This thesis is about traditional local governance found among m t peopl of the rnsouth, west and east part of Ethiopia and it tries to bridge til ga p in lit ratur on rnthe su bject. In the study, I explore Ye-Gardena Sem syst m of Ki tan -Gurage rntraditional local governance and its development over time. Sem y t m, which i rnfo und among most peoples of south Ethiopia, has been us d as a major body of rngovernment for centuries. The system encompasses all the norm, value and rnconducts of the people. The Gurage in general and the Ki tane in particul ar rnadop ted the institution since antiquities. rnIn Ye -Gardena Sera, elder's councils stand at the apex of the ystem at va riou rnlevels of territorial and lineage segmentation. But, th incorporati n in the rnEthiopian state deprived the institution its independent control ov r internal and rnexternal relations. However, the declining role of the Sem as th highe t political rninstitution among the Kistane did not lad to the compet breakdown of the rnwhole system . The Sem has continued to exist all over tluough the three rnEthiopian modern regimes, despite challenges incurred by the state. rnIn the thesis, I examine the interrelationship between the political syst m and the rnsoci o-economic life of the people. The study shows tha t the Sem play's significant rnrole in the peopl e's social, cultural and economic life, with in the w id e r Kistane rnsocia l structure. I also looked at the traditional system and its substantial rncontribution in local development arena. The incorporation and the subsequence rnmodernization process of the state through new judiciary and bureaucratic rninstitutions; large-scale migration of the people out of Kistane-I and; and the rnprocess of urbanization, are major factors for the transforma tion tha t exhibited in rnthe traditiona l institution. However, the system continues to be the people's rnfcwored system in the area of conflict resolution and peopl e's day-to-day life.