Abba Garima Monastery is a member of one of the few pre-colonial Christian Churches in Sub-Saharan Africa that gained what in 1959?
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Amharic: ; transliterated Amharic: "Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan") is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches. One of the few pre-colonial Christian Churches in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has a membership of between 45 and 50 million people, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia. It is a founding member of the World Council of Churches. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is in communion with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria having gained autocephaly in 1959.
Oku people (Sierra Leone) The Oku people, also commonly known as Oku Mohammedans or "Aku Mohammedans"in Sierra Leone and as the "Aku Marabou" or "Oku Marabou" in the Gambia, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone and the Gambia. The Oku people are the descendants of liberated Africans of Yoruba descent from Southwest Nigeria who were liberated or came to Sierra Leone as settlers in the mid 19th century and formed a distinctive ethnic group The Oku are virtually all Muslims and are known for their conservative muslim population. The British colonial government provided official recognition to the Oku Mohammedan community as a distinctive community in Sierra Leone. Although the Sierra Leone government officially considered the Oku people as members of the Creole ethnic group, many Sierra Leoneans consider the Oku people as a distinctive ethnic group.