Āwuberē
| Aw-Barre Āw-Barre | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
|
Aw-Barre (Teferi Ber) | |
  Aw-Barre Location within Ethiopia | |
| Coordinates: 9°47′N 43°13′E / 9.783°N 43.217°ECoordinates: 9°47′N 43°13′E / 9.783°N 43.217°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Somali |
| Zone | Jijiga |
| Elevation | 1,551 m (5,089 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 35,977 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Āw-Barre, also known as Teferi Ber,[1] is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Jijiga Zone of the Somali Region, near the Somali border on the main trade route between Jijiga and the sea. It is the administrative center of Awbere. It was one of the biggest towns of the Adal Empire.[2] It is also known as The Gate of Fear, hence the name Teferi Ber. According to Ethiopian Christian folklore, this town was the only gateway that has caused fear for the Ethiopian Christian Kingdom.[3]
The main trade route between Jijiga and the sea passes through Āwuberē; an ancient route to Zeila almost always went through Aw-Barre. In 1962 it was described as a dry weather road. The Ethiopian News Agency reported in early 1998 that much khat was illegally smuggled out of Ethiopia by this route.[4]
When emperor Haile Selassie inspected the Western Somalia in 1935 prior to the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Haile Selassie made a secret two-day excursion to Āwuberē.[4] The Italian Giuda described Āw-Barrē in 1938 as a Somali village with about 1,000 inhabitants, whose houses were partly built of masonry, and possessing a mosque; a little to the west of the village was the tomb of Shek Barek.[5]
History
Aw-Barre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Ethiopia, unofficially known as Teferi Ber [1] which in Amharic denotes the name of Ras Tafari Makonnen's (Ge'ez ልጅ፡ ተፈሪ፡ መኮንን) Gate of Fear, the only threat for the Abyssinian Christian Empire during the peak of power for the Muslim State of Adal.[3] Aw-Barre was one of the biggest cities of the former Adal Empire. It is the final resting place of Sheikh Aw-Barre whose tomb is located west of the town.[5] It was also the first town that was settled by Sheikh Abadir Omar Al-Rida ibn Muhammad ibn Shamsadin Al-Bakri Al-Siddiqi, who is the common ancestor of all Siddiqi families of the Horn of Africa.[6] According to Siddiqi tradition, the Sheikh came from Yemen and settled in Aw-Barre, on the border of Ethiopia and Somalia. Here, he gave birth to his six sons, whom the Siddiqis regard as their fathers. Known as the Qallu, Siddiqis in the region speak various Afro-Asiatic languages, including Oromo, Harari and Somali. They are known in Ethiopia as the Qallu and in Somalia as the Sheekhaal or Aw-Qutub.[6]
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Āw-Barrē of 35,977 inhabitants 18,978 are men and 16,999 are women.[7] The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 24,125 of whom 12,538 were men and 11,587 women. The two largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali (64.72%), and foreigners from Somalia (34.83%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 0.45% of the residents.[8]
Old Town of Aw-Barre
Aw-Barre is situated over 1,000 m above sea level. The old town contained over 200 houses, each built with stone walls and mason ranging from single room to multi-roomed courtyard houses. Niches were cut in the walls for storage, and they were roofed with brushwood laid over wooden rafters. The mosques were built much more ambitiously.[9]
Notes
- 1 2 Teferi Ber is the name used by the Central Statistical Agency in its Agricultural Sample Enumeration 2001-2002 (1994 E.C.): Report on Area and Production - Somali Region
- ↑ , (accessed 25 December 2010)
- 1 2 Magaaladda Aw-Barre, source in Somali (accessed 12 October 2010)
- 1 2 "Local History in Ethiopia, Tefaw Lezer - Teru" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 20 March 2009)
- 1 2 "Local History in Ethiopia, Asta Dega - Azzazzo" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 20 November 2007)
- 1 2 "The Siddiquis in the Horn of Africa"] Shaikh Siddiqui Website (accessed 20 December 2010)
- ↑ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
- ↑ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Tables 2.4, 2.13 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.
- ↑ , The archaeology of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa (accessed 20 December 2010)