Welayta people
Encyclopedia
Wolayta (Ethiopic: ወላይታ Wolaytta) is the name of an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia
. According to the most recent census (2007), they number 1.7 million people or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are urban inhabitants. Their language, Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic
branch of the Afro-Asiatic
language family.
into the regions south of Shewa
during the early 1890s. The war of conquest has been described by Bahru Zewde as "one of the bloodiest campaigns of the whole period of expansion", and Wolayta oral tradition holds that 118,000 Welayta and 90,000 Shewan troops died in the fighting. Kawo (King) Tona, the last king of Welayta, was defeated and Welayta conquered in 1896. Welayta was then incorporated into the Ethiopia Empire. However, Welayta had a form of self-administrative status and was ruled by Governors directly accountable to the king until the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie
in 1974. The Derg
afterwards restructured the country and included Welayta as a part of the province of Sidamo
.
In 1991 the Transitional Government of Ethiopia
(TGE) restructured the country into ethnically-based Regions
, and Welayta became the centre of Region 9. Later, Welayta was included in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR, consisting of the former regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) as part of the Semien Omo Zone
. The regional government claimed that the Welayta were so closely related to the other Omotic-speaking peoples of that zone that there was no justification for a separate Welayta zone
. Welayta leaders, however, stressed that their people had a distinct language and culture and demanded a zone for themselves. In 1998, the regional government attempted to introduce an artificially constructed language, based on the various local North Omotic languages and dialects, as the new language of education and administration for Semien Omo Zone. This triggered violent protests by Welayta students, teachers and civil servants, which led to the withdrawal of the new language. In November 2000, the Welayta Zone was established.
Welayta people play a significant role in the politics and economy of Ethiopia. They are Highly Educated and civilized people in Ethiopia where a number of elites and intellectuals are serving the country with honesty and dignity. They are known for their humble personalities and friendly approaches. Wolaytas are 100% Christians with majority of Protestant followers.
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...
. According to the most recent census (2007), they number 1.7 million people or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are urban inhabitants. Their language, Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic
Omotic languages
The Omotic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic family spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. The Ge'ez alphabet is used to write some Omotic languages, the Roman alphabet for some others. They are fairly agglutinative, and have complex tonal systems .-Language list:The North and South Omotic...
branch of the Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
language family.
History
The people of wolayta has rich history. Wolayta's are known for their patriotism,rich culture and extremely modern music. The people of wolayta had its own kingdom for thousands of years with kings (Kawo) who had monarchical administration.The earlier name of the kingdom was The famous Kingdom of Damot which had included south,south east,south west and part of central Ethiopia(current ). The famous King of this Kingdom was King(Kawo) Motolomi who is mentioned in GEDLE TEKLEHAIMANOT as invader of the north and the king who surrendered A mother of Saint TekleHaimanot. Saint Teklehaimanot is assumed to be son of this king by Most of wolaytas. After the defiet of the kingdom by north the kingdom shrink-ed to the current size and the name was changed to Kingdom of wolayta and remained the same for hundreds of years until the expansion of Emperor Menelik IIMenelek II of Ethiopia
Emperor Menelik II GCB, GCMG, baptized as Sahle Maryam , was Negus of Shewa , then of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state had been completed by 1898...
into the regions south of Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
during the early 1890s. The war of conquest has been described by Bahru Zewde as "one of the bloodiest campaigns of the whole period of expansion", and Wolayta oral tradition holds that 118,000 Welayta and 90,000 Shewan troops died in the fighting. Kawo (King) Tona, the last king of Welayta, was defeated and Welayta conquered in 1896. Welayta was then incorporated into the Ethiopia Empire. However, Welayta had a form of self-administrative status and was ruled by Governors directly accountable to the king until the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
in 1974. The Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
afterwards restructured the country and included Welayta as a part of the province of Sidamo
Sidamo Province
Sidamo was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Irgalem, and after 1978 at Awasa. It was named after an ethnic group native to Ethiopia, called the Sidamo, or more particularly, Sidama, who are located in the south-central part of that country...
.
In 1991 the Transitional Government of Ethiopia
Transitional Government of Ethiopia
The Transitional government of Ethiopia was established immediately after the fall of the Dergue regime. It was led by Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. Zenawi remains the prime minister of Ethiopia to this day....
(TGE) restructured the country into ethnically-based Regions
Regions of Ethiopia
||Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions and two chartered cities...
, and Welayta became the centre of Region 9. Later, Welayta was included in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR, consisting of the former regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) as part of the Semien Omo Zone
Semien Omo Zone
Semien Omo was a Zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region . It was named after the Omo River, which flows in the western area of the former zone...
. The regional government claimed that the Welayta were so closely related to the other Omotic-speaking peoples of that zone that there was no justification for a separate Welayta zone
Zones of Ethiopia
||The regions of Ethiopia are divided into 68 or more zones . The exact number of zones is unclear, as the names and number of zones given in documents by Ethiopia's Central Statistical Agency differ between 2005...
. Welayta leaders, however, stressed that their people had a distinct language and culture and demanded a zone for themselves. In 1998, the regional government attempted to introduce an artificially constructed language, based on the various local North Omotic languages and dialects, as the new language of education and administration for Semien Omo Zone. This triggered violent protests by Welayta students, teachers and civil servants, which led to the withdrawal of the new language. In November 2000, the Welayta Zone was established.
Welayta people play a significant role in the politics and economy of Ethiopia. They are Highly Educated and civilized people in Ethiopia where a number of elites and intellectuals are serving the country with honesty and dignity. They are known for their humble personalities and friendly approaches. Wolaytas are 100% Christians with majority of Protestant followers.
Famous people
- Dejazmach Girma Sanato- Commander of a southern Ethiopian militia during the Battle of Adwa
- Hon. AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
Teshome Toga Chanaka - Speaker of the House Peoples' Reperesentatives - W.O.Warrant OfficerA warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
Manjura - one of the top officers in the Ethiopian Air ForceEthiopian Air ForceThe Ethiopian Air Force is the air arm of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and is tasked with protecting the air space, providing support to the ground forces as well as assisting during national emergencies.- Early years :...
during Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I - Bogale Walelu Minister of Education during the reign of Haile Selassie.
- Hon. Leuleselassie Temamo - Minister of Culture and Sports during the TGE in 1991-1994. Leueleselassie Temamo was the first Welayta to serve as a Minister in an Ethiopian government. He studed at Addis Ababa UniversityAddis Ababa UniversityAddis Ababa University is a university in Ethiopia. It was originally named "University College of Addis Ababa" at its founding, then renamed for the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I in 1962, receiving its current name in 1975.Although the university has six of its seven campuses within...
during the reign of Haile Selassie where he received his Bachelor's, then went to the USA where he received his Masters. - Haile Mariam Desalegn, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia
- Teclewold Atnafu, Governor of the national Bank of Ethiopia