 (2009) on the genetic affiliations of various populations in Africa.According to Bayesian clustering analysis, the Iraqw generally grouped with other Afroasiatic-speaking populations inhabiting the Great Lakes region, with these lacustrine groups forming a cluster distinct from that of the Afroasiatic-speaking populations in the Horn of Africa, North Africa and the Sahara.This difference was attributed to marked genetic exchanges between the Iraqw and neighboring Nilo-Saharan and Bantu communities over the past 5,000 or so years.