Habesha peoples

Habesha peoples (; ; ; etymologically related to English exonyms "Abyssinia" and "Abyssinians" by way of Latin) in its most general sense is a community and supra-ethnic identifier among Eritreans, Ethiopians, and their descendants in the diaspora. The identifier has a diverse array of usage depending on situational context, cultural perspective, socio-political ideology, geographic location, point of view, and era in time, among other influences.
Usage
In one sense, Habesha has historically been used as a meta-ethnicity to refer to peoples found in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea between Asmara and Addis Ababa of largely Ethiosemitic language-speaking populations (e.g. the modern-day Amhara, Tigrayan, Tigrinya peoples, among others) as well as in some cases including Central Cushitic language-speaking peoples (e.g. the modern-day Agaw, Qemant, Bilen, Awi), all of which have had constant contact with each other and share ethnic homelands within the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands geographic area.
In another sense, Habesha as a pan-ethnicity is used in reference to all Ethiopians and Eritreans, encompassing all constituent ethnic groups, and their diaspora populations, within a transnational cultural mosaic community consisting of the peoples, cultures, and products of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the cultural practices adopted by diaspora populations in the countries in which they have migrated to. The concept of Habesha as a pan-ethnicity is largely held by diaspora communities as well as among people in urban centers in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea between Asmara and Addis Ababa (especially those with access to social media).
Terminological History
Historically, the term "Habesha" represented northern Ethiopian Highlands which consisted of populations that are predominantly Orthodox Tewahedo Christians, while the Oromo and other ethnic groups, as well as Semitic-speaking Muslims, were considered the periphery. Its is frequently employed to refer to Semitic language-speaking peoples mainly found in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Historically, the term was applied to predominantly Christian groups, and this usage remains common today. The term is used in varying degrees of exclusion and inclusivity: Most commonly, it includes all highland Semitic language-speaking Christians; sometimes it is employed in an expanded sense to include Muslim communities as well as Christians. At the extremes, the term is currently sometimes employed in a restrictive sense to only refer to speakers of Tigrinya, while recently, some within diasporic communities have adopted the term to refer to all people of Eritrean or Ethiopian origin.
According to Gerard Prunier, one very restrictive use of the term today by some Tigrayans refers exclusively to speakers of Tigrinya, however it is noteworthy that Tigrayan oral traditions and linguistic evidence bear witness to ancient and constant relations with Amharas. Some Gurage societies, such as Orthodox Christian communities where Soddo is spoken, identify as Habesha and have a strong sense of Ethiopian national identity, due in part to their ancient ties with the northern Habesha.
Predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the Eritrean Highlands such as the Tigre have historically opposed the name Habesha; Muslim Tigrinya-speakers are usually referred to as Jeberti people while in some records Jebarti is described as a Muslim ethno-religious sub-group or alternative to Habesha. At the turn of the 20th century, elites of the Solomonic dynasty employed the conversion of various ethnic groups to Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and the imposition of the Amharic language to spread a common Habesha national identity.
Within Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporic populations, some second generation immigrants have adopted the term "Habesha" in a broader sense as a supra-national ethnic identifier inclusive of all Eritreans and Ethiopians. For those who employ the term, it serves as a useful counter to more exclusionary identities such as "Amhara" or "Tigrayan". However, this usage is not uncontested: On the one hand, those who grew up in Ethiopia or Eritrea may object to the obscuring of national specificity. On the other hand, groups that were subjugated in Ethiopia or Eritrea sometimes find the term offensive.
Etymology
The modern term derives from Semitic languages: , first written in unvowelled script as ; ; . The earliest known use of the term dates to the second or third century Sabaean inscription recounting the defeat of the n@gus ("king") GDRT of Aksum and HBST. The early Semitic term appears to refer to a group of peoples, rather than a specific ethnicity.
Egyptian inscriptions refer to the people that they traded with in Punt as , "the bearded ones." Francis Breyer believes the Egyptian demonym to be the source of the Semitic term.
The first attestation of late Latin Abissensis is from the fifth century CE. Modern Western European languages, including English, appear to borrow this term from the post-classical form Abissini in the mid-sixteenth century. (English Abyssin is attested from 1576, and Abissinia and Abyssinia from the 1620s.)
References
Ethnic groups in Ethiopia