The Halaba people (alternate spellings Alaba also called K’abeena are an ethnic group inhabiting the central

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

highlands. The Halaba claim to originate from the Arab cleric, Abadir who settled in

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

. In the middle ages, Halaba were part of the Hadiya state. In the 1400s their

Garad Garad ( Harari: ገራድ, , , Oromo: ''Garaada'') is a term used to refer to a clan leader or regional administrator. It was used primarily by Muslims in the Horn of Africa that were associated with Islamic states, most notably the Adal Sultanat ...

(chief) was in conflict with the Abyssnian monarch

Zara Yaqob Zara Yaqob ( Ge'ez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Kwestantinos I (Ge'ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He is known for t ...

. They are mostly Muslims but there are also some Christians. A map of the region from 1628 shows a Kingdom of Halaba. They speak Halaba-Kʼabeena which is a member of the

Highland East Cushitic language Highland East Cushitic, or Sidamic, is a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in south-central Ethiopia. They are often grouped with Lowland East Cushitic, Dullay, and Yaaku as ''East Cushitic'', but that group is not well defined a ...

within the

Afroasiatic family The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...

Sidi Mohammed Sidi Mohammed was the Garad (chief) of the Hadiya people in the beginning of the seventeenth century. He is considered a descendant of some of the Silt'e clan originators as well as the founder of Halaba ethnic group. Garad Sidi is known for ...

the

of Hadiya is stated to be a forefather for the Halaba people. All cultural issues and living conditions are governed by the Halaba People's unique traditional administrative structure, known as "Sera," which is interpreted as law, principle, norms, values, and regulation in the community. Every January, following the successful crop harvest, the locals colorfully celebrate the "Sera" holiday to uphold this custom.

References

External links

Sera Halala
Ethnic groups in Ethiopia {{Ethiopia-ethno-group-stub