Ethnic Othering and Governance in Imperial Ethiopia

Abstract

The Other Abyssinians focuses on nineteenth century W ᾶ llo, Northern Sh ᾶ wa Amhara districts, the neighboring Tuullamma Oromo elites, and the emergence of modern Ethiopia under Menelik. Yates is interested in how W ᾶ llo and Oromo political elites were incorporated into the Ethiopian state. The author develops two key concepts, the first of which is somewhat familiar. The term H ᾶ b ᾶ sha or H ᾶ b ᾶ shaness is a pillar for the author ’ s thesis to ‘ challenge ’ the rigidity of ‘ the concept of ethnicity and ethnic categories such as Oromo, Amhara, and Tigrean ’ (14). The Introduction and Chapter One develop an argument about ‘ the Oromo H ᾶ b ᾶ sha ’ , extending H ᾶ b ᾶ shaness — previ-ously reserved for Semitic speakers — to Cushitic speakers, like the Oromo. Chapter Two focuses on W ᾶ llo, tracing the origin of the Yãjju dynasty, and the region ’ s rise as the political center in northern Ethiopia. Chapter Three reconstructs the rise of Shãwan Amhara districts as Menelik ’ s power base during the last years of Tewodros, the emperor who is generally credited with beginning to centralize political authority beyond the Amhara-Tigrean regions. The chapter considers how Gobãna, a noted Oromo war leader, supported Menelik to expand his authority over the Oromo-speaking districts. It is here that the author extends H ᾶ b ᾶ sha identity to Gobãna ’ s Cushitic-speaking Oromo followers, thereby associating H ᾶ b ᾶ sha with the centralization of Ethiopian political authority. Chapter Four traces Mohammed Ali ’ s rise as the leader of Wãllo under Emperor Yohannes IV, who had him converted to