Daniel Ayana’s research while affiliated with Youngstown State University and other places

This article argues that historians will have a new understanding of northeast and east Africa if they recall the medieval meaning of the terms Zanj and Ahabish , or Habasha . Before the fifteenth century the term Zanj included the diverse populations of northeast Africa, so should not be exclusive of the populations of coastal east Africa. Likewise, Habasha or Ahabish was not confined to the peoples of the northern Horn but included the diverse peoples of coastal east Africa. Uncovering older meanings of Zanj and Ahabish helps to identify elusive groups of ancient northeast Africans referred to as northern Zanj, Zanj-Ahabish, Ahabish , and Damadim . For identification, this article presents three types of historical data overlooked in the sources. The first consists of the interchangeable names northern Zanj , Damadim, Ahabish, Zanj-Ahabish , and Zanj ed-Damadim to recast the term Zanj and identify the Damadim or Yamyam. The second is the broadly inclusive meaning before the fifteenth century of the term Habasha . The third is the reported eloquence in their Buttaa ceremony of the northern Zanj , and the institutional setting of the Buttaa within the Oromo Gadaa system.