Meskan is one of the
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after '' zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
s in the
of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
. This woreda is named after the
Meskan speaking
Gurage people
The Gurage (, Gurage language, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Ethiopian Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Z ...
. Part of the
Gurage Zone
Gurage is a zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. The region is home to the Gurage people. Gurage is bordered on the southeast by Hadiya and Yem special woreda, on the west, north and east by the Oromia ...
, Meskane is bordered on the south by the
Silt'e Zone Silt'e (also transliterated Silte) can refer to:
* Silt'e people of Ethiopia;
* Silt'e language, which they speak;
* Silte Zone, where most live;
* Silte (woreda) Silti (ስልጢ) is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and ...
, on the west by
Muhor Na Aklil, on the northwest by
Kokir Gedebanoon the north by sodo wereda, on the northeast by
Sodo
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation be ...
and Oromia, and on the southeast by
Mareko. Towns in Meskane include
Inseno. The town of
Butajira
Butajira ( am, ቡታጅራ) is a town and separate woreda in central Ethiopia. Located at the base of the Zebidar massif in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Butajira has an elevation of 2131 ...
is the capital town of Meskane. Meskane was part of the former
Meskanena Mareko woreda.
Near Butajira are the Tufta Swamps at , located in the Western highlands near the headwaters of the
Meki River
The Meki is a river in central Oromia, Ethiopia. It empties into Hora-Dambal at the latitude and longitude .
O.G.S. Crawford identifies the Meki with a river on a map which was drawn in 1662 (there named "Machy") to illustrate Manuel de Almeida's ...
. Mesqan Community, the subject of this study, is a member of the Gurages who are settled in south west of Ethiopia in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. With an estimated population of 1.9 million, the Gurages are settled in a specific geographic location currently known as the Gurage Zone, which is further divided into 13 lower administrative units comprising eleven woredas and two town administrations. The Mesqan Community is settled in Mesqan Woreda and Buttajira Town Administration . The combined current population of Mesqan Woreda and Buttajira Town is 225,931, of which the Mesqan ethnic group constitutes the majority. Compared to the Sebat Bet and Kestane Gurage ethnic groups, migration to other parts of Ethiopia is less common among the Mesqans. Less than five per cent of the total population is believed to have migrated to urban towns in Ethiopia. The relative abundance of fertile land and suitable agricultural climate could be cited as discouraging factors for migration in past.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 155,782, of whom 76,396 are men and 79,386 women; 11,388 or 7.31% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were reported as
Muslim, with 60.19% of the population reporting that belief, while 34.55% practice
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
, and 4.7% were
Protestants
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
.
Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
, Tables 2.1, and 3.4.
Notes
{{Districts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
Districts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region