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Common Factors Uniting the Peoples of Ethiopia
By Fikre Tolossa, Ethiopian Review, February 1994
As far as autonomy was concerned, the states at the periphery had their own kingdoms and sultanates. The center, for the most part, needed only recognition and tributes. As long as these two were fulfilled, the center was satisfied. Whenever the periphery refused to pay tributes, the center took measures. Though some ambitious individuals waged wars to seize power from the center, and even though the peoples of the periphery rebelled some times against “central” injustice, they did not deny the fact that they were Ethiopians. This assertion was proved in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa when imperialist Italy waged war against Ethiopia, during the scramble for Africa. Ethiopians from both the center and the periphery understood the implications of Italy’s aggression and fought bravely to defend their motherland.
Aksum, as aforementioned, was built by both Semitic and Hamitic Ethiopians. It is therefore the pride of all Ethiopians. To question what the Gurage have to do with Aksum is to deny their historical contributions and to attempt to deprive them of a pride they share with other Ethiopians. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were built predominantly by the Hamitic Agew as well as other Ethiopians including the Amhara and Tigre so that Christian Oromos and others would not go as far as Jerusalem for worship. For the Christian Oromo, Lalibela is their Jerusalem. For the non-Christian Kushitic or Hamitic Oromo, the churches of Lalibela are symbols of their pride, for they were envisaged and materialized by the Hamitic Emperor Lalibela. It is probably by realizing this among other reasons that the Hamitic Ahmed Grang who had destructed so many other churches previously, spared the churches of Lalibela from annihilation. Lalibela is the pride of all Ethiopians. To question whether the
Oromo care for Lalibela is to suggest that the Oromo are foreigners.
The peoples of Ethiopia have been so much interwoven over the past 6000 years racially, ethnically, religiously, psychologically, linguistically, historically, culturally, socially, geographically and economically, that no force can tear them asunder easily. The peoples of Ethiopia, regardless of their ethnic background, are kinsmen. The common factors which they share together can bind them yet tightly.
While the Marxist stand on the question of nationalities (which is the driving force behind Ato Meles Zenawi’s ethnic program), looks impressive as a theory, it is too simplistic and too narrow to be applied on the Ethiopian reality. The relationships of Ethiopians to each other are too sophisticated to be categorized too narrowly. The unique peoples of Ethiopia will find a unique solution to ethnic conflicts or any other problems which they encounter while striving to strengthen their unity based on equality and while attempting to build their impoverished nation.
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Fikre Tolossa, Ph.D., is Assistant Dean of Faculty at Columbia Pacific university in San Rafael, CA and Associate Editor of ER.
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