Erer
Encyclopedia
Erer is a town in central Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Shinile Zone
Shinile Zone
Shinile is one of nine Zones of the Ethiopian Somali Region. Shinile is named for its largest town, Shinile.Located at the northwestern point of the Somali Region, and stretching across the savanna north of the Amhar mountains, Shinile is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by...
of the Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
, it has a longitude and latitude of 9°34′N 41°23′E and an altitude of 1129 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Erer
Erer (woreda)
Erer is one of the 47 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Shinile Zone, available maps disagree on its exact location: according to the OCHA map for the Somali Region , Erer is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the southwest by Afdem, on the west by the Afar Region,...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.
Overview
Erer has had telephone service at least as early as 1967. Records at the Nordic Africa Institute website provide details of a primary school in Bentu Liben during the year 1968. Erer is served by a stationRailway stations in Ethiopia
All railway stations in Ethiopia are served by the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway. These include:- Now defunct : Addis Ababa - national capital* Akaka Beseka* Debre Zeyit * Mojo...
on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway.
W.C. Barker recorded in 1842 that Erer was a usual stopping-point for caravans moving between Ankober
Ankober
Ankober is a town in central Ethiopia and one of the capitals of the former kingdom of Shewa. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, Ankober is perched on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands 40 kilometers to the east of Debre Birhan, with a latitude and longitude of ,...
and Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
, citing the words of an acquaintance who described the location as "a place at the foot of the Galla
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
hills, where there is a wadi with excellent water." As to the inhabitants, Barker notes that north of Erer dwelled the Gurgura, "who are Mahomedans
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...
", and subject to the Issa
Issa (clan)
The Issa are a Somali clan, a sub-clan of the Dir. The Issa primarily reside in Djibouti, the extreme northwestern fringe in the Awdal district of Somaliland in northern Somalia, as well as the Shinile Zone located in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.-Lineage:...
Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
; to the south were the Argobba
Argobba people
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...
; and to the east were the Nole and Ala Oromo, "the former occuping the N. and the latter the S. side of the road to Harrar."
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
of Ethiopia published in 2005, Erer has an estimated total population of 7,490 of whom 3,797 are men and 3,693 women. The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 5,027 of whom 2,509 were men and 2,518 women. The four largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
(38.07%), the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(33.1%), the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(21.24%), and the Gurage (4.97%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 2.71% of the residents.