Nomads become sedentary
Sedentarization, which has been taking place since the beginning of the 20th century, is taking place in an extremely limited area: a large capital and a few modest provincial towns. This movement began when the French chose Djibouti to build a major port. Labor was needed to build the port and railways, unload ships and trains, and open shops. Djibouti-Ville acted as a magnet. The railways gradually replaced the camel caravans, taking work away from many nomads. This process of sedentarization is still ongoing. Major droughts since the 1970s have made nomadic life increasingly difficult: water is scarce and living conditions are hardly improving. Ethiopia has closed its borders to the herds of Djiboutian nomads, who traditionally came to enjoy the water and vegetation of the high plateaus. The N1 road and its trucks have virtually put an end to the caravan economy. Of course, some still circulate, but in addition to salt and hides, they now carry hi-fi systems and trinkets made in China. Many have therefore been forced to swell the suburbs of Djibouti-Ville or other cities. Life there is hard, but often easier than in the desert. Sometimes with their herds (their most precious possession), nomads have settled in Balbala, for example, preceded or joined by refugees from neighboring countries. But while the population is massively settling, everyone retains close links with nomadic life: family, way of life, traditions, hospitality, endurance, reading the landscape, dances, tribal hierarchy... The change is too recent for centuries and centuries of nomadism to be quickly forgotten.
Afars, Issas : the soul of the Djiboutian people
The two main groups making up the Djiboutian population are the Afars and the Issas. Their origins are common to both, and it is often difficult for a foreigner passing through (or a resident) to tell them apart, as the differences seem so minor. Afars and Issas are united by a common religion: Islam. And by the way of life of their ancestors: nomadism. Afars and Issas are of Cushitic (or Chamite) origin, the name given to the various peoples who settled in the Horn of Africa through successive migrations, starting around 1000 BC. According to local legends, they came from western Ethiopia and present-day Sudan, and gradually advanced towards the coast. The first migrations to settle in Eritrea, near the Awach river, gave rise to the Afars. Others, still in Eritrea, gave rise to the Sahos. Later, other migrations reached the north-east of the Horn of Africa, giving rise to the Somalis. Differentiation was mainly due to the influences of other populations, who settled or traded with the peoples of this region. Later, other influences - Indian, Arab and European - further blurred the distinctions.
The Issa territory in Djibouti corresponds roughly to the south of the country. Somali culture is nomadic. And its values continue to exist despite the gradual sedentarization of the population. The Somalis are divided into several tribes, linked by the same culture and values. The Issas are among them, as are the Issak and Gadaboursi, who are also present in Djibouti but in small numbers. Most Somalis live in Somalia and in small areas of Ethiopia and Kenya. The Afar territory corresponds to the north of the country, from the Eritrean border to Dikhil. Most Afars (4/5ths) live in Ethiopian territory.
Afar and Somali languages
Both languages share common roots. They were not transcribed until the 1970s. And even then, not definitively. To the uninitiated listener, it's hard to tell the difference. One characteristic brings Afars and Issas together: almost all of them are multilingual (more so in Djibouti-City than inland). In addition to their own language, they speak Arabic (the language of religion) and French (the language of education), often with great fluency.
Here, culture has been oral for centuries and centuries. The history of this land, that of its ancestors, and its traditions, have been passed down through voices, songs, stories and poetry. Oral agreements are as valuable as written contracts. Egyptians, Arabs, French and many others have written about the region's history in their own languages. But the locals tell it. Memory remains an essential tool. From an early age, we are accustomed to hearing and remembering. Everyone is expected to know their ancestors' names by heart, over several generations. This undoubtedly explains the ease with which Djiboutians learn languages. This culture of learning by listening is not incompatible with written teaching, timidly imported by the French colonists, then generalized after independence.
For centuries, Issas and Afars nomads have followed a set of oral rules, of which the head of the family is the primary guarantor. All are closely linked to nomadic life. These ancestral oral rules are superimposed by the written laws of the colonists and those of the new republic. Customary and modern justice try to get along well. But it is still the former that is called upon first and foremost.
The tribe comes first
"The Somali is born on the road, under a hut, a yurt, or simply under the stars. He doesn't know his place of birth, which is not recorded anywhere. Like his parents, he doesn't come from any village or town. His identity is determined solely by his link with his family, his group, his clan. [The individual does not exist; he counts only as part of a tribe" (Ryszard Kapuściński, Ebène).
The Somali world is structured by the reer, which hierarchizes the individual's space. And relations between and within groups are governed by a traditional legal system called xeer. This oral code has organized life in the Issas since the 16th century. Its rules are applied by the guiddis, an assembly of forty-four members (clan representatives, wise men, etc.), who assess each offence (from insult to murder) and decide on the amount to be paid (in livestock, for example) in reparation.
In a traditional family, roles are clearly defined: the man is responsible for the security of the herd and the camp, and for relations with the outside world. The women raise the children and look after the water and wood supplies. The children soon learn to herd cattle. For a long time, the lives of these families revolved around a single goal: the quest for water. This implies great freedom of movement, which the borders drawn by history and the Europeans have undermined.
The customary law of the Danakil, the other name for the Afars, is made up of a set of rules called fima. The fimami, assemblies of people grouped by age (where group discipline and solidarity are learned), lay down the laws that hold a tribe or clan together. Individuals must follow these rules throughout their lives. These oral rules specify each person's role, defined according to gender and age. The division of tasks for nomads is quite similar to that described for the Issas.
Minorities and refugees
Djibouti is also home to a number of other ethnic groups, all of which are very much in the minority. These include the Midgan, today associated with the blacksmiths who, in Tadjourah for example, make the famous nomadic daggers. Yemenis have been fairly numerous since the early centuries of our era. In Djibouti-Ville, for example, many traders and most fishermen are of Yemeni origin. Large Yemeni trading families (Coubèche, Farah, Anis) have been established here for a very long time and are actively involved in local life. Djibouti has also been a land of trade for decades, attracting merchants and traders (Armenians, Indians, Chinese, Greeks, Jews, Pakistanis, Senegalese...) from a very early stage. Outside the capital, however, the foreign presence was very weak. The conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s in neighboring countries (Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan) led to the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants to Djibouti. This population flocked to border camps or to the outskirts of the capital in the hope of finding work. Refugees now account for a quarter of Djibouti's population. Some have integrated very well and are becoming more and more involved in local life. Others are still waiting to return to their country of origin.
Conflicts in the region continue to cause large-scale displacement. From Sudan and Ethiopia, migrants walk along Djibouti's roads and try every year to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen, in the hope of finding El Dorado. For the most part, when they haven't drowned off the coast of Yemen, the migrants remain stranded in Yemen in disastrous conditions.
The French presence in Djibouti
Djibouti's independence in 1977 did not sever all ties with France, the former colonial power. Relations remain strong on cultural, economic, political and military levels. Some 1,500 French military personnel are stationed in Djibouti (2024), along with their families. The presence of French forces on Djiboutian territory is governed by the Defense Cooperation Treaty signed between the two countries on December 21, 2011, and renewed in 2024. This is a rotating presence. Every three years, the number of personnel is renewed. Today, the main missions of the French Forces in Djibouti (FFDJ) are to monitor maritime traffic and combat terrorism in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean alongside NATO forces. In addition to the French and Americans (nearly 4,000 military personnel), German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Chinese troops are also stationed here.
