Argobba people
Encyclopedia
The Argobba are a Muslim
people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area. These factors have led to the decline of the Argobba language
.
Argobba communities can be found in the Afar
, Amhara
, and Oromia
Regions, in and along the Great Rift Valley
. They include Yimlawo, Gusa, Shonke, Berehet
, Khayr Amba, Melkajillo, Metehara
, Shewa Robit
, and the surrounding rural villages.
In some places the Argobba language has homogenized with Amharic
. In other places the people have shifted to neighboring languages for economic reasons. At this time there are only a few areas left where the Argobba are not at least bilingual in Amharic, Oromiffa
or Afar
. All of these languages have a literature that can be used to serve the Argobba, even though their current literacy rate in any language is low; the Argobba reportedly do not like
to send their children to school because they will be influenced by the non-Moslem world. This is the same reason that the Argobba do not go to court.
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area. These factors have led to the decline of the Argobba language
Argobba language
Argobba is an Ethiopian Semitic spoken in an area north-east of Addis Ababa by the Argobba people. It belongs to the South Ethiopian Semitic subgroup together with Amharic and the Gurage languages...
.
Argobba communities can be found in the Afar
Afar Region
Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....
, Amhara
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
, and Oromia
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
Regions, in and along the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
. They include Yimlawo, Gusa, Shonke, Berehet
Berehet
Berehet is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Shewa Zone, Berehet is bordered on the south by the Germama River which separates it from Menjarna Shenkora, on the west by Hagere Mariamna Kesem, on the northeast by Angolalla Terana Asagirt, on the north by...
, Khayr Amba, Melkajillo, Metehara
Metehara
Metehara is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 947 meters above sea level....
, Shewa Robit
Shewa Robit
Shewa Robit is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation of 1280 meters above sea level...
, and the surrounding rural villages.
In some places the Argobba language has homogenized with Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
. In other places the people have shifted to neighboring languages for economic reasons. At this time there are only a few areas left where the Argobba are not at least bilingual in Amharic, Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
or Afar
Afar language
Afar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent...
. All of these languages have a literature that can be used to serve the Argobba, even though their current literacy rate in any language is low; the Argobba reportedly do not like
to send their children to school because they will be influenced by the non-Moslem world. This is the same reason that the Argobba do not go to court.
External links
- Aklilu Asfaw, "A short History of the Argobba", Annales d'Ethiopie, 16 (2000), pp. 173–183.