Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/African Lore/Answer Key"

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{{ethnic group|
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[[Image:Acholiland,_Uganda.png|thumb|right|250px|Acholiland, Uganda]]
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|group=Amhara
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'''Acholi''' (also '''Acoli''') are the people of the districts of [[Gulu]], [[Kitgum]] and [[Pader District|Pader]], a region known as [[Acholiland]] in northern [[Uganda]] and in Magwe County in southern [[Sudan]] numbering about thirty to fifty thousand people.
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|image=[[Image:Tewodros_Head.JPG|200px|]]
 
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|poptime=23 Million
 
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|popplace=[[Ethiopia]]
 
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|rels=[[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity]], [[Islam]]
 
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|langs=[[Amharic language|Amharic]]
 
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|related=[[Tigray-Tigrinya people|Tigray]], [[Tigre people|Tigre]], [[Gurage]], [[Argobba language|Argobba]], [[Agaw]], [[Beta Israel]], [[Oromo]]
 
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}}
 
  
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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.<ref>[http://bxabeg.people.wm.edu/Ethiopia.Census%20Portrait.pdf Ethiopia: A Model Nation of Minorities] (accessed 26 March 2006)</ref> They speak [[Amharic language|Amharic]], the official language of Ethiopia, and dominate the country's political and economic life.
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==Language==
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{{main|Acholi language}}
  
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==Etymology==
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The [[Acholi language]] is a [[Western Nilotic languages|Western Nilotic]] language, classified as [[Luo languages|Luo]], and is [[mutually intelligible]] with [[Lango]] and other Luo languages.
  
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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 [[Himyarite]]s.<ref>Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992), p. 11.</ref> Still others say that it derives from Ge'ez, meaning "free people" (i.e. from [[Ge'ez language|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.<ref>Herausgegeben von Uhlig, Siegbert, Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003. pp. 230.</ref>
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The ''[[Song of Lawino|Song of Lawino]]'', one of the most successful African literary works, was written by [[Okot p'Bitek]] in Acholi, and later translated to [[English language|English]].
  
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==Agriculture==
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==History==
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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.
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{{see also|Luo}}
  
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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.
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The Acholi are a Luo people, who are said to have come to northern Uganda from the area now known as [[Bahr el Ghazal]] in southern [[Sudan]]. Starting in the late [[seventeenth century]], a new sociopolitical order developed among the Luo of northern Uganda, mainly characterized by the formation of chiefdoms headed by ''Rwodi'' (sg. Rwot, 'ruler'). By the mid-[[nineteenth century]], about 60 small chiefdoms existed in eastern Acholiland{{ref|webster}}. During the second half of the nineteenth century [[Arabic language|Arabic]]-speaking traders from the north started to call them ''Shooli'', a term which transformed into 'Acholi'{{ref|shooli}}.
  
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==Religion==
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Their traditional dwelling-places were circular huts with a high peak, furnished with a mud sleeping-platform, jars of grain and a sunk fireplace, with the walls daubed with mud and decorated with geometrical or conventional designs in red, white or grey. They were skilled hunters, using nets and spears, and kept [[Goat|goats]], [[sheep]] and [[cattle]]. In war they used spears and long, narrow shields of giraffe or ox hide.
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Their predominant religion for centuries has been [[Christianity]], with the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|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 [[Subdivisions of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] (which is 91.2% Amhara) were [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]], with 18.1% being [[Muslim]], and 0.1% being [[P'ent'ay|Protestant]].<ref>[http://www.ethiopar.net/English/basinfo/infoamra.htm FDRE States: Basic Information - Amhara], Population (accessed 26 March 2006)</ref> The Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains close links with the [[Coptic Christianity|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.
 
  
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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.
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During Uganda's [[History of Uganda|colonial period]], the [[United Kingdom|British]] encouraged political and economic development in the south of the country, in particular among the [[Baganda]]. In contrast, the Acholi and other northern ethnic groups supplied much of the national manual labor and came to comprise a majority of the military, creating what some have called a "military ethnocracy." This reached its height with the [[coup d'état]] of Acholi General [[Tito Okello]], and came to a crashing end with the defeat of  Okello and the Acholi-dominated army by the [[National Resistance Army]] led by now-President [[Yoweri Museveni]].
  
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Upon childbirth, a priest will visit the family to bless the infant, and circumcise him if he is a boy {{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]].
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[[Image:Kids3.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Children in an [[internally displaced person|IDP]] camp in [[Kitgum]]]]
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The Acholi are known to the outside world mainly because of the insurgency of the [[Lord's Resistance Army]] (LRA) led by [[Joseph Kony]], an Acholi from Gulu. The LRA's activities have been concentrated within [[Acholiland]] and many hundreds of thousands of Acholi remain [[internally displaced person]]s.
  
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==Art==
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==Religion==
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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.
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Most Acholi are [[Protestant]], [[Catholicism|Catholic]] and, in lesser numbers, [[Muslim]]. Nevertheless, the traditional belief in guardian and ancestor spirits remains strong, though it is now often described in [[Christian]] or [[Islam]]ic terms.
  
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==History==
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== Notable Acholi people ==
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Certain [[Semitic languages|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 [[Tigray-Tigrinya people|Tigrayans]].
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* [[Betty Bigombe]], former MP and conflict mediator
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* [[Joseph Kony]], leader of the rebel [[Lord's Resistance Army]]
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* [[Tito Okello]], [[President of Uganda]] for six months in 1985
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* [[Geoffrey Oryema]], exiled singer
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* [[Olara Otunnu]], former [[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations|United Nations Under-Secretary-General]] and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
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* [[Okot p'Bitek]], poet and author of the ''[[Song of Lawino|Song of Lawino]]''
  
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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]].
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==Notes and references==
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===Notes===
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# {{note|webster}} Webster 1970.
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# {{note|shooli}} According to Atkinson (1994).
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===References===
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* Atkinson, Ronald Raymond (1994) ''The roots of ethnicity: the origins of the Acholi of Uganda before 1800''. Kampala: Fountain Publishers. ISBN 9970-02156-7.
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* Dwyer, John Orr (1972) 'The Acholi of Uganda: adjustment to imperialism'. (unpublished thesis) Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International .
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* Girling, F.K. (1960) ''The Acholi of Uganda'' (Colonial Office / Colonial research studies vol. 30). London: Her majesty's stationery office.
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* Webster, J. (1970) 'State formation and fragmentation in Agago, Eastern Acholi', ''Provisional council for the social sciences in East Africa; 1st annual conference'', vol 3., p. 168-197.
  
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Some time in the late middle ages, the [[Amharic language|Amharic]] and [[Tigrinya language|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 province|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]] [[inderase]]s (or regents) had effective control, while [[Emperor of Ethiopia|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]].
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==External links==
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*[http://www.acholiteck.com/ About The Acholi People
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*[http://www.acholinet.com/ The Only Acholi one stop website portal
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*[http://www.etop.co.ug Etop - Online news in Acholi and Lango (Luo)]
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*[http://www.language-museum.com/a/acholi.php Acholi Sample at Language Museum]
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*[http://www.ugandacan.org/ Uganda Conflict Action Network] working for peace in northern Uganda
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*[http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ Global Night Commute
  
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Historians generally consider the Amhara to have been Ethiopia's ruling elite for centuries, represented by the line of Emperors ending in [[Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia|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.
 
  
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One possible source of confusion for this stems from the mislabeling of all [[Amharic language|Amharic-speakers]] as "Amhara", and the fact that many people from other ethnic groups have Amharic [[Onomastics|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.
 
  
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==References==
 
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<div class="references-small">
 
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<references/>
 
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</div>
 
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==See also==
 
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*[[Habesha]]
 
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*[[History of Ethiopia]]
 
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*[[Solomonid dynasty]]
 
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==Bibliography==
 
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* Wolf Leslau and Thomas L. Kane (collected and edited), ''Amharic Cultural Reader''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2001. ISBN 3-447-04496-9.
 
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==External links==
 
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* Lemma, Marcos (MD, PhD). {{cite web | title=Who ruled Ethiopia? The myth of 'Amara domination' | work=Ethiomedia.com | url=http://www.ethiomedia.com/newpress/the_amara_myth.html | accessdate=February 28 | accessyear=2005}}
 
  
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia]]
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in Uganda]]
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in Sudan]]
  
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[[de:Amharen]]
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[[de:Acholi (Volk)]]
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[[es:Amhara]]
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[[es:Acholi]]
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[[ko:암하라족]]
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[[it:Acholi]]
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[[nl:Amharen]]
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[[nds:Acholi]]
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[[sh:Amhara (narod)]]
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[[pt:Acholi (povo)]]
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[[fi:Amharat]]
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[[sh:Ačoli]]
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[[sv:Acholi]]

Revision as of 05:24, 9 August 2006

Acholiland, Uganda

Acholi (also Acoli) are the people of the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, a region known as Acholiland in northern Uganda and in Magwe County in southern Sudan numbering about thirty to fifty thousand people.

Language

Template:Main

The Acholi language is a Western Nilotic language, classified as Luo, and is mutually intelligible with Lango and other Luo languages.

The Song of Lawino, one of the most successful African literary works, was written by Okot p'Bitek in Acholi, and later translated to English.

History

Template:See also

The Acholi are a Luo people, who are said to have come to northern Uganda from the area now known as Bahr el Ghazal in southern Sudan. Starting in the late seventeenth century, a new sociopolitical order developed among the Luo of northern Uganda, mainly characterized by the formation of chiefdoms headed by Rwodi (sg. Rwot, 'ruler'). By the mid-nineteenth century, about 60 small chiefdoms existed in eastern Acholiland[1]. During the second half of the nineteenth century Arabic-speaking traders from the north started to call them Shooli, a term which transformed into 'Acholi'[2].

Their traditional dwelling-places were circular huts with a high peak, furnished with a mud sleeping-platform, jars of grain and a sunk fireplace, with the walls daubed with mud and decorated with geometrical or conventional designs in red, white or grey. They were skilled hunters, using nets and spears, and kept goats, sheep and cattle. In war they used spears and long, narrow shields of giraffe or ox hide.

During Uganda's colonial period, the British encouraged political and economic development in the south of the country, in particular among the Baganda. In contrast, the Acholi and other northern ethnic groups supplied much of the national manual labor and came to comprise a majority of the military, creating what some have called a "military ethnocracy." This reached its height with the coup d'état of Acholi General Tito Okello, and came to a crashing end with the defeat of Okello and the Acholi-dominated army by the National Resistance Army led by now-President Yoweri Museveni.

Children in an IDP camp in Kitgum

The Acholi are known to the outside world mainly because of the insurgency of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony, an Acholi from Gulu. The LRA's activities have been concentrated within Acholiland and many hundreds of thousands of Acholi remain internally displaced persons.

Religion

Most Acholi are Protestant, Catholic and, in lesser numbers, Muslim. Nevertheless, the traditional belief in guardian and ancestor spirits remains strong, though it is now often described in Christian or Islamic terms.

Notable Acholi people

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Webster 1970.
  2. ^ According to Atkinson (1994).

References

  • Atkinson, Ronald Raymond (1994) The roots of ethnicity: the origins of the Acholi of Uganda before 1800. Kampala: Fountain Publishers. ISBN 9970-02156-7.
  • Dwyer, John Orr (1972) 'The Acholi of Uganda: adjustment to imperialism'. (unpublished thesis) Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International .
  • Girling, F.K. (1960) The Acholi of Uganda (Colonial Office / Colonial research studies vol. 30). London: Her majesty's stationery office.
  • Webster, J. (1970) 'State formation and fragmentation in Agago, Eastern Acholi', Provisional council for the social sciences in East Africa; 1st annual conference, vol 3., p. 168-197.

External links

de:Acholi (Volk) es:Acholi it:Acholi nds:Acholi pt:Acholi (povo) sh:Ačoli sv:Acholi

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