The Gurage people are an Habesha Ethio-semitic ethnic group traditionally inhabiting a rural, semi-mountainous region of southwest Ethiopia. While the Gurage region is still densely populated, the Gurage people also reside in many other regions in Ethiopia and all over the world today.
At the center of Gurage culture is Yejoka, the high-level general assembly, or “high court,” of elders responsible for resolving inter-clan and inter-tribe disputes. It is made up of seven assemblymen, or “judges,” from each of the seven “houses” of the Sebat Bet Gurage. For over three hundred years, the Gurage have relied on Yejoka to oversee disputes and implement laws.

The Gurage term “Yejoka” comes from the famously resilient Podocarpus tree in the region of Chaha under which the elders gather for proceedings. The tree’s branches (yaj), over time, were bent and buried into the ground (yoka), then sprouted back up again.

It is in this spirit of resilience and moral guidance that Gurda seeks to bring about opportunities and support those who have been met with adversity. Together, we can leave a lasting impact on their lives and the future of the Gurage people.

የጆካ ማለት፣ የጉራጌ ባህላዊ የአስተዳደር ማዕከል እና ስርዓት ማለት ነው ፡፡  ቤተ ጉራጌ ከተመሰረተበት ጊዜ አንስቶ፣ ለሶስት መቶ አመታት ያህል ጉራጌ ይመራበት የነበረው እና እየተመራበት ያለው፣ ባህላዊ የአስተዳደር ህጎች የሚወጡት፣ እና ተግባራዊነታቸውም  የሚረጋገጠውም በእዚሁ የአስተዳር ማዕከል ነው ፡፡
 
የጆካ አንድ የበላይ ሸንጎ የአለው ሲሆን፣ በስሩ ደግሞ ሌሎች ሰባት ሸንጎዎች አሉት ፡፡
 
የጆካ የተባለው መጠሪያ  የተወሰደውም ከሁለት እድሜ ጠገብ ዝግባዎች አበቃቀል ነው፡፡ እድሜ ጠገቦቹ ዝግባዎች፣ ቅርንጫፋቸው መሬት ነክቶ እንደገና በቅለው ይታያል፡፡ በዚሁ ምክንያት ነው በወቅቱ የነበሩት አዛውንት በጉራግኛ (ኧጅ ወካ) (እጁን ተደገፈ) በማለት ስያሜውን የጆካ የአሉት፡፡

Ever since the establishment of modern Ethiopia, the Gurage people have always been at the forefront of every activity in the country’s history. Their contribution range from fighting any invader that dared to come to their motherland, to leading on the country’s economy building process. Today, each Gurage proudly share the story of a country that has never been colonized – Ethiopia; who humiliated the European colonial powers during the scramble for Africa. They share, among every Ethiopian, the history of a black nation that showed the world how brave its people were.

The Gurages, like their other country men and women, remember the prices paid for them and cherish the feeling of being free spirited for generations. The psychological benefit is more than can be explained. It helps Ethiopians to look upon all nations and nationalities as nothing but as fellow human beings – their equals. They never had ‘a master’ in the sense shared by most African countries and colonial powers. Thus, like any other Ethiopian, Gurage people do not have inferiority complex nor submit for anyone who feels superior. Moreover, the Gurage people have great respect for everyone and have keen eyes for those who believe in hard work. These are shared feelings each and every Gurage is humbled by; want to pass on to his/her children and for generations to come.

Leaving the details of history for historians, GURDA wants to dedicate this section to briefly discuss the life style and mindset of Gurage people.

As early as years following the Gurage integration to the wider modern day Ethiopian context, the sons and daughters of the society began to move to major cities throughout the country. Hence, Gurages became one of the earliest and most urban-oriented ethnic groups with an extraordinary characteristic of adaptability. For a Gurage individual, the sky is the limit when it comes to his/her adaptability. It ranges from easy integration with diverse societies and cultures, to the ‘yes we can’ mindset of adapting to technologies and novel ideas. It does not take long for a Gurage to mingle and establish well in a new environment with any ethnic group in the country. There is an old saying that goes; ‘there is no place in Ethiopia where you would not be able to find a Gurage and a Range Rover’.

‘Gurage Yeseraw’ is a commonly used phrase in Ethiopia when one wishes to indicate that something has been replicated or manufactured locally. That alone is a testimonial as to how far Gurages can go in novelty. Their contribution towards easy adaption to new technologies and inventions has been no news for Ethiopians in every corner. Long before ‘made in China’ shoe, there was ‘Sodo Chama’ flooding most footwear departments in the country. Long before clothing jeans out there in Ethiopian boutiques now, there was ‘ye-Gurage Jeans’. Way before toll passes were established elsewhere in Ethiopia, Gurages had constructed a road network fully funded by community contributions and toll fees. And, long before modern day roads and bridges, Gurages had built their villages as if a huge highway is envisioned in Gurage ‘JEFOROs’.

All these have been achieved with not much educational training, technology support or governmental guidance. One can only wonder where those industries and creative minded people would have taken Ethiopia today if the society gets the right training and support needed at this fast paced world. Undoubtedly, Ethiopia could be the export and industrial engine of Africa.

There is no doubt that the personal success of a Gurage individual is through exceptional hard work, strong ethics, adaptability, and mentorship. Their ability to wisely use their limited financial resources, mostly from ‘ekub’, has great contribution to their achievements. It is easy to observe that most Gurage children start with any available entry-level jobs in cities, like shoe shining, as young as at eight years old. However, every kid starts with a vision of becoming an entrepreneur, creator or adaptor in a manageable framework of time. If one tracks the progress of that eight-year-old child few years later, it is highly likely that he/she may be found as an owner of a business.

Contrary to personal successes of Gurages as an individual, it is one of the saddest realities to notice how time is in stand still in the Gurage heartland. In most cases, it even looks like it is going backwards. The region is one of the least developed in the country and has almost zero investment activities.

For the Gurage people, hospitality is taken not only as part of their culture; it is an obligation to welcome and support whoever steps in to their gates. If one visits any Gurage countryside, he/she may wonder why people leave their gates wide open every day and all day. The open gates are symbols to let people know any stranger can walk in and be considered as part of a family. Moreover, a guest is always welcomed to share what the family prepares to eat and drink. Most Gurage people even dine right by their doors just to keep an eye if there is a passer by they can invite in to share a meal with.

This hospitality is stretched as a support system, to those who are new to the area.  A new settler to a village would be welcomed by elders and be offered seed capital to start farming. In some cases a new settler would be offered an advance in ‘ekub’ or loans as a form of gift to start a small business. This support system extends to those who go out to different parts or cities of the country and join their brothers and sisters by way of ‘ekub’ and sharing rents till one stands on his/her two feet. Thus, hospitality, hard work and support system are unique fabrics of Gurage society that cannot be broken easily

There is no short cut in Gurage society’s mentality or dictionary. One has to work hard or invest her/his time, knowledge, energy or money to get something. Almost everyone in the community will know how somebody generates his/her income or wealth. That is to say, the details may not be known but the community will know that their fellow brother’s/sister’s capital has been sweated for. If you ask for success story of a Gurage individual, it is easy to notice that next to saving, the secret is a well-designed business project or accomplishment. Each activity is well planned, detailed and well thought for in which quality, simplicity and efficiency are core principles.

This same notion is not limited to individual’s success; it is easy to notice the communal set of mind by the different systems that have been in practice in the community since time in memorial.  Their well-established traditional court system is a simple example. As a system, elders have authority and responsibility to address any problem that may arise within the society. Any decision by the elders is based on facts and truth that align with the community’s values and the elders are bound by GURDA (a promise to take responsibility for the truth, nothing but the truth). Any conflict and disagreement is equally regulated in this system, which is simple, and transparent that equips the community with quality and efficient rule of conduct

If one has not noticed yet, these three core principles of the Gurage society; Quality, Simplicity and Efficiency, are found to be reflected in their cultural food as well. This can help one to understand how the Gurage cultural food has transformed the entire country’s cultural dishes. These principles should ring a bell when you think of ‘Yegurage Kitfo’, ‘Yegurage Mitmita’, ‘Yegurage nitir Kibe’ and the like.

It is not uncommon to find Gurage people living with other society or ethnic group of the country. Most are found residing dispersed in all regions of Ethiopia. Most of the time, they live outside of their birthplaces to generate income and raise or support their family. For most, “home is where opportunity is”, but all are strongly bonded to their roots at Gurage heartland. Whether it is a young boy who shines shoes or a millionaire, there is a period in a year when everyone heads to their native birthplaces from where ever they are. Meskal for Christians and Arefa for Muslims are the most valuable holidays in the society. Both holidays are considered as a time for a reunion and celebration with family and friends. In most cases these celebrations could take from few days to two weeks. Those are the periods where grand parents would get to spend time with their grandchildren and would get to know their non-Gurage daughter/son in laws better. Those are also times where social issues would be discussed, ideas would be shared and planes would be set.