Native to Kenya Native speakers 7,600 (2009 census) | Ethnicity Aweer ISO 639-3 bob | |
Region Coast Province, North-Eastern Province Language family Afro-Asiatic
Cushitic
Lowland East
Rendille–Boni
Aweer | ||
Aweer (Aweera), also known as Boni (Bon, Bonta), is a Cushitic language spoken in Kenya. Historically known in the literature by the derogatory term Boni, the Aweer people are foragers traditionally subsisting on hunting, gathering, and collecting honey. Their ancestral lands range along the Kenyan coast from the Lamu and Ijara Districts into Southern Somalia's Badaade District.
According to Ethnologue, there are around 8,000 speakers of Aweer or Boni. Aweer has similarities with the Garre. However, its speakers are physically and culturally distinct from the Aweer people.
Evidence suggests that the Aweer/Boni are remnants of the early hunter-gatherer inhabitants of Eastern Africa. According to linguistic, anthropological and other data, these groups later came under the influence and adopted the Afro-Asiatic languages of the Eastern and Southern Cushitic peoples who moved into the area.