Eritrea People and Custom: Ethnic Traditions, Eritrean Art, Information Tourism
- ISBN-10
- 1535434864
- ISBN-13
- 9781535434867
- Pages
- 232
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2016-07-22
- Publisher
- Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
- Author
- Dendi Kerekou
Description
Eritrea has no official language. Tigrinya, Arabic, and English are all used in government. Tigrinya is spoken by highlanders and is related to Tigre, spoken in the western and eastern lowlands. Tigrinya and Tigre, like Arabic, are Semitic tongues. Arabic, native to the Rashaida, is widely used in com- merce. Minority groups speak their native languages but are familiar with Tigrinya or Arabic. Except for the Rashaida and Hadareb (whose language is called To Bedawi), the language names are the same as their respective ethnic group name. Most Eritreans follow Islam or Christianity (roughly 40 percent each), but indigenous religious beliefs are still widespread. Although Roman Catholics and Protestants are found among the more affluent and Westernized Eritreans, most Christians are Orthodox......
