- Sidamo Province
Sidamo was a province in the southern part of
Ethiopia , with its capital city atIrgalem , and later atAwasa . It was named after an ethnic group native to Ethiopia, called the Sidamo, or more particularly,Sidama , who are located in the south-central part of that country. Their major political state was the ancientKingdom of Kaffa .According to the old political division, Sidamo was bordered on the west by
Gamu-Gofa , on the north byShewa , on the north and east by Bale, a small portion on the southeast bySomalia , and on the south byKenya .History
With its extensive
coffee plantations, Sidamo was a province with abundant revenues and assigned to its rule was given to nobles loyal to the Emperor, such asDejazmach Balcha Safo , who governed it at different times before the Italian occupation. [Bahru Zewde, "A History of Modern Ethiopia", second edition (London: James Currey, 2001), pp. 129, 133.]Following the liberation of Ethiopia from Italy in
1942 , the provinces of Borana and Welayta, created from conquered states of that name, were merged into Sidamo. [This was part of the general reorganization that Emperor Haile Selassie undertook after his return in1942 . Paul B. Henze, "Layers of Time" (New York: Palgrave, 2000), pp. 237f.]Sidamo was the location of a revolt of the
Gedeo people in1960 , who objected to a reorganization of the taxation system, which they believed was oppressive. The revolt was brutally suppressed; as Bahru Zewde notes, "Armed mostly with spears and swords, the peasants confronted a well-equipped enemy composed of land-lords and government troops." The Gedeo rebels were crushed in several engagements, and an arbitration commission headed by "Afa Negus"Eshate Gada not only found for the land lords, but fined the elders of the Gedeo who had led the revolt. [Bahru Zewde, "A History", p. 218.]With the adoption of the constitution in
1995 , Sidamo was divided amongst the Southern Peoples andOromia regions of Ethiopia.Notes
See also
*
Sidamo language
*Ethiopian Sidamo (coffee)
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