Aari or Ari are a tribal Omotic people indigenous to Omo Valley of Ethiopia. According to 2007 census there are 289,835 ethnic Aari in Ethiopia, which makes up around 0.29% of the country's total population. Nearly all Aari speak the South Omotic Aari language, though more than half of them are multilingual and can also speak other languages such as Amharic. [1] : 73 [2]
Until the 19th century, Aari people lived under independent chiefdoms. The divine ruler of the Aari tribal societies were called baabi.
In the late 1800s, the Omo River region was conquered by the Ethiopian Empire under Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, which resulted in the widespread adoption of Amharic culture and the Amharic language there. [3] By the early 1900s, the Amhara rulers had consolidated their control over the region and many Aari became serfs. [4] Aari culture experienced significant decline during this time, although it and the Aari language survived. [3] In 1974 Derg, a Soviet-backed militia, overthrew the monarchy. The revolution brought down the feudal system under which the Aari had been forced to live, which allowed farming communities to keep their harvests and livestock and resulted in improved prosperity. After the Derg was overthrown in 1991, Ethiopia adopted a federalist system that granted self-determination to the country's ethnic groups, allowing the Aari to reclaim a degree of sovereignty over their lands. Particularly since 2000, the Aari's social and economic situations have improved dramatically [5] and interest in education has flourished; most Aari towns today have at least one primary school. [6]
The Ari peoples of Ethiopia comрrise different occupational groups and their society is socially divided and stratified according to each Aari individual's respective occupation. The lower castes of the society is composed of potters, tanners and blacksmiths and collectively named as mana in the Aari language. Blacksmiths (faka mana)i who also do woodworking are marginalized and occupy an inferior position to tanners and potters (tila mana). Kantsa is the name given to the agriculturalist caste which holds a privileged position in the society. Intermarriage between mana and katsa is forbidden and considered as taboo according to Ari customs. The occupational segregation and caste-based endogamy practiced among the Ari have been revealed by advances in archaeogenetics to be one the oldest continuous caste systems in existence. [7] After the introduction of Christianity the social division between Christian Aari belonging to differing castes have reported to become less important. More of the societies make agriculture their livelihood, and most of them practice mixed farming. [8]
Most Aari follow either Protestant Christianity or traditional beliefs. A few practice Orthodox Christianity. [9]
After conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in the late 1800s, many Aari were forced to convert to Orthodox Christianity, [3] although this religion became heavily stigmatized due to its association with the invading forces and perceived economic exploitation by Orthodox priests. [10] In the 1950s, large numbers became Protestants as a result of Western missionary work (especially by SIM). Today, the vast majority of Aari Christians are Protestants. [10]
The Omotic languages are a group of languages spoken in southwestern Ethiopia, in the Omo River region. The Geʽez script is used to write some of the Omotic languages, the Latin script for some others. They are fairly agglutinative and have complex tonal systems. The languages have around 6.2 million speakers. The group is generally classified as belonging to the Afroasiatic language family, but this is disputed by some.
Amharas are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which is indigenous to Ethiopia, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly inhabiting the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amharas numbered 19,867,817 individuals, comprising 26.9% of Ethiopia's population, and they are mostly Oriental Orthodox Christian.
Aari is an Omotic language spoken by the Aari people in the South Omo Zone of Ethiopia.
The Mursi are a Surmic ethnic group in Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, close to the border with South Sudan. According to the 2007 national census, there are 11,500 Mursi, 848 of whom live in urban areas; of the total number, 92.25% live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR).
Ethiopia is one of the few countries with so many traditional aspects and cultural mannerism. the country that is located in the horn of Africa has many traditions and cultures that is experienced in the daily livelihood of the people, starting of having their own calendar to the food, clothing, music and cuisine.
The languages of Ethiopia include the official languages of Ethiopia, its national and regional languages, and a large number of minority languages, as well as foreign languages.
South Omo Zone is a zone in the Ethiopian South Ethiopia Regional State. South Omo is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the southwest by the South Sudan, on the west by Bench Maji, on the northwest by Keffa, on the north by Konta, Gamo Gofa and Basketo, on the northeast by Dirashe and Konso, and on the east by the Oromia Region. The administrative center of South Omo is Jinka.
The Welayta, Wolayta or Wolaytto are an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate (2017), the people of Wolayta numbered 5.83 million in Welayta Zone. The language of the Wolayta people, similarly called Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite their small population, Wolayta people have widely influenced national music, dance and cuisine in Ethiopia.
Konta, previously called Ela, is a zone in the Southwest Region of Ethiopia. It is named after Konta people who speak the dialects called Kontatsuwa, Omotic languages. Before joining to Southwest Ethiopia Regional states, Konta was special woreda. This zone is bordered on the south by the Omo River which separates it from the Gamo Zone, Gofa Zone, and Selamgo woreda, Debub Omo Zone, on the west by the Keffa Zone, on the north by the Gojeb River which separates it from the Oromia Region, and on the east by the Dawro Zone; the Denchya River defines the southern part of the boundary with the Keficho Shekicho Zone. The administrative center is Ameya; other towns include Chida.
Bako Gazer is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. It is also called Southern Aari as it is part of the homeland of Aari people. Part of the Debub Omo Zone, Bako Gazer is bordered on the south by Bena Tsemay, on the west by the Mago River which separates it from Selamago, on the north by the Basketo special woreda and Gelila, on the northeast by the Gamo Gofa Zone, and on the east by Male. The administrative center of this woreda is Jinka; other towns in Bako Gazer include Tolta and Wub Hamer. Gelila and Male woredas were separated from Bako Gazer.
Melokoza is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gamo Gofa Zone, Melokoza is bordered on the south by Basketo special woreda, on the southwest by the Debub (South) Omo Zone, on the northwest by the Konta special woreda, on the north by the Dawro Zone, and on the east by Demba Gofa and Geze Gofa; the Omo River defines its northwestern boundary separating the woreda from Konta and the Dawro Zone. The major town in Melokoza is Leha.
Mana Sibu is one of the 180 Aanaas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the West Welega Zone, Mana Sibu is bordered on the south by Jarso, on the southwest by Begi, on the north by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and on the southeast by Nejo. Mendi is the administrative center. Kiltu Kara woreda was part of Mana Sibu woreda.
Anfillo is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Kelem Welega Zone, Anfillo is bordered on the southwest by the Gambela Region, on the north by Jimma Gidami, on the northeast by Yemalogi Welele, and on the east by Sayo. The major town in Anfillo is Mugi.
Kersa is a woreda in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by Dedo, on the southwest by Seka Chekorsa, on the west by Mana, on the north by Limmu Kosa, on the northeast by Tiro Afeta, and on the southeast by Omo Nada. Towns and cities in Kersa include Jimma, the zone's capital, and Serbo.
Hozo is an Afroasiatic language spoken mostly in the Kondala woreda of Mirab Welega Zone by peoples generically known as "Mao". There are smaller groups of Hozo speakers in Mana Sibu woreda. The term Hozo is usually understood by the Mao to refer to a clan. Hozo speakers prefer to call themselves Amo. Hozo and Seze are sometimes called Begi Mao. Hozo is spoken by roughly 3,000 people in Ethiopia. Hozo is also a clan in the Begi area. The Hozo language is also known as Begi-Mao and Mao of Begi. Its classification is Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, and Mao. The word Mao is Omotic and means ‘man; people’, occurring as [ma:ɪ] in Seze and as [mɔ:] in Hozo. Mao is frequently used as an ethnic term. There is a kind of Mao identity across language differences in Ethiopia. While it is generally accepted today that Omotic is one of the primary branches of the Afro-Asiatic family, the position of the four languages Hozo, Seze, Ganza and Northern Mao is still being discussed. The Mao languages are the least documented within Omotic, and Omotic itself is the least documented of the Afroasiatic groups.
The Weyto are a caste living in the Amhara region along the shore of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. They worship the Nile River. They currently live in Bahir Dar, Abirgha, Dembiya and Alefa. The Weyto also made up part of the population of the Blue Nile Falls and Fogera, where currently their presence has not been ascertained.
The Kwegu are an ethnic group that lives on the western banks of the Omo River in the newly formed South Ethiopia Region. Some members of the Kwegu also live on the eastern banks of the river among the Mursi. Previously they were hunter-gatherers, but today they are engaged in a mixed economy of hunting, farming, beekeeping, and fishing.
The Chara also known as the Tsara are a people group of Ethiopia. They form a part of the Gimira peoples of Ethiopia and live in the Kaffa Highlands, and the Debub Omo area.
Semen Ari is a woreda in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region in Ethiopia.
Music and politics have been closely intertwined throughout the history of Ethiopia.