Afroasiatic Peoples
Semitic, Cushitic, Berber and Chadic peoples across North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
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Semitic30 groups
Banu Abs
Najd in north-central Arabia, northeast of Medina, in present-day Saudi Arabia; after the Islamic conquests, also settled in Iraq and Syria
Beni Khirane
The plateau around Oued Zem in Khouribga Province, Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, central Morocco
Dubasiyin
Central Sudan; older tribal surveys place them in the Gezira, the clay plain between the Blue and White Niles south of Khartoum.
Humr
West Kordofan, Sudan, centered on El Muglad and Babanusa, with dry season grazing south to the Bahr al-Arab (Kiir) and the disputed Abyei area on the South Sudan border
Imraguen
The Atlantic coast of Mauritania, from Nouadhibou south toward Cape Timiris, centered on the Banc d'Arguin.
Jebala
The western Rif and its foothills in northwestern Morocco, chiefly Chefchaouen, Ouazzane, Tetouan, Larache and Taounate provinces and the hinterland of Tangier.
Jeberti
Highlands of Eritrea (Asmara and the central and southern plateau) and northern Ethiopia (Tigray, with communities in Gondar and Addis Ababa); diaspora in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Europe and North America
Kawahla
Central and eastern Sudan: the White Nile, Gezira, Blue Nile and Butana, North Kordofan, and the cities of Khartoum and Omdurman.
Kohathites
Ancient Israel in the southern Levant (modern Israel and the West Bank), with assigned Levitical towns in Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Ephraim, Dan and Manasseh
Kouloughlis
The Ottoman regencies of the Maghreb: coastal and inland towns of present-day Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
Maghrebi Jews
The Maghreb: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Most now live in Israel and France, with small communities remaining in Morocco and Tunisia.
Mhallami
Villages between Mardin and Midyat in Mardin Province, southeastern Turkey; large communities in Beirut, Lebanon, and in Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
Noritani
Nora and its hinterland on the Capo di Pula headland, on the southwestern shore of the Gulf of Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy.
Nu'aym
Eastern Arabian Peninsula: Ajman and other parts of the UAE, the Buraimi oasis in Oman, northern Qatar around Zubarah, and Bahrain
Ouled Naïl
Algeria's high steppe and Saharan Atlas: the Ouled Naïl Mountains and the Djelfa plateau, extending toward Bou Saâda, M'Sila, Laghouat and Biskra.
Rashaida
Eastern Sudan, especially Kassala and Red Sea states, and the northern coastal lowlands of Eritrea; originally from the Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia
Ruwallah
Syrian Desert and northern Arabia: al-Jawf and Wadi Sirhan in Saudi Arabia, southern Syria, eastern Jordan and western Iraq
Cushitic22 groups
Abgaal
Central and southern Somalia: Middle Shabelle, parts of Galgaduud, Mudug around Harardhere, and northern Mogadishu
Borana
The Borana plateau of southern Oromia, Ethiopia, and northern Kenya, chiefly Marsabit and Isiolo counties, with Moyale sitting on the border between them.
Geledi
Afgooye and the surrounding farmland along the lower Shabelle River, Lower Shabelle region, southern Somalia
Harti
Northeastern Somalia: Bari, Nugaal and northern Mudug (Puntland), plus the contested Sool and Sanaag regions; long-settled communities in Kismayo and Jubaland, and a large diaspora
Hedareb
Northwestern lowlands of Eritrea, chiefly the Gash-Barka region and the northern Red Sea hills, extending into eastern Sudan around Kassala
Hiraab
Central and southern Somalia, especially Mogadishu (Banaadir), Middle Shabelle, Galguduud and southern Mudug, with a large diaspora.
Issa
Djibouti, the Awdal region of Somaliland (northwestern Somalia), and eastern Ethiopia in the Sitti Zone of the Somali Region and around Dire Dawa
Orma
Tana River County in southeastern Kenya, especially around Hola, Bura, Garsen and the Tana Delta, extending into parts of Lamu and Garissa counties.
Rer Bare
Banks of the Shabelle River around Kelafo, Mustahil and Ferfer in the Shabelle Zone of Ethiopia's Somali Region, near the border with Somalia.
Sakuye
Northern Kenya: around Dabel near Moyale in Marsabit County, and the Waso area of Isiolo County along the Ewaso Ng'iro river.
Sheekhaal
Central and southern Somalia, the Somali Region of Ethiopia, and Kenya, with members in the wider Somali diaspora
Chadic10 groups
Berber9 groups
Ait Atta
Southeastern Morocco: the Jbel Saghro massif, the Draa, Dades and Todgha valleys, the pre-Saharan margins toward the Tafilalt, and summer pastures in the eastern High Atlas.
Aït Zemmour
Khemisset Province and the surrounding country between Rabat and Meknes, northwestern Morocco, from the Maamora forest south toward the Oulmes plateau.
Baranis
The Maghreb and western Sahara, from Tunisia and eastern Algeria to Atlantic Morocco and Mauritania
Berber Jews
High Atlas, Anti-Atlas and pre-Saharan oases of southern Morocco, with related communities in western Algeria; today almost entirely in Israel, France and Canada
Haraktas
The high plains of northeastern Algeria around Aïn Beïda and Oum El Bouaghi, on the northern edge of the Aurès
Hintata
Western High Atlas mountains south of Marrakesh, Morocco; the Hafsid branch later ruled from Tunis, Tunisia
Iznassen
The Beni Snassen mountains and the neighboring Triffa and Angad plains of northeastern Morocco, around Berkane, near the Algerian border
Berber; Zenati3 groups
Other Afroasiatic groups16 groups
Aweer
Coastal hinterland forest of southeastern Kenya, chiefly Lamu County and the Ijara area of Garissa County, with historic range extending into southern Somalia
Awrtable
Somali-inhabited Horn of Africa, chiefly Somalia, with members in the wider Somali diaspora
Banu Birzal
Hodna hill country around M'sila (Jebel Salat), present-day Algeria; from the 970s southern al-Andalus, centered on Carmona near Seville, Spain.
Burunge
Chemba District, formerly part of Kondoa District, in Dodoma Region, central Tanzania
Gershonites
Ancient Israel: the wilderness camp of the Exodus narrative, then thirteen Levitical towns in Galilee and Bashan (modern northern Israel and the Golan region), with service at the Jerusalem Temple
Gorowa
Highlands and Rift Valley escarpment around Babati, Babati District, Manyara Region, north central Tanzania
Harla
Eastern Ethiopia around Harar, Dire Dawa and the Chercher Mountains, extending into northwestern Somaliland
Kibaku
Chibok town and surrounding villages in Chibok Local Government Area, southern Borno State, northeastern Nigeria
Maghrawa
The Chelif valley and high plains of western Algeria, extending to Tlemcen and the Moulouya; later Fez and eastern Morocco, Sijilmasa, and Tripolitania in Libya.
Merarites
Ancient Israel: twelve Levitical towns in Zebulun (Galilee, modern Israel) and in Reuben and Gad east of the Jordan (modern Jordan), with service at the Tabernacle and later the Jerusalem Temple
Ngizim
Potiskum and the farming districts to its east and south, Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria; formerly also parts of present-day Borno and Jigawa states.
Qemant
Highlands north and west of Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, including the Chilga and Lay Armachiho districts
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