Ethiopianism
- The sound of Experiment
- Oct 21, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2024
Introduction
Ethiopia is considered a religious movement among sub-Saharan Africans that embodied the first upheavals toward religious and political freedom in the modern colonial period. The word represented Africa's dignity and place in the economy and provided a map for the free African churches and nations of the future. Parallel developments have occurred elsewhere and for similar reasons. In Nigeria the so-called African churches—the Native Baptist Church (1888), the former Anglican United Indigenous African Church (1891) and its subsequent divisions, and the United African Methodist Church (1917)—were important. Other movements related to Ethiopia were represented by the Indigenous Baptist Church (1887) of Cameroon. by the Native Baptist Church (1898) in Ghana. in Rhodesia by an offshoot (1906) of the American Negro denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and by the African Methodist Church of Nemapare (1947); and by the Kenyan Church of Christ in Africa (1957), formerly Anglican (Ethiopianism | Description, History, & Ideology | Britannica). Ethiopia was not really an ideology, a theological school, or a political program. It was more of a cluster of ideas and traditions about being a Christian in Africa shared by a group of Christian leaders in the period 1890-1920. These ideas and traditions focused on the history of Africa before European colonization and taught Afro-Atlantic teachings, meaning they brought together the religious ideas of both Europeans and Africans. Despite many schisms, Ethiopian leaders formed a network and interacted with each other more than with leaders of other traditions (Ethiopianism | Description, History, & Ideology | Britannica). Ethiopia historically linked Africa to the ancient classical era, challenging the then-prevailing idea that the continent had no history before the arrival of European colonialists in the mid-19th century. Proponents of Ethiopianism argued that the African nation was one of the oldest continuous civilizations in the world and claim that some of the earliest examples of organized religious festivals, solemn assemblies, and other forms of worship evolved in Ethiopia. By the 19th century, when Ethiopia was one of the few nation-states under African control, many people of African descent embraced it as evidence of Blacks' capacity for self-government (Ethiopianism •).
History
The Ethiopian movement began in the 1880s, when South African mission workers began forming independent pan-African churches, such as the Tembu Tribal Church (1884) and the Church of Africa (1889). A former Wesleyan minister, Mangena Mokone, was the first to use the term when he founded the Ethiopian Church (1892). Among the main causes of the movement were frustrations felt by Africans, who were deprived of progress in the hierarchy of missionary churches, and racial discontent encouraged by the color bar. Other contributing factors were the desire for a more African and relevant Christianity, for the restoration of tribal life and for political and cultural autonomy expressed in the slogan "Africa for Africans" and also in the word Ethiopia (Ethiopianism | Description, History, & Ideology | Britannica). For African artists in particular, being modern has implied a progressive perspective, a desire to inscribe a new contemporary experience with meaning. Just as European and American modernists have absorbed the ideas offered by African figurative representations in their paintings and statuettes, used knowledge of African ceremonies and body arts in their performances, and drawn on their impressions of African shrines in their installations, African modernists have studied the "traditional" art of Europe and Asia. They have incorporated responses to Chinese painting in the pen and ink washes, Turkish images in their reverse glass paintings, Italian Renaissance figures in their sculpture, and, as Monica Blackmun Visonà (chapter 9 shows), top-notch hats in their performances. As citizens of the world, generations of African artists have sought to contribute to an international art world. Recognition of their successes in the past usually omitted their names. Although, on rare occasions, as Sylvester Ogbechie has shown, some African artists had a short-lived celebrity position on international art circuits, but then they were written by history. In her chapter on Swahili visual culture, Prita Meier (chapter 5) criticizes the practice of grouping artists according to their place of origin or current location of their practice, reminding the reader that the dominant discourse on modernism prioritizes time over space. By writing about art that is geographically connected – particularly if it writes about art on the African continent – Africans write its artists from history. Okwui Enwezor and Chika Okeke-Agulu also believe that Africa as a classification has outlived its usefulness, because the mechanisms of the modern world are global. (Salami and Blackmun Visonà).
Arts
Since medieval times, Ethiopia has cultivated an explanatory style that focuses primarily on religious themes. It is characterized by vivid colors, rich symbolism and the large, watchful eyes of the people it depicts. The figures represented in Ethiopian art show a Byzantine influence, adapted to local tastes and then refined through generations of teachers and students. Like other Christian states with monastic traditions, works of art were often commissioned on behalf of churches by wealthy patrons. These images depict the events of the Bible, but they can also serve a spiritual purpose. Diptychs or triptychs worn around the neck, for example, have been used to protect their wearer from damage (Ethiopian Arts & Music | TOTA). Around the world, modern Ethiopia of the 19th and 20th centuries is considered a symbol of African contempt and independence. While most countries in Africa were colonized during this period, Ethiopia was never actually colonized by other countries. This, however, is not due to a lack of effort. The 19th and 20th centuries contain decades of Ethiopia's most difficult struggles due to the invasion of colonial desires. Some of these attacks include the British invasion of Ethiopia in 1868, which resulted in the then Emperor Tewodros II (also called Theodore), committing suicide rather than being captured by the British Empire. Shortly thereafter, Egypt invaded Ethiopia intending to widen its borders to include the entire Nile River. The Ethiopian-Egyptian War took place from 1874 to 1876, and Ethiopia, which worked hard to modernize its army from the British invasion, was able to defeat Egypt and retain its territory. But it is the first Italo-Ethiopian War that lasted from 1894 to 1896, which would be the most impressive and decisive war for modern Ethiopia. This happened during the battle for Africa, and the expectation was that the Italian forces, whose military equipment made the Ethiopians seem primitive, would easily defeat the Ethiopians (artincontext).
Ethiopian Music
Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin, however, it is often applied to one genre, a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically large intervals between certain notes. The music of the Ethiopian Highlands uses a fundamental modal system called qenet, from which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel and anchihoy. Three additional ways are variations of the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor. Some songs get the name of their qenet, such as tizita, a song of remembrance. When played on traditional instruments, these modes are generally not tempered (i.e., tones may deviate slightly from the Western-tempered resonance system), but when played on Western instruments such as pianos and guitars, they are played using the Western-tempered resonance system. Music in the highlands of Ethiopia is generally monophonic or heterophonic. In some southern regions, some music is polyphonic. The polyphonic song Dorze (edho) can use up to five parts. Majangir, four parts (‘Music of Ethiopia’).
Notable Compositions
Yewbet Emebet – Theodros Mitiku
Theodros Mitikou (died 22 December 2013), also known as Teddy Mitiko, was an Ethiopian musician and saxophonist who was the brother of famous Ethiopian musician Tessom Mitikos and a member of the Souk Ekos Band, which operated in the 1960s. He had collaborated with many bands and artists in the musical era of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Ibex Band, Menelik Band, Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gesse and Mulatu Astatke. He worked primarily with Ambassel Records, while AIT Records was a secondary record label ('Theodros Mitiku').
Hosted by Theodros Mitiku
is a song from the instrumental music album "Hasabe"/
Alwedatem Yalkut - Menelik Wossenachew
Menelik Vosanacheu (1940 – 24 December 2008) was an Ethiopian singer who was known for his famous singles "Fikir Ayarjim", "Sukar Sukar", "Teyaqiyew Biaschegregn (Ene Wushetenew)" and later "Gash Jembere" ('Menelik Wossenachew').
Asha Gedawo - Menelik Wossenachew
Beyne - Casay Goat
Qabra Kazai is an Israeli singer, best known for her work alongside Idan Reichel on the Idan Reichel Project ('Cabra Casay').
Yehoden aweteche lengeresh - Tilahun Gessese
Tilahun Gesse (Amharic: The Shadow of the Shadow(27 September 1940 – 19 April 2009) was an Ethiopian singer considered one of the most popular Ethiopian artists of the 20th century. Known by his tenor voice, he was nicknamed "The Voice" during his country's "Golden Age" in the 1960s. Tilahun was an eminent singer whose works are attributed legacy to Ethiopian music. In addition to his popularity, he raised money for aid during the famines of the 1970s and 1980s and won the love of the nation, was awarded a PhD from Addis Ababa University, and also won a lifetime achievement award from the Ethiopian Fine Art and Mass Media Prize Trust ('Tilahun Gessesse').
Bibliography
artincontext. ‘Ethiopian Art - An Exploration of Ancient Ethiopian Art and Culture’. Artincontext.Org, 9 Mar. 2022, https://artincontext.org/ethiopian-art/.
‘Cabra Casay’. Wikipedia, 30 Oct. 2021. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cabra_Casay&oldid=1052656846.
Ethiopian Arts & Music | TOTA. https://www.tota.world/article/1549/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2023.
Ethiopianism •. 16 June 2007, https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/ethiopianism/.
Ethiopianism | Description, History, & Ideology | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ethiopianism. Accessed 13 Feb. 2023.
‘Getatchew Mekurya’. Wikipedia, 12 July 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Getatchew_Mekurya&oldid=1097834163.
‘Menelik Wossenachew’. Wikipedia, 28 Jan. 2023. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Menelik_Wossenachew&oldid=1136034507.
‘Music of Ethiopia’. Wikipedia, 7 Dec. 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_of_Ethiopia&oldid=1126104677.
Salami, Gitti, and Monica Blackmun Visonà. A Companion to Modern African Art. Wiley Blackwell, 2013.
'Theodros Mitiku'. Wikipedia, 6 Dec. 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theodros_Mitiku&oldid=1125843108.
‘Tilahun Gessesse’. Wikipedia, 20 Dec. 2022. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tilahun_Gessesse&oldid=1128455393.
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