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The Sidama people of southern Ethiopia are an ethnic group whose homeland is in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. They number above 5 million, the third populous nation in today's Ethiopia. ^[1]

Their language is called Sidaamu-afoo. Majority of the Sidama people have their own traditional religion; less than half of them are born-again Christians since 1960s when European missionaries came to their regions; very few are Ethiopian Orthodox religion followers (it is seen as oppressors' religion) and fraction of the population are also Islam religion followers; (S. Y. Hameso, Trevor Trueman, Temesgen M. Erena 1997).

The Sidama nation preserved its ways of lives, essence of cultural heritage including their own religion and 'language' (which is the case at present time)until as recently as late 1880s when they partially lost some of them since the conquest of Ethiopia army during the reign of Abyssinian king Menelek II, (S.Y. Hameso, Trevor Trueman, Temesgen M Erena, 1997) who brought Ethiopia to today's geographical shape. Before this, the Sidama had its own well established administrative systems that predate 8th-10th century. As a resulrt of strategic marginalistion, very few has been written on Sidama issues as the nation wasn't allowed to send its children to school until as recently as 1972 (after the socialist military regime overthrew brutally oppressive Emperor's regime). Then some of the Sidama people started to send their children to school for the first time. However, some of the information obtained from the following scholarly books written afterwards, affirm this fact; P. Bruno Maccani 1989; S.Y.Hameso, Trevor Trueman, Temesgen M. Erena, 1997.

Since the conquest, the nation was obliged to accept opperessors' ways of life, religion and culture. However, the Sidama emphatically resisted all of them. Additionally, the nation is systematically subjugated and mentally pressurised to consider their ways of lives and culture an uncivilised and backward, although Abyssinian rulers' didn't succeed in forcing complete subservience. Besides, the opperessors remained dependent on Sidama's economy such as top world class coffee to this date.

At the moment, the Sidama nation is one of the most marginalised regions of the country with no University, adequate health services, primary, secondary as well as teritiary education systems. And, it is the only nation with 5 million that doesn't have regional autonomy in the country for the simple purposes of politico-economic and socio-cultural subjugation. It has got about three to four female graduates out of less than 220 Sidamas who are educated to the first degree level. More than 95% of the people are dependent on agriculture as successive Ethiopian regimes systematically marginalised the Sidamas from going to Schools; depriving them off their fundamental rights.

Historically, there were Sidama kingdoms in the Gibe region for which the native Sidama people don't give any evidence.

Nearly 95% of the Sidama live a life centered around agriculture. An important staple food is the wesse plant, or Ensete. Other crops are also grown and they breed cattle. An important source of income is coffee. An economic importance of the Sidama, coffee is immense and it contributes about 50-60% of export coffee for the central government from which the Sidama people get nothing. The Sidama farmers were affected by hunger caused by sinking world market prices for coffee, despite supplying the popular coffee chain Starbuck's with the majority of their coffee products from the region.(coffee crisis according to the pretext of Central the government)^[2].

• Sidamo Province

1. ^ sidama.org, sidamaconcern.com, sidamanational-liberation.org.
2. ^ Jean Ziegler, The empire of shame

• Sidama Development Corporation Working to help improve the lives of the Sidama people.
• sidama.org