Yejju

Portrait of Woodage Asahel, Warra Sheik Oromo ruler of Gondar

The Yejju people, also known as the Warra Sheik (the descendant of Sheikh Omar) are a sub clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia, after the Raayyaa.

Before the Oromo expansion, there was also an ethnic group who resided where the Warra Sheik resided who also go by the same name as Yejju. This ethnic group who was also called Yejju were Semetic speaking Christians who would soon be replaced by the invading northward Oromos.

The Warra Sheik who ruled the "House of Yejju" would rule most of Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint, or the "Ages of Judges", changing the language in the court of Gondar to the Oromo language. Before the Oromo expansion, there was also an ethnic group who resided where the Warra Sheik resided who also go by the same name as Yejju.

History

According to Shihab ad-Din's Futuḥ al-Ḥabash, the Yejju were described as a population who were Semetic speaking. They inhabited "Kewet" and were a predominantly Christian population. During the 16th century Oromo expansions, they were assimilated as a sub-clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people.

The Yejju were ruled by the "Warra Sheik," or descendant of Sheikh Omar. Sheikh Omar was a Yemeni Islamic religious leader who married Woyzero Rajiya, a daughter of a noble man of the Yajju district. The descendants of Sheikh Omar were, thus, most commonly refer to as Wara Sheh, meaning "Sons of the Sheikh," Throughout the era, different ethnic groups, clans, and communities made short-term alliances to acquire economic advantage and political power.

As early as 1890, under the reign of Menelik II, the homeland of the Yejju was organized into an Ethiopian province (awrajja) named after them. It was bordered by the Alewuha River to the north, separating it from Raya Qobbo awrajja, the Mille River to the south, separating it from Were Babu district, the Afar Depression to the east, and the highlands of Ambassel to the west. Woldiya served as its capital city. With the adoption of ethnic federalism in 1994 and the abolishment of the awrajja administrative structure, Yejju was divided between the districts of Habru, Weldiya town, and the mid-altitude portion of Guba Lafto. Due to the assimilation of Yejju Oromos into the dominant Habesha culture during the 20th century, the descendants of the Yejju, presently found in the Amhara Region, identify as Amharas.