Were Ilu (woreda)

Were Ilu (meaning "family of Ilu" in Afaan Oromo originally Amharic Genete Giyorgis, is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. This woreda is named for one of the "Houses" or subgroups of the Wollo Oromo that used to govern the area and is still located there.[2] Part of the Debub Wollo Zone, Were Ilu is bordered on the southwest by Jama, on the west by Legahida, on the northwest by Legambo, on the north by Dessie Zuria, on the east by the Abuko, and on the southeast by the Wanchet which separates it from the Semien Shewa Zone. Towns in Were Ilu include Kabe, Were Ilu and Weyin Amba; a historic landmark is Mekane Selassie, the site of a church destroyed by Imam Ahmad Gragn. The woreda of Legahida was separated from Were Ilu.

Wore Illu

ቤተ-ጊዮርጊስ
Woreda
Flag
RegionAmhara
ZoneDebub Wollo
Area
 • Total740.96 km2 (286.09 sq mi)
Population
 (2012 est.)[1]
 • Total119,374

Were Ilu stretches over a number of the ridges and valleys on the southern side of the massif which includes Mount Amba Ferit. Elevations range from about 1700 meters above sea level at the confluence of the Wanchet with its tributary the Sawan at the woreda's southmost point to about 3200 meters on its northern border.[3]

History

The region that now goes by the name of Woreilu originally Bete Giyorgis (ቤተ ጊዮርጊስ) has an illustrious place in Ethiopian political history. It was one of the political centers of Bete Amhara, the original homeland of Amharic speaking people, whose territorial reach extended from Lake Hayq and the Beshillo River in the north, the Afar and Argobba lowlands in the east, the Abbay River in the West, and the Awash River just south of modern Addis Ababa.[4]

With the rise of the so-called Solomonic Dynasty in 1270 under Emperor Yekuno Amlak (born in the Maqdalla region) and until the establishment of Gondar as the new imperial capital around 1600, the Debre-Birhan to Mekane-Selassie region was the primary seat of the roving Wolloye-Shewan emperors. This period is most significant in the formation of the medieval Ethiopian state, the spread and consolidation of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity (following the example set by the Zagwe kings in preserving the Axumite heritage) and propagating to the core provinces (besides Tigray/Eritrea, Wolkayt, and Lasta) of Bete Amhara, Gojam, Begemdir, northern Shewa, Gafat, and Damot[5]

The region’s recorded history, in fact, goes back to the first decades of the second millennium. For example, St. George’s Church in the town of Woreilu (whose Tabot is reputed to have been carried by Emperor Menelik at the Battle of Adwa) was established around 1200.

The parish of Mekane Selassie (መካነ ስላሴ), near Neded and the home of the famous cathedral by the same name, served as a favorite royal playground. The construction of Mekane Selassie (meaning: the abode of the Trinity) was begun by Emperor Naod (1494-1508) and completed by his son Emperor Libna Dengel (royal nom-du-guerre, Wanag Seged). This was a year before the church (along with a large number of monasteries in the region) was sacked and burned down in 1531 by the infamously destructive Jihad led by Ahmad bin Ibrahim (aka Ahmed Gragn).

Francisco Alvarez, who had earlier visited the church, confirms that its size was some 150 feet by 150 feet—wholly covered in gold leaf, inlaid with gems, pearls and corals[6]

Astounded by the wealth and workmanship, the Yemeni chronicler of Ahmed Gragn notes: "The imam asked all the Arabs who were with him, ‘Is there the like of this church, with its images and its gold, in Byzantium, or in India, or in any other place?' They replied, ‘We never saw or heard of its like in Byzantium or India or anywhere in the world.[7] The field on which Gragn’s soldiers encamped is still called Gragn Meda along with a big hole in the ground which is mythologized by the traumatized population as the spot where Gragn’s horse pounced with all his force.

Abba Gregorius (1596-1658), the famous monk whose Jesuit association and global travels disseminated invaluable knowledge overseas about Ethiopia, is said to hail from Woreilu. In a 1650 letter to the German scholar Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704), the Ethiopologist deservedly known as the father of Ethiopian Studies, Abba Gregorius describes himself as follows: "As to my origins, do not imagine, my friend, that they are humble, for I am of the HOUSE of AMHARA which is a respected tribe; from it come the heads of the Ethiopian people, the governors, the military commanders, the judges and the advisers of the King of Ethiopia who appoint and dismiss, command and rule in the name of the King, his governors, and grandees. ”[8]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 109,244, an increase of -9.11% over the 1994 census, of whom 54,252 are men and 54,992 women; 11,434 or 10.47% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 740.96 square kilometers, Were Ilu has a population density of 147.44, which is roughly equal than the Zone average of 147.58 persons per square kilometer. A total of 25,212 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.33 persons to a household, and 24,216 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 73.96% reporting that as their religion, while 25.77% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.[9]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 120,193 in 26,594 households, of whom 58,542 were men and 61,651 were women; 8,908 or 7.41% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Were Ilu was the Amhara (99.91%). Amharic was spoken as a first language by 99.93%. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 80.04% of the population reported as practicing that belief, while 19.83% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.[10]

Notes
  1. Geohive: Ethiopia Archived 2012-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Journals of the Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf, Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, Detailing their proceedings in the kingdom of Shoa, and journeys in other parts of Abyssinia, in the years 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1842, (London, 1843), pp. 324f
  3. Svein Ege, "South Wälo 1:100,000. Topographic and administrative map of South Wälo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia"
  4. Alvares, Francisco. (1961). The Prester John of the Indies; a true relation of the lands of the Prester John, being the narrative of the Portuguese embassy to Ethiopia in 1520. Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press. OCLC 1636969.
  5. Blackhurst, Hector (October 1974). "Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270–1527. By Taddesse Tamrat. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972. Pp. xv + 327, bibl., ill., maps. £5·50". Africa. 44 (4): 427–428. doi:10.2307/1159069. ISSN 0001-9720.
  6. Beckingham, C.F.; Huntingford, G.W.B., eds. (2017-05-15). "The Prester John of the Indies". doi:10.4324/9781315554013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha". Christian-Muslim Relations 1500 - 1900. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  8. Pankhurst, Richard (1965). "Guns in Ethiopia". Transition (20): 26. doi:10.2307/2934388. ISSN 0041-1191.
  9. Census 2007 Tables: Amhara Region, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.
  10. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2 (accessed 9 April 2009)

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