Chagni
| Chagni | |
|---|---|
 Chagni
|
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| Coordinates: 10°57′N 36°30′E / 10.950°N 36.500°ECoordinates: 10°57′N 36°30′E / 10.950°N 36.500°E | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Amhara Region |
| Zone | Agew Awi Zone |
| Elevation | 1,583 m (5,194 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 30,938 (est) |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Chagni (also known as Kedamawi Haile Selassie Ber) is a town in North Western Ethiopia. Located in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of 10°57′N 36°30′E / 10.950°N 36.500°E and an elevation of 1583 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Guangua woreda; in the past Chagni was the administrative center of the Metekel awraja.
The British explorer Charles Beke visited Chagni on its market day, 17 March 1842, and found the town inhabited mostly by "Shánkalas (the Nubas of the maps), who are negroes", who fled at his appearance out of fear: "fine tall muscular men, armed with spear and knife, hurrying away and hiding themselves among the bushes as I approached".
In the 1950s, Chagni was on the frontier between two ethnic groups who were frequently in conflict: the Gumuz and the Amhara. The Gumuz reportedly rebelled against Ethiopian rule four separate times between 1950 and 1990. However once the border between the two regions was drawn in 1992, dividing the former Metekel awraja between them, tensions lessened and local elders were able to negotiate peaceful reconciliations between the two groups. Around 1957, the primary school in Chagni was at the westernmost end of the telephone lines in Gojjam.
Famous people born in Chagni include the Ethiopian singer Gigi, as well as Gebeyaw Embiale, the Ethiopian mechanical engineer known in Ethiopia for designing components used in the Airbus 380 aircraft.
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Wikipedia