Funyan Bira ( om, Funyaan Bira) is a town in
East Hararghe Zone
East Hararghe ( om, Harargee Bahaa) is a zone in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. East Hararghe Zone is bordered on the southwest by Bale, on the west by West Hararghe Zone, on the north by Dire Dawa and on the north and east by the Somali Region. ...
of
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 Benis ...
in
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 ...
, on a high plateau at the southern base of Mount
Kondudo, which gives the town a climate similar to
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 ...
. It is the administrative center of
Gursum District
Fugnan Bira has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1980 and 2049 meters above sea level.
History
In the early 1930s, at Funyan Bira was an agency of Said Bazarah, an export-import firm founded in 1887. During a period of unrest in the area around May 1942, Funyan Bira was also pillaged and burnt. The market was sacked next year during fighting between the
Geri Jarso Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
and Ethiopian government troops.
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Overview
The town and its vicinity has suffered from deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
over the last 30 years. The approximately 9,000 hectares of quasi pristine forest on Mount Medero were reduced to a few remnant patches over a period of just five years from 1992–1993. With no active intervention most of its poorer residents will face unprecedented challenges in meeting their basic requirements. The recent recovery of one of just two feral horse
A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...
population in Africa on Mt. Kundudo
Kundudo (also spelt as Kondudo or Qundudo) is a flat-top mountain (or ''amba'') in the Misraq Hararghe Zone of the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Part of the range that bears its name, its summit lies east of the walled city of Harar, with a heigh ...
and, possibly the publication of the findings of a set of Italian missions in the area, the last of which (published November 2008) evaluates the significance of rock paintings on Mount Stinico, the "nose" overlooking the town, and proposes tourism as a possible source of revenue in the area. The same research-action team, led by Prof. M. Viganò is proposing a series of reafforestations.
The Oromo language ''Funyaan Bira'' means ''near a nose'', referring to the town's proximity to the last part of a mountain chain. The town has also variously been known as (or spelled) Fugnanbira, Fiambiro, Flambiro, Fiyambiro, Funyambira, Finianbira, Fugnan Hujuba, Fugnan Ugiuba, Funyan Jeba, F. Jebe, Borsom, and Funyaabirra.
Demographics
Based on figures from 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 growt ...
in 2005, Funyan Bira has an estimated total population of 15,478 of whom 7,676 are men and 7,802 are women. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 8,657 of whom 4,163 were men and 4,494 women.
The town is primarily inhabited by the Oromo people. The Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir also settle in the town.
Notes
{{reflist
Populated places in the Oromia Region