Administraion

The Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Regional State (SNNPRS), located in the south-west, is the most densely populated part of Ethiopia and one of the most ethnically diverse regions on earth, home to 56 indigenous ethnic groups in an area smaller than Ireland. It covers 117,506km2 (~10% of Ethiopia) and its elevation ranges from 378m to 4207m above sea level. The current population of the region is about 14 million people (~20% of the Ethiopian total).

The SNNPRS region is divided into 13 adminustrative zones, based on ethnic territories within the region (Sidamo, Gedeo, Gamo-Gofa, South Omo, Keffa, Wolayita, Skeka, Dawaro, Benchmaji, Kimbata-Tembaro, Hadya, Gurage, Sultie) and 8 special woredas are also designated to smaller minorities (Alaba, Konso, Burji, Amaro, Derashe, Konta, Basketo and Yem)

Environment

Different agro-climatic zones exist in the region but the Woina-Dega (Moist to sub-humid warm subtropical climate) areas, which are situated between 1500-2300 meters elevation, are the most important in terms of agricultural productivity. Most of these areas in the region are categorized as High Potential Perennial zones where the two dominant perennial crops, Enset and coffee are grown in an intimate association with other crops, trees and livestock in multi-storey home garden agro-forestry systems.

The diverse climate, topography, water and forest resources of the region provide a wide range of habitats, supporting a diversity fauna and flora; 277 species of mammals including 7 endemic species and 847 species of birds including 16 endemic species are known.

Peoples of the Southern Region

The people of the SNNPR’s comprise a tribal matrix of 56 ethno-linguistic groups including Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilotic peoples ranging from fair skinned Semitic highland farmers of Ghuragie and Silt’e, to the south of Addis Ababa, to the archetypal African lowland nomads of the Omo valley, on the Kenyan borderlands, whose blood drinking, paganism and tribal way of life are
shunned as primitive and barbaric by the majority Orthodox Christian habesha to the north.

People of the Southern Highlands

Gurage

The Gurage people inhabit a semi-fertile, highland region about 150 miles south-west of Addis Ababa. Their homeland extends to the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River (a tributary of the Omo) to the south-west, to Lake Zway in the east. Over 50 % of the Gurage are Orthodox Christians and 40 % are Muslim. According to the 1994 Ethiopian census Gurage comprise about 4.3 % of Ethiopia's population, 3 million people.

According to the historian Paul B. Henze, the origins of the Gurage are explained by military expeditions to the south, during the Axumite Kingdom, which left colonies that became isolated from northern Ethiopia.

They live a sedentary life of agriculture, involving a complex system of crop rotation and transplanting. Enset is their main staple crop. It has a place in everyday interactions among community members as well as specific roles in rituals. Uses of Ensete include wrapping a corpse after death, or a baby after birth, the umbilical cord being tied off with an ensete fiber. Other cash crops are include coffee and chat. Animal husbandry is practiced, for milk and dung. Other foods consumed include green cabbage, cheese, butter, and roasted grains, with meat consumption being very limited to special occastions when it is often consumed raw as Kitfo. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Silt’e are neighbours of the Gurage, formerly considered as a Gurage sub-group. They live a similar lifestyle but have a distinct language and are 100% Muslim. They do not consider themselves to be Gurage at all, and in a referendum in 2000 they voted to break away from the Gurage Zone forming their own Silt’e Zone.

Alaba

The Alaba live on the central highlands, extending down into the Rift Valley, some 250-300km south of Addis Ababa. The land is flat and dry with savannah type vegetation. Maize, teff and red pepper are the main crops cultivated. The Bilate River borders the Alaba country on the west side towards the Kambaata Zone. Both these people’s languages are close to Highland East Cushitic languages. The Alaba has been administrated under the Kambaata for years although at the moment Alaba is a special administrative area by itself.

The administrative capital, Alaba Kulito, has 25,000 inhabitants, a big busy market, a few Protestant churches and a noticeable Orthodox population. However the rural population of Alaba is totally Muslim. There are now 36 schools in the Alaba zone, catering to some 26,000 students.

 
The life style of the Alabas, as with most Ethiopians, is very humble. Most houses are round thatch-roofed tukuls, made of wood and mud with mud floors. 85% of the people carry their drinking water, often long distances, from rivers and ponds. Firewood and tree leaves are used for cooking.
(http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=ET)

Kambata

The Kambata are an ethnic group dwelling on the lip of the rift valley about 350 miles south of Addis Abeba, bordered on the north by the Hadiya and Alaba, on the south by the Tembaro and Wolayta, on the west by the Wolayta and Hadiya, and on the east by the Billate river, which separates them from the Arsi Oromo. They are predominantly sedentary agriculturalists cultivating Enset and some grains. Ensete cultivation, is carried out in close to the residence, allowing closely clustered villages throughout the area. The Kambata, like other southern Ethiopian peoples, were independent from the centralized Amhara rule prior to the conquests of Menelik II, 1889-1905.

Their region was formerly a polity known as The Kingdom of Kambata, covering the whole area now occupied by the Kambata, the Hadiya, the Alaba, the Donga, the Tembaro, the Dubamo and the Masmas peoples, jointly referred to as the “Kambata peoples”. They occupy an area of about 1,200 square kilometres, largely more than 2,000 meters above sea-level, between the Omo (Gibe) and the middle Bilate rivers. The language of the Kambata peoples, together with the Alaba forms a branch of “Highland East Cushitic” languages.

Wolaita

The Wolaita people formerly established a kingdom in the highlands to the east of Sidama. According to the 2007 census, they number 1.7 million (people 2.31% of the natioal population), of whom 289,707 are urban.

The kingdom of Wolaita met its demise with the expansion of Menelik II into the south during the early 1890s. Kawo, the last king of Welayta, was defeated and Welayta conquered in 1896 and Welayta was incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire. However, Welayta had a form of self-administrative until the fall of Haile Selassie in 1974. The Derg afterwards restructured the country and included Welayta as a part of the province of Sidamo. Since November 2001, Welayta has had Zone status within the SNNPRS. (Wikipedia)
 


The Wolaytta speak an Omotic language. There are conflicting claims about how widely Wolaytta is spoken. Some hold that Melo, Oyda, and Gamo-Gofa-Dawro are also dialects of the same language, but most authorities, including Ethnologue now list these as separate languages, though they are mostly mutually comprehensible, yet the different communities of speakers recognize them as separate languages. (Wikipedia)

Gamo 
 
The Gamo live in the higlands to the south of Wolayta, extending down into the Rift Valley around Arbaminch and into Kamba Woreda to the south. Their language is close to that of the Wolaita, Gofa and Dowro peoples. All are languages are mutially intelligible, though with different accents.

The name "Gamo" means “lion”. The 2007 Ethiopian national census reported that 1,107,163 people (or 1.5% of the population) identified themselves as Gamos.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo_people)

They are cultivate much of ethiopia’s fruits including banana, mango which is exproted to Addis Ababa. Their agricutlre ranges from lowland to the highlands around Chencha, where they cultuvate maily Enset, but even grow Apples!

The Dorze are a famous sub-group of the Gamo, living in one small village between Arbaminch (the Gamo-Gofa zone capital) and Chencha. The Dorze are famous for their weaving and their bamboo houses, which resembe beehives, constructed like giant inverted baskets, around 5m tall. Their main staple is Kocho, made from Enset.

Sidama

The Sidama live between Awasa in the north and Dilla in the south, numbering over 3 million people. They are the sixth most populous nation in Ethiopia.

Sidama is generally a fertile area, varying from flat land (warm to hot) to highland (warm to cold). Economically, most are subsistence farmers. Cattle especially, are a measure of wealth. Sidama is a major coffee growing area and its prized coffee is found on the world market. Enset, along with maize, as well as yoghurt and butter, are the major staple foods of the Sidama. Awasa, the region's main centre, has a population of about 300,000. Since the end of the Communist regime in 1992, the population has grown tremendously and there is a pattern of urban migration, in search of education and jobs.

The Sidama language is called Sidaamu-afoo. The majority of the Sidama people have native African religion and less than half of them are born-again Christians. A few are Ethiopian Orthodox or Muslim.

The Sidama preserved their way of life and cultural heritage including their own religion until as recently as late 1880s when they lost out due to conquest by Oromo kingdoms, and later by Menelek II. Before this, the Sidama had its own well established administrative systems that predates 10th century, made up of a loose coalition of Sidama kingdoms. (Wikipedia)

Omo Valley Peoples (South Omo Zone)

Mursi

The Mursi are pastoralists of the lower Omo valley. Mursiland lies in the Sala Mago Wereda of South Omo Zone, populated by the Mursi as well as the Bodi in the lowlands and Dime in the highlands to the north-east. In addition, 7000 Konso farmers have been moved into Sala Mago under the government’s resettlement programme in 2004. (REF) They occupy six settlements between Hana, the woreda capital (in Bodi territory), and the Dime market town of Utsa. Due to the undeveloped road system in the woreda, Sala Mago has less access to government services than any other woreda in the Zone, especially the Mursi, who must walk at least a day to reach Hana.

The Mursi language is called Mursi. Few Mursi know Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and literacy very low. Most Mursi are Animists, but about 15% are now Christians. Mursi women are famous for wearing lip-plates, which are made of clay. Girls’ lower lips are pierced at the age of 15 or 16. Like most Omo tribes the Mursi are fierce warriors. Men scarify their shoulders and shave geometric patterns on their head after killing an enemy. During dances and ceremonies they adorn literally every part of their body with white chalk paint.



Males practice ritual stick fighting tournaments, during which pairs duel with tree meter wooden lances. The winner is carried on top of poles to girls waiting beside the arena, who decide among themselves which of them will ask his hand in marriage.

The Mursi are in danger of displacement and/or denial of access to grazing and agricultural land, by African Parks Foundation, of the Netherlands. It is claimed the Mursi were coerced into signing documents they could not read by government park officials. The documents said the Mursi agreed to give up their land without compensation. The documents are being used to legalize the boundaries of the Omo National Park, which African Parks has taken over. This process, when finished, will make the Mursi 'illegal squatters' on their own land. A similar fate is befalling the Suri Cruz, Dizi, Me'en, and Nyangatom, who also live within the park.[2] 

Mursi Online 
The Mursi Language 
National Geographic Photo Gallery 
Mursi in danger of denial of access or displacement 
An anthropologist's comments on the Mursi and the Omo Park situation

The Bodi

The Bodi are agro pastoralists of Nilo-Saharan stock. They cultivate some sorghum along the banks of the Omo River, but their culture is very much cattle based. Like with the Mursi, livestock play an important role in marriage, divination, and name-giving rituals. The Bodi classification of cattle is complex, with over eighty words to denote different colors and patterns. Bodi dress is simple. The women wear goatskins tied at the waist and shoulder, while men fasten a strip of cotton or bark-cloth around their waist. More information about the Bodi

As opposed to stick fiting the Bodi have an annual fat-man contest! The fattest guy gets to chose the hottest chick! They fatten up for the contest by drinking milk and blood for the preceding months, so the men with the most cattle are likely to be the fattest.

Hamer

The Hamer are agro-pastoralists in the southern Omo Valley, numbering about 30,000. They are known for their body adornment, wearing a multitude of colorful beads. Women adorn their necks with heavy polished iron jewellery. Hamer society consists of a complex system of age grades. Passing from one grade to another involves complicated rituals. The most significant ceremony for young men is the "jumping of the bull" - the final test before passing into adulthood and marriage.



Several days before the ceremony, initiates pass out invitations in the form of dried knotted grass. The ceremony lasts three days. Late in the afternoon on the final day, ten to thirty bulls are lined up side by side. The naked initiate runs and vaults onto the first bull's back and then runs along the whole line. Then he turns back to repeat the performance in the opposite direction. He must make this unstable journey without falling. Upon completion of the ceremony the new bride and his other female relatives submit to a ritual flogging by the initiated one, and continue to display with pride the resulting scars, regarded as a proof of their devotion to their husbands.



Account of the Hamer cow-jumping festival by Melissa Lunstead.

Nyangyatom

The Nyangyatom, (also known as Bume) live south of Omo National Park. They occasionally migrate into the lower regions of the park when water or grazing is scarce. Numbering around 6-7000 in population, the Bumi are agro-pastoralists, relying on cattle herding and flood-retreat agriculture (consisting mainly of sorghum harvesting on the Omo and Kibish Rivers).



The Bumi tend to indulge in honey and frequently smoke out beehives in the Park to get to the honey inside the nests. The Bumi are known to be great warriors and, quite frequently, active warmongers, they are often at war with the neighboring tribes including the Hamer, the Karo and the Surma. Small groups of Bumi living along the Omo are specialized crocodile hunters using harpoons from a dugout canoe. The elders of both sexes wear a lower lip plug, the men's being made from ivory and women's made from copper filigree. More info on Bume (Nyangnatom)


Karo

The Karo, who number only about 3,000 people, practice flood retreat cultivation on the banks of the Omo River. The Karo excel in body painting, practiced in preparation of their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore and black charcoal to decorate their bodies, often imitating the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. Feather plumes are inserted in their clay hair-buns to complete the look. The clay hair-bun can take up to three days to construct and is usually re-made every three to six months. Their painted facemasks are spectacular. Karo women scarify their chests to beautify themselves. Scars are cut with a knife and ash is rubbed in to produce a raised welt. According to the Murulle Foundation, the Karo tribes' existence is somewhat precarious today.



The inevitability of the encroaching populace and the introduction of modern weaponry has affected their already delicate ecosystem. Being the smallest tribe in the area, this group obviously struggles with direct threats from nearby tribes that have more gun power, greater numbers, may form coalitions with one another.

Dasenich

The Daasanech (also known as Geleb) are traditionally a pastoral people but have become agropastoral, having lost the majority of their lands over the past fifty years, primarily as a result of exclusion from their traditional Kenyan lands, on both sides of Lake Turkana, and the ‘Ilemi Triangle’ of Sudan. They have lost numbers huge numbers of cattle, goats and sheep and many have moved to areas closer to the Omo, where they attempt to grow enough crops to survive. There is much disease along the river (including tsetse fly making this solution to their economic plight difficult. Like many pastoral peoples in this region, the Dassanech are a highly egalitarian society, with a social system involving age sets and clan lineages.

The Daasanach language is a Cushitic language, notable for its large number of noun classes, irregular verb system, and implosive consonants 
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Daasanach).

The Western SNNPR: Kaffa and Bench Maji

The Kingdom of Kaffa (c.1390–1897) was an early modern state with its capital at Bonga. Kaffa was divided into four sub-tribes, who spoke a common language Kefficho. A number of groups of foreigners, Muslim traders and members of the Ethiopian Church, also lived in the kingdom. The land where this former kingdom lay is mountainous with stretches of forest. The land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year. The Kingdom of Kaffa was founded approximately c.1390 by Minjo. The first capital Bonga was either founded or captured by Bong-he; it was later replaced by Anderaccha, but Bonga retained its importance.