A Short History of the Kambata People of South-Western Ethiopia

By Tesfaye Habisso H.

History is for human self- knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be person;
secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the
person you are and nobody else is . Knowing yourself means knowing what you can do; and since
nobody knows what they can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.
The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is. (R.G.
Collingwood)
Foreword
From time immemorial Ethiopia had been a museum of many peoples of diverse origins. For me as
well for many Ethiopians, a comprehensive history of these peoples has always been a kind of romantic,
unreachable dream. No historian has yet attempted to tackle this challenging task. Most of the hitherto
written history of Ethiopia which begins in the later Middle Ages from the pens of monks and court
historians and whose main purpose is the laudation of Abyssinian kings does not deal with the
comprehensive history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians at large. It does not particularly touch upon the
history of the regions and peoples incorporated by Emperor Menelik II to the Ethiopian Empire-state
towards the end of the 19th century.
These regions, though they had their own independent kingdoms and sultanates as well as loosely
confederated traditional polities, had no written languages of their own; they had no court historians and
thus no written history. Hence it will be the duty of historians, particularly those from these regions, to
write the history of their peoples so that the history of modern Ethiopia will be complete. Many outsiders
had attempted to write the history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians based on inadequate data and
information, and sometimes relying on secondary sources and hearsay. On this point the Ethiopians
themselves, I believe, would/should have quite a bit to say and say it clear and loud now.This manuscript
on the history of the Kambata people however is not a pioneering historical document or research work
produced by me; it is primarily a compilation of scattered secondary or written source material recorded
by missionaries and monks, professional historians, jurists, administrators and politicians concerning this
part of Ethiopia which, I hope, will help for writing in the future a comprehensive history of the people. Be
this as it may, writing the history of any people, most of all the history of a non-literate people, is a very
difficult and sensitive issuea complex and complicated project fraught with controversies and
disagreements. As The Universal World Reference Encyclopedia cautions:
Since history is concerned with human activity, and since human activity expresses itself in a
variety of ways, there are histories that correspond to these diverse expressions. To write about any
individual or [group] or field of human endeavor a historian must do more than chronicle events, names,
and dates. These are but the crude makings of history; they must be refined through an intellect and
imagination capable of relating one to
another, rejecting the unimportant, and highlighting that which will throw the subject into a proper
perspective. Thus the gathering of information is but a small part of the historians task. Even while he is
collecting his sources and extracting information from them, he must be concerned with their
trustworthiness. Indeed, the historian must forever be on guard against bias in any source that he uses. In
addition, as he begins to write his own history, he must be as fair to the facts as he has expected his
sources to have been. Of course, the history that he writes will be conditioned by his temperament,
including his preconceptions, as much as by the motive and purpose of his research. These variations in
human temperament and motives help to explain the frequent multitude of histories on one subject, and
temperament and motives are greatly influenced by the period in which a historian lives. All written history
is a compound of past and present. Thus, there are no final analyses
in history, no universally accepted conclusions. History can be made to serve every conceivable theory
and temperamental peculiarity. [The Universal World Reference Encyclopedia, Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1964, Vol. VII, P. 2477]
It is taking into considerations the above-mentioned precautions and guidelines that this compiled
historical account on the Kambata people must be perused and utilized as a source material for further
research. My modest attempt to present a short history of Kambataa region and a people long known

by this nameis based on oral traditions and legends, and some written records. I present this history of
the Kambata people not for personal fame and glory, nor for riches, nor honors but for choosing to be
who I am and the recognition and respect of my ethnic and cultural identity, which no good man gives up
except with his/her soul, his/her cultural identity and liberty. As the first President of the Republic of
Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, once said:
A nation without a past is a lost nation. And a people
Without a past is a people without a soul.
I wish someone better qualified than myself had met this need, but suggestions and persuasions in many
directions have so far produced no satisfactory results. Besides, I remember quite well the bitter
memories of Abebe Abura when he published a small booklet entitled, A Short History of Kambata (in
Amharic) some three decades ago; he was unmercifully criticized and condemned by many Kambata and
Hadiya elites/scholars for writing allegedly inaccurate and fictitious history of these peoples. No one
appreciated, at least, his maiden effort in writing the history of the Kambata and Hadiya peoples. Again,
no one forwarded any constructive critique on the book except negative and destructive condemnation.
Ever since that time no Hadiya or Kambata historian or any other intellectual in the area of the social
sciences better qualified for the task has committed himself/herself and his/her energy, time and
resources to write a less controversial and a more consensual sort of history, so to speak, of either
Hadiya or Kambata, or both. This is a paradox no one can decipher: Dont we want our written history?
Dont we have the conviction and desire to write it? Why oppose or condemn any effort, however
palatable that may be to some, when some of our own scholars or patriotic citizens try to write about their
peoples? After all, there is no history that is, and can be, written once and for all, and this is true for any
research output in the field of the social sciences in general. No one can claim to have the ultimate
wisdom in any area of intellectual pursuit; we are all fallible. The search for more and more knowledge is
a continuous process. No one is omniscient and all knowing. This naked truth should guide us all when
we endeavor to produce or peruse any historical document in particular.
Call it nationalism or anything; I want to see the written history of my people. I believe every individual
must be proud of his people and his ethnic nationality; so also his ethnic and civic nationalism as well.
And because the history of my people has not yet been dealt with at length by any historian so far, I
earnestly seek to provide to the public any available information, oral or written, that might help to fill this
vacuum.
As mentioned earlier in this manuscript, Ethiopia had been, and still is, a museum of many
peoples of diverse origins, customs, cultures, religions/faiths and other peculiarities, but not a museum of
many written histories of these peoples. There is no people without history; large or small every people
has its past, its present and its future history. This is what the Southern Ethiopians in general and the
Kambata in particular must be fully aware of; they must also be aware of the fact that they and their
peoples are no less, no better Ethiopian than the rest of their countrymen and women; they must write
their histories in order to avoid an identity crisis for themselves and their children. It is in this spirit that I
attempted to compile this brief history of the Kambata people.
Certainly I do not claim that the picture presented in the following pages, built out of a mosaic of
evidence from historical records, from contemporary documents and many living witnesses, is wholly
accurate and I should welcome any corrections that informed readers can offer me. This manuscript is a
provisional and interim venture; it will fulfill its purpose if it provokes the writing of a definitive or a less
controversial work and if it fills the gap until that is done.

Introductory Remarks: Kambata as the Melting Pot of Ethiopian Society

How and when the name Kambata came into being and what it means is not adequately explained
by written historical records. According to oral accounts, some say that the name Kambata was first
given by the Oromos and it meant, we have surrounded you; how can you get out of your encirclement?
This encirclement by the Oromo may probably imply the period of the Oromo expansions and the
numerous wars fought between the Oromos and the Sidama peoples (Sidamo, Hadiya, Wolayta,
Kambata, Gedeo, etc.) in the years 1550-70 and later. This oral tradition does not seem to reconcile with
written historical records which confirm the existence of Kambata as a kingdom in the 14th century and
earlier. Another oral tradition recounts that the name Kambata was given by the first inhabitants of this
area themselves, known in Kambata oral history as the Ambericho Seven (Ambericho lamala) who
were a group of seven wondering tribes of the Sidama-Omotic peoples, namely Gozuta, Ebbejena,

Effegena, Tazuta, Hinnira, Bazata and Saga. It is said that when these seven groups reached the area
around the Ambericho massif they found the place very suitable for human settlement and decided to
settle there. They said, this is the place where we shall live, this is a place of our choice (in Kambata
language hennamibu kembati and thus the name Kambata). Another oral account says that the name
Kambata was adopted from Kambato who was the son of Kokato; Kokato was the first migrant from
Sidamaland who occupied the Ambericho area in todays Kambata and had a son named Kambato who
in turn had seven children who established an alliance known as Kokati Kambata. It is also said that
Kokato later returned to Sidamo {Annulo Jofe, a Kambata informant and one of the first pioneers who
introduced modern education to Kambata}.
Be this as it may, modern Ethiopia in general and Kambata in particular is the product of many
centuries of interaction and intermingling amongst many cultural-linguistic communities, groups and
individuals of diverse origins. The Ethiopians are indeed a mixed people, so also the Kambata. The only
shortcoming on our part is that we dont know enough how mixed we are, that is, about our shared
identity and history. If we had known enough about this aspect of our shared identity and history, and
taught and passed this to our younger generation, we wouldnt have confronted or faced many of the
intractable ethnic problems that we are facing today
The Kambata are an ethnic group dwelling on the lip of the rift valley about 350 miles south of Addis
Abeba in south-western Ethiopia. The Kambata are bordered on the north by the Hadiya and Alaba, on
the south by the Tembaro and Wolayta, on the west by the Wolayta and Hadiya, and on the east by the
Billate River, which separates them from the Arsi Oromo.They are predominantly sedentary
agriculturalists cultivating ensete edulis and some grains. Because of the ensete cultivation, which is
carried out in close proximity to the residence, closely clustered villages predominate throughout the area.
The Kambata, like other southern Ethiopian peoples, were independent from the centralized Amhara
structure prior to the conquests of Menilik II, 1889-1905.
Based on oral accounts and traditions, Kambata indeed can be called the melting pot of Ethiopian
society. According to the New World Dictionary, by the melting pot we mean a country, place, or area,
in which immigrants of various nations /nationalities are assimilated into one main/dominant culture.
Kambata as the melting pot of Ethiopian society was well illustrated by the former balabat (woma or
king) of Kambata, Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso (1920-47) in the following words:
--- Whence came all these people? They came from the lands of the Amhara, the Galla [Oromo], the
Sidama , the Darassa [Gedeo] , the Wolammo [Wolayta], the Gudela [Hadiya], the Gamo, the Zubamo
[Dubamo], the Gurage, the Tembaro, the Donga, etc. They are a mixture of all these peoples--- What,
then, is the Kambata, this new man? He is neither an Amhara nor a Galla [Oromo] or a Wolammo
[Wolayta]; he is neither a Sidama nor a Darassa [Gedeo] or a Gudela [Hadiya], etc; hence that mixture of
blood which, you will find in no other region or province. I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Ongota (of Amhara origin) whose wife was a Gabara (of Oromo origin), whose son
married a Doda- Annimanna (Badawacho Hadiya), and whose present four sons have now four wives of
different clans claiming diverse originsa Jumma (Sidama), a Wereza (Azernet- Berbere), a Bubulla
(Wolayta) and a Borodamalla (Gamo) respectively. He is a Kambata, who, leaving behind him all his
ancient prejudices, affiliations, roots and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has
embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds--- The Kambata were once
scattered all over Ethiopia; here they are incorporated into one system of population, forming a
microcosm of Ethiopian society.. [ Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso Hellamo, balabat (woma or king ) of
Kambata (ca. 1920-47) replying to Dejazmach Meshesha Wolde Ashagre, the then Governor of Kambata
province(1920-35) representing the central government in Addis Ababa who asked the former how more
than 100 different clans or groups claiming different origins but now speaking the same Kembatigna
language (Kambatiaffo) occupy Kambataland; as told to the author by Dagna Bafutte Didanna, a close
relative of the Kambata king and an elderly Oyeta notable well known throughout the Kambata, Hadiya,
Wolayta, Gurage and Alaba areas, in 1986]. As expressed clearly by the former balabat (king) of
Kambata here above, more than one hundred (100) groups and individuals that later formed the various
sub-groups and clans of the Kambata nation, migrated to the Kambata region from different parts of
Ethiopia and at different times over a long period spanning many hundreds of years in the past. As
claimed by the founding fathers or clan elders or leaders of the respective groups themselves, they
migrated from different regions of Ethiopia. The names of the major clans, their claimed origin of migration
as well as the approximate period of their migration is described in Appendix I at the end of this
manuscript (see Appendix I)

As a political unit as well as a geographic region, the name Kambata refers to an ancient polity that
extended from the Bilate River including Alaba in the east to the Omo (Gibe) River in the west in todays
South-Western Ethiopia. For a long time, even before the polity was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian
Empire in the 15th century, this region was well known as the Kingdom of Kambata (Cambat). This
covered the whole area which is now occupied by the Kambata, the Hadiya, the Alaba, the Donga, the
Tembaro, the Dubamo and the Masmas peoplesthe Hadiya and Kambata and Tembaro zones in the
SNNP Region of the FDRE. As a cultural linguistic category however, the name Kambata here refers to
four former states with peoples, who had the same language, and culture but different historical origins:
the Kambata in the narrow sense (that is, the people occupying Angacha, Kedida-Gamella, Kachabirra,
Damboya, Doyogana and Adillo woredas or destricts), the Dubamo, the Donga and the Tembaro. As will
be explained later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, these peoples were part and parcel of the State of
Damot- Ennariya that also included other peoples such as Damot, Ganz, Gafat, Kaffa, Kullo, Konta,
Wolayta, Maraqo, Yem, Garo, Azernete-Berbere and Enner Gurage(Ennariya). In the aftermath of the
Christian war against the Moslem invasions led by the fierce and dreaded warrior Gragn Ahmed (152943) this region was governed by Ras (Abetohun ) Hamalmal who was appointed as Governor by emperor
Galawdewos (1540-59), with an obligation of showing his utmost allegiance to the imperial court in
Gondar. However, his rule over the region was effectively weakened by the Oromo wars and migrations
that swept across the whole country soon after the demise of Imam Gragn Ahmed at the battle of Woina
Dega in 1543. Subsequently, the State of Damot- Ennariya disintegrated into its component parts and
separate entities subsequently took shape and emerged in the wake of its total fragmentation. Many
peoples such as the Ganz, Gafat Damot, Maya and others disappeared from the map of Ethiopia. They
were all completely absorbed and assimilated by the Oromo invaders; a few migrating to northern Shoa
and elsewhere. On the other hand, in the south, the Gurage, the Sidama, the Wolayta, the Kambata, the
Hadiya, the Gamo, the Goffa, the Gedeo, the Tembaro, the Dubamo, the Donga and many others fiercely
resisted the Oromo but as in the central and northern highlands, they were compelled to yield at least
some territory. Whatever the case, they were able to resist Oromo rule and assimilation and to maintain
their identity intact and to establish their own states ruled by their own respective kings, abagadas and
sultans since then, up until they were all conquered again by Emperor Menilik II of Abyssinia in 1890-93
and annexed to the Christian empire-state. That was also how Hamalmals governorship was reduced
from his wider and far more significant vassal ship over half of the State of Damot Ennariya before the
onset of the Moslem and Oromo wars to the small Kingdom of Kambata during the 17th century. The
Oromo migrations and wars resulted in the weakening of both Christian and Moslem power and drove a
wedge between the two faiths along the eastern edge of the highlands. Thus the Abyssinian Christian
Empire lost all its former jurisdictions over the State of Damot- Ennariya, including Kambata and many
others for over four hundred solid years.
The Kambata, Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro peoples who have a population of about 747,307
(according to the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, CSO, Vol.1 Addis Abeba, p.66), are
jointly referred to as the Kambata peoples but in my analysis they are generally mentioned separately
under their respective names. They occupy an area of about 1,200 square kilometers, largely more than
2,000 meters above sea-level, between the Omo (Gibe) and the middle Bilate rivers. .
The language of the Kambata peoples, together with that of the Alaba (population 125,900; 1994
CSO census) and Qabena (population 35,072; 1994 CSO census) forms a branch of Highland East
Cushitic. They are peasants who conduct intensive agriculture, their principal crops being barley,
cabbage, legumes and ensete ventricosum. Their settlements are in some cases over- populated
(population density being about 300 people per square kilometer); and many inhabitants therefore are
obliged to seek a living in other parts of Ethiopia. Augmenting this social mobility in search of livelihoods
elsewhere, the Kambata have developed over a long period of time remarkable survival strategies and
abilities to adjust to different and harsh environments and these qualities are well noted by many
historians and social researchers. And this is also the glaring reality one can easily observe among the
Kambata peoples in their own localities where one can witness a person who is alternately a farmer, a
teacher, a butcher, a merchant, etc. at the same time thus trying to diversify his/her means of survival.
Be this as it may, resolving the problem of over-population in the Kambata province was traditionally
attempted to be eased by the sole effort of the people themselves who moved out of their homeland as
migrant laborers to the Awash valley agricultural farms (Wonji, Metehara, Abadir, etc.); to Maraqo as
cultivators and collectors of berbere spice; to the Kaffa areas as collectors of coffee beans; and to many
parts of Ethiopia in southern, south- western and south- eastern regions where employment opportunities

were available. The problem had also been attempted to be resolved by successive regimes of Ethiopia
through resettlement schemes, though many of these were not successful as they were not well planned
and properly implemented, and most of all, not designed with the full participation and collaboration of the
peoples at the receiving end. Nevertheless, the number of the Kambata, Tembaro, Qabena and Alaba
who live in the SNNP Region itself is 443,525, 84,918, 28,584 and 117,449 respectively [1994 Housing
and Population Census, p.74] and those who live interspersed among the various nations and
nationalities of Ethiopia is not large. According to the 1994 Housing and Population Census of Ethiopia,
their statistics is as follows:
Kambata
Tembaro
Qabena
Alaba
1. Amhara Region 1,107
34
375
384
2. Tigray Region
23
1
2
3. Affar Region
1,418
5
2
4
4. Oromia Region 41,997
1,277
5,036
7,799
5. Somali Region
102
7
5
2
6. Benishangul-G. R. 2,894
7
47
7. Gambella Region 3,632
234
1
32
8. Harari Region
51
1
2
9. Dire Dawa City
443
240
4
10. Addis Abeba City 4,634
36
819
175
Some Notes on the History of Kambata
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the regions on both sides of the Omo (Gibe) river belonged to
the State of Damot-Ennariya which was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian Empire of northern Ethiopia.
Christianity was introduced to this region during the reign of Emperor Sarsa Dengel (1563-97). Kambata
was then one of the provinces of this State. According to the Arab historians AlUmari (c.1345) and
Maqrizi (1434) however, Kambata was part of the Moslem state of Hadiya that also included the Galla
[Oromo]states of the Gibe, and the Sidama peoples Gudela [Hadiya], Tambaro, Alaba, and Wolamo
[Wolayta] {Ernesta Cerulli, History of the Sidama Countries, Peoples of South-West Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, 1956, p. 85}. The first reference to Kambata as a political unit is found in a praise song in
honor of Emperor Yeshak (1414-29) who annexed it as a province of the Christian Ethiopian Empire. In
this song it is stated that Kambata was a country in which horses were bred and which paid tribute in
horses to Ethiopia {CGA, song 2, line 43} -- something for which it has been noted up to the present day.
The conquest was accompanied by the settlement of military colonists (chawa) from northern Ethiopia,
mainly Amhara, and by a Christian missionary campaign. According to Manoel Almeidas History of High
Ethiopia or Abassia 1628-46, Book I, Ch. 2, p. 9, Kambata was one of the 36 kingdoms of the Abyssinian
Empire that were controlled by the Abyssinian emperors preceding Emperor Susneyos (1607-32); the
latter had little control over them due to the Oromo expansions and settlements cutting them off from their
link with the Christian north. Another Portuguese Jesuit Pedro Paez confirms the same number of
kingdoms with some modifications of the list. The patriarch Mendes in his Expedito Aethiopica, Book I, ch.
I also states that Kambata was one of the more important regions of the ancient Christian empire located
at latitude 7 degree north. Historical records confirm that Manz, Marrabete, Ganz, Gafat, Yifat, Hadiya,
Kambata, Bale, Ennarya, and Gurage were some of the ancient southern kingdoms under the loose
control of the Abyssinian Empire {Manoel Almeida, Ibid, p. 9}. Towards the end of the fifteenth century the
population of the region known later as Kambata Province (Awraja Gizat), between the Omo and the
Bilate rivers, consisted essentially of three ethnically and socio-economically distinct strata. At the bottom
were the Fuga, the Awado and the Saga, castes of potters, black-smiths, tanners and hunters whose
ancestors may have been among the earliest inhabitants of the region. Above them were a broad stratum
of cultivators, who as clan names and other indicators suggest, most probably belonged to the Sidama
and Omotic-speaking peoples from the south. The upper stratum consisted of the Semitic speaking
military colonists from northern Ethiopia, who evidently acquired not only in politics but also in the cultural
fields an importance disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. In fact, the influence of the
Christian Abyssinian Empire on southern Ethiopia, politically and culturally, had been quite significant.
Besides, many ruling dynasties of southern Ethiopian states claimed Amhara or Tigray descent: Kaffa,
Kambata, Wolayta, Zay, Amarro-Koyra, Janjero {Yem}, Dorze, Gamo, Bosha, Gurage, etc. {Haberland,
Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1964, pp. 235-8}.

Soon after the outbreak of the Holy War (Jihad) of the Muslims of the State of Adal under Imam Ahmad
G. Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Gragn Ahmed) against the Christian Ethiopian Empire in 1529, Kambata too became
a battlefield. In 1532, the Adal Commander Abd an-Nasir conquered the province from the southeast.
According to oral testimony, however, Christians who survived this conquest retired to the summit of the
Ambarricho massif and saved their ritual objects. The province suffered such heavy loss of life that it
became in the course of the sixteenth century an attractive target for invaders from the southeast.
In the wake of the troops of Abd an-Nasir, semi-nomadic Hadiya groups from Dallo (Bale), called Wetogira (Gudela), migrated into the region between the Omo and the Bilate. From 1570 (if not earlier), the
Oromo began to break out of their original homeland between the upper Ganale and upper Dawa and to
exert pressure on the surrounding peoples. Unable to conquer the Sidama highlands, which were already
relatively densely populated, they bypassed them in their great expansion towards the east; yet indirectly
they caused some groups to emigrate from the region. Oral traditions state explicitly that in about the
middle of the sixteenth century, the Effegenna, Ebejenna and Goromma fled northwards from the
Sidama-Gedeo (Darassa) region in order to avoid Oromo rule. They settled on the Ambarricho massif in
Kambata joining the earlier settlers from the Sidama-Darassa regions already living there, and being
relatively populous groups, introduced their Highland East Cushitic language to Kambata. A related
language was that of the ancestors of the Tembaro, who came from Yemererra in the central Sidama
highlands and reached their present territory after a long migration through Alaba, Bosha and Dawro. At
roughly the same time, i.e. between c. 1550-70, the ancestors of the Dubamo and the Donga, said in oral
traditions to have been Christians, were on the move. Their origin can be traced back to Qawena in the
eastern Sidama highlands. It can be assumed that the settlement of these groups in Kambata resulted in
a marked supremacy of Highland East Cushitic languages, whilst Omotic and Semitic were pushed back
to steadily shrinking linguistic islands and to their eventual extinction. In the economic sphere a
differentiation emerged between the highlands, which were occupied by ensete farmers, and in the
middle and lower regions, Hadiya nomads of the Weto-gira tribe grazed their livestock.
As mentioned earlier, in the aftermath of the Christian empires victorious war against Gragn Ahmed
(1529-1543) and the latters demise at the battle of Woine Dega in 1543, Emperor Galawdewos
appointed Ras (Abetohun) Htamelmal as governor of half of the kingdom of Ennarya that also included
Kambata then. As Atme G.M. reminisces:
Being the descendant of kings and the bearer of the title Abetohun, Ras Hamalmal, in that period, ruled
half of the kingdom of Ennarya, namely Kambat[a], Walamo [Wolayta], Kullo, Konta, Zanzaro [Yem],
Garo, Ennarot as far as Barbare-Meder, including Maraqo , and on the other side as far as Kafa. Chawa
(soldiers) were posted with their respective commanders in all these places. While they settled under their
respective commanders they failed to assist one another when the Moslems and Galla came. They split
up under their respective commanders and localities. They also differed highly from one another in
language. The mother tongue of Kafa, Kullo, Konta, Walamo, Kambata, Maraqo, and Zanjaro, Garo and
Enarat is Ennarya, and they all resemble each other. The unity in language and religion can clearly be
seen today. [Atme G.M. (Tafla) O.J.:71f].
Abetohun Hamalmal (1551-1614), as historical records confirm, was the grand-son of Emperor Naod
(1494-1508) through his mother Romanewerq, daughter of the Emperor [Basset 1882-116]. He was also
one of the key generals of Emperor Galawdewos (1540-59) who undertook several war expeditions to
different parts of the country to oust the remnants of Gragn Ahmed from the Christian strongholds. In
1559, he was ordered, with another general Ras Fassil to attack Harar which was at the time the major
center of Islam. This expedition is well illustrated by Atme G.M. in the following words:
The Negus [Galawdewos] gave an order that Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal, the Governor of Kambata,
should invade Hararge. He has disbanded the remainder of his army and did not have time to mobilize it.
Furthermore, the clergy was urging him on with the great promise: Should you fall into the hands of Nur
Muhammad [Amir Nur b. Mujahid; the still resisting and strongest general of Gragn Ahmed after the
latters death] you will become a martyr and reign in heaven. Thus he led an expedition into the country
of Adal, where he died at a place called Nach-Sar on the border of Wallo. Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal
set out from Kambata via Malka Amhara and Annya and reached Adari (Harari). In those days, the sultan
of Harar was Habib, who was in his time a great and dreaded man. They fought a fierce battle in the plain
named Sayyedna-Hasheem at the Yarar-Gate. Sultan Habib died, and Ras Hamalmal entered Adari,
burned it and demolished all the mosques. In short, he wrought great destruction and then returned
home. He had not yet heard of the death of Atse Galawdewos [Atme G.M.(Tafla ) O.J.:29].

Soon afterwards the Oromo invasions and migrations marked the eclipse of the Moslem onslaughts
against the Abyssinian Christian empire and the latter had to make futile attempts at curbing waves after
waves of Oromo warriors invading and forcefully occupying many territories inside and outside of the
Christian and Moslem jurisdiction and control of the day but to no avail. Ras Hamalmal fought Luba
Michile (Mesle) at Dago in Arsi province in around 1560, thus repulsing the Oromo invaders from
occupying Kambata and the adjacent territories which were then under the Christian empire. Hamalmal
firmly retained his governorship of the Kingdom of Kambata, long after the Oromo invasions. When the
Portuguese delegation led by Father Fernandez reached Kambata, on the orders of Emperor Susneyos,
in 1614, Hamalmal was still the governor of Kambata. Buckingham and Huntingford noted of this
situation as follows;
Traveling eastwards from the river Zebee [Gibe] the Father [Fernandes] reached Innagara, a place in the
Kingdom of Cambat, which was governed by Hamalmal who at that time recognized the emperor as his
overlord. To the left there are people called Guragues who do not often obey the emperor [Fernandez
(Buckingham /Huntingford) 1954 162-76]. The Portuguese explorer Almeida who was at Emperor
Susneyoss court in 1614 also confirms about Ras Hamalmal being the Governor of Kabmata and a
faithful vassal of the emperor thus:
The fact that Hamalmal, amid so many Galla countries, obeyed him [the emperor] and still accorded him
some recognition was rather because he was well-disposed and a vassal of old standing, than because
the empire was strong enough to make him do it if he had wished to revolt. So today Cambata does not
pay any tribute nor does the emperor appoint a governor for that kingdom, it all belongs to various Galla
and Moorish lords who hold and rule it. At the time the emperor did what he could. [Ibid, 1954:165].
Emperor Susneyos reigned in Gondar from 1607-32.
Ras (Abetohun) Hamalmals story and the Oyeta dynasty he founded in Kambata seems to have
evoked a funny twist in the oral traditions of the Kambata people. A tradition widely known in Kambata
states that seven groups at the summit of the Ambarricho massif, who had survived the upheavals of the
long-lasting Holy war (Jihad) , formed a federation (Kokata). The names of these seven of the
Ambarricho (ambarricho lamala) are generally given as Oyeta, Gulba, Hinnira, Taza, Effegena,
Ebejjinna and Fuga. According to an etiological tale, a hunger contest is supposed to have determined
their internal hierarchy and secured the kingship for the Oyeta group or clan. Whereas hitherto Kambata
had merely been a political term, from the end of the sixteenth century onwards a process of ethnogenesis drew together heterogeneous groups, symbolized by the number seven; and from this process
emerged the Kambata people. All the remaining groups referred to as Kambata peoples based on their
common language are also symbolized by the number seven (Molli lamala among the Tembaro, Dongi
lamala among the Donga, Dubami lamala among the Dubamo). The population of Kambata (in the
narrow sense ) was stratified according to ethnic origin: the Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals dynasty) who
claimed to originate from Gondar, formed the royal clan; the Gulba from Bulga ( Shoa) formed a clan of
nobles; the originally Omotic-speaking Hinnira and Taza made up an upper stratum of free commoners
while the lower stratum of free commoners was composed of Efegenna and Ebejjenna, who had become
linguistically dominant; finally, the Fuga, the Saga and the Awado, formed endogamous castes of
artisanscarpenters, hunters, potters, blacksmiths, etc. Social stratification was the order of the day which
eventually gave way to a semi-feudal order in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of King
Dilbato Degoye (1845-92). Today, no social stratification exists among the first four groups who have
freely intermarried and intermingled among themselves over the past several hundreds of years; they all
enjoy equal status in all walks of life. But the social status of the last groups (Fuga, Saga and Awado) still
remains unpalatable to all people who believe in the equality of all human beings and their equal
treatment in all aspects of life, in brief, respecting their inalienable human rights. Personally, I believe
that if the Fuga, Saga and Awado had the upper hand in leading the Kambata people over the past
several hundreds of years, perhaps, we would have become a technological or industrial society today as
these three groups were the ones who had great skills in making armors of war, agricultural tools, kitchen
utensils, pottery, tannery, hunting, etc. and masters of the material culture of the Kambata people. The
whole Kambata society have depended, and still depend, upon their technical skills and output for many
generations up until today.
Ras Hamalmal is considered to have been the first king of the Oyeta dynasty, which was named
after his wife Oyete (Hayat), daughter of Hajj Ali(ye) Ismael Jeberti, a religious and war leader of the
Azernet- Berbere (eastern Gurage) at the time. As mentioned earlier, this Hamalmal is mentioned in the
report of the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio Fernandes, who in 1613/14 undertook a mission from the

Ethiopian imperial court at Gondar through Kambata. Thus the chronology for the beginning of the Oyeta
dynasty can be fixed. Hamalmal was nominally the governor of Kambata province in the name of the
Christian empire. In practice, however, he was independent, especially as the expansion of the Oromo
into Shoa has broken the territorial link with the Abyssinian state. Relations with the Christian north were
broken off almost in the course of the seventeenth century; yet survivals of Christian Orthodox traditions
have been retained to the present day.
From Hamalmals time onwards, Kambata served as a refuge for political refugees and economically
threatened groups from southern and northern Ethiopia. The immigrants, such as Amhara from Gaynt
(Begemedir), Bulga (Shoa), Manz(Shoa) and people from the Hadiya and Ormo regions, often became
the founders of new clans, whose number rose in the course of time to about one hundred or more.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Kambata remained restricted to a small territory around
the Ambarricho massif due to the consequences of the devastating wars of Iman Gragn Ahmed (1529-43)
and his generals Abd an-Nasir (1532) and Nur Ibn Mujjahid (1529-68), and the subsequent massive
Oromo migrations (1570-1870), while Hadiya herdsmen who came along with the Muslim jihadists
continued to control and use most of the area between the Omo and the Bilate rivers for grazing. The
Kambata peoples were famed for their sophisticated agricultural techniques and their surplus production;
yet population pressure (itself in part a consequence of this agricultural success) presented a growing
threat to their existence.
No written records exist about Hamalmals immediate successors. However, Kambata (Oyeta) oral
traditions confirm Dame (Demelash), Anno (Enniyew), Ketemo (Ketema), Dilaba and Gonjobo as
Hamalmals immediate successors. For the kingdoms of Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro, too, the period
from the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century is a dark phase, though
they also have their own oral accounts of this period. One event which was of significance for religious
and political history was the kidnapping of a spirit medium, the hauzul-mancho from Bosha, by the
Dubamo. According to oral traditions or accounts, the Kambata owed tribute to the Hadiya of the
Wetogira tribes, to whom they were also under humiliating conditions. In about 1770, their king Katama
managed, with the help of other Hadiya groups (the Shashogo and Urusso), to drive out the Wetogira
Hadiya tribes (Haballo, Bargage, Hojje, Hanqalla, Hayiba, Haysaba, Gondala, Errera and Massawa;
these were part of the Moslem jihadists that conquered Kambata and led by Abd anNasir in 1532). The
murder of Dilaba, Katamas immediate successor, shortly afterwards by Hadallo Gebro [Gebru, Ketemas
brother], a member of the Oyeta royal clan, was followed by a period of succession disputes and civil
wars which lasted about ten years. Under King Waqo Ketema (c.1790-1810) the Kambata state was
again consolidated.
The Donga had successfully striven for some time under their woma (king) Hanagassa to extend their
territory. In about 1770, however, the Badawacho Hadiya pushed them back to their small mountain
homeland. Around 1800, they and their neighbors, the Dubamo, fell under the overlord-ship of the SoroHadiya, who had advanced from the north. The Tembaro were able to maintain their independence and
became notorious for their raids into the country lying southwest of them, extending beyond Dawro (KulloKonta).
Under King Dagoiye Waqo (c. 1810-45) a formative period began in Kambata, in which the institutions of
the state acquired their essential features, and Kambata began to extend its territory by a deliberate
programme of colonization, pushing the Wolayta and the Hadiya peoples. As in many kingdoms of
southern Ethiopia (e.g. Wolayta, Janjero), the newly acquired areas were in each case demarcated by a
system of walls and ditches, which served in part as fortifications but had a more important symbolic
significance.
Kambata enjoyed its classical age under woma (king) Dilbatto Degoiye (c.1845-92), who was highly
respected among the peoples of central southern Ethiopia. Under his rule the institutions of state
reached their highest stage of development An administrative apparatus sub-dividing the territory into
counties (gocho ) was created, and diplomatic and military measures led to a considerable extension of
the area covered by the state (reaching roughly the present-day linguistic boundaries of the Kambata).
The main military conflicts were with the Soro-Hadiya and the Wolayta, whereas the other Hadiya tribes
and the Alaba were tied to the Kambata state by alliances and inter marriage. The rise of the monarchy
and of the Oyeta clan was accompanied by growing clashes of interest and socio-economic antagonisms
between the ruling stratum and the mass of the peasantry (kontoma). An insurrection (kontomi
diddenna) which broke out in about 1885 was crushed by King Dilbatto with the help of friendly Hadiya
groups (mainly Badawacho).

At this time Kambata already lay within the field of operations of the Shoa Amhara, who had occupied the
Gurage country and were beginning to extend their conquests into the areas immediately south of it.
Between 1891 and 1893 the Kambata peoples were subjugated by the Christian Ethiopian Empire under
Emperor Menilik II. This meant the end of the kingship and the beginning of a new political and socioeconomic era, characterized above all by the gabbar system. The inhabitants were allotted as bondsmen
or serfs of the state (gabbar) to military colonists (naftagna or gun-bearer) from the north colonizing the
conquered peoples including the earlier colonists called chawa who migrated to the region since the time
of Emperor Yeshaq of Gondar (1414-29) and were obliged to pay taxes in kind and perform corveelike
services. Insurrections against this state of affairs broke out in many parts of southern Ethiopia,
particularly during the civil war of 1916 during the reign of Lij Eyasu Michael. Conquest by the Ethiopian
empire was followed by a (re) Christianization of the Kambata region; but it was not until the 1950s that
this process was completed, thanks partly to the work of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
The Amhara introduced new crops (e.g. eragrostis teff) and ox-drawn ploughs; but in the highlands to this
day the latter has only managed to gain a secondary place vis--vis the traditional agricultural tools-- the
digging- stick and hoe. An important innovation was the emergence of centers of administration and
commercial activities (katama) in a country where the only form of settlement had been that of loosely
grouped hamlets and far-flung villages. The gabbar system was abolished by the Italians and was not
reintroduced after the reinstatement of Emperor Haile Sellassie I by the British in 1941. The landlordtenant system which then emerged did not fundamentally alter socio- economic relationships. Fortunately,
most Kambata, especially in the densely populated highlands, were in any case peasants on land which
was considered as belonging to their communities and for which only a relatively small tax had to be paid
to the state. Large estates were promised to those descendants of kings who were appointed balabat
(government chief) and to people of the Oyeta clan. Overpopulation in the core area of the Kamabata
made it increasingly necessary for landless peasants to seek their living standards among self- sufficient
smallholders from about 1960 on. In general however, the material quality of life remained so low that the
majority of inhabitants of the Kambata areas greeted the revolution which broke out in 1974 and the
proclamation of a land reform with great optimism, which, however, was dashed soon due to the illadvised programmes of forced villagization, forced resettlement in remote and harsh environments as
well as the inability of peasants to sell their agricultural surplus produce at the market price and at places
of their choice or preference but forcefully supply their products to the state-owned Agricultural Marketing
Enterprise (AMCE) at government set prices and quantities. This, in brief, covers some aspects of the
history of Kambata from the 14th to the 20th century.

Appendix I
List of Major Clans of Kambata
No.
Name of clan
Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals
Dynasty)
Gulba
Nurto

Claimed Origin of
Migration
Gondar
Bulga (shoa)
Gondar

Approx Period
of Migration
16th century
16th
16th

Hajibbo (Hate) Amhara

Ongot (ta)
Ennagos /Dildiy/ Amhara
Quntanno
Sintarro
Qorandi- Amhara
Ennagari- Amhara
Garado- Amhara
Abrahmi- Amhara
Wolde-Amhara
Dawaro
Masmas(a)
Agawa
Gafat (a)
Dola(Dubamo)
Gojjinna ()
Golacha ()
Gojjinna ()
Gulla ()
Suara ()
Zambochicho
Badogo
Damota (Woshbirra)
Dada
Dawe
Farzanno (Farzanna)
Zato
Bonoso
Gabara
Gadena
Galla(Adamogne)
35. Gora
Gorakama
Gujji
Hambarazo
Qarisso
Malga
Wolleqa
Womallo
Worarra
Yabbu
Haballo
Hayiba
Hojje
Qilemanna
Jawarro
Godicho
Sarorre
Gonderomma
Haderamma
Muta
Zedinno
Doda
Awda
Malge
Ennerra

Gayint
Before 15th century
Gayint

Gayint
17th century
Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz, Enner Gurage

17th

Garado (Wollo)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Chilga (Gondar)
16th

Agewmedir (Gojjam)
16th

Gafat (Wollo)
15th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Arsi, Gadab, Wolayta

18th

Arsi, Endegagn
19th

Arsi-Didaa
18th

Albaso (Arsi)
18th
Borana (Oromo)
17th

Yem, Jimma
17th

Arsi-Dida
18th

Arsi
18th

Wabi Shebele, Arsi

18th

Jimma
18th

Jimma
18th

Gujji
-Oromo
18th

Arsi
18th

Eka (Arsi)
19th

Arsi, Sidama
16th

Wollega-Oromo
18th

Borana
18th

Werera (Arsi)
18th

Kalalle(Zwai lake)
18th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Gadab (Wabi Shebelle)

19th

Gadab (
)
19th

Gadab (
)
19th

Dallo(Bale)
16th

Dallo(Bale)
16th

Dallo(Bale)
16th

Dallo(Bale)
16th

Dallo, Gadab
19th

Sidama
17th

Sidama
15th

Sidama
15th

Jigga
Sidama
18th

Jumma
Sidama
18th

Hessesse(ta)
Sidama, Borana
18th

Churrissa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
16th-17th

Lambuda ()

16th-17th

Lanchamo ()

16th-17th

Magalalle ()

16th-17th

Mattafarsa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
16-17th century
Orgo ()
Sidama, Guraghe
16-17th

Sintyanno ()

16-17th

Adde (Tembaro)
Yemerrra (Sidama)
16th

Ajjarra ()

16th

Qutna (Quunna) (Tembarro)

16th

Sambata ()

16th

Tase ()

16th

75. Wajja ()

16th

Yagga ()

16th

Hinnira
Wolayta, Ennariya
15th

Goromma
Wolayta
18th

Bubulla
Wolayta
19th

Makuta
Gamo
18th

Damota
Wolayta
18th

Derreja
Gamo
18th

Dubbo
Borana; Qucha, Dubbo(Wolayta)
18th
Goromma
Wolayta
18th century
Tigra- Wolayta
Kindo, Kosha(Wolayta)
18th

Weshesha
Wolayta, Donga, Danta
18th

Zakete
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Borojmalla (Borodamalla)
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Effegenna
Gedeo
16th

Ebejjena
Gedeo
16th

Guna
Guna(Lemo)
19th

Odro
Lemo-Hadiya
19th

Moche
Badawacho-Hadiya
19th
Tarachmanna
Shashogo- Hadiya
19th

Annashakko
Alaba, Qabena
19th

Azera
Azernet Berbere
18th

Dada
Endegagn(east Guraghe)
19th

Endanna
Ennariya, Endegagn
18th

99.
Gejja
Geja(North Guraghe)
18th

100. Ganz
Ganz (Qabena)
15-18th

101. Jorra
Enner- Guraghe
18th

102. Omoshogorra
Ennariya, Masmas,
18th

Enamor-Guraghe
103. Yangaro
Janjero [Yem]
17th

104.Saga
Guraghe
Before 15th

105. Werreza
Qabena/Guraghe,
17th

106. Fuga(Annosa, Masmas, Guraghe,

Before15th

Badagosa, Bidirra
Ennariya
Boriye, Bosha, Gacha,
Gajicho, Gashdessa,
Gauwossa, Hojiya (Hokiya)
Marenmanna, Masmassa,
Negaa, Tontosa (Dontosa),
Woiyoso)

References
1.
Atme, G.M.
History of the Galla (Yegalla Tarik), part I translated by Bairu Tafla, O.O. (Ms)
Azais, R. P.and R. Chambard , 1942.
2.
Braukamper, Ulrich,
Die Kambata Franz Steiner Verlagh GMBH, Weisbaden, 1983
3.
Buckingham, C.F. and G. B.W. Huntingford (Eds.). Some Records of Ethiopia 1593-1646; Being
Extracts from the History of High Ethiopia or Abassia by Manoel de Almeida together with Bahreys
History of the Galla [Oromo ],(Hakluyt Society II, CVII), London
4.
Cerulli, Ernesta
Peoples of South west Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, London, 1956
5.
Ethiopia: The 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia,
CSO, 1994, Addis Ababa
6.
Haberland, E.
The Influence of the Christian Ethiopian Empire on Southern Ethiopia , In
Journal of Semitic Studies IX: 235-38
7.
Hodson, A.
Seven Years in Southern Ethiopia , London, 1927
8.
Leslaw, W.
Additional Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Arthropods 51, 5/6 :98593 , 1956
9.
Leslaw, W.
Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Africa, XXII:348-59 , 1952
10. Ludolph(us),J.
A New History of Ethiopia: Being a Full and Accurate Description of the Kingdom
of Abyssinia, vulgarly though Erroneously called the Empire of Prester John, London, 1682.
11. Moreno, M.M.
Appunti di Cambata e di Alaba, In: RRAL, ser. VI, XIV,3/4 =269-79
12. Singer, N.J.
The Use of Courts as a Key to Legal Development: an Analysis of Legal
Attitudes of the Cambata of Ethiopia, In Proceedings of the First United States Conference of Ethiopian
Studies, 1973. s. 365-83 East Lansing , 1975
13. Singer, N.J.
Some Notes on the origin of the Cambata of southern Ethiopia, Tuscaloosa
(Ms.), 1977.
14. Singer, N.J.
The Relevance of Traditional Legal Systems to Modernization and Reform: a
Consideration of Cambata Legal Structure, In Tubiana, J. (Ed.), Modern Ethiopia :From the Accession of
Menelik II to the Present, S.. 537 -56 ,Rotterdam , 1980
15.
Yigezu,s.
Kambata Awraja: Its People and Local Administration, Addis Abeba
(Ms)1970.
16.
Dagana Bafutte Didana Oral History of Kambata, 1986. The late Dagna Bafutte Did ana was a
well known Oyeta notable who died at the age of 90 in 1992.

A Short History of the Kambata People of

South-Western Ethiopia
By Tesfaye Habisso H.

History is for human self- knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing,

first, what it is to be person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are;
and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is . Knowing
yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they
can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.
The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is. (R.G.
Collingwood)
Foreword
From time immemorial Ethiopia had been a museum of many peoples of diverse origins. For me as
well for many Ethiopians, a comprehensive history of these peoples has always been a kind of romantic,
unreachable dream. No historian has yet attempted to tackle this challenging task.
Most of the hitherto written history of Ethiopia which begins in the later Middle Ages from the pens of
monks and court historians and whose main purpose is the laudation of Abyssinian kings does not deal
with the comprehensive history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians at large. It does not particularly touch upon

the history of the regions and peoples incorporated by Emperor Menelik II to the Ethiopian Empire-state
towards the end of the 19th century.
These regions, though they had their own independent kingdoms and sultanates as well as loosely
confederated traditional polities, had no written languages of their own; they had no court historians and
thus no written history. Hence it will be the duty of historians, particularly those from these regions, to
write the history of their peoples so that the history of modern Ethiopia will be complete. Many outsiders
had attempted to write the history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians based on inadequate data and
information, and sometimes relying on secondary sources and hearsay. On this point the Ethiopians
themselves, I believe, would/should have quite a bit to say and say it clear and loud now.
This manuscript on the history of the Kambata people however is not a pioneering historical document
or research work produced by me; it is primarily a compilation of scattered secondary or written source
material recorded by missionaries and monks, professional historians, jurists, administrators and
politicians concerning this part of Ethiopia which, I hope, will help for writing in the future a comprehensive
history of the people. Be this as it may, writing the history of any people, most of all the history of a nonliterate people, is a very difficult and sensitive issuea complex and complicated project fraught with
controversies and disagreements. As The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia cautions:
Since history is concerned with human activity, and since human activity expresses itself in a
variety of ways, there are histories that correspond to these diverse expressions. To write about any
individual or [group] or field of human endeavour a historian must do more than chronicle events, names,
and dates. These are but the crude makings of history; they must be refined through an intellect and
imagination capable of relating one to
another, rejecting the unimportant, and highlighting that which will throw the subject into a proper
perspective. Thus the gathering of information is but a small part of the historians task. Even while he is
collecting his sources and extracting information from them, he must be concerned with their
trustworthiness. Indeed, the historian must forever be on guard against bias in any source that he uses.
In addition, as he begins to write his own history, he must be as fair to the facts as he has expected his
sources to have been. Of course, the history that he writes will be conditioned by his temperament,
including his preconceptions, as much as by the motive and purpose of his research. These variations in
human temperament and motives help to explain the frequent multitude of histories on one subject, and
temperament and motives are greatly influenced by the period in which a historian lives. All written history
is a compound of past and present. Thus, there are no final analyses
in history, no universally accepted conclusions. History can be made to serve every conceivable theory
and temperamental peculiarity. [The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia, Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1964, Vol. VII, P. 2477]
It is taking into considerations the above-mentioned precautions and guidelines that this compiled
historical account on the Kambata people must be perused and utilized as a source material for further
research. My modest attempt to present a short history of Kambataa region and a people long known
by this nameis based on oral traditions and legends, and some written records. I present this history of
the Kambata people not for personal fame and glory, nor for riches, nor honours but for choosing to be
who I am and the recognition and respect of my ethnic and cultural identity, which no good man gives up
except with his/her soul, his/her cultural identity and liberty. As the first President of the Republic of
Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, once said:
A nation without a past is a lost nation. And a people
without a past is a people without a soul.
I wish someone better qualified than myself had met this need, but suggestions and persuasions in many
directions have so far produced no satisfactory results. Besides, I remember quite well the bitter
memories of Abebe Abura when he published a small booklet entitled, A Short History of Kambata (in
Amharic) some three decades ago; he was unmercifully criticized and condemned by many Kambata and
Hadiya elites/scholars for writing allegedly inaccurate and fictitious history of these peoples. No one
appreciated, at least, his maiden effort in writing the history of the Kambata and Hadiya peoples. Again,
no one forwarded any constructive critique on the book except negative and destructive condemnation.
Ever since that time no Hadiya or Kambata historian or any other intellectual in the area of the social
sciences better qualified for the task has committed himself/herself and his/her energy, time and
resources to write a less controversial and a more consensual sort of history, so to speak, of either
Hadiya or Kambata, or both. This is a paradox no one can decipher: Dont we want our written history?
Dont we have the conviction and desire to write it? Why oppose or condemn any effort, however

palatable that may be to some, when some of our own scholars or patriotic citizens try to write about their
peoples? After all, there is no history that is, and can be, written once and for all, and this is true for any
research output in the field of the social sciences in general. No one can claim to have the ultimate
wisdom in any area of intellectual pursuit; we are all fallible. The search for more and more knowledge is
a continuous process. No one is omniscient and all knowing. This naked truth should guide us all when
we endeavour to produce or peruse any historical document in particular.
Call it nationalism or anything, I want to see the written history of my people. I believe every individual
must be proud of his people and his ethnic nationality; so also his ethnic and civic nationalism as well.
And because the history of my people has not yet been dealt with at length by any historian so far, I
earnestly seek to provide to the public any available information, oral or written, that might help to fill this
vacuum.
As mentioned earlier in this manuscript, Ethiopia had been, and still is, a museum of many
peoples of diverse origins, customs, cultures, religions/faiths and other peculiarities, but not a museum of
many written histories of these peoples. There is no people without history; large or small every people
has its past, its present and its future history. This is what the Southern Ethiopians in general and the
Kambata in particular must be fully aware of; they must also be aware of the fact that they and their
peoples are no less, no better Ethiopian than the rest of their countrymen and women; they must write
their histories in order to avoid an identity crisis for themselves and their children. It is in this spirit that I
attempted to compile this brief history of the Kambata people.
Certainly I do not claim that the picture presented in the following pages, built out of a mosaic of
evidence from historical records, from contemporary documents and many living witnesses, is wholly
accurate and I should welcome any corrections that informed readers can offer me. This manuscript is a
provisional and interim venture; it will fulfil its purpose if it provokes the writing of a definitive or a less
controversial work and if it fills the gap until that is done.

Introductory Remarks:Kambata as the Melting Pot of Ethiopian Society

How and when the name Kambata came into being and what it means is not adequately explained
by written historical records. According to oral accounts, some say that the name Kambata was first
given by the Oromos and it meant , we have surrounded you; how can you get out of your
encirclement? This encirclement by the Oromo may probably imply the period of the Oromo expansions
and the numerous wars fought between the Oromos and the Sidama peoples (Sidamo, Hadiya, Wolayta,
Kambata, Gedeo, etc.) in the years 1550-70 and later. This oral tradition does not seem to reconcile with
written historical records which confirm the existence of Kambata as a kingdom in the 14th century and
earlier. Another oral tradition recounts that the name Kambata was given by the first inhabitants of this
area themselves, known in Kambata oral history as the Ambericho Seven (Ambericho lamala) who
were a group of seven wondering tribes of the Sidama-Omotic peoples, namely Gozuta, Ebbejena,
Effegena, Tazuta, Hinnira, Bazata and Saga. It is said that when these seven groups reached the area
around the Ambericho massif they found the place very suitable for human settlement and decided to
settle there. They said, this is the place where we shall live, this is a place of our choice (in Kambata
language hennamibu kembati and thus the name Kambata). Another oral account says that the name
Kambata was adopted from Kambato who was the son of Kokato; Kokato was the first migrant from
Sidamaland who occupied the Ambericho area in todays Kambata and had a son named Kambato who
in turn had seven children who established an alliance known as Kokati Kambata. It is also said that
Kokato later returned to Sidamo {Annulo Jofe, a Kambata informant and one of the first pioneers who
introduced modern education to Kambata}.
Be this as it may, modern Ethiopia in general and Kambata in particular is the product of many
centuries of interaction and intermingling amongst many cultural-linguistic communities, groups and
individuals of diverse origins. The Ethiopians are indeed a mixed people, so also the Kambata. The only
shortcoming on our part is that we dont know enough how mixed we are, that is, about our shared
identity and history. If we had known enough about this aspect of our shared identity and history, and
taught and passed this to our younger generation, we wouldnt have confronted or faced many of the
intractable ethnic problems that we are facing today
The Kambata are an ethnic group dwelling on the lip of the rift valley about 350 miles south of Addis
Abeba in south-western Ethiopia. The Kambata are bordered on the north by the Hadiya and Alaba, on
the south by the Tembaro and Wolayta, on the west by the Wolayta and Hadiya, and on the east by the

Billate river, which separates them from the Arsi Oromo.They are predominantly sedentary agriculturalists
cultivating ensete edulis and some grains. Because of the ensete cultivation, which is carried out in close
proximity to the residence, closely clustered villages predominate throughout the area. The Kambata, like
other southern Ethiopian peoples, were independent from the centralized Amhara structure prior to the
conquests of Menelik II, 1889-1905.
Based on oral accounts and traditions, Kambata indeed can be called the melting pot of Ethiopian
society. According to the New World Dictionary, by the melting pot we mean a country, place, or area,
in which immigrants of various nations /nationalities are assimilated into one main/dominant culture.
Kambata as the melting pot of Ethiopian society was well illustrated by the former balabat (woma or
king) of Kambata, Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso (1920-47 ) in the following words:
--- Whence came all these people? They came from the lands of the Amhara, the Galla [Oromo], the
Sidama , the Darassa [Gedeo] , the Wolammo [Wolayta], the Gudela [Hadiya], the Gamo, the Zubamo
[Dubamo], the Gurage, the Tembaro, the Donga, etc. They are a mixture of all these peoples--- What,
then, is the Kambata, this new man? He is neither an Amhara nor a Galla [Oromo ] or a Wolammo
[Wolayta]; he is neither a Sidama nor a Darassa [Gedeo] or a Gudela [Hadiya], etc; hence that mixture of
blood which , you will find in no other region or province. I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Ongota (of Amhara origin) whose wife was a Gabara (of Oromo origin) , whose son
married a Doda- Annimanna (Badawacho Hadiya), and whose present four sons have now four wives of
different clans claiming diverse originsa Jumma (Sidama), a Wereza(Azernet- Berbere), a Bubulla
(Wolayta) and a Borodamalla (Gamo) respectively. He is a Kambata, who, leaving behind him all his
ancient prejudices, affiliations, roots and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has
embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds--- The Kambata were once
scattered all over Ethiopia; here they are incorporated into one system of population, forming a
microcosm of Ethiopian society.. [ Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso Hellamo, balabat (woma or king ) of
Kambata (ca. 1920-47) replying to Dejazmach Meshesha Wolde Ashagre, the then Governor of Kambata
province(1920-35) representing the central government in Addis Ababa who asked the former how more
than 100 different clans or groups claiming different origins but now speaking the same Kembatigna
language (Kambatiaffo) occupy Kambataland; as told to the author by Dagna Bafutte Didanna, a close
relative of the Kambata king and an elderly Oyeta notable well known throughout the Kambata, Hadiya,
Wolayta, Gurage and Alaba areas, in 1986]. As expressed clearly by the former balabat (king) of
Kambata here above, more than one hundred (100) groups and individuals that later formed the various
sub-groups and clans of the Kambata nation, migrated to the Kambata region from different parts of
Ethiopia and at different times over a long period spanning many hundreds of years in the past. As
claimed by the founding fathers or clan elders or leaders of the respective groups themselves, they
migrated from different regions of Ethiopia. The names of the major clans, their claimed origin of migration
as well as the approximate period of their migration is described in Appendix I at the end of this
manuscript (see Appendix I)
As a political unit as well as a geographic region, the name Kambata refers to an ancient polity that
extended from the Bilate River including Alaba in the east to the Omo (Gibe) River in the west in todays
South-Western Ethiopia. For a long time, even before the polity was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian
Empire in the 15th century, this region was well known as the Kingdom of Kambata (Cambat). This
covered the whole area which is now occupied by the Kambata, the Hadiya, the Alaba, the Donga, the
Tembaro, the Dubamo and the Masmas peoplesthe Hadiya and Kambata and Tembaro zones in the
SNNP Region of the FDRE. As a cultural linguistic category however, the name Kambata here refers to
four former states with peoples, who had the same language, and culture but different historical origins:
the Kambata in the narrow sense (that is, the people occupying Angacha, Kedida-Gamella, Kachabirra,
Damboya, Doyogana and Adillo woredas or destricts), the Dubamo, the Donga and the Tembaro. As will
be explained later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, these peoples were part and parcel of the State of
Damot- Ennariya that also included other peoples such as Damot, Ganz, Gafat, Kaffa, Kullo, Konta,
Wolayta, Maraqo, Yem, Garo, Azernete-Berbere and Enner Gurage(Ennariya). In the aftermath of the
Christian war against the Moslem invasions led by the fierce and dreaded warrior Gragn Ahmed (152943) this region was governed by Ras (Abetohun ) Hamalmal who was appointed as Governor by emperor
Galawdewos (1540-59), with an obligation of showing his utmost allegiance to the imperial court in
Gondar. However, his rule over the region was effectively weakened by the Oromo wars and migrations
that swept across the whole country soon after the demise of Imam Gragn Ahmed at the battle of Woina
Dega in 1543. Subsequently, the State of Damot- Ennariya disintegrated into its component parts and

separate entities subsequently took shape and emerged in the wake of its total fragmentation. Many
peoples such as the Ganz, Gafat Damot, Maya and others disappeared from the map of Ethiopia. They
were all completely absorbed and assimilated by the Oromo invaders; a few migrating to northern Shoa
and elsewhere. On the other hand , in the south, the Gurage, the Sidama, the Wolayta, the Kambata, the
Hadiya, the Gamo, the Goffa, the Gedeo, the Tembaro, the Dubamo, the Donga and many others
fiercely resisted the Oromo but as in the central and northern highlands, they were compelled to yield at
least some territory. Whatever the case, they were able to resist Oromo rule and assimilation and to
maintain their identity intact and to establish their own states ruled by their own respective kings,
abagadas and sultans since then, up until they were all conquered again by Emperor Menelik II of
Abyssinia in 1890-93 and annexed to the Christian empire-state. That was also how Hamalmals
governorship was reduced from his wider and far more significant vassalship over half of the State of
Damot Ennariya before the onset of the Moslem and Oromo wars to the small Kingdom of Kambata
during the 17th century. The Oromo migrations and wars resulted in the weakening of both Christian and
Moslem power and drove a wedge between the two faiths along the eastern edge of the highlands. Thus
the Abyssinian Christian Empire lost all its former jurisdictions over the State of Damot- Ennariya,
including Kambata and many others for over four hundred solid years.
The Kambata, Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro peoples who have a population of about 747,307
(according to the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, CSO, Vol.1 Addis Abeba, p.66), are
jointly referred to as the Kambata peoples but in my analysis they are generally mentioned separately
under their respective names. They occupy an area of about 1,200 square kilometres, largely more than
2,000 meters above sea-level, between the Omo (Gibe) and the middle Bilate rivers. .
The language of the Kambata peoples, together with that of the Alaba (population 125,900; 1994
CSO census) and Qabena (population 35,072; 1994 CSO census) forms a branch of Highland East
Cushitic. They are peasants who conduct intensive agriculture, their principal crops being barley,
cabbage, legumes and ensete ventricosum. Their settlements are in some cases over- populated
(population density being about 300 people per square kilometre); and many inhabitants therefore are
obliged to seek a living in other parts of Ethiopia. Augmenting this social mobility in search of livelihoods
elsewhere, the Kambata have developed over a long period of time remarkable survival strategies and
abilities to adjust to different and harsh environments and these qualities are well noted by many
historians and social researchers. And this is also the glaring reality one can easily observe among the
Kambata peoples in their own localities where one can witness a person who is alternately a farmer, a
teacher, a butcher, a merchant, etc. at the same time thus trying to diversify his/her means of survival.
Be this as it may, resolving the problem of over-population in the Kambata province was traditionally
attempted to be eased by the sole effort of the people themselves who moved out of their homeland as
migrant labourers to the Awash valley agricultural farms (Wonji, Metehara, Abadir, etc.); to Maraqo as
cultivators and collectors of berbere spice; to the Kaffa areas as collectors of coffee beans; and to many
parts of Ethiopia in southern, south- western and south- eastern regions where employment opportunities
were available. The problem had also been attempted to be resolved by successive regimes of Ethiopia
through resettlement schemes, though many of these were not successful as they were not well planned
and properly implemented, and most of all, not designed with the full participation and collaboration of the
peoples at the receiving end. Nevertheless, the number of the Kambata, Tembaro, Qabena and Alaba
who live in the SNNP Region itself is 443,525, 84,918, 28,584 and 117,449 respectively [1994 Housing
and Population Census, p.74] and those who live interspersed among the various nations and
nationalities of Ethiopia is not large. According to the 1994 Housing and Population Census of Ethiopia,
their statistics is as follows:
Kambata
Tembaro
Qabena
Alaba
1. Amhara Region 1,107
34
375
384
2. Tigray Region
23
1
2
3. Affar Region
1,418
5
2
4
4. Oromia Region 41,997
1,277
5,036
7,799
5. Somali Region
102
7
5
2
6. Benishangul-G. R. 2,894
7
47
7. Gambella Region 3,632
234
1
32
8. Harari Region
51
1
2
9. Dire Dawa City
443
240
4
10. Addis Abeba City 4,634
36
819
175

Some Notes on the History of Kambata

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the regions on both sides of the Omo (Gibe) river belonged to
the State of Damot-Ennariya which was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian Empire of northern Ethiopia.
Christianity was introduced to this region during the reign of Emperor Sarsa Dengel ( 1563-97). Kambata
was then one of the provinces of this State. According to the Arab historians AlUmari (c.1345) and
Maqrizi (1434) however, Kambata was part of the Moslem state of Hadiya that also included the Galla
[Oromo]states of the Gibe, and the Sidama peoples Gudela [Hadiya], Tambaro, Alaba, and Wolamo
[Wolayta] {Ernesta Cerulli, History of the Sidama Countries, Peoples of South-West Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, 1956, p. 85}. The first reference to Kambata as a political unit is found in a praise song in
honour of Emperor Yeshak (1414-29) who annexed it as a province of the Christian Ethiopian Empire. In
this song it is stated that Kambata was a country in which horses were bred and which paid tribute in
horses to Ethiopia {CGA, song 2, line 43}-- something for which it has been noted up to the present day.
The conquest was accompanied by the settlement of military colonists (chawa) from northern Ethiopia,
mainly Amhara, and by a Christian missionary campaign. According to Manoel Almeidas History of High
Ethiopia or Abassia 1628-46, Book I, Ch. 2, p. 9, Kambata was one of the 36 kingdoms of the Abyssinian
Empire that were controlled by the Abyssinian emperors preceding Emperor Susneyos (1607-32); the
latter had little control over them due to the Oromo expansions and settlements cutting them off from their
link with the Christian north. Another Portuguese Jesuit Pedro Paez confirms the same number of
kingdoms with some modifications of the list. The patriarch Mendes in his Expedito Aethiopica, Book I, ch.
I also states that Kambata was one of the more important regions of the ancient Christian empire located
at latitude 7 degree north. Historical records confirm that Manz, Marrabete, Ganz, Gafat, Yifat, Hadiya,
Kambata, Bale, Ennarya, and Gurage were some of the ancient southern kingdoms under the loose
control of the Abyssinian empire {Manoel Almeida, Ibid, p. 9}. Towards the end of the fifteenth century the
population of the region known later as Kambata Province (Awraja Gizat), between the Omo and the
Bilate rivers, consisted essentially of three ethnically and socio-economically distinct strata. At the bottom
were the Fuga, the Awado and the Saga, castes of potters, black-smiths, tanners and hunters whose
ancestors may have been among the earliest inhabitants of the region. Above them were a broad stratum
of cultivators, who as clan names and other indicators suggest, most probably belonged to the Sidama
and Omotic-speaking peoples from the south. The upper stratum consisted of the Semitic speaking
military colonists from northern Ethiopia, who evidently acquired not only in politics but also in the cultural
fields an importance disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. In fact, the influence of the
Christian Abyssinian Empire on southern Ethiopia, politically and culturally, had been quite significant.
Besides, many ruling dynasties of southern Ethiopian states claimed Amhara or Tigray descent: Kaffa,
Kambata, Wolayta, Zay, Amarro-Koyra, Janjero {Yem}, Dorze, Gamo, Bosha, Gurage, etc. {Haberland,
Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1964, pp. 235-8}.
Soon after the outbreak of the Holy War (Jihad) of the Muslims of the State of Adal under Imam Ahmad
G. Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Gragn Ahmed) against the Christian Ethiopian Empire in 1529, Kambata too became
a battlefield. In 1532, the Adal Commander Abd an-Nasir conquered the province from the southeast.
According to oral testimony, however, Christians who survived this conquest retired to the summit of the
Ambarricho massif and saved their ritual objects. The province suffered such heavy loss of life that it
became in the course of the sixteenth century an attractive target for invaders from the southeast.
In the wake of the troops of Abd an-Nasir, semi-nomadic Hadiya groups from Dallo (Bale), called Wetogira (Gudela), migrated into the region between the Omo and the Bilate. From 1570 (if not earlier), the
Oromo began to break out of their original homeland between the upper Ganale and upper Dawa and to
exert pressure on the surrounding peoples. Unable to conquer the Sidama highlands, which were already
relatively densely populated, they bypassed them in their great expansion towards the east; yet indirectly
they caused some groups to emigrate from the region. Oral traditions state explicitly that in about the
middle of the sixteenth century, the Effegenna, Ebejenna and Goromma fled northwards from the
Sidama-Gedeo (Darassa) region in order to avoid Oromo rule. They settled on the Ambarricho massif in
Kambata joining the earlier settlers from the Sidama-Darassa regions already living there, and being
relatively populous groups, introduced their Highland East Cushitic language to Kambata. A related
language was that of the ancestors of the Tembaro, who came from Yemererra in the central Sidama
highlands and reached their present territory after a long migration through Alaba, Bosha and Dawro. At
roughly the same time, i.e. between c. 1550-70, the ancestors of the Dubamo and the Donga, said in oral
traditions to have been Christians, were on the move. Their origin can be traced back to Qawena in the

eastern Sidama highlands. It can be assumed that the settlement of these groups in Kambata resulted in
a marked supremacy of Highland East Cushitic languages, whilst Omotic and Semitic were pushed back
to steadily shrinking linguistic islands and to their eventual extinction. In the economic sphere a
differentiation emerged between the highlands, which were occupied by ensete farmers, and in the
middle and lower regions, Hadiya nomads of the Weto-gira tribe grazed their livestock.
As mentioned earlier, in the aftermath of the Christian empires victorious war against Gragn
Ahmed(1529-1543) and the latters demise at the battle of Woine Dega in 1543, Emperor Galawdeos
appointed Ras (Abetohun) Htamelmal as governor of half of the kingdom of Ennarya that also included
Kambata then. As Atme G.M. reminisces:
Being the descendant of kings and the bearer of the title abetohun, Ras Hamalmal, in that period, ruled
half of the kingdom of Ennarya, namely Kambat[a], Walamo [Wolayta], Kullo, Konta, Zanzaro [Yem],
Garo, Ennarot as far as Barbare-Meder, including Maraqo , and on the other side as far as Kafa. Chawa
(soldiers) were posted with their respective commanders in all these places. While they settled under their
respective commanders they failed to assist one another when the Moslems and Galla came. They split
up under their respective commanders and localities. They also differed highly from one another in
language. The mother tongue of Kafa, Kullo, Konta, Walamo, Kambata, Maraqo, and Zanjaro, Garo and
Enarat is Ennarya, and they all resemble each other. The unity in language and religion can clearly be
seen today. [ Atme G.M. (Tafla) O.J.:71f].
Abetohun Hamalmal(1551-1614), as historical records confirm, was the grand-son of Emperor Naod
(1494-1508) through his mother Romanewerq, daughter of the Emperor [Basset 1882-116]. He was also
one of the key generals of Emperor Gelawdewos (1540-59) who undertook several war expeditions to
different parts of the country to oust the remnants of Gragn Ahmed from the Christian strongholds. In
1559, he was ordered, with another general Ras Fassil to attack Harar which was at the time the major
center of Islam. This expedition is well illustrated by Atme G.M. in the following words:
The Negus [Gallawdewos] gave an order that Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal, the Governor of Kambata,
should invade Hararge. He has disbanded the remainder of his army and did not have time to mobilize it.
Furthermore, the clergy was urging him on with the great promise: Should you fall into the hands of Nur
Muhammad [Amir Nur b. Mujahid; the still resisting and strongest general of Gragn Ahmed after the
latters death] you will become a martyr and reign in heaven. Thus he led an expedition into the country
of Adal, where he died at a place called Nach-Sar on the border of Wallo. Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal
set out from Kambata via Malka Amhara and Annya and reached Adari (Harari). In those days, the sultan
of Harar was Habib, who was in his time a great and dreaded man. They fought a fierce battle in the plain
named Sayyedna-Hasheem at the Yarar-Gate. Sultan Habib died, and Ras Hamalmal entered Adari,
burned it and demolished all the mosques. In short, he wrought great destruction and then returned
home. He had not yet heard of the death of Atse Galawdewos [Atme G.M.(Tafla ) O.J.:29].
Soon afterwards the Oromo invasions and migrations marked the eclipse of the Moslem onslaughts
against the Abyssinian Christian empire and the latter had to make futile attempts at curbing waves after
waves of Oromo warriors invading and forcefully occupying many territories inside and outside of the
Christian and Moslem jurisdiction and control of the day but to no avail. Ras Hamalmal fought Luba
Michile (Mesle) at Dago in Arsi province in around 1560, thus repulsing the Oromo invaders from
occupying Kambata and the adjacent territories which were then under the Christian empire. Hamalmal
firmly retained his governorship of the Kingdom of Kambata, long after the Oromo invasions. When the
Portuguese delegation led by Father Fernandez reached Kambata, on the orders of Emperor Susneyos,
in 1614, Hamalmal was still the governor of Kambata. Buckingham and Huntingford noted of this
situation as follows;
Traveling eastwards from the river Zebee[Gibe] the Father [Fernandes] reached Innagara, a place in the
Kingdom of Cambat, which was governed by Hamalmal who at that time recognized the emperor as his
overlord . To the left there are people called Guragues who do not often obey the emperor [Fernandez
(Buckingham /Huntingford) 1954 162-76]. The Portuguese explorer Almeida who was at Emperor
Susneyoss court in 1614 also confirms about Ras Hamalmal being the Governor of Kabmata and a
faithful vassal of the emperor thus:
The fact that Hamalmal, amid so many Galla countries, obeyed him [the emperor] and still accorded him
some recognition was rather because he was well-disposed and a vassal of old standing, than because
the empire was strong enough to make him do it if he had wished to revolt. So today Cambata does not
pay any tribute nor does the emperor appoint a governor for that kingdom, it all belongs to various Galla

and Moorish lords who hold and rule it. At the time the emperor did what he could. [Ibid, 1954:165].
Emperor Susneyos reigned in Gondar from 1607-32.
Ras (Abetohun )Hamalmals story and the Oyeta dynasty he founded in Kambata seems to have
evoked a funny twist in the oral traditions of the Kambata people. A tradition widely known in Kambata
states that seven groups at the summit of the Ambarricho massif, who had survived the upheavals of the
long-lasting Holy war (Jihad) , formed a federation (Kokata). The names of these seven of the
Ambarricho (ambarricho lamala) are generally given as Oyeta, Gulba, Hinnira, Taza, Effegena,
Ebejjinna and Fuga. According to an etiological tale, a hunger contest is supposed to have determined
their internal hierarchy and secured the kingship for the Oyeta group or clan. Whereas hitherto Kambata
had merely been a political term, from the end of the sixteenth century onwards a process of ethnogenesis drew together heterogeneous groups, symbolized by the number seven; and from this process
emerged the Kambata people. All the remaining groups referred to as Kambata peoples based on their
common language are also symbolized by the number seven (Molli lamala among the Tembaro, Dongi
lamala among the Donga, Dubami lamala among the Dubamo). The population of Kambata (in the
narrow sense ) was stratified according to ethnic origin: the Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals dynasty) who
claimed to originate from Gondar, formed the royal clan; the Gulba from Bulga ( Shoa) formed a clan of
nobles; the originally Omotic-speaking Hinnira and Taza made up an upper stratum of free commoners
while the lower stratum of free commoners was composed of Efegenna and Ebejjenna, who had become
linguistically dominant; finally, the Fuga, the Saga and the Awado, formed endogamous castes of
artisanscarpenters, hunters, potters, blacksmiths, etc. Social stratification was the order of the day which
eventually gave way to a semi-feudal order in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of King
Dilbato Degoye (1845-92). Today, no social stratification exists among the first four groups who have
freely intermarried and intermingled among themselves over the past several hundreds of years; they all
enjoy equal status in all walks of life. But the social status of the last groups (Fuga, Saga and Awado) still
remains unpalatable to all people who believe in the equality of all human beings and their equal
treatment in all aspects of life, in brief, respecting their inalienable human rights. Personally, I believe
that if the Fuga, Saga and Awado had the upper hand in leading the Kambata people over the past
several hundreds of years, perhaps, we would have become a technological or industrial society today as
these three groups were the ones who had great skills in making armors of war, agricultural tools, kitchen
utensils, pottery, tannery, hunting, etc. and masters of the material culture of the Kambata people. The
whole Kambata society have depended, and still depend, upon their technical skills and output for many
generations up until today.
Ras Hamalmal is considered to have been the first king of the Oyeta dynasty, which was named
after his wife Oyete (Hayat), daughter of Hajj Ali(ye) Ismael Jeberti, a religious and war leader of the
Azernet- Berbere (eastern Gurage) at the time. As mentioned earlier, this Hamalmal is mentioned in the
report of the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio Fernandes, who in 1613/14 undertook a mission from the
Ethiopian imperial court at Gondar through Kambata. Thus the chronology for the beginning of the Oyeta
dynasty can be fixed. Hamalmal was nominally the governor of Kambata province in the name of the
Christian empire. In practice, however, he was independent, especially as the expansion of the Oromo
into Shoa has broken the territorial link with the Abyssinian state. Relations with the Christian north were
broken off almost in the course of the seventeenth century; yet survivals of Christian Orthodox traditions
have been retained to the present day.
From Hamalmals time onwards, Kambata served as a refuge for political refugees and economically
threatened groups from southern and northern Ethiopia. The immigrants, such as Amhara from Gaynt
(Begemedir), Bulga (Shoa), Manz(Shoa) and people from the Hadiya and Ormo regions, often became
the founders of new clans, whose number rose in the course of time to about one hundred or more.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Kambata remained restricted to a small territory around
the Ambarricho massif due to the consequences of the devastating wars of Iman Gragn Ahmed (1529-43)
and his generals Abd an-Nasir (1532) and Nur Ibn Mujjahid(1529-68), and the subsequent massive
Oromo migrations (1570-1870), while Hadiya herdsmen who came along with the Muslim jihadists
continued to control and use most of the area between the Omo and the Bilate rivers for grazing. The
Kambata peoples were famed for their sophisticated agricultural techniques and their surplus production;
yet population pressure (itself in part a consequence of this agricultural success) presented a growing
threat to their existence.
No written records exist about Hamalmals immediate successors. However, Kambata (Oyeta) oral
traditions confirm Dame (Demelash), Anno (Enniyew), Ketemo (Ketema), Dilaba and Gonjobo as

Hamalmals immediate successors. For the kingdoms of Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro, too, the period
from the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century is a dark phase, though
they also have their own oral accounts of this period. One event which was of significance for religious
and political history was the kidnapping of a spirit medium, the hauzul-mancho from Bosha, by the
Dubamo. According to oral traditions or accounts, the Kambata owed tribute to the Hadiya of the
Wetogira tribes, to whom they were also under humiliating conditions. In about 1770, their king Katama
managed, with the help of other Hadiya groups (the Shashogo and Urusso), to drive out the Wetogira
Hadiya tribes (Haballo, Bargage, Hojje, Hanqalla, Hayiba, Haysaba, Gondala, Errera and Massawa;
these were part of the Moslem jihadists that conquered Kambata and led by Abd anNasir in 1532). The
murder of Dilaba, Katamas immediate successor, shortly afterwards by Hadallo Gebro [Gebru, Ketemas
brother], a member of the Oyeta royal clan, was followed by a period of succession disputes and civil
wars which lasted about ten years. Under King Waqo Ketema (c.1790-1810) the Kambata state was
again consolidated.
The Donga had successfully striven for some time under their woma(king ) Hanagassa to extend their
territory. In about 1770, however, the Badawacho Hadiya pushed them back to their small mountain
homeland. Around 1800, they and their neighbours, the Dubamo, fell under the overlord-ship of the SoroHadiya, who had advanced from the north. The Tembaro were able to maintain their independence and
became notorious for their raids into the country lying southwest of them, extending beyond Dawro (KulloKonta).
Under King Dagoiye Waqo (c. 1810-45) a formative period began in Kambata, in which the institutions of
the state acquired their essential features, and Kambata began to extend its territory by a deliberate
programme of colonisation, pushing the Wolayta and the Hadiya peoples. As in many kingdoms of
southern Ethiopia (e.g. Wolayta, Janjero), the newly acquired areas were in each case demarcated by a
system of walls and ditches, which served in part as fortifications but had a more important symbolic
significance.
Kambata enjoyed its classical age under woma (king) Dilbatto Degoiye (c.1845-92), who was highly
respected among the peoples of central southern Ethiopia. Under his rule the institutions of state
reached their highest stage of development An administrative apparatus sub-dividing the territory into
counties (gocho ) was created, and diplomatic and military measures led to a considerable extension of
the area covered by the state (reaching roughly the present-day linguistic boundaries of the Kambata).
The main military conflicts were with the Soro-Hadiya and the Wolayta, whereas the other Hadiya tribes
and the Alaba were tied to the Kambata state by alliances and inter marriage. The rise of the monarchy
and of the Oyeta clan was accompanied by growing clashes of interest and socio-economic antagonisms
between the ruling stratum and the mass of the peasantry (kontoma). An insurrection (kontomi
diddenna) which broke out in about 1885 was crushed by King Dilbatto with the help of friendly Hadiya
groups (mainly Badawacho).
At this time Kambata already lay within the field of operations of the Shoa Amhara, who had occupied the
Gurage country and were beginning to extend their conquests into the areas immediately south of it.
Between 1891 and 1893 the Kambata peoples were subjugated by the Christian Ethiopian empire under
Emperor Menilik II . This meant the end of the kingship and the beginning of a new political and socioeconomic era, characterized above all by the gabbar system. The inhabitants were allotted as bondsmen
or serfs of the state (gabbar) to military colonists (naftagna or gun-bearer) from the north colonizing the
conquered peoples including the earlier colonists called chawa who migrated to the region since the time
of Emperor Yeshaq of Gondar (1414-29) and were obliged to pay taxes in kind and perform corveelike
services. Insurrections against this state of affairs broke out in many parts of southern Ethiopia,
particularly during the civil war of 1916 during the reign of Lij Eyasu Michael. Conquest by the Ethiopian
empire was followed by a (re) Christianization of the Kambata region; but it was not until the 1950s that
this process was completed, thanks partly to the work of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
The Amhara introduced new crops (e.g. eragrostis teff) and ox-drawn ploughs; but in the highlands to this
day the latter has only managed to gain a secondary place vis--vis the traditional agricultural tools-- the
digging- stick and hoe. An important innovation was the emergence of centers of administration and
commercial activities (katama) in a country where the only form of settlement had been that of loosely
grouped hamlets and far-flung villages. The gabbar system was abolished by the Italians and was not
reintroduced after the reinstatement of Emperor Haile Sellassie I by the British in 1941. The landlordtenant system which then emerged did not fundamentally alter socio- economic relationships. Fortunately,
most Kambata, especially in the densely populated highlands, were in any case peasants on land which

was considered as belonging to their communities and for which only a relatively small tax had to be paid
to the state. Large estates were promised to those descendants of kings who were appointed balabat
(government chief) and to people of the Oyeta clan. Overpopulation in the core area of the Kamabata
made it increasingly necessary for landless peasants to seek their living standards among self- sufficient
smallholders from about 1960 on. In general however, the material quality of life remained so low that the
majority of inhabitants of the Kambata areas greeted the revolution which broke out in 1974 and the
proclamation of a land reform with great optimism, which, however, was dashed soon due to the illadvised programmes of forced villagization, forced resettlement in remote and harsh environments as
well as the inability of peasants to sell their agricultural surplus produce at the market price and at places
of their choice or preference but forcefully supply their products to the state-owned Agricultural Marketing
Enterprise (AMCE) at government set prices and quantities. This, in brief, covers some aspects of the
history of Kambata from the 14th to the 20th century.

Appendix I
List of Major Clans of Kambata
No.
Name of clan
Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals
Dynasty)
Gulba
Nurto
Hajibbo(Hate)Amhara
Ongot (ta)
Ennagos /Dildiy/ Amhara
Quntanno
Sintarro
Qorandi- Amhara
Ennagari- Amhara
Garado- Amhara
Abrahmi- Amhara
Wolde-Amhara
Dawaro
Masmas(a)
Agawa
Gafat (a)
Dola(Dubamo)
Gojjinna()
Golacha ( )
Gojjinna()
Gulla()
Suara()

Claimed Origin of
Migration
Gondar

Approx Period
of Migration
16th century

Bulga (shoa)
16th

Gondar
16th

Gayint
Before 15th century
Gayint

Gayint
17th century
Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz, Enner Gurage

17th

Garado (Wollo)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Chilga (Gondar)
16th

Agewmedir (Gojjam)
16th

Gafat (Wollo)
15th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Zambochicho
Gondar
Badogo
Dallo (Bale)
Damota(Woshbirra)
Arsi, Gadab, Wolayta
Dada
Arsi, Endegagn
Dawe
Arsi-Didaa
Farzanno(Farzanna)
Albaso (Arsi)
Zato
Borana (Oromo)
Bonoso
Yem, Jimma
Gabara
Arsi-Dida
Gadena
Arsi
Galla(Adamogne)
Wabi Shebele, Arsi
35. Gora
Jimma
Gorakama
Jimma
Gujji
Gujji
-Oromo
Hambarazo
Arsi
Qarisso
Eka (Arsi)
Malga
Arsi, Sidama
Wolleqa
Wollega-Oromo
Womallo
Borana
Worarra
Werera (Arsi)
Yabbu
Kalalle(Zwai lake)
Haballo
Dallo (Bale)
Hayiba
Dallo (Bale)
Hojje
Dallo (Bale)
Qilemanna
Dallo (Bale)
Jawarro
Gadab (Wabi Shebelle)
Godicho
Gadab (
)
Sarorre
Gadab (
)
Gonderomma
Dallo(Bale)
Haderamma
Dallo(Bale)
Muta
Dallo(Bale)
Zedinno
Dallo(Bale)
Doda
Dallo, Gadab
Awda
Sidama
Malge
Sidama
Ennerra
Sidama
Jigga
Sidama
Jumma
Sidama
Hessesse(ta)
Sidama, Borana
Churrissa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
Lambuda ()

Lanchamo ()

Magalalle ()

Mattafarsa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
Orgo ()
Sidama, Guraghe
Sintyanno ()

Adde (Tembaro)
Yemerrra (Sidama)
Ajjarra ()

Qutna (Quunna) (Tembarro)

Sambata ()

Tase ()

75. Wajja ()

Yagga ()

Hinnira
Wolayta, Ennariya
Goromma
Wolayta
Bubulla
Wolayta

16th

16th

18th

19th

18th

18th
17th

17th

18th

18th

18th

18th

18th

18th

18th

19th

16th

18th

18th

18th

18th

16th

16th

16th

16th

19th

19th

19th

16th

16th

16th

16th

19th

17th

15th

15th

18th

18th

18th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16-17th century
16-17th

16-17th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

15th

18th

19th

Makuta
Gamo
18th

Damota
Wolayta
18th

Derreja
Gamo
18th

Dubbo
Borana; Qucha, Dubbo(Wolayta)
18th
Goromma
Wolayta
18th century
Tigra- Wolayta
Kindo, Kosha(Wolayta)
18th

Weshesha
Wolayta, Donga, Danta
18th

Zakete
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Borojmalla (Borodamalla)
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Effegenna
Gedeo
16th

Ebejjena
Gedeo
16th

Guna
Guna(Lemo)
19th

Odro
Lemo-Hadiya
19th

Moche
Badawacho-Hadiya
19th
Tarachmanna
Shashogo- Hadiya
19th

Annashakko
Alaba, Qabena
19th

Azera
Azernet Berbere
18th

Dada
Endegagn(east Guraghe)
19th

Endanna
Ennariya, Endegagn
18th

99.
Gejja
Geja(North Guraghe)
18th

100. Ganz
Ganz (Qabena)
15-18th

101. Jorra
Enner- Guraghe
18th

102. Omoshogorra
Ennariya, Masmas,
18th

Enamor-Guraghe
103. Yangaro
Janjero [Yem]
17th

104.Saga
Guraghe
Before 15th

105. Werreza
Qabena/Guraghe,
17th

106. Fuga(Annosa, Masmas, Guraghe,

Before15th

Badagosa, Bidirra
Ennariya
Boriye, Bosha, Gacha,
Gajicho, Gashdessa,
Gauwossa, Hojiya (Hokiya)
Marenmanna, Masmassa,
Negaa, Tontosa (Dontosa),
Woiyoso)

References
1.
Atme, G.M.
History of the Galla (Yegalla Tarik), part I translated by Bairu Tafla, O.O. (Ms)
Azais, R. P.and R. Chambard , 1942.
2.
Braukamper, Ulrich,
Die Kambata Franz Steiner Verlagh GMBH, Weisbaden, 1983
3.
Buckingham, C.F. and G. B.W. Huntingford (Eds.). Some Records of Ethiopia 1593-1646; Being
Extracts from the History of High Ethiopia or Abassia by Manoel de Almeida together with Bahreys
History of the Galla [Oromo ],(Hakluyt Society II, CVII), London
4.
Cerulli, Ernesta
Peoples of South west Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, London, 1956
5.
Ethiopia: The 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia,
CSO, 1994, Addis Ababa
6.
Haberland, E.
The Influence of the Christian Ethiopian Empire on Southern Ethiopia , In
Journal of Semitic Studies IX: 235-38
7.
Hodson, A.
Seven Years in Southern Ethiopia , London, 1927
8.
Leslaw, W.
Additional Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Arthropods 51, 5/6 :98593 , 1956
9.
Leslaw, W.
Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Africa, XXII:348-59 , 1952
10. Ludolph(us),J.
A New History of Ethiopia: Being a Full and Accurate Description of the Kingdom
of Abyssinia, vulgarly though Erroneously called the Empire of Prester John, London, 1682.

11. Moreno, M.M.

Appunti di Cambata e di Alaba, In: RRAL, ser. VI, XIV,3/4 =269-79
12. Singer, N.J.
The Use of Courts as a Key to Legal Development: an Analysis of Legal
Attitudes of the Cambata of Ethiopia, In Proceedings of the First United States Conference of Ethiopian
Studies, 1973. s. 365-83 East Lansing , 1975
13. Singer, N.J.
Some Notes on the origin of the Cambata of southern Ethiopia, Tuscaloosa
(Ms.), 1977.
14. Singer, N.J.
The Relevance of Traditional Legal Systems to Modernization and Reform: a
Consideration of Cambata Legal Structure, In Tubiana, J. (Ed.), Modern Ethiopia :From the Accession of
Menelik II to the Present, S.. 537 -56 ,Rotterdam , 1980
15.
Yigezu,s.
Kambata Awraja: Its People and Local Administration, Addis Abeba
(Ms)1970.
16.
Dagana Bafutte Didana Oral History of Kambata, 1986. The late Dagna Bafutte Did ana was a
well known Oyeta notable who died at the age of 90 in 1992.

A Short History of the Kambata People of

South-Western Ethiopia
By Tesfaye Habisso H.

History is for human self- knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing,

first, what it is to be person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are;
and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is . Knowing
yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they
can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.
The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is. (R.G.
Collingwood)
Foreword
From time immemorial Ethiopia had been a museum of many peoples of diverse origins. For me as
well for many Ethiopians, a comprehensive history of these peoples has always been a kind of romantic,
unreachable dream. No historian has yet attempted to tackle this challenging task.
Most of the hitherto written history of Ethiopia which begins in the later Middle Ages from the pens of
monks and court historians and whose main purpose is the laudation of Abyssinian kings does not deal
with the comprehensive history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians at large. It does not particularly touch upon
the history of the regions and peoples incorporated by Emperor Menelik II to the Ethiopian Empire-state
towards the end of the 19th century.
These regions, though they had their own independent kingdoms and sultanates as well as loosely
confederated traditional polities, had no written languages of their own; they had no court historians and
thus no written history. Hence it will be the duty of historians, particularly those from these regions, to
write the history of their peoples so that the history of modern Ethiopia will be complete. Many outsiders
had attempted to write the history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians based on inadequate data and
information, and sometimes relying on secondary sources and hearsay. On this point the Ethiopians
themselves, I believe, would/should have quite a bit to say and say it clear and loud now.
This manuscript on the history of the Kambata people however is not a pioneering historical document
or research work produced by me; it is primarily a compilation of scattered secondary or written source
material recorded by missionaries and monks, professional historians, jurists, administrators and
politicians concerning this part of Ethiopia which, I hope, will help for writing in the future a comprehensive
history of the people. Be this as it may, writing the history of any people, most of all the history of a nonliterate people, is a very difficult and sensitive issuea complex and complicated project fraught with
controversies and disagreements. As The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia cautions:
Since history is concerned with human activity, and since human activity expresses itself in a
variety of ways, there are histories that correspond to these diverse expressions. To write about any

individual or [group] or field of human endeavour a historian must do more than chronicle events, names,
and dates. These are but the crude makings of history; they must be refined through an intellect and
imagination capable of relating one to
another, rejecting the unimportant, and highlighting that which will throw the subject into a proper
perspective. Thus the gathering of information is but a small part of the historians task. Even while he is
collecting his sources and extracting information from them, he must be concerned with their
trustworthiness. Indeed, the historian must forever be on guard against bias in any source that he uses.
In addition, as he begins to write his own history, he must be as fair to the facts as he has expected his
sources to have been. Of course, the history that he writes will be conditioned by his temperament,
including his preconceptions, as much as by the motive and purpose of his research. These variations in
human temperament and motives help to explain the frequent multitude of histories on one subject, and
temperament and motives are greatly influenced by the period in which a historian lives. All written history
is a compound of past and present. Thus, there are no final analyses
in history, no universally accepted conclusions. History can be made to serve every conceivable theory
and temperamental peculiarity. [The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia, Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1964, Vol. VII, P. 2477]
It is taking into considerations the above-mentioned precautions and guidelines that this compiled
historical account on the Kambata people must be perused and utilized as a source material for further
research. My modest attempt to present a short history of Kambataa region and a people long known
by this nameis based on oral traditions and legends, and some written records. I present this history of
the Kambata people not for personal fame and glory, nor for riches, nor honours but for choosing to be
who I am and the recognition and respect of my ethnic and cultural identity, which no good man gives up
except with his/her soul, his/her cultural identity and liberty. As the first President of the Republic of
Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, once said:
A nation without a past is a lost nation. And a people
without a past is a people without a soul.
I wish someone better qualified than myself had met this need, but suggestions and persuasions in many
directions have so far produced no satisfactory results. Besides, I remember quite well the bitter
memories of Abebe Abura when he published a small booklet entitled, A Short History of Kambata (in
Amharic) some three decades ago; he was unmercifully criticized and condemned by many Kambata and
Hadiya elites/scholars for writing allegedly inaccurate and fictitious history of these peoples. No one
appreciated, at least, his maiden effort in writing the history of the Kambata and Hadiya peoples. Again,
no one forwarded any constructive critique on the book except negative and destructive condemnation.
Ever since that time no Hadiya or Kambata historian or any other intellectual in the area of the social
sciences better qualified for the task has committed himself/herself and his/her energy, time and
resources to write a less controversial and a more consensual sort of history, so to speak, of either
Hadiya or Kambata, or both. This is a paradox no one can decipher: Dont we want our written history?
Dont we have the conviction and desire to write it? Why oppose or condemn any effort, however
palatable that may be to some, when some of our own scholars or patriotic citizens try to write about their
peoples? After all, there is no history that is, and can be, written once and for all, and this is true for any
research output in the field of the social sciences in general. No one can claim to have the ultimate
wisdom in any area of intellectual pursuit; we are all fallible. The search for more and more knowledge is
a continuous process. No one is omniscient and all knowing. This naked truth should guide us all when
we endeavour to produce or peruse any historical document in particular.
Call it nationalism or anything, I want to see the written history of my people. I believe every individual
must be proud of his people and his ethnic nationality; so also his ethnic and civic nationalism as well.
And because the history of my people has not yet been dealt with at length by any historian so far, I
earnestly seek to provide to the public any available information, oral or written, that might help to fill this
vacuum.
As mentioned earlier in this manuscript, Ethiopia had been, and still is, a museum of many
peoples of diverse origins, customs, cultures, religions/faiths and other peculiarities, but not a museum of
many written histories of these peoples. There is no people without history; large or small every people
has its past, its present and its future history. This is what the Southern Ethiopians in general and the
Kambata in particular must be fully aware of; they must also be aware of the fact that they and their
peoples are no less, no better Ethiopian than the rest of their countrymen and women; they must write

their histories in order to avoid an identity crisis for themselves and their children. It is in this spirit that I
attempted to compile this brief history of the Kambata people.
Certainly I do not claim that the picture presented in the following pages, built out of a mosaic of
evidence from historical records, from contemporary documents and many living witnesses, is wholly
accurate and I should welcome any corrections that informed readers can offer me. This manuscript is a
provisional and interim venture; it will fulfil its purpose if it provokes the writing of a definitive or a less
controversial work and if it fills the gap until that is done.

Introductory Remarks:Kambata as the Melting Pot of Ethiopian Society

How and when the name Kambata came into being and what it means is not adequately explained
by written historical records. According to oral accounts, some say that the name Kambata was first
given by the Oromos and it meant , we have surrounded you; how can you get out of your
encirclement? This encirclement by the Oromo may probably imply the period of the Oromo expansions
and the numerous wars fought between the Oromos and the Sidama peoples (Sidamo, Hadiya, Wolayta,
Kambata, Gedeo, etc.) in the years 1550-70 and later. This oral tradition does not seem to reconcile with
written historical records which confirm the existence of Kambata as a kingdom in the 14th century and
earlier. Another oral tradition recounts that the name Kambata was given by the first inhabitants of this
area themselves, known in Kambata oral history as the Ambericho Seven (Ambericho lamala) who
were a group of seven wondering tribes of the Sidama-Omotic peoples, namely Gozuta, Ebbejena,
Effegena, Tazuta, Hinnira, Bazata and Saga. It is said that when these seven groups reached the area
around the Ambericho massif they found the place very suitable for human settlement and decided to
settle there. They said, this is the place where we shall live, this is a place of our choice (in Kambata
language hennamibu kembati and thus the name Kambata). Another oral account says that the name
Kambata was adopted from Kambato who was the son of Kokato; Kokato was the first migrant from
Sidamaland who occupied the Ambericho area in todays Kambata and had a son named Kambato who
in turn had seven children who established an alliance known as Kokati Kambata. It is also said that
Kokato later returned to Sidamo {Annulo Jofe, a Kambata informant and one of the first pioneers who
introduced modern education to Kambata}.
Be this as it may, modern Ethiopia in general and Kambata in particular is the product of many
centuries of interaction and intermingling amongst many cultural-linguistic communities, groups and
individuals of diverse origins. The Ethiopians are indeed a mixed people, so also the Kambata. The only
shortcoming on our part is that we dont know enough how mixed we are, that is, about our shared
identity and history. If we had known enough about this aspect of our shared identity and history, and
taught and passed this to our younger generation, we wouldnt have confronted or faced many of the
intractable ethnic problems that we are facing today
The Kambata are an ethnic group dwelling on the lip of the rift valley about 350 miles south of Addis
Abeba in south-western Ethiopia. The Kambata are bordered on the north by the Hadiya and Alaba, on
the south by the Tembaro and Wolayta, on the west by the Wolayta and Hadiya, and on the east by the
Billate river, which separates them from the Arsi Oromo.They are predominantly sedentary agriculturalists
cultivating ensete edulis and some grains. Because of the ensete cultivation, which is carried out in close
proximity to the residence, closely clustered villages predominate throughout the area. The Kambata, like
other southern Ethiopian peoples, were independent from the centralized Amhara structure prior to the
conquests of Menelik II, 1889-1905.
Based on oral accounts and traditions, Kambata indeed can be called the melting pot of Ethiopian
society. According to the New World Dictionary, by the melting pot we mean a country, place, or area,
in which immigrants of various nations /nationalities are assimilated into one main/dominant culture.
Kambata as the melting pot of Ethiopian society was well illustrated by the former balabat (woma or
king) of Kambata, Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso (1920-47 ) in the following words:
--- Whence came all these people? They came from the lands of the Amhara, the Galla [Oromo], the
Sidama , the Darassa [Gedeo] , the Wolammo [Wolayta], the Gudela [Hadiya], the Gamo, the Zubamo
[Dubamo], the Gurage, the Tembaro, the Donga, etc. They are a mixture of all these peoples--- What,
then, is the Kambata, this new man? He is neither an Amhara nor a Galla [Oromo ] or a Wolammo
[Wolayta]; he is neither a Sidama nor a Darassa [Gedeo] or a Gudela [Hadiya], etc; hence that mixture of
blood which , you will find in no other region or province. I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Ongota (of Amhara origin) whose wife was a Gabara (of Oromo origin) , whose son

married a Doda- Annimanna (Badawacho Hadiya), and whose present four sons have now four wives of
different clans claiming diverse originsa Jumma (Sidama), a Wereza(Azernet- Berbere), a Bubulla
(Wolayta) and a Borodamalla (Gamo) respectively. He is a Kambata, who, leaving behind him all his
ancient prejudices, affiliations, roots and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has
embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds--- The Kambata were once
scattered all over Ethiopia; here they are incorporated into one system of population, forming a
microcosm of Ethiopian society.. [ Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso Hellamo, balabat (woma or king ) of
Kambata (ca. 1920-47) replying to Dejazmach Meshesha Wolde Ashagre, the then Governor of Kambata
province(1920-35) representing the central government in Addis Ababa who asked the former how more
than 100 different clans or groups claiming different origins but now speaking the same Kembatigna
language (Kambatiaffo) occupy Kambataland; as told to the author by Dagna Bafutte Didanna, a close
relative of the Kambata king and an elderly Oyeta notable well known throughout the Kambata, Hadiya,
Wolayta, Gurage and Alaba areas, in 1986]. As expressed clearly by the former balabat (king) of
Kambata here above, more than one hundred (100) groups and individuals that later formed the various
sub-groups and clans of the Kambata nation, migrated to the Kambata region from different parts of
Ethiopia and at different times over a long period spanning many hundreds of years in the past. As
claimed by the founding fathers or clan elders or leaders of the respective groups themselves, they
migrated from different regions of Ethiopia. The names of the major clans, their claimed origin of migration
as well as the approximate period of their migration is described in Appendix I at the end of this
manuscript (see Appendix I)
As a political unit as well as a geographic region, the name Kambata refers to an ancient polity that
extended from the Bilate River including Alaba in the east to the Omo (Gibe) River in the west in todays
South-Western Ethiopia. For a long time, even before the polity was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian
Empire in the 15th century, this region was well known as the Kingdom of Kambata (Cambat). This
covered the whole area which is now occupied by the Kambata, the Hadiya, the Alaba, the Donga, the
Tembaro, the Dubamo and the Masmas peoplesthe Hadiya and Kambata and Tembaro zones in the
SNNP Region of the FDRE. As a cultural linguistic category however, the name Kambata here refers to
four former states with peoples, who had the same language, and culture but different historical origins:
the Kambata in the narrow sense (that is, the people occupying Angacha, Kedida-Gamella, Kachabirra,
Damboya, Doyogana and Adillo woredas or destricts), the Dubamo, the Donga and the Tembaro. As will
be explained later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, these peoples were part and parcel of the State of
Damot- Ennariya that also included other peoples such as Damot, Ganz, Gafat, Kaffa, Kullo, Konta,
Wolayta, Maraqo, Yem, Garo, Azernete-Berbere and Enner Gurage(Ennariya). In the aftermath of the
Christian war against the Moslem invasions led by the fierce and dreaded warrior Gragn Ahmed (152943) this region was governed by Ras (Abetohun ) Hamalmal who was appointed as Governor by emperor
Galawdewos (1540-59), with an obligation of showing his utmost allegiance to the imperial court in
Gondar. However, his rule over the region was effectively weakened by the Oromo wars and migrations
that swept across the whole country soon after the demise of Imam Gragn Ahmed at the battle of Woina
Dega in 1543. Subsequently, the State of Damot- Ennariya disintegrated into its component parts and
separate entities subsequently took shape and emerged in the wake of its total fragmentation. Many
peoples such as the Ganz, Gafat Damot, Maya and others disappeared from the map of Ethiopia. They
were all completely absorbed and assimilated by the Oromo invaders; a few migrating to northern Shoa
and elsewhere. On the other hand , in the south, the Gurage, the Sidama, the Wolayta, the Kambata, the
Hadiya, the Gamo, the Goffa, the Gedeo, the Tembaro, the Dubamo, the Donga and many others
fiercely resisted the Oromo but as in the central and northern highlands, they were compelled to yield at
least some territory. Whatever the case, they were able to resist Oromo rule and assimilation and to
maintain their identity intact and to establish their own states ruled by their own respective kings,
abagadas and sultans since then, up until they were all conquered again by Emperor Menelik II of
Abyssinia in 1890-93 and annexed to the Christian empire-state. That was also how Hamalmals
governorship was reduced from his wider and far more significant vassalship over half of the State of
Damot Ennariya before the onset of the Moslem and Oromo wars to the small Kingdom of Kambata
during the 17th century. The Oromo migrations and wars resulted in the weakening of both Christian and
Moslem power and drove a wedge between the two faiths along the eastern edge of the highlands. Thus
the Abyssinian Christian Empire lost all its former jurisdictions over the State of Damot- Ennariya,
including Kambata and many others for over four hundred solid years.

The Kambata, Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro peoples who have a population of about 747,307
(according to the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, CSO, Vol.1 Addis Abeba, p.66), are
jointly referred to as the Kambata peoples but in my analysis they are generally mentioned separately
under their respective names. They occupy an area of about 1,200 square kilometres, largely more than
2,000 meters above sea-level, between the Omo (Gibe) and the middle Bilate rivers. .
The language of the Kambata peoples, together with that of the Alaba (population 125,900; 1994
CSO census) and Qabena (population 35,072; 1994 CSO census) forms a branch of Highland East
Cushitic. They are peasants who conduct intensive agriculture, their principal crops being barley,
cabbage, legumes and ensete ventricosum. Their settlements are in some cases over- populated
(population density being about 300 people per square kilometre); and many inhabitants therefore are
obliged to seek a living in other parts of Ethiopia. Augmenting this social mobility in search of livelihoods
elsewhere, the Kambata have developed over a long period of time remarkable survival strategies and
abilities to adjust to different and harsh environments and these qualities are well noted by many
historians and social researchers. And this is also the glaring reality one can easily observe among the
Kambata peoples in their own localities where one can witness a person who is alternately a farmer, a
teacher, a butcher, a merchant, etc. at the same time thus trying to diversify his/her means of survival.
Be this as it may, resolving the problem of over-population in the Kambata province was traditionally
attempted to be eased by the sole effort of the people themselves who moved out of their homeland as
migrant labourers to the Awash valley agricultural farms (Wonji, Metehara, Abadir, etc.); to Maraqo as
cultivators and collectors of berbere spice; to the Kaffa areas as collectors of coffee beans; and to many
parts of Ethiopia in southern, south- western and south- eastern regions where employment opportunities
were available. The problem had also been attempted to be resolved by successive regimes of Ethiopia
through resettlement schemes, though many of these were not successful as they were not well planned
and properly implemented, and most of all, not designed with the full participation and collaboration of the
peoples at the receiving end. Nevertheless, the number of the Kambata, Tembaro, Qabena and Alaba
who live in the SNNP Region itself is 443,525, 84,918, 28,584 and 117,449 respectively [1994 Housing
and Population Census, p.74] and those who live interspersed among the various nations and
nationalities of Ethiopia is not large. According to the 1994 Housing and Population Census of Ethiopia,
their statistics is as follows:
Kambata
Tembaro
Qabena
Alaba
1. Amhara Region 1,107
34
375
384
2. Tigray Region
23
1
2
3. Affar Region
1,418
5
2
4
4. Oromia Region 41,997
1,277
5,036
7,799
5. Somali Region
102
7
5
2
6. Benishangul-G. R. 2,894
7
47
7. Gambella Region 3,632
234
1
32
8. Harari Region
51
1
2
9. Dire Dawa City
443
240
4
10. Addis Abeba City 4,634
36
819
175
Some Notes on the History of Kambata
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the regions on both sides of the Omo (Gibe) river belonged to
the State of Damot-Ennariya which was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian Empire of northern Ethiopia.
Christianity was introduced to this region during the reign of Emperor Sarsa Dengel ( 1563-97). Kambata
was then one of the provinces of this State. According to the Arab historians AlUmari (c.1345) and
Maqrizi (1434) however, Kambata was part of the Moslem state of Hadiya that also included the Galla
[Oromo]states of the Gibe, and the Sidama peoples Gudela [Hadiya], Tambaro, Alaba, and Wolamo
[Wolayta] {Ernesta Cerulli, History of the Sidama Countries, Peoples of South-West Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, 1956, p. 85}. The first reference to Kambata as a political unit is found in a praise song in
honour of Emperor Yeshak (1414-29) who annexed it as a province of the Christian Ethiopian Empire. In
this song it is stated that Kambata was a country in which horses were bred and which paid tribute in
horses to Ethiopia {CGA, song 2, line 43}-- something for which it has been noted up to the present day.
The conquest was accompanied by the settlement of military colonists (chawa) from northern Ethiopia,
mainly Amhara, and by a Christian missionary campaign. According to Manoel Almeidas History of High
Ethiopia or Abassia 1628-46, Book I, Ch. 2, p. 9, Kambata was one of the 36 kingdoms of the Abyssinian

Empire that were controlled by the Abyssinian emperors preceding Emperor Susneyos (1607-32); the
latter had little control over them due to the Oromo expansions and settlements cutting them off from their
link with the Christian north. Another Portuguese Jesuit Pedro Paez confirms the same number of
kingdoms with some modifications of the list. The patriarch Mendes in his Expedito Aethiopica, Book I, ch.
I also states that Kambata was one of the more important regions of the ancient Christian empire located
at latitude 7 degree north. Historical records confirm that Manz, Marrabete, Ganz, Gafat, Yifat, Hadiya,
Kambata, Bale, Ennarya, and Gurage were some of the ancient southern kingdoms under the loose
control of the Abyssinian empire {Manoel Almeida, Ibid, p. 9}. Towards the end of the fifteenth century the
population of the region known later as Kambata Province (Awraja Gizat), between the Omo and the
Bilate rivers, consisted essentially of three ethnically and socio-economically distinct strata. At the bottom
were the Fuga, the Awado and the Saga, castes of potters, black-smiths, tanners and hunters whose
ancestors may have been among the earliest inhabitants of the region. Above them were a broad stratum
of cultivators, who as clan names and other indicators suggest, most probably belonged to the Sidama
and Omotic-speaking peoples from the south. The upper stratum consisted of the Semitic speaking
military colonists from northern Ethiopia, who evidently acquired not only in politics but also in the cultural
fields an importance disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. In fact, the influence of the
Christian Abyssinian Empire on southern Ethiopia, politically and culturally, had been quite significant.
Besides, many ruling dynasties of southern Ethiopian states claimed Amhara or Tigray descent: Kaffa,
Kambata, Wolayta, Zay, Amarro-Koyra, Janjero {Yem}, Dorze, Gamo, Bosha, Gurage, etc. {Haberland,
Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1964, pp. 235-8}.
Soon after the outbreak of the Holy War (Jihad) of the Muslims of the State of Adal under Imam Ahmad
G. Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Gragn Ahmed) against the Christian Ethiopian Empire in 1529, Kambata too became
a battlefield. In 1532, the Adal Commander Abd an-Nasir conquered the province from the southeast.
According to oral testimony, however, Christians who survived this conquest retired to the summit of the
Ambarricho massif and saved their ritual objects. The province suffered such heavy loss of life that it
became in the course of the sixteenth century an attractive target for invaders from the southeast.
In the wake of the troops of Abd an-Nasir, semi-nomadic Hadiya groups from Dallo (Bale), called Wetogira (Gudela), migrated into the region between the Omo and the Bilate. From 1570 (if not earlier), the
Oromo began to break out of their original homeland between the upper Ganale and upper Dawa and to
exert pressure on the surrounding peoples. Unable to conquer the Sidama highlands, which were already
relatively densely populated, they bypassed them in their great expansion towards the east; yet indirectly
they caused some groups to emigrate from the region. Oral traditions state explicitly that in about the
middle of the sixteenth century, the Effegenna, Ebejenna and Goromma fled northwards from the
Sidama-Gedeo (Darassa) region in order to avoid Oromo rule. They settled on the Ambarricho massif in
Kambata joining the earlier settlers from the Sidama-Darassa regions already living there, and being
relatively populous groups, introduced their Highland East Cushitic language to Kambata. A related
language was that of the ancestors of the Tembaro, who came from Yemererra in the central Sidama
highlands and reached their present territory after a long migration through Alaba, Bosha and Dawro. At
roughly the same time, i.e. between c. 1550-70, the ancestors of the Dubamo and the Donga, said in oral
traditions to have been Christians, were on the move. Their origin can be traced back to Qawena in the
eastern Sidama highlands. It can be assumed that the settlement of these groups in Kambata resulted in
a marked supremacy of Highland East Cushitic languages, whilst Omotic and Semitic were pushed back
to steadily shrinking linguistic islands and to their eventual extinction. In the economic sphere a
differentiation emerged between the highlands, which were occupied by ensete farmers, and in the
middle and lower regions, Hadiya nomads of the Weto-gira tribe grazed their livestock.
As mentioned earlier, in the aftermath of the Christian empires victorious war against Gragn
Ahmed(1529-1543) and the latters demise at the battle of Woine Dega in 1543, Emperor Galawdeos
appointed Ras (Abetohun) Htamelmal as governor of half of the kingdom of Ennarya that also included
Kambata then. As Atme G.M. reminisces:
Being the descendant of kings and the bearer of the title abetohun, Ras Hamalmal, in that period, ruled
half of the kingdom of Ennarya, namely Kambat[a], Walamo [Wolayta], Kullo, Konta, Zanzaro [Yem],
Garo, Ennarot as far as Barbare-Meder, including Maraqo , and on the other side as far as Kafa. Chawa
(soldiers) were posted with their respective commanders in all these places. While they settled under their
respective commanders they failed to assist one another when the Moslems and Galla came. They split
up under their respective commanders and localities. They also differed highly from one another in
language. The mother tongue of Kafa, Kullo, Konta, Walamo, Kambata, Maraqo, and Zanjaro, Garo and

Enarat is Ennarya, and they all resemble each other. The unity in language and religion can clearly be
seen today. [ Atme G.M. (Tafla) O.J.:71f].
Abetohun Hamalmal(1551-1614), as historical records confirm, was the grand-son of Emperor Naod
(1494-1508) through his mother Romanewerq, daughter of the Emperor [Basset 1882-116]. He was also
one of the key generals of Emperor Gelawdewos (1540-59) who undertook several war expeditions to
different parts of the country to oust the remnants of Gragn Ahmed from the Christian strongholds. In
1559, he was ordered, with another general Ras Fassil to attack Harar which was at the time the major
center of Islam. This expedition is well illustrated by Atme G.M. in the following words:
The Negus [Gallawdewos] gave an order that Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal, the Governor of Kambata,
should invade Hararge. He has disbanded the remainder of his army and did not have time to mobilize it.
Furthermore, the clergy was urging him on with the great promise: Should you fall into the hands of Nur
Muhammad [Amir Nur b. Mujahid; the still resisting and strongest general of Gragn Ahmed after the
latters death] you will become a martyr and reign in heaven. Thus he led an expedition into the country
of Adal, where he died at a place called Nach-Sar on the border of Wallo. Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal
set out from Kambata via Malka Amhara and Annya and reached Adari (Harari). In those days, the sultan
of Harar was Habib, who was in his time a great and dreaded man. They fought a fierce battle in the plain
named Sayyedna-Hasheem at the Yarar-Gate. Sultan Habib died, and Ras Hamalmal entered Adari,
burned it and demolished all the mosques. In short, he wrought great destruction and then returned
home. He had not yet heard of the death of Atse Galawdewos [Atme G.M.(Tafla ) O.J.:29].
Soon afterwards the Oromo invasions and migrations marked the eclipse of the Moslem onslaughts
against the Abyssinian Christian empire and the latter had to make futile attempts at curbing waves after
waves of Oromo warriors invading and forcefully occupying many territories inside and outside of the
Christian and Moslem jurisdiction and control of the day but to no avail. Ras Hamalmal fought Luba
Michile (Mesle) at Dago in Arsi province in around 1560, thus repulsing the Oromo invaders from
occupying Kambata and the adjacent territories which were then under the Christian empire. Hamalmal
firmly retained his governorship of the Kingdom of Kambata, long after the Oromo invasions. When the
Portuguese delegation led by Father Fernandez reached Kambata, on the orders of Emperor Susneyos,
in 1614, Hamalmal was still the governor of Kambata. Buckingham and Huntingford noted of this
situation as follows;
Traveling eastwards from the river Zebee[Gibe] the Father [Fernandes] reached Innagara, a place in the
Kingdom of Cambat, which was governed by Hamalmal who at that time recognized the emperor as his
overlord . To the left there are people called Guragues who do not often obey the emperor [Fernandez
(Buckingham /Huntingford) 1954 162-76]. The Portuguese explorer Almeida who was at Emperor
Susneyoss court in 1614 also confirms about Ras Hamalmal being the Governor of Kabmata and a
faithful vassal of the emperor thus:
The fact that Hamalmal, amid so many Galla countries, obeyed him [the emperor] and still accorded him
some recognition was rather because he was well-disposed and a vassal of old standing, than because
the empire was strong enough to make him do it if he had wished to revolt. So today Cambata does not
pay any tribute nor does the emperor appoint a governor for that kingdom, it all belongs to various Galla
and Moorish lords who hold and rule it. At the time the emperor did what he could. [Ibid, 1954:165].
Emperor Susneyos reigned in Gondar from 1607-32.
Ras (Abetohun )Hamalmals story and the Oyeta dynasty he founded in Kambata seems to have
evoked a funny twist in the oral traditions of the Kambata people. A tradition widely known in Kambata
states that seven groups at the summit of the Ambarricho massif, who had survived the upheavals of the
long-lasting Holy war (Jihad) , formed a federation (Kokata). The names of these seven of the
Ambarricho (ambarricho lamala) are generally given as Oyeta, Gulba, Hinnira, Taza, Effegena,
Ebejjinna and Fuga. According to an etiological tale, a hunger contest is supposed to have determined
their internal hierarchy and secured the kingship for the Oyeta group or clan. Whereas hitherto Kambata
had merely been a political term, from the end of the sixteenth century onwards a process of ethnogenesis drew together heterogeneous groups, symbolized by the number seven; and from this process
emerged the Kambata people. All the remaining groups referred to as Kambata peoples based on their
common language are also symbolized by the number seven (Molli lamala among the Tembaro, Dongi
lamala among the Donga, Dubami lamala among the Dubamo). The population of Kambata (in the
narrow sense ) was stratified according to ethnic origin: the Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals dynasty) who
claimed to originate from Gondar, formed the royal clan; the Gulba from Bulga ( Shoa) formed a clan of
nobles; the originally Omotic-speaking Hinnira and Taza made up an upper stratum of free commoners

while the lower stratum of free commoners was composed of Efegenna and Ebejjenna, who had become
linguistically dominant; finally, the Fuga, the Saga and the Awado, formed endogamous castes of
artisanscarpenters, hunters, potters, blacksmiths, etc. Social stratification was the order of the day which
eventually gave way to a semi-feudal order in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of King
Dilbato Degoye (1845-92). Today, no social stratification exists among the first four groups who have
freely intermarried and intermingled among themselves over the past several hundreds of years; they all
enjoy equal status in all walks of life. But the social status of the last groups (Fuga, Saga and Awado) still
remains unpalatable to all people who believe in the equality of all human beings and their equal
treatment in all aspects of life, in brief, respecting their inalienable human rights. Personally, I believe
that if the Fuga, Saga and Awado had the upper hand in leading the Kambata people over the past
several hundreds of years, perhaps, we would have become a technological or industrial society today as
these three groups were the ones who had great skills in making armors of war, agricultural tools, kitchen
utensils, pottery, tannery, hunting, etc. and masters of the material culture of the Kambata people. The
whole Kambata society have depended, and still depend, upon their technical skills and output for many
generations up until today.
Ras Hamalmal is considered to have been the first king of the Oyeta dynasty, which was named
after his wife Oyete (Hayat), daughter of Hajj Ali(ye) Ismael Jeberti, a religious and war leader of the
Azernet- Berbere (eastern Gurage) at the time. As mentioned earlier, this Hamalmal is mentioned in the
report of the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio Fernandes, who in 1613/14 undertook a mission from the
Ethiopian imperial court at Gondar through Kambata. Thus the chronology for the beginning of the Oyeta
dynasty can be fixed. Hamalmal was nominally the governor of Kambata province in the name of the
Christian empire. In practice, however, he was independent, especially as the expansion of the Oromo
into Shoa has broken the territorial link with the Abyssinian state. Relations with the Christian north were
broken off almost in the course of the seventeenth century; yet survivals of Christian Orthodox traditions
have been retained to the present day.
From Hamalmals time onwards, Kambata served as a refuge for political refugees and economically
threatened groups from southern and northern Ethiopia. The immigrants, such as Amhara from Gaynt
(Begemedir), Bulga (Shoa), Manz(Shoa) and people from the Hadiya and Ormo regions, often became
the founders of new clans, whose number rose in the course of time to about one hundred or more.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Kambata remained restricted to a small territory around
the Ambarricho massif due to the consequences of the devastating wars of Iman Gragn Ahmed (1529-43)
and his generals Abd an-Nasir (1532) and Nur Ibn Mujjahid(1529-68), and the subsequent massive
Oromo migrations (1570-1870), while Hadiya herdsmen who came along with the Muslim jihadists
continued to control and use most of the area between the Omo and the Bilate rivers for grazing. The
Kambata peoples were famed for their sophisticated agricultural techniques and their surplus production;
yet population pressure (itself in part a consequence of this agricultural success) presented a growing
threat to their existence.
No written records exist about Hamalmals immediate successors. However, Kambata (Oyeta) oral
traditions confirm Dame (Demelash), Anno (Enniyew), Ketemo (Ketema), Dilaba and Gonjobo as
Hamalmals immediate successors. For the kingdoms of Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro, too, the period
from the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century is a dark phase, though
they also have their own oral accounts of this period. One event which was of significance for religious
and political history was the kidnapping of a spirit medium, the hauzul-mancho from Bosha, by the
Dubamo. According to oral traditions or accounts, the Kambata owed tribute to the Hadiya of the
Wetogira tribes, to whom they were also under humiliating conditions. In about 1770, their king Katama
managed, with the help of other Hadiya groups (the Shashogo and Urusso), to drive out the Wetogira
Hadiya tribes (Haballo, Bargage, Hojje, Hanqalla, Hayiba, Haysaba, Gondala, Errera and Massawa;
these were part of the Moslem jihadists that conquered Kambata and led by Abd anNasir in 1532). The
murder of Dilaba, Katamas immediate successor, shortly afterwards by Hadallo Gebro [Gebru, Ketemas
brother], a member of the Oyeta royal clan, was followed by a period of succession disputes and civil
wars which lasted about ten years. Under King Waqo Ketema (c.1790-1810) the Kambata state was
again consolidated.
The Donga had successfully striven for some time under their woma(king ) Hanagassa to extend their
territory. In about 1770, however, the Badawacho Hadiya pushed them back to their small mountain
homeland. Around 1800, they and their neighbours, the Dubamo, fell under the overlord-ship of the SoroHadiya, who had advanced from the north. The Tembaro were able to maintain their independence and

became notorious for their raids into the country lying southwest of them, extending beyond Dawro (KulloKonta).
Under King Dagoiye Waqo (c. 1810-45) a formative period began in Kambata, in which the institutions of
the state acquired their essential features, and Kambata began to extend its territory by a deliberate
programme of colonisation, pushing the Wolayta and the Hadiya peoples. As in many kingdoms of
southern Ethiopia (e.g. Wolayta, Janjero), the newly acquired areas were in each case demarcated by a
system of walls and ditches, which served in part as fortifications but had a more important symbolic
significance.
Kambata enjoyed its classical age under woma (king) Dilbatto Degoiye (c.1845-92), who was highly
respected among the peoples of central southern Ethiopia. Under his rule the institutions of state
reached their highest stage of development An administrative apparatus sub-dividing the territory into
counties (gocho ) was created, and diplomatic and military measures led to a considerable extension of
the area covered by the state (reaching roughly the present-day linguistic boundaries of the Kambata).
The main military conflicts were with the Soro-Hadiya and the Wolayta, whereas the other Hadiya tribes
and the Alaba were tied to the Kambata state by alliances and inter marriage. The rise of the monarchy
and of the Oyeta clan was accompanied by growing clashes of interest and socio-economic antagonisms
between the ruling stratum and the mass of the peasantry (kontoma). An insurrection (kontomi
diddenna) which broke out in about 1885 was crushed by King Dilbatto with the help of friendly Hadiya
groups (mainly Badawacho).
At this time Kambata already lay within the field of operations of the Shoa Amhara, who had occupied the
Gurage country and were beginning to extend their conquests into the areas immediately south of it.
Between 1891 and 1893 the Kambata peoples were subjugated by the Christian Ethiopian empire under
Emperor Menilik II . This meant the end of the kingship and the beginning of a new political and socioeconomic era, characterized above all by the gabbar system. The inhabitants were allotted as bondsmen
or serfs of the state (gabbar) to military colonists (naftagna or gun-bearer) from the north colonizing the
conquered peoples including the earlier colonists called chawa who migrated to the region since the time
of Emperor Yeshaq of Gondar (1414-29) and were obliged to pay taxes in kind and perform corveelike
services. Insurrections against this state of affairs broke out in many parts of southern Ethiopia,
particularly during the civil war of 1916 during the reign of Lij Eyasu Michael. Conquest by the Ethiopian
empire was followed by a (re) Christianization of the Kambata region; but it was not until the 1950s that
this process was completed, thanks partly to the work of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
The Amhara introduced new crops (e.g. eragrostis teff) and ox-drawn ploughs; but in the highlands to this
day the latter has only managed to gain a secondary place vis--vis the traditional agricultural tools-- the
digging- stick and hoe. An important innovation was the emergence of centers of administration and
commercial activities (katama) in a country where the only form of settlement had been that of loosely
grouped hamlets and far-flung villages. The gabbar system was abolished by the Italians and was not
reintroduced after the reinstatement of Emperor Haile Sellassie I by the British in 1941. The landlordtenant system which then emerged did not fundamentally alter socio- economic relationships. Fortunately,
most Kambata, especially in the densely populated highlands, were in any case peasants on land which
was considered as belonging to their communities and for which only a relatively small tax had to be paid
to the state. Large estates were promised to those descendants of kings who were appointed balabat
(government chief) and to people of the Oyeta clan. Overpopulation in the core area of the Kamabata
made it increasingly necessary for landless peasants to seek their living standards among self- sufficient
smallholders from about 1960 on. In general however, the material quality of life remained so low that the
majority of inhabitants of the Kambata areas greeted the revolution which broke out in 1974 and the
proclamation of a land reform with great optimism, which, however, was dashed soon due to the illadvised programmes of forced villagization, forced resettlement in remote and harsh environments as
well as the inability of peasants to sell their agricultural surplus produce at the market price and at places
of their choice or preference but forcefully supply their products to the state-owned Agricultural Marketing
Enterprise (AMCE) at government set prices and quantities. This, in brief, covers some aspects of the
history of Kambata from the 14th to the 20th century.

Appendix I
List of Major Clans of Kambata
No.
Name of clan
Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals
Dynasty)
Gulba
Nurto
Hajibbo(Hate)Amhara
Ongot (ta)
Ennagos /Dildiy/ Amhara
Quntanno
Sintarro
Qorandi- Amhara
Ennagari- Amhara
Garado- Amhara
Abrahmi- Amhara
Wolde-Amhara
Dawaro
Masmas(a)
Agawa
Gafat (a)
Dola(Dubamo)
Gojjinna()
Golacha ( )
Gojjinna()
Gulla()
Suara()
Zambochicho
Badogo
Damota(Woshbirra)
Dada
Dawe
Farzanno(Farzanna)
Zato
Bonoso
Gabara
Gadena
Galla(Adamogne)
35. Gora
Gorakama
Gujji
Hambarazo
Qarisso
Malga

Claimed Origin of
Migration
Gondar

Approx Period
of Migration
16th century

Bulga (shoa)
16th

Gondar
16th

Gayint
Before 15th century
Gayint

Gayint
17th century
Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz, Enner Gurage

17th

Garado (Wollo)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
17th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Manz (Shoa)
18th

Chilga (Gondar)
16th

Agewmedir (Gojjam)
16th

Gafat (Wollo)
15th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Gondar
16th

Dallo (Bale)
16th

Arsi, Gadab, Wolayta

18th

Arsi, Endegagn
19th

Arsi-Didaa
18th

Albaso (Arsi)
18th
Borana (Oromo)
17th

Yem, Jimma
17th

Arsi-Dida
18th

Arsi
18th

Wabi Shebele, Arsi

18th

Jimma
18th

Jimma
18th

Gujji
-Oromo
18th

Arsi
18th

Eka (Arsi)
19th

Arsi, Sidama
16th

Wolleqa
Wollega-Oromo
Womallo
Borana
Worarra
Werera (Arsi)
Yabbu
Kalalle(Zwai lake)
Haballo
Dallo (Bale)
Hayiba
Dallo (Bale)
Hojje
Dallo (Bale)
Qilemanna
Dallo (Bale)
Jawarro
Gadab (Wabi Shebelle)
Godicho
Gadab (
)
Sarorre
Gadab (
)
Gonderomma
Dallo(Bale)
Haderamma
Dallo(Bale)
Muta
Dallo(Bale)
Zedinno
Dallo(Bale)
Doda
Dallo, Gadab
Awda
Sidama
Malge
Sidama
Ennerra
Sidama
Jigga
Sidama
Jumma
Sidama
Hessesse(ta)
Sidama, Borana
Churrissa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
Lambuda ()

Lanchamo ()

Magalalle ()

Mattafarsa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
Orgo ()
Sidama, Guraghe
Sintyanno ()

Adde (Tembaro)
Yemerrra (Sidama)
Ajjarra ()

Qutna (Quunna) (Tembarro)

Sambata ()

Tase ()

75. Wajja ()

Yagga ()

Hinnira
Wolayta, Ennariya
Goromma
Wolayta
Bubulla
Wolayta
Makuta
Gamo
Damota
Wolayta
Derreja
Gamo
Dubbo
Borana; Qucha, Dubbo(Wolayta)
Goromma
Wolayta
Tigra- Wolayta
Kindo, Kosha(Wolayta)
Weshesha
Wolayta, Donga, Danta
Zakete
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
Borojmalla (Borodamalla)
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
Effegenna
Gedeo
Ebejjena
Gedeo
Guna
Guna(Lemo)
Odro
Lemo-Hadiya
Moche
Badawacho-Hadiya
Tarachmanna
Shashogo- Hadiya
Annashakko
Alaba, Qabena
Azera
Azernet Berbere

18th

18th

18th

18th
16th
16th
16th
16th
19th
19th
19th
16th
16th
16th
16th

19th

17th

15th

15th

18th

18th

18th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16th-17th

16-17th century
16-17th

16-17th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

16th

15th

18th

19th

18th

18th

18th

18th
18th century
18th

18th

18th

18th

16th

16th

19th

19th

19th
19th

19th

18th

Dada
Endanna
99.
Gejja
100. Ganz
101. Jorra
102. Omoshogorra

Endegagn(east Guraghe)
19th

Ennariya, Endegagn
18th

Geja(North Guraghe)
18th

Ganz (Qabena)
15-18th

Enner- Guraghe
18th

Ennariya, Masmas,
18th

Enamor-Guraghe
103. Yangaro
Janjero [Yem]
17th

104.Saga
Guraghe
Before 15th

105. Werreza
Qabena/Guraghe,
17th

106. Fuga(Annosa, Masmas, Guraghe,

Before15th

Badagosa, Bidirra
Ennariya
Boriye, Bosha, Gacha,
Gajicho, Gashdessa,
Gauwossa, Hojiya (Hokiya)
Marenmanna, Masmassa,
Negaa, Tontosa (Dontosa),
Woiyoso)

References
1.
Atme, G.M.
History of the Galla (Yegalla Tarik), part I translated by Bairu Tafla, O.O. (Ms)
Azais, R. P.and R. Chambard , 1942.
2.
Braukamper, Ulrich,
Die Kambata Franz Steiner Verlagh GMBH, Weisbaden, 1983
3.
Buckingham, C.F. and G. B.W. Huntingford (Eds.). Some Records of Ethiopia 1593-1646; Being
Extracts from the History of High Ethiopia or Abassia by Manoel de Almeida together with Bahreys
History of the Galla [Oromo ],(Hakluyt Society II, CVII), London
4.
Cerulli, Ernesta
Peoples of South west Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, London, 1956
5.
Ethiopia: The 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia,
CSO, 1994, Addis Ababa
6.
Haberland, E.
The Influence of the Christian Ethiopian Empire on Southern Ethiopia , In
Journal of Semitic Studies IX: 235-38
7.
Hodson, A.
Seven Years in Southern Ethiopia , London, 1927
8.
Leslaw, W.
Additional Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Arthropods 51, 5/6 :98593 , 1956
9.
Leslaw, W.
Notes on Kambata of Southern Ethiopia, In: Africa, XXII:348-59 , 1952
10. Ludolph(us),J.
A New History of Ethiopia: Being a Full and Accurate Description of the Kingdom
of Abyssinia, vulgarly though Erroneously called the Empire of Prester John, London, 1682.
11. Moreno, M.M.
Appunti di Cambata e di Alaba, In: RRAL, ser. VI, XIV,3/4 =269-79
12. Singer, N.J.
The Use of Courts as a Key to Legal Development: an Analysis of Legal
Attitudes of the Cambata of Ethiopia, In Proceedings of the First United States Conference of Ethiopian
Studies, 1973. s. 365-83 East Lansing , 1975
13. Singer, N.J.
Some Notes on the origin of the Cambata of southern Ethiopia, Tuscaloosa
(Ms.), 1977.
14. Singer, N.J.
The Relevance of Traditional Legal Systems to Modernization and Reform: a
Consideration of Cambata Legal Structure, In Tubiana, J. (Ed.), Modern Ethiopia :From the Accession of
Menelik II to the Present, S.. 537 -56 ,Rotterdam , 1980
15.
Yigezu,s.
Kambata Awraja: Its People and Local Administration, Addis Abeba
(Ms)1970.
16.
Dagana Bafutte Didana Oral History of Kambata, 1986. The late Dagna Bafutte Did ana was a
well known Oyeta notable who died at the age of 90 in 1992.

A Short History of the Kambata People of

South-Western Ethiopia
By Tesfaye Habisso H.

History is for human self- knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing,

first, what it is to be person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are;
and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is . Knowing
yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they
can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.
The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is. (R.G.
Collingwood)
Foreword
From time immemorial Ethiopia had been a museum of many peoples of diverse origins. For me as
well for many Ethiopians, a comprehensive history of these peoples has always been a kind of romantic,
unreachable dream. No historian has yet attempted to tackle this challenging task.
Most of the hitherto written history of Ethiopia which begins in the later Middle Ages from the pens of
monks and court historians and whose main purpose is the laudation of Abyssinian kings does not deal
with the comprehensive history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians at large. It does not particularly touch upon
the history of the regions and peoples incorporated by Emperor Menelik II to the Ethiopian Empire-state
towards the end of the 19th century.
These regions, though they had their own independent kingdoms and sultanates as well as loosely
confederated traditional polities, had no written languages of their own; they had no court historians and
thus no written history. Hence it will be the duty of historians, particularly those from these regions, to
write the history of their peoples so that the history of modern Ethiopia will be complete. Many outsiders
had attempted to write the history of Ethiopia and the Ethiopians based on inadequate data and
information, and sometimes relying on secondary sources and hearsay. On this point the Ethiopians
themselves, I believe, would/should have quite a bit to say and say it clear and loud now.
This manuscript on the history of the Kambata people however is not a pioneering historical document
or research work produced by me; it is primarily a compilation of scattered secondary or written source
material recorded by missionaries and monks, professional historians, jurists, administrators and
politicians concerning this part of Ethiopia which, I hope, will help for writing in the future a comprehensive
history of the people. Be this as it may, writing the history of any people, most of all the history of a nonliterate people, is a very difficult and sensitive issuea complex and complicated project fraught with
controversies and disagreements. As The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia cautions:
Since history is concerned with human activity, and since human activity expresses itself in a
variety of ways, there are histories that correspond to these diverse expressions. To write about any
individual or [group] or field of human endeavour a historian must do more than chronicle events, names,
and dates. These are but the crude makings of history; they must be refined through an intellect and
imagination capable of relating one to
another, rejecting the unimportant, and highlighting that which will throw the subject into a proper
perspective. Thus the gathering of information is but a small part of the historians task. Even while he is
collecting his sources and extracting information from them, he must be concerned with their
trustworthiness. Indeed, the historian must forever be on guard against bias in any source that he uses.
In addition, as he begins to write his own history, he must be as fair to the facts as he has expected his
sources to have been. Of course, the history that he writes will be conditioned by his temperament,
including his preconceptions, as much as by the motive and purpose of his research. These variations in
human temperament and motives help to explain the frequent multitude of histories on one subject, and
temperament and motives are greatly influenced by the period in which a historian lives. All written history
is a compound of past and present. Thus, there are no final analyses
in history, no universally accepted conclusions. History can be made to serve every conceivable theory
and temperamental peculiarity. [The Universal World Reference Encyclopaedia, Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1964, Vol. VII, P. 2477]

It is taking into considerations the above-mentioned precautions and guidelines that this compiled
historical account on the Kambata people must be perused and utilized as a source material for further
research. My modest attempt to present a short history of Kambataa region and a people long known
by this nameis based on oral traditions and legends, and some written records. I present this history of
the Kambata people not for personal fame and glory, nor for riches, nor honours but for choosing to be
who I am and the recognition and respect of my ethnic and cultural identity, which no good man gives up
except with his/her soul, his/her cultural identity and liberty. As the first President of the Republic of
Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, once said:
A nation without a past is a lost nation. And a people
without a past is a people without a soul.
I wish someone better qualified than myself had met this need, but suggestions and persuasions in many
directions have so far produced no satisfactory results. Besides, I remember quite well the bitter
memories of Abebe Abura when he published a small booklet entitled, A Short History of Kambata (in
Amharic) some three decades ago; he was unmercifully criticized and condemned by many Kambata and
Hadiya elites/scholars for writing allegedly inaccurate and fictitious history of these peoples. No one
appreciated, at least, his maiden effort in writing the history of the Kambata and Hadiya peoples. Again,
no one forwarded any constructive critique on the book except negative and destructive condemnation.
Ever since that time no Hadiya or Kambata historian or any other intellectual in the area of the social
sciences better qualified for the task has committed himself/herself and his/her energy, time and
resources to write a less controversial and a more consensual sort of history, so to speak, of either
Hadiya or Kambata, or both. This is a paradox no one can decipher: Dont we want our written history?
Dont we have the conviction and desire to write it? Why oppose or condemn any effort, however
palatable that may be to some, when some of our own scholars or patriotic citizens try to write about their
peoples? After all, there is no history that is, and can be, written once and for all, and this is true for any
research output in the field of the social sciences in general. No one can claim to have the ultimate
wisdom in any area of intellectual pursuit; we are all fallible. The search for more and more knowledge is
a continuous process. No one is omniscient and all knowing. This naked truth should guide us all when
we endeavour to produce or peruse any historical document in particular.
Call it nationalism or anything, I want to see the written history of my people. I believe every individual
must be proud of his people and his ethnic nationality; so also his ethnic and civic nationalism as well.
And because the history of my people has not yet been dealt with at length by any historian so far, I
earnestly seek to provide to the public any available information, oral or written, that might help to fill this
vacuum.
As mentioned earlier in this manuscript, Ethiopia had been, and still is, a museum of many
peoples of diverse origins, customs, cultures, religions/faiths and other peculiarities, but not a museum of
many written histories of these peoples. There is no people without history; large or small every people
has its past, its present and its future history. This is what the Southern Ethiopians in general and the
Kambata in particular must be fully aware of; they must also be aware of the fact that they and their
peoples are no less, no better Ethiopian than the rest of their countrymen and women; they must write
their histories in order to avoid an identity crisis for themselves and their children. It is in this spirit that I
attempted to compile this brief history of the Kambata people.
Certainly I do not claim that the picture presented in the following pages, built out of a mosaic of
evidence from historical records, from contemporary documents and many living witnesses, is wholly
accurate and I should welcome any corrections that informed readers can offer me. This manuscript is a
provisional and interim venture; it will fulfil its purpose if it provokes the writing of a definitive or a less
controversial work and if it fills the gap until that is done.

Introductory Remarks:Kambata as the Melting Pot of Ethiopian Society

How and when the name Kambata came into being and what it means is not adequately explained
by written historical records. According to oral accounts, some say that the name Kambata was first
given by the Oromos and it meant , we have surrounded you; how can you get out of your
encirclement? This encirclement by the Oromo may probably imply the period of the Oromo expansions
and the numerous wars fought between the Oromos and the Sidama peoples (Sidamo, Hadiya, Wolayta,
Kambata, Gedeo, etc.) in the years 1550-70 and later. This oral tradition does not seem to reconcile with
written historical records which confirm the existence of Kambata as a kingdom in the 14th century and

earlier. Another oral tradition recounts that the name Kambata was given by the first inhabitants of this
area themselves, known in Kambata oral history as the Ambericho Seven (Ambericho lamala) who
were a group of seven wondering tribes of the Sidama-Omotic peoples, namely Gozuta, Ebbejena,
Effegena, Tazuta, Hinnira, Bazata and Saga. It is said that when these seven groups reached the area
around the Ambericho massif they found the place very suitable for human settlement and decided to
settle there. They said, this is the place where we shall live, this is a place of our choice (in Kambata
language hennamibu kembati and thus the name Kambata). Another oral account says that the name
Kambata was adopted from Kambato who was the son of Kokato; Kokato was the first migrant from
Sidamaland who occupied the Ambericho area in todays Kambata and had a son named Kambato who
in turn had seven children who established an alliance known as Kokati Kambata. It is also said that
Kokato later returned to Sidamo {Annulo Jofe, a Kambata informant and one of the first pioneers who
introduced modern education to Kambata}.
Be this as it may, modern Ethiopia in general and Kambata in particular is the product of many
centuries of interaction and intermingling amongst many cultural-linguistic communities, groups and
individuals of diverse origins. The Ethiopians are indeed a mixed people, so also the Kambata. The only
shortcoming on our part is that we dont know enough how mixed we are, that is, about our shared
identity and history. If we had known enough about this aspect of our shared identity and history, and
taught and passed this to our younger generation, we wouldnt have confronted or faced many of the
intractable ethnic problems that we are facing today
The Kambata are an ethnic group dwelling on the lip of the rift valley about 350 miles south of Addis
Abeba in south-western Ethiopia. The Kambata are bordered on the north by the Hadiya and Alaba, on
the south by the Tembaro and Wolayta, on the west by the Wolayta and Hadiya, and on the east by the
Billate river, which separates them from the Arsi Oromo.They are predominantly sedentary agriculturalists
cultivating ensete edulis and some grains. Because of the ensete cultivation, which is carried out in close
proximity to the residence, closely clustered villages predominate throughout the area. The Kambata, like
other southern Ethiopian peoples, were independent from the centralized Amhara structure prior to the
conquests of Menelik II, 1889-1905.
Based on oral accounts and traditions, Kambata indeed can be called the melting pot of Ethiopian
society. According to the New World Dictionary, by the melting pot we mean a country, place, or area,
in which immigrants of various nations /nationalities are assimilated into one main/dominant culture.
Kambata as the melting pot of Ethiopian society was well illustrated by the former balabat (woma or
king) of Kambata, Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso (1920-47 ) in the following words:
--- Whence came all these people? They came from the lands of the Amhara, the Galla [Oromo], the
Sidama , the Darassa [Gedeo] , the Wolammo [Wolayta], the Gudela [Hadiya], the Gamo, the Zubamo
[Dubamo], the Gurage, the Tembaro, the Donga, etc. They are a mixture of all these peoples--- What,
then, is the Kambata, this new man? He is neither an Amhara nor a Galla [Oromo ] or a Wolammo
[Wolayta]; he is neither a Sidama nor a Darassa [Gedeo] or a Gudela [Hadiya], etc; hence that mixture of
blood which , you will find in no other region or province. I could point out to you a family whose
grandfather was an Ongota (of Amhara origin) whose wife was a Gabara (of Oromo origin) , whose son
married a Doda- Annimanna (Badawacho Hadiya), and whose present four sons have now four wives of
different clans claiming diverse originsa Jumma (Sidama), a Wereza(Azernet- Berbere), a Bubulla
(Wolayta) and a Borodamalla (Gamo) respectively. He is a Kambata, who, leaving behind him all his
ancient prejudices, affiliations, roots and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has
embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds--- The Kambata were once
scattered all over Ethiopia; here they are incorporated into one system of population, forming a
microcosm of Ethiopian society.. [ Fitawrari Bargano Mollisso Hellamo, balabat (woma or king ) of
Kambata (ca. 1920-47) replying to Dejazmach Meshesha Wolde Ashagre, the then Governor of Kambata
province(1920-35) representing the central government in Addis Ababa who asked the former how more
than 100 different clans or groups claiming different origins but now speaking the same Kembatigna
language (Kambatiaffo) occupy Kambataland; as told to the author by Dagna Bafutte Didanna, a close
relative of the Kambata king and an elderly Oyeta notable well known throughout the Kambata, Hadiya,
Wolayta, Gurage and Alaba areas, in 1986]. As expressed clearly by the former balabat (king) of
Kambata here above, more than one hundred (100) groups and individuals that later formed the various
sub-groups and clans of the Kambata nation, migrated to the Kambata region from different parts of
Ethiopia and at different times over a long period spanning many hundreds of years in the past. As
claimed by the founding fathers or clan elders or leaders of the respective groups themselves, they

migrated from different regions of Ethiopia. The names of the major clans, their claimed origin of migration
as well as the approximate period of their migration is described in Appendix I at the end of this
manuscript (see Appendix I)
As a political unit as well as a geographic region, the name Kambata refers to an ancient polity that
extended from the Bilate River including Alaba in the east to the Omo (Gibe) River in the west in todays
South-Western Ethiopia. For a long time, even before the polity was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian
Empire in the 15th century, this region was well known as the Kingdom of Kambata (Cambat). This
covered the whole area which is now occupied by the Kambata, the Hadiya, the Alaba, the Donga, the
Tembaro, the Dubamo and the Masmas peoplesthe Hadiya and Kambata and Tembaro zones in the
SNNP Region of the FDRE. As a cultural linguistic category however, the name Kambata here refers to
four former states with peoples, who had the same language, and culture but different historical origins:
the Kambata in the narrow sense (that is, the people occupying Angacha, Kedida-Gamella, Kachabirra,
Damboya, Doyogana and Adillo woredas or destricts), the Dubamo, the Donga and the Tembaro. As will
be explained later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, these peoples were part and parcel of the State of
Damot- Ennariya that also included other peoples such as Damot, Ganz, Gafat, Kaffa, Kullo, Konta,
Wolayta, Maraqo, Yem, Garo, Azernete-Berbere and Enner Gurage(Ennariya). In the aftermath of the
Christian war against the Moslem invasions led by the fierce and dreaded warrior Gragn Ahmed (152943) this region was governed by Ras (Abetohun ) Hamalmal who was appointed as Governor by emperor
Galawdewos (1540-59), with an obligation of showing his utmost allegiance to the imperial court in
Gondar. However, his rule over the region was effectively weakened by the Oromo wars and migrations
that swept across the whole country soon after the demise of Imam Gragn Ahmed at the battle of Woina
Dega in 1543. Subsequently, the State of Damot- Ennariya disintegrated into its component parts and
separate entities subsequently took shape and emerged in the wake of its total fragmentation. Many
peoples such as the Ganz, Gafat Damot, Maya and others disappeared from the map of Ethiopia. They
were all completely absorbed and assimilated by the Oromo invaders; a few migrating to northern Shoa
and elsewhere. On the other hand , in the south, the Gurage, the Sidama, the Wolayta, the Kambata, the
Hadiya, the Gamo, the Goffa, the Gedeo, the Tembaro, the Dubamo, the Donga and many others
fiercely resisted the Oromo but as in the central and northern highlands, they were compelled to yield at
least some territory. Whatever the case, they were able to resist Oromo rule and assimilation and to
maintain their identity intact and to establish their own states ruled by their own respective kings,
abagadas and sultans since then, up until they were all conquered again by Emperor Menelik II of
Abyssinia in 1890-93 and annexed to the Christian empire-state. That was also how Hamalmals
governorship was reduced from his wider and far more significant vassalship over half of the State of
Damot Ennariya before the onset of the Moslem and Oromo wars to the small Kingdom of Kambata
during the 17th century. The Oromo migrations and wars resulted in the weakening of both Christian and
Moslem power and drove a wedge between the two faiths along the eastern edge of the highlands. Thus
the Abyssinian Christian Empire lost all its former jurisdictions over the State of Damot- Ennariya,
including Kambata and many others for over four hundred solid years.
The Kambata, Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro peoples who have a population of about 747,307
(according to the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, CSO, Vol.1 Addis Abeba, p.66), are
jointly referred to as the Kambata peoples but in my analysis they are generally mentioned separately
under their respective names. They occupy an area of about 1,200 square kilometres, largely more than
2,000 meters above sea-level, between the Omo (Gibe) and the middle Bilate rivers. .
The language of the Kambata peoples, together with that of the Alaba (population 125,900; 1994
CSO census) and Qabena (population 35,072; 1994 CSO census) forms a branch of Highland East
Cushitic. They are peasants who conduct intensive agriculture, their principal crops being barley,
cabbage, legumes and ensete ventricosum. Their settlements are in some cases over- populated
(population density being about 300 people per square kilometre); and many inhabitants therefore are
obliged to seek a living in other parts of Ethiopia. Augmenting this social mobility in search of livelihoods
elsewhere, the Kambata have developed over a long period of time remarkable survival strategies and
abilities to adjust to different and harsh environments and these qualities are well noted by many
historians and social researchers. And this is also the glaring reality one can easily observe among the
Kambata peoples in their own localities where one can witness a person who is alternately a farmer, a
teacher, a butcher, a merchant, etc. at the same time thus trying to diversify his/her means of survival.
Be this as it may, resolving the problem of over-population in the Kambata province was traditionally
attempted to be eased by the sole effort of the people themselves who moved out of their homeland as

migrant labourers to the Awash valley agricultural farms (Wonji, Metehara, Abadir, etc.); to Maraqo as
cultivators and collectors of berbere spice; to the Kaffa areas as collectors of coffee beans; and to many
parts of Ethiopia in southern, south- western and south- eastern regions where employment opportunities
were available. The problem had also been attempted to be resolved by successive regimes of Ethiopia
through resettlement schemes, though many of these were not successful as they were not well planned
and properly implemented, and most of all, not designed with the full participation and collaboration of the
peoples at the receiving end. Nevertheless, the number of the Kambata, Tembaro, Qabena and Alaba
who live in the SNNP Region itself is 443,525, 84,918, 28,584 and 117,449 respectively [1994 Housing
and Population Census, p.74] and those who live interspersed among the various nations and
nationalities of Ethiopia is not large. According to the 1994 Housing and Population Census of Ethiopia,
their statistics is as follows:
Kambata
Tembaro
Qabena
Alaba
1. Amhara Region 1,107
34
375
384
2. Tigray Region
23
1
2
3. Affar Region
1,418
5
2
4
4. Oromia Region 41,997
1,277
5,036
7,799
5. Somali Region
102
7
5
2
6. Benishangul-G. R. 2,894
7
47
7. Gambella Region 3,632
234
1
32
8. Harari Region
51
1
2
9. Dire Dawa City
443
240
4
10. Addis Abeba City 4,634
36
819
175
Some Notes on the History of Kambata
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the regions on both sides of the Omo (Gibe) river belonged to
the State of Damot-Ennariya which was annexed by the Abyssinian Christian Empire of northern Ethiopia.
Christianity was introduced to this region during the reign of Emperor Sarsa Dengel ( 1563-97). Kambata
was then one of the provinces of this State. According to the Arab historians AlUmari (c.1345) and
Maqrizi (1434) however, Kambata was part of the Moslem state of Hadiya that also included the Galla
[Oromo]states of the Gibe, and the Sidama peoples Gudela [Hadiya], Tambaro, Alaba, and Wolamo
[Wolayta] {Ernesta Cerulli, History of the Sidama Countries, Peoples of South-West Ethiopia and Its
Borderland, 1956, p. 85}. The first reference to Kambata as a political unit is found in a praise song in
honour of Emperor Yeshak (1414-29) who annexed it as a province of the Christian Ethiopian Empire. In
this song it is stated that Kambata was a country in which horses were bred and which paid tribute in
horses to Ethiopia {CGA, song 2, line 43}-- something for which it has been noted up to the present day.
The conquest was accompanied by the settlement of military colonists (chawa) from northern Ethiopia,
mainly Amhara, and by a Christian missionary campaign. According to Manoel Almeidas History of High
Ethiopia or Abassia 1628-46, Book I, Ch. 2, p. 9, Kambata was one of the 36 kingdoms of the Abyssinian
Empire that were controlled by the Abyssinian emperors preceding Emperor Susneyos (1607-32); the
latter had little control over them due to the Oromo expansions and settlements cutting them off from their
link with the Christian north. Another Portuguese Jesuit Pedro Paez confirms the same number of
kingdoms with some modifications of the list. The patriarch Mendes in his Expedito Aethiopica, Book I, ch.
I also states that Kambata was one of the more important regions of the ancient Christian empire located
at latitude 7 degree north. Historical records confirm that Manz, Marrabete, Ganz, Gafat, Yifat, Hadiya,
Kambata, Bale, Ennarya, and Gurage were some of the ancient southern kingdoms under the loose
control of the Abyssinian empire {Manoel Almeida, Ibid, p. 9}. Towards the end of the fifteenth century the
population of the region known later as Kambata Province (Awraja Gizat), between the Omo and the
Bilate rivers, consisted essentially of three ethnically and socio-economically distinct strata. At the bottom
were the Fuga, the Awado and the Saga, castes of potters, black-smiths, tanners and hunters whose
ancestors may have been among the earliest inhabitants of the region. Above them were a broad stratum
of cultivators, who as clan names and other indicators suggest, most probably belonged to the Sidama
and Omotic-speaking peoples from the south. The upper stratum consisted of the Semitic speaking
military colonists from northern Ethiopia, who evidently acquired not only in politics but also in the cultural
fields an importance disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. In fact, the influence of the
Christian Abyssinian Empire on southern Ethiopia, politically and culturally, had been quite significant.
Besides, many ruling dynasties of southern Ethiopian states claimed Amhara or Tigray descent: Kaffa,

Kambata, Wolayta, Zay, Amarro-Koyra, Janjero {Yem}, Dorze, Gamo, Bosha, Gurage, etc. {Haberland,
Journal of Semitic Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1964, pp. 235-8}.
Soon after the outbreak of the Holy War (Jihad) of the Muslims of the State of Adal under Imam Ahmad
G. Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Gragn Ahmed) against the Christian Ethiopian Empire in 1529, Kambata too became
a battlefield. In 1532, the Adal Commander Abd an-Nasir conquered the province from the southeast.
According to oral testimony, however, Christians who survived this conquest retired to the summit of the
Ambarricho massif and saved their ritual objects. The province suffered such heavy loss of life that it
became in the course of the sixteenth century an attractive target for invaders from the southeast.
In the wake of the troops of Abd an-Nasir, semi-nomadic Hadiya groups from Dallo (Bale), called Wetogira (Gudela), migrated into the region between the Omo and the Bilate. From 1570 (if not earlier), the
Oromo began to break out of their original homeland between the upper Ganale and upper Dawa and to
exert pressure on the surrounding peoples. Unable to conquer the Sidama highlands, which were already
relatively densely populated, they bypassed them in their great expansion towards the east; yet indirectly
they caused some groups to emigrate from the region. Oral traditions state explicitly that in about the
middle of the sixteenth century, the Effegenna, Ebejenna and Goromma fled northwards from the
Sidama-Gedeo (Darassa) region in order to avoid Oromo rule. They settled on the Ambarricho massif in
Kambata joining the earlier settlers from the Sidama-Darassa regions already living there, and being
relatively populous groups, introduced their Highland East Cushitic language to Kambata. A related
language was that of the ancestors of the Tembaro, who came from Yemererra in the central Sidama
highlands and reached their present territory after a long migration through Alaba, Bosha and Dawro. At
roughly the same time, i.e. between c. 1550-70, the ancestors of the Dubamo and the Donga, said in oral
traditions to have been Christians, were on the move. Their origin can be traced back to Qawena in the
eastern Sidama highlands. It can be assumed that the settlement of these groups in Kambata resulted in
a marked supremacy of Highland East Cushitic languages, whilst Omotic and Semitic were pushed back
to steadily shrinking linguistic islands and to their eventual extinction. In the economic sphere a
differentiation emerged between the highlands, which were occupied by ensete farmers, and in the
middle and lower regions, Hadiya nomads of the Weto-gira tribe grazed their livestock.
As mentioned earlier, in the aftermath of the Christian empires victorious war against Gragn
Ahmed(1529-1543) and the latters demise at the battle of Woine Dega in 1543, Emperor Galawdeos
appointed Ras (Abetohun) Htamelmal as governor of half of the kingdom of Ennarya that also included
Kambata then. As Atme G.M. reminisces:
Being the descendant of kings and the bearer of the title abetohun, Ras Hamalmal, in that period, ruled
half of the kingdom of Ennarya, namely Kambat[a], Walamo [Wolayta], Kullo, Konta, Zanzaro [Yem],
Garo, Ennarot as far as Barbare-Meder, including Maraqo , and on the other side as far as Kafa. Chawa
(soldiers) were posted with their respective commanders in all these places. While they settled under their
respective commanders they failed to assist one another when the Moslems and Galla came. They split
up under their respective commanders and localities. They also differed highly from one another in
language. The mother tongue of Kafa, Kullo, Konta, Walamo, Kambata, Maraqo, and Zanjaro, Garo and
Enarat is Ennarya, and they all resemble each other. The unity in language and religion can clearly be
seen today. [ Atme G.M. (Tafla) O.J.:71f].
Abetohun Hamalmal(1551-1614), as historical records confirm, was the grand-son of Emperor Naod
(1494-1508) through his mother Romanewerq, daughter of the Emperor [Basset 1882-116]. He was also
one of the key generals of Emperor Gelawdewos (1540-59) who undertook several war expeditions to
different parts of the country to oust the remnants of Gragn Ahmed from the Christian strongholds. In
1559, he was ordered, with another general Ras Fassil to attack Harar which was at the time the major
center of Islam. This expedition is well illustrated by Atme G.M. in the following words:
The Negus [Gallawdewos] gave an order that Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal, the Governor of Kambata,
should invade Hararge. He has disbanded the remainder of his army and did not have time to mobilize it.
Furthermore, the clergy was urging him on with the great promise: Should you fall into the hands of Nur
Muhammad [Amir Nur b. Mujahid; the still resisting and strongest general of Gragn Ahmed after the
latters death] you will become a martyr and reign in heaven. Thus he led an expedition into the country
of Adal, where he died at a place called Nach-Sar on the border of Wallo. Ras Fassil and Ras Hamalmal
set out from Kambata via Malka Amhara and Annya and reached Adari (Harari). In those days, the sultan
of Harar was Habib, who was in his time a great and dreaded man. They fought a fierce battle in the plain
named Sayyedna-Hasheem at the Yarar-Gate. Sultan Habib died, and Ras Hamalmal entered Adari,

burned it and demolished all the mosques. In short, he wrought great destruction and then returned
home. He had not yet heard of the death of Atse Galawdewos [Atme G.M.(Tafla ) O.J.:29].
Soon afterwards the Oromo invasions and migrations marked the eclipse of the Moslem onslaughts
against the Abyssinian Christian empire and the latter had to make futile attempts at curbing waves after
waves of Oromo warriors invading and forcefully occupying many territories inside and outside of the
Christian and Moslem jurisdiction and control of the day but to no avail. Ras Hamalmal fought Luba
Michile (Mesle) at Dago in Arsi province in around 1560, thus repulsing the Oromo invaders from
occupying Kambata and the adjacent territories which were then under the Christian empire. Hamalmal
firmly retained his governorship of the Kingdom of Kambata, long after the Oromo invasions. When the
Portuguese delegation led by Father Fernandez reached Kambata, on the orders of Emperor Susneyos,
in 1614, Hamalmal was still the governor of Kambata. Buckingham and Huntingford noted of this
situation as follows;
Traveling eastwards from the river Zebee[Gibe] the Father [Fernandes] reached Innagara, a place in the
Kingdom of Cambat, which was governed by Hamalmal who at that time recognized the emperor as his
overlord . To the left there are people called Guragues who do not often obey the emperor [Fernandez
(Buckingham /Huntingford) 1954 162-76]. The Portuguese explorer Almeida who was at Emperor
Susneyoss court in 1614 also confirms about Ras Hamalmal being the Governor of Kabmata and a
faithful vassal of the emperor thus:
The fact that Hamalmal, amid so many Galla countries, obeyed him [the emperor] and still accorded him
some recognition was rather because he was well-disposed and a vassal of old standing, than because
the empire was strong enough to make him do it if he had wished to revolt. So today Cambata does not
pay any tribute nor does the emperor appoint a governor for that kingdom, it all belongs to various Galla
and Moorish lords who hold and rule it. At the time the emperor did what he could. [Ibid, 1954:165].
Emperor Susneyos reigned in Gondar from 1607-32.
Ras (Abetohun )Hamalmals story and the Oyeta dynasty he founded in Kambata seems to have
evoked a funny twist in the oral traditions of the Kambata people. A tradition widely known in Kambata
states that seven groups at the summit of the Ambarricho massif, who had survived the upheavals of the
long-lasting Holy war (Jihad) , formed a federation (Kokata). The names of these seven of the
Ambarricho (ambarricho lamala) are generally given as Oyeta, Gulba, Hinnira, Taza, Effegena,
Ebejjinna and Fuga. According to an etiological tale, a hunger contest is supposed to have determined
their internal hierarchy and secured the kingship for the Oyeta group or clan. Whereas hitherto Kambata
had merely been a political term, from the end of the sixteenth century onwards a process of ethnogenesis drew together heterogeneous groups, symbolized by the number seven; and from this process
emerged the Kambata people. All the remaining groups referred to as Kambata peoples based on their
common language are also symbolized by the number seven (Molli lamala among the Tembaro, Dongi
lamala among the Donga, Dubami lamala among the Dubamo). The population of Kambata (in the
narrow sense ) was stratified according to ethnic origin: the Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals dynasty) who
claimed to originate from Gondar, formed the royal clan; the Gulba from Bulga ( Shoa) formed a clan of
nobles; the originally Omotic-speaking Hinnira and Taza made up an upper stratum of free commoners
while the lower stratum of free commoners was composed of Efegenna and Ebejjenna, who had become
linguistically dominant; finally, the Fuga, the Saga and the Awado, formed endogamous castes of
artisanscarpenters, hunters, potters, blacksmiths, etc. Social stratification was the order of the day which
eventually gave way to a semi-feudal order in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of King
Dilbato Degoye (1845-92). Today, no social stratification exists among the first four groups who have
freely intermarried and intermingled among themselves over the past several hundreds of years; they all
enjoy equal status in all walks of life. But the social status of the last groups (Fuga, Saga and Awado) still
remains unpalatable to all people who believe in the equality of all human beings and their equal
treatment in all aspects of life, in brief, respecting their inalienable human rights. Personally, I believe
that if the Fuga, Saga and Awado had the upper hand in leading the Kambata people over the past
several hundreds of years, perhaps, we would have become a technological or industrial society today as
these three groups were the ones who had great skills in making armors of war, agricultural tools, kitchen
utensils, pottery, tannery, hunting, etc. and masters of the material culture of the Kambata people. The
whole Kambata society have depended, and still depend, upon their technical skills and output for many
generations up until today.
Ras Hamalmal is considered to have been the first king of the Oyeta dynasty, which was named
after his wife Oyete (Hayat), daughter of Hajj Ali(ye) Ismael Jeberti, a religious and war leader of the

Azernet- Berbere (eastern Gurage) at the time. As mentioned earlier, this Hamalmal is mentioned in the
report of the Portuguese Jesuit Antonio Fernandes, who in 1613/14 undertook a mission from the
Ethiopian imperial court at Gondar through Kambata. Thus the chronology for the beginning of the Oyeta
dynasty can be fixed. Hamalmal was nominally the governor of Kambata province in the name of the
Christian empire. In practice, however, he was independent, especially as the expansion of the Oromo
into Shoa has broken the territorial link with the Abyssinian state. Relations with the Christian north were
broken off almost in the course of the seventeenth century; yet survivals of Christian Orthodox traditions
have been retained to the present day.
From Hamalmals time onwards, Kambata served as a refuge for political refugees and economically
threatened groups from southern and northern Ethiopia. The immigrants, such as Amhara from Gaynt
(Begemedir), Bulga (Shoa), Manz(Shoa) and people from the Hadiya and Ormo regions, often became
the founders of new clans, whose number rose in the course of time to about one hundred or more.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Kambata remained restricted to a small territory around
the Ambarricho massif due to the consequences of the devastating wars of Iman Gragn Ahmed (1529-43)
and his generals Abd an-Nasir (1532) and Nur Ibn Mujjahid(1529-68), and the subsequent massive
Oromo migrations (1570-1870), while Hadiya herdsmen who came along with the Muslim jihadists
continued to control and use most of the area between the Omo and the Bilate rivers for grazing. The
Kambata peoples were famed for their sophisticated agricultural techniques and their surplus production;
yet population pressure (itself in part a consequence of this agricultural success) presented a growing
threat to their existence.
No written records exist about Hamalmals immediate successors. However, Kambata (Oyeta) oral
traditions confirm Dame (Demelash), Anno (Enniyew), Ketemo (Ketema), Dilaba and Gonjobo as
Hamalmals immediate successors. For the kingdoms of Dubamo, Donga and Tembaro, too, the period
from the beginning of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century is a dark phase, though
they also have their own oral accounts of this period. One event which was of significance for religious
and political history was the kidnapping of a spirit medium, the hauzul-mancho from Bosha, by the
Dubamo. According to oral traditions or accounts, the Kambata owed tribute to the Hadiya of the
Wetogira tribes, to whom they were also under humiliating conditions. In about 1770, their king Katama
managed, with the help of other Hadiya groups (the Shashogo and Urusso), to drive out the Wetogira
Hadiya tribes (Haballo, Bargage, Hojje, Hanqalla, Hayiba, Haysaba, Gondala, Errera and Massawa;
these were part of the Moslem jihadists that conquered Kambata and led by Abd anNasir in 1532). The
murder of Dilaba, Katamas immediate successor, shortly afterwards by Hadallo Gebro [Gebru, Ketemas
brother], a member of the Oyeta royal clan, was followed by a period of succession disputes and civil
wars which lasted about ten years. Under King Waqo Ketema (c.1790-1810) the Kambata state was
again consolidated.
The Donga had successfully striven for some time under their woma(king ) Hanagassa to extend their
territory. In about 1770, however, the Badawacho Hadiya pushed them back to their small mountain
homeland. Around 1800, they and their neighbours, the Dubamo, fell under the overlord-ship of the SoroHadiya, who had advanced from the north. The Tembaro were able to maintain their independence and
became notorious for their raids into the country lying southwest of them, extending beyond Dawro (KulloKonta).
Under King Dagoiye Waqo (c. 1810-45) a formative period began in Kambata, in which the institutions of
the state acquired their essential features, and Kambata began to extend its territory by a deliberate
programme of colonisation, pushing the Wolayta and the Hadiya peoples. As in many kingdoms of
southern Ethiopia (e.g. Wolayta, Janjero), the newly acquired areas were in each case demarcated by a
system of walls and ditches, which served in part as fortifications but had a more important symbolic
significance.
Kambata enjoyed its classical age under woma (king) Dilbatto Degoiye (c.1845-92), who was highly
respected among the peoples of central southern Ethiopia. Under his rule the institutions of state
reached their highest stage of development An administrative apparatus sub-dividing the territory into
counties (gocho ) was created, and diplomatic and military measures led to a considerable extension of
the area covered by the state (reaching roughly the present-day linguistic boundaries of the Kambata).
The main military conflicts were with the Soro-Hadiya and the Wolayta, whereas the other Hadiya tribes
and the Alaba were tied to the Kambata state by alliances and inter marriage. The rise of the monarchy
and of the Oyeta clan was accompanied by growing clashes of interest and socio-economic antagonisms
between the ruling stratum and the mass of the peasantry (kontoma). An insurrection (kontomi

diddenna) which broke out in about 1885 was crushed by King Dilbatto with the help of friendly Hadiya
groups (mainly Badawacho).
At this time Kambata already lay within the field of operations of the Shoa Amhara, who had occupied the
Gurage country and were beginning to extend their conquests into the areas immediately south of it.
Between 1891 and 1893 the Kambata peoples were subjugated by the Christian Ethiopian empire under
Emperor Menilik II . This meant the end of the kingship and the beginning of a new political and socioeconomic era, characterized above all by the gabbar system. The inhabitants were allotted as bondsmen
or serfs of the state (gabbar) to military colonists (naftagna or gun-bearer) from the north colonizing the
conquered peoples including the earlier colonists called chawa who migrated to the region since the time
of Emperor Yeshaq of Gondar (1414-29) and were obliged to pay taxes in kind and perform corveelike
services. Insurrections against this state of affairs broke out in many parts of southern Ethiopia,
particularly during the civil war of 1916 during the reign of Lij Eyasu Michael. Conquest by the Ethiopian
empire was followed by a (re) Christianization of the Kambata region; but it was not until the 1950s that
this process was completed, thanks partly to the work of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
The Amhara introduced new crops (e.g. eragrostis teff) and ox-drawn ploughs; but in the highlands to this
day the latter has only managed to gain a secondary place vis--vis the traditional agricultural tools-- the
digging- stick and hoe. An important innovation was the emergence of centers of administration and
commercial activities (katama) in a country where the only form of settlement had been that of loosely
grouped hamlets and far-flung villages.
The gabbar system was abolished by the Italians and was not reintroduced after the reinstatement of
Emperor Haile Sellassie I by the British in 1941. The landlord-tenant system which then emerged did not
fundamentally alter socio- economic relationships. Fortunately, most Kambata, especially in the densely
populated highlands, were in any case peasants on land which was considered as belonging to their
communities and for which only a relatively small tax had to be paid to the state. Large estates were
promised to those descendants of kings who were appointed balabat (government chief) and to people of
the Oyeta clan. Overpopulation in the core area of the Kamabata made it increasingly necessary for
landless peasants to seek their living standards among self- sufficient smallholders from about 1960 on.
In general however, the material quality of life remained so low that the majority of inhabitants of the
Kambata areas greeted the revolution which broke out in 1974 and the proclamation of a land reform with
great optimism, which, however, was dashed soon due to the ill-advised programmes of forced
villagization, forced resettlement in remote and harsh environments as well as the inability of peasants to
sell their agricultural surplus produce at the market price and at places of their choice or preference but
forcefully supply their products to the state-owned Agricultural Marketing Enterprise (AMCE) at
government set prices and quantities. This, in brief, covers some aspects of the history of Kambata from
the 14th to the 20th century.

Appendix I
List of Major Clans of Kambata
No.
Name of clan
Claimed Origin of
Approx Period
Migration
of Migration
Oyeta (Ras Hamalmals
Gondar
16th century
Dynasty)
Gulba
Bulga (shoa)
16th

Nurto
Gondar
16th

Hajibbo(Hate)Amhara
Gayint
Before 15th century
Ongot (ta)
Gayint

Ennagos /Dildiy/ Amhara

Gayint
17th century
Quntanno
Gondar
16th

Sintarro
Gondar
16th

Qorandi- Amhara
Manz (Shoa)
17th

Ennagari- Amhara
Manz, Enner Gurage
17th

Garado- Amhara
Garado (Wollo)
18th

Abrahmi- Amhara
Manz (Shoa)
17th

Wolde-Amhara
Manz (Shoa)
18th

Dawaro
Manz (Shoa)
18th

Masmas(a)
Chilga (Gondar)
16th

Agawa
Agewmedir (Gojjam)
16th

Gafat (a)
Gafat (Wollo)
15th

Dola(Dubamo)
Gondar
16th

Gojjinna()
Gondar
16th

Golacha ( )
Gondar
16th

Gojjinna()
Gondar
16th

Gulla()
Gondar
16th

Suara()
Gondar
16th

Zambochicho
Gondar
16th

Badogo
Dallo (Bale)
16th

Damota(Woshbirra)
Arsi, Gadab, Wolayta
18th

Dada
Arsi, Endegagn
19th

Dawe
Arsi-Didaa
18th

Farzanno(Farzanna)
Albaso (Arsi)
18th
Zato
Borana (Oromo)
17th

Bonoso
Yem, Jimma
17th

Gabara
Arsi-Dida
18th

Gadena
Arsi
18th

Galla(Adamogne)
Wabi Shebele, Arsi
18th

35. Gora
Jimma
18th

Gorakama
Jimma
18th

Gujji
Gujji
-Oromo
18th

Hambarazo
Arsi
18th

Qarisso
Eka (Arsi)
19th

Malga
Arsi, Sidama
16th

Wolleqa
Wollega-Oromo
18th

Womallo
Borana
18th

Worarra
Werera (Arsi)
18th

Yabbu
Kalalle(Zwai lake)
18th

Haballo
Dallo (Bale)
16th

Hayiba
Dallo (Bale)
16th

Hojje
Dallo (Bale)
16th

Qilemanna
Dallo (Bale)
16th

Jawarro
Gadab (Wabi Shebelle)
19th

Godicho
Gadab (
)
19th

Sarorre
Gadab (
)
19th

Gonderomma
Dallo(Bale)
16th

Haderamma
Dallo(Bale)
16th

Muta
Dallo(Bale)
16th

Zedinno
Dallo(Bale)
16th

Doda
Dallo, Gadab
19th

Awda
Sidama
17th

Malge
Sidama
15th

Ennerra
Sidama
15th

Jigga
Sidama
18th

Jumma
Sidama
18th

Hessesse(ta)
Sidama, Borana
18th

Churrissa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
16th-17th

Lambuda ()

16th-17th

Lanchamo ()

16th-17th

Magalalle ()

16th-17th

Mattafarsa (Donga)
Sidama, Guraghe
16-17th century
Orgo ()
Sidama, Guraghe
16-17th

Sintyanno ()

16-17th

Adde (Tembaro)
Yemerrra (Sidama)
16th

Ajjarra ()

16th

Qutna (Quunna) (Tembarro)

16th

Sambata ()

16th

Tase ()

16th

75. Wajja ()

16th

Yagga ()

16th

Hinnira
Wolayta, Ennariya
15th

Goromma
Wolayta
18th

Bubulla
Wolayta
19th

Makuta
Gamo
18th

Damota
Wolayta
18th

Derreja
Gamo
18th

Dubbo
Borana; Qucha, Dubbo(Wolayta)
18th
Goromma
Wolayta
18th century
Tigra- Wolayta
Kindo, Kosha(Wolayta)
18th

Weshesha
Wolayta, Donga, Danta
18th

Zakete
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Borojmalla (Borodamalla)
Qucha (Gamo-Goffa)
18th

Effegenna
Gedeo
16th

Ebejjena
Gedeo
16th

Guna
Guna(Lemo)
19th

Odro
Lemo-Hadiya
19th

Moche
Badawacho-Hadiya
19th
Tarachmanna
Shashogo- Hadiya
19th

Annashakko
Alaba, Qabena
19th

Azera
Azernet Berbere
18th

Dada
Endegagn(east Guraghe)
19th

Endanna
Ennariya, Endegagn
18th

99.
Gejja
Geja(North Guraghe)
18th

100. Ganz
Ganz (Qabena)
15-18th

101. Jorra
Enner- Guraghe
18th

102. Omoshogorra
Ennariya, Masmas,
18th

Enamor-Guraghe
103. Yangaro
Janjero [Yem]
17th

104.Saga
Guraghe
Before 15th

105. Werreza
Qabena/Guraghe,
17th

106. Fuga(Annosa, Masmas, Guraghe,

Before15th

Badagosa, Bidirra
Ennariya
Boriye, Bosha, Gacha,
Gajicho, Gashdessa,
Gauwossa, Hojiya (Hokiya)
Marenmanna, Masmassa,
Negaa, Tontosa (Dontosa),
Woiyoso)

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15. Yigezu,s. Kambata Awraja: Its People and Local Administration, Addis Abeba (Ms) 1970.

16. Dagana Bafutte Didana Oral History of Kambata, 1986. The late Dagna Bafutte Did ana was a well
Known Oyeta notable who died at the age of 90 in 1992.