Qemant people

Qemant

ቅማንት
Total population
Est. 172,000 in 1994 (of whom only 1,650 retain the language.)
Regions with significant populations
Ethiopia
Languages
Qemant Amharic
Religion
Ethiopian Orthodox Traditional faith[1]
Related ethnic groups
Beta Israel, other Agaw people

The Qemant (also known as western Agaws) are a small Cushitic ethnic group in northwestern Ethiopia, specifically in Gondar, Amhara Region.^[2] The Qemant people traditionally practiced an early Pagan-Hebraic religion, however most members of the Qemant are followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They are historically related to, but distinct from, the Beta Israel.^[3]

The ethnicity's population is reported to be 172,000, according to the 1994 national census;^[4] the latest available national census, the one performed in 2007, does not list them as a separate group.^[5] However, only 1,625 people still speak Qimant, and it is considered endangered, as most children speak Amharic; likewise, adherence to the traditional religion has dropped substantially, as most of the population has converted to Christianity. Converts often consider themselves to be Amharas.

The Qemant live in an area traditionally called Qwara, along an axis stretching from Ayikel in Chilga woreda to Kirakir and north to Lake Tana in the woredas of Lay Armachiho. Most remaining speakers of the language are near Ayikel, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Gondar. They are mainly farmers.

The Qemant are divided into two patrilineal moieties, Kɨbbɨr and Yetanti; the Kɨbbɨr moiety is higher in rank. A traditional Qemant can only marry a member of the other moiety, so, while the moieties are exogamous, Qemant society as a whole is endogamous.^[3]