Dejen is a
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
in
Amhara Region
The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...
,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. This woreda is named after the traditional district it lies in, Dejen, which is best known as where Admas Mogasa, the widow of Emperor
Menas, raised the future Emperor
Susenyos and instructed him in "the doctrine of the holy books." Part of the
Misraq Gojjam Zone
East Gojjam (Amharic: ምሥራቅ ጎጃም), also called Misraq Gojjam, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Its capital is Debre Markos. East Gojjam is named after the former province of Gojjam.
East Gojjam is bordered on the south by the ...
, Dejen is bordered on the south by the
Abay River
Abay may refer to:
People
*Abay (name)
Places
* Abay District, East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan
* Abay District, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan
**Abay (town), the province's administrative center
* Abay, Almaty, Kazakhstan
* Abay, Aktobe, a village ...
which separates it from the
Oromia Region
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
, on the west by
Awabel
Awabel is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Gojjam Zone, Awabel is bordered on the south by the Abay River which separates it from the Oromia Region, on the west by Aneded, on the northwest by Sinan, on the northeast by Deba ...
, on the northwest by
Debay Telatgen
Debay Telatgen is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Gojjam Zone, Debay Telatgen is bordered on the extreme south by Dejen, on the southwest by Awabel, on the west by Sinan, on the northwest by Bibugn, on the ...
, on the north by
Enemay
Enemay (Amharic: እነማይ) is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Gojjam Zone, Enemay is bordered on the south by Dejen, on the west by Debay Telatgen, on the north by Enarj Enawga, and on the east by Shebel ...
, and on the east by
Shebel Berenta
Shebel Berenta is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia, named after two older districts which occupy the area this woreda currently covers: Berenta which is north of the Mecha river, and Shebel which is south of that stream. Part of the Misraq Gojj ...
. The major town in Dejen is
Dejen
Dejen (also transliterated Dajen) is a town in west-central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region on the edge of the canyon of the Abay, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation between 2421 and 2490 meters ...
.
Overview
Dejen is connected to
Wara Jarso
Wara Jarso ( om, Warra Jaarsoo) is a woreda in the Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the North Shewa Zone, Wara Jarso is bordered on the south by Kuyu, on the west by the Muger River which separates it from the East Welega Zone, on the north by the ...
in Oromia by the Abay Bridge, which also carries the
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
-
Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar ( amh, ባሕር ዳር, 3=sea shore) is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The ci ...
highway. Before this bridge was erected, the Abay was crossed at the Shefartak ford (at 10° 5' N 38° 17' E). A new bridge, the Hidasie Bridge, was dedicated 10 September 2008 at the presence of senior government officials and other guests. Funded by the
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
at a cost of 319.3
Birr, the Hidasie Bridge is 303 meters long and part of the new Addis Ababa-Dejen road. Experts foresee that improvements like the new bridge will allow drivers to double their speed to 60 kilometers per hour, and increase the volume of vehicles from the current 360 a day to 729 in six years. The new bridge sits alongside the older one over the Abay which had been built by the Italian government as part of their
war reparations
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
for their occupation of Ethiopia during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and was about 60 years old when the new one was opened.
On 21 August 2008, residents of the town of Dejen gathered to protest the delay by local officials' over a decision on the residents' application for use of nearby farmland. Local police and militia surrounded the demonstrators, and beat dozens; a few protesters had injuries requiring hospitalization. No legal action was taken against the perpetrators.
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...
of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 102,359, an increase of 17.02% over the 1994 census, of whom 49,487 are men and 52,872 women; 8,700 or 8.50% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 620.97 square kilometers, Dejen has a population density of 164.84, which is greater than the Zone average of 153.8 persons per square kilometer. A total of 25,511 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.01 persons to a household, and 24,917 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
, with 97.01% reporting that as their religion, while 2.85% of the population said they 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 ...
.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 87,469 in 18,399 households, of whom 42,440 were men and 45,029 were women; 8,930 or 10.21% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Dejen was the
Amhara (99.87%). The majority of the inhabitants practiced
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
, with 94.83% reporting that as their religion, while 5.1% 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 ...
.
''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.17, Annex II.2 (accessed 9 April 2009)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dejen (Woreda)
Districts of Amhara Region