Dedan (Part 1/6)

Starting our journey through Africa in the Ethiopian Highlands

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While our identification for Shewa was fairly clear, it is less clear how Dedan fits into this ethnic picture aside from that single reference in Josephus calling them a people of “Western Ethiopians”. If we are to assume they are a “brother” of Sheba, and descend from Raamah, it would imply they are located somewhere near the Amharic region, possibly south, or south western.

Presumably this would mean the Oromo people, who rival the Amhara to their north for dominance over the region. Originally these people were referred to with the exonym Galla, but this term has since fallen out of usage since it is viewed by Oromo as derogatory. Looking at the term Oromo it is derived from the term “Ilm Orma” which could be translated as ‘The children of Orma’¹ or possibly “Man, stranger”.

In the regions inhabited by the Oromia we might potentially find a link to the term “Dedan”, but only found in the name of two rivers: the “Didessa” and “Dinder”. Addressing the Didessa, called Dhedheesssa in Oromo, it’s clear it contains the entirety of the term “Deda”. However, reportedly this term was only in usage around the later 1800s, and is a name used over an earlier name for the river with no earlier usage for the term prior to 1861.² The Dinder is also likely a later term, and not something in usage over 2000 years, or more. Identifying the Oromia region of the Ethiopian highlands as “Dedan” is unlikely, and further information about the Oromo may help clear up their later origins in the region.

Sadly the Oromo were not always inhabitants of Ethiopia proper and only moved there during the Great Oromo Migration from the south in the 16th century following the Ethiopian-Adal war.³ Accordingly, they were an earlier migratory people who even claim descent from Egypt. In this legend the Boorana were believed to come from Egypt during the reign of the Quranic ruler “Firaun”, assisted in building the pyramids, and later left during the period of the Egyptian and Israelite disagreements migrating through Sudan. A lack of clear archeological records prevents us from tracking their movement, or when this occurred, but if they did indeed migrate during the period of the Israelites, identifying them as Dedan becomes challenging and less likely.

Another potentially related ethnicity to the “Western Ethiopians” could be the Sidamo who inhabit a more southerly direction, and border the Oromo. While their population is quite small at roughly four million, in earlier periods the term “Sidamo” did not strictly refer to the Sidamo themselves and would refer to a variety of tribes and peoples.⁴ Could these be the Dedan? Other than the “D” sound, and general geographic designation, it is highly unlikely, and they are more simply a later offshoot of the Cushite family. Instead of looking inside “Ethiopia” we should turn our attention to what the term Dedan is meaning to imply with its usage, and if Dedan is “ethnically” related to Raamah, rather than geographically.

A potential meaning of the term “Dedan” might be more accurately translated as “low ground.”⁵ If this was a correct meaning, it could imply these people did not live in the “highlands” of Ethiopia, but possibly the lowland regions further south, or more “west” as implied by Josephus. As we know today, “Ethiopians” does generally refer to the “highland” peoples, but we know that the term Ethiopia in Josephus’s era was used to refer to any people “South of the Nile”. As earlier discussed, the classical world believed the Nile ran through the entire Sahara, wrapping around the Atlas mountains. We could therefore potentially view these “west Ethiopians” as not ‘Ethiopia’ at all, but merely the non mountainous people south of the Nile.

While one might presume the “Ethiopian” highlands is located in Ethiopia, this isn’t exactly true as it’s part of the larger “Great Rift Valley” mountain range. Somalis inhabit most of the area east of the rift valley in the Horn of Africa. There are also some notable populations on the Swahili coast of Zanj who speak the Bantu languages spoken by nearly every African community in Central and South Africa. However, the Bantu had yet to form any true settlements until 100 AD, being a mostly migratory people for the majority of the Ancient and Classical periods. Due to this later Bantu expansion, inclusion in the table of nations is thus unlikely, even if they do descend from Ham, or even Cush. While not Bantu, the closely related language family of the Volta-Niger spoken by the major clans Yoruba and Igbo of Benin and Nigeria do have more ancient settlement dates.

Before diving into West Africa we have to specify that much of the region was unsettled until later dates, and often these populations found their origins in Saharans that may, or may not have been related to Amazigh peoples, and other nomadic populations of the era. However, as we have discussed, a nomadic, pastoralist hunter-gatherer group would not be fit to have their own distinct designation in the table of nations, even if they did descend from a member listed, in this case descending from Ham. It is even possible not all of Ham’s children are mentioned, and a theoretical “Bantu” son could have existed, but been unnecessary to list since it would be at least one thousand years before the Bantu formed Kingdoms. We should carry this perspective with us into West Africa, but leave open the flexibility for what constitutes a ‘settled kingdom.”

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We will end our introductory section on Dedan here, as we will start diving into areas beyond Ethiopia in later sections. This journey will take us all the way through Africa, and be one of the longer, but more satisfying, and original payoffs. Join us next week as we dig into Greek and Roman knowledge of Africa!

1. Mohammed Hassen (2015). The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300-1700. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-1-84701-117-6.iah 21

2. H. Weld Blundell, "Exploration in the Abai Basin, Abyssinia", Geographical Journal, 27 (1906), p. 541

3. Lewis, Herbert S. (1966). "The Origins of the Galla and Somali". The Journal of African History. Cambridge University Press. 7 (1): 27–46.

4. Aalen, Lovise (2011). The Politics of Ethnicity in Ethiopia

5. Brenton's Septuagint Translation: Isaiah 21