The Basketo people are an Omotic-speaking ethnic group whose homeland lies in the southern part of 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 ...

(SNNPR) 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 ...

. The

Basketo special woreda Basketo is a Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, named after its inhabitants, the Basketo people. Because Basketo is not part of any administrative Zone in the SNNPR, it is consi ...

is named after this ethnic group. According to the 2007 Ethiopian national census, this ethnic group has 78,284 members, of whom 99.3% live in the SNNPR.2007 Ethiopian census, first draft
, Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009) The Basketo cultivate

ensete ''Ensete'' is a genus of monocarpic flowering plants native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia. It is one of the three genera in the banana family, Musaceae, and includes the false banana or enset ('' E. ventricosum''), an economically impor ...

and, additionally, tuber roots,

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

and vegetables. They also keep domestic animals in small numbers. Traditionally, the Basketo were organized as a segmentary clan society headed by a divine king, the ''kati''. The ethnic religion of the Basketo knew a duality of the

sky-god The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif ...

Tsosii and the earth-mother Qacharunde. Under Ethiopian rule many of them converted to

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 Chri ...

. The Basketo were conquered for the Ethiopian empire by

Ras Ras or RAS may refer to: Arts and media * RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label * Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service * Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station * Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...

Welde Giyorgis in 1893.

Notes

Sources

* Azeb Amha and Dirk Bustorf: "Basketo". In: ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica''. vol. 1. Wiesbaden 2003. pp. 499f. * Eike Haberland: "Die Basketto und verwandte Stämme". In: ''Altvölker Süd-Äthiopiens''. Stuttgart 1959. pp. 189–226. Ethnic groups in Ethiopia Omotic-speaking peoples {{ethiopia-ethno-group-stub

See also

Notes

Sources