8609
ኤዞፕ ነባርና ቀደምት መጻሕፍት መገኛ የከተማችን ፈርጥ ቤተ መጽሐፍት። በምኒልክ አደባባይ ፊት ለፊት ያለው የአራዳ ጊዮርጊስ ቤተ/ን ህንፃ አቢሲኒያ ባንክ ያለበት ህንፃ 2ኛ ፎቅ ላይ ነው !! ስልክ:- 09 11 72 36 56 @Mesay21 @Mesay21
"Gaim Kibreab's book is particularly welcome at a time when the promise of ICARA-II has been suspended and overshadowed by the 1984-85 famine. The problems of African refugees have persisted and, in the case of refugees from the Horn of Africa, have been aggravated by the policies of forced relocation and villagization. The Ethiopian government has pursued this policy relentlessly and with impunity.
The study is a well researched evaluation of the settlement programs concerning Eritrean refugees in the Kassala region of Eastern Sudan. It describes and analyzes the conditions of Eritrean refugees in a rationally controlled situation, exposing weaknesses and possibilities. Policymakers, be they international relief agencies or other interested parties, should find this book very instructive and helpful."
-Bereket Habte Selassie, Howard University
"At a time when Africa's rapidly growing refugee population is of increasing political significance-both to the overburdened host countries and in considera- tion of the strategic aims of the major powers-Gaim Kibreab has written an insightful and important account of the continent's most far reaching refugee crisis.
This book traces the past of Eritrea's refugees from their home villages to the rural camps and urban centers of neighboring Sudan. Kibreab offers a conclusive picture of the refugees' plight and predicament. Here is a rigorous fact based analysis of the economics surrounding refugee situations and the impact of 'development' on Eritrea's enormous disenfranchised population. Refugees and Development in Africa will productively fuel ongoing debates regarding interna- tional aid and development alternatives in the Third World.".
-Gayle Smith
The Red Sea Press, Inc.
Publishers & Distributors of Third World Books
556 Bellevue Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08618 (609) 695-3402
እነ የሱፍ አበባ
እነ የአብዮት ማግስት
የአብዮት ዋዜማ
የአብዮት መባቻ ሳይታተሙ የታተመ ታሪካዊ ልብ ወለድና የአብዮቱን ዘመን ታሪክ ቀመስ በሆነ ትረካ የሚያወሳ መጽሐፍ ነው !!!!!
ሁለት ኮፒዎች አሉ
ኤዞፕ መጽሐፍት !!!
0911723656
ባይራ ዲጂታል መጽሔት
ቅጽ 1 ቁጥር፡ 3
(የቴሌግራም ገጻችንን ተቀላቀሉ)
/channel/Bayradigital
ለማንኛውም አስተያየት የሚከተለውን ኢሜይል አድራሻ ይጠቀሙ።
bayradigital2016@gmail.com
ኑኒ ባይራክ!
ታላላቆች ነን።
ለቀደመ ነው የምንሰጠው
ያሉን ኮፒዎች ሁለት ሁለት ብቻ ናቸው !!!
ኤዞፕ መጽሐፍት !!!!!
ሮማውያን ያኔ በግሪክ ፍልስፍና በሚናጡበት ዘመን የክርስትና አስተምህሮ መጣ!!
ክርስትናም ከመካከለኛው ምስራቅ ተነስቶ ሮማን ያጥለቀልቃት ጀመር፡፡ ኤፒክቲተስ የተባለው ፈላስፋም የክርስትናን አስተምህሮ በመቀበል ከዝጥንቱ የግሪካውያን ፍልስፍና ጋር ለማስታረቅና ፍልስፍናን በክርስትና ውስጥ ለመመልከት ሞከረ። በዐዐ4ዐ ዓ.ም እስቶይኪዝም የተባለውን የፍልስፍና መንገድ ፈጠረ። አለም ታዲያ አኹን ድረስ እስቶይኪዝምን ከሥነ ምግባር ፍልስፍና ዎች ውስጥ መድቦ እየተጠቀመበት ይገኛል።
ኤፒክቲተስ መጽሐፍ በጣም በርካሽ ዋጋ በ100 ብር ብቻ እሸጥን እንገኛለን፡፡
ያንብቡት
ያስነብቡት ብዙ ያተርፉበታል !!
ሀገር በሕገመንግስት ብቻ አትገነባም፡፡ በህገ መንግስት የተገነቡቱ ፈርሰዋል፡፡ ዩጎዝላቪያ፣ ሶቤትሕብረት... በአንጻሩ የማንነታቸውን መሰረት በሚት (ትርክትና ሥነ ተረት) ላይ ያፀኑት እስራኤላዊያን ግን ሁለት ሺህ ዘመናት ያለ ሀገር በባርነት፣ በስደት መሻገር ተችሏቸዋል፡፡ የኮሎምቢያ ጥንታዊ ሕዝቦች ኮጊዎች ምንም ተቋማዊ አስተዳደርና ሥነ-መንግስት ሳይኖራቸው ለንጽህና በመታመን ብቻ ግማሽ ምዕተ ዓመት ቅኝ ገዥዎችንና ኢምፔሪያሊስቶችን ተቋቁመው ማንነታቸው ጠብቀው ቀጥለዋል፡፡ አብዛኞቹ የአፍሪካ ሀገሮች የሀገረ መንግሥት ግንባታቸውን በጸረ ቅኝግዛት ትርክት ላይ ገንብተውት አሁን ከቅኝግዛት በኋላ ሌላ የጋራ ትርክት መፍጠር ተስኗቸው በመንግሥት ግልበጣና በእርስበርስ ጦርነት አዙሪት ሲዳክሩ ይታያል፡፡
ኢትዮጵያዊን ብሄረሰቦች፣ ጎሳዎችና ነገዶች በሺህ ዘመናት ፈተናዎች መካከል ጸንተው መቀጠል እንደምን ተቻለቸው? ቢሉ መልሱ በቀላሉ ስለትርክታቸው ይሆናል፡፡ ስለሕገመንግሥቱማ እንኳንስ ያኔ ዛሬም በኃይል ቢጫንባቸው እንጂ የሚያውቁት አይመስለኝም፡፡ ሀገር ግን ስለ አንድ ሰው ጥልቅ ምናብ ትጠነሰሳለች፡፡ ስለእዕላፍት ላብና ደም ትገነባለች፡፡ ስለጥቂቶች ድንቁርናና ስንፍና ልትፈርስም ትችላለች፡፡
ከበፍም እሳት መቃመስ መጽሐፍ የተወሰደ !!!
ይህ መጽሐፍ ከተለመዱት የታሪክ መጽሐፍት መካከል ልዩ ከሚያደርጉት ጉዳዮች ውስጥ ይህንን በኔ ግምት ዋነኛው የኢትዮጵያን የረጅም ጊዜ የታሪክ ጉዞ ከኢኮኖሚ ዕድገት ጋር አጣምሮ ለአንባቢያን ግልፅ በሆነ ሁኔታ በማቅረቡ ነው፡፡
ደራሲያኑ በኢትዮጵያ ለበርካታ ዓመታት ሙያዊ አስተዋፅኦ ከማድረጋቸው ባሻገር ብዙ የምርምር ሥራዎችን አበርክተዋል፡፡ ከኢትዮጵያ ጋርም የጠበቀ ቁርኝነት ስለአላቸው የሀገሪቷን የፖለቲካ ውጣ ውረዶችን ጠንቅቀው ያውቃሉ፤ ከብዙ ዝግጅት በኋላ በጥናት ላይ የተመሰረተ ጠቃሚ ሰነድ ለአንባቢያን አቅርበዋል፡፡
ይህ ጽሁፍ ወጣቱ ትውልድ የአገሩን ታሪካዊና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ገፅታ እንዲረዳው የቀረበለት ስለሆነ፣ የወደፊት የኢትዮጵያን የልማት አቅጣጫ ለመተለም ስለሚያስችለው እንዲያነበው ና እንዲያወያይ በ እመክራለሁ፡፡ ከዚህ በዘለለ፣ የኢትዮጵያን ታሪክ በራሳቸው የፖለቲ ካ መነጽር እያዩ በሳይንሳዊ ማስረጃ ያልተደገፈ ‹‹ታሪክን›› በማቀንቀን ትውልድን የሚያሳስቱ ‹‹ደራሲያን›› ከዚህ ጽሁፍ ግንዛቤ ሊያገኙ ይገባል እላለሁ፡፡
ዓለማየሁ ተፈራ ኤሜሬተስ ፕሮፌሰር
አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ
slaves), but also, we may assume, exerted some cultural influence in the north where they accounted for no small proportion of the slave population which, we may arise was by no means instantly assimilated to the locally dominant faith or faiths. The Fälaša, or Judaic Ethiopians, who constituted the smallest of the country's four religious groups, were located mainly in the north-west. Though their faith was in many ways distinct - both from other Ethiopians and from the Jews of other lands their social life had much in common with Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, with whom they shared the Ge'ez Old Testament, whose scribes often wrote out their sacred writings and whose Church schools they sometimes attended. They also had some cultural affinities with the nearby Qemant who represented an intermediary faith between Judaism and an ancient Ethiopian religion often referred to as a form of Animism.
Such immense variations of physical and human geography coupled with those of language, culture and religion, inevitably resulted in the existence within the confines of the present-day Ethiopian region of many differing customs and ways of life. There ensued much cross-fertilisation of cultures and traditions, which still requires detailed study. Any comprehensive examination of so rich, and geographically varied, a history obviously requires many detailed monographs for it would seem impossible, within the compass of one small volume such as this, to do justice to the rich variety of Ethiopia's historic social and cultural experience, either on a country- wide basis or over the time span of more than a few centuries. Further factual studies, when completed, will doubtless lead to works of greater synthesis and interpretation.
The present volume, which is planned as the first of a series dealing with various aspects of the country's varied social history, is devoted by and large to the northern and central highlands, and covers the period from early medieval times to the reign of Emperor Tewodros II which is considered a turning-point in the country's history- and serves at the same time as a point of departure for the dramatic changes that were to characterise the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The region under review was important in that it constituted the core of the traditional Ethiopian State, and was over the centuries to exercise no small influence on other parts of the country. The area was at the same time distinctive - and formed a cohesive entity-in that it had a unique highland, and predominantly Christian, culture. The region is moreover of special interest on account of its indigenous chronicles and hagiographies, and the many descriptions by foreign travellers, which made it, at least until the middle or second half of the nineteenth century, by far best documented part of Ethiopia. It is thus an area that can be studied over a considerable span of time. Since the northern and, central highlands in the period under review are so
palpably better documented it would be impossible to devote anything like equal coverage to other parts of the country without adopting the arbitrary, and from the scholarly point of view surely misguided policy of suppressing available data on a region for which it is available, in the interests of geographical balance.
Even with the above strictly limited geographical confines generalisation is often hazardous. It has been possible within the time and space available to consider only.
This is a stunningly good book: historically grounded, rich with evidence and examples, skeptical of the conventional wisdom, and infused with a realistic 'bias for hope that counters the over-pessimistic and over-optimistic analyses of many far less thoughtful writers. Read it and be inspired.
DEBORAH BRAUTIGAM
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
A masterful undertaking that will become essential reading for African policy makers eager to deepen their thoughts.
CARLOS LOPES
University of Cape Town
Development practitioners around the world will benefit immensely from this book, as it challenges accepted economic theory, while providing intriguing alternatives.
K.Y. AMOAKO
African Center for Economic Transformation
a refreshingly different approach that appeals to common sense and the new realities of the region.
ERNEST ARYEETEY
African Research Universities Alliance
a view of Africa unlike anything we have seen... It is one of those very rare books that make you see the world differently after you have read it.
HA-JOON CHANG
University of Cambridge
an ambitious agenda for investment and structural change for African development that overcomes the over-pessimism but also the over-optimism of many alternative proposals.
JOSÉ ANTONIO OCAMPO
UN Committee for Development Policy
this superb book provides the depth of insight that is often missing.
TONY ADDISON
UNU-WIDER
this innovative book makes the case for 'possibilism... an unmistakeably progressive political economy, unafraid to challenge weak arguments of radical 'left' economists as much as the worn-out narratives of the mainstream.
PADAYACHEE
University of the Witwatersrand
Jacket image: William Kentridge, drawing from 'Sobriety, Obesity, and Growing Old, 1991. © William Kentridge
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
10 Lessons from "Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things" by Darius Foroux:
1. Procrastination is a Choice: You choose to procrastinate, even if it feels involuntary. Recognizing this empowers you to take control and make conscious decisions about your time and actions.
2. Focus on Effort, Not Results: Obsession with results can be paralyzing. Instead, focus on putting in consistent effort and enjoying the process of getting things done.
3. Start Small and Build Momentum: Don't overwhelm yourself with large tasks. Start with small, manageable actions that build momentum and make progress towards your goals feel achievable.
4. Identify Your Procrastination Triggers: Recognize situations, emotions, or thoughts that trigger your procrastination habits. By understanding your triggers, you can develop strategies to manage them effectively.
5. Eliminate Distractions: Distractions are major enemies of productivity. Minimize distractions by creating a focused work environment, silencing notifications, and setting boundaries with others.
6. Set Clear and Measurable Goals: Having vague goals makes it difficult to stay motivated and track progress. Set clear, specific, and measurable goals to provide direction and ensure you're moving towards your objectives.
7. Break Down Large Tasks into Smaller Chunks: Large tasks can seem daunting and overwhelming. Break them down into smaller, more manageable steps that feel less intimidating and easier to complete.
8. Reward Yourself for Progress: Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. Rewarding yourself reinforces positive behavior and keeps you motivated to continue making progress.
9. Learn to Say No: It's okay to say no to requests that don't align with your priorities or energy levels. Don't be afraid to set boundaries and protect your time for what truly matters.
10. Forgive Yourself and Focus on Progress: Everyone procrastinates sometimes. Don't beat yourself up over setbacks. Forgive yourself, learn from your mistakes, and focus on moving forward with renewed determination.
Bonus Lesson: Embrace the Power of Simplicity: Eliminate unnecessary complexity from your life. Simplify your tasks, goals, and commitments to free up mental space and energy for focused action.
By applying these lessons and developing a proactive mindset, you can overcome procrastination, unlock your full potential, and achieve more meaningful things in your life.
‘ ሥልጡኑ ሰው በመደብራችን ገብቷል!!!
ሥልጡኑ ሰው ' ህይወትን የሚያይበት የራሱ መነፅር አለው ። ስለ ህይወት የራሱ አተያዮች አሉት ። በህይወት ውስጥ ጥሩና መጥፎ ፣ ሠናይና እኩይ ፣ ደግና ክፉ ፣ ተገቢና ያልተገባ የሚባሉ ነገሮችን የለየበት ፤ ህይወትንና የህይወት ነገሮች ልካቸውን የሚያውቅበት መስፈሪያ ÷ ሚዛን የሰጠው ፤ የሚነሳሳበትን ፣ የሚመራበትን ፣ የሚራመድበትን ፣ እሴቱን ፣ የየዕለት ጉዳዩን ፣ ዓላማውን ፣ ግቡንና ዕጣፈንታን / መድረሻ - ፍጻሜውን / ያወቀበት ‘ የህይወት ፍልስፍና ’ አለው ።
****
ወደ ‘ሥልጡኑ ሰው ’ ሐተታችን ከመዝለቃችን በፊት በፍልስፍና ታሪክ ውስጥ የሚጠቀሱትን ሃሳባዊ ሰዎችን አንድ ሦስቱን ብናነሳሳ መልካም ነው ፡፡ ሃሳባዊ / Ideal ማለት ? የሰዎች ፣ የማኅበረሰብ ፣ የነገሮች ፍጹምነት ፣ ምርጥነት / excellency መለኪያ በመሆን የሚያገለግል አዕምሯዊ ምሳሌ / ሞዴል ነው ፡፡ አርዓያዊ / Ideal ሰው ደግሞ ሰዎች አርዓያ / role model በማድረግ ሊሆኑት የሚተጉበት ፣ ሊደርሱበት የሚሄዱበት በእንከን የለሽነት ውስጥና በልዕልና ያለ በአዕምሮ የተቀረፀ አዕምሯዊ ሰው ነው ፡፡ … የአሪስጣጣሊስ ‘ ሃሳባዊ ሰው ’ / the Ideal Man … የፍሬዴሪክ ኒቸ ‘ ልዕለ-ሰብ ’ / the Superman … የበግዋን ሽሪ ራጅኒሽ ‘ አዲሱ ሰው ’ / the Newman …
አሁን ደግሞ ጉዳያችን ወደ ሆነው ሃሳባዊው ሰው እንመለስ …‘ሥልጡኑ ሰው' / the Civilized Man …
#ከመጽሐፉ_የተወሰደ
SELECTED WORKS OF LU HSUN
Lu Hsun (1881-1936), father of contemporary Chinese literature, was not only a great writer but also a great revolutionary and thinker. Using the pen as a weapon he waged an exceedingly heroic struggle against im- perialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism. The rich literary heritage he has left us is a treasure in the literature of the Chinese people.
The present Selected Works of Lu Hsun in four volumes includes the most important works of the author. Volume One contains 70 prose poems, reminis- cences and short stories. Volumes Two, Three and Four contain 214 of Lu Hsun's essays written from 1918 to 1936. These essays compose an important part of Lu Hsun's works. They are a combination of poetry and political commentaries, profound in thought and trenchant in language. Written in a charming style they thoroughly reflect the social conditions of his time. Volume Four includes a chronological table of Lu Hsun's writings and translations, which will help the reader to understand his life and literary activities.
CHINA BOOKS & PERIODICALS
እንደገደላችሁን፣ እኔ “ሙቱ!” አልልም፤
ሞት ፍትሕ አይደለም፡፡
ፈጽሞ ለእናንተ ሞትን አልመኝም፤
በእኛ ላይ እንደሆነው…
በእናንተም ይሁንና፤
ቅመሱት ሁሉንም ሞት ይርሳችሁና!
!!!!!!!!!!!
ከእነዚህ ትርጉም የኢትዮጵያ ታሪኮች ውስጥ የቱን አንብብ ውል ????
ካነበቡም የቱን ታሪክ ወደዋል ?
እኛ ጋ በምርጫዎ ይገኛሉ!!!
ለዋጋቸው እጅጉን አያስቡ !!!
በተመጣጣኝ ዋጋ እንሸጥልዎታለን !!!!!!
Timely, forceful and essential. A groundbreaking and deeply re- searched exploration of of the war still ravaging Tigray. A vital contribu- tion to the understanding of a devastating but largely hidden conflict, which could well prove to be a defining moment, not just for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, but for the whole continent.-Andrew Harding. HBC Africa correspondent, and author of The Mayor of Mogadishu
"With historical depth, trenchant analysis of current events and con- cern for the human suffering involved, this is essential for understand- ing the tragic war in northern Ethiopia?-Christopher Clapham, Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge, and author of The Horn of Africa
"The Ethiopian-Eritrean war against Tigray is the world's most lethal conflict, characterised by extreme brutality and the use of mass starva- tion as a weapon. It has unfolded behind a wall of silence and disinfor mation. This important book sets a high standard, paying scrupulous attention to the evidence and analysing the conflict and atrocities in their political context. Alex de Waal, Executive Director, World Peace Foundation
A moving account that chronicles the genesis, nature and key features of the Tigray war, as well as the Tigrayans' resistance. This lucid analy sis of developments will be of significant interest to scholars of contem- porary Ethiopia.-Mulugets Gebrehiwat Berhe, Senior Fellow and former Program Director: World Peace Foundation, Tufts University, and author of Laying the Past to Rest: The EPRDF and the Challenges of Ethiopien State-Building
"Not only a good political history of modern Ethiopia, but an attempt at answering the question; is war the only way to arbitrate between a uni tary and a federalist version of a nation?-Gérard Prunier, author of The Country That Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland and co-editor of Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia
Terrorism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa
Author
Nowhere today is untouched by the threat of terrorism but the Horn of Africa is one
of the worst affected regions: Somalia, a collapsed state and centre for piracy, offers
Al Qaeda a safe haven and training facilities; Eritrea uses terrorism in foreign policy:
Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda have all been targets again and again.
This book is about the threat posed by terrorism in the Horn of Africa, focusing on
Ethiopia, detailing hundreds of terrorist atrocities. It unravels the false distinction
between "international" and "domestic" terrorism, analyzing suicide missions, the
impact on human security, and looking at responses of the international community
and IGAD.
The author argues that focus on violence shouldn't blind policy-makers to the
economic and social problems underlying terrorist activity; that credible long-term
response must be based on systematic research, realistic development and inclusive
politics as well as human security. He provides intriguing recommendations for the
way forward.
The author, a serving intelligence and security officer in Ethiopia, and himself a
former freedom fighter, uses an exceptionally wide range of sources, interviewing
victims, terrorists, security experts and academics and drawing on his own experi-
ence, to detail the impact of terrorism in Ethiopia.
This is a serious and readable attempt to understand and explain terrorism and
respond to it. One of the first real efforts to produce a detailed analysis of terrorism
in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, it defines the tension between terrorist activity
and government response, and shows the effects on human security in
ccurity in one of the most
"" "
volatile regions of the world,
Patrick Gilkes, author of The Dying Lion, Conflict in Somalia and Ethiopia, The War
between Ethiopia and Eritrea (with Martin Plaut), etc.
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December 6, 2023 9:37 AM
ሻለቃ መሐመድ ያሲንን በቀድሞው በተፈሪ መኮንን ት/ቤት ከዘጠነኛ ክፍል ጀምሮ፣ ሐረር ቀ/ኃ/ሥላሴ ጦር አካዳሚ በሦስት አመታት የስልጠና ጊዜና ከዚያም በኋላ እኔ በዚያው አካዳሚ በአሰልጣኝነት ተመድቤ፣ ሻለቃ መሐመድ ደግም በ3ኛ ክ/ጦር መሐንዲስ መምሪያ ተመድቦ በጠቅላላው ለስምንት አመታት በነበረን መቀራረብና መግባባት ማንነቱን ጥሩ አድርጌ አውቀው ነበር።
የሻለቃ መሐመድ አራተኛና የመጨረሻ ልጁ ዶ/ር ያሲን መሐመድ ስለአባቱ የሕይወት ታሪክ “የቀይ ባሕር ዕዳ፣ ከሻለቃ መሐመድ ያሲን ማስታወሻዎች”፣ በሚል ርዕስ የአባቱን የግል ማስታወሻዎች፣ የደብዳቤ ልውውጦች፣ በየጊዜው ከበላይ ኃላፊዎቹ የተፃፉለትን የምስጋናና የአድናቆት ፅሁፎችና በርካታ አንፀባራቂ ፎቶዎች አጅቦ አሳምሮ አቅርቦታል። ሻለቃ መሐመድን ከምንም በላይ በትክክል የሚገልፁትን ባሕርያት፣ መልካም ስነ-ምግባር፣ የተረጋጋ ሥነ ልቦና፣ ደከመኝ ታከተኝን የማያውቅ ታታሪ ሠራተኛ፣ የአመራር ተስጥኦ፣ ፍትሐዊነትና የአገርና የወገን ፍቅር ደራሲው እዚህ ቀረው በማይባል ሁኔታ አስቀምጦታል፡፡
የሻለቃ መሐመድ ያሲን የግል ማስታወሻዎች የደራሲው ጥልቅ ምርምርና ክትትል እንዲሁም እልህ አስጨራሽ ጥረት ታክሎበት ደራሲው አባቱ በጨቅላ ሕፃንነቱ በአጭር ከተቀጨ ከአራት አሰርት አመታት በኋላ እንዲህ አይነት የተሟላ ታሪክ ማቅረብ መቻሉ የሚደነቅ ነው፡፡ ይህ መፅሐፍ ለቀሪው ትውልድ በማስታወሻነት ለሻለቃ መሐመድ ያሲን እንደ ሕያው ሐውልት ሊቆጠር ይችላል።
ሻለቃ አርጋው ካብታሙ
ከሰጠው አስተያየት የተወሰደ
business masterminds
ROADS to SUCCESS
PUT INTO PRACTICE THE BEST BUSINESS IDEAS OF EIGHT LEADING GURUS
WARREN BUFFETT
STEPHEN COVEY
PETER DRUCKER
BILL GATES
ANDREW GROVE
CHARLES HANDY
TOM PETERS
JACK WELCH
BSTSELLING BUSINESS AUTHOR & MANAGEMENT COMMENTATOR
Robert HELLER
some of the more important aspects of Ethiopia's complex social life. Moreover there were often many variations of practice from one district or village to another, for the communities under review were composed, it should not be forgotten, of individual men, women and children, who lived their varied lives as they could, or thought fit- in blissful ignorance of the foreign traveller's accounts, and other historical sources, upon which scholars base their accounts and develop their interpretations - of traditional Ethiopian behaviour.
The present volume, conceived as a first installment towards a full Social History of Ethiopia, is primarily descriptive. It is intended to present a survey based on available sources, and thereby to lay a groundwork for other writers to develop more ambitious, comprehensive and interpretative, studies of old-time Ethiopian life. It is hoped at a later stage to publish companion volumes on the south of the country, as well as on the period from Téwodros to more recent times.
I should like to thank friends and colleagues who made this publication possible. I am grateful to Dr. Taddese Beyene, the devoted Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, for his kind help and encouragement, as well as to Margaret Last for typing part of the first draft, to Amanda Woodlands for generously devoting her time to putting most of the text on computer, to my children Alula and Helen for initially helping me wrestle with that machine, to the computer wizard Bruno Neeser for producing IBM-compatible diskettes, and to Tatek Samare for expertly preparing the final work for printing and assisting in computer-indexing. Special thanks are also due to Demeke Berhane and to the ever-enthusiastic Dr. Carla Zanotti for helping me identify manuscript illustrations at the Institute; to Dr. Vincenzo Francaviglia, Denis Gérard, Santha Faiia and Membere Wolde Ghiorgis for kindly photographing these and other works; to the dedicated Degife Gabre Tsadik and his staff for constant library assistance, and to Belai Giday for approaching local informants on my behalf. I am, as always, indebted to my wife Rita for innumerable comments, criticisms and suggestions.
RICHARD PANKHURST
Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University.
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December 2, 2023 2:16 PM
INTRODUCTION
In introducing the present essay on the Social History of Ethiopia, it should be emphasised that the country, which today covers an area as large as France and Spain combined, has always been one of immense geographical and other contrasts. High mountains, which in the Sämén range tower more than 4,600 metres above sea level, give way to flat lowlands which in the 'Afär depression sink below sea level. Temperature, which, geographically, is no less varied, ranges from the icy cold of the mountains, with frost, and in places even snow, through the temperate highlands - the site of most of the country's historic settlements to the torrid lowlands, with the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ports reckoned as among some of the hottest places in the world. Differences in rainfall have been no less dramatic, the torrential downpours of the highlands contrasting with minimal precipitation in the parched almost waterless lowlands. It follows that vegetation was equally varied, with tropical jungles, particularly in the west, deserts and semi-desert scrublands, mainly in the east and south, and fertile - but largely deforested-regions in many areas of medium elevation.
The population of the country, not surprisingly, came to terms with such greatly varying environments in different ways, with the result that the world's principal types of economic activity were all represented with agriculturalists, many of them practicing plough agriculture, in the extensive highlands, pastoralists in the even more widespread lowlands, and hunters and gatherers in the vicinity of the many rivers, lakes and forests. (This three-fold division is, however, far from rigid, for there was often much overlapping, particularly in the highlands where the supposed "agriculturalists" devoted much of their time to the upkeep of cattle which many farmers and peasants regarded as their principal source of wealth).
Ethiopia like so many countries on the African continent is in no less measure a land made up of varied ethnic and linguistic threads. It comprises members of no less than four broad language groups: Semitic, mainly in the north, but with pockets in the south (Guragé and Adaré), Cushitic, mainly in the south, but with pockets in the north (Beja, Agaw, Saho, and 'Afar), Omotic (Wallamo, Kafa, Gemerra, etc.) in the south-west, and Nilo-Saharan in the far west, near the Sudan border. The situation was, however, historically far from static, for there were over the centuries major movements of population, notably in the ancient and medieval period when Tegrés moved from north to south; in the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries when Oromos migrated from south to north; in the nineteenth century when there was once more a movement, mainly of Amharas, from north to south; as well as throughout the centuries to and from sundry national or provincial capitals. For this and other reasons bilingualism, and indeed multilingualism, may well have existed throughout this period.
The religious pattern - in which the world's three main monotheistic faiths are all represented was no less varied. For centuries Christians of the Orthodox faith predominated in the all-important northern and central highlands, Muslims were no less dominant in most of the lowlands, particularly to the east, as well as at the great commercial centre of Harär, but were also of paramount importance as merchants
throughout the region as a whole. Followers of traditional local faiths preponderated in the south-west (the source of much of the country's exports of gold, ivory, civet and