She, Ethnic Group (Sub-Group Related To The Bench) : Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)
She.., check also Sce.., Scia..

She, ethnic group (sub-group related to the Bench)
numbering about 13,290 according to 1994 census
?? She (small Gimira kingdom around 1700) ../.. [Pa]
Tato Gali Ginocho, who reigned about 1675-1710, is believed to have incorporated, or
reincorporated, the nearby small Gimira state of Shé into Kefa/Kaffa.
[Pankhurst 1997]
HED04 Shebba (Scebba) 2987 m 10/37 [+ WO]
HCP39 Shebe (Shebie, Shebel, Shabe, Sciabe) 07/36 [Gz WO Gu]

07°20'/36°31' 1726/1766 m
(with Tuesday market and sub P.O.), midway between Jimma and Bonga
Centre in 1964 of Diedo wereda & of Shebe sub-district
1960s Population 1,510 as counted in 1967.
Shebe Chekorsa primary school (in Jimma awraja) in 1968
had 161 boys and 25 girls, with 5 techers.
With sub-post office using spelling SHEBIE on its postmark.
1970s There was (-1974-) a Dutch (Lazarist) Catholic Mission with Abbe Jacob.
The local people had financed a school building with five classrooms, simply built from
traditional materials. At the mission were school, hospital, clinic, wood and metal
workshops.
/same Shebe? a small village near Jimma:/ With a mission station of the
Finnish Pentecostal mission.
?? Shebe (in Sidamo) ../.. [20]
Strange bovids carved on the rock at Shebe are interesting to see.
[S Munro-Hay]
HCK58 Shebedino (Sciabadino) (plain) 06/38 [Ad WO Gu]

HCL50 Shebedino sub-district? (1990s) 06/38 [n]
HCL50 Shebedino wereda (centre in 1964 = Leku) 06/38 [Ad]
Shebel, Shäbäl was an early Amhara family group name in eastern Gojjam.
?? Shebel (Shäbbäl) (historically recorded), cf Shabel ../.. [+ Pa n]
In 1611 Emperor Susneyos fought against the Wäränsha and the Ittu Oromo at Shäbäl in
Gojjam. He sent back to the Wäränsha an old woman that had been captured and told her
to negotiate a peace agreement with her people. This was duly effected.
[Pankhurst 1997]
H.... Shebel Berenta sub-district (-1997-) 10/38 [n]
H.... Shebel sub-district (centre in 1964 = Yedemes Abo) 10/38 [Ad]
shebele (shäbäle) (A) tall and handsome, straight and

well-built /youth/
JDK21 Shebele (Sciavelli) 09°16'/42°40' 1528 m 09/42 [Gz]
(village not at the river of this name)
JDK83 Shebele (Shebelli, Shaveli, Shavelli, Sciaveli) 09/42 [Gz x Gu WO]
(Sheble, Shebelie, Shebole, Sciabellei) 09/42 [MS Ad WO]
Gz: 09°47'/42°46' 1386 m
MS: 09°45'/42°38' = JDK71 (09°41'/42°46' = JDK73) 1400/1450 m
Sub-district & its centre in 1964.
1930s A locality of some importance. On a wide terrace below the principal slope of
the high plateau, with a difference in level of about 36 m. With an enclosure of
masonry of an open area. Good potable water.
[Guida 1938]
Shebeli, Shabeli (Italian: Sciaveli), a somalized Bantu group living
Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 1 of 24

in the middle part of the Webi valley

HDL60 Shebeli 09°37'/38°30' 1985 m, south-west of Fiche 09/38 [AA Gz]
KCP30 Shebeli (Shebelli, Scebeli) 07°32'/45°43' 600/700 m 07/45 [+ Mi WO Gz]
geol Mineral exploitation was located about 31 km south-west of Jijiga in the Fafan river
catchment area. Mica deposits in pegmatites were mentioned by E.W. Molly (1928) and
French companies worked in these areas before the Italian occupation. In 1939 the Italian
company Mica S.A. commenced exploitation and some 40,000 kg of raw mica and 12,000
kg of cut mica were extracted from the Shebeli and Carrara fields until 1941 when the
Italians had to leave Ethiopia.
Shebeli was connected by a good road to the Harar-Jijiga main road. The muscovite
of Shebeli represents sixth-class 'stained mica' and cannot compete with commercial
Indian mica in quality or size. According to tests the Shebeli mica is not very good as an
electrical insulator. The known reserves in the areas are small.
[Mineral 1966]
1930s The war in 1935-1936: "Olol Dinle, the sultan of the Schiaveli clan in southern Ogaden,
was the most prominent Italian collaborator. He carried out raids in the Kelafo area prior
to the invasion, and later joined the invading force in Bale.
[J Markakis, National and class conflict .. (Cambridge Univ. Press) 1987 p 172]
KCN46 Shebeli Gerer (Scebeli Gherer) 07/45 [+ WO]
HCJ32 Shebero 06°40'/36°47' 1277 m, south of Omo river 06/36 [Gz]

HCP39 Shebie, see Shebe
JDK83 Sheble, see Shebele
sheboka: shoboka (O) kind of corn with large grain

HDJ06 Sheboka, MS: 09°05'/37°10' 1785/1830 m 09/37 [Gz Ad]
(Sciaboca, Soboca) Gz: 09°06'/37°07' 1828 m 09/37 [Gu WO]
(centre in 1964 of Tibi Kola sub-district), see also under Tibbe
Population 2,073 as counted in 1967.
1970s "By far the largest landlord is the Imperial family. In and around the project area in
Sheboka (close to Bako) appr. 12,000 hectares are registered in the name of the late
Prince Sahle Selassie. The holding is administered by a representative on behalf of the
heirs. The tenants cultivating the land of the Imperial family pay rent, agricultural income
tax and tithe, and they cultivate fields for the personal use of the administrator."
"For the agricultural year 1974 the commercial farmers are going to enlarge the
mechanized area. An additional one hundred tenant families have been told that their
lease agreements will be terminated by 1974. Among them is the minimum package
project's model farmer in Sheboka. The project is considering closing down its activities
in Sheboka."
"News reports in June 1974 -- relate violent clashes between commercial farmers and
tenants threatened by eviction in Sheboka. Employees of the commercial farmers set fire
to tenants' huts and tenants reacted by hindering tractors from plowing. The police was
brought in and many tenants were arrested."
[M Ståhl, Ethiopia: political contradictions .., Sthlm 1974 p 118, 127]
text Dagens Nyheter 5 June 1974, Gobena överger aldrig sin jord.
?? Shecha (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]

HCD61 Shecha, see under Arba Minch 06/37 [Br]
When it was still a new town the administration of Gemu Gofa province was moved
to there from Chencha in 1962.
?? Shedala (Scedala) (mountain) ../.. [+ Gu]
Below the mountain are waterfalls first described by the Duca degli Abruzzi.
[Guida 1938]
HCH79 Shedda (Sheda, Schadda, Sciadda) 07/36 [WO Gz]
07°02'/36°30' 2402 m, south-east of Bonga

HEE85 Shedeho Mekiet wereda (Shädäho ..) 11/38 [Ad]

(centre in 1964 = Filakit)
HCM53 Shedem (Scedem) (area) 06/39 [+ WO]
JDK76 Sheder 09°41'/43°08' 1710 m, not far from Somalia 09/43 [Gz]
JCN12 Shefela 07°23'/40°00' 2261 m 07/40 [Gz]
shefere (shäfärre) (A) thornless tree, Balanites aegyptiaca?
HDL93 Shefere Amba (Shefere) 09°56'/38°43' 1750 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
north of Fiche
shefta: shefete (A) to rebel; shifta (A,T) bandit, rebel,

highwayman
HEU82 Shefta (Scefta), see Shibta
HE... Shegez Iyesus (S. Eyesus) 12/37 [+ Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Yilmana sub-district)
HDS98 Shegit 10°49'/38°18' 2389 m, near Mertule Maryam 10/38 [Gz]
HEF54 Shegra 11°23'/39°47' 1991 m, east of Hayk 11/39 [Gz]
?? Shegura (Shägura) ../.. [x n]
(formerly a slave-hunting area)
Sheh .., see also Shek ..
HEF13 Sheh Ibrahim Mukni Mesgid (mosque) 11°00'/39°42' 11/39 [Gz]
south of Dessie
HEF76 Sheh Kemal Mesgid (mosque) 11°30'/39°53' 11/39 [Gz]
north-east of Hayk
HEF34 Sheh Mehamed Ali Mesgid (mosque) 11°09'/39°44' 11/39 [Gz]
east of Dessie
JDH08 Sheh Mehamed Mesbay Mesgid (mosque) 09/41 [Gz]
09°05'/41°25', south of Deder
HEF23 Sheh Mehamed Nur Mesgid (mosque) 11°06'/39°32' 11/39 [Gz]
on the south-western outskirts of Dessie
HEF13 Sheh Umer Aliyu Mesgid (mosque) 11°01'/39°32' 11/39 [Gz]
south of Dessie
HCS95 Sheha 08°05'/37°58' 2343 m, near Indibir 08/37 [Gz]
KCR83 Shehada, at the eastern triangle of Ogaden, 08/46 [20]
on the border opposite Buuhoodle in Somalia
HFE75 Shehagne (mountain peak) 14°15'/38°55' 2073 m 14/38 [Gz]

north of Adwa
HFE84 Shehagne (Shahagni) 14°22'/38°51' 1695 m 14/38 [Gz 18]
(with church Mikael), village north of Adwa
The naturalist Schimper lived there in the early 1800s before the government of Inticho
was awarded to him.
It was said that a huge crocodile was once killed in a sort of natural well near the village.
[M Parkyns vol I p 288]
shehet: shahatt (T) kind of medium-sized tree,

Terminalia brownii, with purple-red fruits that
from a distance look like flowers
HEU74 Shehet (Sechet, Secchet, Shiket)13°22'/39°45' 1482 m 13/39 [Gz]
(with English mission school & church Mikael), south-east of Kwiha
HEU74 Shehet sub-district (-1997-) 13/39 [n]
HFF33 Sheheyti Maryam (church) 13°50'/39°41' 13/39 [Gz]
west of Atsbi
?? Shehoch (Shehotch), cf Shekosh ../.. [+ x]
The Muslim Gurage have developed a shrine in honour of a contemporary saint, Shehoch,
which attracts pilgrims from many parts of southern Ethiopia.

[D N Levine]
Sheik .., Sheikh .., see Shek (also Sheh above)

JCP50 Sheik Hussein, see Shek Husen
sheikh halal: halala (O) 1. holy; 2. cud /cows chew the cud/;
xalaal (Arabic,Som) purity; what is allowed under Muslim law
HEH53 Sheikh Halal, see El Gulut
JCT34 Sheikhosh (area), cf Shekosh 07/43 [WO]
Shek .., see also Sheh ..
shek (A) sheikh, title of important man among Islamic
peoples, religious leader and/or head of a tribe, etc;
sheekh (Som) learned man of religion;
abdo (Som) value, hope, chance, profit, importance
JCN85 Shek Abdoy (Scek Abdoi, G.) (area) 2090m 08/40 [WO]
shek adare: adar (Som) large bowl for cooking
JCN93 Shek Adere (Sheh Adere, Scek Adare, Gara Shek A.) 08/40 [+ Gz WO]
(mountain) 08°06'/40°06' 2515/2550 m, see under Gololcha
JBP06 Shek Ahmed (Scek Ahmed) (area) 04/41 [+ WO]
JDJ08 Shek Ahmed Shek Idris (Sheh Ahmed Sheh Idris) 09/42 [+ Gz]
09°04'/42°23' 1567 m, south-east of Harar
shek alif: alif (Arabic) first letter of the Arabic alphabet
JDC89 Shek Alif (Scek Alif) 1370 m 08/42 [+ WO]
GDM71 Shek Atalam (Sceich Atalam) 09/34 [+ WO]
shek aw kalaf: aw (Som) father, ancestor
JDL14 Shek Aw Kalaf (Scek Au Calaf) (area) 09/43 [+ WO]
HC... Shek Bado (Shekbado), in Mocha awraja 07/35? [+ Ad]
The primary school in 1968 had 38 boys in grade 1-4 and no girls,
with one teacher.
HEH42 Shek Gilmu (Sheikh G.) 12°09'/35°54' 724 m 12/35 [+ WO Gz]
shek hasan: Hasan, Hassan (Som) a man's name
HEH32 Shek Hasan (Sheikh Husain, Sheikh Hasan) 12/35 [LM Ro WO Gz]
(named from a revered teacher in the 13th century)
Shek Hasan 12°04'/35°53' 704 m, cf Shek Husen
JDJ29 Shek Hassan Dufi (Scek Hassan Dufi) 09/42 [+ WO]
see under Funyan Bira
shek hosh: hosh (O) expression to pacify mules etc.
JCT24 Shek Hosh, see Shekosh
JDK11 Shek Hum (Scek Hum) (w church?/mosque?) 09/42 [+ WO]
JCP50 Shek Husen (Sheh Husen, Scech Husse/i/n) 07/40 [Gz Ro WO Gu]
(Sheikh Hussein, Shaykh Husain, Shek Hussain) 07/40 [n]
(Fre: Cheikh Hussein), cf Shek Hasan
Gz: 07°45'/40°42' 1386 m; MS: 07°35'/40°40' = JCN39, 1489 m
Shek Husen was a Muslim mystic and teacher of the Sufi order, revered as a saint in Arsi
where he is said to have introduced Islam in the 13th century. The village where he is
believed to be buried attracts some 30,000 visitors in February every year.
[C Prouty 1981]
The Oromo took possession of the area in the 1500s, and an Oromo family became
hereditary custodians of the tomb.
"On September 17, 1894 -- /Arthur Donaldson Smith/ met up with the first Ethiopians. --
Sheikh Hussein was all that Smith expected, a town of stone houses set high up in the
mist-covered mountains. There were only a few Ethiopians in the town, but they were
clearly in control of its Galla population."
"After two weeks in the fog and rain of Sheikh Hussein, two Ethiopians appeared on
October 1, 1894, and told Smith that Menelik's governor of the region /Welde Gebriel/

wanted him to come to Ginea (Ginir). -- Smith, Dodson, and Gillett put their heads
together and decided that only one of them should go to Ginea. Gillett agreed to go with
eight men, confident the Ethiopians would not attack with the main Somali force and
Dodson and Smith at Sheikh Hussein. During the week Gillett was gone, Dodson and
Smith collected natural history specimens, and Smith drilled his Somali in preparation for
a possible Ethiopian attack.
A week later, a message came from Gillett saying that it was safe for the entire caravan to
proceed to Ginea. When Smith arrived there three days later, he was warmly greeted by
the Ethiopian governor."
[P J Imperato, Quest for the Jade Sea, USA 1998 p 112]
"The order /of Qadiriyya/ has spread amongst the Muslim Galla of the Arusi region from
the Web and Wabi, and 'Abd ash-Shakur, amir of Harar (1783-94), had a mosque built on
the holy site of Shaikh Husain and dedicated to 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani."
/Citing A. Donaldson Smith 1897 and E. Cerulli 1932:/ "The sanctuary of Shaikh Husain
in the plain of Goba -- is one of the most interesting religious phenomena in north-east
Africa. The foundation of the original sanctuary goes back to the old Muslim Sidama
kingdom of Bali and today local Harari tradition claims him as the first missionary to the
country. When the Galla conquered Bali in the sixteenth century they took over the cult of
the shaikh as it had been developed by the islamized Sidama -- The result is a strange
amalgam of Islamic saint-cult and Mecca pilgrimage ceremonies. The sanctuary has been
visited by a number of travellers, but the ceremonies have only been fully described by
Dr. E. Cerulli --"
"The main pilgrimage takes place in February of each year, the anniversary of the saint's
death, and bands of pilgrims will be found arriving from all over the region. --
the village contains the tomb and the valley of Kachamsare. The entrance to the sacred
zone is marked by two trees -- where the pilgrim gets his first view of the sanctuary and
recites the Fatiha. Then the way opens out into the arid plain of Shaikh Husain with, on
the horizon, a view of the hill of Dodola which, the Galla say, the saint caused to be
miraculously transported from Gedeb. Near the pool of Dinkiro, fed from a miraculous
spring, is the mosque of the shaikh."
"The remains of the saint are in a crypt surrounded by four stone columns. Within the area
is also the qubba of the father of the shaikh, a mosque said to have been partly
constructed by the saint which has a phallic monolith in its courtyard, and a mosque
dedicated to 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani --"
"A path, which is flanked by various venerated symbols (the footprints of the dove and
mule, and the tree of Abul-Qasim), leads to the valley of Kachamsare where the pilgrim
visits the grotto of the snake, so called from a formation due to the action of water on the
rock, before entering which he burns incense. Other objects in the grotto petrified by the
shaikh according to tradition are a nude woman in the act of combing her hair and a group
of horsemen -- Other places to be visited are the grotto of the sinners, from which the
pilgrim collects pebbles and earth called jawara; the valley of the sinners into which he
throws the pebbles, after which he is in a state of ritual purity; a wishing-cave from which
the pilgrim collects grass and utters his wish; the skull for contemplation; the honey grotto
where water, symbolical of the honey made for the saint by his bees, trickles out of a
black rock; and a precipice which opened up to engulf a sacrilegious person who had
dared to spy upon the Shaikh conversing with the Prophet."
"The custodianship of the tomb is the hereditary charge of a Somali family -- the Imam is
the head of the whole sanctuary; another al-Hajj Mahmud, teaches Islamic law in the
school attached to the chief mosque, whilst the third, Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir, is the qadi of
the sanctuary."
[J S Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 240, 253-255]
The mosque of Shek Husen in dry stone masonry is near the pond of Dinkiro where there
is also a spring with "miraculous" water. There is a "jajaba" tree. Near the pond of Imaro
there is the mosque of Shek Husen's father, both with a gubba of Harar type.
There is also a mosque of Shek Abdelkadir al Jilani. Before the bottom of the valley

Kachamsare there is the "cave of serpents". There are also a "cave of herbs" and a "cave
of honey" and rock formations said to be petrified persons.
[Guida 1938 p 469 based on Cerulli]
The missionary Johan Sonne Lindblom visited Shek Husen in 1949 or 1950. He wrote
that "Islam had no place" for the followers of Husen. "His religion is still a mystery."
Shamsuddin Abdo wrote: "The big celebrations you see today are not supported by Islam,
yet many muslims -- individually go to Shakh Hussein to claim his baraka or blessing. --
Popular Islam is very difficult to define as it changes forms from people to people from
area to area."
[T Salmelid, Kallets kamp i Bale, Oslo 1990 p 21-22]
Charles Birch-Iensen, employed at the Air Force training school in Debre Zeyt, visited the
Shek Husen area in early 1955, mostly for the purpose to study a large rock picture which
he had discovered from the air, see under Einage.
The following are some comments made by Birch-Iensen about the the pilgrim sites at
Shek Husen itself, in a book which he published in Swedish language.
Enrico Cerulli found three texts telling about Shek Husen: Nisbat ash-sharif + Kitab
nuzhat al-asrar wa taharat al-adqar + Rabi al Qolub. They were later published in one
volume by a sociaty in Addis Abeba for revival of Arabian books.
Birch-Iensen could make his camp inside the compound of Imam Mahmud. He was well
received at the tomb of Shek Husen and could take photos without problems. This he
attributed to the comparatively lenient Qadiriyya order of Islam.
The most important holiday for pilgrims is Arafa on 29 August.
Kachamsare as reported by Cerulli is not a valley but a mountain. The two trees at the
entrance of the holy area are wild figs called kiltu in the Oromo language (Ficus
sycamorus or some related species). The mosque of the Shek is near a steep waterhole
Haro Lugo, and there is a rainwater pond Dunkure at 300 m south of the mosque. Smith's
estimate of the size of the tomb may be a little too large, and his figure for the size of the
area fenced in by stone walls is clearly too small.
The cleft sticks carried as a symbol by Shek Husen pilgrims are too small to serve as
walking sticks and are not utilized for any practical purpose.
[C Birch-Iensen, Ett okänt Mecka, Sthlm 1960 p 127,
some traditions retold and commented p 149-162]
"Twice a year, thousands of Oromo converge at a site -- to honor -- Sheikh Hussein. The
first pilgrimage occurs in February-March to commemorate Sheikh Hussein's death; the
second occurs in August-September to celebrate the -- birth. -- Of the approximately
50,000 Oromos who participate in each pilgrimage, some will make the journey only once
in their lives, others will return again and again."
"Sheikh Hussein was an Islamic missionary from the Red Sea Coast who spread Islam in
the Ethiopian interior in the 13th century -- During the /pilgrimage/ journey -- pilgrims
are not allowed to cut their hair or sleep indoors. They traditionally carry forked walking
sticks known as Oule Sheikh Hussein -- Once they arrive at the shrine, the pilgrims take
their turns entering Sheikh Hussein's tomb by crawling through a small doorway."
[S Gish, Ethiopia, New York 1996 p 75]
The Italian diplomatic mission deaded by Duca degli Abruzzi passed Shek Husen on their
return journey after having signed a treaty in Addis Abeba in 1928.
Pilgrims go to this holy place at the birthday of the Shek in February, and also at Maulid
an-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet which does not occur on a fixed date in the Christian
calendar.
[Äthiopien 1999 p 432]
Naturalists from Chicago travelled in this region in late 1926:
"At Sheikh Hussein in a school for mullahs, or priests, a low structure of loose stones with
weeds growing between the interstices. Two old mullahs sat all day in the shade teaching
a class of boys, mumbling interminably, passages from the Koran. They eyed us with
stares of mingled hostility and aversion; clearly we were not of the anointed and our
invasion was resented; an insult to the memory of the dead sheikh, perhaps. Women

carried water from the goat-watering, cow-drinking, clothes-washing hole and the village
men reclined on the dirt floors of tukuls or outside in the shade. Boys, herding a few goats
and cattle on nearby hills were doing the only work beside water carrying. The inhabitants
lived as their ancestors a thousand years ago. Sheikh Hussein gave the impression of a
community long dead but whose members, strangely enough, were still living. The
apathy, the lack of interest or curiosity, was distinctly noticeable even to us who had seen
much of it."
"The headman of the village, a mullah, ignored us completely. He neither visited camp
nor sent a representative. -- The spirit of resentment so noticeable in the lowering glances
of the inhabitants and their refusal to give any information on trails, water or game, was
deep and uncalled for. The mullahs had evidently forbidden the people to give us
information and the villagers appeared to be colossally ignorant."
A boy of twelve was the only one in the village who would guide the visitors to the next
water.
[J E Baum, Savage Abyssinia, New York 1927 p 179-182]
The missionary Dr Fride Hylander with family arrived to Shek Husen by caravan in the
beginning of 1930, on their way to Ginir:
They camped at a large pond excavated to receive rain water, within view of minarets and
walls. When they walked to have a look at the town they saw many graves and cupolas
but at first no people. They were gathered for praying at the tomb of Sheikh Hussein.
Hylander learnt at some time that there were contacts between Christians and the
Muslims, and that the governor of Ginir used to send yearly a bull for conciliation
offering at Sheikh Hussein. Hylander's caravan men being Christians, however, were
clearly afraid at the place. A contact man sent from the headman to the camp told that as
much as 100 oxen might be slaughtered in one day during the period of pilgrimage. Local
stories said that Hussein was born 500 years after the flight of the Prophet from Mekka,
which would mean 1122 AD. After his death in the town which Hussein established, there
was a famine so that the locality lay abandoned for some time. It was rebuilt under Sheikh
Muhammed Tillmo, an Arsi Oromo. The head of the town in 1930 was Sheikh Imahma
Abdul Kadir, a great-grandson of Muhammed Tillmo. He lived in a stone house of the
type seen in Harar. Concerning some strange limestone shapes outside the town, there was
a legend that Sheikh Hussein had fixed his eyes on attacking enemy cavalry so that they
became turned into stone.
When leaving Sheikh Hussein in the beginning of the rainy season, Hylander's caravan
still had great difficulty in finding water along the route.
[F Hylander, Ett år i tält, Sthlm 1934 p 54-66]
Feast days take place during May and October, with minor ones during February and
September; the exact dates depend on the lunar calendar.
[Lonely planet 2000 p 252-253]
text B.W. Andrzejewski, A genealogical note relevant to the dating of Sheikh Hussein
of Bale, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (London) 1,
1975 no 38.
picts F Hylander, Ett år i tält, Sthlm 1934 p 59 temple from distance,
p 61 three gates and Ficus tree;
D Buxton, Travels .., London (1949)1957 p 96-97[15] pilgrim with Y-shaped stick;
C Birch-Iensen, Ett okänt Mecka, Sthlm 1960 p 80 two air views;
112-113 two views of grave buildings, 128 detail of tomb, 129 three gates and tree.
JDC88 Shek Kalif (Scek Calif), see Dendema

JC... Shek Mahamed 07/40 [18]
JDD53 Shek Mahamud (Scek Mahamud) (area) 08/42 [+ WO]
JDE05 Shek Mohamed Gulet (Scek Mohamed Gulet) 08/43 [+ WO]
there is also an area named only Gulet
JDE81 Shek Momen (Scek Momen) (area) 1508 m 08/43 [+ WO]
HEP08c Shek Shekedi (Scec Scechedi) 12/36 [+ Gu]

Village with tomb of the hermite saint Shek Shekedi. There is water in the stream.
Population about 300 in the 1930s.
[Guida 1938]
?? Shek Sheriff ../.. [+ x]
Sheik Sheriff was a refugee camp in Ogaden with about 5,000 people in 1984. They were
Ethiopians who had returned from Somalia after having fled there during the war in 1977-
1978 and also Somali and Oromo who had not been to Somalia but for whom livelihood
had been destroyed. Collaborating aid agencies invited about twenty journalists to see the
camp and tell them that a project had been started for rehabilitaion into livestock tending
and agriculture.
[Vi (Sweden) 1984 no 4 p 5-6]
HEP39 Shek Umer (Sheh Umer, Sceic Omar) (mountains) 12/36 [+ Gz WO]
12°59'/36°34' 971 m, east of Metemma
JDA09 Shek Umer Ali (Sheh U.A.) 08°14'/40°36' 1559 m 08/40 [Gz]
?? Sheka (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]
HDT67 Shekefoch 10°33'/39°05' 2254 m, west of Were Ilu 10/39 [Gz]
sheki (O) same as shek above

HCR23 Sheki (Scechi, Shaki) 07°15'/36°50', cf Shaki 07/36 [Gz WO Gu]
Gz: 07°27'/36°53' 2468 m; MS: 07°15'/36°50' = HCR02
south-east of Jimma at a distance of 31 km.
Dedo Sento (Sheki) primary school in 1968 had 211 boys and 45 girls,
with 5 teachers.
Sheko, Shako, ethnic group living in the Kefa region,

numbering about 23,785 according to the 1994 census.
In the early 2000s there was a political party the Sheko
Mejenger Democratic Unity which represented opposition
to the central government.
HCK01 Sheko 07°04'/35°39' 1750 m (in Gimira awraja) 07/35 [Gz Ad]
east of Waka
The primary school in 1968 had 63 boys and 17 girls
in grades 1-5, with two teachers.
HC... Sheko sub-district? (-1997-) 06/35? [n]
?? Sheko wereda (in the 1990s), in the Bench-Maji Zone, 06/35? [n]
later Sheko & Mesunger wereda (-2002-).
The wereda was established in 1996 and has sedentary population,
with the exception of the Guraferda area.
2000s Four opposition parties, the Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy
in Ethiopia, the All Amhara People's Organization, Southern Ethiopia Peoples'
Democratic Coalition and Oromo National Congress reported that 1,760 people were
killed and thousands of others wounded in Sheko & Mesunger wereda in late March and
early April 2002.
According to the parties, the massacre by the ruling party's armed force took place while
people were demonstrating to express their anger over an election fraud.
The parties also stated that thousands of people were apprehended while they were
attempting to escape from the area. Those who came to Addis to appeal to the central
government were also put in jail, the parties said. "The rest have displaced to Gambela
and other neighbouring towns and the area is almost deserted now."
[AddisTribune 2002/05/31]
JCT24 Shekosh (Sheikosh, She/i/k Hosh) (with sub P.O.) 07/43 [Gz WO x]
Gz: 07°22'/43°55' 701 m; MS: = 07°30'/43°47' 916 m
JCT24 Shekosh sub-district (-1997-) 07/43 [n]
HET25 Shekura Mikael (church) 12°55'/38°57' 12/38 [Gz]

south-west of Fenarwa
HD... Shel Afaf (centre in 1964 of Bita & Bilew wereda) 09/38? [Ad]
shela (shäla) (A) kind of hay-fork;

Shela, a small society in eastern Gemu-Gofa
GD... Shela (in Kelem awraja) 08/34? [Ad]
A private school in 1968 had 59 boys and one girl
in grades 1-3, with one teacher.
?? Shela Mela, on the western shore of lake Chamo ../.. [x]
The Ganjule people from the island of that name relocated to Shela Mela around 1990,
numbering only about 50 by then. They speak the same language as the about 500
Kachama on Gidicho island in lake Abaya.
[Summer Institute of Linguistics]
JCF75 Shelabo, see Shilabo
shelada: shellate (O) tortuous, crooked, winding

HCM81 Shelada (Scelada, Scedala) (area) 07/39 [+ WO Gu]
HET78c Shelamara (recorded in 1841) 13/39 [Ha]
HE... Shele Beza (centre in 1964 of Begela sub-district) 12/37 [Ad]
HDC97 Sheleabo, see under Ijaji or Tibbe, cf Shilabo 09/37 [WO]
shelel (shäläl) (A) toilet place outside
H.... Shelel Gebreal 10/37 [Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Degemo sub-district)
HCC83 Shelema 06°11'/36°55' 1510 m, east of Bulki 06/36 [Gz]
HF..? Shelfa (historically recorded) 13/37? [18]

The country of the Barea (Shankalla) north of Tigray was almost unknown area and
regarded by the Tigreans as enemy territory in the early 1800s. One of the Tigreans, who
was captured by the Barea and later escaped, said that he was taken to a town Shelfa with
a chief Ammu, and tha it took him twelve days after the escape to reach his home at
Amba Abraham in southern Wolkayit.
[M Parkyns vol I p 339]
HEU.? Shelikot (Scelicot) 13/39 [+ Gu]
16 km from Mekele, with some irrigated cultivations.
[Guida 1938]
HFE75 Shelloda, see Sulloda
HED62 Shelma Matebiya (.. Mat'ebiya)11°27'/37°44' 1886 m 11/37 [Gz]
south-east of Bahir Dar, below Tis Isat waterfalls
Shelo (Uraga Shelo), very small ethnic group. By the 1950s

they lived in an area only about 10 x 10 km on the Yanase hill
not far from the market place Dinto in the Girmancha area.
text E. Haberland, Galla Süd-Äthiopiens, Stuttgart 1963 p 346-347.
HDT08 Shema 09°59'/39°09' 1815 m 09/39 [Gz]

HCT59 Shemage (Shemange) 07°46'/39°15' 2714 m 07/39 [Gz]
south-east of Asela
HEL96 Shemandan (Scemandan) (area) see under Sekota 12/39 [+ Gu]
HEL85c Shemamdel (centre in 1964 of Sidib sub-district) 12/39 [Ad]
HEJ99 Shembekit (Shembek'it) 12°40'/37°30' 2443 m 12/37 [Gz]
north of Gondar, at map square corner HEJ/HEK/HER/HES.
HDM95 Shembeko (Shembek'o) 09°55'/39°52' 1759 m 09/39 [Gz]
north-east of Debre Sina
HEM40 Shembeko (Shembek'o) 12°12'/39°22' 2550 m 12/39 [Gz]
between Lalibela and Alamata

shembekoch (shämbäqoch) (A) reeds of a kind

used for cutting pens
HE... Shembekoch (Shembeqoch) 12/37 [+ Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Kerker sub-district)
Shembera .., see Shimbira ..
HDJ55 Shembo (Shembu), see Shambu
HE... Sheme Giyorgis, cf Shame .. 11/38 [Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Mehal Endebet sub-district)
HDR88 Shememel (Bot Ghiorghis, Iofoda Gheorghis) 10/37 [Gz]
10°45'/37°24' 1910 m, east of Bure
shemena: shemmane (A) weaver

HC... Shemena Kedida (farm settlement in Sidamo) 07/38? [x]
In Sidamo about 33 km from Awasa, the nearest town. A settlement of some 103 farms on
15 gasha of land was organized there by the Ministry of National Community
Development around 1970. Among the conditions for participation was an Amharic
literacy test - "something that would automatically exclude most of the local people who
are Sidama or Oromo."
[Gilkes 1975 p 131]
?? Shemera (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]
HEL58 Shemzemo 12°13'/39°10' 3282 m 12/39 [Gz]
north-east of Lalibela and north of Abune Yosef
HD... Shenbeko Ber, cf Shembeko 09/39? [Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Sengota sub-district)
shenda (shända) (A) gutter for water from roof
HDR73 Shende (Shendie Gebreal, Shinde Gabriel) 10/36 [Gz Ad]
(Shindi Gebriel) 10°38'/36°56' 2050 m
(centre in 1964 of Wemberma & Gwagussa wereda)
The primary school (in Kola Dega Damot awraja) in 1968
had 155 boys and 13 girls in grades 1-5, with 4 teachers.
HCK85 Shene, see Shone
shenen (T) saunter

HDC69 Shenen 08°44'/37°28' 2540 m, south of Gedo 08/37 [Gz]
HDD70 Shenen (centre in 1964 of Nono wereda) 08/37 [MS Ad Po]
(visiting postman under A. Abeba)
The primary school in 1968 had 232 boys and 28 girls
in grades 1-5, with 4 teachers.
GDF45 Shenena Deko sub-district (Sheniena Dieko ..) 08/34 [+ Ad]
(=Shenen & Deko ..?) (centre in 1964 = Dembidolo)
HCC51 Shengema (mountain chain) 05°58'/36°45' 1864 m 05/36 [Gz]
north-east of Bako
HEE14 Shengodafe 10°59'/38°52' 2861 m 10/38 [Gz]
HER69 Shenhi (Scenhi) 13°17'/37°27' 2220 m 13/37 [+ WO]
H.... Shenie Setema sub-district 08/36 [Ad]
(centre in 1964 = Setemasheni)
JDJ72 Shenile, see Shinile
HCS22 Shenkola (Shenk'ola, Shenqola) 07°26'/37°45' 2598 m 07/37 [Gz q]
(mountain), south-west of Hosaina
HCS23 Shenkola (Shenk'ola, Shenqola) 07°28'/37°46' 2300 m 07/37 [Gz]
south-west of Hosaina
shenkor (shänkor) (A) sugar cane

/which Shenkora (Shankora)?:/ According to Wylde the Shenkora market,
held on Fridays, was regarded as small in the 1890s.

HC... Shenkora (Sciankora) 1981 m 07/37 [+ Gu]

HDE50 Shenkora (Ciancora, Ger: Schankora) 08/38 [Gz It x]
(with church Medhane Alem) 08°36'/38°26' 2409 m
The Rosen commercial mission on 4 February 1905 found their camp site at Shenkora a
little beyond Balchi. They wondered because of the name if there hade been any sugar
plantation before. The place itself was not inhabited, but there was a marketplace and a
hut used by the judge on market days. At Shenkora the Germans received their first mail,
with letters and also the first newspapers since forty days.
About at the same time arrived one Griebeschock, "a pure American from Warsaw", who
travelled for a consortium which wanted to open a bank in Addis Abeba. He was
accompanied by one Bertois, a merchant from Dire Dawa.
[F Rosen, Eine deutsche .., Leipzig 1907 p 162]
Friedrich von Kulmer camped at Shenkora /a second time/ on 6 November 1908 which
happened to be a market day, so they found it quite amusing to stay there.
[F F von Kulmer, Im Reiche Kaiser Meneliks, Leipzig 1910 p 228]
HDH17 Shenkora 09°10'/36°22' 1584 m 09/36 [Gz]
north-west of Nekemte
HDT12 Shenkora (Shankora, Sciancora, Fre: Chankorra) 10/38 [+ n WO]
(valley)
HDF80 Shenkora sub-district? (-1997-) 08/39 [n]
HDF80 Shenkora wereda (centre in 1964 = Balchi) 08/39 [Ad]
HDH47 Shenkori (Bulo) (mountain) 09°26'/36°24' 1236 m 09/36 [Gz]
HCK85 Sheno, see Shone

HDM30 Sheno (Shano, Sciano), in Selale awraja, cf Shino 09/39 [Gz Po WO Gu]
Gz: 09°20'/39°18' 2837 m, HDL39 nearby
MS: 09°10'/39°15' = HDL19, 2784/2918 m
Centre in 1964 of Kimbibit wereda & of Mieta Robi
sub-district, with sub P.O. under Debre Birhan.
Within a radius of 10 km there are at km
5E Kotugeber (Cotugheber) (village)
6E Sholage (Sciolaghe, Salamghe) (church) 2375 m
10SE Shimbira (Shimbera, Scimbra) (village)
10SW Chirene (Cirene) (pass)
7W Gara Ole (area)
10NW Tega Dinketu (Aragecha, Aragheccia) (area) 2855 m
6N Garakora (Cora Uha) 2830 m
8NE Argisha (Arghiscia) 2855 m
1930s Post office of the Italians was opened on 24 May 1937. Its cancellations first
read SCIANO'(AMARA) but were modified to SCIANO'*SCIOA after the
transfer to Governo dello Scioa on 1 September 1938.
[Philatelic source]
Rather important centre, with two restaurants.
[Guida 1938]
1960s Population 1,909 as counted in 1967.
At the Sheno junior secondary school 3 students passed
8th-grade examination in 1960.
The primary school in 1968 had 360 boys and 112 girls,
with 8 male teachers and one female.
The junior secondary school had 53 male and 15 female students
in grades 7-8, with 4 teachers of which two foreign.
An elementary school building constructed of concrete elements and
with Swedish assistance through ESBU was completed around 1970.
[SIDA 1971]
2000s Sheno is a meat and butter centre.

[J Graham]
pict D Buxton, Travels .., London (1949)1957 (p 66) p 96-97[3] mountain view
with church of Kidus Mikael.
HC... Shento (in Welamo awraja) 06/37? [Ad]

The primary school in 1968 had 315 boys and 25 girls, with 5 teachers.
GCT68c Shentwa (Shentoa) 07/34 [+ Wa]
HCP08 Sherada (Sciaradda) 07°21'/36°27' 2253, 2560 m 07/36 [Gz WO Gu]

north-east of Bonga
Coordinates would give map code HCP18
Sherada was once the seat of the Ethiopian governor of Kefa/Kafa.
[Guida 1938]
HFF12 Sherafu 13°42'/39°33' 2139 m, west of Agula 13/39 [Gz]
HFD94 Sheraro (Shararo, Scheraro, Cheraro), cf Shiraro .. 14/37 [Gz Po x]

14°24'/37°56' 1246 m (with church Medhane Alem to the west)
Small town in Tigray near the border of Eritrea.
Spelling used by the post was SHIRARO around 1975.
1970s Based in Inda Silase and Sheraro, the development project TAIDL became a centre
of urban dissent after the collapse of the old regime. Many of the politically dynamic
students and teachers quickly gravitated to the TPLF and EPRP.
[Young 1997]
The first Women's Mass Associations were established in 1978 in Sheraro and Zana,
which were among the earliest weredas to be liberated and were deemed to have a high
level of political consciousness.
Initially the TPLF established separate associations for young and old women, but they
were later dissolved in favour of a united organization of all women between the age of
18 and 50.
[Young 1997]
1980s The first baito was organised in 1980 in Sheraro, and when the town was shortly
thereafter captured by the Derg, many citizens and the baito officials moved to the
surrounding countryside and continued working to expand their operation to include the
entire wereda.
During the entire course of the war the Derg was never able to exert more than temporary
control over Sheraro in spite of its relative accessibility. The army's impending arrival
would bring about a rapid move to the countryside for all but the old and sick, and the
army's departure would signal their reurn.
Holding Sheraro in a area almost completely hostile to the Derg proved too difficult and
the town was eventually abandoned.
[Young 1997]
Sheraro was evacuated by the Derg around 1985, but they left land mines and hidden
bombs which injured some of the people who returned from hiding as soon as the Derg
soldiers disappeared.
[M Peberty, Tigray, 1985]
"On my first visit /in 1986 or 1987/, Sheraro looked like a slightly enlarged version of
other tiny Tigrean towns - dusty and unkempt overgrown villages - except that here, there
were some trees in the streets, even more children and a few packed camels chewing in
the shade. -- We made all the basic visits that first time - the clinic, the school, the
executive of the baito, the handloom weavers -- 'the only industry in Tigray' /a joke/ --
proved to be a sesame grinding mill -- The baito was the first to be established in
liberated Tigray. -- both the chairman and vice-chairman of the executive were Muslims -
- The baito established the clinic in 1980 and the school two years later with the help of
the Front. -- The director of the school /was/ Ashebir Zeleke."
[Hammond 1999 p 135-136]

"Ashebir was an Amhara and had taught for twenty-one years in Addis before he joined
the Front -- He was unable to use the purpose-built schoolhouse because its tin roof and
isolated position on the edge of the town made it an easy target for MiGs, so the school
was semi-mobile in whatever buildings they could find -- was called March 28 School
/what name by Ethiopian calendar?/ -- in memory of the war between the TPLF and the
EDU."
[Hammond p 136]
"-- in every conversation, in every encounter with people in Sheraro I had been getting
messages about this past. In the house of the baito -- I had been very taken with a huge
banner hanging on the wall. Each half was divided into five horizontal sections and each
of the ten sections represented a different year in the history of the Front, like elongated
frames in a comic. -- A huge python (the Dergue) almost filled one frame; a mountain
denoted an important battle. The frame for 1977 showed the Front -- caught between the
double onslaught of the feudals (a locust) and the Dergue (a raza bird). 1979 -- showed
the Front organizing its first Congress. -- The 1983 frame recalled the Red Star Campaign
of the Dergue -- Sheraro was there in the right hand corner - in flame."
"Every house has an air-raid shelter like a large rabbit hole dug out of the road in front, its
roof supported by three branches. I have never seen them fenced or covered. It must be
easy to fall down them in the dark. On the edge of the market square a chunky masonry
monument looks down on market stalls sparsely stocked -- But the people need no
reminders of the day in 1983 /Africa Watch says 21 November 1989/ when MiGs killed
thirty-one people, injured sixty-one more, destroyed thirty houses and slaughtered many
animals. The raid was in retaliation for five or six days of heavy fighting around Sheraro
after which the fighters pushed the Dergue troops right back. -- The shelters have been
built since then and the early warning system has grown more sophisticated, both through
spies and advance intelligence radioed from the Front."
[Hammond 1999 p 137-138, same figures of casualties by Africa Watch 1991]
"Nationality is an issue, even within Tigray. -- In Sheraro, close to the traditional Kunama
homelands, long-term Tigrayan oppression of the Kunama people is a hot topic. The Front
is trying to persuade the population that if they are justified in fighting for freedom from
Amhara domination, then they should be critical of their own history of discrimination
against the Kunama."
[Hammond p 174]
HFD85 Shere awraja (Scire .., Shire ..) 14°20'/38°00' 14/38 [Gz]
HD... Shere Setema (in Buno Bedele awraja) 08/36 [Ad]
cf Setema wereda
The Shere Setema primary school in 1968 had 89 boys and 17 girls
?? Shereda Agaro (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]
sherer (T) top /which spins round?/;

sherer ale (A) jump away /etc./ for fear; sherero (T) windmill
HDL74 Sherer (Shärär) 09°45'/38°49' 1884 m 09/38 [AA n Gz]
(with church Silase), south-east of Fiche
(mountain range in Bulga and south of the lowland
of Debre Libanos), see under Debre Libanos
HDS59 Sherer 10°28'/38°20' 2353 m, east of Bichena 10/38 [Gz]
HDL19 Sherer Libanos (church) 09°13'/39°16' 09/39 [Gz]
south-west of Sheno
JDH13 Sherifa 09°13'/40°58' 1830 m 09/40 [Gz]
north-east of Asbe Teferi
sherit (T) ribbon, tape; shererit (shärärit) (A) spider
HCS63 Sherit (Scerit) (mountain) 2397 m 07/37 [+ WO Gu]

HCU.. Sherka (Sherca), for modern place, see Shirka

HC... Sherkha (Shärkha) 07/39? [+ Pa]
"Shärkha, one of the smaller Muslim provinces in the region, was situated west of
Däwaro, and north of Bali. The territory came under the control of the Ethiopian Christian
empire in the early medieval period, and at about the same time was converted to Islam."
1300s "The territory was ruled in the early fourteenth century by a governor called Yoséf, who
joined the -- conspiracy of Haydära, governor of Däwaro, against Emperor 'Amdä Seyon.
The plot was, however, foiled by the Christian monarch, who, according to his chronicler,
broke up the conspiracy. Yoséf was apprehended at the town of Bähela, and bound as a
prisoner. The Emperor thereupon sent his troops to Shärkha, where they laid waste the
country and seized cattle, sheep, goats, horses, mules, and donkeys in 'great numbers', as
well as much fine clothing. They then returned to the king their master."
"Shärkha was later briefly referred to in al-'Umäri's report. It states that the province
measured five days' journey by three, i.e. around 100 kilometres by 60. -- Its produce,
cereals, legumes and fruit were similar /to that of Däwaro/, and it likewise made use as
currency of small pieces of iron called hakunas. The Shärkha army was, however,
substantially smaller than that of either neighbouring state, for it comprised little more
than 6,000 infantry and around 3,000 horsemen."
[R Pankhurst, The Ethiopian borderlands, 1997 p 73]
1500s Shärkha became involved in the war against the Imam a little later than Däwaro.
"However, in the spring of 1531, the Imam summoned Vizier 'Addolé, and ordered him to
march to Janbah, an area below Shärkha. -- Ahmäd added that 'Addolé should march
ahead of him, for, if he remained in the rear, he would be unable to share in either the
battle or loot.
'Addolé duly set forth and arrived at Janbah -- 'Addolé and his followers then advanced
into Shärkha. There they discovered one of Lebnä Dengel's principal courtiers,
Behtwädäd Bädlay, who had fifty horsemen and five hundred foot-soldiers, all equipped
for war. Some had stationed themselves on a hill inaccessible to cavalry. 'Addolé's men
differed as how to proceed. Some declared that they should withdraw to obtain
reinforcements, but others replied that they had no other aim than the Holy War, and no
choice but death or victory.
This latter view soon triumphed. Shouting with a single voice that God was Great, the
Imam's men scaled the hill, charged, and began a fierce hand-to-hand battle. Bädlay,
realising that defeat was inevitable, fled, whereupon his men followed his example. Many
were killed, though others escaped. The victors, who reportedly suffered not a single
casualty, then returned to Janbah where they presented the Imam with many prisoners."
"After his victory the Imam appointed Gärad Siddiq as governor of Shärkha. The
province's inhabitants then submitted to his authority."
[Pankhurst 1997 p 201-202]
After the Imam's death in 1543 Shärkha was probably merged in a neighbouring territory,
for it disappears from view.
In 1576 Emperor Särsä Dengel made his way to Wäj and then established himself at
Shärkha, whence he despatched thirty horsemen to report on the whereabouts of Amir
Muhammäd. The latter had entered the Hadiya area.
[Pankhurst 1997]
H.... Sherkin 13/36 [18]
?? Sherkole, near the border of Sudan ../.. [20]

At the latitude of Abay river. A 5 km firebreak was established in Sherkole
in 2000, with the assistance of UNHCR.
HET08 Shero 12°42'/39°12' 2105 m, north-east of Sekota 12/39 [Gz]
HCL66 Sherofta (Scerofta) (area) cf Serofeta 06/39 [+ WO]
sherree (O) straight and beautiful
HDK28 Sherro (Scerro) (area) 2650 m, cf Shero, Shiro 09/38 [+ WO]

shersher (shärshär) (A) slope;

sheresher (shäräshär) (A) 1. kind of easily eroded
red soil; 2. gulley, ravine; slope;
shereshere (shäräshshärä) (A) to erode
HCS98 Shershera (village) 08/38 [x]
HDE00 Shershera (Scerscera) (place and area) 08/38 [+ Gu WO]
see under Butajira
HCS99 Shershera sub-district (Sherhera .., Scerscera ..) 08/38 [+ Ad]
(centre in 1964 = Koto)
HCL92 Sheshamane, see Shashemene
?? Sheshendi (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]
?? Sheshira ../.. [20]
Qelbero Arache, with three wives and 18 children, had with his whole family joined the
Evangelical Christians in the 1940s, and their house was often visited by Wellamo
evangelists.
[Grenstect 2000 p 68]
HES80 Shetan Amba Zaul (Scetan A. Zaul) (area) 13/37 [WO]
HET95 Sheti (Shet'i) 13°32'/38°58' 1705 m 13/38 [Gz]
south-west of Abiy Adi
HEL65 Shewa (Amba Sh.) (mountain) 12°23'/38°54' 2295 m 12/38 [Gz]

north-west of Lalibela
HCR65 Shewa Ber (Shoa Ber) 07/37 [+ Ad]
Shewa Gimira (area)
Shewa here does not refer to the province in central Ethiopia but is a local name
rather pronounced Sheu and referring to an ethnic group. Their area includes
the place Wota.
HCH71 Shewa Gimira (Scioa Ghimirra, Sceui Ghimira) 06/35 [Gz Gu WO]
(Shoa Ghimirra, Shoa Gimira, Shaw G., Sceu Ghemira, Shay)
(Uota, Wota, Wolta, Ghimirra, Chimirra, Ch'ebera)
(Fre: Choa Ghemira) Gz: 06°58'/35°46' = HCH70, 2039 m
MS: 07°01'/35°50' (07°00'/35°55' = HCH72) 2240 m
Centre in 1964 of Shewa Gimira wereda.
Within a radius of 10 km there is at km
7NE Woltu (Uoltu) (village) 1530 m
Major Henry Darley returned to Ethiopia after World War I and served as British Frontier
Agent at Maji:
"The largest slave caravan I have ever seen arrived at Jimma while we were camped there
-- It seems that the chief of Shoa Ghimoera -- had been 'removed' by the new
Government. He was a rich man, and had at least one thousand soldiers under him. On
moving out, he and his men carried off enormous numbers of his former subjects. --
I went out of my compound to see what was happening. To my amazement I saw an
unbroken string of slaves, the men roped together, the women and children walking
alongside -- I gazed in astonishment at this throng, and tried to count them, but the
number seemed endless -- Each soldier conducted his own little mob. I marked the
hundreds by throwing bits of stick on the ground.
At nightfall the procession of misery halted, and camped on the spot, marching on again
at break of day. For nearly four days they streamed along. I counted six thousand in the
first two days. Unfortunately I was then called away on other business --"
[H Darley, Slaves and ivory, London (1926)1935 p 130-131]
In the 1920s Dejazmach Hayle Maryam made slaves of his own tenants
in Shewa Gimira. Then Dejazmach Debebe systematically gathered captives
there until late 1934.
[12th Int. Conf. of Ethiopian Studies 1994 p 700]

Dejazmach Taye was official governor of Gimira province in 1935, but resident
instead of him at Shewa Gimira was Dejazmach Debebe /as above/, and he was
a descendant of Negus Wolde Giyorgis.
[Zervos 1936]
1938 On cultivated slopes at the upper part of the Dima stream. Used to be the main seat
of the province of Shewa Gimira.
Important market with cereals, beeswax, coffee and skins, and there used to be
even leopard skins.
About 2,000 inhabitants, Italian Residenza del Ghimirra, post, telegraph,
infirmary, two churches.
[Guida 1938]
1940 Post office of the Italians was opened on 28 June 1940.
Its cancellations read SCEU GHEMIRA * GALLA SIDAMA.
1960s The primary school in 1968 had 109 boys and 26 girls, with 7 teachers.
The junior secondary school had 11 male and 2 female students
in grades 7-8, with one teacher (Ethiopian).
HCH71 Shewa Gimira sub-district (-1997-) 07/35 [n]
?? Shewa Kidane Mihret (Scioa Chidane Meret) ../.. [+ Gu]

Small church in an area with plenty of horses.
HDL69 Shewa Meda (Shoa Meda) (area) 09/39 [+ Ha]
1700s Sebastie (Sebastyanos), Meridazmach of Shewa, was killed at Shewa Meda on 27 Yekatit
(1718 A.D.) in a battle with his revolting son Abbiye or Abihie.
Sebastie had reigned for 15 years.
[A Cecchi, vol 1, 1886 p 238-239 + M Abir 1968 p 146-147]
1800s In May 1840 some 200 Oromo asked for instruction from the missionary Johann Ludwig
Krapf. They had recently been summarily baptized by order of Negus Sahle Sellassé.
[G Arén 1978]
HDU17 Shewa Robit, see Robit
-- Shewa sugar estate (Shoa ..), see under Wenji
which was also established by the same HVA company
picts Ethiopian trade journal 1963 no 3 p 44-45 wide view of factory at inauguration;
Ethiopian economic review 1963 no 6 p 61 interior of sugar factory, and
plantation along Awash river.
?? Shewada (Shoada) (historical area of Begemder) ../.. [x 18]

cf Shewat'a 13°18'/38°57'
A battle of Shewada in the early 1800s was won by Ras Marye and Wube
had to take refuge on his mountain.
[M Parkyns vol II p 114]
HET75 Shewata (Shewat'a) 13°18'/38°57' 1685 m 13/38 [Gz]
north of Abergele
HEM41 Sheway Maryam (church) 12°11'/39°30' 12/39 [Gz]
south-west of Alamata
HEL17 Sheyt 11°51'/39°05' 3323 m 11/39 [Gz]
HFC41 Shibebit, J. (area) 14/36 [WO]

HC... Shibido (Shibibo?), at lake Shala 07/38 [x]
There are local people belonging to the Harimana clan of the Arsi Oromo,
and in former time they used to live in the highland.
?? Shibil (in Wellega) ../.. [Ad]
Population 666 as counted in 1967.
HEU30 Shibrera 12°59'/39°24' 2633 m 12/39 [Gz]
north-west of Maychew
HEU82 Shibta (Shibt'a, Scefta) 13°26'/39°31' 2390 m 13/39 [Gz WO Gu]

(with church Maryam), see under Kwiha

Coordinates would give map code HEU81
HC... Shidda 07/36 [x]

Doctor John Eriksson was there on 8 February in the mid-1960s:
We started the march to about 2,500 m altitude. There are high plaited bamboo fences
around the houses and coffee shrubs at each of them. We approached the large bamboo
forests. We passed the police station at Shidda without being checked. A large ibis with a
black beak sat in a tree in the village. Inside the forest a woman was selling talla kept in a
two metres long bamboo tube. At 2,700 m altitude the forest consisted entirely of dense
and heavy bamboo. They camped there and it was a rainy night, but they could see
fireflies. They even found ensete growing wild in the forest.
Later, somewhere between the ancient Shadda and Anderacha, they passed a village
Shidda Giyorgis at an altitude of 2,300 m. There were many bee-hives in the flowering
Erythrina trees.
[J Eriksson, Okänt Etiopien, Sthlm 1966 p 89-90, 94]
HCL83c Shifachafa, between Shashemene and Kofele 07/38 [x]

There are local people belonging to the Qanchaqocha clan
of the Arsi Oromo.
HC... Shifo, in Agere Maryam region 07/39 [x]
There was a large evangelical church building there in the 1960s.
Wolde Senbet was evangelist for many years. He was sometimes put in prison. One
important man in Shifa gave a site on a hill for the church, which had a classroom with
corrugated sheet roof added so that the building could be seen from far away. It was a
carpenter Haile Maryam who erected the church. The important man for a time wielded
more power than was suitable, but when he took a young second wife he was excluded.
Some 12-15 groups of evangelicals were formed in the area. Shifo lost its position as
centre for them when the Norwegians discovered that Gedeb was the better place for such
a centre.
[T Salmelid, Trollørna .., Oslo 1974 p 55-57, 59]
?? Shifra wereda (-2000-), cf Chifra ../.. [20]
HCK04 Shigima 06°25'/37°56' 1176 m, in lake Abaya 06/37 [Gz n]
Village where there are people who speak Baiso (Alkali),
but they are bilingual.
shikaro (Kefa) mountain bamboo, Arundinaria alpina;

shakaro (Kefa) kind of tree, Macaranga kilimandscharica
HCE36c Shikaro 05/38 [Br]
HEU74 Shiket, see Shehet
HDU70 Shikif 10°39'/39°2' 2622 m, west of Were Ilu 10/39 [Gz]
HDR85 Shikudad, see Bure & Shikudad wereda
HDK35 Shikute 09°23'/38°01' 2591 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
HEL99 Shikwa 12°39'/39°19' 2084 m, east of Sekota 12/39 [Gz]
shil afaf: shiil (Som) heated stone, grill; shil (A) foetus,
embryo; shila (T) falcon; afaf (A) brink of a cliff, hilltop,
ridge-line; (Som) languages; afaaf (Som) doorway, entrance
HDT48 Shil Afaf 10°23'/39°11' 2569 m 10/39 [Gz]
JCF75 Shilabo (Shilabe, Scillave, Shelabo, Fre:Chilabo) 06/44 [Gz Ro WO Gu]

Gz: 06°05'/44°46' 395 m; MS: 06°00'/44°45'
(centre in 1964 of Shilabo wereda)
1930s Dr Agge passed there in 1931 and saw large acacias which signalled the presence of
water. This water was brackish and smelling of sulphur and hardly drinkable. Some ten
years earlier a big fight had taken place there and remains of human bones from that battle

could be seen in the grass.

The story about the battle said that an Italian force was hunting Somali men who had
murdered an Italian governor in Somaliland. However, at Shilabo it was the Italians and
their force who were ambushed and killed.
[G Agge, I svart tjänst .., Sthlm 1935 p 49-51]
By June 1935 the Ethiopian government soldiers in Ogaden may not have been much
more than a thousand highlanders. Some 200 men were placed at Shilabo to guard the
wells there.
[Agge p 217]
1970s President Mohamed Siad Barre of Somalia, who was at the height of his rule around 1975,
was born in the Shilabo area in Ethiopia. "He hailed from a violent camel-herding
nomadic culture in Mudug region - the Somali equivalent of Texas."
[Abdullahi Dool, Failed states, London 1998 p 170]
1990s The mayor of Shilabo, Hassan Ali Omar, was arrested in July 1995, suspected of being
active for the ONLF. He was kept in prison during 1996 without trial.
[Amnesty International]
JCF75 Shilabo sub-district? (-1997-) 06/44 [n]
HCC95 Shile (Shili, Scili) 06°18'/37°07' 1853 m 06/37 [Gz WO]

WO has Shili at HCJ06
Place where the chiefs of the Zala people used to have their seat. There is also a church.
At some distance from Shili on a hill Dola are the pieces of a broken stone monument,
"the woman stone", which has been much venerated, and offerings have been placed
there. The locals did not dare to touch these stones. It is uncertain if the pieces can be put
together to a shape which represents a woman. It seems that the monolith broke when an
Orthodox priest caused it to be thrown downhill in the 1930s, but the Zala people used
oxhides to carry the pieces up to the holy site again.
The road to the site is described in detail by W. Schulz-Weidner in Straube's book.
[H Straube 1963 p 243-245]
shili: shillimat (A) present, prize
HEP04 Shilitei, J. (area) 12/36 [WO]
HC... Shillali, in the Gidole region 05/37 [x]

The local woman Sue Bengere went to a Bible school of the Norwegian mission. As her
first employment after that she taught hundred children in the school at Shillali. She was
also a "Bible woman" in the area. Later she did many other things. She was such a
remarkable woman that Jorunn Hamre wrote a book about her in Norwegian, the title of
which means "From woman sorcerer to evangelist".
[J Hamre, Fra trollkvinne .., Oslo 1982 p 131]
HE... Shiloch (centre in 1964 of Kete sub-district) 11/39 [Ad]
HEC89 Shimabo (Scimabo), an island in lake Tana 11/37 [Ch Gu]
This island belongs to Gojjam although the next island belongs to Begemdir.
[Cheesman 1936]
shimagile (A) old man
?? Shimagile Giyorgis (Shimagle Giorgis) (battle site) ../.. [+ n]
The rebel Ras Wolde Maryam was defeated by Ras Adal in a battle
at Shimagile Giyorgis in the 1870s, by orders of the emperor.
[Zewde G. Selassie 1977]
HFF11 Shimaglat 13°43'/39°29' 1938 m, west of Agula 13/39 [Gz]
HDS.. Shimal Agabo 09/37? [Ch]
near the Abay river on the Gojjam side south of Debre Markos.
"We decided to spend the night at Shimal Agabo, part of the way up the valley --
The water was green and slimy and there was no milk. There was one small hamlet a few
miles away on a hill-top."
[Cheesman 1936]

shimala (O), shimel (A) male bamboo, cane;

shimela (A) stork; shimelay (T) gerenuk, long-necked antelope,
Lithocranius walleri
HDB72 Shimala (Scimala, Simalla) 1959 m 08/35 [Gz WO]
HFE14 Shimarwie (centre 1964 of Meteka sub-district) 13/38 [Ad]
HET07 Shimbarge Abo (church) 12°07'/39°41' 12/39 [Gz]

north-east of Sekota
HFD94 Shimbelina 14°28'/37°53' 1100 m 14/37 [Gz]
shimbira, shinbira, shinbra (A) chick-pea, Cicer arietinum,

also Lathyrus sativus (shimbura etc is an old widespread
word for this plant in African languages); shimbiro (O) bird
HDM20 Shimbira (Scimbera, Scimbra), see under Sheno 09/39 [+ WO Gu]
shimbira kore, chick-pea swamp
HDF.. Shimbira Kure (Shembera Koré, Shimbra Kuré) 08/39 [+ Pa 20]
(Fre: Chembera Kourié) (battle site)
Area between Mojo and Awash rivers about 80 km east of present-day Addis Abeba.
On 7 March 1529 Imam Ahmäd achieved a notable but extremely costly victory at
Shembera Koré. Despite the success, the Imam withdrew to his own country.
[Pankhurst 1997]
At the great battle of Shimbira Kure, which took place in March 1529, Lebna Dengel is
said to have had 16,000 cavalry and over 200,000 infantry, while Grañ had only 560
horsemen and 12,000 foot soldiers. Grañ was, however, victorious for he was very well
supplied with fire-arms. "The Imam returned to his town of Harar happy, contented,
triumphant and victorious."
[Pankhurst, .. Chronicles 1967 p 54]
"Emperor Lebna Dengel mobilized a vast force -- and encamped about fifty kilometers
east of what is now Addis Ababa. The huge army suffered from poor logistics -- Imam
Ahmad's army, by contrast, was united in its command structure, and its smaller size
permitted mobility and flexible tactics. Moreover, the Adal soldiers enjoyed superior
weapons and were led by a brilliant leader. -- It is not surprising therefore that, in 1528,
the Christians were defeated at the decisive battle of Shimbra Kure, allowing the Muslims
to occupy Dawaro, Shewa, Amhara, and Lasta."
[Marcus 1994 p 32]
Imam Ahmed fought a major battle with Emperor Lebna Dengel at Shembera Kuré,
80 km south-east of present-day Addis Abeba.
"Lebna Dengel was decisively defeated, and his men suffered immense casualties. Many
of the Imam's soldiers were also killed or wounded."
[R Pankhurst, The Ethiopians, 1998 p 86]
"After defeating various Somali chiefs /Ahmad/ organized and trained this heterogeneous
mass of tribes with remarkable skill into a powerful striking force -- In 1529 Ahmad won
a decisive victory over the Abyssinians at Shembera Kure, but his nomads were still
unreliable and difficult to control, and after the campaign, in spite of all his endeavours,
many of them dispersed with their booty."
[J S Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 86-87]
JDF63 Shimbirele (area) 08/44 [WO]

HEC89 Shimbit Mikael 11/37 [Ch]
Church near the shore of lake Tana between Emfraz and Bahir Dar. Consul Cheesman
passed there in 1933 and found no books of interest in that church.
[Cheesman 1936]
HDS34 Shimburma Medhane Alem (church) 10°16'/37°57' 10/37 [Gz]
south-east of Debre Markos
HED65 Shime (Semmie) 11°25'/37°58' 2351 m 11/37 [Gz WO]

HES.. Shimelako, see under Dabat
shimelis: shimel (A) male bamboo, cane; shemel (western O)

lowland bamboo, plains bamboo, Oxytenanthera abyssinica
HDL43 Shimelis 09°28'/38°43' 1660 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
midway between Sululta and Fiche
shimellis (A) brave soldier who takes on a thousand enemies,
small glass which "returns a thousand times" to get more
shimi: Shime, an Agaw tribe
?? Shimi (historical) ../.. [Pa]
Mentioned around 1350 as a locality within Ifat.
[Pankhurst 1997]
H.... Shimie Maryam 10/38? [Ad]
(centre in 1964 of Tach Aferwanat sub-district)
HEL71 Shimkiw 12°25'/38°32' 1770 m 12/38 [Gz]
HEL71 Shimkiw 12°24'/38°33' 2036 m 12/38 [Gz]
shimo (O) boiled grain
JCN03 Shimo (Scimo, Cimo) 07°13'/40°06' 2415 m 07/40 [Wa WO Gz]
Shinasha (Italian: Scinascia), a Sidama ethnic group living

in area near Sudan, historically recorded in the 1500s,
numbering about 32,698 according to the 1994 census
(much less in some estimates), speaking a language Boro.
Slave raiding of Ethiopian emperors was sometimes directed against them.
Särsä Dengel (1563-1597) raided the Shinasha, who are said to have appealed in vain for
conversion to Christianity, as the Emperor preferred to keep them as a source of slaves.
After some fighting they surrendered.
[Pankhurst 1997]
The Shinasha had a pagan state in Wellega.
[Trimingham 1952]
texts Admassu Bezabeh, Death customs in the Shinasha tribe,
in Something (A.A.) no 2 1964 p 27-29.
Getachew Talachew Dinito, Study of social organisation and
social control: the Shinasha (North-west Omotic people), in
15th Int. Conf. of Ethiopian studies, 2003.
HDP52 Shinasha (Scinascia) (area) 10/35 [+ WO]
GDL89 Shindaga (Scindaga) 09/34 [+ WO]

HDR73 Shindi Gebriel (Shinde Gabriel), see Shende
shinet (shinät) (A) kinds of shrub or tree, Myrica salicifolia,
Trichilia volkensii; (T) dagger
HDU21 Shinet (Scinet) 10/39 [+ WO]
?? Shinfa (river), see under Kena
HDE92 Shiniko (village) 08/38? [x]
JCL32 Shinile (Scinnile) (with waterhole) 483 m 06/43 [+ WO]

JDJ72 Shinile (Shinnelie, Shenile, Scenele, Ghiniele) 09/41 [Gz Ad LM WO]
(Cinile) 09°41'/41°51' 1079/1130 m 09/41 [Gu]
The first railway station east of Dire Dawa.
Centre in 1964 of Shinile wereda.
JDJ72 Shinile sub-district? (-1997-) 09/41 [n]
JDJ72 Shinile wereda 09/41 [Ad 20]
In mid-2003 Shinile was one of the worst affected areas in the Somali Zone for food and
water shortage. Products such as milk and butter were rarely available, this according to
Save the Children UK. Health care was virtually non-existant, with only one medical

doctor to 446,000 inhabitants. SC-UK and the US worked together to distribute relief
food.
[AddisTribune 2003/10/31]
shinkurt, shinkwurt (A) onion, Allium cepa

HDL74 Shinkurt 09°45'/38°48' 2522 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
(with church Mikael), see under Debre Libanos
HDK38 Shino 09°19'/38°16' 2758 m, north of Addis Aelm 09/38 [AA Gz]
(with church Iyesus), cf Sheno
?? Shinsheto (visiting postman under Shashemene) ../.. [Po]
?? Shinshicho (with sub-post office) ../.. [Po]
shinshin (A,T) pleated; divided, cut-up;
shinshinna (A) weeping willow
HEC26 Shinshin (Scinscin) (church) 11/37 [+ WO]
shint wiha (A) piss water
HDU11 Shint Wiha 10°03'/39°27' 2298 m, west of Molale 10/39 [Gz]
HEU11 Shiota (Shiot'a) 12°48'/39°29' 2511 m 12/39 [Gz]
west of Maychew
HFD.. Shiraro wereda (-1994-), cf Sheraro 14/37 [n]
shirba (T, Gondar A) small very strong paprika
HDN35c Shirba [in P. Wallmark's book] 10/35 [x]
Shire, a clan of the Arsi Oromo

HCG57 Shire (Scire), cf Sire 06/35 [+ WO]
HCL96 Shire (Sire) 07°14'/38°59' 2850 m, near HCT06 07/38 [Gz]
north-east of Kofele (river at MS: 07°03'/39°57' = HCM77)
HCT16c Shire (in Chilalo awraja) 07/39? [Ad]
HFD59 Shire (Scire, Shiree) 14°00'/38°10' 14/38 [x WO 18]
(area) coordinates would give map code HFD74
HFD59 Shire (sometimes name for Inda Silase) 14/38 [Br]
HFD69 Shire 14°08'/38°24' 2254 m 14/38 [Gz]
north-east of Inda Silase
For the Italians the battle of Shire, ending on 3 March 1936, was the toughest they had
fought. When it was over, the II Corps had suffered nearly 1,000 casualties of whom only
twelve were Eritreans. The Ethiopians left 4,000 killed or wounded on the battlefield; for
the first time, their losses were a mere four to one - and not the usual ten to one ratio.
[A J Barker, The rape .., New York 1971 p 91]
HFD58 Shire awraja (Shirie ..), cf Shere awraja 14/38 [+ Ad]
(centre at least 1964-1980 = Inda Silase)
Historical: - Though often the victims of slave hunts the 'Shanqella' were by no means
always on the defensive. Taking the offensive in 1689 they reportedly "exterminated"
their Christian enemies in the Shiré desert.
Iyasu I (1682-1706) punished the people of Adda Dagana in Shiré who had destroyed
nearby villages and thereby created a no man's land which had enabled the 'Shanqella' to
attack the monastery of Wäldebba.
[Pankhurst 1997]
Dejazmach Gebre Sellasie in 1910 was charged with governing
the Shire and Adwa districts.
Government studies in the 1960s found that the average size of household land-holdings
was highest in the lowlands of Shire and Temben.
1980s Shire was one of the semi-secure base areas established by the TPLF for training, treating
the wounded, keeping prisoners of war, and as places of refuge.
When the Derg announced a state of emergency in Eritrea and Tigray on 14 May 1988,
most of the TPLF's forces were concentrated in the Shire region.

[Young 1997]
After the 3rd Army Division was lifted from Aksum and sent to Eritrea in March 1988,
the TPLF in a series of offensives destroyed government forces in Shire and elsewhere.
Only about 200 soldiers of the 17th Army Division were able to evacuate Shire and reach
Gondar.
Between 19 June and 3 July 1988 the 604th Core Army was able to regain control over 12
districts and reach Shire with no significant resistance from the TPLF forces.
[Tekeste Melake in 12th Int. Conf. of Ethiopian Studies 1994]
The major and decisive war at the Shire front began on 28 December 1988 with an
offensive operation of the 604th Core Army of the government and was concluded on 19
February 1989 with the victory of the TPLF forces. The main battles were fought in four
stages, with the government side attacking in stages one and two and the TPLF in stages
three and four. After a campaign to Adi Hagaray, the government forces retreated and
reached Shire by 9 July 1988.
[12th Int. Conf. p 971]
After the defeat of the 9th Army Division in December 1988, the 103rd Commando Army
Division with its four brigades and 2,400 conscripts were sent from Mekele to Shire.
Around January 1989 the TRA (Third Revolutionary Army of the Derg) transferred its
forward headquarters from Mekele to Shire.
[12th Int. Conf. p 972]
The battle of Shire was started on 18 February 1989 with TPLF's offensive at a time when
government forces were in the worst conditions. The rebels launched offensives through
three directions: Qoyetsa, Adi Kokob and Af Gaga (Afgahgah) directions. The main
offensive was, however, launched from the strategically key places of Qoyetsa, Adi
Kokob and Enda Giyorgis.
Government sources show that the number of heavy weapons of the rebels and the way
they were operated appeared to be surprising to Derg forces because it was unpre-
cedented in the past. The war in the evening of 18 February went on for the first four
hours in conditions which satisfied the command of the 604th Core. Conditions among
Derg forces began to deteriorate next morning when the whole force of the Commando
Division retreated in a disorganized manner and made its way to the airport of Shire (Inda
Silase). The division commander and a group of men went to the command center of the
138th Brigade of the 4th Division. In the meantime the 9th Division left its position on the
pretext of being intercepted by the rebel forces and marched toward the airport behind the
commando force.
On the other hand fierce fighting was going on between the 4th Army Division and the
rebel forces through the key defensive lines to the town of Shire (Inda Silase). By noon
the EPLF mechanized brigade moved ten tanks and five Zu-23 anti-aircraft guns into the
open battlefield through the Adi Kokob direction and launched an offensive against the
4th government division. The government forces too employed tanks and Zu-23 anti-
aircraft guns. Government forces were able to destroy some of the tanks and the anti-
aircraft guns of the EPLF.
As the rebels found the 4th Division in a strong position they changed their direction of
offensives and moved their tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft guns towards Af Gaga.
Attacks were the launched against the 4th Army Division from behind.
In the meantime TPLF fighters openly launched attacks on Derg forces stationed at one of
the strategic hills known as Gobo Atarit (later renamed Endaba Woyane Tsen'at). After
fierce fighting which reportedly cost the TPLF relatively heavy casualties the rebels
managed controlling the hill. The 103rd and 9th divisisions ran away in the Endabaguna
(Inda Aba Guna) direction, being driven by a small force of the TPLF. The Core
Command made efforts to stop desertion partly with the use of machine guns and anti-
aircraft guns and partly through begging in the name of 'Ethiopian revolution and flag'.
But this was to no avail. Two government brigades were eventually forced to leave their
position by the rebels' continuous offensive from four strategic places.
At about 4:30 p.m. government forces set fire to the institutions and property found at

Shire. In the afternoon of 19 February the commander of the 604th Core reported to the
TRA Commander-in-Chief in Mekele that the rebels had driven government forces out
and controlled the remaining military strategic places. The TRA Commander-in-Chief
asked the Core Commander as to whether it was possible to conduct a rescue mission and
at least save some of the top commanders at Shire. However, it was found to be
impossible for by then conditions had already reached a point of no return. By 6.30 p.m.
the victorious rebel forces completely controlled the town.
The TPLF reported to have captured about 20,000 government troops and a considerable
number of light and heavy weapons including two rocket launchers and ten tanks. The
Derg government lost many of its senior officers at the top level of command. Brigadier-
General Hailu Berawork and Brigadier-General Addis Agilachew were killed while
Brigadier-General Barata Gomoraw was captured. Most of the division commanders were
killed or captured. A considerable number of the prisoners of war, even senior officers,
decided to join the TPLF forces and continue the struggle against the military
government. Others were set free and allowed to go back to government controlled
territories.
[12th Int. Conf. of Ethiopian Studies 1994 p 975-977]
HFD79 Shire Gult wereda (Shirie Gult ..) 14/38 [+ Ad]

(centre in 1964 = Semema)
HFD58 Shire Silase (church) 14°06'/38°17' 14/38 [Gz]
in or near Inda Silase
HEL65 Shirekut 12°20'/38°58' 2519 m, north-west of Lalibela 12/38 [Gz]

HFC19 Shirella (Scirella) (mountain) 13°37'/37°32' 1397 m 13/37 [+ WO Gz]
Coordinates would give map code HFD00
HET29 Shirf Amba (place) 12°54'/39°16' 1920 m 12/39 [Gz]
north-west of Maychew
GDU.. Shirgelo (13.5 km NNW of Asosa) 10/34 [Mi]
"The quartz inclusion occurs in sericite schists of the Pre-Cambrian rocks. The gold
content was found to be too low to have commercial value. Sheih Assam reports that 90
kg of gold were produced by 300 men in four places there. The quartz could be observed
at the surface for 4,000 meters; it had a strike of north-east 10° and a dip of 80° east. Its
width (Pastori, 1938) was 0.75-1,50 m and it was lens-shaped. In its wider portions the
quartz was richer in gold."
[Mineral 1966 p 213]
shiri okoto: okkote (O) water jar, large earthenware pot

HCK50 Shiri Okoto (Sciri Ocoto) (area) 06/37 [+ WO]
HE... Shiridin, near the border of Sudan west of Gondar 12/36? [n]
The EPRDF radio said that forces of the EDU and the Derg government had been
defeated near the village of Shiridin on 7 October 1990.
[News]
HEJ85 Shirih 12°31'/37°04' 2114 m, near Chilga 12/37 [Gz]
HED61 Shirinjilla (Sciringilla) 11/37 [+ WO]
HCU41 Shirka (Sherka, Sherca), in Ticho awraja, 07/39 [Ad x]

for historical area see Sherkha
With sub-post office using spelling SHERCA on its postmark.
The junior secondary school hade 48 male and 5 female students
HCU41 Shirka sub-district (centre in 1964 = Gobesa) 07/39 [Ad n]
(-1964-1997-)
HCU41 Shirka wereda (-2000-) 07/39 [20]

-- Shirkole, same as Sirkole?

HDK36 Shirmo 09°24'/38°08' 1540 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
shiro (A) "pea-soup", mush made of peas;

(O) roasted pea powder
HCS80 Shiro (mountain) 08°01'/37°34' 1849 m 08/37 [WO Gz]
cf Sherro, Shuro
HED64 Shiro 11°28'/37°53' 2459 m 11/37 [Gz]
HFC72 Shiron (area) 14/36 [WO]
HCH80 Shishinda (on road to Mizan Teferi) 07/35 [MS]
HCP01 Shishinda 07°17'/35°52' 1853 m 07/35 [Gz]
north of Shewa Gimira
HFC78 Shiskenna (area) 14/37 [WO]
shit (A) calico, simple cotton cloth

HEE81 Shit (Shit') 11°35'/38°35' 2198 m 11/38 [Gz]
south of Debre Zebit
shita (A) birthmark; (T) smell, odour;

shitta (A) smell /good or bad/, odour, stink;
shitto (A,O) perfume, scent
Shita, ethnic group numbering only about 307
according to the 1994 census
HDS59 Shita (Scita), mountains east of Bichena 10/38 [Ch WO]
"The altitude at the edge of the precipice at the head of the Shita ridge was over 8000 feet
-- so we had to descend about 4000 feet. The track proved to be easy compared with
others we had known, as good gradients had been taken on the steeper parts. We kept a
course along the ridge towards the rising sun, and when the edge of the escarp-ment was
reached the Abbai water was visible below us, about three miles away. -- On reaching the
bottom of the first precipice we hurried along down easier descents among plenty of crops
and villages at first, but afterwards through uninhabited country, and so to the river-bank,
where we camped, having done eight miles /about 13 km/ from Shita."
[Cheesman 1936 p 278-279]
HDT50 Shita (Scita), see Aykolba
HFC33 Shittene (Scittene) (area) 13/36 [+ WO]

shitu (A) the smell? the calico cloth?
HDK88 Shitu 09°48'/38°18' 2553 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
south-west of Tulu Milki
HES46 Shiwada (Sciuada) 13°05'/38°00 2089 m 13/38 [+ WO]
Coordinates would give map code HES45
HFK05 Shiyaboni 14°32'/37°59' 1571 m 14/37 [Gz]
JDB45 Shiyongora (Sciongora) (area) 08/41 [+ WO]
HET19 Shlwamke (Scluamche) 13/39 [+ WO]

She, Ethnic Group (Sub-Group Related To The Bench) : Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

She, Ethnic Group (Sub-Group Related To The Bench) : Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

She, Ethnic Group (Sub-Group Related To The Bench) : Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Local History of Ethiopia Shebba - Shlwamke © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

She.., check also Sce.., Scia..

HCP39 Shebe (Shebie, Shebel, Shabe, Sciabe) 07/36 [Gz WO Gu]

HCK58 Shebedino (Sciabadino) (plain) 06/38 [Ad WO Gu]

shebele (shäbäle) (A) tall and handsome, straight and

Shebeli, Shabeli (Italian: Sciaveli), a somalized Bantu group living

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 1 of 24

in the middle part of the Webi valley

HCJ32 Shebero 06°40'/36°47' 1277 m, south of Omo river 06/36 [Gz]

sheboka: shoboka (O) kind of corn with large grain

?? Shecha (visiting postman under Jimma) ../.. [Po]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 2 of 24

HEE85 Shedeho Mekiet wereda (Shädäho ..) 11/38 [Ad]

shefta: shefete (A) to rebel; shifta (A,T) bandit, rebel,

HFE75 Shehagne (mountain peak) 14°15'/38°55' 2073 m 14/38 [Gz]

shehet: shahatt (T) kind of medium-sized tree,

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 3 of 24

Sheik .., Sheikh .., see Shek (also Sheh above)

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 4 of 24

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 5 of 24

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 6 of 24

JDC88 Shek Kalif (Scek Calif), see Dendema

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 7 of 24

sheki (O) same as shek above

Sheko, Shako, ethnic group living in the Kefa region,

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 8 of 24

shela (shäla) (A) kind of hay-fork;

shelada: shellate (O) tortuous, crooked, winding

HF..? Shelfa (historically recorded) 13/37? [18]

Shelo (Uraga Shelo), very small ethnic group. By the 1950s

HDT08 Shema 09°59'/39°09' 1815 m 09/39 [Gz]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 9 of 24

shembekoch (shämbäqoch) (A) reeds of a kind

shemena: shemmane (A) weaver

shenen (T) saunter

shenkor (shänkor) (A) sugar cane

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 10 of 24

HC... Shenkora (Sciankora) 1981 m 07/37 [+ Gu]

HCK85 Sheno, see Shone

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 11 of 24

HC... Shento (in Welamo awraja) 06/37? [Ad]

HCP08 Sherada (Sciaradda) 07°21'/36°27' 2253, 2560 m 07/36 [Gz WO Gu]

HFD94 Sheraro (Shararo, Scheraro, Cheraro), cf Shiraro .. 14/37 [Gz Po x]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 12 of 24

sherer (T) top /which spins round?/;

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 13 of 24

HCU.. Sherka (Sherca), for modern place, see Shirka

H.... Sherkin 13/36 [18]

?? Sherkole, near the border of Sudan ../.. [20]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 14 of 24

shersher (shärshär) (A) slope;

HEL65 Shewa (Amba Sh.) (mountain) 12°23'/38°54' 2295 m 12/38 [Gz]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 15 of 24

?? Shewa Kidane Mihret (Scioa Chidane Meret) ../.. [+ Gu]

?? Shewada (Shoada) (historical area of Begemder) ../.. [x 18]

HFC41 Shibebit, J. (area) 14/36 [WO]

Published online by the Nordic Africa Institute library | nai.uu.se/library 16 of 24

(with church Maryam), see under Kwiha

HC... Shidda 07/36 [x]