Journal of Ethiopian Studies

Defining rim within the 18th century Ethiopian System of Land Ownership, Administration and Taxation

2026-01-09T07:51:30+00:00

The commonest object of land transaction in records of the 18^th century was called rim. True to the etymology of its denomination, this type of land was carved from a larger estate (g^wəlt) granted to a church, and then distributed to clerics. By carefully examining hundreds of historical records of the period, rim will be redefined within the normative system in which it occurred. The reading of contractual writings against the law, its commentaries, regulations and historical narratives show that rim derived its regime from the provisions prescribed for the estate from which it was apportioned. The lot that each cleric received was composed with parcels of equal quality and was established as a living, a compensation for services or tributes owed to the church. The double requirement that g^wəlt holders should be masters of their domains and be given profitable land allowed rim owners certain liberties. They had dominion over the initial inhabitants of the land whose diverse status was revised. They became judges and administrators of a land on which exactions for the church overlapped with their claims; the taxation rules borrowed from the general fiscal tradition that prevailed in lay domains. They could also liquidate their asset by pledging it for a loan, selling only to redeem it later by exercising the faculty of recovery conferred by legal acts or custom. Several flexible doctrinal interpretations of inalienability supported the established practice of rim exchange.

The Red Terror and Fascist Occupation in Literature from the Ethiopian Diaspora

2026-01-09T07:57:00+00:00

This contribution provides an overview of diasporic Ethiopian literature, or rather literature that has emerged from the Ethiopian diaspora in different places around the world from authors that maintain a strong link to their homeland. Using a comparative approach, this article argues that diasporic Ethiopians have similar thematic preoccupations despite varying locations and personal backgrounds, exemplifying a new literary trend that is transnational. Considering the thematization of the Red Terror and the Fascist Occupation, the theory of postmemory is used to exemplify that current authors of Ethiopian descent are infused with the results of past traumas that they themselves did not experience. In conclusion, this leads to authors in the diaspora adopting a negative viewpoint of the Ethiopian government, as well as showcasing that Ethiopia’s history cannot be solely looked at as victorious given the open wound represented by the Italian occupation.

Liver as a Center of Cognition and Feeling in Anywaa

2026-01-09T08:00:25+00:00

Anywaa is a Western Nilotic language which is spoken in Gambella, Ethiopia and Greater Pibor Administrative Area (South Sudan). The present study describes and analyzes liver as a center of cognition and feeling among the Anywaa society in south-western Ethiopia. The study was based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Embodiment Model (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980;Lakoff and Johnson, 2003;Kövecses, 2020; Gibbs, 2005). To collect the data, elicitation, introspection, texts and unstructured interview were used. This study clearly indicates that among the Anywaa, liver is commonly held as the center of cognition and feeling. For example, wɪ̀ɪ̀l tʃwìɲ ' to change liver’ metaphorically means to change an idea. Hence, THOUGHT IS LIVER. Furthermore, the study indicates that in Anywaa, many abstract concepts such as desire, love, courage, interest, and/or wish are understood based on LIVER. For example, páá tʃwíɲà 'not my liver' implies that the speaker is not interested in something and this implies that LIVER METONYMICALLY STANDS FOR DESIRE/INTEREST. Thus, liver regulates body functioning and interacts with other body parts like tongue, head, heart, eye, leg and skin for the daily life of a person. For example, the fact that we see with our eyes is metaphorically extended to seeing with liver to imply understanding, memory and imagination. This takes us to the conclusion that the Anywaa's mind is mostly embodied with liver being the center of feeling and cognition.

Navigating Ethiopia's Revolutionary Democracy since 1991: A Tool for Political Control and Regime Stability

2026-01-09T08:03:17+00:00

Ethiopia has had a revolutionary democracy from 1991 to 2018, a two-edged sword that has enabled both regime survival and change under the EPRDF. This article sheds light on how the EPRDF authoritarian regime used co-optation, legitimation, and repression as complementary survival toolkits to maintain power until 2018. The article is a qualitative case study that incorporates both primary and secondary sources through critical analysis, both conceptual and content-wise. The article contends that, under the pretext of revolutionary democratic ideology, the EPRDF has looked to construct a monopoly on power that would serve as the center of authoritative and coercive authority, employing ethnic federalism and development-state rhetoric. Both federalism and the developmental state model are employed as weapons of repression, coercion, and legitimacy to preserve hegemonic power control at the price of long-awaited democratization and self-government. However, these EPRDF strategies stayed a double-edged sword, enabling monopolistic political control while also generating resistance based on long-held dissatisfaction with the ambiguities and contradictions between revolutionary democratic ideas and deeds. Therefore, the repressive techniques used by the EPRDF sparked social mobilization, resulting in collective actions by marginalized groups from various sects, finally leading to the EPRDF regime's collapse in 2018. The downfall of the EPRDF demonstrates that a political ideology not only serves to obtain support and legitimacy by driving party members to fulfill specified political goals, but it can also serve as a primary framework that accelerates political prospects for regime transition.

Struggle for Survival: St. Mikaʼél Church and the Orthodox Laity of Jijiga in the Course of the Ethio-Somalia Wars in the 1960s and 1970s

2026-01-09T08:08:33+00:00

This article examines the history of St. Mikaʼél Church and the Orthodox Laity of Jijiga in the course of the Ethio-Somalia Wars in the 1960s and 1970s. It establishes that Christianity first began to spread in Jijiga and the surrounding area, which is predominantly inhabited by followers of the Islamic faith, following the expansionist campaigns of Nigus Menelik II since the late 19th century. Christian dignitaries provided significant support, which helped it expand and solidify its position. The faith has been tested in many ways since its inception, but during the invasion of Somalia in the 1960s and 1970s, Jijiga Christians and the church fell into great trouble. The invaders considered the EOC as a powerful bulwark of the state and worked hard to destroy the institution and harass its followers. This article emphasizes the internal political situations and external factors that played a role in the alternation of growth and debacle of Christianity in Jijiga. It argues that at the end of the 19th century, the expansion of the highland Christian kingdom to the east made a positive contribution to the creation of new Christian settlements, the introduction of Orthodox Christianity, and the expansion of churches in Jijiga and its neighboring regions. However, the presence of strong followers of Islam and repeated attacks by internal and external armed forces on the Christians made Orthodox Christianity the religion of the minority, and Christians were also forced to live under high security threats.

Christianity in Ethiopia: The Quest for When and by Whom It was Introduced?

2026-01-09T08:16:15+00:00

The introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia was heralded first by an Ethiopian eunuch known by the name Bakos. It happened soon after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this makes Ethiopia the second country in the world next to Palestine. The evangelical activities of Bakos were subsequently supported by several apostles of Jesus Christ. Among them were St. Matthew, St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew, St. Matthias, and St. Andrew. Matthew preached the new faith to the people of Ethiopia, and henceforth he wrote the Gospel known by his name for Ethiopians in their own tongue. Unfortunately, this historical fact remains concealed, and above all, there is a general misunderstanding that Christianity was introduced by Frumentius in the fourth century after the Council of Nicaea. This paper attempts to examine both ancient and medieval documents, and it avers to reconstruct that Christianity was a first-century phenomenon in Ethiopia.

የቃል ግጥሞች ማኅበራዊ ፋይዳ - በደቡብ ወሎ ቦረና ወረዳ አርሶ አደሮች ማንጸሪያነት

2026-01-09T08:18:41+00:00

የዚህ ጥናት ዋና ዓላማ በደቡብ ወሎ ቦረና ወረዳ በሚገኘው አርሶ አደር ማኀበረሰብ ከሚከወኑት ቃል ግጥሞች ማኅበራዊ ፋይዳ ባላቸው ላይ የይዘት ትንተና ማካኼድ ነው፡፡ ጥናቱ ዓይነታዊ የምርምር ዘዴን የተከተለ ሲኾን፣ ቃል ግጥሞችን ከመስክ ለመሰብሰብ ተግባር ላይ የዋሉት የመረጃ መሰብሰቢያ ዘዴዎች ደግሞ ቃለ መጠይቆችና ሰነዶች ናቸው፡፡ በእነዚህ የመረጃ መሰብሰቢያ ዘዴዎች የተሰበሰቡት ቃል ግጥሞች በገላጭ የምርምር ዓይነት ይዘታቸው ተተንትኗል፡፡ በትንተናው ወቅት ተግባራዊ ንድፈ ሐሳብ (Functional Theory) ጥቅም ላይ ውሏል፡፡ ከይዘት ትንተናውም ቃል ግጥሞቹ የማኀበረሰቡን መልካም ዕሴቶች የማስተማር ፋይዳ ያላቸው መኾኑን ለመገንዘብ ተችሏል፡፡ በዚህም ግብረ ገብነትን በሚያንጸባርቁ ቃል ግጥሞች አማካይነት ልጆችን እና ወጣቶችን በማስተማር ገና ከለጋነታቸው ጊዜ ጀምሮ ባሕርያቸውን መቅረጽ እንደሚገባ መረዳት ተችሏል፡፡ ከዚህ በተጨማሪ ቃል ግጥሞቹ በሥራ የመትጋትን ጥቅም ለማኅበረሰቡ የማሳወቅ ፋይዳ እንዳላቸው ተስተውሏል፡፡ ይህ ዓይነቱ ፋይዳ በኅብረተሰቡ ዘንድ የሥራ ፍቅር እንዲኖር ስለሚያደርግ ለኢኮኖሚውና ለማኅበራዊው ልማት የሚያበረክተው አስተዋፅኦ እጅግ ከፍተኛ ግምት የሚሰጠው ነው፡፡ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ቃል ግጥሞቹ መጥፎ ባሕርያትን የመግታት ፋይዳ እንዳላቸው ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡ በዚህ መሠረት በስንፍና፣ በዳተኝነት፣ በሐሜት፣ በክሕደት፣ በአመንዝራነት፣ ጠንቋይን በማመን፣ በመታበይ (በመኩራት)፣ በሙስና፣ በመሳሰሉት መጥፎ ተግባራት ላይ የተዘፈቁ ሰዎች አድራጎታቸውን ለመቆጣጠርና ለመግታት ሲባል በቃል ግጥሞች አማካይነት በማኅበረሰቡ ሲወገዙ ተስተውሏል፡፡ በመጨረሻም የሥነ ማኅበረሰብ፣ የሥነ ሰብና የታሪክ ምሁራን ማኅበራዊ ፋይዳን በተመለከተ የተነገሩ ሌሎች ቃል ግጥሞችን ከመስክ ሰብስበው ጥናት ቢያደርጉ የወረዳውን ማኅበረሰብ ታሪክ፣ ማኅበራዊ ሕይወት፣ ባህልና ሥነ ልቡና፣ ወዘተ. የበለጠ ለመገንዘብ ያስችላል የሚል ይሁንታ በአጥኚው ቀርቧል፡፡

The primary objective of this study is to conduct a content analysis of the social benefits of oral poems performed within the farming community of the Borena District in South Wollo. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, utilizing interviews and document analysis as data collection methods to gather oral poems from the field. The collected poems were subsequently analyzed using descriptive research, guided by functional theory. The content analysis revealed that oral poems serve several key social functions. Primarily, they are instrumental in teaching and reinforcing the community's positive values. The findings suggest that by transmitting moral lessons to children and youth, oral poems play a crucial role in shaping character from an early age. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that oral poems promote a strong work ethic by informing the community of the importance of hard work. This benefit fosters a collective appreciation for labor, which is highly valued for its contribution to both economic and social development. Conversely, it was found that oral poems also function to curb negative social behaviors. The study observed that individuals engaged in detrimental acts—such as laziness, dishonesty, gossip, betrayal, adultery, belief in witchcraft, arrogance, and corruption—are often subject to social condemnation through these poems, which serve to control and restrain such conduct. Finally, the researcher suggests that further collection and study of oral poems concerning social benefits by sociologists, anthropologists, and historians would provide deeper insights into the history, social life, culture, and mentality of the district's community.

Hiob Ludolf and Johann Michael Wansleben. Oriental Studies, Politics, and History between Gotha and Africa, 1650-1700

2026-01-09T08:26:33+00:00

The work under review promises to contribute to our understanding of two individuals who were of great importance for early modern European interest in Ethiopia: Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704) and Johann Michael Wansleben (1635-1679). The former is known as an “armchair scholar” who meticulously collected knowledge about a wide range of matters relating to Ethiopia, while the latter is known as a travelling “manuscript hunter”[1] who never actually visited the country. However, only three of the total twenty-two chapters focus on Wansleben. From the perspective of Ethiopian studies, this is regrettable, as the significance of Wansleben for Ethiopic studies has been highlighted, for example, by Alessandro Bausi.[2] Nevertheless, this does not diminish the overall high quality of the individual contributions or the volume as a whole – after all, editors of academic conference proceedings are dependent on the range of topics submitted by the scholarly community.

Announcement

2026-01-09T08:32:06+00:00

Following recent institutional reforms at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Addis Ababa University, the Journal of Ethiopian Studies will undergo a comprehensive policy and structural transformation beginning with the upcoming volume. This includes a full revision of editorial policy, a reconstitution of the editorial and advisory boards, and the recruitment of new associate editors. Additionally, the journal will see a change in leadership: the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Taddesse Berisso, and the Managing Editor, Dr. Berhanu Asfaw, will be succeeded by new editors.