Gidami
| Gidami | |
|---|---|
 Gidami
|
|
| Coordinates: 8°59′N 34°37′E / 8.983°N 34.617°ECoordinates: 8°59′N 34°37′E / 8.983°N 34.617°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Oromia |
| Zone | Mirab (West) Welega |
| Elevation | 1,776 m (5,827 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 5,007 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Gidami is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°59′N 34°37′E / 8.983°N 34.617°E with an elevation between 1776 and 1928 meters above sea level. It is one of two towns in Jimma Gidami woreda.
[edit] History
Charles W. Gwynn wrote that he was detained at Gidami for a month in 1900, then the seat of Dejazmach Jote Talu, while making an official reconnaissance of the Ethiopia-Sudan border; Dejazmach Jote was absent from Gidami during his stay, but Gwynn later learned that Gidami "was distinguished for having stopped three European Expeditions in the course of a few years -- Bottego's, Mangin's, and my own."[1]
By the early 1930s, Gidami was an important coffee market with two or three resident foreign traders. In 1938, the Guido described the town as a large village with many Amhara in an area populated by the Oromo, having a post office, telegraph and infirmary.[2]
On 18 October 2006, Gidami and Beica were the setting for clashes between Muslims and Protestant Christians, resulting in 9 deaths, including the death of two Protestant preachers, and over 100 injured. In addition, 21 churches, one mosque, and dozens of houses were burned, leaving over 400 people homeless.[3]
[edit] Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Gidami has an estimated total population of 5,007 of whom 2,545 are men and 2,462 are women.[4] The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 2,798 of whom 1,380 were men and 1,418 were women.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gwynn, "The Frontiers of Abyssinia: A Retrospect", Journal of the Royal African Society, 36 (1937), pp. 155ff
- ^ "Local History in Ethiopia" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 23 January 2008)
- ^ "Ethiopia: International Religious Freedom Report 2007" United States State Department website (accessed 22 May 2008)
- ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
