Edited sentence: Early western explorers who travelled through what currently is the territory of this woreda include the Italians Eugene Ruspoli (died 1891) and Vittorio Bottego, and the American Arthur Donaldson Smith.Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 75.86%, 22.64% spoke Gedeo and 1.18% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.32% spoke all other primary languages reported.The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 110,762, of whom 56,489 were men and 54,273 women; no urban dwellers were recorded in this census.The plurality of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 44.38% of the population giving answers that were recorded under that label, while 34.19% of the population said they were Protestant, 11.55% professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 2.24% were Catholic.The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gelana Abaya were the Oromo (74.49%), the Gedeo (23.47%), and the Amhara (1.18%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.86% of the population