Yem People

Yem People

The Yem are an ethnic group living in south-western Ethiopia. They are also called by their neighbors as the Janjero, but the Yem consider this exonym derogatory, since it sounds similar to the Amharic word "zinjero" which means "baboon". Their native language is Yemsa, one of the Omotic languages, although many also speak Oromiffa or Amharic. The neighbors for Yem include the Gurage, Hadya and Kembata to the east across the Gibe River and the Jimma Oromo to the south, north and west.