Hadhrami_diaspora

Hadharem

Hadharem

Ethnic division of Arabs


The Hadharem (Arabic: حضارم, romanized: ḥaḍārim) or the Hadhrami (Arabic: حضرمي, romanized: ḥaḍramī, singular) are an Arab sub-ethnic group indigenous to the Hadhramaut region in South Arabia, which is part of modern-day eastern Yemen. They speak Hadhrami Arabic. Among the two million inhabitants of Hadhramaut, there are about 1,300 distinct tribes.

Quick Facts الحضارم, Regions with significant populations ...

Social hierarchy

As in other regions of Yemen, Hadhrami society is stratified into several groups. At the top of hierarchy are the religious elites or sayyids, who trace their descent to Muhammad. These are followed by the sheikhs and then the Bedouins: peasants who belong to tribes and who live mainly from agriculture and trading. Finally, at the bottom of the hierarchy are al-Muhamashīn "the Marginalized" (previously referred to as al-akhdam "the servants").

Language

The Hadharem speak Hadhrami Arabic, a dialect of Arabic, although Hadharem living in the diaspora that have acculturated mainly speak the local language of the region they live in.[citation needed]

Diaspora

Hadhrami immigrants in Surabaya (Indonesia), 1920
Hadhrami Arab neighborhood in Surabaya, 1880
Hadharem of Palembang, 22 February 1937

The Hadharem have a long seafaring and trading tradition that predates Semitic cultures. Hadramite influence was later overshadowed by the rise of the Sabaeans, who became the ruling class. This prompted Hadhrami seamen to emigrate in large numbers around the Indian Ocean basin, including the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, the Malabar Coast, Hyderabad in South India, Sri Lanka, and Maritime Southeast Asia.[1]

Hadharem in the Persian Gulf

Hadharami communities exist in western Yemen, the trading ports of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and on the coast of the Red Sea. The money changers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have historically been of Hadhrami origin.[2]

Hadhrami East Africans

South Semitic Kingdom of Hadramawt in 400 BC

The Hadharem have long had a presence in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia), and also comprise a notable part of the Harari population. Hadhrami settlers were instrumental in helping to consolidate the Muslim community in the coastal Benadir province of Somalia, in particular.[3] During the colonial period, disgruntled Hadharem from the tribal wars settled in various Somali towns.[4] They were also frequently recruited into the armies of the Somali Sultanates.[5]

Some Hadhrami communities also reportedly exist in Mozambique, Comoros, and Madagascar.[6]

Hadhrami Jews

The vast majority of the Hadhrami Jews now live in Israel.[7]

List of Hadhrami Diaspora

Notable people

Yemen

Swahili Coast

North Africa

Horn of Africa

Indonesia

East Timor

Malaysia

Singapore

The Hadharem presence in Singapore came from encouragement of Stamford Raffles to trade in his newly established colony of Singapore.[12]

South Asia

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

See also


References

  1. Ho, Engseng (2006). The graves of Tarim: Genealogy and mobility across the Indian Ocean. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520244535. OCLC 123768411.
  2. Seznec, Jean-François (1987). The financial markets of the Arabian Gulf. Croom Helm. ISBN 9780709954040. OCLC 18558231.
  3. Cassanelli, Lee V. (1973). The Benaadir Past: Essays in Southern Somali History. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 24.
  4. Gavin, R. J. (1975). Aden under British rule, 1839–1967. London, UK: Hurst. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-903983-14-3.
  5. Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (1993). Somalia: A country study (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: The Division. pp. 10. ISBN 9780844407753. LCCN 93016246. OCLC 27642849.
  6. Le Guennec, Francoise (1997). "Changing Patterns of Hadrahmi Migration and Social Integration in East Africa". In Freitag, Ulrike; Clarence-Smith, William G. (eds.). Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s to 1960s. BRILL. p. 165. ISBN 978-9004107717.
  7. Katz, Joseph. "The Jewish Kingdoms of Arabia". www.eretzyisroel.org. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  8. "WWW Virtual Library: From where did the Moors come?". www.lankalibrary.com. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  9. Khalidi, Omar (1996). "The Arabs of Hadramawt in Hyderabad". In Kulkarni; Naeem; De Souza (eds.). Mediaeval Deccan History. Bombay: Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-8-1715-4579-7.
  10. "Arab trader's role in Singapore landmark". The Straits Times. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  11. "The Hadhrami Diaspora in Southeast Asia: Identity Maintenance or Assimilation?", The Hadhrami Diaspora in Southeast Asia, Brill, 15 February 2009, ISBN 978-90-474-2578-6, retrieved 14 December 2023
  12. "Converging cultures: The Hadrami diaspora in the Indian Ocean - COMPAS". COMPAS - Migration research at the University of Oxford. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

Further reading


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