Tigrayans

Not to be confused with Tigre people.

Tigrayans

Regions with significant populations
Ethiopia	4,483,776 (2007)
Languages
Tigrinya
Religion
Christianity (96%), Islam (4%)
Related ethnic groups
Amhara • Argobba • Beta Israel • Gurage • Harari • Tigre • Tigrinya • Zay • other Habesha peoples

The Tigrayan people (Tigrinya: ተጋሩ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch.

The daily life of Tigrayans is highly influenced by religious concepts. For example, the Christian Orthodox fasting periods are strictly observed, especially in Tigray; but also traditional local beliefs such as in spirits, are widespread. In Tigray the language of the church remains exclusively Ge’ez. Tigrayan society is marked by a strong ideal of communitarianism and, especially in the rural sphere, by egalitarian principles. This does not exclude an important role of gerontocratic rules and in some regions such as the wider Adwa area, formerly the prevalence of feudal lords, who, however, still had to respect the local land rights.

Tigrayans are branched out across the world in diaspora communities but are native residence of Tigray. Areas where Tigrayans have strong ancestral links are: Enderta, Agame, Tembien, Kilite Awlalo, Axum, Raya, Humera, Welkait, and Tsegede. The latter three areas are now under the de facto administration of the Amhara Region, having been forcibly annexed by Amhara during the Tigray War.

History

Main article: History of Ethiopia

The Tigrayan people's long and rich history is undoubtedly intertwined with the formation of the Ethiopian state, its religious traditions, and the development of its distinct cultural identity. Due to its pivotal role in early Ethiopian history, particularly as the heartland of its ancient Semitic civilizations like D'mt or the Kingdom of Aksum, Tigray is sometimes designated as the "cradle of Ethiopian civilization." According to Edward Ullendorff, the Tigrinya speakers in Eritrea and Tigray are the authentic carriers of the historical and cultural tradition of ancient Abyssinia. For their part, Donald N. Levine and Haggai Erlich regard the contemporary Tigrayans to be the successors of the Aksumite Empire.

Kingdom of D'mt

Main article: D'mt

The Temple of Yeha, dating from 7th century BCE, is the oldest standing structure in Ethiopia.

The Tigrayans trace their origin to early Semitic-speaking peoples whose presence in the region may date back to at least 2000 BC. One of the first known civilizations to emerge in the area was the Kingdom of D'mt, which flourished around the 10th century BCE. The capital of this ancient kingdom may have been near modern-day Yeha, where the remains of a large temple complex and fertile surroundings suggest a well-established and advanced society. Indeed, D'mt was known for its advanced agricultural practices, including the use of ploughs and irrigation systems, as well as its production of iron tools and weapons. Archaeological evidence suggests that D'mt was an important center of trade, interacting with surrounding regions, especially Arabia and the broader Red Sea world..

However, the origins of D'mt have been a subject of scholarly debate. Some historians, such as Stuart Munro-Hay, Rodolfo Fattovich, Ayele Bekerie, Cain Felder, and Ephraim Isaac, view the civilization as primarily indigenous, though influenced by Sabaean culture due to the Sabaeans' dominance over the Red Sea trade routes. Others, including Joseph Michels, Henri de Contenson, Tekletsadik Mekuria, and Stanley Burstein, suggest that D'mt emerged from a blend of Sabaean and indigenous peoples, reflecting a synthesis of Arabian and local African cultural influences.

Aksumite Empire

Main article: Aksumite Empire

Map of the Aksumite Empire, c. 100-700AD

By the 1st century CE, D'mt had been supplanted by the rise to prominence of the Aksumite Empire in the region. Centered around Tigray and Eritrea, it quickly established itself as one of the most powerful civilizations of antiquity alongside Rome, Persia, and China by controlling much of the Red Sea coast, parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Moreover, its strategic position also made it a powerful player in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade networks with the exportation of luxury goods such as ivory, gold, frankincense, and myrrh and the importation of silk, wine, and other exotic goods, which allowed it to prosper and expand its influence far beyond the Horn of Africa.

Aksum was an important participant in international trade from the 1st century AD (Periplus of the Erythraean Sea) until the later part of the 1st millennium, succumbing to a long decline against pressures from the various Islamic powers.

On top of that, the empire was also renowned for its technological and architectural feats, which highlighted both its advanced engineering and cultural significance.

Northern Stelae Park in Axum

On one hand, the Aksumites erected monumental stelae and obelisks such as the Ezana Stone or the Obelisk of Axum, which were used either as grave markers for Aksumite royalty or as testaments to both their political and religious power while remaining to this day one of the most iconic symbols of the empire’s grandeur. On the other hand, their advanced water management systems, including dams and irrigation channels, enabled the empire to sustain agricultural productivity and support its growing population, further solidifying Aksum's economic base.

Aksumite legacy on Tigrayan cultural identity

Gold coin of King Ezana of Axum (c. 330–360 AD)

In addition to its architectural marvels, Aksum's cultural and religious importance on the Tigrayan people was profound. As Christianity arrived in the region during the 4th century CE, the subsequent conversion of King Ezana, making Aksum one of the earliest empires to adopt Christianity as the state religion, represented a crucial turning point in the religious and cultural development of the Tigrayan people by embedding Christianity deeply as one of its distinguishing features. Over the following centuries, the region not only preserved the newly adopted faith but also helped developing it into the uniquely Ethiopian form of Christianity that would endure throughout the latter's tumultuous history.

Aksum's shift towards Christianity led to the establishment of churches, monasteries, and religious institutions throughout Tigray and Eritrea, many of which became centers of learning, intellectual exchange, theological development, thereby nourishing the emergence of the Ge'ez script, used for religious texts and which evolved into the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.. While being the birthplace of Tewahedo Orthodoxy, Aksum also became Ethiopia's holiest site - a "New Jerusalem" - due to the popular belief that the Ark of the Covenant resides at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion; which claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant, is located in Axum

This connection to biblical history, coupled with the region's thriving monastic and religious culture, bestowed upon the city of Aksum—and by extension, the Tigrayan people—a distinct spiritual status. Therefore, this heritage positioned them not only as custodians of Ethiopia's ancient Christian tradition but also as the guardians of the Christian faith in Africa.

Building upon this spiritual foundation, Aksum’s symbolic weight extended beyond religious prestige; it became a cornerstone of imperial legitimacy and national identity. Successive Ethiopian emperors deliberately sought to anchor their authority in the city's sacred legacy, with coronation ceremonies in Aksum becoming an indispensable rite of passage.

This tradition firmly wove the Tigrayan highlands into Ethiopian Empire’s political and spiritual fabric, ensuring that the memory of Aksum remained inseparable from the ideals of kingship, unity, and divine favor that would define the Ethiopian state for centuries.

Middle Ages

Main articles: Zagwe Dynasty and Ethiopian Empire

Etymology

Early 19th century map of Tigray

A variant of the term Tigray, first appears in a 10th-century gloss to Cosmas Indicopleustes Indicopleustes, i.e. after the Aksumite period; according to this source one of the groups of the region were the "Tigrētai" and the "Agazē" (Ge'ez: አግዓዚ) the latter being the Aksumites. The toponym Tigray is probably originally ethnic, the "Tigrētai" then meant "the tribes near Adulis". These are believed to be the ancient people from whom the present-day Tigray, the Eritrean tribes Tigre and Tigrinya are descended from. There is no indication that the term Tigray could be explained through Ge'ez gäzärä ("subdue"), with the meaning "the submitted" (in supposed contrast to the "free" Agaziyan linked with the rulers of Aksum).

According to Scottish explorer James Bruce, Abyssinia was geographically divided into two provinces; "Tigré, which extends from the Red Sea to the river Tacazzé; and Amhara, from that river westward to the Galla, which inclose Abyssinia proper on all sides except the north-west." Tigray he notes, "is a large and important province, of great wealth and power. All the merchandise destined to cross the Red Sea to Arabia must pass through this province, so that the governor has the choice of all commodities wherewith to make his market."

By the beginning of the 19th century Henry Salt, who travelled into the interior of Ethiopia, divided the region into three distinct and independent states. These three great divisions are Tigre, Amhara, and Shewa. Salt considered Tigre as the more powerful state of the three; a circumstance arising from the natural strength of the country, the warlike disposition of its inhabitants, and its vicinity to the sea coast; an advantage that allowed it to secure a monopoly on all the muskets imported into the country. He divided the Tigré kingdom into several provinces as the centre where it was considered the seat of the state being referred as Tigré proper. Provinces of this kingdom includes Enderta, Agame, Wojjerat, Tembien, Shiré and Baharanegash. Hamasien, a district of Baharanegash, is the furthest north and narrowest part of Tigré, and Henry places Bejas or Bojas as the people who live north of Tigré state.

Demographics

Tigrayans constitute approximately 6.1% of the population of Ethiopia and are largely small holding farmers inhabiting small communal villages. The Tigrayans constitute the fourth largest ethnic group in the country after the Oromo, Amhara and Somali. They are mainly Christian and members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church with a small minority of Muslims, Catholics and Protestants. The predominantly Tigrayan populated urban centers in Ethiopia are found within the Tigray Region in towns including Mekelle, Adwa, Axum, Adigrat, and Shire. Huge populations of Tigrayans are also found in other large Ethiopian cities such as the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar.

The Tigrayans are, despite a general impression of homogeneity, composed of numerous subgroups with their own socio-cultural traditions. Among these there are the Agame of eastern Tigray, mentioned in the Monumentum Adulitanum in the 3rd century; the cattle herders in Humera; the egalitarian Wajjarat of south-eastern Tigray. There are also some immigrant Tigrayans in the neighbouring country of Eritrea as well as abroad in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.

The decline of the Tigrayan population in Ethiopia was caused by the 1958 famine in Tigray, when over 100,000 people died. Later on, the Mengistu Haile Mariam-led brutal military dictatorship (Derg) used the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia as government policy (by restricting food supplies) for counter-insurgency strategy (against Tigray People's Liberation Front guerrilla-soldiers), and for "social transformation" in non-insurgent areas (against people of Tigray province, Welo province and such). deliberately multiplied the effects of the famine left 300,000 to 1.2 million people death in Ethiopia from this famine. According to United States Agency for International Development in the fall of 1984, the hardest hit regions of the famine were Tigray, Wollo and Eritrea.

Language

The Ezana Stone records negus Ezana's conversion to Christianity, and his subjugation of various neighboring peoples, including Meroë

Tigrayans speak Tigrinya as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Ethiopian Semitic subgroup of the Afroasiatic family. In Ethiopia, Tigrinya is the fourth most spoken language. Several Tigrinya dialects, which differ phonetically, lexically, and grammatically from place to place, are more broadly classified as Eritrean Tigrinya or Tigray (Ethiopian) dialects. No dialect appears to be accepted as a standard.

Tigrinya is closely related to Amharic and Tigre (in Eritrea commonly called Tigrayit), another East African Semitic language spoken by the Tigre as well as many Beja of Eritrea and Sudan. Tigrinya and Tigre, though more closely related to each other linguistically than either is to Amharic, are however not mutually intelligible. Tigrinya has traditionally been written using the same Ge'ez alphabet (fidel) as Amharic and Tigre.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Ethiopia

Orthodox Church in Hawzen

The daily life of Tigrayans are highly influenced by religion. Before the coming of Christianity, most Tigrayans followed a pagan religion with a number of deities, including the sun god Utu, and the moon god Almaqah. Some tribes however practiced Judaism. The most prominent polytheistic kingdoms was D’mt and early Aksum.

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion; which claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant, is located in Axum

Christianity

Christianity has been the predominant religion of Tigrayans since antiquity. Tigrayan Christians are mostly Oriental Orthodox with a Catholic and Pentay minority.

Islam

Tigrayan Muslims are virtually all Sunni, including a minority of Ahbash followers. Today, the Muslim community is concentrated mainly in urban areas. Many Jeberti in Eritrea claim that they are a separate ethnic group from the Tigrinya people in the area and consider their native languages to be both Arabic and Tigrinya, and are thus treated as a separate ethno-religious community.

Culture

A Tigrayan woman pouring traditionally brewed coffee from a jebena during a coffee ceremony

Tigrayans are sometimes described as “individualistic”, due to elements of competition and local conflicts. This, however, rather reflects a strong tendency to defend one's own community and local rights against—then widespread—interferences, be it from more powerful individuals or the state. Tigrayans communities are marked by numerous social institutions with a strong networking of character, where relations are based on mutual rights and bonds. Economic and other support is mediated by these institutions. In the urban context, the modern local government have taken over the functions of traditional associations. In most rural areas, however, traditional social organizations are fully in function. All members of such an extended family are linked by strong mutual obligations. Villages are usually perceived as genealogical communities, consisting of several lineages.

Typical Tigrayans drinking Siwa

A remarkable heritage of Tigrayans are their customary laws. In Tigray, customary law is also still partially practiced to some degree even in political self-organization and penal cases. It is also of great importance for conflict resolution.

Cuisine

T'ihlo dish

Tigrayans food characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes, usually in the form of tsebhi (Tigrinya: ፀብሒ), a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread. As the vast majority of Tigrayans belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (and the minority Muslims), pork is not consumed because of religious beliefs. Meat and dairy products are not consumed on Wednesdays and Fridays, and also during the seven compulsory fasts. Because of this reason, many vegan meals are present. Eating around a shared food basket, mäsob (Tigrinya: መሶብ) is a custom in the Tigray region and is usually done so with families and guests. The food is eaten using no cutlery, using only the fingers (of the right hand) and sourdough flatbread to grab the contents on the bread.

Regional dishes

T'ihlo (Tigrinya: ጥሕሎ, ṭïḥlo) is a dish originating from the historical Agame and Akkele Guzai provinces. The dish is unique to these parts of both countries, but is now slowly spreading throughout the entire region. T'ihlo is made using moistened roasted barley flour that is kneaded to a certain consistency. The dough is then broken into small ball shapes and is laid out around a bowl of spicy meat stew. A two-pronged wooden fork is used to spear the ball and dip it into the stew. The dish is usually served with mes, a type of honey wine.

Hilbet is a vegan cream dish, made from fenugreek, lentil and fava bean powder, typically served on injera with Silsi, tomatoes cooked with berbere.

Genetics

Kumar, H R S et al. (2020), showed that Tigray samples from Northern Ethiopia had (~50%) of a genetic component shared with Europeans and Middle Eastern Populations.

Notable people

• 
  Ras Alula (Abba Nega) of Tigray, commander of the Battle of Dogali
• 
  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first ever African Director-General of the World Health Organization
• 
  Politician Meles Zenawi, the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
• 
  Debretsion Gebremichael, governor of Tigray.

• Abeba Aregawi – runner and gold medalist of world, world indoor and European indoor
• Abebe Fekadu – Tigrayan-Australian powerlifter.
• Abune Mathias – "His Holiness Abune Mathias I, Sixth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Taklehaimanot.
• Abune Paulos – Former Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
• Arkebe Oqubay – politician, a Minister and Special Advisor to the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn.
• Atse Baeda Maryam – Atse a pretender, son of Ras Mikael Sehul
• Dawit Kebede – winner of the 2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Award.
• Debretsion Gebremichael – Governor of Tigray.
• Eyasu Berhe – singer, writer, producer and poet, as well as a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
• Fisseha Desta – Vice President of Ethiopia
• Freweini Mebrahtu – the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year
• Gebregziabher Gebremariam – runner who won 5 times in the World Cross Country Championships
• Gebrehiwot Baykedagn – was an Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.
• Gebrehiwot Baykedagn – was one of the pioneer Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.
• Gudaf Tsegay – athlete, 5,000 and 10,000 world champion, current world record holder for 5,000 m
• Gotytom Gebreslase – athlete, marathon world champion
• Hagos Gebrhiwet – athlete and former World Junior Record holder in the 5,000 meters
• Haile Selassie Gugsa – Dejazmatch from Ethiopia
• Hayelom Araya – Ethiopian General of the army
• Ilfenesh Hadera – American actress, her father is from Tigray
• Kinfe Abraham – Founder of Ethiopian Institute of Peace and former president of Horn of Africa Democracy and Development
• Kiros Alemayehu - Kiros was a prolific songwriter and singer. He popularized Tigrigna songs through his albums to the non-Tigrinya speaking Ethiopians.
• Letesenbet Gidey - athlete, 10,000 meters world champion and multiple medalist, holds two world records and one world best
• Meles Zenawi – Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia
• Mikael Sehul – Ras of Ethiopia
• Miruts Yifter – athlete who won two gold medals in the 1980 Moscow Olympics
• Ras Alula (Abba Nega) – 19th Century Ras of Ethiopia
• Ras Mengesha Yohannes – Ras of Tigray.
• Rophnan – Famous musician and DJ who sign contract with Universal Records
• Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher – Ethiopian writer
• Siye Abraha – leading the UN Development Programme's security sector reform in Liberia
• Tedros Adhanom – The Director General of World Health Organization
• Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher – world-renowned environmental scientist
• Tsadkan Gebretensae – Lieutenant general and member of the central command of the Tigray Defense Forces
• Tsgabu Grmay – road cyclist, one-time African time trial champion
• Werknesh Kidane – runner who won a gold medal in the 2003 World Cross Country Championships
• Wolde Selassie – Ras of Ethiopia
• Yared Nuguse – American professional middle-distance runner bronze medalist in 1500m from the 2024 Summer Olympics.
• Yohannes IV – Emperor of Ethiopia born in Tembien, Ethiopian Empire
• Yohannes Abraham – He has been selected to lead the planned presidential transition for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
• Zeresenay Alemseged – paleoanthropologist who was the Chair of the Anthropology Department at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, U.S.

Bibliography

• de Waal, Alexander (1991). Evil days : thirty years of war and famine in Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1564320383.
• Young, John (20 April 2006). Peasant Revolution in Ethiopia: The Tigray People's Liberation Front, 1975-1991. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02606-2.