Mesqan in Ethiopia

People Name:	Mesqan
Country:	Ethiopia
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	462,000
World Population:	462,000
Primary Language:	Mesqan
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	10.00 %
Evangelicals:	4.70 %
Scripture:	Portions
Ministry Resources:	No
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Ethio-Semitic
Affinity Bloc:	Horn of Africa Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Mesqan people live in the highlands, at the base of the mountains and in the surrounding city of Buttajira, Ethiopia. The Mesquan, who speak a language related to other Gurage languages, do not consider themselves to be Gurage. They share a border to the south with the Silt 'e people, a large Muslim group.

Like most groups in the Gurage region of Ethiopia, the Mesqan are traders and the men travel a great deal. The women travel much less and have little opportunity to learn neighboring language, other than Silt 'e. The Mesqan are devout Muslims and have little interest in seeing their language developed.