Welcome to Bench Maji Zone

Bench people (also known as Gimira), are an Omotic-speaking people indigenous to southwestern Ethiopia. The area where the Bench are found is generally made up of Savannah and forest land.

History

Bench are among the major ethnic groups inhabiting the Bench Maji Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), and the majority live in the former district of Bench, which was divided into Debub Bench, Semien Bench, and She Bench districts. According to the 2007 census there are 353,526 Bench people in Ethiopia, making up 0.48% of the countrys total population.

Language

Bench language is the ancestral language of Bench people and belongs to the Northern Omotic languages. However, as Ethiopia is ethnically diverse, some individuals within the tribe may also speak Amharic, which is the official language of the country.

Livelihood

Bench people are subsistence farmers who cultivate maize, sorghum, and root crops such as taro and yam as their major staple crops, though Ethiopian cardamom are also cultivated as the main cash crops. In some highland areas, Bench people cultivate barley, wheat, beans, peas and teff. According to Bench District Administration Office Bench also raise cattle, sheep, goats, equine and poultry.

Culture and Traditions

Culturally, the Bench people have rich traditions and practices. They have distinctive clothing, including colorful embroidered garments, as well as ornaments like necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Traditional dances, music, and storytelling are essential aspects of their cultural expressions. The groups of people within the Gimira or Bench people group are: The Shako, The Dizu-Benesho, The She, The Kaba, The Nao and The Maji.