Ethiopia

13 Months of Sunshine

Geography

• Location: Eastern Africa (Horn of Africa)

• Neighboring Countries: Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea

• Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 38 00 E

• Area: total: 1,127,127 sq km (comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas)

• Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

• Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

• Natural resources: gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

Demographic

• Population: 84.7 Million (2011 Census) – The second most populous nation in Africa

• Ethnic Groups: Highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups

• Languages: 90 different languages or dialectic are spoken throughout Ethiopia. • The official language of the country is Amharic

• Religion: • Christian: 63%

• Ethiopian Orthodox: 43.5%, Protestant: 18.6% and Catholic: 0.7 % of the population

• Muslim: 33%

• Traditional: 3%

• Others: 1%

• Jewish: A small Ethiopian Jewish community also reside in the northern parts of the country although almost all of them have emigrated to Israel

Antiquities

• The source of humanity: Ethiopia has archaeological and anthropological significance. Hominid fossils found in Ethiopia indicate that the region may be the origin of humanity’s presence on Earth, and the Nile River valley and delta are the home of numerous archaeological sites• The most significant discover was made in

1974 of fossil fragments called Lucy, also known as "dinknesh," which means the wondrous one, believed to have lived 3.2 millions years ago.

• Lucy recently returned back to Ethiopia (May 2013) after a six year tour of the United States

• Several additional discovers of fossil fragments has been discovered since then, with some dating older than Lucy

We are all Ethiopians

• Recorded History: Unique among African countries, Ethiopia has a written history of over 3,000 years dating back to Queen of Sheba and King Solomon

Ancient History

Christianity: Significant contribution to early Christianity as one of the first nations to officially adopt the religion during the 4th Century. The Bible was translated into Geez long before it was translated into the English (around the 3rd century). Ethiopia is mentioned in the Bible over 40 times

• Psalms 68:31 – “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”

• Acts 8:27 – “And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship”

Islam: Significant contribution to early Islam as the first nation to provide refuge for prosecuted Muslims fleeing Arabia. Prophet Mohammed sent his followers to Ethiopia when he was alive, 1400 years ago. Ethiopia is mentioned in the Quran several times:

• When Prophet Mohammed saw the persecution to which his followers were subjected to in Mecca, he told them to find safe haven in northern Ethiopia, Abyssinia, where they would "find a king there who does not wrong anyone." It was the first hijra (migration) in Islam history

The Arc of the Covenant

The Arc of the Covenant: The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to posses the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. (Locally known as Tabot).

• The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia

• The Arc arrived in Ethiopia nearly 3,000 years ago, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die.

• Replicas of the Arc are kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint. This tradition is also practiced at the Ethiopian Orthodox churches in the Denver metro area

Tabot Ceremony The Arc of the Covenant Sheba’s Palace, Axum

The Axumite Empire

The Axumite Empire: Dating back to the 2nd century BC, it was one of the world super powers during its time, along with the Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine and Persian empires

• At the height of its power (4th to 7th centuries AD), the Axumite Empire controlled most of North East Africa and the southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

• The achievements of this grand culture are recorded today in the ruins of its cities, reservoirs, temples and, most remarkably, its towering black granite obelisks

Debre Damot Monastery

Debre Damot Monastery: • Build during the 6th century AD on top of flat-topped

mountain in Adigrat of the Tigray region in Ethiopia.

• The monastery, accessible only by rope, is known for its collection of ancient manuscripts and for having the earliest existing church building in Ethiopia still in its original style

The Zagwe Dynasty and King Lalibela

The Zagwe Dynasty (900 – 1200 AD): After the decline of the Axumite empire, lamenting their lost grandeur, Ethiopia's rulers retreated with their Christian subjects to the lofty escarpment of the central uplands creating a striving medieval dynasty with magnificent architecture and monasteries that still stand.

Lalibela: King Lalibela who has spent time in Jerusalem as a youth is said to have envisioned to created a new Jerusalem in Ethiopia after the capture of old Jerusalem by Muslims in 1187. He built an entire city, mostly under ground, curved out of single rocks connected by tunnels and reservoirs.

Magnificent Architectures: There are twelve churches and chapels, including various shrines. Four churches are monolithic in the strict sense; the remainder are excavated churches in different degrees of separation from the rock. The walls of the trenches and courtyards contain cavities and chambers sometimes filled with the mummies of pious monks and pilgrims

Lalibela“The 8th Wonder of the World”

The Kingdom of FasiledesGonder – the 1600’s

• King Fasiledes was credited for restoring the official status of the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church and restoring ancient relationships with Egypt, Europe and India.

• Established Gonder as the capital of Ethiopia• Built over 44 well known churches and cathedrals

including St. Mary of Zion at Axum • Credits for hundreds of stone castles, architectures, and

bridges across Ethiopia

3,000 years of Independence

The Battle of Adwa: The first defeat of European forces in Africa during their attempt to colonize the continent. The Battle of Adwa was fought on 1 March 1896 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray. It was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War, securing Ethiopian sovereignty.

World War II: The second attempt by Italy to colonize Ethiopia. Italy’s briefly occupied Ethiopia, by mass murdering millions of Ethiopians using Chemical weapons; initiating one of the first battle grounds of World War II. Ethiopian King Haile Selassie played a major role in creating a coalition with the British army to defeat the Italian forces

Haile Selassie IRas Teferri – The last Emperor

Haile Selsassie I: (Ras Teferri) a defining figure in Ethiopian, African and Caribbean history • Heir to a dynasty that traced its origins by tradition from King Solomon and Empress of the

Axumite Kingdom (Queen of Sheba) 1916 – 1974• Ruled Ethiopia from 1916 to 1974; gained international fame for his Advocacy for African

independence from colonization and race equality for the African diaspora• Drive for pan-Africanism and African union; co-founded the African Union – AU• Founding member of the League of Nation (United Nations - UN)• Spoke out at the League of Nation against the use of chemical weapons and proved

seminal in promoting international multilateralism and collective security• 200,000 – 800,000 Caribbeans considered him a messiah creating the Ras Tefferiansim

movement

MusicSaint Yared

Saint Yared: (April 25, 505 – May 20, 571) was a legendary Ethiopian musician credited with inventing the sacred music tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Ethiopia's system of musical notation. • Invented the Zema or the chant tradition of

Ethiopia, particularly the chants of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which are still performed today.

• Regarded as a saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with a feast day of May 19.

Musical Instruments: Unique musical instruments in various formats have been used for thousands of years

Dances: Various forms of dances that are authentic to Ethiopia are practices across the nation

Cuisine and Coffee

Ethiopian Food: characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes, usually in the form of Wat (also w'et or wot), a thick stew, served atop Injera, a large sourdough flatbread. Ethiopians eat exclusively with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes. Utensils are rarely used with Ethiopian cuisine

Coffee Ceremony: Ethiopia known to the birth place of coffee. The coffee ceremony is one of the most recognizable parts of Ethiopian culture. Coffee is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely tea (shai) will be served

Unique Writing System and NumbersGe’ez Alphabets and Numbers

Ge'ez Alphabets: an ancient script used as a syllable alphabet for several languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea. In Amharic and Tigrinya the script is often called fidäl (ፊደል), which means "script" or "alphabet".• Earliest inscriptions dates back to 9th

century BC• Written from left to right• Computer software to write Ge’ez scripts

was invented by Ethiopian Scientist Dr. Aberra Molla from Colorado

Numbers: Ge'ez uses a system of ones and tens comparable to the Hebrew, Arabic abjad and Greek numerals, but unlike these systems, rather than giving numeric values to letters, it has digits derived from the Coptic letter-numbers. The Ethiopian numbers were developed independently prior to 4th century AD (Ayele Bekerie of Cornell University)

Time CountingThe Ethiopian Colander – 13 Months a Year

The Ethiopian calendar: also called the Ge'ez calendar, is an ancient colander which is still used as the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea. • It is based on the older Alexandrian/Coptic calendar, derives from the Egyptian calendar• The Calendar has twelve months of exactly 30 days each plus a thirteenth month of five or

six days, depending on the year (add a day for leap year)• The current year according to the Ethiopian calendar is 2005, began on Sept 11, 2012• In a recent debate, the calendar was acknowledged as historically accurate by His Holiness

Pope Benedict XVI in response to an open letter written by Dr. Aberra Molla

Philosophers and Thinkers

Ethiopian Philosophy: The character of Ethiopian philosophy is determined by the particular conditions of evolution of the Ethiopian culture. Thus, Ethiopian philosophy arises from the confluence of Greek and Patristic philosophy with African traditional modes of thought. Because of the early isolation from its sources of spirituality – Byzantium and Alexandria – Ethiopian philosophy has some of its philosophical heritage through Arabic versions.

Zera Yacob: "Seed of Jacob” (1399–1468) was King of Ethiopia from 1434 – 1469 (throne name Constantine I), and a member of the Solomonic Dynasty from the area known as Tilq in what is now the region of Oromia

Walda Heywat: A disciple of Zera Yacob wrote a philosophical treatise, systematizing his master’s thought. He accorded more attention to the practical and educational problems, and he tried to connect Zera Yacob’s philosophy with the kind of wisdom expressed in the earlier sapiential literature. Walda Heywat recurs intensively to illustrations and parabola, and many times the source of his examples is the Book of the Wise Philosophers

Africa and EthiopiaColonization and Liberation

• The colors of Pan-Africanism: Green Yellow Red - many African nations adopted the Ethiopian Flag colors at time of their independence

• As one of the only two nations in Africa that has never been colonized (Ethiopia and Liberia), Ethiopia played a major role in the liberation of Africa from colonization and the movement for pan-African unity • Co-founder of the Organization of African Union (Current head quarter located in Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia) and an advocate for liberation the League of Nation (UN)• Ethiopia provided material, moral and military support through out the years of colonization

to help other African nations. • E.g. Ethiopia issues Nelson Mandela a passport in 1962 enabling him to travel by

defying the Apartheid rulers who labeled him a terrorist

“Ethiopia has always held a special place in my own imagination and the prospect

of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England

and America combined. I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the

roots of what made me an African.” Nelson Mandela in his AutobiographyFlag of Ghana Flag of Mali

United States and EthiopiaFriendship

Korean War: In June 1950, when the Korean War began, the U.N. built a coalition to fight against communist North Korean and Chinese forces. Haile Selassie, then emperor of Ethiopia, formed the Kagnew Battalions from his personal bodyguards. During the war, three battalions served in Korea. Another arrived following the cessation of hostilities. During the fighting, 122 Ethiopian troops were killed, 526 were wounded. The Ethiopian troops never lost a single battle during this war.

"We went with Americans to the front line and fought together. From that, we helped a great nation, Korea, to survive.“ Yilma Getachew – Korean War Veteran and Hero

Ethiopian Cultural Event – Denver, COJuly 21st, 2013

Ethiopian Evening at the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning

http://spring-institute.org/

Presented by: Nebiyu Asfawnebiyuasfaw@yahoo.com