Related Papers
Being and Becoming African as a Permanent Work in Progress: Inspiration from Chinua Achebe’s Proverbs.
2021 •
Tekletsadik Belachew
The Amharic proverbs and their use in Gǝʿǝz Qǝne (Ethiopian poetry)
2020 •
Hiruie Ermias
This article aims to provide a concise impression of Amharic proverbs and their use in Gəʽəz Qəne. Qəne is an extraordinary Ethiopian poetry with special feature, beauty, and limit. There is no language restriction to compose Qəne; since its introduction in the 15th Century Gəʽəz is predominantly used to compose Qəne in different forms. Adding an Amharic proverb to Gəʽəz Qəne is a great talent which requires an advanced knowledge and exercise of both the language and the proverbs. However, many Qəne masters use sporadically Amharic proverbs to compose Gǝʿǝz Qəne. Hence, it is customary to find various Amharic proverbs implemented in Gəʽəz Qəne. The methods of how to realize such a composition are the main issues discussed in this article. With this regard, various convincing examples and analytical explanations are provided appropriately. It also deals with the significance and role of Amharic proverbs in the study of Biblical exegesis and in day to day communications of the Ethiopi...
Oral Traditions in Ethiopian Studies
Oral Traditions in Ethiopian Studies
2018 •
Sophia Dege-Müller, Dirk Bustorf
This volume offers an extended collection of essays, some of which were first presented at a panel on Oral Traditions in Ethiopian Studies held at the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in Dǝrre Dawa in September 2012. The panel asked to investigate the suggestion that, in the history of Ethiopian studies, reflection on the methodology of orality did not receive the attention it deserves, given its importance in many fields of research. Still the core matter of this Supplement to Aethiopica is to follow up on how Ethiopian studies deal with oral texts as historical and (in the widest sense of the word) ethnographic sources. The editors and authors question the methods and styles used in the study of oral sources, and provide methodological, theoretical, and empirical insights into the work with orality in Ethiopian studies. Thirteen field cases and an introduction investigate, among others, the history of orality research, the interplay of written and oral evidence, methods of working in purely oral societies, and explore genres of oral traditions and orality in Ethiopia. Supplement to Aethiopica International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies vol 7, 2018
Journal of Religion in Africa
Ethiopian Christian Liturgical Chant
2000 •
Kay K Shelemay
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES SOME SELECTED POEMS IN ENGLISH BY ETHIOPIAN POETS: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS
D Seifu
Literary Features of Ethiopian Hagiographies: Figurative Languages and Literary Techniques in Gädlä Krestos Sämra
2019 •
Dawit Girma
The general objective of this study is to investigate literary features in medieval Ethiopian hagiographies, Gädlä Krestos Sämra in focus. It intended to endorse whether these text qualifies literariness. Accordingly, the literary elements/style and techniques were examined in the hagiography. Since the study is done on a text, qualitative research method is applied. This research developed key findings. The results show that Gädlä Krestos Sämra has contained literary features. Stylistically, the narrative is constructed in wellarranged figures of speech, simile, metaphor, symbolism, and others. Techniques of a novel, foreshadowing, dialogue and description are on the other hand revealed in the text through the study. The principal conclusion drawn from this research was that irrespective of the reality of the stories for followers, it qualifies the prominent literary features. Based on the finding of the research, it can be argued that the text is a religious fiction. -------------...
Qallačča and Bokkuu: Themes in the ancient Qaallu institution and rock paintings of Hararqee— implications for social semiosis and history of Ethiopia
Dereje T A D E S S E Birbirso
Little or none is known about the social origin and meaning of the ancient rock paintings of Ethiopia and Horn of Africa. This article critically analyzed some of the ancient rock paintings of Hararqee (Eastern Ethiopia) with the intention to understand the social semiotical and rhetorical structures that underlie beneath these social ‘texts’. It did so through using the ancient Qaallu Institution of the Oromo of East and Horn of Africa as analytical device. Multi-disciplinary approach that combined concepts from various disciples was adopted as a guiding theoretical framework, while the Eurocentric approach that mystifies and de-Ethiopinizes them was rejected. Field data was collected from various sites besides archival data. Informants expert with the local’s social epistemology or wisdom were selected and used as ‘critical friends’. The results revealed both substantive and methodological insights. Substantively, it suggests that the Oromo Qaallu Institution and its sub-themes such as the pre- Christian belief in Black Sky-God, line of descent and identity, kingdomization, pastoral festival, and bovine symbolism crosscutting all of these. Methodologically, the unique Oromo social semiosis which can be referred to as ‘metaplasmic witticism’ appeared as the underlying rhetorical structure.
Gabe Scelta
Historically, Ethiopian sacred Christian chant may offer unparalleled insight into the human progression of oral to written cultures. Additionally, it has the potential to offer scientists a new perspective on the structure of memory and the needs of a culture for both music and a method for communicating it.. In addition to expanding our knowledge of eastern Africa, it has far-reaching repercussions in the fields of music, epic poetry, medieval history and human memory.
Females' Voice through Oral Poetry among Limmuu Oromo, Ethiopia
Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies (eJECS)
This article discusses about the role of Oromo oral poetry in helping girls2 and women3 to express their idea in their social life. It also aims to illustrate the talent of girls and women in creating and poeticizing oral poetry to display their opinion on social occurrences such as marriage ceremony, birth rite and at work place. During data collection, ethnographic methods such as observation, focus group discussions and semi-structured interview were employed. I interpreted data collected from the field through these methods. The analyzed data shows that oral poetry has a crucial role to help girls and women to express their idea in pre and post marriage respectively. Before marriage, it helps girls to display their feeling, thought and emotion concerning their future life and their friend’s social life. By using oral poetry, they advise their friends and show their devotion for each other. In post marriage, through oral poetry, women pray Waaqaa (Oromo God) for a woman who unable to bear child. The paper concludes that, oral poetry helps girls and women to express their opinion in every aspect of their life such as marriage, spiritual, and reproduction issues. Therefore, it helps them to make their voice heard in the community and enhances their creativity.
The Christian Writers of Qatar (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press) 231-248
The Book of Three Monks: Ethiopian Monasticism via Beth Qatraye
2014 •
Robert A Kitchen
