Jimma

Last updated
Jimma
Jimmaa
City
Markato area buildings in jimma-september 2022.jpg
Jimmamosque.jpg
Awetu area-september 2022.jpg
Jimma univercity main gate-september 2022.jpg
Abbajifar palace from Jimma-september 2022.jpg
Scenery in Jimma
Nickname: 
Jimmaa Abbaa Jifaar
Ethiopia adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Jimma
Location within Ethiopia
Africa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Jimma
Jimma (Africa)
Coordinates: 7°40′N36°50′E / 7.667°N 36.833°E / 7.667; 36.833
Country Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia
Region Flag of the Oromia Region.svg Oromia
Zone Jimma
Elevation
1,780 m (5,840 ft)
Population
 (2007) [1]
 • Total
207,000
 • Estimate 
(2021) [2]
239,022
Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code 47

Jimma (Oromo : Jimmaa) is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administratively as a special Zone.

Contents

History

What is now Jimma's northern suburb of Jiren was the capital of the Kingdom of Jimma. Originally named Hirmata, the city owed its importance in the 19th century to being located on the caravan route between Shewa and Kaffa, as well as being only six miles from the palace of Abba Jifar II. [3]

According to Donald Levine, in the early 19th century the market attracted thousands of people from neighboring regions: "Oromo from Gojjam and Shoa, Oromo from all the Gibe Kingdoms and numerous representatives of the Lacustrine and Omotic groups, including Timbaro, Qabena, Kefa, Janjero, Welamo, Konta and several others". [4]

At the very beginning of the 20th century, the German explorer Oscar Neumann visited Jimma on his journey from the Somali coast through Ethiopia to the Sudan. As he observed, “Jimma is almost the richest land of Abyssinia; the inhabitants are pure, well-built Galla; they are nearly all Mohammedans, as is their king, Abba Jifar, a very clever man, who submitted to Menelik at the right time and, therefore, retained his country” [5]

The present town was developed on the Awetu River by the Italian colonial regime in the 1930s. At that time, with the goal of weakening the native Ethiopian Church, the Italians intended to make Jimma an important center of Islamic learning, and founded an academy to teach fiqh . [6] In the East African fighting of World War II after their main force was defeated, the Italian garrison at Jimma was one of the last to surrender, holding out until July 1941.

Following the death of Abba Jifar II of Jimma in 1932, the Kingdom of Jimma was formally absorbed into Ethiopia. During the reorganization of the provinces in 1942, Jimma vanished into Kaffa Province. [7] Herbert S. Lewis states that in the early 1960s it was "the greatest market in all of south-western Ethiopia. On a good day in the dry season, it attracts up to 30,000 people. Jimma was the scene of a violent encounter which started in April 1975 between radical college students (known as zemacha) sent to organize local peasants, who had benefited from land reform, and local police, who had sided with local landowners. Students and peasant followers had imprisoned local small landowners, rich peasants and members of the local police force; this action led to further unrest, causing the Derg (the ruling junta) to send a special delegation to Jimma, which sided with the local police. In the end, 24 students were killed, more arrested, and the local zemacha camps closed. [8]

Days before the end of the Ethiopian Civil War in May 1991, the city was captured by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.

On 13 December 2006, the Ethiopian government announced that it had secured a loan of US$98 million from the African Development Bank to pave the 227 kilometers of highway between Jimma and Mizan Teferi to the southwest. The loan was to cover 64% of the 1,270.97 million Birr budgeted for this project. [9]

Climate

Jimma has a relatively cool tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am). It features a long annual wet season from March to October.

Afternoon temperatures at Jimma are very warm year-round, with the daily maximum usually staying between 24 and 27 °C (75.2 and 80.6 °F). Morning temperatures are even more consistent, being at a cool-to-pleasant 12 to 13 °C (53.6 to 55.4 °F) virtually every day.

Climate data for Jimma
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)35.0
(95.0)		35.7
(96.3)		37.7
(99.9)		38.0
(100.4)		34.7
(94.5)		31.1
(88.0)		29.0
(84.2)		28.9
(84.0)		31.6
(88.9)		30.0
(86.0)		31.0
(87.8)		31.6
(88.9)		38.0
(100.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)28.4
(83.1)		29.2
(84.6)		29.3
(84.7)		27.9
(82.2)		26.6
(79.9)		25.2
(77.4)		23.6
(74.5)		24.1
(75.4)		25.0
(77.0)		26.2
(79.2)		27.5
(81.5)		27.9
(82.2)		26.7
(80.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)19.0
(66.2)		19.9
(67.8)		21.1
(70.0)		21.2
(70.2)		20.9
(69.6)		20.1
(68.2)		19.2
(66.6)		19.4
(66.9)		19.9
(67.8)		19.6
(67.3)		18.3
(64.9)		18.0
(64.4)		19.7
(67.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)10.8
(51.4)		11.6
(52.9)		12.5
(54.5)		13.6
(56.5)		13.8
(56.8)		13.9
(57.0)		14.0
(57.2)		13.9
(57.0)		13.1
(55.6)		11.8
(53.2)		9.4
(48.9)		9.2
(48.6)		12.3
(54.1)
Record low °C (°F)−2.3
(27.9)		0.0
(32.0)		0.0
(32.0)		1.5
(34.7)		4.4
(39.9)		4.3
(39.7)		8.4
(47.1)		7.9
(46.2)		6.0
(42.8)		2.7
(36.9)		0.0
(32.0)		−2.8
(27.0)		−2.8
(27.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)37
(1.5)		39
(1.5)		105
(4.1)		151
(5.9)		206
(8.1)		239
(9.4)		269
(10.6)		273
(10.7)		220
(8.7)		139
(5.5)		50
(2.0)		38
(1.5)		1,766
(69.5)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm)79141619222425211275181
Average relative humidity (%)59626366727680807773686470
Mean monthly sunshine hours 238.7194.9220.1192.0207.7153.0120.9148.8174.0213.9237.0251.12,352.1
Mean daily sunshine hours 7.76.97.16.46.75.13.94.85.86.97.98.16.4
Source 1: National Meteorology Agency (average high and low) [10]
Source 2: World Meteorological Organisation (rainfall 1981–2010) [11] Deutscher Wetterdienst (mean temperatures 1991–2005, humidity 1959–1982, and sun 1991–2005), [12] Meteo Climat (extremes 1952–present) [13]

Points of interest

Mosque in Jimma Jimmamosque.jpg
Mosque in Jimma

A few buildings have survived from the time of the Jimma Kingdom, including the Palace of Abba Jifar. The city is home to a museum, Jimma University, several markets, and an airport (ICAO code HAJM, IATA JIM). Also of note is the Jimma Research Center, founded in 1968, which is run by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research. The Center specializes in agricultural research, including serving as the national center for research to improve the yield of coffee and spices. [14]

Sports

Football is the most popular sport in Jimma. There are two football clubs in city Jimma Aba Bunna and Jimma Aba Jifar. The 50,000 capacity Jimma University Stadium is the largest venue by capacity in Jimma. It is used mostly for football matches.

Transport

Jimma is served by Aba Jifar (Jimma) Airport. The airport completed a renovation in 2015 in order to accommodate larger aircraft and more passengers.

Within the city limits, people take bajajs (similar to “tuk-tuks”) or “line taxis” that are converted mini vans. [15]

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

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The Oromo people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromia</span> Regional state of Ethiopia

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Abba Magal was a leader of the Diggo Oromo, and the father of Abba Jifar I.

MotiAbba Jifar I was the first king of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.

MotiAbba Rebu was King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma, in Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Jifar I.

MotiAbba Gomol was King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abba Jifar II</span> King of Jimma from 1878 to 1932

MotiAbba Jifar II was King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abba Jofir</span> The last king of Kingdom of Jimma in 1932

MotiAbba Jobir Abba Dula was the last King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma, and a member of the Oromo people. He was the grandson of Abba Jifar II. He aligned himself with the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Jimma</span> 1790–1932 Oromo kingdom based in southwestern Ethiopia

The Kingdom of Jimma was an Oromo Muslim kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia that emerged in the 18th century. It shared its western border with Limmu-Ennarea, its eastern border with the Sidamo Kingdom of Janjero, and was separated from the Kingdom of Kaffa to the south by the Gojeb River. Jimma was considered the most powerful militarily of the Gibe kingdoms.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Kaffa</span> 1390–1897 kingdom in southern Ethiopia

The Kingdom of Kaffa was a kingdom located in what is now Ethiopia from 1390 to 1897, with its first capital at Bonga. The Gojeb River formed its northern border, beyond which lay the Gibe kingdoms; to the east the territory of the Konta and Kullo peoples lay between Kaffa and the Omo River; to the south numerous subgroups of the Gimira people, and to the west lay the Majangir people. The native language, also known as Kaffa, is one of the Omotic group of languages.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimma Zone</span> Zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia

Jimma is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Jimma is named after former Kingdom of Jimma, which was absorbed into the former province of Kaffa in 1932. Jimma is bordered on the south by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, the northwest by Illubabor Zone, on the north by East Welega Zone and on the northeast by West Shewa Zone; part of the boundary with West Shewa Zone is defined by the Gibe River. The highest point in this zone is Mount Maigudo. Towns and cities in Jimma include Agaro, Limmu Inariya and Saqqa. The town of Jimma was separated from Jimma Zone and is a special zone now.

Aba Jifar Airport, also known as Jimma Airport, is a public airport serving Jimma, a city in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The airport is located 2.5 km southwest of the city.

Agaro is a town and separate woreda in south-western Ethiopia. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, it sits at an elevation of 1,560 meters above sea level.

Saqqa is a town in south-western Ethiopia, and capital of the former Kingdom of Limmu-Ennarea. Located in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°12′N36°56′E.

Jiren was the former capital of the Kingdom of Jimma, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Today it is a village or suburb on the outskirts of the city of Jimma, consisting of approximately 2500 unregistered households.

Ababiya Abajobir is the founding member of the separatist organization Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). He served the OLF in many leading positions, including as Head of OLF's Foreign Affairs in Washington from 2000 to 2003.

Herbert S. Lewis is a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught from 1963 to 1998. He has conducted extensive field research in Ethiopia and Israel and worked with Oneida Indian Nation of Wisconsin. Aside from publications based on ethnographic field research he has written theoretical works about political leadership and systems, ethnicity, cultural evolution. Since the late 1990s he has published extensively about the history of anthropology, much of it offering new insights into the work and thought of Franz Boas.

References

  1. ↑ "Population and Housing Census 2007 – Oromia Statistical" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Service. 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Population Projection Towns as of July 2021" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Bahru Zewde (2001). A History of Modern Ethiopia (second ed.). Oxford: James Currey. pp. 65f. ISBN   0-85255-786-8.
  4. ↑ Donald N. Levine, Greater Ethiopia, second edition (Chicago: University Press, 1974)
  5. ↑ "Jimma Town: Foundation and Early Growth from ca. 1830 to 1936".
  6. ↑ J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), p. 137.
  7. ↑ Herbert S. Lewis, A Galla Monarchy: Jimma Abba Jifar, Ethiopia, 1830-1932 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965), p. 56.
  8. ↑ Marina and David Ottaway, Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution (New York: Africana, 1978), p. 73f
  9. ↑ "Ethiopian Embassy Newsletter", Nov/Dec 2006, p.2 [ permanent dead link ], Ethiopian Embassy to the UK website (accessed 11 January 2007)
  10. ↑ "Climate of City: Jimma". National Meteorology Agency. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "World Weather Information Service – Jimma". World Meteorological Organisation. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "Klimatafel von Jimma (Dschimma), Provinz Jimma / Äthiopien" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. ↑ "Station Jimma" (in French). Météo Climat. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  14. ↑ EARI list of research centers Archived 2009-04-23 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 30 April 2009)
  15. ↑ "Jimma Airport Gets 250m Br Upgrade".
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