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| − | |group=Amhara | + | |group=Shona |
| − | |image=[[Image:Tewodros_Head.JPG|200px|]] | + | |image= |
| − | |poptime=25,176,300 | + | |poptime= c13,000,000{{fact}} |
| − | |popplace= [[Ethiopia]]:<br/>24,909,000<ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref> <br/> [[Eritrea]]:<br/>26,000<ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Egypt]]:<br/>5,200<ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Germany]]:<br/>5,700<ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census] "</ref> <br/> [[Israel]]:<br/>53,000 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Canada]]:<br/>16,000 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Yemen]]:<br/>8,600 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Sudan]]:<br/>74,000 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref><br/> [[Djibouti]]:<br/>2,800 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref> <br/> [[Somalia]]:<br/>76,000 <ref>Joshua Library "[http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=100293 Ethiopian census]"</ref> <br/> | + | |popplace=[[Zimbabwe]], [[Mozambique]] |
| − | | + | |rels=[[Christianity]], other |
| − | |rels=[[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity]], [[Islam]] | + | |langs=[[Shona]], [[English language|English]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] |
| − | |langs=[[Amharic language|Amharic]] | + | |related=other [[Bantu]] peoples |
| − | |related=[[Tigray-Tigrinya people|Tigray]], [[Tigre people|Tigre]], [[Gurage]], [[Argobba language|Argobba]], [[Agaw]], [[somali]],[[Beta Israel]], [[Oromo]]
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| | }} | | }} |
| | + | '''Shona''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|[ʃona]}}),is the name collectively given to several groups of people in [[Zimbabwe]] and western [[Mozambique]]. Numbering about eight million people, who speak a range of related dialects whose standardised form is also known as [[Shona language|Shona]]. |
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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.
| + | Most Zimbabweans identify themselves as either belonging to the ama[[Ndebele]] or maShona ethnic group. Dialect groups are nowadays almost irrelevant because 'standard' Shona is spoken throughout Zimbabwe. Dialects only help to identify which town or village a person is from (e.g. a person claiming to be a Manyika would be from Eastern Zimbabwe, ie. towns like Mutare). The above differences in dialects developed during the dispersion of tribes across the country over a long time. The influx of immigrants, into the country from boardering countries, has obviously contributed to the variety. |
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| − | ==Etymology==
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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> Ultimately, however, the name for the language and ethnic group come from the medieval province of [[Amhara province|Amhara]], located in central Ethiopia in modern [[Amhara Region]] and the pre-1995 province of [[Wollo]].
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| − | ==Agriculture==
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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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| − | 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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| − | ==Religion==
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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 (Christian)|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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| − | 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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| − | ==Art==
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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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| − | ==History==
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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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| − | 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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| − | 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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| − | 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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| − | ==Validity of Ethnic group status==
| + | The Shona people of today are a scattered group of tribes, which are made of several clans; each clan has a very strong sense of unity. In fact, most Shona people identify first with their own clans and then with the entire Shona people. |
| − | Up until the last quarter of the 20th century, "Amhara," was only used (in the form ''amariñña'') to refer to [[Amharic language|Amharic]], the language, or [[Amhara province|the medieval province]] located in [[Wollo]] (modern [[Amhara Region]]). Still today, most people labeled by outsiders as "Amhara," refer to themselves simply as "Ethiopian," or to their province (e.g. Gojjamé from the province [[Gojjam]]). According to Ethiopian ethnographer Donald Levine, "Amharic-speaking [[Shewa]]ns consider themselves closer to non-Amharic-speaking Shewans than to Amharic-speakers from distant regions like [[Begemder|Gonder]]."<ref name="Levine">Donald N. Levine "Amhara," in von Uhlig, Siegbert, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica:A-C, 2003, p.231.</ref> Amharic-speakers tend to be a "supra-ethnic group" comprised of "fused stock."<ref name="Takk">Takkele Taddese "Do the Amhara Exist as a Distinct Ethnic Group?" in Marcus, Harold G., ed., Papers of the 12th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, 1994, pp.168-186.</ref> Takkele Taddese describes the Amhara,
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| − | :''The Amhara can thus be said to exist in the sense of being a fused stock, a supra-ethnically conscious ethnic Ethiopian serving as the pot in which all the other ethnic groups are supposed to melt. The language, Amharic, serves as the center of this melting process in spite of the fact that it is difficult to conceive of a language without the existence of a corresponding distinct ethnic group speaking it as a mother tongue. The Amhara does not exist, however, in the sense of being a distinct ethnic group promoting its own interests and advancing the [[Herrenvolk]] philosophy and ideology as has been presented by the elite politicians. The basic principle of those who affirm the existence of the Amhara as a distinct ethnic group, therefore, is that the Amhara should be dislodged from the position of supremacy and each ethnic group should be freed from Amhara domination to have equal status with everybody else. This sense of Amhara existence can be viewed as a myth.''<ref name="Takk" />
| + | A small group of Shona speaking migrants of the late 1800s also live in Zambia, in the Zambezi valley, in Chieftainess Chiawa's area. |
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| − | ==References==
| + | The shona are farmers that grow rice, beans, peanuts, corn, different types of grass, pumpkins, and sweetpotatoes. |
| − | <div class="references-small">
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| − | <references/>
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| − | </div>
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| − | *[[Habesha]] | + | *[[Mbira#Mbira_Dzevadzimu|Mbira Dzevadzimu]] |
| − | *[[History of Ethiopia]] | + | *[[Shona music]] |
| − | *[[Solomonic dynasty]] | + | *[[Shona language]] |
| − | | + | *[[Bantu language]] |
| − | ==Bibliography==
| + | *[[Zimbabwe]] |
| − | * [[Wolf Leslau]] and Thomas L. Kane (collected and edited), ''Amharic Cultural Reader''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2001. ISBN 3-447-04496-9. | + | *[[Great Zimbabwe]] |
| − | | + | *[[Gokomere]] |
| − | ==External links==
| + | *[[Matabele]] |
| − | * 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]] | + | [[Category:Ethnic groups in Zimbabwe]] |
| − | [[Category:Cultures in the standard cross cultural sample]] | + | [[Category:Ethnic groups in Mozambique]] |
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| − | [[ast:Amhara]]
| + | [[sh:Šona (narod)]] |
| − | [[de:Amharen]]
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| − | [[es:Amhara]]
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| − | [[ko:암하라족]]
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| − | [[nl:Amharen]]
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| − | [[pl:Amharowie]]
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| − | [[sh:Amhara (narod)]] | |
| − | [[fi:Amharat]]
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Shona (IPA: [ʃona]),is the name collectively given to several groups of people in Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. Numbering about eight million people, who speak a range of related dialects whose standardised form is also known as Shona.
Most Zimbabweans identify themselves as either belonging to the amaNdebele or maShona ethnic group. Dialect groups are nowadays almost irrelevant because 'standard' Shona is spoken throughout Zimbabwe. Dialects only help to identify which town or village a person is from (e.g. a person claiming to be a Manyika would be from Eastern Zimbabwe, ie. towns like Mutare). The above differences in dialects developed during the dispersion of tribes across the country over a long time. The influx of immigrants, into the country from boardering countries, has obviously contributed to the variety.
The Shona people of today are a scattered group of tribes, which are made of several clans; each clan has a very strong sense of unity. In fact, most Shona people identify first with their own clans and then with the entire Shona people.
A small group of Shona speaking migrants of the late 1800s also live in Zambia, in the Zambezi valley, in Chieftainess Chiawa's area.
The shona are farmers that grow rice, beans, peanuts, corn, different types of grass, pumpkins, and sweetpotatoes.
See also
sh:Šona (narod)
