Werji people

ethnic group
group=Werji


poptie=20,480
popplace=Ethiopia
rels=Sunni Islam
langs=Oromo, Gurage languages
related=Jebertis, Tigray, Gurage, Argobba, Amhara, Sidama, Afar, Agaw, Hadiya, and Beja

Werji (or Worji; Ge'ez: ወርጂ IPA2|wɔrʤi) is an ethnic group living in Ethiopia numbering 20,480 according to the 1994 Ethiopian census (carried out by the CSA). They are located primarily in Southwestern Ethiopia and may have originally spoken an East Gurage language, but today primarily speak Oromo (14,066 in 1994). They are one of the few ethnic groups of Ethiopia (along with the Beta Israel, who once spoke Qwara, and the Weyto, whose Weyto language is extinct) without their own language. They are primarily Muslim.

References

*Grover Hudson, [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/northeast_african_studies/v006/6.3hudson.html Linguistic Analysis of the 1994 Ethiopian Census]