Gurage people

The term Gurage several ethnic groups in Ethiopia are called, consider themselves culturally and historically as belonging together.

They speak several languages ​​that are closely related to each other in part and belong to the Semitic language family. They are but phonetically, lexically as grammatically under the strong influence Cushitic languages ​​(10 vowel phonemes compared to 7 in Amharic ).

The Gurage apply to the other peoples of Ethiopia as a hard-working and technically gifted. Originally they live in the fertile mountain regions around Weliso, 100 km southwest of Addis Ababa, but now many of them live as workers in Addis Ababa and other cities of Ethiopia. The original settlement area of ​​Gurage is now part of the Ethiopian Southern Province (Region of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples ), in which many of the smaller ethnic groups of southwestern Ethiopia are summarized.

They are members of approximately equal parts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Islam. The most striking feature of their independent culture are its large, round houses. Your basic food is the marrow of the " false banana" ( Ensete ). The Gurage outside the region, especially for the typical preparation of Ketfo, their " national dish " of raw, finely minced beef with " Mitmita " ( spicy chili powder) and melted butter are known is prepared and served with cream cheese.

The origin of the people is uncertain; it is believed that their ancestors were descendants of a military expedition of the Axumite Kingdom to the southern highlands of present-day Ethiopia. Their number is estimated at about 1.8 million ( two percent of the Ethiopian population).

The Silt'e were referred to in the 1990s as ' East Gurage ', but now they are recognized as a distinct ethnic group.