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The term Raya refers to both the community's ethnic identity and its homeland. The homeland of the Rayans is located in the south end of [the historical] Tégray and northeast of [what is now] the Amhära regional states in Ethiopoia. It is bounded by the former Awrajas of Endärta in the north, Yäjju in the south, Awsa in the east and Wag in the west. The pioneers of the present day Raya were the people of Doba and Qeda. These people, who had a long established contact with the Afars, the Amharas and the T'egrians, combined with the Oromo and fromed a separate Rayan identity with the predominance of the Oromo cultural practices. Cultural values of Raya such as rituals, beliefs, ways of dressing and language made possible the Rayans to exist as a separate ethnic group. The ritual practices such as Zar, Wädajja, Dubärtti and Tufta, Wäyane tradition and Känfär Wädaj served as ethnic markers of the Rayans.
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Mengesha is a young researcher in the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) in Ethiopia. He has B.A. degree in Applied History, and now he is a second year M.A. student of Heritage Management at Sorbonne University. His forthcoming dissertation focuses on the Patrimonial Legacies of Medieval Ethnic Amhara in Ethiopia.
