Agaw people

Agaw
አገው
	Agaw horsemen from Awi
Regions with significant populations
	Horn of Africa
Ethiopia	899,416 (2007)
Eritrea	121,000 (2012)
Languages
	Agaw • Amharic • Tigrinya
Religion
	Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodox · Eritrean Orthodox · Catholic), Traditional religions, Judaism, Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
	Tigrinya; Tigrayans; Tigre; Amhara; Harari; Silte; Zay; Afar; Gurage; Beja; Beta Israel; Oromo; Somali; Saho; other Cushitic and Ethiosemitic peoples;

The Agaw or Agew (Ge'ez: አገው, romanized: Agäw, modern Agew) are Cushitic-speaking peoples native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.^[4] They speak the Agaw languages, also known as the Central Cushitic languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family,^[5] and are therefore closely related to peoples speaking other Cushitic languages.

The Agaw peoples in general were historically noted by travelers and outside observers^[6] to have practiced what some described as a “Hebraic religion”, though some practiced Ethiopian Orthodoxy,^[7] and many were Beta Israel Jews. Thousands of Agaw Beta Israel converted to Christianity in the 19th and early 20th century (both voluntarily and forcibly),^[8] becoming the Falash Mura.

^ "Census 2007" Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, first draft, Table 5.
^ "Bilen". Joshua Project. Venture Center. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
^ Joireman, Sandra F. (1997). Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa: The Allocation of Property Rights and Implications for Development. Universal-Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 1581120001.
^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 2010-04-06. ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 2010-04-06. ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
^ Gamst, Frederick C. (1969). The Qemant - A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 29.
^ Gamst 1969, p. 30.
^ Gamst 1969, p. 119–121.

[1] "Census 2007" Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, first draft, Table 5.

[Bilen-2] "Bilen". Joshua Project. Venture Center. Retrieved 28 January 2013.

[Joireman-3] Joireman, Sandra F. (1997). Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa: The Allocation of Property Rights and Implications for Development. Universal-Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 1581120001.

[4] Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 2010-04-06. ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 2023-10-25.

[5] Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 2010-04-06. ISBN 9780080877754. Retrieved 2023-10-25.

[Gamst69-6] Gamst, Frederick C. (1969). The Qemant - A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 29.

[FOOTNOTEGamst196930-7] Gamst 1969, p. 30.

[FOOTNOTEGamst1969119–121-8] Gamst 1969, p. 119–121.

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