The Awi people are an ethnic group in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and are one of the

Agaw people The Agaw or Agew (, modern ''Agew'') are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, also known as the Central Cushitic languages, which belong to t ...

s. The Awi live in

Agew Awi Zone Agew Awi () is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Awi sub-group of the Agaw people, some of whom live in this Zone. Agew Awi Zone is bordered on the west by Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the north by North Gondar Zone ...

west of Mirab Gojjam and have a few communities in the Metekel Zone of the

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Benishangul-Gumuz () is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Er ...

. The Awi people are composed of seven subgroups, called Ankäša, Azäna, Chara, Qʷaqura, Banʤa, Zigän and Mätäkäl (). All Awi groups are classified to the Agaw line (). These Awi mainly live in the Agäw Awi Zone located central Gojjam (Amhara Region), whereas small numbers of Awi groups as well reside in Mätäkäl Zone, neighboring Benishangul-Gumuz Region.

Population

The 2007 census lists 631,565 ethnic Awis, or 0.85% of the total population; 63,415 are urban inhabitants. The Awi Zone, according to the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

, had roughly 990,000 inhabitants in 2005. Others living in that Zone are predominantly

Amharas Amharas (; ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amh ...

Language

The Awis speak Awngi, one of the

Agaw languages The Agaw or Central Cushitic languages are Afro-Asiatic languages spoken by several groups in Ethiopia and, in one case, Eritrea. They form the main substratum influence on Amharic and other Ethiopian Semitic languages. Classification The Cen ...

, which are part of the Cushitic subfamily within Afroasiatic. Agaw languages form the main substratum influence on

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

and other

Ethiopian Semitic languages Ethio-Semitic (also Ethiopian Semitic, Ethiosemitic, Ethiopic or Abyssinian) is a family of languages spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan. They form the western branch of the South Semitic languages, itself a sub-branch of Semitic languages, ...

, which are also Afroasiatic languages.

References

External links

* http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=awn Ethnic groups in Ethiopia {{ethiopia-ethno-group-stub