The Tomal, also known as Tumal or Tumaal, is an artisanal
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 ...
among
Somali people
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ar, ุตูู
ุงูููู) 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 ...
.
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 castes or outcasts among the
Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ar, ุตูู
ุงูููู) 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 ...
, along with
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 a ...
and others. They have historically faced discrimination, restrictions, harassment and prejudice from other social strata of the Somali people.
[, Quote: "In addition to the Bantus, there are Somali clans considered to be of low caste and treated as outcasts. They are the Yibir, the Midgan and the Tumal. They face restrictions, prejudice, discrimination, harassment and attacks in East Africa as well as in the Diaspora."]
Discussion
According to the folklore tradition of the Somali people, Tomal and other low castes arose from unholy origins. They were historically smiths who worked various metals,
and some also were leather workers (producing and processing animal skin).
They may be, states Peter Bridges, pre-Somali Bushmen-like natives who lived in these lands.
They are one of a castes within the ''Sab'' lineage among the Somali, but they are not the
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the NigerโCongo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
-related slave strata of the Somali people.
According to
Richard Francis Burton
Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 โ 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
, the colonial era Somali ethnographer describing his observations in the northern Somali country, the Tomal were also known as ''Handad'' probably a corruption of ''Haddad'' which in Arabic means "ironworkers". They were considered vile because they had intermarried with the servile group within the Somali society, and their work with metal and fire was presumed to make them following the path of
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dฤwลซd''; grc-koi, ฮฮฑฯ
ฮฮด, Dauรญd; la, Davidus, David; gez , แณแแต, ''Dawit''; xcl, ิดีกึีซีฉ, ''Dawitสฟ''; cu, ะะฐะฒรญะดั, ''Davidลญ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and close to witchcraft. These people, states Burton, were also found and reviled in
Al-Yaman.
Later scholarship, such as by Heather Marie Akou โ a professor of History specializing in Near East Cultures, states that per mythical narrative Tomals had intermarried with
Midgans, and have been the talented descendants of nomads in the Horn of Africa.
The Tomal caste has been notable for their everyday dress, where they traditionally carry a hand crafted long spear called ''waran'' as walking stick, and a hidden dagger called ''bilawi'' in a leather belt.
According to Teshale Tibebu โ a professor of History specializing on Ethiopia and Horn of Africa, the Tomal along with
Mijan and
Yibir
The Yibir, also referred to as the Yibbir, the Yebir, the Yahhar or the Yibro, derived from an Aramaic โiแธray' word which means Jews, are a caste of Somali people. They have traditionally been endogamous. Their hereditary occupations have been ...
castes have traditionally been considered as ritually impure using Islamic rationalization, and other caste members of the Somali society would never marry a member of the Tomal, Mijan and Yibir castes.
Incidental reports of prejudicial comments against the Tomal by other Somali people, in contemporary society include they being called ''"nasab-dhiman"'', or "ignoble outcast".
Cognate castes in the Horn of Africa
The Tomal caste is not an exception limited to the Somali ethnic group, and equivalent cognate caste is found in numerous ethnic groups in
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), ...
and the rest of
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
. According to
Donald Levine
Don Levine (April 1, 1928 โ May 22, 2014) was a business executive at toy manufacturers Hasbro credited as the "father" of G.I. Joe action figures.[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''), ...]
, caste structure with cognates to Tomal have been recorded in 16th century texts, states Cornelius Jaenen.
[Cornelius J. Jaenen (1956),
''The Galla or Oromo of East Africa'', Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, University of Chicago Press, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Summer, 1956), pages 171-190] The table below illustrate some alternate terms for castes mirroring the Tomal in other ethnic groups that share this region with the Somali people.
Notable Tumal
*
Mohamed Ali Samatar
Mohamed Ali Samatar ( so, Maxamed Cali Samatar; 1 January 193119 August 2016), also known as Ali Samatar was a Somali politician and lieutenant general. A senior member of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, he also served as the Prime Minister o ...
was a Somali politician and lieutenant general.'
*Maxamed cali Waji He is a famous journalist, writer and media person in Somaliland.
*Shiekh mohamed Guuleed Kaarshe, Islamic scholar and former minister of religion in Somalia in 1980s
References
Bibliography
*Hassan Ali Jama, ''Who cares about Somalia'', (Verlag Hans Schiler: 2005)
*I.M. Lewis, ''A pastoral democracy'', (James Currey Publishers: 1999)
External links
New Arabic Documents from Somalia B. W. Andrzejewski
Bogumiล Witalis "Goosh" Andrzejewski (1922โ1994) was a Polish-born, British-naturalised linguist whose research focused on the Somali language.
Lists of Andrzejewski's works can be found in , , , and .
General references
*
*
*
*
*
*
...
, I. M. Lewis and R. S. O'Fahey (1994) โ mention of Midgans in early Arabic documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somali People
Cushitic-speaking peoples
Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
Ethnic groups in Kenya
Castes
Muslim communities in Africa