Welayta people

The Wolaytta ( Amharic ወላይታ, other names: Walaytta, Welaytta, Welayta, Wolaita ) are an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 census living in Ethiopia a total of about 1.7 million Wolaytta, which account for 2.31% of the total population. 289 707 of these live in urban areas. The Wolaytta live mainly in the Welayta Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region.

They speak the language omotische Wolaytta. They are mostly Protestant Christians, but there are also a significant minority of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

History

The Wolaytta had their own kingdom Wolaytta, which was incorporated in the 19th century in the expanding Empire of Ethiopia. Administratively, they belonged since the time of the Derg regime to the area North Omo, which also included other omotischsprachige ethnic groups. However Wolaytta - leaders stressed the linguistic and cultural autonomy of Wolaytta and called for an autonomous administrative area.

After the takeover by the EPRDF in 1991 a separate region 9 was in the reorganization of administrative divisions of Ethiopia initially established for the Wolaytta, in the further course of this, however, was with the regions 7, 8, 10 and 11 to the region of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples ( SNNPR ) together. The Wolaytta the North Omo zone were assigned here in turn. The regional government of SNNPR was of the view that the Wolaytta stood so close to the other groups in this zone that a separate zone is not justified for them. In 1998, she tried an artificial language that was based on the different nordomotischen individual languages ​​, to establish itself as educational and administrative language of the North Omo zone. Following violent protests by the Wolaytta this experiment was terminated. In November 2000, the Wolaytta ultimately prevailed by establishing their own Welayta zone within the SNNPR.

Known Wolaytta

  • Dejazmach Girma sanatorium - Commander of südäthiopischen militia during the Battle of Adowa
  • Ambassador Teshome Toga Chanaka - Speaker of the National House of Representatives
  • Warrant Officer Manjura - one of the Topoffiziere the Ethiopian air forces under Emperor Haile Selassie
  • Bogale Walelu - Education Minister under Emperor Haile Selassie.
  • Leuleselassie Temamo - Minister of Culture and Sports in the Transitional Government of Ethiopia; Leueleselassie Temamo was the first Wolaytta, who made ​​a minister in the government of Ethiopia since 1991
  • Hailemariam Desalegn - since September 21, 2010 Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Swell

  • Ethnic group in Ethiopia
  • Ethnicity in Africa
Wolaytta language
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