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Kingdom of Kaffa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c.1390–1897 | |||||||||
.jpg) Map of Kaffa in 1870 byAntoine Thomson d'Abbadie | |||||||||
| Capital | Bonga,Anderaccha | ||||||||
| Common languages | Kafa | ||||||||
| Religion | OfficiallyChristianity (primarilyMiaphysite Christianity, with a Catholic minority after 1855),Islam (introduced by traders in the 16th century, known locally asnagade gibind, "religion of the traders"),Paganism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• c.1390 | "The Minjo king" | ||||||||
• c.1425 | Girra | ||||||||
• c.1460 | "The Addio king" | ||||||||
• c.1495 | "The Sadda king" | ||||||||
• c.1530 | Madi Gafo | ||||||||
• c.1565 | "The Bonga king" | ||||||||
• c.1605 | Giba Neçoço | ||||||||
• c.1640 | Gali Gafoço | ||||||||
• c.1675 | Gali Ginoço | ||||||||
• c.1710 | Gaki Gaoço | ||||||||
• 1742–1775 | Gali Gaoco | ||||||||
• 1775–1795 | Sagi Seroco | ||||||||
• 1795–1798 | Besi Ginoco | ||||||||
• 1798–1821 | Hotti Ginoco | ||||||||
• 1821–1845 | Gaha Nerosso | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages toEarly modern period | ||||||||
• Established | c.1390 | ||||||||
• Annexed byEthiopian Empire | 1897 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Ethiopia | ||||||||
TheKingdom of Kaffa was a kingdom located in what is nowEthiopia from 1390 to 1897, with its first capital atBonga. TheGojeb River formed its northern border, beyond which lay theGibe kingdoms; to the east the territory of theKonta andKullo peoples lay between Kaffa and theOmo River; to the south numerous subgroups of theGimira people, and to the west lay theMajangir people.[1] The native language, also known asKaffa, is one of theOmotic group of languages.
Kaffa was divided into four sub-groups, who spoke a common languageKefficho, one of the Gonga/Kefoid group ofOmotic languages; a number of groups of foreigners, EthiopianMuslim traders and members of theEthiopian Church, also lived in the kingdom. A number of socioeconomic groups, "but with the status ofsubmerged status", existed; these included themanjo, or hunters; themanne, or leatherworkers; and theqemmo, or blacksmiths.[2] Themanjo even had their own king, appointed by the King of Kaffa, and were given the duties of guarding the royal compounds and the gates of the kingdom.[3] The kingdom was overrun and conquered in 1897, and was eventually annexed byEthiopia.
The land where this former kingdom lay is in the southern parts of theEthiopian Highlands with stretches of forest. The mountainous land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year.
The Kingdom of Kaffa was founded c.1390 by Minjo, who according tooral tradition ousted the Mato dynasty of 32 kings. However, his informants told Amnon Orent, "no one remembers the name of a single one." The first capital Bonga was either founded or captured by Bon-noghe; it was later replaced byAnderaccha, but Bonga retained its importance.[4]
During the 16th century, theEmperor of AbyssiniaSarsa Dengel convinced the kingdom to officially acceptChristianity as its state religion. As a result, the church ofSt. George was dedicated atBaha; the building preserved atabot bearing the name of Emperor Sarsa Dengel. Over the following centuries the influence of the Abyssinian king grew weak, and Christianity more or less disappeared, although the church of St. George was used as a "male house of ritual of George" until late in the 19th century when Christian practices were reintroduced.[5]
Beginning withGali Ginocho (1675–1710), the kings of Kaffa began to expand the borders of their kingdom, annexing the neighboring small Gimira states of She, Benesho and Majango. The neighboring state of theWelayta came under their control in the reign of TatoShagi Sherocho (1775–1795), who extended the boundaries of his kingdom as far as the Omo to the southeast and almost to the confluence of the Omo and theDenchya to the south.[6] It was during the reign of KingHoti Gaocho (1798–1821), that the territory of the Kaffa kings reached its maximum. According to Orent, the traditions of the Kaffa people relate that he ruled far and wide, conquering wherever he went, even as far afield as Wolleta and Kambaata. "To this day, some people still talk about the time that their ancestors defeated all their enemies and sat at the foot of a famous tree in Wolliso and decided not to go farther into Shewa province." concludes Orent.[7]
Around the 18th century the kingdom was invaded by the Mecha Oromos. But due to its difficult terrain, Kaffa was able to repel the invasion. However all territories north of the Gojeb river was lost to the Oromos.[8][9]
The last Kaffa king,Gaki Sherocho, resisted for months against the combined armies ofWelde Giyorgis Aboye, Ras Damisse, and KingAbba Jifar II ofJimma, until he was captured 11 September 1897, and was first sent toAnkober, then toAddis Ababa. Kaffa was then held as a fief by Wolde Giyogis until 1914.[3] During his visit to Kaffa in 1897,Alexander Bulatovich had the opportunity to study the culture of the inhabitants, describing them in his bookWith the Armies of Menelik II, emperor of Ethiopia, identifying a number of practices in common with the more familiarAmhara people.[10]After the annexation into Ethiopia, the inhabitants suffered greatly due to the slave-raids organized byAbba Jifar II, and the region almost became uninhabited. During the reorganization of the provinces in 1942, the former kingdom was enlarged by the addition of a number of other kingdoms from the Gibe region to becomeKaffa Province.[11]
.jpg)
In Kaffa,Maria Theresa thalers (MT) and salt blocks calledamoleh were used as currency (as in the rest of Ethiopia) as late as 1905, which circulated at a rate of four or fiveamolehs to 1 MT.[12]
The economy was based on exports ofgold,civet oil, andslaves. Crops grown includedcoffee andcotton. However, according toRichard Pankhurst, the amount of coffee exported was never large: he cites an estimate for its production in the 1880s at 50,000 to 60,000 kilograms a year.[13] Livestock was raised, andhoneybees kept in barrels (calledgendo) which were hung in trees.[14]
Media related toKingdom of Kaffa at Wikimedia Commons
