Bule Hora (;
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 ...
: ሀገረ ማርያም) is a town in southern
Oromia Region
Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...
,
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 ...
. Located on the paved
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
-
Moyale
Moyale is a city situated on the border between Ethiopia and Kenya. In Ethiopia, it serves as the administrative centre for two Ethiopian woredas: Moyale of the Oromia Region and Moyale of the Somali Region. In Kenya, it is the largest tow ...
highway, in the
West Guji Zone, it is the largest town in this zone mainly inhabited by the
Guji Oromo. It has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 1716 meters above sea level.
History
An orthodox church dedicated to Mary (Mariam) was built in the early 1900. Bule Hora name changed Hagere Mariam and introduced by the Amhara sometimes before 1934. In 1936 Kenyazmach Tekle Giyorgis, a nephew of Ras
Desta Damtew
''Ras'' Desta Damtew KBE (Amharic: ደስታ ዳምጠው; ''c.'' 1892 – 24 February 1937) was an Ethiopian noble, army commander and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I. He is known for his leadership in the Ethiopian Army during the ...
, was the chief of the town. It was occupied by the
Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
on 22 July 1936, who renamed it "Alghe". They rebuilt the village and constructed a fort nearby; the Italians also bestowed honors and powers to a local
Guji chief.
In the following decades, Bule Hora became isolated: a group of Swedish missionaries traveling to the
Burji in March 1950 brought the first motorized vehicles seen in the town since the Italian occupation. A
Norwegian Evangelical Mission was established at Hagere Mariam on 15 August of the same year, with the goal of reaching the Guji. Its founding leader was Karl Bogetvedt who worked from a little rented house inside the town, with dwelling, school and clinic in the same building. The mission station in Hagere Mariam continued into the 1980s.
[
Guji zone is known by Geda System, which is thought to be source of democracy.
]
Demographics
Bule Hora is the largest town in West Guji Zone.
The 2007 national census reported a total population of 27,820 for Bule Hora Town, of whom 14,519 were men and 13,301 were women. 6,507 households and 6,246 housing units were counted. The town was divided into three urban Araddaa.
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, Bule Hora had an estimated total population of 22,784 of whom 12,046 were men and 10,738 were women.
The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 12,718 of whom 6,533 were males and 6,185 were females. In 1984 there were 1984 7,300 inhabitants in the town, in 1967 3,707 inhabitants were counted.[
]
Bule Hora University
The foundation stone of Bule Hora University was laid on 28 November 2008. The university was officially established by proclamation No 213/2011 (213/2003 E.C) as one of the Ethiopian government higher education institutions.
Since the construction of Bule Hora University was delayed beyond its expected completion time, the university started functioning in the campus of Bule Hora College of Teacher Education in the 2011/12 academic year, and transferred to its own campus in September 2012.
Currently, Bule Hora University has 206 programs (104 undergraduates, 81 Masters and 21 PhD)
References
{{portal, Africa
Cities and towns in Oromia
Cities and towns in Ethiopia