Description

 

Synopsis

Dans son introduction, Lionel Bender dit avoir été impressionné par la thèse de Simon Messing « The Highland Plateau Amhara », (Université de Pennsylvanie, 1957). Elle est basée sur une mission en 1953-1954 dans la région de Gondar. Dans les années 70, à la demande de Bender, Messing accepte la publication de son travail. La préparation nécessitera la collaboration de plusieurs chercheurs pendant plus d’une décennie. Le célèbre linguiste termine son introduction par une sorte de bibliographie critique des sources publiées depuis 1957 qui mérite d’être mentionné car l’exercice est trop rare pour être ignoré.

En exergue de son travail, Messing explique la raison de son choix de la région de Gondar qu’il pense être vierge de toute influence allogène. En 1961, Messing reviendra à Gondar sous les auspices de l’USAID-Public.

Biblethiophile, 25.08.2018

THE HIGHLAND PLATEAU AMHARA OF ETHIOPIA. INTRODUCTION: THEMATIC SYNOPSIS

On the fertile highland plateau of the “horn of Africa” and straddling the Great Rift Valley, ancient Ethiopia culturally bridges the Middle East and Africa. Here the peasant society of the Amhara, despite a backward technology, enjoys a complex spiritual culture. Amhara culture is the subject of this report.

Most of the material to be presented was gathered by the author during field work in Ethiopia in 1953-54, after brief, though intensive study of the Amharic language. The district of Gonder, north and northeast of Lake Tana, was chosen for intensive study because it was never conquered by the culturally more African Oromo tribes, when they overran and populated most of old Ethiopia in the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries A.D. The fierce pride of the Gondarē has caused him to preserve the old culture more than have inhabitants of other districts.

In organizing and analyzing the data, the author’s purposes have been:

1. To regard the web of activities with reference to ecology, division of labor, and standards of living.

2. To pay great attention to historical depth and local involvement with other ethnic groups. Historical considerations cannot be ignored in a study of Ethiopian culture. Consideration of ethnic relationships is, if for no other reason, necessitated by the ethnic division of labor in the Amhara area, and also by the fact of considerable regional cultural variation among the Amhara people.

3. To describe culture traits and social institutions as they function, and also to show how the Amhara people themselves feel about them; how they see themselves in relation to neighboring groups and in relation to the human and non-human environment in general.

The author will also offer some tentative conclusions about ethos, cultural foci, and the dynamics of Amhara culture.

Source: THE HIGHLAND PLATEAU AMHARA OF ETHIOPIA, page 1

CONTENTS

Notes on Transliteration——————————– –—— – vii

Editor’s Introduction —————————————    ix

Author’s Introduction ————————————– xvii

Introduction: Thematic Synopsis————– —— -—————— —     1

1 Land, History, and People—————— ————- ——- — 2

1.1   General Orientation ————————————    2

1.1.1           Some general terms—————————— — 2

1.1.2           Some linguistic terms—————————-    2

1.2   The Land——————————————— — 3

1.2.1           Geographical location —————————-    3

1.2.2           Climate, climatic zones, and topography————— — 4

1.2.3           Soil and minerals——————————- — 6

1.2.4           Flora and fauna and their significance in

Ethiopian ecology ————————–    6

1.3         A Brief Outline of History——————————–    13

1.4         Physical Types in Ethiopia ——————————-    15

1.5         The Peoples of Ethiopia———————————- — 17

1.5.1   The demographic pattern: density, rural –

urban, migration————————— — 17

1.5.2   Distribution by region, language, religion,

ethnic stratification ————————-    19

2 Ecology and Economy————————————— 26

2.1  Living Standards ————————————–    28

2.1.1           The rural settlement—————— 1———-    28

2.1.2           Shelter: the Amhara hut————————–    32

2.1.3           What Nature provides: lumbering, hunting,

fishing, collecting ————————    36

2.1.4   Food production and consumption——————— — 41

2.1.4.1            Agricultural production ————————    41

2.1.4.2            Animal husbandry —————————–    4 9

2.1.4.3            Dietary habits ——————————-    56

 

2.1.5           Utensils and tools—————- *————- — 62

2.1.6           Clothing————————————–    65

2.1.7           Sanitation————————————-    70

2.1.8           Mutual aid——————— j————–    72

2.2  The Division of Labor———————————– — 73

2.2.1           Division of labor by sex————————– — 77

2.2.2           The ethnic division of labor———————— — 81

 

2.2.2.1            Pottery-making ——————————- — 83

2.2.2.2       Smithing———————————– — 87

2.2.2.3            Carpentry ———————————– — ⁹¹

2.2.2.4            Tanning————————————- — ⁹¹

2.2.2.5            Weaving ————————————    ⁹⁵

 

2.2.3           Semi-specialized and unskilled———————-    97

2.2.4           Labor and the market town————————–   101

3 Social Organization —————————————-   *⁰⁸

3.1 Land Tenure ——————————————— ”   ¹⁰⁸

CONTENTS

3.1.1       Political aspects of the old tradition ———- 108

3.1.2       Private property: rist ————————- 110

3.1.3       Semi-private real estate: gult—————— 111

3.1.4       Endowed lands: rist-gult ———————– 113

3.1.5       Some regional variations in Amhara provinces —114

3.1.6       Crown lands and efforts to centralize land

tenure———————————– 115

3.1.7   Contemporary holdings and problems of

Amhara peasants of Begemidir Province —— 117

3.2  The Military Camp and its Significance in Amhara

Social Structure————————– 120

3.2.1   The structure and function of the military

camp————————————- 120

3.2.2   Social and psychological roles; officers and

common soldiers————————— 123

3.2.3   Significance of the old military organization

in modern change————————– 128

3.3  Public Administration and Territorial Organization —— 129

3.3.1       Rural administration and community ————– 130

3.3.2       Urban organization and community —————- 132

3.3.3       Appointment to office and decision-making ——- 135

3.3.4       The State and the Crown————————- 137

3.3.5       Administration and tax structure in

transition——————- ■———– 13 8

3.4   Customary Law and Justice—————————— 142

3.4.1       Ethiopian law codes—————————– 142

3.4.2       Contracts, oaths; the legal person, in

Ethiopian traditional law—————— 146

3.4.3       Judicial personnel————————- •– 147

3.4.4       Traditional methods of investigating crimes —— 150

 

3.4.4.1       The lebashay——————————— 150

3.4.4.2       Afersata ———————————— 152

3.4.5   Litigation————————————- 152

3.5  Structure and Function of the Ethiopian Orthodox

Church in Amhara Society————————– 155

3.5.1   The structure of church organization————– 156

3.5.1.1       Church building and design ——————- 156

3.5.1.2       Parish organization———– •————- 157

3.5.1.3       Personnel of the church and church education-157

3.5.1.4       Utensils of the church———————— 163

3.5.1.5       Worship and devotional poetry—————– 165

3.5.1.6       Heretical movements ————————- 166

3.5.2   The functions of the church in the life of

the lay public—————————- 166

3.5.2.1       Sacerdotal emphasis——————- •—– 166

3.5.2.2       The annual cycle of the church calendar —■—— 167

3.5.2.3       The religious life cycle of the lay

individual ——————————- 175

3.5.2.4   “Saluting the church” and private

communion —-———– –.-.——-.————— 177

3.5.2.5       Religious syncretism————————– 178

3.5.2.6       The church and the national state ————- 180

 

3.6        The Mehaber Fraternal Association ———————- 182

3.7        Family and Kinship in Social Organization ————– 184

 

3.7.1       The extended family and kinship terms ———– 185

3.7.2       Affinal kinship and residence —————— 186

3.7.3    Artificial kinship ——– 189

CONTENTS

3.8 Attitudes Based on Social stratification—————– 190

3.8.1  Stratification———————————- 190

3.8.1.1     Regional distinction and feudal nobility —— 190

3.8.1.2     Peasants————————————– 191

3.8.1.3     Ethnic groups—————- —————– -192

3.8.1.4     Religious minority—————— —————- 19 3

3.8.1.5     Racial minority——————————- 193

3.8.1.6     Servants and economic considerations ———– -194

 

3.8.2     Age stratification—————————— 195

3.8.3     Stratification by sex————————— 196

Part 4: The Life Cycle of the Individual——————– 199

4.1  The Beginning of Life——– ■———————— 199

4.1.1     The desire for children; adoption ————— 199

4.1.2     Pregnancy, birth, circumcision—————— 201

4.1.3     Naming the baby——– j———————– 20 3

4.1.4     The long, happy, nursling stage —————– 204

4.2  The Age of Experimentation: Infancy and Childhood —– 205

4.2.1     The stage of infancy—————————- 205

4.2.2     The stage of childhood, “reason”, incipient

discipline—————————— • — 20 6

4.2.3  Training through the peer-group; patterns

of hazing——————————— 207

4.2.4     Toys and games———————————- 208

4.2.5     Formal education and extra-curricular

activities——————————– 209

4.3  The Age of Obedience: Adolescence———————– 213

4.3.1  The male adolescent: service and young

warrior statuses————— ———— 213

4.3.2  The adolescent female: informal courtship

in the annual cycle———————— 215

4.4  Adulthood and Marriage: Dominance of the Kin———— 217

4.4.1  Marriage patterns——————————- 217

4.4.1.1     Semanya marriage negotiations—————– 220

4.4.1.2     Semanya wedding procedure——————— 223

4.4.1.3     Post-wedding adjustments and kin relations—– 228

4.4.2  Problems of the married couple; divorce ——— 229

4.5      The Age of Dominance: The Elder —————————— 231

4.6      The End of Life: Eulogy, Memorial Services, and

Feasts—– j———– •———————– 232

Part 5: Non-Material Culture: Interpersonal Relations

and Artistic Expression——————– ——— 235

5.1 Communication and Interpersonal Relations———- ——- 235

5.1.1  The raw material of the Amharic language put

to use— ————————- -———-236

5.1.1.1     Historical development——————- —— 236

5.1.1.2     Lexical, grammatical, and syntactical

phases—- ———– — ————– —————- 237

5.1.1.3     Regional variation———- ——-———- -——-238

5.1.1.4     Literature; special argots ——————- 239

5.1.2  Interpersonal etiquette and relationships ——- 241

CONTENTS

5.1.2.1   Formal expressions of status of class, age

sex —————————————- 242

5.1.2.2       Greetings and address————————- 244

5.1.2.3       Visiting————————————- 247

5.1.2.4       Hospitality and dining ———————– 248

5.1.3   Verbal expression: formalities, wit,

pedagogic riddles————————– 249

5.1.4   Artistic expression; the art of insult and

mockery ———————————- 251

5.1.5       Gestures and postures ————————— 253

5.1.6       The language of the shemma———————– 256

5.1.7       Dance, chant, musical instruments—————- 258

5.2  Play and Entertainment——————————— 263

5.2.1       Games and leisure-time activities ————— 263

5.2.2       Sex in Amhara culture————————— 269

5.3  Expressive Physical Arts——————————– 273

5.3.1       Body care and ornamentation———————- 274

5.3.2       Fine arts——————————– ^:—— 277

5.4   Amhara Ideas about Nature and Mankind —————— 279

5.4.1       The natural universe ————————— 279

5.4.2       Amhara ideas about human races; ethnocentrism -281

5.4.3       Amhara ideas about body and personality ———- 284

Part 6: Healing Body and Spirit

6.1   Healing the Body——————- ■—————— 291

6.1.1   The surgeon-herbologist-empiricist:

utilizing nature————————— 291

6.1.2   Common ailments and their treatment————– 294

6.2  Healing the Spirit————————————- 298

6.2.1   The zar cult of supernatural spirits, its

institution and cosmology —————– 298

6.2.1.1   The zar doctor; patients; procedures of

healing; basic zar personalities ———– 301

6.2.1.2   Characteristics and attributes of male

and female zar spirits —i—————— 309

6.2.1.3   The annual convention of zar doctors:

voluntary possession in the cult———— 313

6.2.1.4       Social aspects of the zar cult—————– 323

6.2.1.5       The “zar language”; origin and diffusion

of the zar cult—————————- 328

6.2.2   Evil-eye sickness (buda) and its healing ——– 333

6.2.2.1       Basic concepts of buda ———————– 333

6.2.2.2       Symptoms of buda disease ——————— 336

6.2.2.3       Diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis ———– 337

6.2.2.4       Ethnic caste under suspicion of sorcery ——- 340

6.2.2.5       Buda doctors, past and present—————– 342

 

6.2.3       Evil-spirit disease and the diviner ————- 343

6.2.4       The debtera as healer————————— 345

 

6.2.4.1        Summing up the position of the debtera ——– 345

6.2.4.2        The cosmology of demons treated by amulets —34 6

6.2.4.3        Summary of the debtera’s syncretism in

healing the spirit ———————— 349

6.2.5   The characteristic significance of Amhara

healing of the spirit——- ————– —351

CONTENTS

Part 7: Concluding Observations about Amhara Culture

and Society————————– ——•————- 353

7.1   Predominant ecological characteristics: Peasant

folk society————————— ————– 353

7.2   How Amhara Culture Functions in Amhara Society ————– 354

7.2.1   Ethos and major values: the possessor and

the possessed—————– ————— 354

7.2.2   Culture foci: land, kin, rustic vs. noble,

government hierarchy, authoritarian literalness, cultural uses of intelli­ gence ————————————- 355

7.2.3   Some psychological considerations arising from

the life cycle——————– ———– 358

7.3   Culture Change and Amhara Society: Inertia vs.

Modernization, the “Change Agent”; the

Amharization of Ethiopia, the New Elite,

Old Values, Outlook ——————————— 359

Appendix 1: Proverbs and Formulas Cited in Text —————- 370

Appendix 2: Index and Glossary of Amharic Terms

Used in Text——– ■————————- 381

Bibliography

480