How Ethiopian values differed part- 3

In the first two articles in this series we considered traditional Ethiopian society, and how its values compared with those of modern European - or American - capitalism. We examined the status of Land and Labour in historic Ethiopia , and concluded these were scarcely Factors of Production controlled by what modern economists refer to as "Market Forces".

Let us begin today, dear reader, by considering other aspects of traditional Ethiopian life – and its values.

Time

Production in traditional Ethiopia was governed, not as in the West by the calendar, the clock, or the factory siren, but by Dawn and Dusk, and by the passage of the seasons. These comprised two rainy seasons, one short and one long, and two dry seasons between them. Such seasons regulated agricultural life.

The reckoning of time in Ethiopia differed from that of the West, as Donald Levine has argued, in that the Ethiopian calendar was not based on a chronological procession of years, i.e. 1800, 1801 1892, etc, but on a religiously conceived cycle based on the names of the four Evangelists Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, which repeated themselves every four years. This tended to inculcate a static feeling of permanency as opposed to the changing – and “progressive” character of the Western calendar.

There was likewise no very clear distinction in Ethiopia – as in the West - between “working” and “leisure time”, for peasants and other worked, as agriculture required, more or less all day – except on the Sabbath and sundry Church festivals, which were dictated not by any economic imperative, but by Faith.

“Just Price”

Prices in traditional Ethiopia differed from those of the modern West, in that they were far less influenced by the economists' Laws of Supply and Demand. The Fetha Negast, or Ethiopic book of Laws of the Kings, declared that sellers should employ a “Just Price”. This, the text expressly stated, should not be based on profit - particularly not in the case of food and drink, clothing and other necessities of life.

Usury

Production in traditional Ethiopia , was not based, as in the West, on the Rate of Interest, for the Fetha Negast emphatically outlawed Usury, or the charging of interest. This prohibition was reinforced by a Church Council, held by Emperor Yohannes I in 1678, which declared that “whoever lends silver or grain must not receive interest.”

Despite this prohibition things in Ethiopia were by then beginning to change. This was particularly the case at Gondar – a centre of modernisation, where early 19 th century European travellers report that a prominent merchant, Negadras Kidane Mariam, was charging an interest of no less than 10% a month, i.e. 120% per year.

Barter

Traditionally, as we have seen, the Ethiopian economy was based on subsistence – and was not a monetary one like that of the modern West. Ethiopians in the past thus virtually made no use of coins, let alone bank notes. Instead of money the people of Ethiopia made extensive use of barter, i.e. the exchange of one article for another. In the early 16 th century for example, the Portuguese traveller Alvares noted that a man with a donkey might exchange it for a cow - one side making up the difference in value between the two animals by giving the other, two or three pieces of bread or salt.

“Primitive Money”

In the absence of a monetary economy, like that existing in the West, Ethiopians in former days made extensive use of what economic historians term “Primitive Money”. These were pieces of rock salt ( amolé), iron or cloth which were used for purposes of exchange, and thus served like money. Later, however, Maria Theresa thaler, imported from Austria , began to gain circulation.

Trade

Trade in traditional Ethiopia was much more regulated than in the capitalist West. Ethiopian long-distance external commerce was thus largely in the hands of Jabertis , or Muslim merchants, who operated on behalf of the Ethiopian sovereign. This was noted for example, by the 17 th century French traveller Charles Poncet, who observed that the traders were so dependent on Emperor Iyasu I, that the latter actually “treated them as slaves”.

Internal trade in Ethiopia was likewise closely controlled. There were innumerable customs posts, known as kella , at which commercial caravans were taxed: in a system which the French travellers Ferret and Galinier – looking at the situation through 19 th century European eyes - described as “legalised plunder”.

All goods taken to market were likewise taxed. An early 19 th century British ship's surgeon, Charles Johnston, recalls: “everything that is exposed for sale in the market pays a kind of duty. This is generally in kind, or an equivalent in salt pieces… grain is examined by the governor, to whom it is brought, who determines the amount to be taken as toll, and which is regulated according to some customary laws. Such toll is measured by single handfuls… butter is submitted to a similar process, the officer appointed scooping out of a gourd-shell in which it is generally brought, a quantity with his fingers, which is then placed into a recipient jar that stands by his side. The salt merchants, cattle sellers, and, in fact, all dealers, pay for the convenience of bartering their goods, and during the day large heaps of ahmulahs [i.e. amolés , or salt bars] and of market produce, accumulate around the feel of the governor.”

A system of this kind continued in Addis Ababa up to the early 20 th century, causing the British traveller Percy Powell-Cotton to report the presence in the capital's market of “two little sentry-boxes perched on poles where the Negadi Ras [Negadras] … and two assistants, sit on market-days.

Describing price-control over the sale of livestock he continues:

“The Abyssinians have an excellent rule, that, before a bargain is complete, the vendor and the purchaser must together lead their beast before an official, who registers their names, witnesses the paying over of the money, and extracts a fee from both parties to the contract. No horse may be sold for more than fifty [Maria Theresa] dollars, but a mule may go up to three hundred”.

Compulsory Hospitality

The difference between the traditional Ethiopian ethos and that of the West is likewise apparent in the system of old-time hospitality, based on Biblical injunction rather than economic motive. This was noted by the 17 th century Jesuit missionary Almeida. He observes that “the inhabitants of any place” were “compelled to shelter and give food for one night to all travellers arriving there in the evening”. This custom, he emphasises, “originated in the admirable rule of holy charity which teaches and commands that strangers should be sheltered, and at the same time pin the difficulty of transporting provisions in this country”.

Such hospitality was strictly enforced. Barradas, another Jesuit, reports that, if a travelling official was not given his due, the local governor would “slap on a large fine on the person who had failed in his duty. Barradas adds that if a traveller was provided with too little, the latter was entitled next morning to demand “double what he should have received”.

Hospitality, by all accounts, was fully established in later times. The 18 th century British traveller Mansfield Parkyns recalls journeying in Tigray, where he stopped at the end of the day at a peasant's house. The man, who had been ploughing, duly appeared, whereupon, Parkyns adds:

“He ushered me into his house…[and] having brought us a good supply of provisions, serving me with his own hands, and putting into my mouth the very supper which no doubt was intended for himself”.

State Banquets

Hospitality was likewise provided by Ethiopian monarchs of former days. Emperor Menelik for example held more or less weekly banquets at which he fed as many as 20,000 guests – in two or three sittings!

With the development of Addis Ababa things were however beginning to change. In 1907 Menelik's consort Queen Taytu founded the hotel which still bears her name. It was, we may note, not based on hospitality, but on new values, This was noted by Menelik's court chronicle Gabre Sellasé, who was careful to observe an important – revolutionary - innovation: This was that at the new hotel, customers were expected “to pay for what one ate.”

(To be concluded)