EritreaEritrea (ˌɛrᵻˈtriːə or -ˈtreɪ- ; Ertra, ʔer(ɨ)trä), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately , and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
TigrayansTigrayans (ተጋሩ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch. The daily life of Tigrayans is highly influenced by religious concepts. For example, the Christian Orthodox fasting periods are strictly observed, especially in Tigray; but also traditional local beliefs such as in spirits, are widespread. In Tigray the language of the church remains exclusively Ge’ez.
Tigre languageTigre (ትግረ tigre or ትግሬ tigrē), better known in Eritrea by its autonym Tigrayit (ትግራይት), is a language spoken in the Horn of Africa. A Semitic language, it is primarily spoken by the Tigre people in Eritrea. Along with Tigrinya, it is believed to be the most closely related living language to Ge'ez, which is still in use as the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Tigre has a lexical similarity of 71% with Ge’ez and of 64% with Tigrinya.
Siltʼe peopleThe Siltʼe people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. They inhabit the Siltʼe Zone which is part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. Silt'e people speak Siltʼe language a Semitic language which is closely related to Wolane, Zay and Harari languages. Siltʼe denote their origin in Harar and claim to be progenitors of the Hadiya Sultanate. The country of the Silt'e first appears in fourteenth-century texts as Silt'e-Ge. Tradition states that some of Silt'e's forefathers were Harar resident Kabir Hamid and saint Aw Barkhadle.
Harari peopleThe Harari people (Harari: ጌይ ኡሱኣች Gēy Usuach, "People of the City") are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which inhabits the Horn of Africa. Members of this ethnic group traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, simply called Gēy "the City" in Harari, situated in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia. They speak the Harari language, a member of the South Ethiopic grouping within the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic languages.
Beja peopleThe Beja people (البجا, Beja: Oobja, በጃ) are an ethnic group native to the Eastern Desert, inhabiting a coastal area from southeastern Egypt through eastern Sudan and into northwestern Eritrea. They are descended from peoples who have inhabited the area since 4000 BC or earlier, although they were Arabized by Arabs who settled in the region. They are nomadic, and live primarily in the Eastern Desert. They number around 1,900,000 to 2,200,000 people. Most of the Beja speak Arabic, while some speak the Cushitic language of Beja and the Semitic language of Tigre.
Gurage peopleThe Gurage (ɡʊəˈrɑːɡeɪ, Gurage: ጉራጌ, ቤተ-ጉርዓ, ቤተ-ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in central Ethiopia, about 125 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, bordering the Awash River in the north, the Gibe River, a tributary of the Omo River, to the southwest, and Hora-Dambal in the east. According to the 2007 Ethiopian national census the Gurage can also be found in substantial numbers in Addis Ababa, Oromia Region and Dire Dawa.
Amhara peopleAmharas (Āmara; ʾÄməḥära) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which is indigenous to Ethiopia, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly inhabiting the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amharas numbered 19,867,817 individuals, comprising 26.9% of Ethiopia's population, and they are mostly Oriental Orthodox Christian (members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church). They are also found within the Ethiopian expatriate community, particularly in North America.
Habesha peoplesHabesha peoples (ሐበሠተ; ሀበሻ; ሓበሻ; commonly used exonym; "Abyssinians") is an ethnic or pan-ethnic identifier that has been historically employed to refer to Semitic language-speaking and predominantly Orthodox Christian peoples found in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea between Asmara and Addis Ababa (i.e. the modern-day Amhara, Tigrayan, Tigrinya peoples) and this usage remains common today. The term is also used in varying degrees of inclusion and exclusion of other groups.
Agaw peopleThe Agaw or Agew (አገው Agäw, modern Agew) are a pan-ethnic identity native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and are therefore linguistically closely related to peoples speaking other Cushitic languages. The Agaw peoples in general were historically noted by travelers and outside observers to have practiced what some described as a “Hebraic religion”, though some practiced Ethiopian Orthodoxy, and many were Beta Israel Jews.
