The Wolayta (Welayta; Ge'ez: ወላይታ Wolayta) are an ethnic group mostly inhabiting in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate (2017), the people of Wolayta numbered 5.83 million in Welayta Zone. The language of the Wolayta people, similarly called Wolaitta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite their small population, Wolayta people have widely influenced national music, dance, and cuisine in Ethiopia. The people of Wolayta had their own kingdom for hundreds of years with kings (called "Kawo") and a monarchical administration. The earlier name of the kingdom was allegedly "Damot" - this was said to include the south, south-east, south-west and part of the central region of present Ethiopia. The ruler was King (Kawo) Motolomi who is mentioned in the religious book Gedle Teklehaimanot, as an invader of the north and the king to whom was surrendered the mother of the Ethiopian saint, Tekle Haymanot. Some assume that the saint was the son of this king. After the defeat which overcame the northern part of its territory the kingdom was reduced to its present size and the name became the Kingdom of Wolayta. It remained thus an independent kingdom for hundreds of years until the expansion of Emperor Menelik II into the regions south of Shewa during the early 1890s. In 1991 the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) restructured the country into ethnically-based Regions, and Welayta became the centre of Region 9. Later, Welayta was included in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR, consisting of the former regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) as part of the Semien Omo Zone. The regional government claimed that the Welayta were so closely related to the other Omotic-speaking peoples of that zone that there was no justification for a separate Welayta zone. Welayta leaders, however, stressed that their people had a distinct language and culture and demanded a zone for themselves. In 1998, the regional government attempted to introduce an artificially constructed language, based on the various local North Omotic languages and dialects, as the new language of education and administration for Semien Omo Zone. This triggered violent protests by Welayta students, teachers and civil servants, which led to the withdrawal of the new language. In November 2000, the Welayta Zone was established.
The Wolayta tribe are one of the indigenous people of Ethiopia who have their own culture, tradition, political legacy and kingdom. The Wolaita have about 200 clans which are divided in to two main tribes called Malla and Dogala. Historians classify this people as Omotic family which is one of the five language families in Ethiopia. This is because their settlement is parallel with the Omo River in the area. Wolaitas are one of Omotic language speaking people and their language is called also Wolaita (walaitato donna) by the name of the people. Historically the Wolaita go back to the first century. There have been 42 dynasties ruling the Wolaita, beginning with Arujiya and extending to the Tigrean dynasty. In each dynasty not less than 500 to 600 years passed. When you calculate these years, Wolaita history may even extend to before Christ. There had been trade relation with Axum empires. It is a very wide and long history. The historical location of Wolaita is different from the current location, especially with regard to the coverage area. As some historians suggest, the administrative area of Wolaita extends up to Rudolf River in the south and North Shewa in the northern part of the current Ethiopia. Currently Wolaitas are located tin the southern part of Ethiopia with in the area of about 4,400 square kilo meters. The northern tip of the boundary of Wolaita is at about 360 km south from the capital Addis Ababa. 
The Welayta, Wolayta or Wolaitta are an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate (2017), the people of Wolayta numbered 5.83 million in Welayta Zone. The language of the Wolayta people, similarly called Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite their small population, Wolayta people have widely influenced national music, dance and cuisine in Ethiopia. The people of Wolayta had their own kingdom for hundreds of years with kings (called "Kawo") and a monarchical administration. The earlier name of the kingdom was allegedly "Damot" - this was said to include the south, south-east, south-west and part of the central region of present Ethiopia. The ruler was King (Kawo) Motolomi who is mentioned in the religious book Gedle Teklehaimanot, as an invader of the north and the king to whom was surrendered the mother of the Ethiopian saint, Tekle Haymanot. Some assume that the saint was the son of this king. After the defeat which overcame the northern part of its territory the kingdom was reduced to its present size and the name became the Kingdom of Wolayta. It remained thus an independent kingdom for hundreds of years until the expansion of Emperor Menelik II into the regions south of Shewa during the early 1890s. The war of conquest has been described by Bahru Zewde as "one of the bloodiest campaigns of the whole period of expansion", and Wolayta oral tradition holds that 118,000 Welayta and 90,000 Shewan troops died in the fighting. Kawo (King) Kawo Tona Gaga, the last king of Welayta, was defeated and Welayta conquered in 1896. Welayta was then incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire. However, Welayta had a form of self-administrative status and was ruled by Governors directly accountable to the king until the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The Derg afterwards restructured the country and included Welayta as a part of the province of Sidamo. The Welayta were previously known as "Wolamo", although this term is now considered derogatory. In 1991 the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) restructured the country into ethnically-based Regions, and Welayta became the centre of Region 9. Later, Welayta was included in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR, consisting of the former regions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) as part of the Semien Omo Zone. The regional government claimed that the Welayta were so closely related to the other Omotic-speaking peoples of that zone that there was no justification for a separate Welayta zone. Welayta leaders, however, stressed that their people had a distinct language and culture and demanded a zone for themselves. In 1998, the regional government attempted to introduce an artificially constructed language, based on the various local North Omotic languages and dialects, as the new language of education and administration for Semien Omo Zone. This triggered violent protests by Welayta students, teachers and civil servants, which led to the withdrawal of the new language. In November 2000, the Welayta Zone was established.
The Welayta people (Wolayta or Wolaitta) are one of the most prominent and ancient ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia, possessing a long and rich political and social history that significantly shaped the regional state of “Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.” The Welayta are concentrated in the Welayta Zone, an administrative region that bears their name and is characterized by its high population density and strategic and economic importance stemming from its geographical location and the dynamism of its inhabitants. The Welayta people have a long history of self-governance prior to their integration into the modern Ethiopian state. The Kingdom of Wolaita was a powerful and well-organized political entity for centuries, ruled by successive dynasties, most notably the Welayta-Mala dynasty and the Tigray dynasty, which ruled until the end of the 19th century. The kingdom was characterized by a sophisticated centralized administrative system and a well-organized army that was able to protect its borders for extended periods. However, the kingdom’s independence ended in 1894 after bloody wars waged by Emperor Menelik II to unify the regions of Ethiopia. The fall of King Kawo Tona Gaga, the last ruler of the Welayta, was a pivotal moment in their history, as they transitioned from a sovereign entity to part of the Ethiopian Empire, bringing about profound changes in their social and economic structure. The Welayta people belong linguistically to the Omotic language family, a branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages found exclusively in southwestern Ethiopia. Their language, called Wolaytta, is a means of communication and the vessel that has preserved their oral traditions and customary laws. Anthropological studies indicate that the Welayta share cultural and linguistic characteristics with neighboring groups such as the Melo, Oyda, and Gamo-Gofa-Dawro, but they maintain a distinct identity stemming from their former royal heritage and rigid social organization.
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