| Kingdom Of Gomma |
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This former kingdom was mostly located in an undulating valley, with a population estimated in 1880 of about 15,000-16,000. Along with Guma, Gomma was the least economically developed of the Gibe kingdoms, and for this reason its monarchy did not emerge until late in the 19th Century . 1 Also located in the kingdom of Gomma were two hills, Sinka and Bemba (the last was also called Kella Egdu Biya, or "Gate of the Watching of the Land"), which were sacred to the Pagan Oromo . They were inhabited by prophets who lived with large snakes; descendants of these snakes are offered beer and goats' blood by Oromos to allieve their illnesses. 2 HISTORY Beckingham and Huntingford note that "less is known of this state than any of the others." They trace the foundation of Gomma to a miracle-worker who was named Nur Husain or Wariko, said to have come from Mogadishu . Although they speculate that this semi-legendary figure might have been confused with the better-known Sheikh Husein , whose tomb is located near the Shabele River , they note that Cecchi reports that Wariko's tomb is located on the banks of the Didessa River , and was an object of veneration. 3 Trimingham states that Gomma was the first of the Gibe kingdoms to convert to Islam , and quotes Major G.W. Harris as writing that by 1841 "in Goma the Moslem faith is universal." It was conquered for Emperor Menelik II by Besha Abue in 1886 . 4 SEE ALSO NOTES # C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, ''Some Records of Ethiopia, 1593-1646'' (London: Hakluyt Society, 1954), p. lxxx # G.W.B. Huntingford, ''The Galla of Ethiopia; the Kingdoms of Kafa and Janjero'' (London: International African Institute, 1955), p. 82 # Beckingham and Huntingford, ''Some Records'', p. lxxxix. Trimingham offers the date of 1780 for Nur Husain's departure from Mogadishu. # J. Spencer Trimingham, ''Islam in Ethiopia'' (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), p. 200. |
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