Description
Book SynopsisReframes the story of modern Ethiopia around the contributions of the Oromo people and the culturally fluid union of communities that shaped the nation's politics and society. Although the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, their history has been distorted in order to buttress twentieth-century notions of a homogeneous Ethiopian state. The Other Abyssinians tells the story of the Oromo people's contribution to modern Ethiopia, tracing their experiences from the early nineteenth century onward and detailing the varied interactions of Oromo groups throughout the Ethiopian highlands. Focusing on the historic provinces of Wällo and Shäwa, this well-researched work elucidates the importance of these territories in the creation of Ethiopia and the history of the Oromo. It casts the Oromo as Abyssinians and central in all aspects of modernEthiopian life, while making a case for Ethiopia, a nation without a colonial legacy, as an example of indigenous African identity formation that challenges notions of "tribal" or ethnic identities. Author Brian J. Yates details the cultural practices that integrated the populations of the highlands into the Abyssinian group; in addition, he analyzes the political structures that evolved concurrently. The book, notably, utilizes a community-based framework to underscore the fluidity of modern national identity. All in all, the work offers a close study of Ethiopian modernization policies and illuminates how Africans might have crafted their nations without the legaciesof colonialism.
Trade ReviewBrian J. Yates's contribution is truly unique scholarship. His intention to challenge the well-grounded divisive and single lens historical discourse drawn from the colonial mentality about Ethiopia and its people is credible and stimulating. [...] All in all, the book is a must read scholarly contribution for all professionals and the wider public interested in Ethiopian history in order to gain a more nuanced understanding, especially of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. * African Studies Quarterly *
Painstakingly researched and written, The Other Abyssinians joins the contested current of Ethiopia's historiography with a distinct contribution. * H-Net *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: What about the Oromo Habäsha? Liberating Northern Oromo Experience from Competing Nationalisms Cultural Backgrounds and the Häbäsha State In but not of: The (Re)Integration of the Wällo Oromo into the Häbäsha Community Menilek, Gobäna and the Creation of Häbäsha Shäwa, 1855-1888 Recreating the Autonomy of Wällo: The Unions of Mikaél and Menilek From Personal Relationships to a Centralizing State: Shäwan Ethiopia (1889-1913) Conclusion: The Oromo Häbasha Post-Menilek Appendix A: Guide To The Transliteration of the Ethiopic Script To the Latin Script Appendix B: Glossary of Ethiopian Terms Appendix C: Sample Interview Questions for Shäwa and Wällo Bibliography
