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People group profile · PG042705

The Dihina of Ethiopia

The Dihina of Ethiopia, numbering about 7,900 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Dullay-speaking Gawwada dialect community of Ethiopia's Omo region near Lake Chamo, once feared warriors before Emperor Menelik II's 1897-98 conquest and enslavement reduced their population to roughly a third, today mostly settled farmers.

They are an indigenous people in the Omotic people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Gawwada.

Pray for the DihinaPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Dihina people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Dihina

Fast facts

Country
Ethiopia
Population
7,900
Affinity group
Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
People cluster
Omotic
Primary language
Gawwada (gwd)
Primary religion
Sunni Islam
Strategic Progress Index ?
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Eastern Africa, Africa
Location
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Segen zone, west of Lake Chamo

Where they live

Gospel status

The Dihina are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Dihina

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Sunni Islam · Islam

Primary language

Gawwada · Afro-Asiatic family

100% speak Gawwada

Gospel resources in Gawwada

  • Bible available, published 2020
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Dihina

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

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