Forms of social stratification found in various African ethnic groups
Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa.[1] These caste systems feature endogamy, hierarchical status, inherited occupation, membership by birth, pollution concepts and restraints on commensality.[2]
^Tal Tamari (1991). "The Development of Caste Systems in West Africa". The Journal of African History. 32 (2). Cambridge University Press: 221–250. doi:10.1017/s0021853700025718. JSTOR182616. S2CID162509491., Quote: "Castes, endogamous artisan and musician groups, are characteristic of over fifteen West African peoples, inhabiting at least fourteen states. They are found among the Soninke, the various Manding-speaking populations (including the Bambara, Malinke and Khassonke), the Wolof, Tukulor, Senufo, Minianka, Dogon, Songhay, and most Fulani, Moorish and Tuareg populations".
^Cite error: The named reference Levine2014p56 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference Tamari 1991p13c was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference DeCorse2001p17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Tal Tamari (2005), Kingship and Caste in Africa: History, Diffusion and Evolution, Editor: Declan Quigley in The Character of Kingship, Berg, ISBN978-184-520-2910, pages 141–169
^David Reich (2019), Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human PastISBN978-019-882-1250, pages 219-223. Quote: "Today there is an intricate caste system that shapes the lives of many people within Ethiopia, with elaborate rules preventing marriage between groups with different traditional roles. The Ari include three subgroups--the Cultivators, Blacksmiths, and Potters--who are socially and genetically differentiated from one another and from non-Ari groups. Since the Ari have a distinctive genetic affinity to the forty-five-hundred-year-old ancient highland individual compared to other Ethiopian groups, it is clear that there were strong local barriers to gene exchange and homogenization within the region of present-day Ethiopia that persisted for at least forty-five hundred years. This is the best example of strong endogamy that I know of even more ancient than the evidence of endogamy in India that so far is only documented as going back a couple of thousand
years."