Yejju people
Introduction Oromo ruler of GondarThe '''Yejju people''', also known as the '''Warra Sheik''' (the descendant of Sheikh Omar) are a sub clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia, along with the Raayyaa.According to tradition Yejju claim origin from the sixteenth century scholar Umar who had settled in the region during Adal Sultanate occupation of Ethiopia. The Warra Sheik who ruled the "House of Yejju" would rule most of Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint, or the "Ages of Judges", changing the language in the court of Gondar to the Oromo language.
History Shihab ad-Din, in his ''Futuḥ al-Ḥabasha'', mentions the Yejju as allies of Imam Ahmad Gragn, who inhabited the region of "Kewet". It is not known what religion they professed before this time, although Shihab ad-Din mentions that some had converted to Islam. According to historian Richard Pankhurst, Yejju also knew the speech of the Muslims which he states was Harari language. During the 16th century Oromo expansions, they were assimilated as a sub-clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. It has been argued that the Yejju are the results of various layers of people: the Amhara population of Angot, remnants of the forces of the Imam Ahmad Gragn, and the migrating Oromo.The Yejju were ruled by the "Warra Sheik," or descendant of Sheikh Omar. According to oral tradition Sheikh Omar had come from Arabia, settled in Ethiopia where he married several women and had numerous children. His descendants (the Yejju dynasty) dominated Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint period.As early as 1890, under the reign of Menelik II, the homeland of the Yejju was organized into an Ethiopian province (awrajja) named after them. It was bordered by the Alewuha River to the north, separating it from Raya Qobbo awrajja, the Mille River to the south, separating it from Were Babu district, the Afar Depression to the east, and the highlands of Ambassel to the west. Woldiya served as its capital city. With the adoption of ethnic federalism in 1994 and the abolishment of the awrajja administrative structure, Yejju was divided between the districts of Habru, Weldiya town, and the mid-altitude portion of Guba Lafto. Due to the assimilation of Yejju Oromos into the dominant Habesha culture during the 20th century, the descendants of the Yejju, presently found in the Amhara Region, identify as Amharas.
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