Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities

The Social Construction of Barefooting in Rural Ethiopia: The Case of Fogera, South Gondar

Fikadu Kassa — 2023-03-30

Walking barefoot is a common practice in the Fogera community. It is associated with social meanings such as masculinity and strength and much less with poor economic conditions. Using the concept of social construction, this article investigates the underlying norms and values that govern the tradition of barefooting among the Fogera rural community. By employing semi-structured interviews with participants of in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and focused-group discussions, the study found that the practice is deeply rooted in social norms. Barefooting could be a sign of mourning, strength, braveness, and religious devotion. It could also happen due to perceived unsuitability of shoes for specific farm activities, financial constraints, and shortage of shoes in local markets. On the other hand, there are adverse impacts of barefooting including illhealth (foot injuries and infections) and social problems (discrimination and harassment).

Book Review: From Divided Pasts to Cohesive Futures: Reflections on Africa

Teshome Emana — 2023-03-30

Book Title: From Divided Pasts to Cohesive Futures: Reflections on Africa

Authors': Hiroyuki Hino, Arnim Langer, John Lonsdale, and Frances Stewart (Eds.).

Publisher: Cambridge University Press: Cambridge,

Year of publication: 2019

Pages: 447 PP.

ISBN 978-1108476607

The Red Book: The Political Foundation of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces under the EPRDF

Yonas Tariku — 2023-03-30

Based on a thorough review and analysis of a document that has hitherto been kept secret, this article elucidates the political foundation of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) aimed to build. In doing so, the article demonstrates how the EPRDF, contrary to the country's legal framework and socio-political context, attempted to create a partisan national army. The document outlines three things: firstly, the ultimate objective of the ENDF is to be the bastion of 'revolutionary democracy'—EPRDF's ideology. Secondly, in the absence of revolutionary democracy's hegemony within Ethiopian society, ENDF's loyalty to it should be attained through the political indoctrination of its members. Thirdly, since indoctrination alone may not be sufficient, there must be a systematic and integrated implementation scheme. This was expected to ensure the building of a revolutionary democratic army. The effect of these was that, despite the ENDF's image as a force of regional peace and stability outside the country, it dwarfed the possibility of it becoming a politically neutral and professional national army. In the context of a divided society where major political contestations are far from settled, building a partisan national defence force was a recipe for disaster, as attested by the ongoing politico-military crisis in Ethiopia (2020-2022).

Women in the Historical Legal Tradition of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Ethiopia

Namouna Guebreyesus

Hundreds of legal records of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries attest that women were landholders, administrators, clerics and judges. In order to determine the exact significance of these historical documents, the paper examines the general legal context within which they were produced. The written law of the land, the Fətḥa Nägäśt, is very restrictive of women’s rights. When analysed in light of contracts, judgments as well as historical narratives (such as chronicles), it becomes evident that women’s legal status always depends upon the interplay of gender with other dimensions of inequalities, and in particular with inherited economic circumstances. It is by correlating functions and domainal privileges with landed wealth that could legally be owned by women that customs moderated gender prejudices.

“Kǝtät Awaj”s of Emperor Mǝnilǝk and Ḫailä Sǝlasse to counter the Italian Aggressions: A Comparative Text Analysis

Dechasa Abebe

The main objective of this article is to analyse the differences between the texts of “Kǝtät Awaj”s of Emperor Mǝnilǝk and Emperor Ḫailä Sǝlasse to counter the Italian aggressions and the reasons behind their differences. The text versions used for the analysis were taken from the chronicles of Emperor Mǝnilǝk and Ḫailä Sǝlasse by Gäbrä Sǝlasse and Gäbrä Wälǝd respectively. Two parallel text analysis approaches, rhetorical criticism and content analysis, were employed. Accordingly, differences are observed between the two texts in terms of size, the historical setting in which they were written, way of addressing the peoples, techniques of selecting persuasive matters, declaring methods of providing food supplies, firearms, and ammunitions, confidences or wording tones of the emperors, identifications of a place of mobilizations and stating techniques of marches to the war fronts. The basic reasons behind these differences lie in the nature of the state apparatus and the level of centralization versus decentralisation of the government's political power.