The Madhiban (Somali: Madhibaan), also known as Gaboye,[4] are an artisanal caste among Somali people.[5][6][7] They have been endogamous, and their traditional hereditary occupation has been as hunters.[8][9]
The Madhiban have been one of the low status castes among the Somalis, along with Tumal and others.[5][10][11]
The Madhiban are a part of the Somali ethnic group found in East Africa, particularly in Somalia, Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya, and Djibouti.[4][12]
According to a 1960 count, they numbered around 20,000 out of 640,000 Somalis in parts of Somalia that were within the then British Protectorate. Their numbers in other parts of Somalia and other Somali regions were unknown.[13]An article published by the UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) indicates that the Daami district of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, is home to 8,000 Gabooye families, comprising approximately 48,000 people (UN 2 July 2010).[3]
The terms Madhiban, Midgan or Midgaan for this Somali caste are found in historic literature, but in modern discourse, the term Gaboye is increasingly common. This caste is distinct from the Tumal and Yibir outcast communities because each is accused of things different from each other in Somali society.[7]
The Madhiban were historically hunters, but now engage in occupations like leather work (shoemaking). They also are the traditional circumcision performers for both males,[14][15] and females in the Somali society.[16][17] These professions have traditionally been considered dirty, and the Madhiban have been a part of the sab or lower castes as opposed to the aji or upper castes.[18] Aji in the Madhiban language means “dirty water that you cannot drink or perform Islamic ablution with”.
According to Lee Gunderson, Dennis Murphy Odo and Reginald D'Silva, the Midgan have traditionally been treated as a low caste, scorned and reviled.[19] A Midgan-Madiban has been deemed as polluting and therefore avoided as a taboo in the Somali society.[19][20][7]
In 1890 Élisée Reclus, in his encyclopedic work "The Earth and its Inhabitants: AFRICA" (Vol. IV, South and East Africa) described the Madhiban (Midgan) as follows: In still greater contempt are held the Midgans, called also Rami, that is to say "Archers," who are universally regarded as the lowest of the low. They worship trees and snakes, and eat all the prohibited food, such as fish, fowl, eggs, hares, and gazelles. They are also daring hunters, fearlessly attacking the lion and the elephant, whom they pierce with their poisoned arrows. Like the Yebirs, the Midgans also practise medicine, and have the reputation of being extremely clever charlatans. According to the Somali legends, the lower castes are the issue of crossings between Abyssinian women and maleficent genii, while the Midgans are of still more degraded origin, their ancestors having been the slaves of these Abyssinian women.[21]
Under Somalia's military administration, some Madhiban were appointed to positions within the government to promote integration. The Madhiban have since obtained wider political representation. Their general social status has also improved with the expansion of urban centers.[22]
The first recorded reference to the Madhibaan people dates back to 1435 in Suleiman's translation of Ibn Majid's writings and poems found in Ababn Majid. In this text, Suleiman identifies the Madhibaan as Al-Midgaan, emphasizing their distinction as a separate nation from the Somali people. He briefly mentions the name Al Somali as well.[23]
Pipalo, alternatively known as the Madhiban Sultanate, emerged as a historical kingdom between the 6th and 8th centuries, flourishing until the 14th century in the region between Berbera and Zeila. Over this extensive timeline, the kingdom evolved, encompassing four major cities and numerous towns, and establishing a distinctive presence in the historical narrative.[24]
Renowned for their reliance on camels and sheep, the inhabitants of Pipalo utilized these animals for sustenance and culinary purposes. The kingdom's significance extended beyond its faunal richness, as it became a prominent exporter of valuable commodities like ambergris, large elephant tusks, and rhinoceros horns, some exceeding ten catties in weight.
In addition to its economic prosperity, Pipalo boasted affluence in myrrh, liquid storax gum, and remarkably thick tortoise shells. The kingdom's unique combination of natural resources and distinctive wildlife, including the elusive "camel-crane" and the unique tsu-la, contributed to its cultural identity.[25]
A notable aspect of Pipalo's cultural practices was the inhabitants' hunting expertise. Skilled marksmen, they employed poisoned arrows to capture and hunt the indigenous wildlife. This hunting tradition added a unique dimension to Pipalo's historical significance, making it a notable player in the regional dynamics until the 14th century.[26]
The Madhiban caste is not an exception limited to the Somali ethnic group, and equivalent cognate caste is found in numerous ethnic groups in East Africa.[27][28] According to Donald Levine – a professor of Sociology specializing in Ethiopian and Horn of Africa studies, similar caste groups in different languages and ethnic groups have been integral part of societies of this region.[27] These strata have featured all the defining characteristics of caste, states Levine, characteristics such as "endogamy, hierarchy, status, concepts of pollution, restraints on commensality, a traditional occupation and membership by birth".[29] In eastern Ethiopia ethnic groups, such as the Oromo people, cognates to Somali castes have been recorded in 16th century texts, states Cornelius Jaenen.[30] The table below illustrate some alternate terms for castes mirroring the Madhiban in other ethnic groups that share this region with the Somali people.[31]
^Kirk, J. W. C. (1904). "The Yibirs and Midgàns of Somaliland, Their Traditions and Dialects". Journal of the Royal African Society. 4 (13): 91–108. JSTOR714933.
^Gallo, Pia Grassivaro; Tita, Eleanora; Viviani, Franco (2006). "At the Roots of Ethnic Female Genital Modification: Preliminary Report". Bodily Integrity and the Politics of Circumcision. pp. 49–55. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-4916-3_4. ISBN978-1-4020-4915-6.
^Hopkins, L. C. (October 1912). Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, entitled Chu Fan Chï. Translated from the Chinese and Annotated by Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill. St. Petersburg: Printing Office of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
^Hopkins, L. C. (October 1912). Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, entitled Chu Fan Chï. Translated from the Chinese and Annotated by Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill. St. Petersburg: Printing Office of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
^Hopkins, L. C. (October 1912). Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, entitled Chu Fan Chï. Translated from the Chinese and Annotated by Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill. St. Petersburg: Printing Office of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
^ abShack, William A. (1964). "54. Notes on Occupational Castes Among the Gurage of South-West Ethiopia". Man. 64. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland: 50–52. doi:10.2307/2797801. JSTOR2797801.
Ethiopia, 
Kenya, 
Somalia
Djibouti
