this was posted by advo before he became "african american,"liberal espousing somalinimo iyo wax aana aqoon...wilka wa la sixiray baan is iri
as far as i am concerned, aduunku wa marexaan iyo marti there is noting in between
Making and Unmaking of the Nation State and Ethnicity in Modern Ethiopia: A study on the History of Silte People
Since the end of 19th century, it was politically imperative for Ethiopia to build a modern state with a unified nation. However, after three decades of civil war, Ethiopia was transformed into a "federation of ethnic groups" in an attempt to establish a democratic political framework.
Ethnicity in Africa is often understood as something essentially related to the autonomy of peoples and their cultures. Ironically, the new order in Ethiopia gave rise to "politicized ethnicity" as all the ethnic groups (or the "nations, nationalities and peoples" according to the official term) must be recognized by and work with the ruling party. This paper tries to explain the ambiguous relationship between the state system and ethnicity in contemporary Ethiopia through a study of the history of Silte people. Traditionally, the Silte are a Muslim people sharing perceived genealogical ties. They are the descendants of a Muslim leader who participated in the historic military expedition against Christian Abyssinia in the 16th century. However, after the political and economic incorporation of the Silte into the modern Ethiopian state in the late 19th century, they have emerged as part of the Gurage people, who were recognized as the most industrious "ethnic group" among the Ethiopian nationals. Finally, under the federal state system, the ruling party recognized the Silte as a "nationality" totally distinct from the Gurage.
The Gurage were often seen as an ethnic group with strong solidarity, but their emergence was closely related to the state ideology of the 20th century Ethiopia. In other words, the Gurage were "created" as the bearer of the national economy of modern Ethiopia. On the other hand, the formation of contemporary Silte identity was not totally dictated by the state authority. Rather, it was a sort of hegemonic process in which the state ideology interplays with people's activities, resulting in the formation of a new "nationality"
Who are the Silt'e people?
The Silt'e people are a Muslim nation of people who live southwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There are approximately 1,000,000 people who speak the Silt'e language of which 800,000 live in the Silt'e zone of the Southern Nations People state. The Silt'e zone encompasses an area equal to about six U.S. counties. The Silt'e people, who are 99.99% Muslim, are a gracious people who follow the Islamic rule for hospitality.
The language of the Silt'e belongs to the Semitic family and is related to Arabic, Hararghe and ancient languages from Yemen. The language, called Siltingnya, is unintelligible to the surrounding tribes of Gurage, Oromo and Hadiya.
Like many Ethiopians the majority of the Silt'e people are dependant upon agriculture, growing teff, barley, maize, wheat, sorghum, ensette trees, sugar cane, and chat. The majority of the farmers grow their crops on small one to two acre plots using primitive methods. Teff is a grain rich in iron and indigenous to Ethiopia. The tiny grain grown almost exclusively in Ethiopia is used for making the Ethiopian staple bread called injera. Ensette is common in the highlands southeast of Addis Ababa. The bulb of the plant is used to make kocho, another bread indigenous to Ethiopia. Chat is a mildly narcotic plant used primarily by Muslim people in the Horn of Africa.
In 2001 the Silt'e people voted to become independent of the Gurage administrative zone. Previously they had been part of the eleven Gurage houses (tribes). This independence should allow the Silt'e people the opportunity to promote their own identity and the needs of the people. Historically the Silt'e people have been identified with the Hadya and the Gurage tribes.
The Silt'e people originally came into the area around 1300-1400 CE settling in the Wulbarag area as Muslim traders. The history of the Silt'e language is somewhat of a mystery, but there are similarities to Haraghe, the language of the ancient Muslim city of Harare in eastern Ethiopia. Possibly the language originated from a now extinct language on the Arabian Peninsula.
The first settlers came to the Wulbarag area as traders and possibly as an outpost of Muslim sultanate. A second and better-known wave of settlers came during the time of Mohammed Gragn around 1542. Mohammed Gragn began a jihad against the people of Ethiopia underwritten by the Turks who provided guns and promised riches. Gragn recruited soldiers from Somalia and Harare and then raided the Orthodox areas of destroying and incredible wealth of historical artifacts and taking immeasurable gold. On Gragn's final campaign the Turks recruited soldiers from the Yemen, Somalia and Harare but Gragn was killed in the battle. Many of his soldiers returned to the Silt'e area.
Religion - The religion of the Silt'e people is Sunni Islam with few exceptions. The Silt'e people have a saying, “Silt'e is Islam and Islam is Silt'e.” A large number of the Silt'e population follow the teachings of Sheik Nur Hussein, who is an Ethiopian Muslim saint from the 13th century. His base was in the Bali region near the Sof Omar caves and the site is still revered for religious Hajj. Many of the Silt'e people pray to Allah through Sheik Nur Hussein for blessings on their crops and family. The Silt'e holidays are common to most Muslims but the most celebrated holidays are listed here:
Mawlid al-Nabi birth of Mohammed
Ramadan
Laylit al-Qadr night of power during Ramadan
Eid al-Fitr feast for breaking of the Ramadan fast
Eid al-Adha commemorates Abraham's willingness and obedience to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God (and God's mercy in substituting a lamb for Ishmael)
The most important holiday for the Silt'e people is Eid al-Adha, when everyone travels to their home place to visit family bringing gifts to their parents. After a gift is given the parents will bless their offspring for another year. In the mountains this celebration can last for as long as a month during which time many sheep, goats and cattle are slaughtered for feasting.
? Any research on our Banu Hashemite link??? 
