Bambashi (also known as Abba Moti) is a town in western

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 ...

. The town is named after the highest point in the Assosa 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 ...

Mount Bambashi Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

. Bambashi has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation of 1668 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Bambashi woreda and town administration. Bambashi is located on the

Gimbi Gimbi (ጊምቢ) is a town in western Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Located in the West Welega Zone, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1845 and 1930 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Gimbi wored ...

Assosa Asosa or Assosa is the capital of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Ethiopia. Located in the Asosa Zone, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 1,570 meters. History According to the Dutch explorer Juan Maria Schuver, who vi ...

road, making the town one of the few in the Region accessible by motor vehicle with the rest of Ethiopia."Benishangul-Gumuz, Situation Report, 10/96"
(accessed 1 May 2008)

History

In the later 19th century, Bambasi was seat of the Sheikhdom of Bambasi, which had been established following the conquest of

Ismail bin Muhammad Ali Isma'il Kamil Pasha (; 1795 – 1822) was the third son of Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt, and the leader of the campaign he sent in 1820, to annex Sudan. He was burned to death in a plot prepared for him by Mek Nimr, the Ja'ali King of Shendi, in ...

, son of

Wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. Although it was a notorious center of the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

, by the 1880s the Sheikhdom derived a significant share of its revenue from taxing the salt trade between the rest of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and the nearby

Oromo Oromo may refer to: * Oromo people, an ethnic group of Ethiopia and Kenya * Oromo language, an Afroasiatic language See also * *Orma (clan), Oromo tribe *Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homelan ...

s. A description of Bambasi in the ''Guido'' (published in 1938) describes it as consisting of three groups of houses at the base of Mount Bambasi, and supplied with abundant water and a market. The town was captured by the

Oromo Liberation Front The Oromo Liberation Front (, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination and the independence for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and Oromi ...

(OLF) on 7 January 1990, and six Cuban doctors and nurses were taken hostages after five days of heavy fighting."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 21 December 2007) In response government aircraft subjected Bambasi to aerial attacks; details on the casualties are not available. The following month, the OLF clandestine radio reported that the group had killed 84 government soldiers in a clash between Bambasi and

Mendi Mendi, Papua New Guinea, is the provincial capital of the Southern Highlands Province, and the capital of Mendi-Munihu District. The Lai River flows by the town. It is served by Mendi Airport. The town falls under Mendi Urban LLG. Geogra ...

. On 2 April 2007, local Muslims in Bambasi raided the house of evangelist Tolosa Megersa, resulting in the death of six of his cattle and sheep. Five days later, the home of another local Christian leader, Lemmu Abdissa, was raided resulting in the destruction of all his property including 8,815 pounds of grain.

Demographics

Based on figures from 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 ...

in 2005, Bambasi has an estimated total population of 7,166 of whom 3,653 are men and 3,513 are women. According to the 1994 national census, its total population was 4,164 of whom 2,114 were men and 2,050 were women. The ethnic breakdown was 41.47% Amhara, 33.02%

, 17.31% Berta (or ''Jebelawi'', including ''Fadashi''), 5.38%

Tigray The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

and 2.81% others. Concerning religion, 44.24% were

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 48.08% Orthodox Christians and 4.68%

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

.The 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Volume I: Statistical Report
, p. 46, 53, 65

Notes

{{reflist Populated places in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region