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{{short description|Indigenous people in Amhara Region, Ethiopia}}
{{delete | already turned the redundant page into a redirect, but the redirect really doesn't have a reason to exist either as anyone who wants to read on the history of the weyto caste can just search for the older article }}
The '''Wayto people''' (alternate spellings: Uoito,<ref name="cti">Consociazione Turistica Italiana (1938) [http://hdl.handle.net/2307/945 Guida dell’ Africa Orientale Italiana, Milano, Italia.]</ref> Waito, Wohito, Weyto, Weyt’o, Woyto, Weyito. [[Amharic]]: ወይጦ)<ref name="darmon">Darmon, C. (2010) [http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/fulltext/Darmon/Darmon_2010_Weyto.pdf The Wayto Language of Ethiopia: State of the Art. In: Workshop: Language Isolates in Africa, Vol. 3, p. 4]</ref> are a [[Weyto caste|caste]] living among the [[Amhara people]] along the shore of [[Lake Tana]] in northern [[Ethiopia]].<ref name="appelhans">Appelhans, N. (2016). [https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/43866 Urban Planning and Everyday Urbanisation: A Case Study on Bahir Dar, Ethiopia (Edition 1). transcript Verlag.]</ref> They worship the [[Nile River]].<ref name="oestigaard"/> They currently live in [[Bahir Dar]], Abirgha, [[Dembiya (woreda)|Dembiya]]<ref name="darmon"/><ref name="zerihun">Zerihun Abebe (2001), Minority Identity and Ethnic Politics in Ethiopia: The Case of the Weyto in Lake Tana Area, MPhil Thesis, University of Tromsø.</ref> and [[Alefa]].<ref>[http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%201994/survey0/data/docs%5Creport%5CStatistical_Report%5Ck03%5Ck03_partI.pdf ''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region'', Vol. 1, part 1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115052151/http://www.csa.gov.et/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%201994/survey0/data/docs%5Creport%5CStatistical_Report%5Ck03%5Ck03_partI.pdf |date=2010-11-15 }}, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2</ref> The Wayto also made up part of the population of the [[Blue Nile Falls]] and [[Fogera]],<ref name="gamst84">Gamst, Frederick. 1984. "Wayto", in Weeks, R. V. (ed.), Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey, 2nd edition, (2 vols.) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.</ref><ref name="bruce">BRUCE James M. (1813 [1790]). [https://books.google.be/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=Pf8oAQAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=BRUCE++James+M.+(1813++%5B1790%5D).++Travels+to++Discover+the++Source++of+the++Nile++in+the++years+1768,+1769,+1770,+1771,+1772,+%26+1773,+vol.5,+Edinburgh:+George+Ramsay+and+Company.&ots=M95BrNHl1T&sig=YXJsw5KU0ED0J_B9F9z_KA67nCE#v=onepage&q&f=false Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773, vol.5, Edinburgh: George Ramsay and Company.]</ref><ref name="lejean">LEJEAN Guillaume (1865), “Voyage en Abyssinie (1862-1863)”. Le Tour du Monde. Nouveau journal des voyages, vol. 12, Paris: Hachette, 258-272.</ref><ref name="zerihun"/> where currently their presence has not been ascertained.<ref name="darmon"/>
⚫
#REDIRECT [[Weyto caste]]

==Language==
{{main| Weyto language }}
The Wayto language was last documented in 1928.<ref name="griaule">Griaule, Marcel. Les flambeurs d'hommes. Paris 1934.</ref> It has now disappeared and was replaced by [[Amharic]].<ref name="darmon"/> Mittwoch described a form of Amharic spoken by the descendants of [[Weyto language|Wayto]] speakers,<ref name="Mittwoch">{{cite journal |last=Mittwoch |first=Eugen |year=1907 |title=Proben aus dem amharischen Volksmund |journal=Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen zu Berlin |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=185–241 |doi= |oclc=9609265 }}</ref> and describes it as an incomplete [[language shift]] from Wayto to Amharic.

==Wayto lifestyle==
The Waytos’ livelihood strongly depended on [[Lake Tana]]; they used to fish and hunt [[hippopotamus]] – they were organised autonomously and equally divided their catch.<ref name="freeman">Freeman, D. (2003) [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/67847/1/Freeman_Marginalisation%20in%20Ethiopia.pdf Understanding Marginalization in Ethiopia. In: Freeman, D. & Pankhurst, A. (eds.) Peripheral people: The excluded minorities of Ethiopia. Hurst, London, pp. 301–333]</ref><ref name="gamst79">Gamst, F. (1979) Wayto Ways: Change from Hunting to Peasant Life. Session B. In: Hess, R. (ed.) Proceedings of the fifth International Conference on Ethiopian Studies, Session B. Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, pp. 233–238.</ref>
In the 20th century, the demand for ivory tusks increased. Combined with the introduction of rifles, this led to a rapid decrease of the hippo population, and the Wayto turned to fishing and agriculture.<ref name="freeman"/> By the 1960s, the fish catches decreased also and many Wayto reverted to stone crushing and “tankwa” reed boad preparation. There was more trade with, and also land lease from the Amhara, but this did not decrease the social distance between Wayto and the Amhara.<ref name="freeman"/>
Currently, the Wayto rely on the lake for fish, papyrus grass, and regression agriculture on the shores.<ref name="ajala">Ajala O.A. (2008) [https://www.ajol.info%2Findex.php%2Fejesm%2Farticle%2Fview%2F41566%2F8866&usg=AOvVaw2r5tvuUsxLKo_oG4TXKZFo Livelihoods Pattern of “Negede Weyto” Community in Lake Tana Shore, Bahir Dar Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management 1 (1), 19–30.]</ref>
The men produce reed boats for sale, and the women do basketry. Petty trade is a further source of income.<ref name="darmon"/>

==Religion==
The Waytos’ religion was related to water. “Abinas” was the God of the Blue Nile and provided resources and health. In return, the people sacrificed animals for Abinas. The Wayto have converted to Islam, while continuing to worship the Nile.<ref name="oestigaard">Oestigaard, T. (2011) Richness and Poverty Through Rituals. [http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn%3Anbn%3Ase%3Anai%3Adiva-1379 The Rise of Africa: Miracle or Mirage? Annual Report 2010] The Nordic Africa Institute, 26–27.</ref>

==Outcasting of the Wayto==
⚫
{{main| Weyto caste }}
The Amhara people consider the Wayto impure, because they eat catfish and supposedly hippopotamus, though the last hippo hunt dates back to the 1960s.<ref name="freeman"/> The Wayto population has long been marginalised by the Amharas settled on Lake Tana's shores.<ref name="appelhans"/> For instance, in Bahir Dar the Wayto are outcasted because their traditional lifestyle is considered impure; for the Orthodox Christians the food habits are impure, and the Muslim community does not recognise them as true Muslims because they continue worshipping the Nile.{{clarification needed|date=April 2022}} Hence, the majority of the population remains wary of the Wayto.<ref name="oestigaard"/><ref name="darmon"/>
Scholarly disregard<ref name="seltene">Seltene Seyoum (2000) [https://books.google.be/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=0IwMwBVfr0sC&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=Seltene+Seyoum+(2000)+Land+Alienation+and+the+Urban+Growth+of+Bahir+Dar+1935-+74.+In:+Anderson,+D.+M.+%26+Rathborne,+R.+(eds.)+Africa%E2%80%99s+urban+past.+James+Cur-+rey,+Oxford.&ots=rkJ5tVxFwg&sig=656vL9etyBjWK5NRCcJBJ7UZ2cA#v=onepage&q&f=false Land Alienation and the Urban Growth of Bahir Dar 1935-74. In: Anderson, D. M. & Rathborne, R. (eds.) Africa’s urban past. James Currey, Oxford.]</ref> and everyday culture of other ethnic groups also dismiss the Wayto culture.<ref name="appelhans"/>
{{Quote frame |quote=
Power relations in the early constitution of Bahir Dar as a town have led to a situation in which the marginalisation of the Wayto has been institutionalised. Access to the city’s facilities, including education and health care, remain out of reach based on stigmata.
|author=Nadine Appelhans |title=PhD thesis |source=Hamburg University<ref name="appelhans"/>
}}
The health of the Wayto community in Bahir Dar is strongly affected because they continue drinking the lake water, which has become strongly polluted.<ref name="darmon"/>

==Wayto settlements==
[[File:Aerial view of Bahir Dar in 1938.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Bahir Dar in 1938 with Wayto villages on the lakeshore and the regular Italian colonial town]]
In 1938, an Italian tourist guide noticed well established Wayto villages on Bahir Dar's lakeshore.<ref name="cti"/>
Currently, the Wayto live in three distinct villages within Bahir Dar's city boundaries; the buildings are made of clay with thatched roofs and have a lifespan of about five years.<ref name="appelhans"/>
The Wayto villages need regularly to change their place by order of the authorities for several reasons:<ref name="oestigaard"/><ref name="darmon"/><ref name="ajala"/>
*ritual places are contested by other population groups
*Amhara have greater financial power to obtain the land
*the Wayto do not hold land titles
*overall, they have a weak position in negotiation

== See also ==
* [[Weyto caste]] – main page detailing the history of the Wayto people

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ethnic groups in Ethiopia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Cushitic-speaking peoples]]

Revision as of 01:37, 27 May 2022

The Wayto people (alternate spellings: Uoito,[1] Waito, Wohito, Weyto, Weyt’o, Woyto, Weyito. Amharic: ወይጦ)[2] are a caste living among the Amhara people along the shore of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia.[3] They worship the Nile River.[4] They currently live in Bahir Dar, Abirgha, Dembiya[2][5] and Alefa.[6] The Wayto also made up part of the population of the Blue Nile Falls and Fogera,[7][8][9][5] where currently their presence has not been ascertained.[2]

Language

Main article: Weyto language

The Wayto language was last documented in 1928.[10] It has now disappeared and was replaced by Amharic.[2] Mittwoch described a form of Amharic spoken by the descendants of Wayto speakers,[11] and describes it as an incomplete language shift from Wayto to Amharic.

Wayto lifestyle

The Waytos’ livelihood strongly depended on Lake Tana; they used to fish and hunt hippopotamus – they were organised autonomously and equally divided their catch.[12][13] In the 20th century, the demand for ivory tusks increased. Combined with the introduction of rifles, this led to a rapid decrease of the hippo population, and the Wayto turned to fishing and agriculture.[12] By the 1960s, the fish catches decreased also and many Wayto reverted to stone crushing and “tankwa” reed boad preparation. There was more trade with, and also land lease from the Amhara, but this did not decrease the social distance between Wayto and the Amhara.[12] Currently, the Wayto rely on the lake for fish, papyrus grass, and regression agriculture on the shores.[14] The men produce reed boats for sale, and the women do basketry. Petty trade is a further source of income.[2]

Religion

The Waytos’ religion was related to water. “Abinas” was the God of the Blue Nile and provided resources and health. In return, the people sacrificed animals for Abinas. The Wayto have converted to Islam, while continuing to worship the Nile.[4]

Outcasting of the Wayto

Main article: Weyto caste

The Amhara people consider the Wayto impure, because they eat catfish and supposedly hippopotamus, though the last hippo hunt dates back to the 1960s.[12] The Wayto population has long been marginalised by the Amharas settled on Lake Tana's shores.[3] For instance, in Bahir Dar the Wayto are outcasted because their traditional lifestyle is considered impure; for the Orthodox Christians the food habits are impure, and the Muslim community does not recognise them as true Muslims because they continue worshipping the Nile.[clarification needed] Hence, the majority of the population remains wary of the Wayto.[4][2] Scholarly disregard[15] and everyday culture of other ethnic groups also dismiss the Wayto culture.[3]

Power relations in the early constitution of Bahir Dar as a town have led to a situation in which the marginalisation of the Wayto has been institutionalised. Access to the city’s facilities, including education and health care, remain out of reach based on stigmata.
— Nadine Appelhans, PhD thesis, Hamburg University[3]

The health of the Wayto community in Bahir Dar is strongly affected because they continue drinking the lake water, which has become strongly polluted.[2]

Wayto settlements

Aerial view of Bahir Dar in 1938 with Wayto villages on the lakeshore and the regular Italian colonial town

In 1938, an Italian tourist guide noticed well established Wayto villages on Bahir Dar's lakeshore.[1] Currently, the Wayto live in three distinct villages within Bahir Dar's city boundaries; the buildings are made of clay with thatched roofs and have a lifespan of about five years.[3] The Wayto villages need regularly to change their place by order of the authorities for several reasons:[4][2][14]

  • ritual places are contested by other population groups
  • Amhara have greater financial power to obtain the land
  • the Wayto do not hold land titles
  • overall, they have a weak position in negotiation

See also

  • Weyto caste – main page detailing the history of the Wayto people

References

  1. ^ a b Consociazione Turistica Italiana (1938) Guida dell’ Africa Orientale Italiana, Milano, Italia.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Darmon, C. (2010) The Wayto Language of Ethiopia: State of the Art. In: Workshop: Language Isolates in Africa, Vol. 3, p. 4
  3. ^ a b c d e Appelhans, N. (2016). Urban Planning and Everyday Urbanisation: A Case Study on Bahir Dar, Ethiopia (Edition 1). transcript Verlag.
  4. ^ a b c d Oestigaard, T. (2011) Richness and Poverty Through Rituals. The Rise of Africa: Miracle or Mirage? Annual Report 2010 The Nordic Africa Institute, 26–27.
  5. ^ a b Zerihun Abebe (2001), Minority Identity and Ethnic Politics in Ethiopia: The Case of the Weyto in Lake Tana Area, MPhil Thesis, University of Tromsø.
  6. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region, Vol. 1, part 1 Archived 2010-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.7, 2.10, 2.13, 2.17, Annex II.2
  7. ^ Gamst, Frederick. 1984. "Wayto", in Weeks, R. V. (ed.), Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey, 2nd edition, (2 vols.) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
  8. ^ BRUCE James M. (1813 [1790]). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, & 1773, vol.5, Edinburgh: George Ramsay and Company.
  9. ^ LEJEAN Guillaume (1865), “Voyage en Abyssinie (1862-1863)”. Le Tour du Monde. Nouveau journal des voyages, vol. 12, Paris: Hachette, 258-272.
  10. ^ Griaule, Marcel. Les flambeurs d'hommes. Paris 1934.
  11. ^ Mittwoch, Eugen (1907). "Proben aus dem amharischen Volksmund". Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen zu Berlin. 10 (2): 185–241. OCLC 9609265.
  12. ^ a b c d Freeman, D. (2003) Understanding Marginalization in Ethiopia. In: Freeman, D. & Pankhurst, A. (eds.) Peripheral people: The excluded minorities of Ethiopia. Hurst, London, pp. 301–333
  13. ^ Gamst, F. (1979) Wayto Ways: Change from Hunting to Peasant Life. Session B. In: Hess, R. (ed.) Proceedings of the fifth International Conference on Ethiopian Studies, Session B. Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, pp. 233–238.
  14. ^ a b Ajala O.A. (2008) Livelihoods Pattern of “Negede Weyto” Community in Lake Tana Shore, Bahir Dar Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management 1 (1), 19–30.
  15. ^ Seltene Seyoum (2000) Land Alienation and the Urban Growth of Bahir Dar 1935-74. In: Anderson, D. M. & Rathborne, R. (eds.) Africa’s urban past. James Currey, Oxford.
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