by Mesfin Woldemariam
Professor of Geography
The first part of this article is here – Introducing Ethiopia – Part 1
Ethiopia’s landscape is characterized by rugged topography as its people are by rugged individualism.
Whether there is a relationship between rugged topography and rugged individualism may be debatable. But the facts would be considered as incontestable.
Rugged individualism, however, is more of a mental peculiarity rather than a social one, for Ethiopians are intensely social in their own milieu.
There are also other characteristics of Ethiopians; a profound and unshakeable faith in God who controls thought, speech and action, and that nothing ever happens outside His will. Ethiopians greeting is a form of prayer.
The polite way of greeting, tena yistilegn, means “may God grant you health”. The more egalitarian morning greeting, indet aderk (for male) or indet adersh (for female) means, “how did you spend the night?”.
It is not a question intended to satisfy ones curiosity about night time activity. It is an expression of personal concern and a means of providing an opportunity to thank God for surviving through the night. Different forms of the same greeting apply for different parts of the day.
It also faith in God and the conviction that all human beings created in the image of God that forms the foundation for the sense of justice, the sense of honor and independence that are characteristic of traditional Ethiopians.
It must also be the source of their resolute courage for defending the freedom and the independence of their country against intruders throughout the centuries. From historical and cultural perspectives, the location of Ethiopia has also played a significant role.
Located between the Arabian Peninsula in the east from which it is separated by the red sea (which is only 40km at its narrowest), Arab Africa in the north and sub-Saharan Africa in the south, Ethiopia could not escape significant interactions with these three rather different cultural regions.
This interaction has created a manifest diversity of physiognomy and culture. It is with good reason, therefore, that the Italian scholar Conti Rossini described Ethiopia as “a museum of peoples.” Some 80 to 100 language groups constitute this “museum of peoples”.
Ethiopian Judaism, Ethiopian Christianity, Ethiopian islam and Ethiopian Animist religions are superimposed on the preexistent Ethiopian diversity as greater unifying factors. Each one of the three great religions of the world—judaism, Christianity and islam has its on Ethiopian peculiarity.
Not only is each one ofthem different from its western or eastern component, but each has also unmistakable Ethiopian cultural stamp that provides a common and unifying element.
These great religions share an uncommon spiritual bond in Ethiopia. It is important to bear in mind that all the three great religions developed in isolation in Ethiopia. Not only was contact with the outside world rare and far between, even internal contact with the outside world rare and far between, even internal contact was gravely constrained by the rugged topography.
What Ethiopia’s proximity to the three broad cultural regions, the Arabian Penninsula, Arab Africa and Sub Saharan Africa has administered, Ethiopia’s topography has preserved. Some interpretations for the peculiarity of the great religions in Ethiopia see it as the juxtaposition of these religions on a pagan base.
