SAHO

also spelled Sao, Shaho, Shoho, or Shiho, also called Afar-saho, language spoken by several peoples, most of whom inhabit the coastal plains of southern Eritrea. Saho is generally classified as an Eastern Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family. The Saho-speaking peoples are bordered to the north by the Tigre, to the west by the Tigray, and to the south and east by the Afar, with whose language their own forms a single group. Most of the Saho speakers are Muslims who practice Sufism, or Islamic mysticism. They are almost all nomadic shepherds, migrating in the winter to the coastal plains with their herds of camels, sheep, and goats. The largest single unit of Saho speakers is the Asaorta, who practice intensive cultivation, having adopted their methods from the neighbouring Amhara; the Asaorta are Muslims. The Minifere of southern Eritrea comprise a mixture of Christians and Muslims and are said to constitute a buffer zone that prevents northern expansion by the Afar. The northernmost Saho group is the Teroa, who are unique among the Saho pastoralists in possessing large herds of oxen. Other groups include the Hazu, nomads living in perpetual feud with the Afar; the Debri-Mela, composed of Saho-speaking Muslims and Ethiopic Christians who speak both Saho and Tigr; and small Arab clans that have an important influence in the Islamization of the whole region. The Saho numbered more than 100,000 in the late 20th century.