[6] In the 2007 Ethiopian census, however, the number of Kunama in Tigray has dropped to 2,976 as the remaining 2,000 or so members of this ethnic group have migrated into the other regions of Ethiopia.

In 1692, the Ethiopian Emperor Iyasu I undertook an expedition in the Mareb river valley, against the "Shanqella of the Dubani" (the Kunama), in present-day Gash Barka.

At the sound of the musket fire, the tribesmen were terrified and fled, but were pursued by Iyasu's men who massacred them and sacked their towns.

[10] In local oral traditions, the Tigrayans of Wolkait, Adiyabo and Seraye are still remembered for their devastating raids against the Kunama to obtain slaves, grain and loot.

Among the most violent raids ever recorded in the region was conducted by the Tigrayan warlord Ras Alula of Ethiopia, who in 1886, killed off two-thirds of the Kunama and Nara populations living north of the Mareb River.

In the 1980s, the EPLF sought to gain Kunama support through village self organization programs, social services and education.

[13][14] The Ethiopian-Eritrean War (1998–2000) forced some 4,000 Kunama to flee their homes to Ethiopia as the most intense parts of the conflict took place in their own homeland.

[20] The Kunama are a matrilineal clan-based society, where some of the most notable clans include the Alaka, Lakka, Serma, Kara, and Nataka.