The Dizi Chiefdoms were a socio-political and spiritual division of 19 independent, hierarchically organized chiefdoms historically occupied by the Dizi people in the mountainous Maji district of what is now southwestern Ethiopia. Each chiefdom was ruled by its own hereditary chief, and no single king or paramount ruler held authority over the Dizi as a whole.
Division According to the German ethnologist Eugen Haberland, as recorded by the anthropologist Akira Deguchi, the Dizi were "divided into over 20 chiefdoms, with shifting boundaries and allegiances," distributed from southeast to northwest as follows: Kolu, Adi, Muy, Tsiski, Maji (Kyerts, Gelkamo, Kuri), Wor, Say, Mash, Gobi, Aro, Duku, Dami, Kanta, Ezkolu, Kasi, Beru, Gay, Garo, Jabba, and Bay. Following the incorporation of the Dizi into the Ethiopian Empire under Menelik II in 1898, effective political and economic control of the area passed to the imperial administration, and the authority of the individual Dizi chiefs was reduced to a largely ceremonial and ritual role.
Structure Traditional Dizi political organization consisted of numerous small, territorially defined chiefdoms, each headed by a hereditary chief (rendered in Dizi as ''-iyasu'' or ''-kyam'' depending on the chiefdom). Some chiefdoms held independent ritual authority to control rainfall through sacrifice; others depended on the chief of a neighbouring, more senior chiefdom to perform this rite on their behalf. The table below, compiled from the fieldwork of Akira Deguchi, lists the chiefdoms recorded in the late twentieth century together with their chiefs and ritual standing. Chiefdom Chief Independent rainfall-ritual power Officiant when power was lacking Kolu Koluburzi Yes Adikas Adikiyasu No Chiskiyasu Chiski Chiskiyasu Yes Gaaru (Keltskumbit) Gaaruburzi No Chisukiyasu Meshi Meshikiyasu Yes Meshi Zenkiyasu No Meshikiyasu Sai Saikiyasu Yes Dui Duikiyasu No Saikiyasu Gelkamo Duuruna (a non-hereditary ruler who held the area by force of arms) No Woruburzi Gelkamo Dagburzi No Woruburzi Gelkamo Chobikiyasu No Woruburzi Woru Woruburzi Yes Kelt Keltkyam No Woruburzi Gobi Gobitiyaar Yes Meru (of Gobi) Merutiyaar No Gobitiyaar Maji Majigaju No Woruburzi Kurit Majikuri No Woruburzi Kaaltsu Kaaltsukyam No Woruburzi and Gobitiyaar Aaro Aaroburzi Yes Dami Damiburzi (Daamikaar) Yes Duku (of Dami) Dukuburzi No Damiburzi Kanta Kantaburzi No Damiburzi Osklu Oskluburzi No Damiburzi Jaba Jababurzi Yes Kaishi (of Jaba) Kaishiburzi No Jababurzi Bay Bayburzi Yes Byero Byeroburzi Yes Mui Muikyam (Muigajyu) Not recorded
History Archaeological evidence and oral history suggest Maji was an imperial garrison and province of the Ethiopian Empire in medieval times.
References