The Sidama Nation

Book excerpt: The Sidama people are the Cushitic language speaking indigenous inhabitants of northeast Africa closely related to Oromo, Somali, Beja, Afar, Agew, Hadiya, and several other Cushite in the region. Since the beginning of the recorded history of human beings in the region dating back to 10,000 years, the Later Stone Age and the last Upper Paleolithic Period, the Cushitic people have been an indigenous people of northeast Africa, occupying territories encompassing today's southern Egypt, northern Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Cushitic civilization of northeast Africa predates the ancient Egyptian civilization. The Sidama history, culture and political economy epitomizes this largely forgotten ancient African civilization.