Saesi Tsaedaemba () is one of the
Districts of Ethiopia
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 ...
, or ''woredas'', in the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...
of
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 ...
. Located in the
Misraqawi Zone
The Eastern Zone () is a zone in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the east by the Afar Region, on the south by the South Eastern Zone, on the west by the Central Zone and on the north by Eritrea. Its highest point is Mount Asi ...
at the eastern edge of the
Ethiopian highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...
, Saesi Tsaedaemba is bordered on the south by
Kilte Awulaelo
Kilte Awulaelo () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Kilte Awulaelo is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone, on the west by the Mehakelegn ...
, on the southwest by
Hawzen
Hawzen ( Ge'ez: ሓውዜን) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil''), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market da ...
, on the west by
Ganta Afeshum
Ganta Afeshum () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Ganta Afeshum is bordered on the south by Hawzen, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone, on the north by G ...
, on the northwest by
Gulomahda
Gulomakeda () (also spelled Gulomahda) is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Its name partly comes from the legendary Queen Makeda, also known as the Queen of Sheba. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Gul ...
, on the north by
Irob, on the east by the
Afar Region
The Afar Region (; aa, Qafar Rakaakayak; am, አፋር ክልል), formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved ...
, and on the southeast by
Atsbi Wenberta
Atsbi Wemberta () is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands, Atsbi Wenberta is bordered on the south by the Debub Misraqawi Z ...
. Towns in Saesi Tsaedaemba include
Edaga Hamus and
Freweyni
Freweyni (also known as Sinkata) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located 80 kilometers north of Mekele in the Misraqawi Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil'') of Ethiopia, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2480 met ...
also known as Sinkata) where the woreda office is located .
Overview
There are several local
monolithic church
A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of ...
es in this woreda. These include Adi Chewa Arbuta (near Freweyni), and the cluster of
Petros and Paulos Melehayzenghi, Mikael Melehayzenghi and
Medhane Alem Adi Kasho (near the village of
Teka Tesfai). Near Edaga Hamus not only can one find the monolithic church of Gebriel Tsilalmao, but also nearby is a stelae similar to those found in
Axum
Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).
It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole region ...
only smaller, in the cemetery of the church of Maryam Tehot (a modern structure built on the foundations of an older building); the monument's date is unknown, but presumed pre-Christian. Mikael Britmukae one of the rock church found in Saesi Tsaedaemba.
Saesi Tsaedaemba was one of nine woredas in Tigray most affected by a drought during 2008, requiring emergency food supplies to be requested for an estimated 600,000 people.
History
During the
Tigray War
The Tigray War; ; . was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray Peop ...
, attacks were carried out on the woreda by the joint Ethiopian and Eritrean armies.
On 18 December 2020, an
EEPA
The Europe External Programme with Africa and Europe External Policy Advisors, both called EEPA, are two closely associated Belgian-based non-governmental organizations that aim to encourage the European Union's involvement in human rights in ge ...
report stated that 37 civilians were killed by Eritrean troops in Mariam Dengelat. This follows further reports of Ethiopian
ENDF soldiers shooting at unarmed civilians.
[Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 30 - 19 December](_blank)
Europe External Programme with Africa
On 19 December 2020, killings occurred in
Idaga Hamus, major town of the woreda. Eritrean soldiers killed approximately 150 civilians, including a priest and women seeking refuge in a church, located 4 km to the west of Marieam Dengelat. Idaga Hamus and some rural villages (Maimegelta, Dengelat, Tsa'a and Hangoda) were under the control of Eritrean forces. The military is slaughtering the animals. People are starving to death.
[Situation Report EEPA HORN No. 31 - 20 December](_blank)
Europe External Programme with Africa
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by 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 growth ...
of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 139,191, an increase of 37.16% over the 1994 census, of whom 65,796 are men and 73,395 women; 18,933 or 13.60% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 2,511.47 square kilometers, Saesi Tsaedaemba has a population density of 55.42, which is less than the Zone average of 56.93 persons per square kilometer. A total of 30,164 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.61 persons to a household, and 29,258 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced
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 ...
, with 94.3% reporting that as their religion, while 5.31% of the population were
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 ...
.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 101,478, of whom 48,130 were men and 53,348 were women; 10,543 or 10.39% of its population were urban dwellers. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Saesi Tsaedaemba were the
Tigrayan
Tigrayans ( ti, ተጋሩ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch.
The daily life of Tigray ...
(95.65%), the
Afar (2.39%), and the
Saho (1.82%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.14% of the population.
Tigrinya
(; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions.
History and literature
...
is spoken as a first language by 95.72%,
Afar by 2.21%, and 1.92% speak
Saho; the remaining 0.15% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced
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 ...
, with 94.97% reporting that as their religion, and 4.39% were
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 ...
. Concerning
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, 13.42% of the population were considered literate, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.01%; 21.97% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 1.4% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; and 0.98% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning
sanitary conditions
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, about 80% of the urban houses and 19% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; about 9% of the urban and about 3% of the total had toilet facilities.
Agriculture
A sample enumeration performed by the CSA in 2001 interviewed 24.879 farmers in this woreda, who held an average of 0.51 hectares of land. Of the 12,661 hectares of private land surveyed, 77.08% was under cultivation, 7.61% pasture, 7.56% fallow, 0.7% in
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
, and 7.06% was devoted to other uses. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 60% was planted in cereals, 9.6% in pulses, 0.81% in oilseeds, and 5 hectares in vegetables. The total area planted in fruit trees was 722 hectares, while 17 were planted in
gesho
''Rhamnus prinoides'', the shiny-leaf buckthorn, is an African shrub or small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. Commonly referred to as "gesho" it was first scientifically described by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.
...
. 69.31% of the farmers both raised crops and livestock, while 26.28% only grew crops and 4.41% only raised livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed amongst 96.36% owning their land, and 2.39% renting; the number of people holding their land under other forms of tenure is missing.
"Central Statistical Authority of Ethiopia. Agricultural Sample Survey (AgSE2001). Report on Area and Production - Tigray Region. Version 1.1 - December 2007"
(accessed 26 January 2009)
2020 woreda reorganisation
In 2020, woreda Sa'isie Tsa'ida Imba became inoperative and its territory belongs to the following new woredas:
* Tsa'ida Imba
* Sa'isi'e woreda
* Sinkata town
* Idaga Hamus town
Surrounding woredas
Notes
{{Districts of the Tigray Region
Districts of Tigray Region