Hirna ( Oromo: ''Hirna'') a town Located in the

West Hararghe Zone West Hararge () is a zone in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. West Hararghe takes its name from the former province of Hararghe. West Harerge is bordered on the south by the Shebelle River which separates it from Bale, on the southwest by Arsi, on ...

Oromia 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 ...

it has a latitude and longitude of and an altitude of 1763 meters above sea level. It is the larger of the two towns in

Tulo Tulo is one of the Aanaas in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Part of the West Hararghe Zone, Tulo is bordered on to the north by Doba, to the south by Masela, to the east by the East haraghe Zone, and to the west by Nannawa Chiro. Towns ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

and is inhabited by the

Ituu Ituu () is one of the clans of the Oromo people. This group lives dominantly in the present-day West Hararghe Zone. The correct term for the land of Ituus is "Chercher" or "Ona Ituu" (the Ituu Province). It is believed the extinct Harla ethnicity w ...

Oromo.

History

The town of Hirna is located on the main highway between Chiro and Haramaya in the Chercher Mountains. This follows an old caravan route between

Abyssinia Abyssinia (; also known as Abyssinie, Abissinia, Habessinien, or Al-Habash) was an ancient region in the Horn of Africa situated in the northern highlands of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.Sven Rubenson, The survival of Ethiopian independence, ...

and

Emirate of Harar The Emirate of Harar was a Muslim kingdom founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādam as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Aussa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud. The Harar, city of Ha ...

, which was in use during

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

's residence at

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

city. In response to king Menelik's orders to occupy the Cherchers, in November 1886 ''

Dejazmach Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( , modern transcription , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary royal nobility, formed the upper ...

Wolde Gabriel Wolde is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

invaded the

with Abyssinian militias, and set up camp at Hirna. According to Harold G. Marcus, his army "was in poor shape, reduced to a relatively small number by sickness and desertions." A night attack by Emir 'Abd Allah's army at the Battle of Hirna routed the ''Dejazmachs force, sending them fleeing westward towards the

Awash River } The Awash River (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo language, Oromo: ''Awaash OR Hawaas'', Amharic: ዐዋሽ, Afar language, Afar: ''Hawaash We'ayot'', Somali language, Somali: ''Webiga Dir'', Italian language, Italian: ''Auasc'') is a major river ...

. Telephone service came to this town between 1954 and 1968."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 28 April 2011) Notable local inhabitants include the artist

Alemayehu Bizuneh Alemayehu or ˁAlämayyähu ( Ge'ez: ዓለማየሁ) is a personal name of Ethiopian origin which is composed of two words: "''Alem''"- meaning "''the world or life''" and "''ayehu''" - means "''I have seen''". Its literal meaning is "''I have seen ...

(born 1934). He studied in France (1966–70), and Germany (1975–76) and later had a residency at the

National Museum of Ethiopia The National Museum of Ethiopia (NME), also referred to as the Ethiopian National Museum, is a national museum in Ethiopia. It is located in the capital, Addis Ababa, near the Addis Ababa University's graduate school. Overview The museum houses E ...

in 1980. Hirna is also home city of former Deputy Prime minister of Ethiopia

Addisu Legesse Addisu Legesse is an Ethiopian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2000 to 2010. He was formerly the chairman of the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), the Amhara region branch of the ruling EPRDF from 1992, a position fro ...

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 Hirna has an estimated total population of 16,726, of whom 8,360 are men and 8,366 are women.CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 9,353 of whom 4,534 were men and 4,819 women.

References

{{reflist Populated places in the Oromia