121:
113:
47:
237:. In the mid to late 19th century during the Egyptian invasion of the Keren highlands (1860-1876) the Bet Tawqe clan accepted Islam, adopting the faith of their new overlords. The Bet Tarqe clan of the Bilen adopted Catholicism at the hands of French missionaries who offered to protect them from
188:
which can be seen in linguistic similarities between Agaw and Bilen. The presence of many identical place names in the areas around Lasta and Bogos in central
Eritrea further alludes to some historical connection between the two groups. According to local oral tradition, the Bilen lived on the
230:(Biher-Tigrinya). Sunni Islam is followed by half of the Bilen, with the other half adhering to Christianity of various denominations. The religious diversity of the Bilen has aided the peaceful coexistence among them with little conflict arising due to religious differences.
193:
around the 6th or 7th century when Queen Ben
Hammawiya invaded the Lasta province from the North. They then also partially subdued the prior Tigre population. A second wave of migration may have occurred according to historians during the fall of the
159:, the nation's capital. They are split into two sub-tribes; Bet Tarqe, Bet Tawqe which are split into further clans known as Hissat. The Tawke has six whereas the Tarke has five which each are divided into smaller kinship groups.
167:
According to a 2006 estimate, the total population of the Bilen was around 91,000. The Bilens comprise around two percent of the population of
Eritrea. The vast majority of the Bilen live in Eritrea but some also live in
253:. However, the recent migration of other groups into the area resulted in the Bilens taking up other occupations including farming. Most modern Bilen are animal herders and farmers.
241:
raids in the area during the second half of the 19th century. There are a few mission-converted
Protestants and few Bilen have retained their old Coptic Orthodox beliefs.
218:. Around two-thirds of the Bilen are Muslim while the rest are Christians. Muslim adherents mainly inhabit rural areas and have intermingled with the adjacent
558:
551:
412:
385:
198:
in 1270. The Bilen first appear in historical records from the 14th century onwards. Some of The Bilen/Agaw ruled
Eritrea and
511:
484:
422:
395:
365:
688:
683:
544:
452:
83:
501:
474:
528:
The
Pillage of Sustainability in Eritrea, 1600s-1990s: Rural Communities and the Creeping Shadows of Hegemony
567:
282:
120:
649:
270:
575:
387:
Indigenous
Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival, Volumes 1-4
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87:
184:
Tradition establishes an apparent connection between the
Eritrean Bilen and the Ethiopian
8:
324:
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266:
507:
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448:
418:
391:
278:
234:
303:
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141:
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151:. They are primarily concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around the city of
617:
274:
262:
152:
65:
677:
657:
195:
630:
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350:
Miniature empires: a historical dictionary of the newly independent states
662:
607:
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592:
250:
185:
137:
100:
223:
124:
Ethnolinguistic map of
Eritrea; the Bilen live in the dark blue region.
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language family. Many also speak other Afro-Asiatic languages such as
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Bilen tend to reside in urban areas and have intermingled with the
199:
173:
169:
414:
148:
52:
156:
211:
190:
78:
136:, and also formerly known as the Bogo, Bogos or Northern
249:
The traditional livelihood of most Bilen consisted of
410:
675:
285:words and expressions in their everyday speech.
352:, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 1998), pp.77-78.
552:
566:
411:Falola, Toyin; Jean-Jacques, Daniel (2015).
559:
545:
530:, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 1998), p.45
281:. In addition, younger Bilen often employ
506:. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 119.
344:
342:
340:
265:as a mother tongue, which belongs to the
43:
383:
317:
119:
111:
499:
442:
676:
445:Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities
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540:
323:
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447:. New York: Routledge. p. 222.
438:
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38:Regions with significant populations
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13:
472:
14:
700:
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370:
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84:Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
503:Historical Dictionary of Eritrea
473:G., Mussie Tesfagiorgis (2010).
45:
520:
132:(also variously transcribed as
479:. ABC-CLIO. pp. 174–175.
404:
384:Williams, Victoria R. (2020).
295:
1:
162:
7:
443:Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005).
366:Races and tribes of Eritrea
256:
205:
10:
705:
244:
233:The Bilen were originally
179:
689:Cushitic-speaking peoples
648:
616:
583:
574:
417:. Bloomsbury Publishing.
390:. Bloomsbury Publishing.
155:and further south toward
98:
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76:
71:
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59:
42:
37:
32:
27:
684:Ethnic groups in Eritrea
568:Ethnic groups in Eritrea
288:
210:The Bilen practice both
189:Eritrean plateau from
125:
117:
16:Ethnic group in Africa
500:Connell, Dan (2019).
123:
115:
94:Related ethnic groups
330:The Book of the Lion
261:The Bilen speak the
24:
304:"Bilen in Eritrea"
126:
118:
22:
671:
670:
644:
643:
585:Cushitic-speakers
513:978-1-5381-2066-8
486:978-1-59884-231-9
424:979-8-216-04273-0
397:979-8-216-10219-9
302:Project, Joshua.
235:Coptic Christians
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364:SF Nadel. (1944)
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335:
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333:. Ravenio Books.
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28:Total population
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348:James Minahan,
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300:
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259:
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228:Tigrinya People
208:
202:for 300 years.
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165:
81:
77:Predominantly:
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20:
17:
12:
11:
5:
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526:Niaz Murtaza,
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269:branch of the
263:Bilen language
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107:
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88:Roman Catholic
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61:
57:
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40:
39:
35:
34:
30:
29:
18:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
701:
690:
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582:
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454:1-57958-468-3
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196:Zagwe dynasty
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650:Nilo-Saharan
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576:Afro-Asiatic
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325:Pease, A. E.
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309:10 September
307:. Retrieved
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271:Afro-Asiatic
260:
248:
232:
216:Christianity
209:
183:
166:
145:ethnic group
133:
129:
127:
101:Agaw peoples
19:Ethnic group
251:pastoralism
116:Bilen house
678:Categories
163:Demography
82:Minority:
239:Beni-Amer
224:Christian
60:Languages
636:Rashaida
626:Tigrinya
327:(1909).
279:Tigrinya
267:Cushitic
257:Language
222:, while
206:Religion
200:Ethiopia
174:Djibouti
170:Ethiopia
142:Cushitic
140:) are a
72:Religion
618:Semitic
476:Eritrea
245:Economy
180:Origins
149:Eritrea
53:Eritrea
33:121,000
658:Kunama
510:
483:
451:
421:
394:
283:Arabic
157:Asmara
105:Xamirs
99:Other
50:
631:Tigre
603:Bilen
289:Notes
275:Tigre
220:Tigre
212:Islam
191:Lasta
153:Keren
130:Bilen
79:Islam
66:Bilen
23:Bilen
663:Nara
608:Saho
598:Beja
593:Afar
508:ISBN
481:ISBN
449:ISBN
419:ISBN
392:ISBN
311:2023
277:and
214:and
186:Agaw
172:and
138:Agaw
134:Blin
128:The
86:and
147:in
680::
463:^
433:^
372:^
357:^
339:^
176:.
560:e
553:t
546:v
516:.
489:.
457:.
427:.
400:.
313:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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