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Amhara (አማራ) is an ethnic group in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 23 million, making up 30.2% of the country's population according to the most recent 1994 census. They speak Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and dominate the country's political and economic life.

Etymology

The derivation of the name "Amhara" is debated; according to some it comes from the word amari, meaning "pleasing, agreeable, beautiful and gracious" (also mehare, "gracious", containing the same m-h-r root as the verb to learn), while some Ethiopian historians such as Getachew Mekonnen Hasen say it is an ethnic name connected with Himyarites. Still others say that it derives from Ge'ez, meaning "free people" (i.e. from Ge'ez ዓም "ʿam" meaning "people," and ሓራ "h.ara" , meaning "free" or "soldier"), though others, such as Donald Levine, have dismissed this as a folk etymology.

Agriculture

About 90% of the Amhara are rural and make their living through farming, mostly in the Ethiopian highlands. Prior to the 1974 revolution, absentee landlords maintained strict control over their sharecropping tenants, often allowing them to accumulate crippling debts. After 1974, the landlords were replaced by local government officials, who play a similar role.

Barley, corn, millet, wheat, sorghum and teff, along with beans, peppers, chick-peas and other vegetables are the most important crops; in the highlands one crop per year is normal, while in the lowlands two are possible. Cattle, sheep, and goats are also raised.

Religion

Their predominant religion for centuries has been Christianity, with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church playing a central role in the culture of the country and of the Amharic ethnic group. According to the 1994 census, 81.5% of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia (which is 91.2% Amhara) were Ethiopian Orthodox, with 18.1% being Muslim, and 0.1% being Protestant. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains close links with the Egyptian Coptic Church. Easter and Epiphany are the most important celebrations, marked with services, feasting and dancing. There are also many "fast" days throughout the year, when only vegetables or fish may be eaten.

Marriages are often arranged, with men marrying in their late teens or early twenties. Traditionally, girls were married as young as 14, but in the 20th century, the minimum age was raised to 18, and this was enforced by the Imperial government. Civil marriages are common, although some marry in churches. After a church wedding, divorce is not considered possible. Each family hosts a separate wedding feast after the wedding.

Upon childbirth, a priest will visit the family to bless the infant, and circumcise him if he is a boy Template:Dubious. The mother and child remain in the house, for forty days after birth of a boy, eighty for a girl, before going to the church for baptism.

Art

Amharic art is typified by religious paintings. One of the most notable features of these is the large eyes of the subjects, who are usually biblical figures.

History

Certain Semitic-speaking tribes, notably the Agazyan, built the Kingdom of Aksum around two millennia ago, and this expanded to contain what is now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, and at times, portions of Yemen and Sudan. The Amhara inherit their religion and monarchical tradition from Axum, as do Tigrayans.

The region now known as "Amhara" in the feudal era was composed of several provinces with greater or less autonomy, including Begemder, Gojjam, Qwara and Lasta.

Some time in the late middle ages, the Amharic and Tigrinya languages began to be differentiated. Amhara warlords often competed for dominance of the realm with Tigrayan warlords. While many branches of the Imperial dynasty were from the Amharic speaking area, a substantial amount were from Tigray. The Amharas seemed to gain the upper hand with the accession of the so-called Gondar line of the Imperial dynasty in the beginning of the 17th century. However, it soon lapsed into the semi-anarchic era of Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Princes"), in which rivalling warlords fought for power and the Yejju Oromo inderases (or regents) had effective control, while emperors were just as figureheads. The Tigrayans only made a brief return to the throne in the person of Yohannes IV, whose death in 1889 allowed the base to return to the Amharic speaking province of Shewa.

Historians generally consider the Amhara to have been Ethiopia's ruling elite for centuries, represented by the line of Emperors ending in Haile Selassie. Many commentators, including Marcos Lemma, however, dispute the accuracy of such a statement, arguing that other ethnic groups have always been active in the country's politics.

One possible source of confusion for this stems from the mislabeling of all Amharic-speakers as "Amhara", and the fact that many people from other ethnic groups have Amharic names. Another is the fact that most Ethiopians can trace their ancestry to multiple ethnic groups. In fact, the last Emperor, Haile Selassie I, often counted himself a member of the Gurage tribe on account of his ancestry, and his Empress, Itege Menen Asfaw of Ambassel, was in large part of Oromo descent. The expanded use of Amharic language results mostly from its being the language of the court, and was gradually adopted out of usefulness by many unrelated groups, who then became known as "Amhara" no matter what their ethnic origin.

See also

• Habesha
• History of Ethiopia
• Solomonid dynasty

Bibliography

• Wolf Leslau and Thomas L. Kane (collected and edited), Amharic Cultural Reader. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2001. ISBN 3-447-04496-9.

External links

• Lemma, Marcos (MD, PhD). "Who ruled Ethiopia? The myth of 'Amara domination'". Ethiomedia.com. http://www.ethiomedia.com/newpress/the_amara_myth.html. Retrieved February 28 2005.