Weyto caste

The Weyto (also Wayto)[note 1] (Amharic: ወይጦ)[3] are a caste living in the Amhara region along the shore of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia.

[3] The Weyto are thought to have been one of the Konso tribes that migrated to northern Ethiopia, assimilating through time as a caste among the dominant Amhara people.

[11][12] Their endogamous stratum has existed in the hierarchical Amhara society, one of the largest ethnic groups found in Ethiopia and neighboring regions.

Despite being lumped under common terms for hunter-gatherer, the Amharic-speaking Wayṭo of Lake Tana are a distinct people from the Kafa-speaking Manjō of the Keffa Zone, as well as from other Wayṭo/Watta/Fuga groups elsewhere in Ethiopia.

The Weytos’ livelihood strongly depended on Lake Tana; they used to fish and hunt hippopotamus – they were organised autonomously and equally divided their catch.

[17] Similar castes with hunting occupation live in other parts of the Horn of Africa, states Ephrem Tadesse, such as "the Watta among the Oromo, the Fuga or Mana among the Gurage, the Manjo among the Kaffa, the Kwegu among the Mursi/Bodi, the Hadicho among the Sidama, and the Mijan and Yibir among the Somali".

[5] The Amhara people consider the Weyto impure, because they eat catfish and supposedly hippopotamus, though the last hippo hunt dates back to the 1960s.

[4] The health of the Weyto community in Bahir Dar is strongly affected because they continue drinking the lake's water, which has become heavily polluted.

[1] Currently, the Weyto live in three distinct villages within Bahir Dar's city boundaries; the buildings are made of clay with thatched roofs and have a lifespan of about five years.