Historically, the Kingdom of Wolaita was ruled by more than fifty kings.q The rulers used the title Kawo.
Legendarily, ~1251 is the year of Welayta's founding. (In traditional oral sources, where the state of Wolayta also existed during the Aksumite empire, or even earlier, with more than 42 dynasties. The Mala and Tigre dynasty are the most recent ones).
The exact number of kings in each dynasty varies depending on the source.
The following were the rulers of the Wolayta kingdom and province in present-day southern Ethiopia.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Rulers of Welayta until 1900
|- align=left
! width="18%"|Tenure
! width="40%"|Incumbent
! width="20%"|Notes
|- valign=top
| colspan="3" |First Wolaita Malla dynasty
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bito||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bidinto||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Hanise||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Hadiyo||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Yate||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Worde||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Wode||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sagada||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bure||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Haruro||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Halala||
|- valign=top
| colspan="3" |Arujia dynasty<br/><small>These kings are portrayed in oral tradition as harsh, rude and killers. Some sources state 12 kings made up this dynasty.</small>
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bada'a||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Badila||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Gadila||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Godira||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bayuwa||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Burana||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Bade||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Gonga||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Dangula I||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Dangula II||<small>Last king defeated in battle by the Malla dynasty.</small>
|- valign=top
| colspan="3" |Second Wolaita Malla dynasty (restored)<br/><small>Some sources state that 15 kings ruled in this dynasty.</small>
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sana or Sene||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sabora||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sagula||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Samora||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sassa or Saso||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Saamm||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Sata||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>13th century</small>||Motolam or Motolomi||<small>Son of Saso.</small> (Likely legendary)
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Mota||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Ocha||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>Unknown Dates </small>||Lacha or Leche||<small>Dynasty ended with the Oromo migrations</small>
|- valign=top
|colspan="3"|Tigre dynasty
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>c. 1560 </small>||Mikael or Shume, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>16th century</small>||Girma Ketema, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>17th century</small>||Gazenja, <small>Kawa</small><br />(Gazenya)||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>17th century</small>||Addaye Gazayna, <small>Kawa</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>18th century</small>||Kote Adaye, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>18th century</small>||Libana Kote, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1707 to 1748</small>||Sana Tube, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>? to 1761</small>||Tube Libana, <small>Kawo</small>||<small>Died in office</small>
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1761 to 1800</small>||Ogato Sana, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1800 to 1835</small>||Amado Ogato, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1835 to 1845</small>||Damote Amado, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1845 to 1886</small>||Gobe Damote, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1886 to c.1890</small>||Gaga Gobe, <small>Kawo</small>||
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>1890 to 1896</small>||Tona Gaga, <small>Kawo</small>||Warlike, the last and greatest king.
|- valign=top
|colspan="3"|Waylata conquered by Menelik II and incorporated into Ethiopia 1894
|- valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec"
|<small>October 1894 to 1900</small>||Tekle Haymanot, <small>Negus</small>||
|}
Notes
Bibliography
See also
- Monarchies of Ethiopia
- Rulers and heads of state of Ethiopia