Mali Empire and 16th century Songhai Empire. As the practice of slavery grew, so did the caste system. Tamari suggests that a corollary of the rising slavery system was the development and growth of the caste system among numerous ethnic groups of Africa by about the 13th century. McIntosh concurs with Tamari's reasoning approach, but disagrees with the dating. McIntosh states that the emergence of caste systems likely occurred much earlier in the West African societies such as Soninke, Mande, Malinke, Wolof, and others. She places the development and spread of castes in these societies to about the 10th century, because the slave capture, slave trade and slave holding by elite families was an established institution in West Africa by then, and slavery created a template for servile relationships and social stratification of human beings. The linguistic evidence suggests that stratification structure and words relating to caste system and slavery likely were shared between the many ethnic groups, and possibly some others such as the

Dogon people The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger River, Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. They spe ...

of West Africa. However, the linguistic differences between the caste and slave systems between Soninke and northern ethnic groups of Africa such as the Tuareg people and Moors suggests that these evolved separately.

Comparison between castes of Africa and South Asia

Louis Dumont Louis Charles Jean Dumont (11 August 1911 – 19 November 1998) was a French anthropologist. Dumont was born in Thessaloniki, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. He taught at Oxford University during the 1950s, and was then dire ...

, the 20th-century author famous for his classic ''Homo Hierarchicus'', recognized the social stratification among the ethnic groups in West Africa, but suggested that sociologists should invent a new term for West African social stratification system. Other scholars consider this a bias and isolationist because the West African system shares all elements in Dumont's system, including economic, ritual, spiritual, endogamous, elements of pollution, segregative and spread over a large region. According to

– a professor of African Studies, some scholars consider the historic caste-like social stratification among African communities to be a pre-Islam feature while some consider it derived from the Arab influence.

References

Bibliography

External links

Osu Caste System in Igboland- A Tradition Painted With Discrimination
by Omipidan Teslim
Caste Discrimination in AfricaCaste in Africa?
by D.M. Todd {{DEFAULTSORT:Caste System In Africa African society Human rights in Africa