Meskan is one of the

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 ...

s in the

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' 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 ...

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 Meskan speaking

Gurage people 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 ...

. Part of 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 ...

, Meskane is bordered on the south by the

Silt'e Zone Silt'e (also transliterated Silte) can refer to: * Silt'e people of Ethiopia; * Silt'e language, which they speak; * Silte Zone, where most live; * Silte (woreda) Silti (ስልጢ) is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, an ...

, on the west by

Muhor Na Aklil Muhor Na Aklil is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. This woreda is named after the sub-group of the Sebat Bet Gurage, the Muher and Aklil. Part of the Gurage Zone, Muhor Na Aklil is bordered ...

, on the northwest by

Kokir Gedebano Gedebano Gutazer Welene is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gurage Zone, Gedebano Gutazer Welene is bordered on the south by Muhor Na Aklil, on the west by Kebena, on the north ...

on the north by sodo wereda, on the northeast by

Sodo Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or ( Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation bet ...

and Oromia, and on the southeast by

Mareko Mark Sagapolutele (born 15 June 1981), best known by his stage name Mareko, is a New Zealand rapper and hip hop artist of Samoan descent from South Auckland. Career Mareko's career began as a member of the Deceptikonz, a South Auckland rap c ...

. Towns in Meskane include Inseno. The town of

Butajira Butajira ( am, ቡታጅራ) is a town and separate woreda in central Ethiopia. Located at the base of the Zebidar massif in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Butajira has an elevation of 2131 me ...

is the capital town of Meskane. Meskane was part of the former Meskanena Mareko woreda. Near Butajira are the Tufta Swamps at , located in the Western highlands near the headwaters of the

Meki River The Meki is a river in central Oromia, Ethiopia. It empties into Hora-Dambal at the latitude and longitude . O.G.S. Crawford identifies the Meki with a river on a map which was drawn in 1662 (there named "Machy") to illustrate Manuel de Almeida' ...

. Mesqan Community, the subject of this study, is a member of the Gurages who are settled in south west of Ethiopia in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. With an estimated population of 1.9 million, the Gurages are settled in a specific geographic location currently known as the Gurage Zone, which is further divided into 13 lower administrative units comprising eleven woredas and two town administrations. The Mesqan Community is settled in Mesqan Woreda and Buttajira Town Administration . The combined current population of Mesqan Woreda and Buttajira Town is 225,931, of which the Mesqan ethnic group constitutes the majority. Compared to the Sebat Bet and Kestane Gurage ethnic groups, migration to other parts of Ethiopia is less common among the Mesqans. Less than five per cent of the total population is believed to have migrated to urban towns in Ethiopia. The relative abundance of fertile land and suitable agricultural climate could be cited as discouraging factors for migration in past.

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 155,782, of whom 76,396 are men and 79,386 women; 11,388 or 7.31% of its population are urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were reported as

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 ...

, with 60.19% of the population reporting that belief, while 34.55% practice

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 ...

, and 4.7% were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

.Census 2007 Tables: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region
, Tables 2.1, and 3.4.

Notes

{{Districts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region Districts of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region