The Gurage people for a long time have been passive when it comes to setting the narrative regarding Gurage affairs. Only recently, due to the extraordinary injustice and repression, we have started to see reactionary politics arising. While this is expected and rightful, reactionary politics is not enough, and at times counterproductive. As we are observing multiple political and social shenanigans against Gurage people unfolding, we are becoming increasingly aware of the lack of investment and proper research, documentation, and preservation of Gurage history. We believe that popular idioms such as “Gurage only knows how to work hard”, are discourses that are strongly attached to the social settings and identity of Gurage people, which also contributed to creating a passive society that seems to be far distanced from politics, even when it is directly and urgently concerns its existence as a nation. Reductive stereotypes of Gurage people as apolitical and docile have bred passivity among Gurage leaders and scholars, allowing the narrative to be co-opted by more vocal groups now asserting dubious claims of indigeneity.

The culmination of the reductive tropes, lack of historical documentation, and passivity has conditioned Gurage people to be consumed only by labor and nothing more. It has been the case for a long time that instead of being politically active to defend the rights of the people, our identity, and reclaim our history, we have been conditioned to minimize our identity for a role within Ethiopian nationalist politics.

Hence, Gurage’s contributions to the Ethiopian political arena often comes at the cost of neglecting the need to support our people’s struggle for self-determination. We have neglected our Gurage ethnic identity, our history, and our homeland for others to claim it with no defense. One important narrative that has not been properly defended by Gurage scholars is the relationship between Gurage and Qebena and the improper political and historical narratives that do not reflect the true nature of our historical relationship.

In an attempt to reclaim the narrative, this article aims to re-center the Gurage as rightful owners of Gurageland by examining the migration history of the Qebena, a neighboring group asserting ownership over contested Gurage territories like Werqitye.

Gurages have lived in the fertile highlands of central Ethiopia, yet their deep generational ties to this homeland region have often been obscured by political opportunists like Qebena activists and their proxies who have attempted to create confusion about the rightful ownership of the Werqitye (Wolkite). This comes from two Guragina terms Werq – Tiye, which means go in a straight path.

The Qebena is an ethnic group that neighbors the Gurage ever since they migrated in the mid-late 18th century. There are two historical claims of how the Qebena people migrated to Gurageland. In this short essay, we will try to showcase several historical documents that explore the migration of the Qebena, and their relationship to Gurages. This is done to reclaim the narrative, especially the rightful ownership of Werkitye.

A History of the Hadiyya in Southern Ethiopia by Ulrich Braukämper (2012)

According to the book “History of the Hadiyya” by Ulrich Braukämper, the Qebena got their name from Qeweena, one of the clans of Sidama. They were known to be nomadic pastoralists up until their final destination, Gurageland. According to Sidama oral traditions, King Gololcha Orde, who resided in the Qeweena Place called Granye left the land due to conflicts with his tribesmen. After King Gololcha left, his son Gogolaano took the throne. Gogolaano is one of the names of a clan of the Qebena. It is to be noted that the Qebena did not start their migration from Sidiama but rather had resided in the area for two hundred years.

Ulrich Braukämper argues that the migration of the Qebena out of Sidama started in the late 18th century alongside the Allaaba in modern-day Malgee-Sidaama. At the time the Qebena still spoke a Semitic Language similar to Harari, until they migrated to the current day Kambata Tembaro, after which they switched to a language that is close to the local Kembatas. In the 19th century, the Qebena left Kambata Tembarao to modern-day Hosaina, then occupied Guna south of the Gurage mountains. In 1820, the Leemo began to expand, forcing the Qebena to migrate once again. Up until this point, the Qebena and the Allaaba migrated together almost creating one ethnic group. When the Leemo started expanding, this forced the final separation of the Allaaba and the Qebena.

The Allaaba migrated east and the Qebena migrated northwest along the Mugo mountains to Mafed, currently located in the Enamor Gurage. After a few years, they migrated further north through Cheha Gurage land to Abshge. At this time, a branch of the Qebena migrated towards Jimma, where they settled with the permission of the Sultan of Jimma. They even migrated further North to the areas of Waliso and Gadabano but were pushed back south by the Kistane. In 1860 the Qebena ended their migration by settling around Zenna-Bannar. 

The book further explains that the Qebena changed their lifestyle from wandering herders living in small huts to adopting the lifestyle and material culture of the Gurage. Even after immigrating to the area, the interactions were relatively peaceful and at times violent as the Qebena lived amongst the Gurage adopting the culture and lifestyle. Later on, as Islam spread in the area, the Qebena religious leaders played a significant role in expanding their territory, power, and influence in the area. Throughout time the area even became a vibrant market center with many goods being traded, especially slaves. For instance, according to Cecchi, A. 1888. Fünf Jahre in Ost­Afrika (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1888) it was reported that “ Qebena was one of the most important markets for slaves who were sourced from Gurage, Kämbata, Yäm, and the territories further to the south up to the Sudanese border. Roughly 400 individuals are said to have been driven every year to Šäwa via Moojer”. This lucrative slave trading gave Qebena leaders the financial resources to further grab Gurage lands and increase their influence in the area.

“The Qebena and the Wolane: Two peoples of the Gurage region and their respective histories according to their own oral traditions” by Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer (2001)

Joachim Crass and Ronny Meyer (2001) state that the population of Qebena in 1994 was estimated to be 35,000 inhabiting a few villages to the west of Wolkite. Similar to this claim, the oral history gathered from Qebena elder’s stories of the Qebena based on their oral history elders consider their place of origin to be the city of Tarablus in Libya migrating to the Arabian Peninsula and reaching Ethiopia through a port in Somalia. They remained in Harar for 10 years, then stayed in CherCher for 50 years, and migrated to an area in Bale for 70 years, they then migrated to the Kambaata and Wolayta area called Gera, and after 12 years they migrated to the Wacamo area called Hosaina. The Qebena then migrated and settled near the Mugo mountain which is when they separated from the Allaaba. The Allaaba moved to the lowland while the Qebena migrated to Sebat Bet Gurage.

According to their oral history, their first settlement in the Gurage region was Mafed, in the current Inor&Ener woreda. Fifteen years later they migrated to the Cheha area. They then migrated to Zanabnar. Based on their oral history, Zanabnar was already occupied by Gurages and it is currently located in Muher Aklil woreda of the Gurage Zone. The name Zanabnar is also Guragigna, it means “we sowed but left with nothing to eat”.

A comprehensive review of historical sources establishes the Qebena as relative latecomers to the Gurage region, migrating in incremental stages from Sidama and other southern areas throughout the 19th century. The notion that they held any ancestral ties to Gurageland before the Gurage people is simply ahistorical. Some even try justifying the Qebena people’s claims of indigeneity based on assumed links to the earlier Hadiya Sultanate, yet there has not been any evidence that shows that the kingdom ever encompassed Gurage territories. Both written records and Qebena oral histories recounted by elders overwhelmingly portray the Qebena as later arrivals, not the original inhabitants, in Gurageland.

Despite clear evidence of migration and settlement in Gurage land and the use of violence and slavery to gain power, present-day Qebena activists promote a distorted counter-narrative depicting the Gurage as oppressive northern occupiers. This inversion of the proper history demands revisiting the initial imperative of reclaiming the narrative – one that honors the Gurage’s generational, indigenous roots in this area. In reality, the generational, ancestral ties of the Gurage people to our lands since ancient times remain valid, regardless of subsequent migrations. The Gurage story provides a model of inclusive ethnic identity that transcends temporary migration flows often cynically politicized in today’s climate.

Lastly, we want to argue that unlike other zones in the region, the Gurage zone was relatively inclusive to minorities that migrated into Gurageland. Instead of assimilating other ethnic groups, Gurage gave political representation and rights to minority groups residing within its borders. This inclusive political approach counters accusations of Gurage as aggressively assimilationist settlers. If those stereotypes were true, minority groups would not have been afforded power and autonomy under the Gurage administration. The Gurage’s actions reveal an openness and understanding of diversity and differences among nations and nationalities. Such welcoming of diverse peoples into the social and political fabric exemplifies the Gurage tradition of incorporating migrant communities, not excluding them. This speaks against portrayals of Gurage as intolerant occupiers denying rights to non-Gurage. Ultimately, upholding the generational indigenous roots of our land and the inclusiveness of the Gurage people is vital to reclaiming the narrative rooted in historical truth rather than politicized misrepresentations.

An anonymous contributor, Wokiyanda, has furnished this article to Qawa Press.