Irob people

The Irob people (Ge'ez: ኢሮብ ʾirōb, also spelled Erob) are an ethnic group who occupy a predominantly highland, mountainous area by the same name in northeastern Tigray Region, Ethiopia. They speak the Saho language, are Christians (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Ge’ez Rite Ethiopian Catholic), and mainly agriculturalists. Even if it is controversial about the meaning of the term Irob, but the elders of Irob says that the term was derived from Saho word "Oroba" which means "get in". Although the boundaries of Irobland is to an extent identical to the Irob woreda, it is bordered by the following areas: Dabri-Mela to the north, Hado to the east, the Afar Region to the east and south, Shoumezana and Gulomakeda to the west, and Saesi Tsaedaemba to the south. The first two neighbors are Saho speakers and predominantly Muslim, the third are Muslim Afars, and the others are Tigrigna-speaking Christians.

History

The capital (traditional center) of Irob is Alitena. Irobs trace their lineage to one man, Summe, son of Neguse Worede-Mehret, who according to the Irob oral history, migrated to the Irobland from Tsira'e in Kilite Awla'elo, a part of Tigray, about 700 years ago.