The Siltʼe people are an
ethnic group in southern
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 ...
. They inhabit the
Siltʼe Zone
Silt'e is a zone in the Central Ethiopia Regional State of Ethiopia. This zone is named for the Silt'e people, whose homeland lies in this zone. Like other nationalities in Ethiopia, the Silt'e people have their own language, Silt'e. Silt'e is bor ...
which is part of the
. Silt'e people speak
Siltʼe language
Siltʼe (ስልጥኘ or የስልጤ አፍ ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken in central Ethiopia. A member of the Afroasiatic family, its speakers are the Siltʼe, who mainly inhabit the Siltʼe Zone in the Southern Nations, Nati ...
a
Semitic language
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant and ...
which is closely related to Wolane,
Zay and
Harari languages. Siltʼe denote their origin to the city of
Harar
Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Sain ...
and claim to be progenitors of the
Hadiya Sultanate
The Hadiya Sultanate (r. ~13th century – 15th century) was a medieval kingdom located in southwestern Ethiopia, south of the Abbay River and west of Shewa. It was ruled by the Hadiya people, who spoke the Cushitic Hadiyya language. The histor ...
. One of the Silt'e people's ancestor was Hajji Aliye who accompanied
Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultana ...
's troops during the
Ethiopian-Adal war in the sixteenth century. The last
Garad
Garad ( Harari: ገራድ, , , Oromo: ''Garaada'') is a term used to refer to a clan leader or regional administrator. It was used primarily by Muslims in the Horn of Africa that were associated with Islamic states, most notably the Adal Sultanate ...
of the Gan-Silte dynasty was Sediso K’albo before
Menelik Menelek or Menelik may refer to:
* Menelik I, first Emperor of Ethiopia
* Menelik II (1844–1913), Emperor of Ethiopia
*Menelek XIV, fictional Emperor of Abyssinia in the novel ''Beyond Thirty'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs
*Ménélik (born 1970), Fren ...
's forces invaded in the 1800s. Silte people were incorporated into
Gurage region after their lands were annexed by Ethiopia, in the early 90s Silte obtained a separate zone following protests that the
Gurage
The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a 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 Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in ce ...
ethnic label was imposed on them.
Notable people
*
Muferiat Kamil
Muferihat Kamil Ahmed ( Amharic: ሙፈሪሃት ካሚል አሕመድ, ''mufärihat kamil ähmäd''; born 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who is the current Ministry of Labour and Skills Development in Ethiopia. She was the Speaker of the Hou ...
*
Redwan Hussein
Redwan Hussein (; born 22 September 1971) is an Ethiopian politician who is serving as National Security Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He perviously served as Deputy Minister of foreign affairs and Ambassador of Ethiopia to ...
*
Siraj Fegessa
Siraj Fegessa (born 1971) is an Ethiopian politician who served as Minister of Defense from 2008 to 2018 and Minister of Transportation from April to October 2018. He is a Muslim, a member of the Silte people, as well as a member of the South ...
*
Muktar Edris
Muktar Edris (born 14 January 1994) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country races.
Career
Muktar made his first international appearances in 2011, taking seventh place in the junior race at the ...
References
Bibliography
*Abdulfetah Huldar 2000 (A.D.): ''Islam be-Ityopya inna ye-Silte hizb tarikinna bahil''. Addis Ababa (in
Amharic).
*Abdulfetah Huldar 2002 (A.D.): ''YeSiltʼennat beherawi magalachʼawochchinna la-Ityopyawinet hilwinanna idiget yabarekketut asitewas'o''. Addis Ababa (in Amharic).
*Abraham Hussen and Habtamu Wandimmo 1983 (E.C.): ''Ba-Siltʼiñña qwanqwa tanagari hizb ye-Azernet Berbere hibratasab bahilinna tarik''. Addis Ababa (in Amharic).
*Ulrich Braukämper 1980: ''Die Geschichte der Hadiyya Süd-Äthiopiens''. Wiesbaden. Franz-Steiner Verlag.
*Dirk Bustorf 2005: "Ennäqor ethnography". In: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): ''
Encyclopaedia Aethiopica
The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' (''EAe'') is a basic English-language encyclopaedia for Ethiopian and Eritrean studies. The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' provides information in all fields of the discipline, i.e. anthropology, archaeology, ethno ...
''. vol. 2: D-Ha. Wiesbaden. p. 309-10
*Dirk Bustorf 2006: "Ase Zäʼra Yaʼǝqobs Kinder. Spuren der Vorbevölkerung von Selte-Land". Aethiopica 9. pp. 23–48.
*Dirk Bustorf 2010
"Sǝlṭi ethnography" In: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica''. vol. 4: O-X. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 607–608.
*Dirk Bustorf 2010: "Wǝlbaräg". In: Siegbert Uhlig (ed.): ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica''. vol. 4: O-X. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 1178–1179.
*Dirk Bustorf 2011: ''Lebendige Überlieferung: Geschichte und Erinnerung der muslimischen Siltʼe Äthiopiens. With an English Summary''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (Aethiopistische Forschungen 74).
*Nishi Makoto 2005: ''Making and Unmaking of the National-State and Ethnicity in Modern Ethiopia: a Study on the History of the Silte People''. African Study Monographs. Supplementary Issue 29. pp. 157–6
online version*Dinberu Alamu et al. 1987 (E.C.): ''Gogot. Yegurage biherasab tarik, bahilinna qwanqwa, Walqite'' (in Amharic).
*Rahmeto Hussein 1984: "The History of Azernet-Berbere until the Expansion of Shoa During Menelik II", Senior Essay, Department of History, Addis Ababa University .
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Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
Muslim communities in Africa
Habesha peoples