Ayninbirkekin is a tabia or municipality in the Degua Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Literal meaning of Ayninbirkekin in Tigrinya is "We will not bend". The tabia centre is in Halah village, located approximately 8 km to the east of the woreda town Hagere Selam. Main town is Ala'isa, situated on the ridge overseeing the Giba valley.
Geography
The
tabia is located astride a main water divide (that is followed by the main road) and stretches down towards
May Zegzeg river at the south and upper
Tsaliet River at the north. Three highest places (at around 2600 m a.s.l.) are Meri'a Ziban in the west, Imba Ra'isot in the centre and the escarpment to
Arebay at the north. The lowest places are the confluence of
May Zegzeg and May Be'ati Rivers (1970 m a.s.l.) in the south and in the north May Leiba River near Iyesus church (2240 m a.s.l.).
Geology
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:
Geomorphology and soils
The main
geomorphic units, with corresponding soil types are:
-
Hagere Selam Highlands, along the central basalt and sandstone ridge
-
Associated soil types
-
shallow soils with high stone contents (Skeletic Cambisol, Leptic Cambisol, Skeletic Regosol)
-
moderately deep dark stony with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
-
deep, dark cracking , temporarily waterlogged during the wet season (Pellic Vertisol)
-
Inclusions
-
Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
-
Rock outcrops and very shallow soils on limestone (Calcaric Leptosol)
-
Deep dark cracking with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
-
Shallow stony dark on calcaric material (Calcaric Regosol, Calcaric Cambisol)
-
Brown soils on basalt with good natural fertility (Luvisol)
-
Gently rolling Antalo Limestone plateau, holding cliffs and valley bottoms on limestone
-
Associated soil types
-
shallow stony soils with a dark surface horizon overlying calcaric material (Calcaric Leptosol)
-
moderately deep dark stony with good natural fertility (Vertic Cambisol)
-
deep, dark cracking on calcaric material (Calcaric Vertisol, Calcic Vertisol)
-
Inclusions
-
Rock outcrops and very shallow soils (Lithic Leptosol)
-
Shallow very stony soil on limestone (Skeletic Calcaric Cambisol)
-
Deep dark cracking with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season (Chromic Vertisol, Pellic Vertisol)
-
Brown to dark and on alluvium (Vertic Fluvisol, Eutric Fluvisol, Haplic Fluvisol)
Common soil types in Hech'i are
Vertisol, Vertic
Cambisol, Cumulic
Regosol, Calcaric
Regosol and
Phaeozem.
and, northeast of May Leiba Reservoir, "red-black" Skeletic
Cambisol–Pellic
Vertisol catenas on basalt and Calcaric
Regosol–
Colluvium Calcaric
Cambisol–Calcaric
Vertisol catenas on limestone.
Climate and hydrology
Climate and meteorology
The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Halah is 19.1 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 10.7 °C and maximum of 27.2 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.
Rivers
The Giba River as well as Tsaliet River (a tributary to
Wari River) are the most important rivers in the surroundings of the
tabia. They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the
Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape.
The drainage network of the
tabia is organised as follows:
-
Giba River
-
Hurura River, in tabia Addi Azmera
-
Afedena River, in tabia Addi Azmera, which takes its source in Ra'isot
-
May Ayni River, in tabia Addi Azmera, which takes also its source in Ra'isot
-
Rubaksa River, in tabia Mika'el Abiy, which becomes Inda Sillasie River, at the border of Inda Sillasie and Amanit
-
May Be'ati River, in tabia Ayninbirkekin
-
May Zegzeg River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
-
May Sho'ate River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
-
Wari River
Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of
. Especially at the begin of the rainy season they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil
erosion rates.
Springs
As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the
tabia are:
-
May Genet in Addi Werat
-
May Be'ati
-
Gemgema in Ra'isot
Water harvesting
In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season. Overall they suffer from siltation.
Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water. Main reservoirs are:
Vegetation and exclosures
The
tabia holds several
, areas that are set aside for regreening.
Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. Besides effects on
biodiversity,
water infiltration, protection from flooding,
sediment deposition,
carbon sequestration,
people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products.
The local inhabitants also consider it as "land set aside for future generations".
In this
tabia, some exclosures are managed by the
EthioTrees project. They have as an additional benefit that the villagers receive
for the sequestered CO
2,
as part of a
carbon offset programme.
[ EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website] The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities;
[ EthioTrees on Davines website] it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, or conservation in the exclosures. The following exclosures are managed by the Ethiotrees project in the
tabia:
-
Gemgema, near the village of Tsigaba (95.47 ha)
-
May Be'ati, near the homonymous village (45.42 ha)
Settlements
The
tabia centre
Halah holds a few administrative offices, a primary school, and some small shops. The largest settlement, actually a small town, is
Ala'isa, where a market is organized on Thursdays. There is also a health post and several small restaurants and shops.
There are a few more primary schools across the
tabia. The main other populated places are:
-
Ra'isot
-
Imba Ra'isot
-
Tegula'i
-
Addi Werat
-
Addi Qisyat'
-
Addi Qoylo
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-
Tsigaba
-
Hech'i
-
May Be'ati
-
Addi Qolqwal
Together with Halah, these four villages are also known as Hamushte Kebeb |
Agriculture and livelihood
The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by
which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland
farming system.
The farmers have adapted their
to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.
History and culture
History
The history of the
tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.
One particularity is that, during warfare, a major access to Dogu'a Tembien is through the slopes east of Ala'isa town. The Derg army was defeated here by TPLF during a major battle of the 1980s civil war.
Religion and churches
Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the
tabia:
-
Addi Qolqwal Teklhaymanot
-
Hechi Mika'el
-
Arba'ite Insesa
-
Tsigaba Maryam
-
Halah Maryam
-
Imba Ra'isot Sillasie
| WIDTH="63" | | |
-
Ra'isot Mika'el
-
Ala'isa Mika'el
-
Abba Gabir
-
Addi Qisyat' Maryam
-
Wahte Iyesus
|
Inda Siwa, the local beer houses
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (
Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the
tabia are
-
Tsadkan Kiros at Addi Qolqwal
-
Letay Assefa at Halah
-
Kiros Abadi at Ala'isa
-
Birhan Haddush at Ala'isa
Legends and myths
The lapiez or surface
karst at Inda Meru'e near Hechi is commonly interpreted as a petrified group of people on their way back from a marriage party and who had omitted to greet the church. There is also, near Hech'i a huge cubic rock, named Ilias' rock which would have been rolled there for sake of church building.
Roads and communication
The main road
Mekelle – Hagere Selam –
Abiy Addi runs from east to west across the
tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, rural access roads link Ala'isa on the main asphalt road to
Arebay, Addi Qolqwal to
Haddinnet and
Halah to
Mizane Birhan and
Debre Nazret. Minibuses ply on the latter road.
Schools
Almost all children of the
tabia are schooled,
though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades.
Schools in the
tabia include Ra'isot school.
Tourism
Its mountainous nature and proximity to
Mekelle make the
tabia fit for tourism.
As compared to many other mountain areas in
Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead.
Touristic attractions
-
Viewpoints on Imba Ra'isot, Guyeha Ridge and Meri'a Ziban
Geotouristic sites
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".
Geosites in the
tabia include:
| | WIDTH="63" | | |
-
May Be'ati church forest
-
Holocene stratigraphic succession in Tsigaba
-
Extensive exclosures east of Tsigaba
-
Exclosures by Trees for Farmers in Addi Qoylo
-
May Leiba reservoir
-
Luqmuts slope forest in Hech'i
-
May Ntebteb springs on the edge of the Amba Aradam Formation cliff
|
Birdwatching
Birdwatching (for the species, see the main
Degua Tembien page) can be done particularly in exclosures and forests. The following bird-watching sites have been inventoried
in the
tabia and mapped. :
-
Iyesus church forest
-
Mika'el church forest in Ala'isa
-
May Be'ati church forest
Trekking routes
Trekking routes have been established in this
tabia.
The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.
-
Trek 12, from Rubaksa, along several geosites to Hechi and Addi Qolqwal
-
Trek 13, from Mizane Birhan through Tsigaba and May Be'ati to Addi Qolqwal and Meri'a Ziban on the main road
-
Trek 14, along the ridges on the highest places in the tabia
-
Trek 26, from Ala'isa to the Ekli Imba peak in Arebay
See also
==Gallery==
