Liturgical languageGe'ez Beta Abraham Ge'ez: Bēta Abreham, "House of Abraham")—other terms by which the community have been known include Tebiban ("possessor of secret knowledge"), Balla Ejj (Ge'ez: "Craftsmens"), Buda (Ge'ez: "evil eye") [1] and Kayla (the Agaw language spoken by them),[2]—is a community regarded by some as a crypto-Jewish offshoot of the Beta Israel community.

The earliest reference to the Jewish community in the historical region of Shewa comes from the 14th century missionary Zena Marqos.

Following this, a second Jewish migration wave began in 1730-1745, which was mainly prompted by the Jews' will to improve their living conditions.

[6] This came after another by the British traveler Charles Johnson in 1842 that stated that the Jews' economic situation was better off than their Christian neighbors and that they were more skilled and described them as successful merchants.

In 1908 Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch reported that there are Jews in Shewa who are referred to by the derogatory name Buda by their neighbors.