Harari in Ethiopia
Photo Source:
Copyrighted © 2024
Kerry Olson All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source:
People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.
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| People Name: | Harari |
| Country: | Ethiopia |
| 10/40 Window: | Yes |
| Population: | 57,000 |
| World Population: | 57,000 |
| Primary Language: | Harari |
| Primary Religion: | Islam |
| Christian Adherents: | 0.30 % |
| Evangelicals: | 0.05 % |
| Scripture: | Portions |
| Ministry Resources: | No |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | Ethio-Semitic |
| Affinity Bloc: | Horn of Africa Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
The ancestors of today’s Harari people were the Harla people. They speak a Semitic language. Most of the Harari people in Ethiopia live in Harar, a walled city, but they are also dispersed to many other places. Their population in Ethiopia is low today because of the ethnic cleansing efforts of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in the mid 20th century.
What Are Their Lives Like?
Like most of their neighbors, the Harari people farm and herd livestock for much of their food supply. Yet their homeland mainly centered in one urban center, so they are best known as traders. They trade with other people groups, and speak Amharic, the Ethiopian trade language.
Though they are Muslim, the Harari women are given the same restrictions of most Islamic females. They are not required to wear a head covering. These women are active in selling and trading goods from her husband’s farm.
What Are Their Beliefs?
Though the Harari are officially Sunni Muslim, they focus their spiritual lives on saints. They have 150 shrines to various Muslim saints. They go to these shrines in hopes that the prayers of these saints will reach the ears of Allah, the supreme God of Islam. Their homeland is also a center for Islamic learning.
What Are Their Needs?
The Harari people need a John 10:10 blessing: The abundant life Jesus offers those who are willing to submit to his lordship.
Prayer Points
Pray for the Harari culture to be renewed and enhanced by a work of the Holy Spirit and shaped into a God-centered and God-honoring mold.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among their family and community leaders to seek his face and enjoy his blessings.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers who will be compelled to nurture a disciple making movement among the Harari people.
Pray that soon the Harari people will have faith that will lead them to live honorable lives that will draw others to the savior.
Pray for spiritual discernment and a hunger for true spirituality.