Guduru (woreda)
Encyclopedia
Guduru is one of the 180 woreda
s in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. This woreda is named after one of the sections of the Macha Oromo, also known as the Torban Guduru ("the seven houses of Guduru"), which coalesced into a kingdom around 1855 under Gama Moras, which lay between the Abay River and the Gibe region
. It was also the location of the Battle of Embabo
, fought 6 June 1882; the Shewa
n forces of Menelik defeated the Gojjam
e army, capturing Negus
Tekle Haymanot
and establishing a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay.
Part of the Misraq Welega Zone
, Guduru is bordered on the south by Jimma Rare
, on the southwest by Jimma Horo
, on the west by Lake Finicha'a, on the northwest by Abay Chomen
, on the north by the Abay River which separates it from the Amhara Region
, and on the east by the Guder River
which separates it from the Mirab Shewa Zone
. The administrative center is Guduru
; other towns in Guduru include Dedu.
, and the remaining 26.6% is considered marshy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Cash crops include niger seed and rape seed.
Industry in the woreda includes 27 grain mills and 3 edible oil mills; there is evidence that construction materials like gravel are also extracted in this woreda. There were 36 Farmers Associations with 14,036 members and 15 Service Cooperatives with 12,898 members. Guduru has 30 kilometers of dry weather road and 30 kilometers of all-weather, for an average of road density of 25.03 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 12.6% of the total population has access to drinking water
.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 151,638, of whom 76,905 are men and 74,733 are women; 7,249 or 4.78% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 13.9%. With an estimated area of 2,397.50 square kilometers, Guduru has an estimated population density of 63.2 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 81.4.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 109,148, of whom 54,085 were men and 55,061 women; 4,059 or 3.72% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Guduru were the Oromo
(96.17%), and the Amhara
(3.71%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.12% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 97.96%, and 2.01% spoke Amharic
; the remaining 0.3% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 72.61% of the population reporting they observed them, while 18.35% of the population said they were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 8.1% were Protestant
.
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...
s in the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of 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...
. This woreda is named after one of the sections of the Macha Oromo, also known as the Torban Guduru ("the seven houses of Guduru"), which coalesced into a kingdom around 1855 under Gama Moras, which lay between the Abay River and the Gibe region
Gibe region
The Gibe region is used to indicate a historic region in modern southwestern Ethiopia, to the west of the Gibe and Omo Rivers, and north of the Gojeb...
. It was also the location of the Battle of Embabo
Battle of Embabo
The Battle of Embabo was fought 6 June 1882, between the Shewan forces of Negus Menelik II and the Gojjame forces of Negus Tekle Haymanot. The forces fought to gain control over the Oromia Region south of the Gibe River. The Gojjame forces under Tekle Haymanot were defeated...
, fought 6 June 1882; the Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
n forces of Menelik defeated the Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
e army, capturing Negus
Negus
Negus is a title in Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic, used for a king and at times also a vassal ruler in pre-1974 Ethiopia and pre-1890 Eritrea. It is subsequently used to translate the word "king" in Biblical and other literature...
Tekle Haymanot
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :...
and establishing a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay.
Part of the Misraq Welega Zone
Misraq Welega Zone
Misraq Welega is one of the 12 Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone acquired its name from the former province of Welega...
, Guduru is bordered on the south by Jimma Rare
Jimma Rare
Jimma Rare is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It shares the name of one of the subgroups of the Oromo people, the Jimma Rare. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Jimma Rare is bordered on the west by Jimma Horo, on the north by Guduru, on the east and south by the Guder River...
, on the southwest by Jimma Horo
Jimma Horo
Jimma Horo is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Jimma Horo is bordered on the south by the Misraq Shewa Zone, on the southwest by Bila Seyo, on the west by Abe Dongoro, on the northwest by Amuru Jarte, on the northeast by Abay Chomen, on the...
, on the west by Lake Finicha'a, on the northwest by Abay Chomen
Abay Chomen
Abay Chomen is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Abay Chomen is bordered on the south by Lake Finicha'a , on the southwest by Jimma Horo, on the northwest by Amuru Jarte, on the north by the Abay River which separates it from the Amhara Region,...
, on the north by the Abay River which separates it from the Amhara Region
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 on the east by the Guder River
Guder River
The Guder is a river of central Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Abay or Blue Nile on the left side; tributaries of the Guder include the Dabissa and the Taranta. The Guder has a drainage area is about 7,011 square kilometers in size....
which separates it from the Mirab Shewa Zone
Mirab Shewa Zone
Mirab Shewa is one of the 12 zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa...
. The administrative center is Guduru
Guduru, Ethiopia
Guduru is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1969 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Guduru woreda.The British traveller C.F...
; other towns in Guduru include Dedu.
Overview
The highest point in this woreda is Mount Habib (2430 meters). Rivers within the woreda include the Abune, Boye, Asendabo, Gebete, Korke, Kersa, Embabo and Dede Wata. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 53.8% is arable or cultivable, 15.3% pasture, 14.3% forestForestry in Ethiopia
In the late nineteenth century, about 30% of Ethiopia was covered with forest. The clearing of land for agricultural use and the cutting of trees for fuel gradually changed the scene, and today forest areas have dwindled to less than 4% of Ethiopia's total land. The northern parts of the highlands...
, and the remaining 26.6% is considered marshy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Cash crops include niger seed and rape seed.
Industry in the woreda includes 27 grain mills and 3 edible oil mills; there is evidence that construction materials like gravel are also extracted in this woreda. There were 36 Farmers Associations with 14,036 members and 15 Service Cooperatives with 12,898 members. Guduru has 30 kilometers of dry weather road and 30 kilometers of all-weather, for an average of road density of 25.03 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 12.6% of the total population has access to drinking water
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the entire world. While access has increased substantially with funding from external aid, much still remains to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of people...
.
Demographics
Based on figures published by 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...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 151,638, of whom 76,905 are men and 74,733 are women; 7,249 or 4.78% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 13.9%. With an estimated area of 2,397.50 square kilometers, Guduru has an estimated population density of 63.2 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 81.4.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 109,148, of whom 54,085 were men and 55,061 women; 4,059 or 3.72% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Guduru were 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...
(96.17%), and 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...
(3.71%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.12% of the population. 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...
was spoken as a first language by 97.96%, and 2.01% spoke 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...
; the remaining 0.3% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 72.61% of the population reporting they observed them, while 18.35% of the population said they were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 8.1% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
.