Africa 2000
Ethiopia
The slumbering giant
Ethiopia has been described as a complex country with a long and intriguing history. Ethiopia is not simply old but really hoary beyond comprehension. One commonly associated label for Ethiopia is “Cradle of Mankind,” in recognition of its unique status as the place to be for high level paleontology. Indeed, ‘Lucy’ or Dinkenesh (you are wondrous) the 3.3 mln year young teenager is right now on tour along with Selam – the fossilized infant that even predates Lucy.
Ethiopia is older than history. This impression will strike visitors as they observe the many things that make Ethiopia truly a one of a kind country. It was an empire under various long lived dynasties until it became a socialist republic in 1974 and a federal nation of nations as of 1991. Actually, although the crown of the House of line of Judah is no more, the structure of the nation is pretty much as it was for thousands of years, albeit a in a different context. Haile Selassese and his 249 predecessors were never called kings but emperors. This is more than a strong indication that a sort of crude federation of nations did exist throughout our history. Emperors have to have kings and they had plenty in Ethiopia. These nobles were in charge of various fiefdoms but ultimately swore allege to the Atse – emperor.
Today’s Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in true Abesha vein, is a nation of constrasts. Is it poor? Absolutely! Is it rich? Incredibl so! Is Ethiopia a peaceful nation – hell no! so is it unlivable? No, its probably the best place in the world...
Mindboggling is a huge understatement. It makes you think you wouldn’t want to be the foreigner trying to make sense of a very poor wealthy country which is listlessly calm,in its restlessness . After having bewildered you with its contradictions and topographical varity and ethnic diversity, Ethiopia then amazes you with its rich tapestry of artistic and cultural sophistication unparallel in Africa for its uniqueness. The country is the only African nation to have its own alphabet numerals, calendar and a complex system of languages. One of the most outstanding products of Ethiopian civilization however, must be the composition and arrangement of Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgical music.
The hauntingly beautiful and spiritually uplifting chanting and hymns you hear almost every morning from your nearest church is the legacy of a musical genius, almost totally unknown to the rest of the world but elevates to Sainthood by reverent Ethiopian Christians.
St. Yared the Deacon developed Ethiopian’s unique system of musical notation in the 6th century. Yared’s music and methods of playing is known as ’Aquaquam’ literally ‘the way to stand in Amharic.
Saint Yared, legend says, drew inspiration from a lowly worm he was observing, which was trying several times but just couldn’t manage to scale the tree under which he was catching a few winks. Yared himself was just ready to give up on ever mastering Ethiopian traditional school.The deacon surmized that God was telling him not to give up on his education. Thereafter, the future saint become a learned man of letters and scripture. Saint Yared’s music is heard throughout Ethiopia and wherever Ethiopians reside pretty much everywhere. As we compiled this Ethiopian edition of Africa 2000 it was soon apparent that we could have difficulty in selecting an artiste from among the hundreds of Ethiopian performers, musicians and other talents. The problem was solved when it was decided to feature two individuals in entirely different millennium each representative of the past present and future path of Ethiopian musical prowess. Saint Yared represents the first Millennium of Ethiopia Mulatu Astatke on the other hand is symbolic of the apex of Ethiopian music in the 20th and 21st Century.
Mulatu legacy will surely be his decades long experimentation to further the scope of Ethiopian music by blending non-Ethiopian notation with Yared’s timeless sounds.
Facts and Figures
Location-Horn of Africa hinterland, Eritrea on North, Sudan on West, Kenya on South, Somalia on East and Southeast Djibouti on East.
Area-1,127, 127 sq.km
Geography-Fertile central highlands, eastern deserts, forested southwest, savannahs, high mountain ranges. Rift Valley spans the entire nation south to north.
Population-81,200,000 Africa ranking =2
Distribution -15.6 % urban
Ethnic Groups-Amhara, Gurage, Oromo, Tigre, , Somali,Afar, Sidamas over 80 others
Languages-Amharic (official), Guragegna, Oromigna, Tigrigna, Somali,Afar,others
Religions-Ethiopian, Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Protestant, Jewish communities
Capital City-Addis Ababa, pop-3,000,000
Government Type-Federal Republic.
Head of Government –Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, since 1995
Currency-Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 8.77= $1US
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-$ 62.9 bln
Economy-Coffee, oilseeds, leather, flowers, corn, food proc, cement, Clothing, light manufacturing
Per Capita GDP-$ 900
Electricity Production-2.3 bln kwh
Literacy-42.7%
Life Expectancy– 47.9 male, 50.2 female
HIV Rate –1.6 %
Telephones: – 435,000 lines
Railroads:-680 kms
Ports: -Access to Djibouti,Berbera,mombasa ports
Vehicles: - 125, 00 units
Daily News Paper Circulation: - 0.4 per 1000
Radios – 185 per 1000
TV sets – 5 per 1,000
Internet – 113,000 users
Facts and figures are the latest available at time of publication and may not necessarily be the most accurate.)
The Reconciler of Eras
Mulatu Astatke is an innovative multi-talented musician, composer, arranger and the founder of Ethio Jazz. Born in Jimma, Ethiopia, Mulatu Astatke studied at Lindisfarne College and Trinity College of Music in England and Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. As a vibraphone, conga and percussion player, he has performed at numerous concerts in Ethiopia and abroad, including appearances at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Beethoven-Haus in Bonn and the Barbican Center in London. Mulatu also performed with the Duke Ellington orchestra during its visit to Ethiopia in 1971. Most recently, Mulatu has contributed prominently to the soundtrack of the film Broken Flowers.
New find of ancient fossils in Ethiopia
Researchers have found fossil remains of early human ancestors in Ethiopia that date to a little known period in human evolution.
The cache included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton, and was unearthed at Woranso-Mille in the country’s Afar desert.
The remains were recovered 30km from the site where “Lucy” - one of the most famous human ancestors - was found.
The specimens have been dated to between 3.5 and 3.8 million years ago.
The research team is led from Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the US.
The palaeontologists have been working in northern Ethiopia’s Afar region for four seasons. This year, they have broadened their search to new areas.
They have found these new areas rich in fossils including teeth and fragments of jawbones belonging to ancient, humanlike creatures - often referred to as hominids.
Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie, one of the team’s leaders, said “One of the reasons why this discovery is really important is because it serves as a time frame that we know nothing about in the past and that’s what makes it really significant.”
He added: “We have a record of about six million years of early human evolution in Ethiopia, but there are also small gaps here and there and this one happens to be one of them.”
The fossils come from the right time period to shed light on the relationship between the “Lucy” species, Australopithecus afarensis, and an even older species called Australopithecus anamensis.
The older species is thought to be ancestral to the “Lucy” hominids, but scientists need more fossils to say this for sure.
Dr Haile-Selassie said the new dig sites yielded the bones of many monkeys, antelopes and wild pigs, suggesting that the hominids lived in a far greener and more wooded countryside than the bare stony Afar desert region seen today.
‘522’ on screen with erotica
By Tedla Desta
“How come these young girls and boys perform such filthy acts? This is the first time I saw explicit kissing and other sexual acts on a film” said a young boy coming out after watching, ‘522.’
This new film, ‘522’, released two months ago has been on the screens of two cinema halls-Empire and Alem. It has especially grabbed the attention of youngsters for its sexually explicit contents.
The storyline revolves around university campus life where female students fall in love with him but he is unable to make sexual moves. As a result, he faces discrimination and hatred from his friends. He also considers himself as sexually weak.
This behavior in the end condemned the young man to life imprisonment in a shocking development.
Tewdros Teklu who has 1/4th of the film’s production share, told Capital that these scenes are the first in Ethiopian cinema history but it should be accepted as it would teach the society and helps explain what is current reality.
The film cost around 900,000 birr with a two year shooting and participation of 1500 cast and crew members.
Scripted by Wonderad Seyoum and directed by Tewodros Tesfaye, son of the veteran actor and instructor, Tesfaye Abebe, ‘522’ was produced by four individuals.
The famous musician Alemayehu Eshete also performs in the movie that brings together young and talented actors.
Since its release, the movie has been the talk of the city for its scenes that portray sex acts.The title is derived from articale 522 of Ethiopia Crimnal Code which pertains to rape offences.
Feeding hyenas from your own hands
 Dereje Tesfaye has been living like this making money entertaining people by feeding hyenas for over 20 years. Andualem Sisay of Capital who spent a week in Harar came back after witnessing the fantastic secenario. Don't be surprised if you see someone walking with a crowd of hyenas in Harar, in the eastern Ethiopia , you are in a city where hyenas and human beings live in harmony. Here, as you can see in the picture, you too, likeTsion Girma who is visiting Harar can also feed hyenas from your own hands sitting by the side of hyena feeders like Tesfaye.
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