My Projects: October 2013

The Amhara name means "pleasing, agreeable, beautiful, and gracious". The Amhara are an ethnic group that live in the central highland plateau of Ethiopia numbering about 24 million people and covering about 27% of the country's population. The Amhara are the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia after Oromo.

LOCATION

The Amhara have lived in Ethiopia for over two thousand years. Because the area is surrounded by great gorges and walled by high mountains, the Amhara at first were isolated and not influenced by the rest of the world. Later however, militaristic people who ruled their country through lines of emperors were expansionists. The Amhara people can now be found all over Ethiopia. The Amhara region is located at altitudes roughly between 7,000 to 14,000 feet or 2,100 to 4,300 meters. It is also situated at 9 o to 14 0 latitude north of the equator. The combination of generous rainfall, rich volcanic soil and a brisk climate makes a stable agricultural existence for the Amhara people.

HISTORY

Some of the oldest fossil fragments of human ancestors ever found were discovered in Ethiopia. They are thought to be about 5 million years old. The kingdom of Axum, or Aksumite Empire, was the first state in what now is Ethiopia. The capital city was Aksum. The Aksumite Empire was an important trading nation in this area. It was established around A.D. 100. The Aksumite Empire got much wealth through the traders from India, Greece, Arabia, Egypt, Persia, and Rome. The Aksumites exported ivory, spices and gold. In the A.D. 300s, Aksum reached its height of power under King Ezana and he made Christianity as the official religion.

In the late 600s, Aksum power fell after the Muslims gained control of Arabia, the coast of northern Africa and the Red Sea. Christian Aksum foreign trade was end by Muslim. In 1137, the Zagne dynasty gained power on the Ethiopian plateu. Roha, which is now Lalibela, was their capital. Eleven magnificent churches were carved out of solid rock at Roha during the Zagne Empire. In 1270, the Zagne dynasty was overthrown by the Yekuno Amlak. After the 1500s, the Ethiopian Empire broke up into many small kingdoms.

In 1889, Menelik II became emperor. In 1896, the battle of Adwa, also known as Adowa, was fought between Ethiopia and the kingdom of Italy. Ethiopia won. With this victory, Menelik II got more respect and increased his power in Ethiopia. He made Addis Ababa the capital. He was responsible for the construction of the railway that links Addis Ababa to Djibouti. He also built modern schools and hospitals in Ethiopia.

In 1913, Menelik II's grandson, Lij Iyasa, became the emperor of Ethiopia. In 1916, however, he was removed from power because of a military coup. France, The United Kingdom and Italy supported that coup because they feared that he would be against them in World War I. Menelik II's daughter Zawditu then became empress of Ethiopia. She ruled with the help of Ras Tafari, the son of Menelik II's cousin. In 1930, Zawditu died and Tafari became emperor. He took on the name Haile Selassie.

In 1935, Italy attacked Ethiopia as an attempt to expand its colonies in Africa. The Italians conquered Addis Ababa, and Haile Selassie fled to The United Kingdom. However, because the Italian's rule was harsh, Ethiopians rose up against them. In 1941, during World War II, British troops helped the Ethiopians get the Italians out of Ethiopia. Haile Selassie then returned as emperor. With the death of Haile Selassie, the role of the Amharas as chiefs of Ethiopian society ended.

RELIGION

The major religion for centuries has been Christianity. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia, playing a central role for religion in this region. The EOC has close links with the Egyptian Coptic Church. Their important celebrations are Easter and Epiphany. They will celebrate them with feasting and dancing. According to the 2007 census, 82.5% of the population of the Amhara Region (which is 91.47% Amhara) were Ethiopian Orthodox; 17.2% were Muslim, 0.2% were Protestant, and 0.1% other faiths.

With marriages, they are often arranged by the family for men in their late teens or early twenties. For women traditionally, they were married at fourteen, but in the 20th century, the minimum age was raised to eighteen years old. This was enforced by the Imperial government. After a church wedding, divorce is frowned upon. Each family will host a separate wedding feast after the wedding.

After childbirth, a priest will visit the family to bless the infant. For physical and emotional strength, the mother and child will stay in the house for 40 days. When an infant boy is on day 40, or day 80 for a girl, he or she will be brought to the church for baptism. Baptism is the religious rite of sprinking water onto a person's forehead or immersion in water and will follow by name-giving.

Crowds gather at the Fasilides' Bath in Gondar to celebrate Timkat - the Epiphany for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

LANGUAGE

Amharic is the Amhara language and is also known as Amarigna or Amarinya in their mother tongue. Now, Amharic is the official language and the working language of the federal authorities of Ethiopia. However, according to the 2007 census, Amharic is spoken by just 29.33% of the population while 33.8% speak Oromo. Amharic belongs to the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is also the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced by regional languages such as Oromo and Tigrinya in many areas.

The Ethiopic writing system is visible on the side of this Ethiopian Airlines Fokker 50: it reads "Ethiopia's": የኢትዮጵያ (ye-Ītyōṗṗyā).

CLOTHING

The Amhara live at cold locations with high altitudes. Therefore, Amhara clothing is designed to maintain their body heat. The Amhara of the city today commonly wear Western-type clothing but many still prefer the native dress, called gabi, which consists of jodhpur trousers and a long shirt, covered by sheet-sized and soft cotton wrap. This is worn by both women and men, but it is different according to the gender of person. In the countryside, they do not wear shoes, but in the city and towns shoes are generally worn to protect their feet against the debris of the streets.

AGRICULTURE


The Amhara people normally work as farmers. About 90% of the Amhara live in rural areas, mostly in the Ethiopian highlands. They produce corn, sorghum, wheat, barley, beans and other vegetables. In the lowlands, sugarcane is a major crop. Sheep, cattle and goat are main livestock. All farms and land are inherited through each generation.

ART


Amhara painting is the dominant art in Ethiopia. These paintings are normally related to religion. The Amhara are also weavers of beautiful patterns decorated with
embroidery. Ethiopian paintings from the Middle Ages are known by art historians from America and Europe as distinct treasures of human civilization.

EDUCATION

Traditionally, formal education was under the power of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However, in modern times, the last emperor, Haile Selassie I (1892-1975) encouraged a secular or nonreligious education and it become dominant in the urban areas. Secular education is also available in the countryside. Western-sponsored institutions give an education that allows students to enter Addis Ababa University. This university provides good training in political science, economics, history, and anthropology. Today, many students can also attend universities in Europe and America, where they may conduct postgraduate studies.

FOOD

The staple food is injera bo wot. Injera is made from a tiny indigenous grain called teff, a variety of wheat which is common in Ethiopia. Wot is a pepper sauce that is made from meat or beans. The process of making this food is difficult and takes a lot of time.

TODAY

High death rates and low birth rates, especially from HIV/AIDS, are the main factors causing a low population increase rate in the Amhara region. Amhara people can also be find in 12 countries beside Ethiopia. Around 132,000 people live in United States now. The palaces in Gondar and the 12th century Rock-Hewn churches of Lalibela are the world known heritages of the country. These heritages are registered in the UNESCO list of world heritages. Besides these known heritages, the Blue Nile Falls, the Merto Le Mariam church and the caves and unique stones in northern Showa are special tourist attractions.