Aweer in Somalia

People Name:	Aweer
Country:	Somalia
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	400
World Population:	21,400
Primary Language:	Aweer
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	2.00 %
Evangelicals:	1.00 %
Scripture:	Portions
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Khoisan
Affinity Bloc:	Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

Aweer people are an ethnic group inhabiting the Coastal Province in southeastern Kenya and southern Somalia. They are historically known as Boni or Sanye, derogatory terms for low-status groups. There are so few of them that their language is threatened with extinction.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Aweer in Kenya and Somalia are indigenous foragers, traditionally subsisting on hunting, gathering and collecting honey. They also continue to engage in many of their traditional hunter-gatherer practices, utilizing the nearby forests for the collection of wild honey, plants for traditional medicine and building materials. They sometimes have bush meat to supplement their diet. Some men have more than one wife. Each wife has her own house in which she lives with her children. The husband does not have his own home but lives with each wife periodically.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Aweer people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship. The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah. Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will. Like most Muslims, the Aweer people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

The Aweer people don’t yet know there is a sovereign and holy God who can take care of their spiritual and physical needs. As it stands, they depend on charms and other objects to protect them.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to demonstrate his love and power by providing for Aweer families.
Pray for the Lord to give the Aweer people a sense of spiritual need.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers to the Aweer people in Somalia.
Pray for Aweer disciple to make more disciples.