Aanaa
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
Oromia Regional State
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
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 ...
. Research by Ulrich Braukämper uncovered a local tradition that traced the origins of this woreda's name to an ancient Ethiopian province,
Sharkha Sharka (also transliterated as Sharha, Xarha, Xerha, Xarkhah) was a province of the Ethiopian Empire in the southern part of its realm. Its inhabitants were predominantly Muslim, and similar in customs, economic conditions, and ethnic affiliations ...
, which vanished as a political unit in the 16th century. Part of the
Arsi Zone
Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area.
Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone ...
, Sirkaa is bordered on the south by the
Shebelle River
The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. ...
which separates it from the
Bale Zone
( Oromo: Aaana ''Baalee'') is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
Bale is bordered on the south by the Ganale Dorya River which separates it from Guji Zone, on the west by the West Arsi Zone, on the north by Arsi Zone, on the northeast by the S ...
, on the southwest by
Bekoji
Bekoji ( Oromo: Boqojjii, Amharic: በቆጂ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2810 m. It is the administrative centre of Limuna Bilbilo wore ...
, on the west by
Digeluna Tijo
Digeluna Tijo is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Arsi Zone, Digeluna Tijo is bordered on the south by Bekoji, on the southwest by Munesa, on the northwest by Tiyo, on the north by Hitosa, on the northeast by Tena, and on the east ...
, on the north by
Tena
TENA is a Swedish-based brand of Essity that specializes in products for adults with urinary or fecal incontinence, such as pads and diapers. TENA also produces a youth diaper brand for teenagers and larger children. The company has offices ...
, and on the east by
Robe
A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...
. Gobesa is the administrative center; other towns include Gaadoo Gunaa.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 350 to 1350 meters above sea level. Perennial rivers include 25 kilometers of the Gumelo and 20 of the Rapese. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 21.4% is arable or cultivable, 6.3% pasture, 2.7% forest, and the remaining 69.6% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable.
Pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
fenugreek
Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredient ...
are important cash crops.''Socio-economic profile of Arsi Zone'' Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006).
Industry in the woreda includes 10
grain mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
s employing 31 people, as well as 671 registered businesses of which 23% were wholesalers, 40% retailers and 36% service providers. There were 32 Farmers Associations with 14,991 members and 6 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 14,315 members. Sirkaa has 77 kilometers of dry-weather and 22 of all-weather road, for an average road density of 91.6 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, which the Oromia state government notes has not been maintained; 34 kilometers of road between Gobeessaa and Beqqoojjii, and 15 kilometers from Gobeessaa to Tareta are in the planning stages. About 51.1% of the total population has access to
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...
.
Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 163,823, of whom 81,812 were men and 82,011 were women; 12,494 or 7.63% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 54.19% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 45.52% of the population practised
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 ...
.
Based on figures published by the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growt ...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 157,640, of whom 78,968 are men and 78,672 are women; 11,870 or 7.53% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 1,080.78 square kilometers, Sherka has an estimated population density of 145.9 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 132.2.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 112,743, of whom 56,527 were men and 56,216 women; 6,642 or 5.89% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Sherka were the Oromo (71.83%), and the Amhara (26.83%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.34% of the population.
Oromiffa
Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushiti ...
was spoken as a first language by 65.98%, and 33.91% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.11% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed
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 ...