Gumuz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gumuz (also spelled Gumaz) is an ethnic group living in the Benishangul-Gumaz Region and the Qwara woreda of Ethiopia, as well as the Fazogli region of Sudan; they number about 100,000. In the past, they have been lumped with other peoples living along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border under the name of Shanqella.

Their language is called Gumuz, which is classified as a Nilo-Saharan language. Many members of this people live in a bush-savanna environment, although the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica states that they live in independent groups, some in the mountains while others are settled on the banks of the Blue Nile. According to their tradition, in earlier times they lived in the western parts of the province of Gojjam.

The Gumuz practice shifting cultivation and hunting and gathering as their main economic livelihood, although they are also known for smelting iron. They are nature-worshippers, God and the sun being synonymous. On ceremonial occasions they carry parasols of honor.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.