The Tigrinya people (ትግርኛ, ብሄረ ትግርኛtəgrəñña), also known as Tigrigna, are an ethnic group native to Eritrea. They speak the Tigrinya language.[1][2] There also exists a sizable Tigrinya community in the diaspora.
One view believes that the name comes from the word tägärät (ተገረት), meaning "she ascended". The word tägäru (ተገሩ) "they ascended" describes the ascension of the earliest indigenous people to the mountainous highlands of Eritrea as the plateau's first settlers. The Tigrinya tribe were first mentioned around the 8th to 10th centuries, in which period manuscripts preserving the inscriptions of Cosmas Indicopleustes (fl. 6th century) contain notes on his writings including the mention of a tribe called Tigretes.[3][2][1][4]
Tigrinyas, Tigrayans and Tigre
In Eritrea the Tigrinya people are referred to as Biher-Tigrinya people or the "Kebessa" people, kebessa meaning Eritrean highlands. Both the Tigrinya and Tigre tribes in Eritrea are very close kin to the ethnic group Tigrayans in Tigray, Ethiopia. All the Tigrinyas, Tigre, and Tigrayans peoples were supposedly from the same group until the 8th century, and shared the Aksumite Kingdom before its demise.[5]
These people grew apart in lexical, societal construction and dialect from around the 9th century. Tigrayans in Tigray abandoned the declining Kingdom of Aksum and the Tigrinya people built the kingdom of Medri Bahri in Eritrea by Bahre Negasi (also known as Bahre Negash; "king of the sea" in English) with its Capital in Debarwa, Seraye.
Origin
It is believed that the first ancestors of the human race migrated to other parts of the world from this area. Bob Walter discovered the oldest evidence of stone tools near the coastal areas of Eritrea. The tools are believed to be 125,000 years old.[6]
There were already people living on the Red Sea coast and Eritrean highlands from the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic ages.[7]
Language
Tigrinya is a North Ethiopic language. It is the most widely spoken language in Eritrea, and the fourth most spoken language in Ethiopia after Amharic.
Tigrinya dialects differ phonetically, lexically, and grammatically.[8]
Settlements and kingdoms
Ona
The oldest settled pastoral and agricultural community lived in Ona (the villages and towns around Asmara) around 800 BC. It was the oldest known indigenous culture in the Horn Africa.[9] Archaeologist Peter Schmidt compared the Asmara settlement to Athens and Rome.[10] The language known as Tigre was believed to be spoken in the region around 1000 BC.
D'mt Kingdom
D'mt (Daamat) was believed to be home to a settled community in Southern Eritrean and Northern Ethiopia from around 8th century BC to 4th century BC. There is little archaeological evidence of the D'mt Kingdom.[11]
Metera
Metera was a major city in the Dʿmt and Aksumite kingdoms. Since Eritrean independence, the National Museum of Eritrea has petitioned the Ethiopian government to return artifacts removed from the site, though their efforts have been rebuffed.[12]Hawulti, a pre-Aksumite or early Aksumite era obelisk, is situated here.
Bronze oil lamp excavated at Matara, dating from the Kingdom of Dʿmt (circa 8th century BCE).
Qohaito
Rock art near Qohaito appears to indicate habitation in the area since the fifth millennium BC, while the town is known to have survived until the sixth century. Mount Emba Soira, Eritrea's highest mountain, and a small successor village lies near the site.
Qohaito is often identified as the town Koloe described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greco-Roman document dated to the end of the first century,[4] which thrived as a stop on the trade route between Adulis and Aksum. It is thought that crops were interspersed with buildings in the town. Old edifices included the pre-Christian Temple of Mariam Wakino and the Sahira Dam, which might also be pre-Aksumite.[13]
The ruins at Qohaito were first located in 1868, though they were erroneously identified as a "Greek depot" at the time.[14] A related site outside of Senafe, Matara, lies about 15 kilometres to the south and was excavated in the 1960s.
Medri Bahri Kingdom
After the decline of Aksum, the Eritrean highlands were under the domain of the Kingdom of Medri Bahrir, ruled by Bahr Negash. The area was then known as Ma'ikele Bahri ("between the seas/rivers", i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mareb River). Like Kingdom of Axum, Medri Bahri was also a Christian kingdom.
References
^ ab"Africa :: Eritrea — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
^ abG.W.B. Huntingford, Historical Geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704 (London: British Academy, 1989), pp. 38f
^Cliffe, Lionel; Davidson, Basil (1988). The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace. The Red Sea Press. ISBN978-0932415370.
^Connor, Steve (2000). "Earliest humans were crab-eating beachcombers". Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
^Mayer, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef; Beyin, Amanuel (2009). "Late Stone Age Shell Middens on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea". The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. 4 (1): 108–124. doi:10.1080/15564890802662171. ISSN 1556-4894. S2CID 128830284.
^Leslau, Wolf (1941) Documents Tigrigna (Éthiopien Septentrional): Grammaire et Textes. Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck.
^Greenfield, Richard (2001). . No 401. Archived from the original on 2019-07-12. Retrieved 2020-08-27 – via New Africa. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Schmidt, Peter (2002). "Oldest Africa Settlement found in Eritrea". BBC.
^Schmidt, Peter (2006). Historical archaeology in Africa. Rowman Altamira. pp. 259–260. ISBN0759109656.
^. 2005-10-02. Archived from the original on 2006-06-20. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
^Phillipson, David (2012);Foundations of an African Civilisation: Aksum and the northern Horn, 1000 BC–AD 1300; ISBN978-1847010414.
^C. R. Markham, "Geographical Results of the Abyssinian Expedition", Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 38 (1868), p. 23
May 11, 2023
tigrinya, people, confused, with, tigre, people, tigrayans, ትግርኛ, ብሄረ, ትግርኛ, təgrəñña, also, known, tigrigna, ethnic, group, native, eritrea, they, speak, tigrinya, language, there, also, exists, sizable, tigrinya, community, diaspora, tigrinyaትግርኛ, from, erit. Not to be confused with Tigre people or Tigrayans The Tigrinya people ትግርኛ ብሄረ ትግርኛ tegrenna also known as Tigrigna are an ethnic group native to Eritrea They speak the Tigrinya language 1 2 There also exists a sizable Tigrinya community in the diaspora TigrinyaትግርኛTigrinya people from EritreaLanguagesTigrinyaReligionChristianity predominantly Eritrean Orthodox Contents 1 History 2 Tigrinyas Tigrayans and Tigre 3 Origin 4 Language 5 Settlements and kingdoms 5 1 Ona 5 2 D mt Kingdom 5 3 Metera 5 4 Qohaito 5 5 Medri Bahri Kingdom 6 ReferencesHistory EditOne view believes that the name comes from the word tagarat ተገረት meaning she ascended The word tagaru ተገሩ they ascended describes the ascension of the earliest indigenous people to the mountainous highlands of Eritrea as the plateau s first settlers The Tigrinya tribe were first mentioned around the 8th to 10th centuries in which period manuscripts preserving the inscriptions of Cosmas Indicopleustes fl 6th century contain notes on his writings including the mention of a tribe called Tigretes 3 2 1 4 Tigrinyas Tigrayans and Tigre EditIn Eritrea the Tigrinya people are referred to as Biher Tigrinya people or the Kebessa people kebessa meaning Eritrean highlands Both the Tigrinya and Tigre tribes in Eritrea are very close kin to the ethnic group Tigrayans in Tigray Ethiopia All the Tigrinyas Tigre and Tigrayans peoples were supposedly from the same group until the 8th century and shared the Aksumite Kingdom before its demise 5 These people grew apart in lexical societal construction and dialect from around the 9th century Tigrayans in Tigray abandoned the declining Kingdom of Aksum and the Tigrinya people built the kingdom of Medri Bahri in Eritrea by Bahre Negasi also known as Bahre Negash king of the sea in English with its Capital in Debarwa Seraye Origin EditIt is believed that the first ancestors of the human race migrated to other parts of the world from this area Bob Walter discovered the oldest evidence of stone tools near the coastal areas of Eritrea The tools are believed to be 125 000 years old 6 There were already people living on the Red Sea coast and Eritrean highlands from the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic ages 7 Language EditTigrinya is a North Ethiopic language It is the most widely spoken language in Eritrea and the fourth most spoken language in Ethiopia after Amharic Tigrinya dialects differ phonetically lexically and grammatically 8 Settlements and kingdoms EditOna Edit The oldest settled pastoral and agricultural community lived in Ona the villages and towns around Asmara around 800 BC It was the oldest known indigenous culture in the Horn Africa 9 Archaeologist Peter Schmidt compared the Asmara settlement to Athens and Rome 10 The language known as Tigre was believed to be spoken in the region around 1000 BC D mt Kingdom Edit D mt Daamat was believed to be home to a settled community in Southern Eritrean and Northern Ethiopia from around 8th century BC to 4th century BC There is little archaeological evidence of the D mt Kingdom 11 Metera Edit Metera was a major city in the Dʿmt and Aksumite kingdoms Since Eritrean independence the National Museum of Eritrea has petitioned the Ethiopian government to return artifacts removed from the site though their efforts have been rebuffed 12 Hawulti a pre Aksumite or early Aksumite era obelisk is situated here Bronze oil lamp excavated at Matara dating from the Kingdom of Dʿmt circa 8th century BCE Qohaito Edit Rock art near Qohaito appears to indicate habitation in the area since the fifth millennium BC while the town is known to have survived until the sixth century Mount Emba Soira Eritrea s highest mountain and a small successor village lies near the site Qohaito is often identified as the town Koloe described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea a Greco Roman document dated to the end of the first century 4 which thrived as a stop on the trade route between Adulis and Aksum It is thought that crops were interspersed with buildings in the town Old edifices included the pre Christian Temple of Mariam Wakino and the Sahira Dam which might also be pre Aksumite 13 The ruins at Qohaito were first located in 1868 though they were erroneously identified as a Greek depot at the time 14 A related site outside of Senafe Matara lies about 15 kilometres to the south and was excavated in the 1960s Medri Bahri Kingdom Edit After the decline of Aksum the Eritrean highlands were under the domain of the Kingdom of Medri Bahrir ruled by Bahr Negash The area was then known as Ma ikele Bahri between the seas rivers i e the land between the Red Sea and the Mareb River Like Kingdom of Axum Medri Bahri was also a Christian kingdom References Edit a b Africa Eritrea The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency www cia gov Retrieved 2020 08 23 a b Fegley Randall 1995 Fegley Randall 1995 Eritrea World Bibliographical Series ABC CLIO p 7 California ISBN 1851092455 Munro Hay 1991 p 187 sfn error no target CITEREFMunro Hay1991 help a b G W B Huntingford Historical Geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704 London British Academy 1989 pp 38f Cliffe Lionel Davidson Basil 1988 The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace The Red Sea Press ISBN 978 0932415370 Connor Steve 2000 Earliest humans were crab eating beachcombers Independent Archived from the original on 2022 05 07 Retrieved 2018 12 08 Mayer Daniella E Bar Yosef Beyin Amanuel 2009 Late Stone Age Shell Middens on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 4 1 108 124 doi 10 1080 15564890802662171 ISSN 1556 4894 S2CID 128830284 Leslau Wolf 1941 Documents Tigrigna Ethiopien Septentrional Grammaire et Textes Paris Librairie C Klincksieck Greenfield Richard 2001 New discoveries in Africa change face of history No 401 Archived from the original on 2019 07 12 Retrieved 2020 08 27 via New Africa a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Schmidt Peter 2002 Oldest Africa Settlement found in Eritrea BBC Schmidt Peter 2006 Historical archaeology in Africa Rowman Altamira pp 259 260 ISBN 0759109656 Eritrea wants artefacts back 2005 10 02 Archived from the original on 2006 06 20 Retrieved 2007 02 05 Phillipson David 2012 Foundations of an African Civilisation Aksum and the northern Horn 1000 BC AD 1300 ISBN 978 1847010414 C R Markham Geographical Results of the Abyssinian Expedition Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 38 1868 p 23 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tigrinya people amp oldid 1148818346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
