Gidami

Gidami is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the Kelem Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°59′N 34°37′E with an elevation between 1776 and 1928 meters above sea level. It is the main town of Gidami woreda.

Gidami
Gidami
Location within Ethiopia
Coordinates: 8°59′N 34°37′E
CountryEthiopia
RegionOromia
ZoneKelem Welega
Elevation
1,776 m (5,827 ft)
Population
 (2005)
 • Total5,007
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

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]

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.

Notes
  1. Gwynn, "The Frontiers of Abyssinia: A Retrospect", Journal of the Royal African Society, 36 (1937), pp. 155ff
  2. "Local History in Ethiopia" Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 23 January 2008)
  3. "Ethiopia: International Religious Freedom Report 2007" United States State Department website (accessed 22 May 2008)
  4. CSA 2005 National Statistics Archived November 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Table B.4
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