Abstract The theme of this thesis focuses on the reconstruction of a history of the Dizi people in the ~eriod between 1898 and 1991. The Dizi inhabits the south-west Ethiopia ofMaji plateau. Until 1898, they were organized in to social hierarchies but decenteralized chiefdoms. The 1898 marked the end of their autonomy following their incorporation to the Ethiopian central state. Irrimediately, the- Dizi were included to the Ethiopian socio-economic system. This continued until the occupation of the area by Italians in1937. The period ofltalian rule was brutal although initialfy .. acted as redeemers of the Dizi from the evils of gabbar and slavery system. The post- . " liberation period (1941-1974) was followed by political and economic reforms. During this period the ethnic crisis in the Maji area was less prevalent and the Dizi began to. feel that they belon,to the'Ethiopian state. The influx of northern settlers in the 1950s was stepped the local trade and the Dizi's external relations. The new regime that came after the 1974 Revolution installed a socialist state and waged an attack on the socio-cultural practices of the Dizi local chiefs. Inter and intra-ethnic tensions in combination with the external developments like the Sudanese c!vil war, and the agro-pastoralists new phase of raiding expedition for cattle and wet pasture aggravated the ethnic crisis in Maji in the post-revolution period.