Yejju
The Yejju , also historically known as the Yajju, Edjow, Edjou, Leggiu are a sub-clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people.They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia, along with the Raayyaa.
The Yejju were people that were first mentioned in the 16th century Futuh al-Habasha chronicle under the name "Al-Ejju". They inhabited a district called "Qawat” located in eastern Shewa. Eventually they settled in Angot instead of returning to their home district of Qawat. According to the historian Merid Wolde Aregay they were originally Christians but many were converted to Islam by Ahmad Gran and assisted him in his conquest of the province of Bete Amhara. He also states that there can be little doubt that the Al-Ejju that are mentioned in Futuḥ al-Habasha are the forefathers of the latter known Yejju people of the Zemene Mesafint period. The Oromo partially assimilated the Yejju and called them by the name of “Warra Sheik”. Due to their native origin, the Yejju mostly spoke Amharic and adapted themselves better than the rest of the Oromo clans in Wollo to the traditional social and political structures of Christian Ethiopia.
The Yejju dynasty were known as the "Warra Sheik", meaning "the descendant of Sheikh Omar". According to the Yejju tradition, Sheikh Omar was an Arab from the Arabia peninsula who during the Ethiopian-Adal war settled in Angot. The Yejju dynasty dominated Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint period.
According to professor Donald Crummey the Yejju were of non-Oromo origin, however they were influenced by the Oromo such as in cases of intermarriage. The ethnic makeup of the Yejju is complex. One theory is that the Yejju are the results of various layers of people: the Amhara population of Angot, remnants of the forces of Ahmad Gragn, and the migrating Oromo.
History
Origins
As a result of their expansions, the Oromo settled in modern day Wollo and established dynasties, two of the most notable ones being the Mammedoch and the Warra Sheik. The Mammedoch dynasty had its origin from the Arsi under the leadership of their clan leader, Babo. The Warra Sheik dynasty had its origins in southern Ethiopia, who would also invade northwards, specifically Angot. However, there are other origin theories of the Yejju.According to professor Muhammad Hassan, the El-Ejju, an Oromo clan, would be converted by Ahmad Gragn and would be defeated by Christian forces thereby under the command of their leader, Sheikh Umar, the El-Ejju would settle in Angot. This tradition states Yejju claim origin from the sixteenth century scholar Umar who had settled in the region during the Adalite occupation of Ethiopia. According to historian Richard Pankhurst, Yejju in addition to their native tongue also knew the speech of the Muslims of Adal which he states was Harari.
The Oromo firmly ensconced Wollo and dominated political and social life quickly in their new settlement. On the other side of Abyssinia, skirmishes broke out between Amhara and Tigrayan principalities for supremacy within the Abyssinian kingdom. Bakaffa I, an Amhara prince, appealed to the Oromo neighbors to assist him in battle against the Tigrayans in the north. Many Oromos did not seem to care about jockeying for power but had been in a competition for land against the Tigrayans to the north of them so they complied 20,000 well-armed cavalry to assist the Amhara against the enemy.
Their support was decisive and Amhara nobles sent an invitation and a plea for the fighting force to stay in Gondar to defend the Negus and to act as a deterrent to future threats from Tigray. Many of the Oromo cavalry stayed in the Gondar region, especially after Bakaffa, who is now the Negesta Nagastat, married the widow of a high-ranking Oromo. The Oromos who resided in Gondar now would become close confidants to the Negesta Nagastat and significantly place substantial political influence within the kingdom.
By the time Iyasu II, the son of Bakaffa, came into power Oromo influence in the court was enormous and unsettled the Amhara nobles who questioned Oromo authority. Afaan Oromo is to have said dominated the Imperial court. A Scottish traveller, James Bruce, who visited Gonder during the period under discussion, wrote that "Nothing was heard at the palace but the Afaan Oromo language". In addition to this, marriage alliances between noble Yejju Oromos and elite Amharas were frequent. It was Mentewab, the wife of Bakaffa, who arranged marriage alliance between her son Iyasu II and a Muslim Oromo princess from Wollo, Wabi, the daughter of Amito, a powerful Wolloye chief. From this union, Iyoas I was born who later succeeded his father Iyasu II. This dynastic marriage alliance had remarkable importance for the Oromo lords of Wollo in gaining further access to the royal court and dominating the Empire since the 1780s. The son, born of this union, was sent to Wollo and eventually returned to rule in Gondar. This period of that eventually followed would be known as the "Era of Princes", or the Zemene Mesafint.
Zemene Mesafint era
Reign of Ras Ali I of Yejju
The death of Iyoas I would spark the Zemene Mesafint which would last until 1855. Ras Mikael Sehul of Tigray, the killer of Iyoas, became the sole leader of the kingdom. The motivation of the assassination may have had to do with the fear of Iyoas leaning towards his conservative Oromo side and his advisors being four corrupt Oromo uncles. Afraid of the politically influential Oromos who already stand in a political influential position, Sehul endeavored to win their support by granting them increased political sway and arranging royal marriages. Nonetheless, a group of Oromo princes conspired together to overthrow him. Sehul managed to flee back to his home province of Tigray. After disposing Sehul, the confederate Oromos put a "worthless" Amhara on the throne called Socinios, given the title "Kings of Kings". In the coming decades, the guardianship of the King of Kings passed into the hands of a Yejju Oromo family. The founder of this new dynasty of the Oromo regents was Ras Ali I of Yejju, who ruled the province of Begamder and Amhara from his centre in Debra Tabor.Reign of Ras Aligaz of Yejju
When Sehul died in 1779, his son Wolde Gabriel succeeded him as the governor of Tigre and took up battle against the Oromo authority in Gondar but fell in battle to Ras Aligaz of Yejju, the brother of Ras Ali I. Ras Aligaz would succeed Ras Ali I after his death and after a period for struggle among Tigrayan nobility, Wolde Selassie would become the new governor of Tigray. In essence, the conflicts between the governors of Tigray and the Oromo lords revolved around the desire of the Tigrayans to overthrow the Oromo oligarchy and claim the title of Negesta Nagastat, while the yejju dynasty aimed to maintain the status quo by keeping the nəgusä nägäst as puppets for their own political and social advantage.Reign of Ras Gugsa of Yejju
After the death of Ras Aligaz, his nephew Ras Gugsa of Yejju rose to power. After the death of Wolde Selassie, Tigray fell into a political crisis. The regent Oromos continued to expand into Gojjam, Semien, Showa, Lasta, and to a lesser degree, Tigray. Initially the Dejazmatch Zadwe of Gojjam and Damot tried to oppose the Oromo ascendancy and their spread into eastern Gojjam but was defeated by Ras Gugsa. Zadwe's territories were given to Ras Gugsa's son, Alula of Yejju.Until the death of Ras Gugsa in 1825, northern Ethiopia was relatively quiet. The death of the Ras was, however, a signal for power among all important lords in the country. Local warlords formed coalitions to overcome the regent Oromo nobility of Begamder and Amhara. In the end, Wube Haile Maryam of Semien asked Ras Yimam of Yejju, another son of Ras Gugsa, for an alliance to defeat the coalition.
Reign of Ras Marye of Yejju
The political crisis in Tigray had come to an end in 1822 with Sabagadis Woldu becoming the victor. It had become evident that the new governor was planning to form a Tigrayan-Amhara coalition to oppose the regent Oromos in Gondar whom he accused of being Muslims. He was convinced that modern firearms could tip the scales against the fierce Oromo cavalry, thus understanding that European support was much needed. He dispatched a letter to King George IV in which he requested for military and technical aid. Sabagadis attempted to gain a foothold on the coast of the Red Sea for the British monarch to take so that he may breach the wall of isolation around Ethiopia and create a bridge to Christian Europe.In 1830, Sabagadis succeeded in forming a loose coalition with the Christian rulers of Gojjam, Lasta, and Semien against Ras Marye of Yejju, the brother and predecessor of Ras Yimam. However, Ras Marye was forewarned of the plot and dealt with his opponents singly. After defeating Dejazmatch Goshu in Gojjam, he marched with the bulk of his army to Lasta then quickly turned to Semien and attacked Wube. Sebagadis, who was watching his border with Lasta, did not come to the aid of his ally and Wube preferred to submit to the Ras rather than face him alone.
After his success in isolating Sebagadis, Marye decided to put an end to the Tigrayan threat. At the head of the Oromo contingents from Wollo, Yejju, Begamder and Amhara, he advanced beyond Takkaze into Tigray. Sebagadis had meanwhile mobilized his forces and the two armies met at Mai Islami near Debra Abbai. Although the Tigrayans had a superior army, due to the equipment by the British, the match-locked men were poorly employed and the Oromo cavalry won the field after a most bloody fight in which the Ras was killed. Sebagadis had surrendered to Wube and was handed over to the Oromos to be executed in retaliation for the death of the Ras. It was said that right before his be-heading, Sebagadis said to the Oromos:
I have only fought this war to defend my country, which you wished, without cause, to ruin, and of which I was the father. You may kill my body; but my soul is in the hands of God...
A year after the execution of Sebagadis, people all over the Amhara countries were still lamenting Sebagadis, despite him being Tigrayan:
"Alas! Sebagadis, the friend of all,After the death of Sebagadis, the Oromo army, under a furious Ras Dori of Yejju the brother of Ras Marye, went on to ravage Tigray in revenge of the death of Ras Marye. They pillaged and destroyed everything in sight, slayed all the men and women, and destroyed the province politically in disdain. As soon as they had reached Axum, Ras Dori was taken unwell and did not want the bad news to go around, so returned back to Amhara. Tigray, the only region that opposed the Oromo regents so far, were defeated and the young Wube of Semien would be given much of it for his contribution of the battle against Sebagadis. Ras Dori's disease creased upon him during the month of May when it was terminated in death.
Has fallen at Daga Shaha, by the hand of Aubeshat!
Alas! Sebagadis, the pillar of the poor,
Has fallen at Daga Shaha, weltering in his blood!
The people of this country, will they find it a good thing
To eat ears of corn which have grown in the blood
Who will remember St. Micheal of November to give alms?
Mariam, with five thousand Gallas, had killed him
For half of a loaf, for cup of wine,
The friend of the Christians has fallen at Daga Shaha."