In similar vein to the other issues explained in the viewpoint
healined, "Rod of Correction: Encyclopaedia Aethiopica" (Volume 15,
Number 756, October 26, 2014), we find an entry for Orazio Antinori,
whose high claims are a few trips around the Red Sea as a keen
naturalist and, later, having received a plot of land from the Ethiopian
government, where he opened a geographical station and where he
eventually died. Once again, his entry is certainly deserved, but stands
in poor contrast to the absence of Arnold Josiah Ford: the Barbadian
rabbi of an African-American Jewish community who penned the highly
significant Ethiopian Universal Anthem of Marcus Garvey's UNIA, an
anthem with few rivals in pan-African symbolism.
His relation to Ethiopia goes a lot further: he was the first leader of an African-American organisation bent on settling colonialists in Ethiopia, for which he too obtained a land-grant. Once in Ethiopia, he established close - and sometimes difficult - relations with Abyssinian aristocrats and the Beta Israel Jews of the country. Ford died in Addis Abeba just before the Italian invasion.
Nonetheless, his wife Mignon Ford established the prestigious Princess Zenebe-Worq Girl's School in Addis Ababa, and would carry the torch of Caribbean solidarity as a prominent educator in Ethiopia. Both husband and wife do not appear in the Encyclopaedia -surely not for of lack of credentials.
In fairness, some notable West Indians are mentioned, such as David Abner Talbot, the Guyanese advisor to Emperor Haileselassie and chief editor of The Ethiopian Herald, or the Guadelopean doctor Joseph Vitalien, another close hand to Emperor Menelik II. This raises an uncomfortable question: did they surpass a particular threshold of influence to deserve an entry in the Encyclopaedia, and if so, is the same threshold applied to Europeans and African-Americans alike?
After all, there seem to be many entries dedicated to Europeans with considerably less dazzling roles than the Fords or John Robinson (Cap.), for instance.
And so to diplomacy, where the relations between Ethiopia and an array of nations are superbly summarised. Relations with Italy and France, Portugal and Egypt, the Vatican and the United States, India and Japan, even with Iran. I feel sorry for Cuba, out in the cold despite having established the most palpable military ties with Ethiopia in recent history.
It is almost as if the thousands of Cubans who risked their life fighting on Ethiopian soil have been forgotten, and how their contribution shaped the very end of the Somalia-Ethiopia War of 1978. In truth, the Encyclopaedia's initial aim was stay clear from events after 1974, but a cursory glance at many of its entries reveals how this has been applied with generous flexibility.
A notable example would be the inclusion of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose career began around 1974. A question of status, perhaps, but we also find references to minor archeological surveys from the 1990s in Lebanese monateries, for instance. All things considered, I do wonder how Switzerland managed to outshine this Caribbean island in terms of engagements with Ethiopia.
It was not the first time Cubans had signed up for Ethiopia's cause. The island had already been a hotbed of Garveyism in the 1920's. Unfortunately, Marcus Garvey's UNIA suffered dearly during the 1930's - economic depression, leadership controversies - and the need for a pan-Africanist militant association was left in limbo.
Soon, however, came news of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, and in came the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) - founded by the exiled Emperor Haileselassie himself and managed by his cousin, Malaku Bayen. It tried to steer the dozens of pro-Ethiopia groups in the Americas under one centralized umbrella, and in this sense many dissafected Garveyites rallied to the EWF. It must have seemed a natural continuation of an interrupted aspiration.
Such was the buzz that unauthorized branches sprang up around Caribbean, from Cuba to Jamaica, only to be officially incorporated later. That such an organisation would not be considered for the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica warrants attention: it was Ethiopian founded, Ethiopian aimed, and at least partially Ethiopian driven. Its legacy is the famous land grant in Shashamane, but that is only a small testimony to a much broader and dynamic movement.
Which brings us to the world of maps. Perhaps it is time to reconsider where the scope of the Orbis Aethiopicus ends. Despite some inevitable grumbles, it is common understanding that Eritrea should be included, and so too other neighbouring countries whose history and current populations often overlap: the Sudans, Yemen, Kenya and Djibouti, of course, as well as Somalia.
It is in the Somali web that the entry selection once again gets tangled. Indeed, a commendable array of things-Somali are presented, with particular praise to detail in clans and linguistics. In EAE's defence, one could argue that not all its topics can be covered in their volumes - this would be more appropriate for an equally fascinating future Encyclopaedia Somalica. If we accept this line of thought, then surely relatively obscure figures who do appear, such as Adam Kawsan (I am surprised to learn that he was the chief cultivator of the Somali Garri tribe in the 19th Century) could give way to more influential entries like Shire Jama Ahmed - perhaps one of the most important Somali linguists, born in Wardeer, Ethiopia.
Ahmed's proposal for a Latin script in spelling Somali was officially adopted as the national writing in 1971. Another absent Somali with an obvious connection to Ethiopia is Mohammed Abdillahi Ogsadey - an unrivalled business tycoon who was for decades the richest man in Ethiopia; he is also remembered for being the first African to export its coffee to the international market.
On the other hand, the selection of worldwide Ethiopian footprints which have been recorded in the Encyclopaedia seems all the more random when we consider such inclusions as Tesfatsion (nicknamed Peter the Indian) but such omissions as Abu al-Misk Kafur or Malik Ambar. Make no mistake, Tesfatsion was an esteemed character in the corridors of the Vatican, but little is known about him before he left his native Ethiopia. He is, therefore, remembered by the Encyclopaedia in consideration for his achievements in the Holy See around the 16th century.
Of course, had this priest left his mark in India itself, he would have probably been forgotten. Ask Malik Ambar, the Ethiopian-born leader of the Ahmednagar Sultanate in 16th century India. Rising from imported slave-soldier to ruling Regent, he founded a new capital city in Aurangabad and distinguished himself as an able military commander, a keen politician and a cutting-edge urbanist -he is credited with establishing the city's notable canal system.
The omissions of Malik Ambar and the EWF seem indicative. When an Ethiopian storm gathers abroad, the real question is where the thunder claps. I am left in little doubt that had these deeds taken place in more northern latitudes they would have been granted a page or two in the Encyclopaedia. After all, there's no shortage of historians and published works on them.
Religious entries were up for grabs too, and competition must have been fierce. Lazarists and other Western missionaries of only limited scope have been far more successful at securing an entry than a few remarkable Ethiopian Orthodox missionaries abroad. This would explain the absence the Abuna Athanasius (born Gebreyesus Meshesha) and Abuna Yesehaq (born Laikemaryam Mandefro).
As pioneering representatives of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in the Western Hemisphere, they established churches in places as far apart as New York, Bermuda and Guyana. In fairness, their peer is indeed granted an entry in the Encyclopaedia: the highly acclaimed Abuna Samuel (born Gebreegziabeher Degu), who almost single-handedly cleared the path for what would ten years later materialise into the Caribbean tour of Emperor Haileselassie and the opening of the Medhanialem Church in Arouca, Trinidad. He pioneered, and championed, the connection between black Africans and the Ethiopian church, promoting a pan-Africanist orientation in his sermons that struck a cord with thousands.
He successfully built on that unshakable association with Ethiopia, as passed on from Marcus Garvey's UNIA to Malaku Bayen's EWF and then to the establishment of the Orthodox church in the Americas. It is a pity than none of this is mentioned in the Encyclopaedia. Again I insist: had these events taken place in other continents, I suspect they would have been seen in a more positive light. As for his successor, the Abuna Yesehaq, he can easily claim to have been one of the most mediatically prolific representatives of the Ethiopian church abroad. If biased is too strong a word, how else do we consider that the likes of Giuseppe Sapeto (an unremarkable Lazarist missionary, amateur diplomat and part-time traveller with a taste for carnal pleasures) have been granted an entry over these Ethiopian evangelists?
For a historically in-looking institution like the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, their expansion in the Americas stands as a monumental achievement, and the fact that they managed to baptise locals in their thousands only adds to their credit. Other Ethiopian priests abroad - in Egypt, for instance - have also been forgotten, such as Abdelmesih al-Habashi (born Gebretsadik), whose legacy is such that a written tribute has been published by the Saint Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Monastery. If anything, an entry is deserved for all, whatsoever their reputation and creed.
It is obvious that the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica is a work in progress and that these shortcomings give faith to this very human entreprise, where perfection is an illusion. But try we must.
The Encyclopaedia's hundreds of contributors have already shown mastery and proficiency in their respective entries. In this regard, it is my sincere desire that any future editions will consider that West Indian spiritualists fuelled by Ethiopian visions are part of Ethiopian studies - however partial and removed. There are those who will disagree, arguing that Ethiopian fevers from a Caribbean island do not warrant an entry in the EAE, but rather in its West Indian equivalent. They are not altogether wrong, in the same way that Samuel Johnson belongs chiefly to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but that doesn not invalidate his claim to the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, either.
Above all, it is a question of impartial consistency: if we are going to include prominent Somalis with a relation to the core topic of Ethiopia, then we include all of them, not just some. The same goes for religious missionaries, local or foreign. If the dilemma is where we draw the line, then surely it is academically more useful to err on the side of generosity. Wherever and in whichever field an Ethiopian left an imprint, they belong to the pages of the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. The same goes for foreigners: if their works involved Ethiopia, they should also be acknowledged.
Source: AllAfrica
His relation to Ethiopia goes a lot further: he was the first leader of an African-American organisation bent on settling colonialists in Ethiopia, for which he too obtained a land-grant. Once in Ethiopia, he established close - and sometimes difficult - relations with Abyssinian aristocrats and the Beta Israel Jews of the country. Ford died in Addis Abeba just before the Italian invasion.
Nonetheless, his wife Mignon Ford established the prestigious Princess Zenebe-Worq Girl's School in Addis Ababa, and would carry the torch of Caribbean solidarity as a prominent educator in Ethiopia. Both husband and wife do not appear in the Encyclopaedia -surely not for of lack of credentials.
In fairness, some notable West Indians are mentioned, such as David Abner Talbot, the Guyanese advisor to Emperor Haileselassie and chief editor of The Ethiopian Herald, or the Guadelopean doctor Joseph Vitalien, another close hand to Emperor Menelik II. This raises an uncomfortable question: did they surpass a particular threshold of influence to deserve an entry in the Encyclopaedia, and if so, is the same threshold applied to Europeans and African-Americans alike?
After all, there seem to be many entries dedicated to Europeans with considerably less dazzling roles than the Fords or John Robinson (Cap.), for instance.
And so to diplomacy, where the relations between Ethiopia and an array of nations are superbly summarised. Relations with Italy and France, Portugal and Egypt, the Vatican and the United States, India and Japan, even with Iran. I feel sorry for Cuba, out in the cold despite having established the most palpable military ties with Ethiopia in recent history.
It is almost as if the thousands of Cubans who risked their life fighting on Ethiopian soil have been forgotten, and how their contribution shaped the very end of the Somalia-Ethiopia War of 1978. In truth, the Encyclopaedia's initial aim was stay clear from events after 1974, but a cursory glance at many of its entries reveals how this has been applied with generous flexibility.
A notable example would be the inclusion of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose career began around 1974. A question of status, perhaps, but we also find references to minor archeological surveys from the 1990s in Lebanese monateries, for instance. All things considered, I do wonder how Switzerland managed to outshine this Caribbean island in terms of engagements with Ethiopia.
It was not the first time Cubans had signed up for Ethiopia's cause. The island had already been a hotbed of Garveyism in the 1920's. Unfortunately, Marcus Garvey's UNIA suffered dearly during the 1930's - economic depression, leadership controversies - and the need for a pan-Africanist militant association was left in limbo.
Soon, however, came news of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, and in came the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) - founded by the exiled Emperor Haileselassie himself and managed by his cousin, Malaku Bayen. It tried to steer the dozens of pro-Ethiopia groups in the Americas under one centralized umbrella, and in this sense many dissafected Garveyites rallied to the EWF. It must have seemed a natural continuation of an interrupted aspiration.
Such was the buzz that unauthorized branches sprang up around Caribbean, from Cuba to Jamaica, only to be officially incorporated later. That such an organisation would not be considered for the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica warrants attention: it was Ethiopian founded, Ethiopian aimed, and at least partially Ethiopian driven. Its legacy is the famous land grant in Shashamane, but that is only a small testimony to a much broader and dynamic movement.
Which brings us to the world of maps. Perhaps it is time to reconsider where the scope of the Orbis Aethiopicus ends. Despite some inevitable grumbles, it is common understanding that Eritrea should be included, and so too other neighbouring countries whose history and current populations often overlap: the Sudans, Yemen, Kenya and Djibouti, of course, as well as Somalia.
It is in the Somali web that the entry selection once again gets tangled. Indeed, a commendable array of things-Somali are presented, with particular praise to detail in clans and linguistics. In EAE's defence, one could argue that not all its topics can be covered in their volumes - this would be more appropriate for an equally fascinating future Encyclopaedia Somalica. If we accept this line of thought, then surely relatively obscure figures who do appear, such as Adam Kawsan (I am surprised to learn that he was the chief cultivator of the Somali Garri tribe in the 19th Century) could give way to more influential entries like Shire Jama Ahmed - perhaps one of the most important Somali linguists, born in Wardeer, Ethiopia.
Ahmed's proposal for a Latin script in spelling Somali was officially adopted as the national writing in 1971. Another absent Somali with an obvious connection to Ethiopia is Mohammed Abdillahi Ogsadey - an unrivalled business tycoon who was for decades the richest man in Ethiopia; he is also remembered for being the first African to export its coffee to the international market.
On the other hand, the selection of worldwide Ethiopian footprints which have been recorded in the Encyclopaedia seems all the more random when we consider such inclusions as Tesfatsion (nicknamed Peter the Indian) but such omissions as Abu al-Misk Kafur or Malik Ambar. Make no mistake, Tesfatsion was an esteemed character in the corridors of the Vatican, but little is known about him before he left his native Ethiopia. He is, therefore, remembered by the Encyclopaedia in consideration for his achievements in the Holy See around the 16th century.
Of course, had this priest left his mark in India itself, he would have probably been forgotten. Ask Malik Ambar, the Ethiopian-born leader of the Ahmednagar Sultanate in 16th century India. Rising from imported slave-soldier to ruling Regent, he founded a new capital city in Aurangabad and distinguished himself as an able military commander, a keen politician and a cutting-edge urbanist -he is credited with establishing the city's notable canal system.
The omissions of Malik Ambar and the EWF seem indicative. When an Ethiopian storm gathers abroad, the real question is where the thunder claps. I am left in little doubt that had these deeds taken place in more northern latitudes they would have been granted a page or two in the Encyclopaedia. After all, there's no shortage of historians and published works on them.
Religious entries were up for grabs too, and competition must have been fierce. Lazarists and other Western missionaries of only limited scope have been far more successful at securing an entry than a few remarkable Ethiopian Orthodox missionaries abroad. This would explain the absence the Abuna Athanasius (born Gebreyesus Meshesha) and Abuna Yesehaq (born Laikemaryam Mandefro).
As pioneering representatives of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in the Western Hemisphere, they established churches in places as far apart as New York, Bermuda and Guyana. In fairness, their peer is indeed granted an entry in the Encyclopaedia: the highly acclaimed Abuna Samuel (born Gebreegziabeher Degu), who almost single-handedly cleared the path for what would ten years later materialise into the Caribbean tour of Emperor Haileselassie and the opening of the Medhanialem Church in Arouca, Trinidad. He pioneered, and championed, the connection between black Africans and the Ethiopian church, promoting a pan-Africanist orientation in his sermons that struck a cord with thousands.
He successfully built on that unshakable association with Ethiopia, as passed on from Marcus Garvey's UNIA to Malaku Bayen's EWF and then to the establishment of the Orthodox church in the Americas. It is a pity than none of this is mentioned in the Encyclopaedia. Again I insist: had these events taken place in other continents, I suspect they would have been seen in a more positive light. As for his successor, the Abuna Yesehaq, he can easily claim to have been one of the most mediatically prolific representatives of the Ethiopian church abroad. If biased is too strong a word, how else do we consider that the likes of Giuseppe Sapeto (an unremarkable Lazarist missionary, amateur diplomat and part-time traveller with a taste for carnal pleasures) have been granted an entry over these Ethiopian evangelists?
For a historically in-looking institution like the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, their expansion in the Americas stands as a monumental achievement, and the fact that they managed to baptise locals in their thousands only adds to their credit. Other Ethiopian priests abroad - in Egypt, for instance - have also been forgotten, such as Abdelmesih al-Habashi (born Gebretsadik), whose legacy is such that a written tribute has been published by the Saint Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Monastery. If anything, an entry is deserved for all, whatsoever their reputation and creed.
It is obvious that the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica is a work in progress and that these shortcomings give faith to this very human entreprise, where perfection is an illusion. But try we must.
The Encyclopaedia's hundreds of contributors have already shown mastery and proficiency in their respective entries. In this regard, it is my sincere desire that any future editions will consider that West Indian spiritualists fuelled by Ethiopian visions are part of Ethiopian studies - however partial and removed. There are those who will disagree, arguing that Ethiopian fevers from a Caribbean island do not warrant an entry in the EAE, but rather in its West Indian equivalent. They are not altogether wrong, in the same way that Samuel Johnson belongs chiefly to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but that doesn not invalidate his claim to the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, either.
Above all, it is a question of impartial consistency: if we are going to include prominent Somalis with a relation to the core topic of Ethiopia, then we include all of them, not just some. The same goes for religious missionaries, local or foreign. If the dilemma is where we draw the line, then surely it is academically more useful to err on the side of generosity. Wherever and in whichever field an Ethiopian left an imprint, they belong to the pages of the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. The same goes for foreigners: if their works involved Ethiopia, they should also be acknowledged.
Source: AllAfrica
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