# Tukrir

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In [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia) and [Eritrea](/source/Eritrea), the terms '''Tukrīr''' ([Amharic](/source/Amharic_language)) and '''Tǝ<u>k</u><sup>w</sup>ǝrir'''{{efn|Also '''Tu<u>k</u>rir''', plural '''Tä<u>k</u><sup>w</sup>arir'''}} ([Tigrinya](/source/Tigrinya_language)) are used to designate persons of [West](/source/West_Africa) or [Central Africa](/source/Central_Africa)n origin. The terms derives from the city and kingdom of [Takrūr](/source/Takr%C5%ABr) that thrived on the lower [Senegal River](/source/Senegal_River) in the eleventh century. The place was well known to [Arab geographers](/source/Arab_geographers), and an inhabitant of Takrūr or of West Africa in general was called in [Arabic](/source/Arabic) a Takrūrī (plural Takārīr or Takārna) from the 14th century onward. The ''[nisba](/source/Nisba_(onomastics))'' al-Takrūrī was a common surname for one of West African descent. The Ethiopian terms are derived from the Arabic language.<ref name=Smidt>Wolbert Smidt, [https://www.academia.edu/31192096/Tukrir_term_used_for_different_groups_of_West_African_origin_in_Ethiopia_Eritrea_in_Encyclopaedia_Aethiopica_vol._4 "Tukrir"], in Siegbert Uhlig and Alessandro Bausi (eds.), ''[Encyclopaedia Aethiopica](/source/Encyclopaedia_Aethiopica)'', Vol. 4: O-X (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2010), pp. 998–1000.</ref>

The Tukrīr primarily inhabit the western edge of the [Ethiopian Highlands](/source/Ethiopian_Highlands). They are overwhelmingly [Muslim](/source/Muslim). They are mainly [Fulani](/source/Fulani) and [Hausa](/source/Hausa_people) in origin from the region of the former [Kanem–Bornu Empire](/source/Kanem%E2%80%93Bornu_Empire). There were two major periods of immigration from West Africa to Ethiopia. The first coincided with the [Fula jihads](/source/Fula_jihads) that lasted from 1804 until 1842; the second with the [Scramble for Africa](/source/Scramble_for_Africa), when West Africa was colonized by Europeans between 1885 and 1914.<ref name=Smidt/>

In the 19th century there was a Tukrīr [sheikhdom](/source/sheikhdom) with its capital at [Metemma](/source/Metemma), sometimes owing tribute to Ethiopia and at other times to [Egypt](/source/Khedivate_of_Egypt).<ref name=Smidt/> The Takrur were from an earlier colony of west African peoples in Darfur and obtained permission from the Emperor of Ethiopia to make a permanent settlement there.<ref name="Robinson-49">{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=Arthur E. |title=The Tekruri Sheikhs of Gallabat (S. E. Sudan) |journal=Journal of the Royal African Society |date=1926 |volume=26 |issue=101 |page=49 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/716806 |issn=0368-4016}}</ref> It thus ended up dominated by [Fur](/source/Fur_people) from the nearby [Sultanate of Darfur](/source/Sultanate_of_Darfur).<ref name=Smidt/> One notable ruler of the Tukrir was Sheikh Miri, who has been described as "probably the most celebrated of these border chiefs." The Sheikh formed an alliance with the [Khedive](/source/Khedive) some time after [Muhammad Ali of Egypt](/source/Muhammad_Ali_of_Egypt) had conquered the [Sennar sultanate](/source/Sennar_(sultanate)) in 1821, and proclaimed himself independent of the Ethiopian Empire. He accompanied the Egyptians to the [Battle of Kalnabu](/source/Battle_of_Kalnabu), during which the Muslim army was defeated and he was slain.<ref name="Robinson-49"/> It sided with the Mahdists during the [Mahdist War](/source/Mahdist_War) against Ethiopia (1885–1891) and disappeared with the Mahdists' defeat.<ref>'Umar Al-Naqar, "Takrur: the History of a Name", ''The Journal of African History'' '''10''':3 (1969), pp. 365–374, at 366.</ref><ref>Arthur E. Robinson, "The Tekruri Sheikhs of Gallabat (S. E. Sudan)", ''Journal of the Royal African Society'' '''26''':101 (1926), pp. 47–53. {{JSTOR|716806}}</ref>

The term Fallāta (from [Fulani](/source/Fulani)) has largely replaced Takārīr in the [Sudan](/source/Sudan) as a term for immigrants from West Africa.<ref>{{EI2|author=[P. M. Holt](/source/P._M._Holt)|volume=2|title=Fallāta|pages=767–768|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/fallata-SIM_2261}}</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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Category:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
Category:Ethnic groups in Eritrea
Category:Senegambian ethnic groups
Category:Exonyms
Category:History of Islam in Ethiopia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tukrir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tukrir) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tukrir?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.