SIDAMA PEOPLE: ETHIOPIA`S KUSHITIC EXPERT COFFEE GROWERS

The Sidama people agricultural and semi-pastoral Kushitic people living in the southern part of the Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa. The majority of the Sidama people live in the Southern part of Ethiopia with notable geographical features like lake Awassa in the North and lake Abaya in the South. Sidama region of Ethiopia is home of the Sidamo Coffee. The area is characterised by lush green countryside making it known as the Garden of Ethiopia. The Sidama along with Agew and Beja were the first settlers in the northern highlands of the present day Ethiopia before the arrival of Yemeni habeshas (Abyssineans). The Sidama people and their sub-tribes ( major Sidama group, Alaba, Tambaro, Qewena and Marakoare) are estimated to be around 8 million; constituting 4.01%  of the Ethiopian population and are the fifth largest ethnic group in Ethiopia.

                                      Beautiful Sidama tribe woman from Sidama region, Ethiopia

Like other comparable communities, the Sidama people who are one of the most populous and persecuted tribes in Ethiopia trace their origins to common ancestors. Oral tradition had it that Sidamas descended from two ancestral fathers: Bushee and Maldea. The Sidama people believe they belong to Sidamigobba, the Sidama country.

                              Sidama cultural dancers, Ethiopia

 The most notable peoples of the Kushitic origin to which the Sidama people belong include, the Saho in Eritrea, Oromo, Hadiya, Afar and Somalis in Ethiopia; the Somalis especially the Degodai tribe both in Somalia and Kenya; the Randle and Sakuye in Kenya and many others in Eastern and central Africa. That was why the present day Ethiopia was called the land of Kush. The Abyssinian historians such as Taddese Tamirat themselves accept this fact.

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