Bonga is a town,
woreda and
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the
South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region in
Ethiopia. Located in the
Keffa Zone
Keffa or Kaffa, is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The administrative center is Bonga.
History
The Zone is named after the Kingdom of Kaffa. Kaffa was part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) un ...
upon a hill in the upper Barta valley, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,714 meters above sea level. Not confused with another town named "Bonga", near
Gambela Region.
Overview
The neighboring area is known for hot springs, caves and waterfalls. There are fourteenth century ruins associated with the former
Kingdom of Kaffa. As part of the extensive road-building program started before the
Italian invasion, the Ethiopian Transport Company built a large steel bridge at Bonga. The all-weather road from
Jimma south to Bonga was completed around 1962. The road to
Mizan Teferi and
Tepi was improved in 1966 by the Highway Authority. The
Apostolic Prefecture of Jimma–Bonga is based in this town.
["Local History in Ethiopia"]
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 30 December 2007)
According to the SNNPR's Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, Bonga's amenities include digital telephone access, postal service, 24-hour electrical service, a bank and a hospital. The high school draws students from a broad area. The city is a center for the buying of honey, coffee and
cardamom.
History
Bonga is thought to be the oldest city in western
Ethiopia.
The first European recorded to have visited the capital of the former Kingdom of Kaffa was
Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, who resided for 11 days in the marketplace reserved for
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
traders in 1843. The royal residence at Bonga was not as elegant as those in
Gomma,
Gera, and
Limmu-Ennarea.
Capuchin monks founded a mission there in 1845 and discovered some medieval churches which remained as evidence of the early infiltration of Christian influence before the invasion of the
Oromo.
When
Paul Soleillet visited Bonga in the 1880s, he described its trade as primarily slaves,
coffee,
civet cat oil,
and
ivory, the turnover amounting between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars a year. Following the conquest of Kaffa by the generals of
Menelik II in 1897, Bonga was deserted; governor
Ras Wolde Giyorgis made neighboring
Anderaccha
Anderaccha is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Keffa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, at the confluence of the Guma River with the Gichey, it is above sea level. The Central Statistical Agency has not ...
his capital.
[
Bonga was occupied 13 December 1936 by the Italians under General Malta, who died there the next year on 30 May. He and his successor Colonel Corrado refounded Bonga as a local administrative and commercial center for the production of coffee, hides, wax, maize, tea, etc. By 1938, there were about 3,000 inhabitants in the town, of whom about 200 were Italians, and it was equipped with a post office, telegraph, hospital, pharmacy, and '' spacci''. There were few remains of early constructions, but the new settlement was well built from brick and tufa, covered by clay tiles or corrugated iron. Generals Bortello and Tosti, commanders of the Italian forces south of the Didessa River acknowledged their weak position and along with 2,850 troops on 28 June 1941 surrendered to Lt. Col. McNab of the King's African Rifles.][
Telephone service reached Bonga between 1954 and 1967. Around 1970, there lived in Bonga one Idebe Godo who was the chief priest of a spirit possession cult. The high priesthood was hereditary to the family of the former high priests to the King of Kaffa.
]
Demographics
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this town has a total population of 20,858, of whom 10,736 are men and 10,122 women. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 72.53% of the population reporting that belief. 11.17% were Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 9.85% were Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, and 6.18% were Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 10,851 of whom 5,032 were men and 5,819 women.
Bonga is also home to many Uduk refugees from South Sudan.
Sightseeing
In 2009, constructions for a National Coffee Museum started. Next to the National Coffee Museum lies the Kafa Biosphere Reserve Information Center where visitors can learn about flora and fauna of the region.
Kafa Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2010. It is the birthplace of wild Arabica coffee and is very rich in biodiversity.[http://www.kafa-biosphere.com/ Homepage Kafa Coffee Biopshere Reserve ]
Notes
Weblinks
Homepage of Kafa Coffee Biosphere Reserve
{{Districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region
Districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region
Cities and towns in Ethiopia