The Shanqilla are also known as Gumuz. The Gumuz people were at one time considered slaves. During the 16th to 19th centuries, they suffered oppression under the Turko Egyptian Empire, the Mahadist State in Sudan, and Emperor Menelik in Ethiopia. This prevented the Gumuz people from developing and modernizing.
The Gumuz ethnic group lives in Ethiopia and Sudan. The Gumuz of Ethiopia live in the northern and western parts of the country near the Sudan border. Others live in Ethiopia in the "bush-savanna" region, an area covered primarily with bamboo and other small trees.
In the Gumuz area of Ethiopia, the land surface varies in topography from 550 to 2,500 meters (600-2700 yards) above sea level. The highest area is Belay Terara Mountain.
The Gumuz language has ten dialects, but those who speak them can understand the others.
The tributaries from the Blue Nile provide great potential for irrigation, hydroelectric power, and increased farming in the future. Presently, only a few towns have electricity. While the area is rich in fertile soil, a mere 4.3% of it is cultivated. The presence of gold, copper, zinc, base metal and marble resources ensures the economic future, provided they find ways to access and process them. At present, the communication systems throughout the area are very poor. In addition, the health coverage is met by two hospitals, three health stations, and 57 clinics. Malaria, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are among the major diseases.
While many animals roam the area such as lion, cheetah, elephant, antelope, buffalo, warthog, bushbuck, and duiker there is no hunting reserve or wildlife park.
The Gumuz people hunt with bows and arrows. Most breed cattle or farm for a living. They farm their lands together as a clan. When a boy reaches the age of 16, he may work his own farm along with his father's. During the harvest season, they build huts on the fringe of the farmland and live there. They grow millet, sorghum, onion, cotton, tobacco, mango and various spices. The staple food of the Gumuz is porridge flavored with a sauce made from leaves, onions and spices. They supplement their diet with pumpkin seeds, peanuts, fruit, and some insects, and they like to drink coffee. Because they are farmers, trading is important to them, but the lack of roads makes this difficult. They trade with the nearby Oromo people. In exchange for their goods, they receive coffee, cloth, soap, salt bars and other items.
The clannish nature of the Gumuz keeps their community cohesive, and when there is an infraction, the entire clan involves itself in the punishment. Discipline is meted out for such things as stealing, lying, and wife abuse, keeping drunkenness and idleness to a minimum.
When a daughter is ready for marriage, the clans perform a "sister exchange." That is, the newly married man gives his wife's clan a young woman from his own clan to "replace" the woman he married.
The Gumuz are animistic, which means they worship the "spirits" of certain rocks, trees and animals for good health, good crops, good luck and protection. Rebba is their "supreme god who knows all."
The Gumuz believe that if a woman drinks milk, she will go bald, and if a man eats cabbage, he will be lazy. If a woman eats porridge while she is making it, they believe she or her husband will become ill.
They also have enough Christians to disciple their entire community.
The Gumuz have the New Testament but relatively few can respond to printed materials since most are preliterate. They need freedom from spiritual oppression. SIM saw a spiritual breakthrough among them. SIM and Ethiopian missionaries have begun helping the Gumuz to build roads, develop agricultural methods, begin a literacy program and start a school. All these projects have given them opportunities to share the good news of Jesus.
Pray for a spiritual hunger that will drive the Gumuz people into the loving arms of Jesus Christ.
Pray that soon there will be Gumuz disciples making other disciples in Sudan.
Pray for the Gumuz people to become disciple-makers to their Muslim neighbors.
Scripture Prayers for the Gumuz, Shanqilla in Sudan.
SIM Serving in Mission
https://visualtribes.com/tribes/gumuz.html
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
