The Maya are an extinct ethnic group native to the old
Wej province
The Wej Province (Amharic: ወጅ) was a province established in the 10th-century and located in the southwest of what is now Ethiopia.
Location
According to G. W. B Huntingford, Wej occupied an area near Lake Zway, west of Fatager and east of H ...
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 ...
. They were renowned for their skilled archers, the services of which were available as mercenaries. The Maya were primarily pastoralists and their livelihood was with their cattle.
Futuh al-Habash
Maya archers initially formed the core of the southern armies of Abyssinian Emperor
Lebna Dengel in resisting the
Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash) by the forces of
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultana ...
(Gurey or Gran), Imam of the
Adal Sultanate
The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din ...
. However, after the fall of their homeland to Ahmed Gurey's armies, in true mercenary fashion, the Maya bowmen switched sides.
Maya bowmen were armed with spears. They tipped their arrows with
ouabain
Ouabain or (from Somali ''waabaayo'', "arrow poison" through French ''ouabaïo'') also known as g-strophanthin, is a plant derived toxic substance that was traditionally used as an arrow poison in eastern Africa for both hunting and warfare. ...
, a poison which caused death by cardiac arrest or respiratory failure.
Oromo migrations
The Maya homeland of Wej was one of the first lands to be invaded by the
Oromo migrations
The Great Oromo Expansions, also known as the Oromo migrations, were a series of expansions, outlined by a Ethiopian monk named Bahrey, in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Borona segment of the Oromo people from southern Ethiopia. Who expanded ...
. The Maya repelled the weight of the Oromo for years due to their skill with the bow, until the Oromo armies changed tactics and used thick oxhide shields and fixed shield formations. After Wej was conquered by the Oromos, the Maya were either assimilated or exterminated by the invading Oromos.
Notable people
Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and prime minister who became a kingmaker and de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India.
Born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, Malik ...
(1548 – 1626) was born as a Maya under the birth name Chapu.
As a child he was sold into slavery by his parents and was brought to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as a slave. There he became a
Siddi
The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, or Habshi are an ethnic group inhabiting India and Pakistan. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa and Ethiopia, most whom arrived to ...
military leader of great renown in the
Deccan
The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...
region and later a capable administrator.
References
Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
Extinct ethnic groups
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