ethiopica: some historical reflections on the origin of the wordethiopia

Ethiopica: Some Historical Reflections on the Origin of the Word EthiopiaAuthor(s): AYELE BEKERIESource: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter/Spring 2004), pp.110-121Published by: Tsehai PublishersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27828841 .

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Ethiopica: Some Historical Reflections on the Origin of the Word Ethiopia

AYELE BEKERIE

The name Ethiopia invokes a unique identity incongruent with Africa. The name presumably was coined by outsiders, who lavished Ethiopians with praises and 'blamelessness,

'

thereby, in the process, extrapolating an external source for the origin of Ethiopia's history and culture. According to an

Ethiopian tradition, the term Ethiopia is derived from the word Ethiopis, a name of an Ethiopian king. The Ethiopian Book of Aksum identifies Ethiopis as the twelfth king of Ethiopia and the father of Aksumawi. Ethiopia's rich, varied and original history forms a tangible center, not only in

self-naming of the Ethiopians, but also in affirming Africa's contribution to world history.

In the morning of the world, when the fingers of love swept aside the curtains of time, our dusky mother, Ethiopia, held the stage. It was

she who wooed civilization and gave birth to nations. Egypt was her

fiist-bom.

George Wells Parker1

Richard

B. Moore in his now classical essay entitled "the Name 'Negro' Its Origin and Evil Use," convincingly argued for the rights of all peoples to

name themselves and to define their own identities.2 Naming plays a critical dual role either in defining or distorting one's identity, in articulating or

blunting the essence of being human, and in evoking respect or disrespect from human community. Here is Moore's critical analysis about "Name

associated with vicious ideas": "The important thing about a name is the

impression it makes in the minds of others and the reactions which it invokes through the association of ideas." In the case of the Ethiopians, the name

Ethiopia seems to invoke a sort of unique identity incongruent with Africa, for the name presumably coined by outsiders, who lavished them with praises and "blamelessness," thereby, in the process, implanting external source of

Ethiopia's history and culture.3

The International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (ISSN: 1543-4133) is published two times a year by Tsehai Publishers, P. O. Box: 1881, Hollywood, CA 90078. Copyright ? 2004. Volume I, Number 2.



ETHIOPICA: SOME HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS 111

The term was further recognized with Semitism and even "black

caucasianness," ([Levine, 1974], the reform-minded Ethiopianist, used

the phrase "Dark-skinned Caucasoid."),4 particularly at the height of the

nineteenth century hegemonic Eurocentrism. This was instrumental in

the propagation and perpetuation of the so-called Ethiopian uniqueness

incompatible with "black Africa." The most unfortunate situation about this

false history is that many people in Ethiopia, including its leaders and scholars, carry it as a badge of honor and it is actively propagated.

The late great athlete and scholar, Arthur Ashe, also poignantly pointed out the consequence of being misnamed. He linked it to what he calls

"process of devaluation,"5 and he cited a personal example of what it takes

to literally deal with this process on a daily basis, regardless of your ability and accomplishments. The culture of Africa from Ethiopia devalued and then

reemerged via the prism of Eurocentrism. It was renamed to fit the category of South Arabia, Western Asia, Semites, Orientals, and the likes?all with one purpose: the denial or the falsification of the African authorship of the

Ethiopian culture. Moreover, this is an example of "spurious and divisive

'ethnology',"6 designed to divide Africa via a racist and dualistic "black against white construct." This is indeed a way to dispossess the cultural legacy of the

African people. It is a way, as Moore puts it, "to mark people for a special condition of oppression, degradation, exploitation, and annihilation."7 In the case of Ethiopia, one may want to add, cultural appropriation. Here it is suffice

to mention the loot of several Ethiopian manuscripts by the expeditionary forces of England in the nineteenth century; most of these manuscripts are

still housed in the British Museum or other museums in Europe.

It appears that the persistent confusion with regard to Ethiopia lies more

with the historical origin of the term than its meaning. Ethiopians' compliance with a false pride and a false identity commensurate not with their own

makings and accomplishments, but rather with a Greek or Semitic label, defies

logic and common sense. However, it appears that there is a certain degree of external manipulation even in a society or people, who have successfully

repulsed direct European colonization.

The advocates of the external paradigm (from Greeks to Germans to Arabs, just to name a few) lavished the Ethiopians with a wide array of non-African names, such as Semites and Hamitic Caucasions. What has been neglected in

the process was the deliberate intent of plucking Ethiopia out of Africa.

If that becomes illogical, short of concealing its fabrication on ideological ground, then the phenomena would be explained as if it is alienated from itself. Historical and psychological stability is sought by attributing origin to external sources. In a society where naming plays a central role as parts of socialization



112 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHIOPIAN STUDIES

and cultural affirmation, it is indeed problematic to entertain a notion that the

collective name attributable to the Ethiopians would have external origin. Let

us now examine some of the most pervasive nomenclatures that are usually associated with the 'unique' Ethiopians.

What Is Semitic?

The problem with the word 'Semitic' is the vast range of languages and

writing systems that it presumed to represent. Like the term 'Orientalism,' Semitism is a word more valuable for ideological or political purposes than to describe accurately the genetic links of languages. Moreover, the term is used

quite arbitrarily for both syllabic and alphabetic writing systems. It appears that all writings?with the exception of the Egyptian writing system?are traced back to historically, geographically, and culturally non-definable term

like 'Semitism.' It is perhaps this problematic with the word that led John F.

Healey (1990) in the influential British Museum publication called Readings the Past: The Early Alphabet to write:

The term 'Semitic' is an accident in the history of scholarship in this field, which arose from an assumed connection with Shem, the son of Noah. It was coined in the eighteenth century AD to refer to a group of languages of which Hebrew and Arabic were

the best-known constituents. Today one might prefer a different

term, perhaps geographical ('Western Asiatic' or 'Syro-Arabian'), but all other terms have drawbacks and 'Semitic' is convenient

and traditional.8

In spite of his circular argument or even the lack of it, Healey has a

point. However, it is unfortunate that he decided to retreat to the same term

in the name of convenience and tradition, thereby ignoring or conduct an

argument from silence regarding the enormous confusion the term created.

The confusion is not only in the study of languages and writing systems, but, most importantly, also in defining one's historical identity. For instance,

Ethiopians are not 'Semitic' people; they are originally and culturally African

people. Their history begins and still flourishes in Africa. They do not fit nor

they need any of these divisive and non-historic terms like 'Western Asiatic' or 'Syro-Arabian.'

Even the reformist or progressive forces like Healey and Bernai (1987) cannot completely disassociate themselves from the external paradigm. The

issue is very simple, 'Aryanism' or 'Semitism' have central values only to

explain the history and culture of the specific people and land, if they are so defined. Most likely both terms are products of the sociology of knowledge emerged and prevailed in the nineteenth century Europe and its imperialistic




enterprise throughout the world. Therefore, their historic values are quite limited.

What Is Abyssinia?

Abyssinia is a term coined at the height of nineteenth century European imperialism. Bernai (1987) traced the term to a renowned book published in England in the nineteenth century: Rasselas: Prince of Abyssinia. In the book, the Abyssinian prince is identified as Asiatic prince.9

Abyssinia is supposedly derived from an Arabic word Habash, which reportedly means mixture of races (sic). This term came into popular use at

the time Europe is spreading its hegemonistic tentacles over the continent of

Africa, dubbed the 'Dark Continent.' Civilizational artifacts found in Africa had to be explained away in order not to compromise the theory of the 'white man's burden.' According to Ethiopian sources, Abyssinia is derived from

Habisi, who was the son of Kush. Aleqa Asras Yenesaw, one of the great

indigenous Ethiopian scholars, emphatically rejects the link between the Arabic word habesh and Abyssinia.

What Is Ethiopia?

According to an Ethiopian tradition, the term Ethiopia is derived from the word Ethiopis, a name of the Ethiopian king, the seventh in the ancestral lines.

Metshafe Aksum or the Ethiopian Book of Aksum identifies Itiopis as the twelfth king of Ethiopia and the father of Aksumawi.11 The Ethiopians pronounce

Ethiopia li-t^k? with a Sades or the sixth sound l\ as in incorporate and the graph p ? has no equivalent in English or Latin graphs. Ethiopis is believed to be the twelfth direct descendant of Adam. His father is identified as Kush,

while his grandfather is known as Kam.12 Pliny seemed to agree with the

traditional Ethiopian sources, for he also attributed the word Aethiopia to

Aethiopis, whom he referred to as the son of Vulcan.13

Another significant reference to Ethiopis was made by "the Ionian bard, Arctinus of Miletus who was one of the earliest, and the best loved singers of

antiquity."14 Arctinus of Miletus has composed a poem entitled Ethiopis.15

Etymologically, the word Ethiopia, particularly the prefix Eth, in some

Ethiopian tradition, is traced to Itan, a Ge'ez/Amharic word for incense.

The term may refer to the land of incense or the sacred land?a reference to

the Ethiopian plateau. Munro-Hay has reported "account of trade.. .in Rhino

Horn, Incense, and emeralds from the Beja lands in the Red Sea hills.16 Munro

Hay has also confirmed that "Aksum" is still today a sorting and distribution center for the frankincense produced in the region."17




Most writers, however, credited the Greeks for coining the term Aethiopia, which reportedly means "burnt faces," and it is widely believed to have

been invented by Homer.18 "The term Ethiopia is of Greek origin?diffuse

designation for the African landmass south of Egypt," wrote Bahra Zewde

(1991) in his most recent book entitled: A History of Modern Ethiopia: 1855 1974.19

Diodorous Siculus, a Greek historian of the first century BCE, identified the Ethiopians, who were "born under the sun's path." He wrote: "The

Ethiopians conceived themselves to be of greater antiquity than any other

nation, and it is probable, that, born under the sun's path, its warmth may have ripened them earlier than other men. They supposed themselves to be the

inventors of worship, of festivals, of solemn assemblies, of sacrifice, and of

every religious practice."20

One of the most systematic treatments of the ancient sources with regard to Ethiopia, its history, geography, and culture, is found in Hansberry's (1981)

work. After decades of tedious research throughout the world, in the words

of Harris, Hansberry wrote a comprehensive historical sources of ancient

Ethiopia. According to Harris (1981),21 "To date, the best comprehensive and authoritative book in this general field is Frank Snowden's (1970) Blacks in

Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Cambridge, MA)"22

W.E.B. DuBois in his book Black Folk Then and Now: An Essay in the History and Sociology of the Negro Race linked the term Ethiopia with "Kush" and "Punt." Regarding the origins of these terms and their relationship to Ethiopia

DuBois wrote: "The Ethiopians designated the country or a large part of it as

'Ques' l>7? {Kush) or 'Kesh,' which the Egyptians translated into 'Kush.' Parts

of Ethiopia near Egypt were called 'Land of the Kupar' or 'Korti.' ... The

Egyptians called part of the Ethiopia nearest them 'the Land of Nehesi'; that is the land of the blacks. Beyond that was Khent, the borderland; and Ta-Seti, 'the land of the Bow' During the Middle and New Kingdoms, the Egyptians called

Ethiopia 'Kash' or 'Kush.' In the farthest confines of Kush lay Punt, the cradle of their race."23 Hansberry (1981) confirms the assertion of DuBois when he wrote: "Ethiopians designated their country, or at least a goodly part of it, as the land of Qevs (Kush) (Kasa)."2A An inscription discovered in Ethiopia in 1914 and studied by A.H. Sayce and G.L. Griffith of Oxford University, according to Hansberry, seems to suggest that the term is "indigenous to the

country and peoples to which they were generally applied."25

The hieroglyphic of Kush has a demonstrative with a clear reference to mountains, the mountains of Ethiopia or East Africa.26 Hansberry (1981) reported the appearance of Kush in Egyptian records in the second millennium before the Christian era and "continued to be the chief name applied to the




lands of the south until the collapse of the Egyptian civilization."27 Vycichl (1957) also reports the appearance of the name of Kush in the middle Egyptian Empire in association with the 'Negroes' of the South.

Apart from Ethiopian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Hebrew sources.28 DuBois gave the following sources, "who refer to the ancient

Ethiopians in exalted terms, and consider them as the oldest, the wisest and

most just of men."29

Kush and Kasa are also terms that are commonly used by the rulers of

Ethiopia, from Emperor Ezana of the fourth century of the Common Era to

Yohannes of the nineteenth century. Vycichl (1957) cited Ezana's use of Kush in his title (Ezana holds the title of king of Kush and Beja). Bedja (fl#) is the lowland dry country between the Nile and the Red Sea.

Ancient Ethiopia?was almost synonymous with Africa. The name

Ethiopia is associated with Upper Egypt, Nubia, Meroe, Western Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and even India. According to Harris (1981), "the early Greeks and Romans described all the black people inhabiting the lands south of the Mediterranean coast of Africa as Ethiopians."30

While ancient Ethiopia covers a vast region of Africa as well as southern

Arabia, contemporary Ethiopia is a country, located in the Horn of Africa, bounded by the Sudan in the north and southwest; Eritrea in the north; Kenya in the south; Somalia in the east; and Djibouti in the northeast. Ethiopia's total area of 1, 133, 380 sq. km. (437,600 sq. mi.) comprises of plateaus, mountain

escarpments, rift valleys, below-sea-level depressions, lakes and rivers with the resultant spectacular landscapes, waterfalls, and divergent climate and soils.

The land is conducive for a remarkable variety of plants and animals. The

southern half of Ethiopia is bisected by the rift valley, ranging between 40 60 km in width and containing a number of lakes. The rift valley region has become central in our search for human beginnings. In W.E.B. DuBois' words:

"It is a great-pear-shaped mountain mass, cut into island-like sections which are separated by deep gorges and ravines."31

Ethiopia is also the source of the Blue Nile that supplies four-fifths of the Nile river's own water, the primary source of livelihood for more than

90 million people in the Sudan and Egypt.32 Ethiopian sources argue that the Biblical reference to Ethiopia is the Ethiopia where the Blue Nile originates. They cite Genesis 2:13 where the second Nile river called Ghion which encircles all the land of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's almost 70 million people, the third largest population in Africa, constitute perhaps more than 100 nationalities where up to 90 percent of the

population is engaged in agriculture. The Oromos, 50 percent of the total




population, are the largest linguistic group. The Oromos are found both in the lowlands and highlands of Ethiopia with pastoralism as their major

occupation, even though they are also major producers of cereal crops, such as barley, wheat, teff, as well as a variety of leguminous crops. They are also

followers of Christianity, Islam and indigenous religions.33 W.E.B. DuBois

links the Oromos with the eleventh and twelfth dynasties of Egypt. Contrary to the popular belief that describes the Oromos as sixteenth century migrants and settlers in the Ethiopian highlands, the Oromos appeared to be as ancient and indigenous, just like the Amharas, the Agews, the Tigreans, and the Bejas.

According to W.E.B. DuBois (1947; Reprint, 1972), "the First (Egyptian) Dynasty appears to have moved up from Punt. The Third Dynasty, which led to the Forth, shows a strongly Ethiopian face in Sa Nekht.

The Twelfth Dynasty (1955 BCE?1750 BCE) we can trace to a Galla [Oromo] origin; the Eighteenth Dynasty was Ethiopian paled by marriage; the Twenty-fifth Dynasty was from distant Meroe."34 DuBois also quotes Sir

Harry Johnston as stating: "The Dynastic Egyptians were not far distant in

physical type from the Galla of today, but they had perhaps some element of the proto-Semite; and their language is still rather a puzzle to classifiers,

though mainly Kushite in its features...."35

DuBois' suggestion is further strengthened when the following statement

is reported in Egyptian Civilization Daily Life: In 1905-1906 the tombs of three monarchs (local princes) contemporary with their names are:

1. Uahkal

2. Ibu, and

3. Uahkall

The excavation took place in Asyut, Gebelein, and Qau-el-Kebir in Egypt. Among the findings are "the status of Uahka I."36 The Oromo-Ancient

Egyptian connection could be deduced from a significant Oromo conceptual term found in these ancient Egyptian documents and artifacts. The term is

"Auqas a name of the divine ferryman."37 The Oromos call their God Waqaa and Waqeyo <P+P" is one of the most popular names among the Oromos.

It may also be from this term that we have a Greek derivation Okeanos and the Amaregna derivation Ouqianos and the English derivation Ocean.38

It is also interesting to note that the term Sirius, the beautiful star that rises once a year towards the source of the Nile, corresponds both in meaning and pronunciation with the Oromo term for a dog, Sarre. The star warns

the Egyptian farmer against the coming water and hence the metaphoric designation Sirius, because it is like a barking dog, which gives notice to danger and, therefore, called this star the dog, the barker.39




The Amharas and Tigrayans (40 percent) are the second largest constituents

who together provided the elites who have ruled Ethiopia for more than a millennium. The other nationalities include the Somalis, Gurages, Sidamas,

Wolaytas, Afars, Hadiyyas, Gamos, Gedeos, Kafas, Kambaatas, Awngis, K?los, Goffas, Benchs, Aris, Konsos, Kamirs, Alabas, Gumuzs, Bertas,

Koyras, Timbaros, Yemsas, Nuers, Basketos, Mochas, Males, Me'ens, Gidoles, and Kemants. While Orthodox Christianity has been the religion of, primarily, the highland dwellers since 330 AD, most of the lowlanders are Moslems or believers in indigenous religions.

The mobile nature of the monarchy, even if it was taking place periodically? for most of Ethiopian history?and the constant civil and political challenges it has encountered, mostly from within, transformed the country into a land

of multiple national groupings. Cross-fertilization of cultures, languages, and

religions took place as a result of the dynamic interactions among diverse

nationalities. Ethiopia's long sustainable and stable socioeconomic and cultural

development have also contributed to the process of fusing and sieving the various cultures in a unified and well-articulated Ethiopian identity.

The Amharas (30 percent) are the second largest constituents and they also have a dynamic and broad cultural and historical tradition, which is influential both in the ancient and the contemporary world as well as from within and without Ethiopia. The Amharic language has adopted an expanded version of

the Ethiopie Writing System, with particular emphasis on syllabary. Fidel is

essentially a Pan-Ethiopian Writing System, for it could be used to write other Ethiopian languages, such as Oromegna and Guragegna.

Tigreans, who are one of the direct descendants of the Aksumites, have

also contributed a great deal in the development and enhancement of the

Ethiopian culture and history. Their contribution is quite vivid, particularly in

literary and ecclesiastical fields.

Ethiopian culture enjoys a great deal of diversity and vitality from the contribution of the people of Southern and Eastern Ethiopia, such as the

Wallamos, Gurages, Aderes, Bejas, Somalis, and Afars. While Tewhado

Christianity has been the religion of, primarily, the highland dwellers since the first century of our era, most of the lowlanders are Moslems or believers in

other indigenous African religions.40

Ethiopia's long sustained independence, unique and old Christian tradition, references in the Bible, the Koran and ancients classic literatures

generated a powerful symbol to African people throughout the world. The

aspiration of freedom linked the enslaved, colonized, and oppressed Africans to Ethiopia?a sacred symbol of African peoples' power and independence.




Since antiquity, Ethiopia has borne great meaning for the African world as

a whole. The most cherished quotation from the Bible among African people is the quotation from Psalms 68:31 "...Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her

hands to God." The biblical prophecy concerning Ethiopia was incorporated in African social, religious, cultural, political, and economic movements

throughout the world. From the "Universal Ethiopian Anthem" of the

Universal Negro Improvement Association to the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem or the Caribbean, the name Ethiopia is invoked with reverence and pride.41 As Magubane (1987) puts it, Ethiopia is "the broad and nearly generic term for the whole universe of African people."42 Magubane further

commented: "for a people whose history had deliberately starved of all legend,

Ethiopia linked the African...to the glory of ancient classical times. The fact

that Iliad speaks of the gods feasting among the blameless Ethiopians and Homer's praise of the king of Ethiopia...gave a great deal of vicarious pride and satisfaction to the African people."43

William Leo Hansberry, eminent African American historian and

Ethiopianist scholar, referred to ancient Ethiopia as "original Eden of humankind."44 According to J.A. Rogers, Ethiopia was generally believed by most ancient scholars to have been the first of the nations and the mother of

civilization.45 Even contemporary scholars appeared to corroborate this fact.

According to the Newsweek of January 11, 1988, the first human being was found in Ethiopia. The magazine reported that "following a trail of DNA,

geneticists think that they've found our common ancestor?a 200,000-year-old woman who left a legacy of resilient genes that are carried by all of mankind."46

Ethiopia has become one of the most important sites in the world in the

unearthing and understanding of our earliest ancestors. Among the earliest

human-like species found in Ethiopia are: Aridepithecus ramidus (4.4?4.5

myo), Australopithecus afarensis also known as Dinqnesh (3.18 myo), and

Australopithecus garhi (2.5?2.9 myo). A. ramidus (an Afar word for root) is one of the earliest hominid species found in Aramis, Afar region by a team

including Tim White and Berhane Asfaw. A. afarensis is widely considered to be the basal stalk from which other hominids evolved. Dinqnesh was found in Hadar, Afar region by Donald Johanson and his team in 1974. In addition, the oldest stone tools or the earliest stone technology, which is dated 2.5 million years old, was found in the Afar region by an Ethiopian paleontologist, Seleshi Semaw and his team in 1998.

Furthermore, Ethiopia has also provided us with a concrete fossil evidence for the emergence of modern human species, Homo sapiens, about 160, 000

years ago, again from the Afar region of Ethiopia. The fossil evidence supports the DNA evidence that traced our common ancestor to a 200,000-year-old

African woman.47 "Geneticists traced her identity by analyzing DNA passed




exclusively from mother to daughter in the mitochondria, energy-producing organelles in the cell."48 Likewise, scientists from Stanford University and the

University of Arizona have conducted a study to find the genetic trail leading to the earliest African man or Adam. According to this Y chromosome

study, the earliest male ancestors of the modern human species include some

Ethiopians, whose descendants populated the entire world.49

According to Berhane Asfaw, an Ethiopian paleontologist, Idaltu, the

probable immediate ancestor of anatomically modern humans and the 160,000

year-old fossilized hominid crania from Herto, Middle awash, Ethiopia, "fill the gap and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual

circumstances of the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa."50

In other words, as Lapiso Dilebo puts it, "Ethiopia is the primordial home of primal human beings and that ancient Ethiopian civilization ipso facto and

by recent archeological findings precedes chronologically and causally all civilizations of the ancients, especially that of pharaonic and Greco-Roman

civilizations."51

Thus Ethiopia, both in name and deeds, is deeply rooted in the deep soils of Africa. Its rich, varied and original history forms a tangible place or center, not only in self-defining and self-naming of the Ethiopian people, but also in

affirming Africa's contribution to world history.

Notes

1 George Wells Parker, The Children of the Sun (Hamitic League of the World,

1918; reprint, Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press, 1981), p. 3. 2 Richard B. Moore's essay is recently published in a book form by Black Classic Press in cooperation with his daughter Joyce Moore Turner. See Richard B.

Moore, The Name "Negro" Its Origin and Evil Use, edited by W. Burghardt Turner and

Joyce Moore Turner (1960; reprint, Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press, 1992). 3 "Blameless" is a term used by Homer, the Greek poet in reference to

"Ethiopia's blameless race." It is quoted in William Leo Hansberry's Africa & Africans As Seen By Classical Writers, African History Notebook, Vol. 2, ed. Joseph E. Harris

(Washington, DC: Howard University Press), p. 79. 4

Levine, Greater Ethiopia, p. 28. 5 The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 12, 1993, p. A31; An excerpt from the

Charlie Rose Show, WNET-TV, New York, February 8, 1993, an Interview with Arthur Ashe.

6 Moore, The Name "Negro" Its Origin and Evil Use, p. 87.

7 Ibid., p. 48.

8 Healey, The Early Alphabet (1990), p. 10.




9 Bernai, Black Athena (1990), p. 10.

10 Asras Yenesaw, Tibe Aksum Menu Ante? Addis Ababa: Commercial Printing Press, 1958, p. 79 (In Amaregna). 11 Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity (Edinburgh, 1991), pp. 11-12.

12 Ethiopian Bible (YeEthiopia QedusMetshaj) Genesis 1, Chap. 5.

13 Wallis Budge, A History of Ethiopia, p. 2. 14 William Leo Hansberry, Africa & Africans As Seen by Classical Writers (1981), p. 87.

15 Ibid. 16

Munro-Hay, Aksum (1991), p. 6. 17

Ibid., p. 11. 18 See Joseph E. Harris, ed., Africa and Africans As Seen by Classical Writers:

William Leo Hansberry African History Notebook, Volume Two (Washington, DC: Howard University, Press), p. 5. 19 Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1974 (Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press, 1991), p. 1.

20 Quoted in Bernard M. Magubane, The Ties That Bind: African-American

Consciousness of Africa (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1987), p. 163. 21

Hansberry's Africa and Africans As Seen By Classical Writers, ed. Joseph E. Harris (1981) the quote appears in the Preface, p. xii.

22 Hansberry, Africa & Africans (1981), pp. 8-9. Hansberry reached his

conclusion on the basis of the works done by A.H. Sayce and G.L. Griffith of Oxford

University in 1914. 23 William E. Burghardt DuBois, Black Folk Then and Now: An Essay in the History

and Sociology of the Negro Race (New York: Octagon Books, 1970), p. 16. 24

Hansberry, p. 9. 25 See Werner Vycichl "le Pays De Kouch Dans Inscription Ethiopienne," in

Annales D'Ethiopie, Parts 1 & 2 (Paris: Nendlein, 1957; Kraus Reprint, 1975), pp. 177 179.

26 Hansberry (1981), p. 11.

27 Ibid., p. 178. Vycichl gave the form Ks (Egypt), Kasi (Babylon), Ku-u-si

(Assyria), and Kus (Hebrew). 28 Ibid., p. 17.

29 Werner Vycichl, "le Pays De Kouch Dans Une Inscripton Ethiopienne," Annales D'Ethiopie (1955-57), p. 178.

30 See John G. Jacksoris Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization (1939; Reprint, Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press), p. 8.

31 W.E.B. DuBois, "Inter-Racial Implications of the Ethiopian Crisis: A Negro View," Foreign Affairs, 14:1, October 1935, p.82. 32

Hansberry (1981), p. XIX. 33 See Harold D. Nelson and Irving Kaplan, ed., Ethiopia: A Country Study

(Washington, DC: The American University, 1981); and Africa South of the Sahara: 1989, 18th ed. (London: Europa Publications Limited, 1988), pp. 452-479. 34

Obenga, Ancient Egypt (1990), p. 84. 35 W.E.B. DuBois, The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has

Played in World History (New York: International Publishers, 1972), p. 110. 36 John G. Jackson, Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization (1939; reprint,

Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press), p. 14. 37 W.E.B. DuBois, 110.




38 Istuto Bancario San Paolo Di Torino, Egyptian Civilization Daily Life (Turin, Italy, 1988), p. 15.

39 Ibid. 40 See J.S. Trmingham, Islam in Ethiopia (London: Oxford University Press,

1952); and Tadesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia: 1270-1527(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972). 41 Randall Burkett, Garveyism as a Religious Movement (Secaucus, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1976), pp. 34-36.

42 Bernard Magubane, The Ties That Bind (1987), p. 160. 43

Ibid., p. 163. 44 William Leo Hansberry and E. Harper Johnson, "Africa's Golden Past, Part

1," Ebony 20 (1) (November 1964), p. 31. 45 J. A. Rogers, The Real Facts About Ethiopia (Reprint, Baltimore, MD: Black

Classic Press, 1982), p. 8. 46

"Searching for Adam and Eve," Newsweek (January 11, 1988), pp. 46-53. 47 Personal correspondence with Dr. Seleshi Semaw, who gave a public lecture at Cornell University on March 25, 1997 immediately after the discovery of the oldest stone tools. Also see "Searching for Adam and Eve," Newsweek, January 11, 1988, pp. 46-53.

48 Science Vol. 278, 31 October 1997, p. 804. 49 "Y Chromosome Shows That Adam Was an African," Science Vol 278, 31

October 1997, p. 804. 50 White, Tim D, Berhane Asfaw and others, "Pleistocene Homo sapiens from

Middle Awash, Ethiopia," Nature Vol. 423, 12 June 2003, p. 742. 51

Quoted in Muhyadin Ali Yusuf's, "Recovering the Hidden Treasures of the

Past," The Ethiopian Herald, 26 August 1999, p. 6.



ethiopica: some historical reflections on the origin of the wordethiopia

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