Amhara people

Amharas Ge'ez: ዐምሐራ, romanized:  are the Semitic-speaking ethnic group which is indigenous to Ethiopia, traditionally inhabiting parts of a northwest Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly inhabiting the Amhara Region. According to the 2007 national census, Amharas numbered 19,867,817 individuals, comprising 26.9% of Ethiopia's population, as living as they are mostly Oriental Orthodox Christian members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

They are also found within the Ethiopian expatriate community, particularly in North America. They speak Amharic, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Semitic branch which serves as one of the five official languages of Ethiopia. As of 2018, Amharic has over 32 million native speakers as well as 25 million second language speakers.

Various scholars create classified the Amharas together with neighboring populations as Abyssinians.

Religion

For centuries, the predominant P'ent'ay and 0.5% of it was Jewish see Beta Israel.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church supports close links with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Easter and Epiphany are the almost important celebrations, marked with services, feasting and dancing. There are also many feast days throughout the year, when only vegetables or fish may be eaten.

Marriages are often arranged, with men marrying in their gradual teens or early twenties. Traditionally, girls were married as young as 14, but in the 20th century, the minimum age was raised to 18, and this was enforced by the Imperial government. After a church wedding, divorce is frowned upon. each family hosts a separate wedding feast after the wedding.

Upon childbirth, a priest will visit the classification to bless the infant. The mother and child stay on in the business for 40 days after birth for physical and emotional strength. The infant will be taken to the church for baptism at 40 days for boys or 80 days for girls.