Raya Azebo
Raya Azebo (simply known as Raya; Tigrinya: ራያ ዓዘቦ) is a district in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located at the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands, the administrative center of this district is Mekoni. Other towns in Raya Azebo include Alemata, Weyra Wuha, and Chercher.
Raya Azebo
ራያ ዓዘቦ | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Region |  Tigray |
| Zone | Southern |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,132.83 km2 (823.49 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 135,870 |
History
Air raids during the civil war of the 1980s
During the Ethiopian Civil War, on 9 September 1989, Chercher was bombed by the Ethiopian Air Force 148 people were killed and over 100 wounded. On 12 September 1989, the village of Gerarsa (northeast of Mekhoni) was bombed and four people were wounded.[1]
Demographics
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this district has a total population of 135,870, an increase of 55.04% over the 1994 census, of whom 67,687 are men and 68,183 women; 16,056 or 11.82% are urban inhabitants. With an area of 2,132.83 square kilometers, Raya Azebo has a population density of 63.70, which is greater than the Zone average of 53.91 persons per square kilometer. A total of 32,360 households were counted in this district , resulting in an average of 4.20 persons to a household, and 31,468 housing units. 70.61% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians, and 29.32% were Muslim.[2]
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this district of 87,638 of whom 43,259 were men and 44,379 were women; 8,047 or 9.18% of its population were urban. Tigrinya was spoken as a first language by 85.52%, 11.04% Amharic, 1.83% Oromo, and 1.53% spoke Afar; the remaining 0.08% spoke all other primary languages reported. 69.15% of the population practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 30.82% were Muslim. Concerning education, 8.44% of the population were considered literate, which is less than the Zone average of 15.71%; 14.64% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 0.9% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school; and 0.31% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning sanitary conditions, 56.9% of the urban houses and 13.4% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; 20.6% of the urban and about 4.7% of the total had toilet facilities.[3]
Population sociology
The population comprises several ethnic groups: (1) Tigraians, occupying the major part of the district, particularly the escarpment and also the central and northern part of Raya Azebo graben bottom, (2) Oromo form an ancient population group in Raya Azebo graben that surrounding Tigraians – the language is not anymore used on a daily basis; they live in dispersed villages across the wider area between Alamata, Mohoni and Chercher, (3) Afar share settlements on the mountains at the east of the district. Unlike neighboring towns along the main road, Amharic is not used as trade language. The Tigraians and Oromos on the escarpments and in Raya Azebo graben are mainly engaged in smallholder agriculture, often using spate irrigation with floods from the escarpment.
In recent years they have started dry season irrigation agriculture, stimulated by government-established groundwater pumps and by mimicking commercial farms that have been attracted. Settlements are mainly along roads and iron-roofed. Tigraians are dominantly Orthodox Christians, though some villages follow Islam. The nearby Afar pastoralists in the Abala and Kalla grabens practice transhumance, during drought periods, to remote areas, especially to the escarpment and highlands of the Tigray Region. Movements to Tigray allow the Afar pastoralists to herd their livestock on denser vegetation as well as on standing stubble of croplands.[4]
2020 district reorganisation
In 2020 a new district called Chercher separated from Raya Azebo.
References
- Human Rights Watch, 24 July 1991: ETHIOPIA - "Mengistu has Decided to Burn Us like Wood" - Bombing of Civilians and Civilian Targets by the Air Force
- Census 2007 Tables: Tigray Region, Tables 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4.
- 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.19, 3.5, 3.7, 6.3, 6.11, 6.13 (accessed 30 December 2008)
- Nyssen, J. and colleagues (2019). At the edge between Ethiopian plateau and Rift Valley. In: Nyssen, J., Biadgilgn Demissie, Tesfaalem Ghebreyohannes (eds.). Land, water, people and landscapes in north Ethiopia's grabens, pp. 48-54. VLIR-UOS, Mekelle University, Ghent University, KU Leuven. ISBN 9789082922226.