Mekan people
The Mekan or Me'en are an ethnic minority group inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. The 1998 census lists them as consisting of 56,585 individuals. In Ethiopia, ethnic communities speaking Nilo-Saharan languages are referred to as "Nilotic", but this is not exactly the same meaning as the Nilotic language family.
The Mekan or Me'en speak the Me'en language, which is a member of the Surmic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. The population is subdivided into two groups: the highland Tishena, who are agriculturalists, and the lowland Bodi, who are pastoralists.
See also
Surma people
References
Notes
Bibliography
Abbink, Jon G. 1990. "Tribal Formation on the Ethiopian Fringe: Toward a History of the 'Tishana'." Northeast African Studies. Volume 12.1: pp. 21–42.
Abbink, Jon G. 1991. "The Deconstructions of Tribe: Ethnicity and Politics in Southwestern Ethiopia." Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Volume 24: pp. 1–21.
Abbink, Jon G. 1992. "An Ethno-Historical Perspective on Me'en Territorial Organization (Southwest Ethiopia)." Anthropos. Volume 87.4/6: pp. 351–364.