According to Oscar Rudolph Neumann, who visited the town in 1902, Gidole was the seat of the queen of the Dirashe until the Ethiopians under Menelik II conquered them; the woman was still alive at the time of Neumann's visit.
Konso is closely related to Dirasha (also known as Gidole), and serves as a "trade language"—or lingua franca—beyond the area of the Konso people.