The Kebena people (also spelled Qebena) are a

Cushitic The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...

ethnic group found in the

Gurage Zone Gurage is a zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. The region is home to the Gurage people. Gurage is bordered on the southeast by Hadiya and Yem special woreda, on the west, north and east by the Oromia Re ...

of Ethiopia. They speak the

Kebena Kebena is a district, also called woreda, in Ethiopia. The district is named after the Kebena people and was part of the former Goro Woreda, which is a part of the Gurage Zone. Kebena is bordered to the south by the Wabe River, which separates thi ...

language and area very similarly to the Kembata and Alaba people in terms of language and to the

Gurages The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in ce ...

in term of culture. The Kebena live in the Gurage Zone. In the 19th century they were part of the Hadiya kingdom, in fact it was one of the two principalities of Hadya, an autonomous state ruled by Umar Baska. It became known as Kebena or Hadya Womba. It also became an important commercial and Islamic center under Baska rule. It was conquered by

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 A ...

soldiers after a fierce battle which was more of a religious nature. The Kebena subsist on agriculture. Unlike their southern kinsmen, the Hadya, the Kebena are followers of Islam. Kebena governors of their region were known as Garads, the most notable Garad was Hassan Injamo who led a resistance against Menelik's invasion.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, the Kebena group has a total population of 74,379, of whom 37,231 are men and 37,148 women; none of the population were urban inhabitant

Religion

The majority of the group were reported as Muslim, with 89.52% of the population reporting that belief, while 8.22% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 1.91% were Protestants.

References

{{authority control Ethnic groups in Ethiopia Cushitic-speaking peoples