Halaba people

{{short description|Ethnic group in central Ethiopian Highlands}}

The Halaba people (or Alaba) are an ethnic group inhabiting the central Ethiopian highlands.{{Cite book|last=Braukämper|first=Ulrich|title=A History of the Hadiyya in Southern Ethiopia|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2012|page=12}} The Halaba claim to originate from the Arab cleric, Abadir who settled in Harar.{{cite web|title=Ethno history of the Halaba people|url=http://www.southtourismeth.org/pdf/Books-and-Study-lists/The-ethno-history-of-halaba-people.pdf|website=southtouristmeth|access-date=16 July 2017}} In the middle ages, Halaba were part of the Hadiya state. In the 1400s, their Garad (chief) was in conflict with the Abyssinian monarch Zara Yaqob.{{cite book |title=Alaba Ethnography |publisher=Encyclopedia Aethiopica |url=https://en.sewasew.com/p/allaaba-ethnography-(%E1%8B%A8%E1%8A%A0%E1%88%8B%E1%89%A3-%E1%89%A5%E1%88%94%E1%88%A8%E1%88%B0%E1%89%A5-%E1%8C%A5%E1%8A%93%E1%89%B5)}} They are mostly Muslims but there are also some Christians. A map of the region from 1628 shows a Kingdom of Halaba.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA34 |title=Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia |author=David H. Shinn |author2=Thomas P. Ofcansky |date=11 April 2013 |page=34 |publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7457-2 }} They speak Halaba-Kʼabeena which is a member of the Highland East Cushitic languages within the Afroasiatic family.{{Cite web|title=(Cushitic Language Studies 26) Yvonne Treis - A Grammar of Kambaata, Part 1_ Phonology, Nominal Morphology and Non-verbal Predication-Rudiger Koppe Verlag (2008).pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gOuRb1HsTriMkQeOu-Ism1nf2CzDc1aS/view?usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2021-01-28|website=Google Docs}} Sidi Mohammed the Garad of Hadiya is stated to be a forefather for the Halaba people.{{cite book |last1=Musa |first1=Hussein |title=Silt'e as a Medium of Instruction |publisher=Addis Ababa University |page=32 |url=http://213.55.95.56/bitstream/handle/123456789/16274/Hussein%20Mohammed.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208142432/http://213.55.95.56/bitstream/handle/123456789/16274/Hussein%20Mohammed.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 8, 2023}}

All cultural issues and living conditions are governed by the Halaba People's unique traditional administrative structure, known as Sera, which is interpreted as law, principle, norms, values, and regulation in the community and considered as the New Year celebration of Halaba people.

Every January, following the successful crop harvest, the locals colorfully celebrate the "Sera" holiday to uphold this custom.