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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kebena of Ethiopia

The Kebena of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 85,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are one of two dialects of Alaba-K'abeena, a language of Ethiopia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Sidama people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Alaba-K’abeena.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kebena

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Sidama
Primary Language(s): Alaba-K’abeena (alw)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 85,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011604
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Pray for the Kebena of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Alaba-K’abeena
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Alaba-K’abeena:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Alaba-K’abeena:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Alaba-K’abeena bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Kebena

The Kebena are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Kebena

The Kebena are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Kebena

The Kebena are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kebena of Ethiopia

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Kebena (ROP3 - 104794) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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