Fedis

Fedis (Aanaa Fadis) is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the East Hararghe Zone, Fedis is bordered on the southwest by Garamulleta zone, Meyumuluke woreda, on the west by Girawa, on the northwest by Haro Maya, on the north by the Harari Region, on the east by Babille, and on the southeast by the Erer River which separates it from the Somali Region at south by Midega tola district. The administrative center of this district is Boko.

Fedis was a historical region mentioned as far back as the fourteenth century.

History
Historically part of the Adal region, Fedis was first mentioned in the fourteenth century chronicles of Amda Seyon during his invasion of Ifat Sultanate.

In the later half of the seventeenth century it was the domain of the Emirate of Harar. In the early 1800s emir ʽAbd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad was taken to Fedis as prisoner by the Oromo following his unsuccessful attempt to extract tax from them, this led to his brother emir ʽAbd al-Karim ibn Muhammad seizing the throne in 1825. In 1827 Fedis became a battleground between Oromo factions who supported the aforementioned princes of Harar which devastated three settlements in the region. By the late 1800s, Fedis Oromo state Islam had been firmly established among them following emir Abd ash-Shakur dispatching a Harari Muslim scholar to teach religion and construct a mosque.

Following the severe drought of 1974, the Ethiopian government constructed dams in the area. During the Ogaden War in the 70s, Fedis was a battleground between Ethiopian and Somali forces. It was briefly occupied by the rebel group WSLF with support from Oromo locals.

Fedis is the site of one of the largest market places in the region where goods are sold, the others being Harar and Babile. The narcotic Khat leaf grown in Fedis is most sought after by the elites in the Horn of Africa. A shrine dedicated to saint Aw Barkhadle is also located near this town.

Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 500 to 2100 meters above sea level; Hakim Gara is the highest point. A survey of the land in Fedis (reported in 1995) shows that 10.8% is arable or cultivable, 24.7% pasture, 19.5% forest, and the remaining 45% is considered built-up, degraded or otherwise unusable. The Harar Wildlife Sanctuary is a local landmark. Groundnuts and onions are important cash crops.

Industry in the woreda includes 18 grain mills employing 48 people, as well as 231 registered businesses including wholesalers, retailers and service providers. There were 23 Farmers Associations with 29,713 members and 4 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 346 members. Fedis has only dry-weather roads, but how many is not known. About 19.1% of the urban and 1.8% of the rural population have access to drinking water.

Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 113,108, of whom 57,250 were men and 55,858 were women; 4,574 or 4.04% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 99.22% of the population reporting they observed this belief.

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 207,473, of whom 101,410 are men and 106,063 women; 4,638 or 2.24% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 6.9%. With an estimated area of 2,150.63 square kilometers, Fedis has an estimated population density of 96.5 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 102.6.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 150,253, of whom 77,256 were men and 72,997 women; 2,595 or 1.73% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of several rural kebeles, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 25,507 inhabitants, of whom 13,040 were men and 12,467 women.) The largest ethnic group reported in Fedis was the Oromo (98.95%), and Oromo was spoken as a first language by 98.97% of the population. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 99.15% of the population having reported they practiced that belief.