page_title: Welayta people
section_title: Food
hierarchical_section_title: Welayta people / Food
caption_attribution_description: English: Raw Beef, in Wolaita Cultural Food
context_page_description: The Welayta, Wolayta or Wolaitta are an ethnic group and its former kingdom, located in southern Ethiopia. According to the most recent estimate, the people of Wolayta numbered 2.4 million in Welayta Zone only, or 2.31 percent of the country's population, of whom 289,707 are city-dwellers. The language of the Wolayta people, similarly called Wolaytta, belongs to the Omotic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite their small population, Wolayta people have widely influenced national music, dance and cuisine in Ethiopia.
context_section_description: Raw beef, commonly known as “Kurt” is deep rooted cultural food by Welayta people. Little is known on the origin of raw meat eating habit. Minced raw beef called “Kitfo” by the Gurage people and Kurt are mostly served on special occasions such as holidays like "Finding of the True Cross" or "Meskel" holiday, celebrated annually on September 27 in Ethiopia. Moreover, Enset foods are traditionally incorporated into cultural events such as births, deaths, weddings, and rites of planting, harvesting and purification.
caption: Raw Beef "Kurt", in Wolaita
exif: {}