can be found in the Afar, Harari, Amhara, and Oromia Regions, in and along the Great Rift Valley. They include Yimlawo, Gusa, Shonke, Berehet, Khayr Amba, Melka Jilo, Aliyu Amba, Metehara, Shewa Robit, and the surrounding rural villages. Religion Argobba are exclusive adherents to the Muslim faith. They are also widely believed to be the first to accept Islam collectively, in the Horn of Africa and vanguards for early Islamic expansion. The Shonke Argobba reportedly forbid their children from attending school due to the possible unislamic influence it might have on them. Language The Argobba traditionally speak Argobba, an Ethiopian Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. According to Getahun Amare, Argobba is not a dialect of Amharic as previous linguists believed, but a separate language. Argobba language evolved from proto Amharic and Argobba. In other areas, the people have shifted to neighboring languages for economic reasons. At this time there are only a few areas left where the Argobba are not at least bilingual in Amharic, Oromo or Afar. See also Argobba special woreda in the Afar Regon Argobba special woreda in the Amhara Regon Argoba Nationality Democratic Organization References External links Aklilu Asfaw, "A short History of the Argobba", Annales d'Éthiopie, 16 (2000), pp. 173–183. Further reading Abebe Kifleyesus, Tradition and Transformation: The Argobba of Ethiopia. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006. Richard Wilding, The Arla, the Argobba and Links between the Coast and the Highlands. A Preliminary Archeological Survey. Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Arts, 1975 Habesha peoples Ethnic groups in Ethiopia