The Gamo people are an

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 ...

ethnic group located in the Gamo Highlands of southern

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 ...

. They are found in more than 40 communities, including Chencha, Bonke, Kucha, Garbansa, Zargula, Kamba, Dorze, Birbir, Ochello, Boroda, Ganta, Gacho Baba, Eligo, Shella, Kolle, Dita, Kogo and Daramalo. Sport Arba Minch Town Football Club(The Crocodiles) is playing in Betking Ethiopian premier league and Gamo Chencha Football Club(The Lions) is playing in Ethiopian Super League. Both are from Gamo zone.

History

The name "Gamo" means ''lion'', which refers to the group's legacy as one of the Omotic peoples. Along with the

Gofa people Goffa or Gofa are an Omotic ethnic group indigenous to Omo Valley located in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region. According to 2007 census there are 363,009 ethnic Goffa in Ethiopia, which make up around 0.49% of the c ...

, they gave their names to Ethiopia's former

Gamo-Gofa Gamu-Gofa was a province in the southern part of Ethiopia, named after two of the ethnic groups living within its boundaries, the Gamo and the Gofa. First incorporated into Ethiopia by Emperor Menelik II in the 1880s , its capital was first at ...

province. Gofa broke away from the Gamo-Gofa zone in 2019.

Language

Initially, the word Gamo was thought to be a fruit by foreigners, mainly due to the fact that the Gamo people are known for some of their fruits. The Ethiopian government eventually recognized the language in 2000 to be taught in schools.

Population

The 2007 Ethiopian national census reported that 1,104,360 people (or 1.56% of the Ethiopian population) identified as Gamo, of whom 139,308 were urban inhabitants and 965,052 rural."Census 2007, Country Level"
, Table 3.1 However it is widely believed that the population of Gamo is considerably higher. The

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a regional state in southwestern E ...

are home to the majority of the Gamo people.

Economy

The Gamo sell fruit in

’s capital,

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 ...

, including,

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

mangos A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South ...

apples An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

, and

papayas The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and C ...

. The Gamo have developed the ability to conserve crop genetic resources while also practicing effective farming strategies. This has led them to grow over 65 varieties of

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, over 12 varieties of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, over 100 varieties of

enset ''Ensete ventricosum'', commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, pseudo-banana, false banana and wild banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of ...

, as well as dozens of varieties of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

, and yam. Many Gamo people are weavers that make traditional clothes such as

kuta Kuta is a tourist area, administratively an urban village (''kelurahan''), and the capital of Kuta District, Badung Regency, southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist de ...

, gabi, buloko, and dunguza.

Religion and history

Originally, their belief system was rooted in

traditional African religions The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptura ...

, closely tied to nature. Today most are members of the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church 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 ...

or Protestantism

P'ent'ay P'ent'ay (from Ge'ez: ) is an originally Amharic–Tigrinya language term for Pentecostal and other Eastern-oriented Protestant Christians within Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora. Today, the term refers to all Ev ...

The missionary activities of the Christians brought disturbances and tensions in their traditional society, threatening the old way of life and ecological balance. The Gamo's strict social hierarchy offer an example of how a caste system manifests itself in material culture. Artisans, such as ground stone makers and potters, rely primarily on craft production for their livelihood.

History

Language

Population

Economy

Religion and history

References

Further reading