Harari people

The Harari people, also called geyusu (people of the city), are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group originating from the Harari Region located in the eastern Ethiopia.

Harari Language

The Harari people speak Gey Sinan (language of the city) which is closely related to East Gurage languages and similar to the languages of Zay and Silt'e. With the Egyptian conquest of Harar, numerous words have been taking from the Arabic Language. Gey Sinan was originally written in Arabic and more recently converted into the Ge'ez alphabet. Most Harari people are bilingual in Amharic and Oromo.

Religion

The Harari people, like the Somali people, are distinctly known as an ethnic group of Ethiopia entirely affiliated with only one religion, Sunni Islam.

Diaspora

Composing just under 10% within their own city, Harari people have moved throughout Ethiopia, mainly Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa establishing families and businesses. The Harari people have also spread throughout North America as well mainly living in cities like Washington D.C., Atlanta, Toronto and Dallas. There is an estimate of about 25-30 thousand Harari peoples worldwide.

Harari enclaves in Addis Ababa

A significant number of Harari in Addis are found within particular enclaves in Addis, mainly around the Mercato area and two enclaves near Vatican and Zaire embassies around Abadir mosque.The enclaves in the Vatican embassy area have some semblance to Jegol in that one would not go there unless he belongs to the household in that neighborhood. This has been physically made possible as the open entrance to the area will lead to a dead end and/or a mosque compound making it impossible to pass through unlike other residential areas.This seems a continuation of the importance of security and closed group mentality in the Harari psyche.