Omotic languages have been dead for a long time in Northern Ethiopia, as far back as the 9th century and beyond. The Omotic groups seeme to have adopted Agew due to the rise of the Agews in the personification of the Zagwe Dynasty, dominating culture, politics and economics of Abyssinia.
Languages die earlier and more quickly than cultures. Groups may adopt a new language while maintaining their cultures.
One reason for this phenomenon is the dominating group makes it vitally important that it's subjects understand it's language for communicating it's rule and misrule. So it targets to undermine the subject people's language. It leaves it's culture unmolested because it does not pose a problem to communicating with it.
From identitical or very close dance cultures of Agew and Awi in the north that have remained Omotic, in Amara, who now speak Agew, to the Wolaita of Southwest, who still speak Omotic, it is probable that Agew and Awi were Omotic, and all the land between them were inhabited by Omotic groups, before the dominating language, politics and economy of the Zagwe dynasty.
I will post the dance videos of Agew, Awi and Wolaita soon.
Good night!
Re: Omotic group major tribe in northen Ethiopia: a theory
Agew music and dance
Awi
Awi