Warjih people
The Warjih (, , , ), fully known as the Tigri-Warjih, are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. The prefix for their traditional name, Tigri, comes from the word "Tijaari", which is an adjective in the Arabic language that literally translates to "merchant." Their tribal name Warjih is eponymous with the name of their ancestral homeland. Thus, Tigri-Warjih essentially means "merchant of Warjih." History. According to the Warjih, their forefathers have two separate origins, one ancestor emerging from Tigray region while the other arrived from Hararghe. Warjih are credited for transmitting Harari Semitic influences into modern Amhara region mainly Shewa. The  Werji were among the first people in the Horn of Africa to become Muslim, having accepted Islam by the 8th century. Alongside another ancient Muslim group to their west, the Gebel, who would eventually procreate the Argobba people. Worji were under the Sultanate of Showa in the 9th century. The Werji in the following centuries participated in many battles against Christian Abyssinia. They sided with the Ifat in the Middle Ages, and Adal Sultanate during the Ethiopian-Adal War. It was this time of military conflict that opened the door for the northern expansion of Oromos, and thus began the  assimilation of conquered populations, such as the Werji. It is based on this historical tale that some members classify themselves as a separate ethnicity. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that over centuries of living among Oromos, the Werji have well assimilated, with no cultural distinction evident between the two. Demographics. The Werji historically populated an area in south-eastern Ethiopia within what is now Oromia Region. Today, they are found primarily in their modern hometown of Daleti and in numerous pastoral communities scattered throughout the regions of Shewa and Wollo. Some have settled in major cities within these former provinces , most prominently in Addis Ababa and Kemise. Due to their longstanding livelihoods as merchants, members of the Worji community can be found transiently in cities all across Ethiopia According to the 2007 Ethiopian census carried out by the Central Statistical Agency, the Worji population numbered 13,232 individuals. Language. The Werji today primarily speak Afaan Oromoo as their mother tongue (14,066 in 1994) and Amharic as a second language, although this order of primacy may be vice versa depending on where a person lives. Both languages belong to the larger Afro-Asiatic family. Politics. Prior to the 2010 Ethiopian general election , the current Ethiopian regime approved the creation of the "Tigri Worgi Nationality Democratic Organization," which represents a minority of the tribe.