Tigrinyas
| ከበሳ | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 4.43 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Southern, Central, Northern Red Sea and Anseba Regions | |
 Eritrea
|
4,430,000 |
| Languages | |
| Tigrinya | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christianity (Eritrean Orthodox Church, Catholicism, Protestantism); also Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Agaw · Amhara · Beja people · Beta Israel · Bilen people · Gurage · Harari · Oromo · Saho · Somali · Tigrayans · Tigre | |
The Tigrinyas (also referred to as Biher Tigrinya, Kebessa, and Biher-Tigrinya) are an ethnic group inhabiting central Eritrea, an area spanning the Southern and Central, as well as the Northern Red Sea and Anseba Regions - mostly part of the Eritrean highlands (hence the name Kebessa meaning 'highland' in the local language). Ethnolinguistically, Tigrinyas are related to the Tigrayans of Ethiopia, both of whom speak Tigrinya, an Ethiopian Semitic language belonging to the Afroasiatic family. Most are followers of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They make up roughly 55% of Eritrea's population numbering 3.4 million people. They are not to be confused with the Tigre people who speak Tigre, a closely related Afroasiatic language.
Native Tigrinya speakers in Eritrea are known as Bihére-Tigrinya (or simply, Tigrinya), while in Ethiopia, they are called Tigrayans. Tigray-Tigrinyas of Muslim faith are commonly referred to as Jeberti. Historically, the people who live in the highlands found between Red Sea and Tekezé River were referred as Tigré people by foreign scholars who traveled in the region like James Bruce and Henry Salt (Egyptologist).
The explorer James Bruce reported in 1770 that the Medri Bahri kingdom centered in Eritrea was a distinct political entity from Abyssinia, noting that the two territories were frequently in conflict. The Bahre-Nagassi ("Kings of the Sea") alternately fought with or against the Abyssinians and the neighbouring Muslim Adal Sultanate depending on the geopolitical circumstances. Medri Bahri was thus part of the Christian resistance against Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of Adal's forces, but later joined the Adalite states and the Ottoman Empire front against Abyssinia in 1572. That 16th century also marked the arrival of the Ottomans, who began making inroads in the Red Sea area. Bruce noted "They next passed the Mareb, which is the boundary between Tigre and the Baharnagash".
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