Maya (Ethiopia)

The Maya are an extinct ethnic group native to the old Wej province in Ethiopia. The Mayas were a Cushitic-speaking nomadic people, who were feared and dreaded by their neighbors for their use of deadly poisoned arrows. They were primarily pastoralists and their livelihood was with their cattle. The Maya were related to the Afar people.

Military Role
To strengthen the imperial presence in the area, Zara Yaqob established a military colony consisting of Maya warriors from the south of his realm in the Medri Bahri. Maya archers initially formed the core of the southern armies of Abyssinian Emperor Lebna Dengel in the Abyssinian–Adal war against the forces of the Adal Sultanate. However, after the fall of their homeland to Ahmed's armies, in true mercenary fashion, the Maya bowmen switched sides.

Maya bowmen were armed with spears. They tipped their arrows with ouabain, a poison which caused death by cardiac arrest or respiratory failure.

Oromo migrations
The Maya homeland of Wej was one of the first lands to be invaded by the Oromo migrations. The Maya repelled the weight of the Oromo for years due to their skill with the bow, until the Oromo armies changed tactics and used thick oxhide shields and fixed shield formations. In 1574, after finding out the Oromo had conquered the province of Wej, Emperor Sarsa Dengel gathered his forces from throughout Ethiopia to form an army at Gind Beret. From there, Sarsa Dengel headed south, where he found that the Oromo had also taken Maya. Sarsa Dengel was able to defeat the Oromo forcing them to flee towards Fatager. By the end of the 16th century the Mayas were overrun by the attacking Oromos who had equipped themselves with big stiff oxhide shields as a special protection from against arrows. Before they totally disappeared from the historical scene, either by physical extermination or assimilation into the Oromos.

They were for the last time documented as auxiliaries for the Ethiopian Emperor Susenyos I.

Notable People
Malik Ambar (1548 – 1626) was possibly born as a Maya under the birth name Chapu.