| Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,700,000 | |||
| Regions with significant populations | |||
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| Languages | |||
| Religion | |||
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Mainly Protestant christians with sizeable minority of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians |
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| Related ethnic groups | |||
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Gamo, Goffa |
Wolayta (also spelled Wolaytta, Wolayta, Wolaita) (Ethiopic: ወላይታ Wolaytta) is the name of an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent census (2007), they number 1.7 million people or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are urban inhabitants.[1] Their language, Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
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The people of wolayta has rich history. Wolayta's are known for their patriotism,rich culture and extremely modern music. The people of wolayta had its own kingdom for thousands of years with kings (Kawo) who had monarchical administration.The earlier name of the kingdom was The famous Kingdom of Damot which had included south,south east,south west and part of central Ethiopia(current ). The famous King of this Kingdom was King(Kawo) Motolomi who is mentioned in GEDLE TEKLEHAIMANOT as invader of the north and the king who surrendered A mother of Saint TekleHaimanot. Saint Teklehaimanot is assumed to be son of this king by Most of wolaytas. After the defiet of the kingdom by north the kingdom shrink-ed to the current size and the name was changed to Kingdom of wolayta and remained the same for hundreds of years until the expansion of Emperor Menelik II into the regions south of Shewa during the early 1890s. The war of conquest has been described by Bahru Zewde as "one of the bloodiest campaigns of the whole period of expansion", and Wolayta oral tradition holds that 118,000 Welayta and 90,000 Shewan troops died in the fighting.[2] Kawo (King) Tona, the last king of Welayta, was defeated and Welayta conquered in 1896. Welayta was then incorporated into the Ethiopia Empire. However, Welayta had a form of self-administrative status and was ruled by Governors directly accountable to the king until the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The Derg afterwards restructured the country and included Welayta as a part of the province of Sidamo.
In 1991 the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) restructured the country into ethnically-based Regions, and Welayta became the centre of Region 9. Later, Welayta was included in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR, consisting of the former regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) as part of the Semien Omo Zone. The regional government claimed that the Welayta were so closely related to the other Omotic-speaking peoples of that zone that there was no justification for a separate Welayta zone. Welayta leaders, however, stressed that their people had a distinct language and culture and demanded a zone for themselves. In 1998, the regional government attempted to introduce an artificially constructed language, based on the various local North Omotic languages and dialects, as the new language of education and administration for Semien Omo Zone. This triggered violent protests by Welayta students, teachers and civil servants, which led to the withdrawal of the new language. In November 2000, the Welayta Zone was established.[3]
Welayta people play a significant role in the politics and economy of Ethiopia. They are known for their humble personalities and friendly approaches. Wolaytas are mostly Christians with majority of Protestant followers.