Oral Traditions as Historical Sources in Ethiopia: The Case of the Beta Israel (Falasha)

Author(s): James Quirin

Reviewed work(s):
Source: History in Africa, Vol. 20 (1993), pp. 297-312
Published by: African Studies Association
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ORAL TRADITIONS AS HISTORICAL

SOURCES IN ETHIOPIA: THE CASE OF
THE BETA ISRAEL (FALASHA)*
JamesQuirin
Fisk University

It is axiomaticthathistoriansshoulduse all availablesources.Africanhishasbeenon the cuttingedgeof methodological

innovationfor the
toriography
last threedecades,utilizingwrittensources,oral traditions,archeology,linguistics,ethnography,
musicology,botany,andothertechniquesto bringrespectandmaturityto thefield.'
But the use of such a diversemethodologyhas broughtcontroversyas
well, particularlyregardingoral traditions.Substantialcriticismshave been
raisedconcerningthe problemsof chronologyandlimitedtimedepth,variations in differentversionsof the sameevents,and the problemof feedback
betweenoral and writtensources.2A "structuralist"
critiquederivingfrom
ClaudeLevi-Strauss's
of
Amerindian
study
mythologyhas provideda useful
correctiveto an overly-literal
acceptanceof oraltraditions,butoftenwenttoo
farin throwingout thehistoricalbabywiththe mythologicalbathwater,leading some historiansto rejecttotallythe use of oral data.3A morebalanced
view hasshownthata modifiedstructural
canbe a usefultoolin hisapproach
toricalanalysis.4In Ethiopianhistoriography
some preliminaryspeculations
were madealong structuralist
lines,5althoughin anothersense such an approachwas alwaysimplicitsince the analysisof Ethiopicwrittenhagiographiesandroyalchroniclesrequiredan awarenessof the mythologicalor folk
elementstheycontain.6
Two moredifficultproblemsto overcomehavebeentheEthiopicwritten
documents'centristand elitist focus on the royal monarchyand Orthodox
church.The old Westernview that"history"requiredthe existenceof written
documentsand a state led to the paradigmof Ethiopiaas an "outpostof
Semiticcivilization"andits historicalandhistoriographical
separationfrom
the restof Africa.7The comparatively
plentifulcorpusof writtendocumentation for Ethiopianhistoryallowed such an approach,and the thousandsof
manuscriptsmadeavailableto scholarson microfilmin the last fifteenyears
havedemonstrated
the wealthstill to be foundin writtensources.8However,
suchsources,althougha startingpointfor researchon Ethiopianhistory,no
longerseemadequatein themselvesbecausetheyfocusprimarilyon politicalmilitaryandreligiouseventsconcerningthemonarchyandchurch.
Oralandlocalwrittentraditionsfromthe variouspeoplesnow includedin
Ethiopiacanprovidea partialcorrectiveto the centristbiasesof royalwritten
sources.Researchon the Hadeyya,Agaw,Beta Israel,andSudaneseborderland peoples suggests a significant new trend in Ethiopian historiography.9
History in Africa 20 (1993), 297-312.

298

JAMESQUIRIN

Sincethemid-1970s,EthiopianswithinEthiopiahaveintensifiedlocalhistorical studiesin orderto writea trulynationalhistoryinvolvingall thepeoplesof

the country.'0Oraltraditions,or othertypesof oralmaterialsuchas personal
at thecenter."
recollections,havealsobeenusedto interpret
developments
Suchan approachis not totallynew, althoughoftennot sufficientlyrecognized. Studentsat Addis AbabaUniversity(formerlyHaile Sellassie I
University)havelongcarriedoutfieldworkthatinvolvedthecollectionof oral
as well as localwrittensourcesin orderto writetheirB.A. andnow M.A. thehistorianshadalwaysuseda combinationof writtenand
ses.12 "Traditional"
of Ethiopianstudiesin Europe,the sevenoraltraditions."3
The great"father"
GermanJobLudolphus,whonevervisitedEthiopia,depended
teenth-century
on oraldatafromabbaGregory,his Ethiopianinformant,as well as Ethiopic
documents.14The best of the modemhistoricalworkon the centralstateand
churchwas cognizantof thenecessityfor a "muchcloserinvestigationof the
traditionsof thepeoplesandof thechurches."'5
The elitist or class biases of most writtensourcesare moredifficultto
overcome,althoughsignificantstepshavebeenmadeusinglanddocuments,'6
andto a lesserextentthestudyof prayersandmagicalformulaeas sourcesfor
of thepeople.'7Oraltraditionsareessentialto overcomecenthe "mentalite"
butI have
tristbiasesby providingsourcesfor thepeoplesof the "periphery,"
foundthemmoredifficultto use to overcomeelitistbiases.In the case of the
Beta Israel,the most useful traditionscome from theirdominantreligious
elite, and hence reflect the interests and interpretationsof that group.
withoutthis
Nevertheless,BetaIsraelhistorycannotadequatelybe understood
source.
Beta Israeltraditionsillustrateboththeirstrengthsand limitations.The
fortheir
framework
traditions
providetheessentialthematicandchronological
historysinceonly one, brief,latewrittenchronicle-itself basedon theiroral
traditions-hasbeenfound.8 Althoughtheirclericswereliterateandhada rein ancientEthiopic(Ge'ez),theirhistorywaskeptonlyorally.
ligiousliterature
to examinethe natureand
Hence,thiscase studyprovidesan opportunity
functionof oraltraditionsin a literatesociety,andto compareBetaIsraeltraditionswithEthiopianandexternalwrittensources.Thispapercomparessuch
traditionsconcerningfourepisodesin threedifferenthistoricalperiods.In the
conflictwithkingYeshaq,theBetaIsraeltraditionsare
earlyfifteenth-century
centurythe
essentiallycongruentwiththewrittensources;in themid-fifteenth
traditionsadd informationnot foundin writtendocuments,but are basically
Gondarera,theoraltradisimilar.Duringthe seventeenth/eighteenth-century
not availablein theroyalchronicles,
tionscontaina greatdealof information
which essentiallyignore the Beta Israelafter they were conqueredin the
1620s. Finally,in a mid-nineteenth
centuryreligiousconflict involvingthe
Beta Israel, some convertsto Protestantism,and the EthiopianOrthodox
church,the oraltraditionsareusefulmainlyto help providean internalinterpretationof theeventsfromtheBetaIsraelperspective.

ANDTHEBETAISRAEL
ORALTRADITIONS

299

II
The Fifteenth Century

Boththeoralandwrittentraditionssuggestthatthe fifteenthcenturywas
a criticalepochin the historyof the groupvariouslyknownas the "Falasha,"
Jews."In the firstplace,the tradi"BetaIsrael,""BlackJews,"or "Ethiopian
aboutthistimeperiodthatdoes
tionsprovidea wealthof detailedinformation
not exist for any earlierera. Secondly, the oral (Beta Israel) and written
(Christian)sourcesarecongruentwitheachotherconcerningthe significance
of the conflictwith Yeshaq(1413-1430),andeven concerningthe originof
the name"Falasha."
Thirdly,in the mid-fifteenthcentury,most likely during
the reignof Zar'aYa'eqob(1434-1468),Beta Israeltraditionshelp interpret
the writteninformationin seeing this time as criticalto the constructionof
groupidentity.
A detaileddiscussionof the controversialoriginsof the peopleand the
is beyondthe scopeof this paper,butit was a complexproname"Falasha"
cess occuringovermanycenturiesthatcannotbe explainedby the simplistic
views eitherthattheyderiveddirectlyfroma "losttribe"of ancientIsrael,or
The
thatthey weresimply"rebels"or hereticsfromOrthodoxChristianity."9
oralandwrittensourcessuggesttherewas a Jewishpresenceof some sortin
ancientAksumand that some small groupsof ayhud ("Jewish,""Jewish
culturalingroup")by the fourteenthcenturyweresubjectto proselytization,
seems to
teraction,andwarfarewiththe Ethiopianstate.The term"Falasha"
have originatedin the conflict betweenthe ayhudof Wagaraprovinceand
Yeshaq,andby the earlysixteenthcentury,thiswas thecommonnameof the
group.Othernamesdeveloped,suchas "Kayla"in theGondararea,and"Beta
Israel."20
By the twentiethcenturythe latterhadbecomethe most accepted
self-name.Thisprocessof an evolvingterminologymirrorskey stagesin the
Hencewe
constructionof groupself-identityduringthe fifteenthcentury.21
mustbeginwithanalysisof thetraditions
concerningrelationswithYeshaq.
Accordingto the writtenchronicles,Yeshaqattempteda "divideandrule"
policyby appointingan ayhudas thegovernorof two provinces,andthenappointingthatman'snephewto watchoverhim andreportdirectlyto himself.
Despite urgingby the youngerman, the uncle refused to pay the tribute.
HenceYeshaqcamewithan army,defeated,andbeheadedhim.Yeshaq'slocal supportersamong the Beta Israeland otherswere rewardedwith land
the
grantsandYeshaqhadseveralchurchesbuiltin the region.Furthermore,
chroniclestateshe madethe followingproclamation:
'May he who is baptized in the Christianbaptism inherit the land of his
father; otherwise let him be uprooted from his father's land and be a
stranger(falase).' Since then the [Beta] Israel were called Falashas
[falaschoch].22

Thus these written traditions provide much of the needed information

concerning the conflict with Yeshaq, both in terms of causes and conse-

300

JAMESQUIRIN

quences.Together,the documentsshow thereweredivisionswithinthe Beta

Israel,as well as in the regionin general,bothof whichfacilitatedthe conwhoreceivedlandgrantslater.
questanddetermined
Theoraltraditionscomplementthesewrittendata.Theirwealthof detail
of thispecomparedto anypreviouserasuggeststhefundamental
importance
The oral traditionsalso recallsplits withinthe Wagaraayhud,apparriod.23
ently betweenolderand youngermembersof the rulingfamily.They recall
the conquestby Yeshaq,the forcedconversionandloss of rest ("inherited")
land-userights,the dispersalof some,andthe increasedimportanceof artisan
workby others:
After Yeshaq won the battle he forced the Israelites [Beta Israel] to become Christians.This the Israelitesrefusedto do. They didn'twant to be
Christians.Because of that, he declared they should not have rest land.

Afterthat,theIsraeliteswerecalled'falasyan.'Thatmeansthosepeople
who did not have land. Because they didn'thave land, they were working as carpenters and builders and the women were doing pottery
work.2

Anotherinformantwent into more detailaboutthe originsof the war,

pointingout splits withinthe group,and the dispersal,lost landrights,and
theirdefeat.His narrationon the name
forcedconversionthatcharacterized
"Falasha"
includedtwoversionsof its origins:
Question:Wasit at thetimeof Yeshaqthatthisname'Falasha'began?
Answer:Yes.
Question:Wasit Yeshaqwhogavethisname?
Answer: Yes, he said they cannot have land. They will be called
'Falasha.' It is said [like this], but they were also called Falasha a long

timebefore,at thetimewhentheIsraelitesleftIsrael.
Question:So it was theirnamebeforeYeshaq?Is it becausetheycame
from anotherland that they were called Falasha?
Answer: Yes, the big Gedewon was called Falasha.It means 'people in
exile.' After Yeshaq defeated Gedewon, the Beta Israel were scattered

in manyplaces.
Question:Where?
Answer:Theywerein Walqayt,Sallamt,Samen,Gorgora,and[near]
here,in Gana,Qwara,andotherplaces.25

This passagesuggestsan overlayof two versionsof the origin of the

firststatedtheyweregiventhis
nameFalasha.Ontheone hand,the informant
nameby Yeshaqbecausetheylost theirland.At the end, whenhe notedthat
Falashameant"peoplein exile,"theexamplegivenwas notthatof exile from
ancientIsrael,accordingto the traditionaletymology,but ratherexile from
their center in Wagara to surroundingprovinces. This detailed explanation of
the name Falasha was accompanied by the bald statement that the name had

ORALTRADITIONS
AND THEBETAISRAEL

301

really originatedwhen theirancestorsleft ancientIsrael,a statementwhich

wouldseem to be a lateraccretiondue to the twentieth-century
desireto reinforcesuchties.
Hencethe eraof Yeshaqwas a turningpointin theirhistory,markedby
themilitarydefeatof theWagaraayhudat thehandsof an armyled personally
for the firsttimeby theEthiopianking,confiscationof theirinheritableland,
widespreaddispersalto neighboringprovinces,forcedconversion,and the
probableoriginof thenew term,"Falasha."
The restof the fifteenthcentury,particularly
the reignof Zar'aYa'eqob,
was also significantin BetaIsraeloraltraditionsdue to theirconstruction
of a
new "Falasha"identitythat began duringthis era.26Since the fourteenth
century,writtenchroniclesand hagiographiesindicate attemptsmade to
convertvariousayhudgroups.Mostof theincidentsof conversionrecordedin
the Christianhagiographies,such as thosecarriedout by ZenaMarqosand
GabraIyyasusin the fourteenthcentury,emphasizeits peacefulnatureand
point out contributionsto Christianitywhich were made by the ayhud
converts.In addition,a coupleof examplesof Christianswhojoinedthe ayhud
2
communitiesarementioned.
But the truesignificanceof thesewarsandproselytization
effortsfor the
developmentof Falashahistoryonly becomesclearthroughBeta Israeloral
traditions,whichprovidetheinternalview of theseprocesses.Thesetraditions
thatthechangein namewas merelythe
providethebasisformy interpretation
externalreflectionof a profoundinternalprocessof identityconstruction.In
an era of intimateayhud-Christian
contact,theologicaldebate,andpoliticalmilitaryconflict,somegroupsof ayhudrespondedby creatinga new ideological-religiousidentityas well as materialbase. The constructionof this new
identitydatesessentiallyto the fifteenthcentury,while the peopleused it as
thebasisfortheirsocietalself-defenseup to theirfinaldefeatearlyin the seventeenthcentury,andeven upto theirformulation
of a new identitybeginning
earlyin thetwentiethcentury.
Beta Israeltraditionsconcerningabba SabraandSaggaAmlakaremost
Both were describedas Christianswho left
significantin this interpretation.
theirreligionandjoined the ayhud,bringingOrthodoxtexts andinstitutions
which fundamentally
restructured
the grouptheyjoined.Abba Sabracame
fromShawaprovinceto the ayhudheartland
in thenorthwestandconvertedto
theirreligion.Thenhe establisheda monastery,taughtthe peoplethe correct
life basedon theorit(OldTestament/Torah),
wrotea collectionof prayersand
probablyotherreligiousbooks,institutedat leasta partof thereligiouscalendar,andestablishedthe BetaIsraellaws of puritywhichcalledfor a high defromChristiansociety.28
greeof separation
An allegedson of Zar'aYa'eqobwas influencedby the teachingsof abba
Sabraandjoined him in his new monastery.One day Zar'aYa'eqobsent an
armyto recapturehim,butGodhid thewholeayhudsettlementandsavedhim
from discovery. The son thereby acquiredthe name Sagga Amlak ("Graceof
God") among the Falasha. The king never did find him and he lived out his
life assisting abba Sabrain teaching the Falashareligion.29

302

JAMESQUIRIN

The traditionsI recordedconcerningthesetwo menprovidethe mostdeBut theirstoriesare corroborated

tailedinformationaboutthemyet known.30
in other sources. Earlier this century, the Beta Israel scholar, Taamrat
Emmanuel,collectedoralinformation
concerningthem,as well as otherearly
In the 1840s,the FrenchtravFalashaholy men,whichwas laterpublished.3'
eler,Antoined'Abbadiealso collectedtraditionsconcerningthesetwo, which
Theirnamesarealso recorded
arebriefbutcongruentwithmy information.32
andprayers,sometimeswiththe two
in BetaIsraelwrittenreligiousliterature
namesruntogetheras "AbbaSabraSaggaAmlak,"perhapsbecauseof their
Thesewrittensourcesonlymentionthenameswithoutinclose cooperation.33
formationaboutthemen.
It is clearthatdetailsaboutthesetwo men wouldnot be knownwithout
evidencefromoraltraditions.
By all accountsthefifteenthcenturywas a critical periodin the developmentof theFalasha.The institutionof monasticism
was founded-apparentlyby abbaSabra-and manyreligiousbooksandthe
liturgywereacquiredfromtheChristians.SomescholarsarguethatthesefundamentalChristianelementsprovethattheFalashareallyaresimplya breakStatedbaldly,thisview is too simplisticbeawayfromEthiopianChristianity.
cause both the oral traditionsand the writtensourceson people such as the
Christianmonk,Qozmos,makeclearthattheserenegadesfromChristianity
joinedan existinggroupof ayhud,ratherthancreatinga completelynew entity.1
Theseeventssignifythatfromat leastthefifteenthcenturytheBetaIsrael
monkscreatedthebasisfor an increasingdegreeof separationfromChristian
society--despitesubstantialreligioussimilarities-thathas continuedup to
the present.This view fromthe inside of Beta Israelsociety would not be
Thestrengthof this
fromtheiroraltraditions.
possiblewithoutdocumentation
traditionalchainof transmission,
primarilythroughthe monksandpriests,is
demonstrated
by the continuingvitalityof these traditionsup to the 1970s,
even amongmenmuchinfluencedby westernJewishteachingsin the twentieth century,who generallyhad greatmotivationto deemphasizeBeta Israel
ties with EthiopianChristianity.
EuropeanJews such as JacquesFaitlovitch
triedto bringBetaIsraelreligionmorein line withmodemJudaism,thereby
seekingto demonstrateties to ancientIsraelanddownplayconnectionsand
influencesfromEthiopianOrthodoxy.In otherwords,althoughthe internallyacceptedview of BetaIsraelhistoryby the 1970s saw the groupas the remnant of a "lost tribe"derivingdirectlyfromancientIsrael,their traditions
transmittedorally--even by those individualswho personallybelieved the
"losttribe"view-contain datathatsupporta contraryperspectiveemphasizing the significantChristianinfluenceson the societyas recentlyas the fifteenthcentury.
Of courseit wouldbe nice to have the specific traditionsaboutabba
Sabra confirmed in a written document from the period! The closest written
documentation that exists shows only a similar phenomenon, but does not
specifically refer to either abba Sabra or Sagga Amlak. During the reign of
Dawit II (1380-1412) the Christianmonk Qozmos left his monastery,joined

ORALTRADITIONS
ANDTHEBETAISRAEL

303

the ayhud, and led a rebellionagainsthis formercolleagues.35One of the

many miraclesof Mary found in Ethiopianliteraturegives the case of a
Christianclericwhojoinedan ayhudcommunity,butwaslatercapturedby an
armysent by the Christianruler.The rulerexecutedhim and scatteredhis
dismemberedbody to severalprovincesas an exampleof whathappensto
apostates.The congruenceof this anonymoustradition,which containsno
names,with the storyof SaggaAmlakis interesting,althoughthe editorbelieves it refersto someoneelse in the courtof Zar'aYa'eqob.36
Maybea written life of abba Sabrawill yet be found,as d'Abbadiehintedexistedin the
nineteenthcentury.37
Thediscoveryof writtendocumentation
wouldhelpconfirmthe historicity of thesetwo men andperhapsclearup some vaguenessand variationsin
chronologyanddetailspresentin theoraltraditions,
althoughEthiopianwrittensources,especiallyhagiographies,
areoftenquitevagueas to datesas well.
But even in the absenceof specificwrittencorroboration
aboutabba Sabra
andSaggaAmlak,it is clearthatthe generalphenomenonof someChristians
The BetaIsraeloraltraditionsshow the sigjoiningayhudgroupsoccurred.38
nificanceof this phenomenonfor the developmentof Falashaidentityin the
fifteenthcentury.Althoughthe traditionsareoftenvague,theynot only providemoreinformation
thananywrittensources,buttheycanbe usedto illustratean internalview of identityconstruction.
III
The Gondar Era

Beta Israeloral traditionsconcerningthe seventeenth-eighteenthcenturiesfill in gapsin thewrittenrecord.Duringthe 1620stheFalashaconquest

was completed. From that time on they were virtually invisible in the
Ethiopianchroniclesandotherwrittensources,since they were no longera
militarythreat.Foreignwrittensourceson this periodare also scarce,but of
coursethe groupcontinuedto exist andthis importantperiodin theirhistory
wouldbe nearlyunknownwithoutoraltraditions.
Thisperiod(1632-1755)is calledthe Gondardynastyin Ethiopianhistoriographybecause the city of Gondarwas foundedas the capital of the
Ethiopianstate.Gondarwas built in the centerof the areaof northwestern
Ethiopiathatwas the Beta Israelheartland.The city was characterizedby
greatstoneconstruction.Everyimportantkingbuilthis own palaceandseveralchurchesso thatGondarbecameknownas the "cityof 44 churches."The
buildingsor theirruinsremaintodayas impressiveexamplesof Ethiopianarchitecture.39
Oneof thequestionsaskedaboutGondarhasbeen,who builtthecastles?
Architecturalresponsibility has been variously assigned to Ethiopians, or to
foreigners such as Indians or Portuguese.The construction workers, the masons, carpenters, and laborers have usually been asserted to be simply

304

JAMESQUIRIN

by traditionalinformation,but sometimesthe "Falasha"were

"Ethiopians"
mentionedspecifically.40
hasconfirmedthatthemainskilledworkMy collectionof oraltraditions
on the castleswere the Beta Israel.In exchange
ers (masonsandcarpenters)
for this worktheyreceivedgrantsof landandtitlesfromthe Ethiopianstate.
In the Gondarareathesegrantsbeganto reversethe trendby whichtheyhad
beengraduallydispossessedof landduringthe precedingthreehundredyears
of conflict.Thesetraditionsalso give somedetailson wherethey weregiven
theselandgrantsandthe namesof severalindividualswho receivedtitlesof
azmach("commander"),
azaj ("leader"),or bejrond ("chief of workers").
fromtheAmharain Gondar,includingsometraditional
Otheroralinformation
historians,and fromthe Qernantpeoplein the regionconfirmthe important
role of the BetaIsrael,althoughtheydo not providedetailsconcerningindividuals'namesandtitles.41
These oral traditionsthusprovideessentialinformationconcerningthe
BetaIsraelduringthisperiodin whichtheyarementionedonlybrieflyin several hundredpages of the royal chronicles,and whereforeignsourcesare
scant.Therearesomeproblemswiththeinformation,
however,whichdemonstratethe limitationsof oral traditions.Althoughthe traditionssometimes
assertcertainBetaIsraelwho receivedlandor titleslived duringa particular
king'sreign, this informationis often contradictoryamongdifferentinformants.Thusa precisechronologyis still impossibleto construct,even though
we knowwheneachEthiopiankingreigned.Norcanwe equateunequivocally
thenamesof theBetaIsraelwhoreceivedtitleswiththemultitudeof namesof
royalappointeesgiven in the chronicles.In somecases the namesaresimilar
andthechronologymaybe aboutright,butone cannotbe suresincethe royal
officialsarenot identifiedaccordingto ethnicgroup.Thereis one verylikely
centurywhen,accordingto Beta Israel
congruencefromthe mid-eighteenth
In
traditions,the mainbejrond("chiefof the workers")was namedIssayas.42
thechronicleof IyyasuII (1730-1755)Issayasis referredto as thechief of the
carpentersin charge of the constructionof the church of Dabra Sahay
Qwesqwam.43

Inadditionto fillingin information

gaps,theGondardataillustratetheinof the Beta Israelinto the generalpolitical-economic
creasedincorporation
structure,but in specific roles. To a greaterextent thanpreviously,a Beta
Israelsecularelite developed.Butbesidesa chronologicalvagueness,thedata
havesomeotherproblems.Althoughthenamesof severalindividualswho redetailsof theirlives andactionsarenot known.
ceivedtitlesareremembered,
Whiletheyweresaidto havereceivedlandgrants,thespecifictypesof grants
arenot clear.44
My informantsin severallocationssaidtheyheldlandas rest
landrights)(beforethe 1975landreformact) derivedfromthese
("inherited"
Gondareragrants,butthe detailsarenotclear.Theseproblemssuggestsome
of the limitationsof oral traditionsalso foundelsewhere-that they mainly
deal, as do writtenchronicles,with developmentsat the center,but are less
clearaboutlocalsocio-economicphenomena.

ANDTHEBETAISRAEL
ORALTRADITIONS

305

IV
The Nineteenth Century

Beta Israeltraditionsconcerninga religiousdisputein the 1860s further

demonstrate
the valueof oraltraditionsin developingan internalview of soBetaIsraelandsome
ciety. Superficially,thisdisputewasbetweentraditional
theproductsof missionaryactivrecentBetaIsraelconvertsto Protestantism,
ity sincethe 1850s.Themainwrittensourcesfor thisdisputearethe missionaryrecords,butfromtheperspectiveof theBetaIsrael,theyprovidean inadequateaccount.45
FromBetaIsraeloraltraditionsanda short,uniquewrittenchroniclethat
is itself based on their oral traditions,we get a somewhatdifferent,and
broader,view of thiscontroversy.Not only did it involveProtestantconverts
andtraditional
BetaIsrael,butalsobroughtin theEthiopianOrthodoxChurch.
Overall,the controversyshouldbe seen in the contextof a broaderBeta
Israelreligiousrevivalsince the 1840s.46Accordingto theirtraditions,abba
of the
Wedaje,a BetaIsraelmonk,beganto respondto a generaldeterioration
positionof the Beta Israeland attackson theirreligionin the 1840s as he
He was viewedas the legitimate
"broughthis peoplebackto theirreligion."47
successorto thegreatabbaSabraof thefifteenthcentury.48
The secondphaseof the revivalwas led by abba Simon,the pupiland
InJune1862a BetaIsraelmonkexcommunicated
successorto abbaWedaje.49
his nephewbecausehe hadconvertedto Protestantism.
The nephewhadcriticized theirtraditional
of
that
sacrifices,
practice
asserting it was not ordained
in the Old Testament.By SeptemberTewodros(1855-68) had become involvedby grantingpermissionto baptizethe firstconvertsandby arbitrating
theconflict.50
In the hearingbeforeTewodrosthe OrthodoxChurchwas drawnintothe
conflictas thedisputewidenedto includea debateon thenatureof theTrinity.
The BetaIsraelmonkswereled by abba Simonwhilethe Churchwas led by
its head,abunaSalama.Also presentweretheBetaIsraelconvert,WebeBeru,
andthemissionaryJ.M.Flad.Accordingto a ratherdetailedoraltradition,the
BetaIsraelarguedthattheirview of theTrinity,whichwas that"Godis One,
not three"was supportedin the OldTestamentwhereit statedthat"Godcreated Adamin his own image"(Genesis1:27). In rebuttalthe Christiansargued,also basedon the OldTestament,thatGodhadsaid "Letus createman
in our image"(Genesis1:26),therebyreferringto theTrinity.Aftersomefurtherdiscussion,accordingto the Beta Israeltradition,the king decidedthat
they,indeed,didnot haveto convertto Christianity.5'
Althoughtheking'sdecisionwas actuallysomewhatambiguous,sincehe allowedthemissionariesto
continuework and even gave permissionto a new mission groupto begin
proselytizingtwo monthslater,the Beta Israelareclearthatthis controversy
had a positive ending, demonstratinga furtherstage in their religious revival.52
In other words, from an internalperspective, as conveyed in their traditions, the Beta Israel felt that this theological dispute proved the validity of

JAMESQUIRIN

306

theirown beliefsandhencepreventedthe Ethiopianstatefromallowingtheir

forcedconversion.Ironically,as in the fifteenthcenturytheydevelopedthese
argumentswithintheOldTestamentcontextwhichwas also themainsupport
of EthiopianOrthodoxy.Most importantly,the internaltraditionssee the
groupactingas subjectsin theirown rightto revitalizetheirreligionandsociety, notsimplyas objectsmeantto be converted.
V
Conclusion
In conclusion, these examples illustratetwo major strengthsof oral tradi-

tions as historicalsources:they provideinformationotherwiseentirelylost

fromthe historicalrecord,and they providea view frominsidea particular
society. This latterfunctionis particularlyimportantwhen the groupbeing
consideredis a minorityor hasbeenconqueredandto somedegreeoppressed
by a largergroupor expandingstate as was the case with the Beta IsraelFalasha.
Furthermore,the examples given above illustrate that this internal perspective may be as faithful to "whatactually happened"in a Rankiansense as
are writtenrecords.For example, despite the great twentieth-centurypressures
on the Beta Israel to conform to world Jewish practices,and to see themselves
as direct descendantsof a "lost tribe"from ancient Israel, their oral traditions
contain data from an earlierera and perspective. These traditionsdemonstrate
the fundamental influence of Christian Orthodoxy on developing the
"Falasha"religion and ethnic identity since the fifteenth century. And such
traditionswere transmittedby individuals who personally were committed to
increasingthe links with Israel, ancient and modern.Ethiopianwrittensources
can be no betteras a mediumof factualcontent than this.
Nevertheless, weaknesses and limitations in the oral traditions are also
clear. The main problems concern questions about chronology, nagging
doubts about theirhistoricity,and a focus mainly on theirown elites. Did abba
Sabra and Sagga Amlak really live? How do we know for sure that the individuals named in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries really obtained titles and some kind of land grants when they are difficult to verify absolutely
in writtendocuments?Grantedthat abba Wedaje and abba Simon lived in the
mid-nineteenthcentury, how do we really know what they did to lead a religious revival and what was said during the religious debate at the court of
Tewodros?
There are two types of answers to these questions. On the one hand, it is
importantin understandingBeta Israelhistory to know what theirown view of
their past is. Secondly, these Ethiopiancases show that througha careful collection and comparisonof various versions of the oral traditions,and corroboration with written sources, we can arrive at a high degree of probable
historicity.

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ORALTRADITIONS

307

The questionof traditionsprovidingan elitist view--even of a minority

andoppressedgroup--is moreproblematical.
Whatdid the creationof a new
"Falasha"identityin the fifteenthcentury,or a religiousrevivalin the nineteenthcentury,reallymeanto how mostBetaIsraellivedtheirlives?Whatdid
the apparentlandgrantsandtitlesgiven a secularelite in Gondarhave to do
with how the rural Beta Israel blacksmithlived in Wagara,Saqqalt,or
Dambeya?
In any case, the answersto such questionsare not self-evidentin any
sources,writtenor oral,butbothtypesmustbe used.Thewrittenrecordis not
magicallyclearas to basicfactseither.In Ethiopiasomechroniclesandsome
hagiographiesare betterthanothersas historicalsources.Thereis often a
closerconnectionbetweenoralandwrittendocumentsthanhistorianswho use
exclusivelythe latterwouldlike to admit.Some chronicles,such as thatof
Zar'aYa'eqob(1434-1468),werenotactuallywrittendownuntilyearslater;in
this case, duringthereignof LebnaDengel(1508-1540).53
Anotherchronicle,
thatof Galawdewos(1540-1559),the king who finallydefeatedthe sixteenyearIslamicjihad of Ahmadibn Ibrahim("Gragn")is morehortatoryand
panegyricthana recordof history.54
Fortunately,we have otherrecordsof
these warsin a detailedchronicleby a soldierin the Islamicarmy,andby a
memberof thePortugueseforcesentto assistEthiopia.55
areessentialhistoricalsources,especiallyfor the
Likewise,hagiographies
1270-1527period,butagainsomearebetterthanothers.56
All containmiracles
andarelaudatoryof thesaint'slife-that is thereasontheywerewritten!They
andtheymay
may exist in morethanone version,similarto oraltraditions,57
have been writtendown long after the saint died."5They have been used
creativelyandeffectivelyas sourcesfor Ethiopianhistory,but like any other
source they cannotsimply be acceptedas literally"true"in the historical
"facts"theypurportto portray.Buttheyarecertainly"true"in thesenseof the
imageof the saintthe writerswishedto present,andtheyhavebeen usedcreativelyas historicalsources.59
Suchexamplescouldbe multiplied.All historicalsourceshavelimitations
as well as strengths.In the case of theEthiopianBetaIsrael,oraltraditionswhen used carefullyin conjunctionwith writtendata-provide the essential
frameworkfora reinterpretation
of historythatis faithfulto theirnobleefforts
to survivewith dignityandintegritywithinthe broaderEthiopianand world
contextandconstraints.
Notes
* Earlier,shorterversions of this paper were presentedin the Fisk Faculty Lecture Series,
Fisk University, 25 February 1985, and at the Tennessee Conference of Historians, Vanderbilt
University, 22 March 1986. It is based on research, including fieldwork in Ethiopia in 1975/76,
that contributedto my forthcoming study, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of the
Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920 (Philadelphia, 1992). On terminology, see below and chapter 1.
Grants from several organizations have supported aspects of this research over the years,
including the Social Science ResearchCouncil, AmericanCouncil of LearnedSocieties, National
Endowmentfor the Humanities,United Negro College Fund, and Fisk University.

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JAMESQUIRIN

1. Recent maturestatementsinclude: Joseph C. Miller, "Introduction:Listening for the

African Past" in Joseph C. Miller, ed., The African Past Speaks (Hamden, 1980), 1-59; Jan
Vansina, Oral Tradition as History (Madison, 1985); special issue of Ethnohistory:Edward
Steinhart, "Introduction,"Ethnohistory 36(1989): 1-8, and David William Cohen, "The
Undefining of OralTradition,"Ethnohistory36(1989): 9-18.
2.
Early criticism was raised by David Henige, The Chronology of Oral Tradition
(Oxford, 1974); idem., "The Problem of Feedbackin Oral Traditions:Four Examples from the
FanteCoastlands,"JAH 14(1973): 223-35.
3. Claude Levi-Strauss, StructuralAnthropology (Garden City, 1967); Edmund Leach,
ed., The Structural Study of Myth and Totemism (London, 1967); idem., Claude Levi-Strauss
(New York, 1970); T.O. Beidelman, "Myth, Legend and Oral History: A Kaguru Traditional
Text," Anthropos 65(1970): 74-97; Luc de Heusch, TheDrunkenKing or the Origin of the State,
trans. Roy Willis (Bloomington, 1982); idem., "WhatShall We Do with the Drunken King?"
Africa 45(1975): 363-72; ChristopherC. Wrigley, "Myths of the Savanna,"JAH 15(1974): 13135; idem., "The River-God and the Historians: Myth in the shire Valley and Elsewhere," JAH
29(1988): 367-83; W.G. Clarence-Smith,Slaves, Peasants and Capitalists in Southern Angola,
1840-1926 (Cambridge, 1979), viii; idem., "ForBraudel:A Note on the 'Ecole des Annales' and
the Historiographyof Africa,"HA 4(1977): 275-81.
4.
Jan Vansina, "Comment:Traditions of Genesis," JAH 15(1974): 317-22; idem., "Is
Elegance Proof? Structuralismin African History," HA 10(1983): 307-48; Thomas Q. Reefe,
"Traditionsof Genesis and thdieLuba Diaspora," HA 4(1977): 183-205; Matthew Schoffeleers,
"Mythand/orHistory:A Reply to ChristopherWrigley,"JAH 29(1988): 353-90; Roy G. Willis, A
State in the Making (Bloomington, 1981); idem., "Afterthe DrunkenKing: Structureand History
in Central African Myth," paper presented to the African Studies Association meeting,
Bloomington, Indiana, 21-24 October 1981; Thomas Spear, "OralTraditions:Whose History?"
HA 8(1981): 165-81; RobertE. Schecter, "A Proposthe DrunkenKing: Cosmology and History"
in Miller,African Past Speaks, 108-25.
5.
MeredithSpencer, "StructuralAnalysis and the Queen of Sheba" in Robert L. Hess,
ed., Proceedings of the Fifth Intemnational Conferenceon EthiopianStudies, Session B, Chicago,
1978 (Chicago, 1979), 343-58.
6.
Carlo Conti Rossini, "L'agiografiaEtiopica e gli atti del Santo Yafqeranna-Egzi,"Atti
del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 96/2 (1937): 404 ff.; Taddesse Tamrat,
Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270-1527 (Oxford, 1972), 1-4; idem., "Hagiographiesand the
Reconstructionof Medieval EthiopianHistory,"RuralAfricana 11(1970): 12-20; Steven Kaplan,
"Hagiographiesand the Historyof Medieval Ethiopia,"HA 8(1981): 107-23; idem., TheMonastic
Holy Man and the Christianization of Early Solomonic Ethiopia (Wiesbaden, 1984); idem.,
"Iyasus-Mo'aand Takla Haymanot:a Note on a HagiographicControversy,"Journal of Semitic
Studies 31(1986): 47-56.
7.
On various paradigms see Donald Levine, Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a
MultiethnicSociety (Chicago, 1974), 15-25, although he also builds his own distortions. See the
critique by Harold Fleming, "Sociology, Ethnology, and History in Ethiopia," IJAHS9(1976):
248-78. See also Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim, "Sudanese Historiography and Oral Tradition," HA
12(1985): 117-30.
8. Europeanarchives have provided a wealth of manuscriptsfor editing and translating
by the leading Ethiopianistsof the past such as Carlo Conti Rossini, Ignazio Guidi, Ren6 Basset,
Enrico Cerulli, F.M. Esteves Pereira,and August Dillmann.That Ethiopic manuscriptsare still an
unexhaustedsource is evident from the more than 7000 manuscriptsthat have been microfilmed
and deposited in Addis Ababa and Collegeville, Minnesota. See the William Macomber and
Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian
Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library,
Collegeville (9 vols.: Collegeville, Minnesota, 1975 to date).
9.
Ulrich Braukamper, Geschichte der Hadiya Sud- Athiopiens (Wiesbaden, 1980);
idem., "The Correlationof Oral Traditionsand Historical Records in Southern Ethiopia:A Case
Study of the Hadiya/SidamoPast,"Journal of Ethiopian Studies 11/2 (1973): 29-50; Alessandro
Triulzi, Salt, Gold and Legitimacy: Prelude to the History of a No-Man's Land, Bela Shangul,
Wallagga, Ethiopia (Naples, 1981); Jamies McCann, From Poverty to Famine in Northeast
Ethiopia: A Rural History, 1900-1935 (Pliladelphia, 1987); James Quirin, "The Process of Caste

AND THEBETAISRAEL
ORALTRADITIONS

309

Formationin Ethiopia: A Study of the Beta Israel (Felasha), 1270-1868," IJAHS 12(1979): 23558; idem.; Donald Donham and Wendy James, eds., The SouthernMarches of Imperial Ethiopia
(Cambridge, 1986); Taddesse Tamrat, "Processes of Ethnic Interaction and Integration in
Ethiopian History: the Case of the Agaw," JAH 29(1988): 5-18; idem., "Ethnic Interactionand
Integrationin EthiopianHistory: the Case of the Gafat,"Journal of Ethiopian Studies 21(1988):
121-54.
10. For a recent survey of the research see: Donald Crummey, "Society, State and
Nationalityin the Recent Historiographyof Ethiopia,"JAH 31(1990): 103-19. For earlier surveys
see Merid Wolde Aregay, "Research Developments in Ethiopian History: The Last Decade,"
paperpresentedto the Seventh InternationalConferenceof EthiopianStudies, Lund, Sweden, 2629 April 1982. For comparable developments in anthropology see William A. Shack, "Social
Science Research in Ethiopia: Retrospectand Prospect"in Sven Rubenson, ed., Proceedings of
the SeventhInternationalConferenceof EthiopianStudies, Universityof Lund,Sweden,April 2629, 1982 (Addis Ababa/Uppsala/EastLansing, 1984), 411-27.
11. LaVerle Berry, "The Solomonic Monarchy at Gonder, 1630- 1755: An Institutional
Analysis of Kingship in the ChristianKingdom of Ethiopia" (Ph.D., Boston University, 1976),
xxxv-xl. Harold Marcus used oral reminiscences: "The Organizationof Menilek II's Palace and
ImperialHospitality (after 1896)," RuralAfricana 11(1970): 57-69; idem., The Life and Times of
Menelik II: Ethiopia, 1844-1913 (London, 1975), Appendix.
12. They may be consulted in thdieInstitute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa. See:
Kabbada Gassasa, Theses on Ethiopia by Ethiopians or Others Accepted by for B.A. or B.Sc.
Degree by the Haile Selassie I University(Addis Ababa, 1973).
13. Alaqa Tayye, Ya-IteyopeyaHezb Tarik [Amharic][Historyof the Peoples of Ethiopia]
(Addis Ababa, n.d.) (trans. by Grover Hudson and Tekeste Negash [Uppsala, 1987]); and the
works of Takle Sadiq Makruria.
14. Job Ludolphus, A New History of Ethiopia (London, 1682); Eike Haberland,"Hiob
Ludolf, Father of Ethiopian Studies in Europe" in Proceedings of the Third International
Conferenceof EthiopianStudies,AddisAlbab, 1966 (3 vols.: Addis Ababa, 1969), 1:131-36.
15. Tamrat,Churchand State,4. The late RichardCaulk pioneered the use of local written
sources that often used informationfrom oral sources in his many well-researchedarticles, as for
example: "Armies as Predators: Soldiers and Peasants in Ethiopia, c. 1850-1935," IJAHS
11(1978): 457-93.
16. Donald Crummey, "Gondarine rim Land Sales: An Introductory Description and
Analysis" in Hess, Proceedings of the Fifth IntermationalConference1978, 469-79; idem., "State
and Society: 19th Century Ethiopia" in Donald Crummey and C.C. Stewart, eds., Modes of
Production in Africa: The Precolonial Era (Beverly Hills, 1981), 227-49; idem., "Women and
Landed Propertyin GondarineEthiopia,"IJAHS 14(1981): 444-65; idem., "Family and Property
Amongst the AmharaNobility," JAH 24(1983): 207-20; Donald Crummeyand Shumet Sishagne,
"LandTenure and the social Accumulationof Wealth in EighteenthCentury Ethiopia: Evidence
from the Qwesquam Land Register," presented to Symposium on Land in African Agrarian
Systems, Urbana,April, 1988.
17. James Quirin, "A Preliminary Analysis of New Archival Sources on Daily Life in
Historical Highland Ethiopia," in Rubenson, Proceedings of the Seventh International
Conference, 393-410.
18. Wolf Leslau, ed., "A Falasha Religious Dispute" Proceedings of the American
Academyfor Jewish Research 16(1947): 71-95. Although Carlo Conti Rossini noted that Antoine
d'Abbadiehad stated a writtenlife of the most famous Beta Israel saint may exist, no such work
has been found: Conti Rossini, "Appunti di storia e letteraturaFalascia," Rivista degli Studi
Orientali 7(1920): 579; d'Abbadie,"Journalet milanges," unpublishedjournalin the Biblioth'que
Nationale, France Nouvelles Acquisitions, 213000, and on microfilm at the Instituteof Ethiopian
Studies, Addis Ababa, pp. 464, 473.
19. Quirin, The Evolutionof the EthiopianJews, 7-27.
20. EMML 7334, ff. 28a-28b. Apparently the same manuscript was cited by Taddesse
Tamrat:"TarikaNegast," paper MS, DabraSige in Church and State, 201. The wordfalasa was
used in the Gadla Gabra Masih, a saint's life of the early sixteenth century:Steven Kaplan,"The
Falasha and the Stephanite: An Episode from Gadla Gabra Masih," Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies 48(1985): 278-82. The term appearedsimultaneously in Arabic and

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JAMESQUIRIN

Hebrew: Chihab Ed-Din Ahmed ben 'Abd el-Qader (Arab Faqih), Histoire de la conquete de
l'Abyssinie(XVIsihcle), ed., Rent Basset (Paris, 1897-1901), 456-59; AbrahamLevi (a sixteenthcentury kabbalist)cited in, A. Neubauer,"Whereare the Ten Tribes?"Jewish QuarterlyReview,
1(1889): 196-97. During the seventeenth century in the Gondararea the Agaw term kayla was
added to the nomenclatureand was used interchangeablywith ayhud andfalasha: F.M. Esteves
Pereira,ed., Chronicade Susneyos, Rei de Ethiopia (2 vols.: Lisbon, 1892-1900), 1 (text): 149-51,
154-56, 177, 189, 271, 278-80, 307. On kayla see also Ignazio Guidi, ed., Annales lohannis I,
lyasu I, Bakaffa. Corpus ScriptorumChristianorumOrientalium,ser. alt., Script.Aeth.,5 (1903):
8. The term beta esra'el was said by James Bruce to date back to the fourth century: Bruce,
Travelsto Discover the Source of the Nile (2 vols.: Edinburgh,1790), 1:485.
21. James Quirin,"Ethnicity,Caste, Class, and State in EthiopianHistory:The Case of the
Beta Israel (Falasha)"in CrawfordYoung, ed., The Rising Tide of CulturalPluralism (Madison,
1993). On the concept of the "construction"of identities and traditionssee Benedict Anderson,
Imagined Communities(London, 1983); Belinda Bozzoli, ed., Class, Communityand Conflict:
South African Perspectives (Johannesburg, 1987), 1-8; Terence Ranger, "The Invention of
Tradition in Colonial Africa" in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds., The Invention of
Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), 211-62; Leroy Vail, ed., The Creation of Tribalism in Southern
Africa (Berkeley, 1989).
22. EMML7334, ff. 28a-28b; Rene Basset, ed., "Etudessur lhistoire d'Ethiopie,"Journal
asiatique, 7/17(1881): 325-26 (text), 18(1881), 95 (translation).
23. Compare a case in which an increased amount of detail in oral traditions indicates a
historical turning point as discussed by Janet Ewald, "Experienceand Speculation: History and
FoundingStories in the Kingdom of Taqali, 1780-1935,"IJAHS18(1985): 265-87.
24. Interviewwith Gete Asrass, 9 November 1975.
25. Interview with Berhan Beruk, 20 August 1975. "Gedewon" [Gideon] was such a
common name for Beta Israel leaders that it may appearto have been a title ratherthan a personal
name, except that there were leaders who were not named Gedewon, as seen especially in the
chronicle of SarsaDengel. "Big Gedewon"seems to refer to the leader at the time of Yeshaq. I am
currentlypreparinga more detailed analysis of the oral and writtendata concerning this war with
Yeshaq.
26. J. Perruchon,ed., Les chroniquesde Zar'a Ya'eqobet de Ba'edaMaryam(Paris, 1893).
27. The efforts of Zena Marqos among the ayhud of Shawa is contained in his
hagiography:EMML4741 and other manuscriptsof which I am completing an edition with these
passages. On Gabra Iyyasus see C. Conti Rossini, "Note di agiografia etiopica ('Abiya-Egzi,
Arkaledes e GabraIyesus'),"Rivistadegli Studi Orientali 17(1938): 439-52. The case of Qozmos
is describedin I. Wajnberg,"Das Leben des HI. Jafqerana'Egzi',"Orientalia ChristianaAnalecta
106(1936): 50-59; Carlo Conti Rossini, "Appuntidi storia e letteraturaFalascia," Rivista degli
Studi Orientali 7(1920): 567-77. An anonymousrenegadeis describedby Getatchew Haile, "The
End of a Deserterof the EstablishedChurchof Etlhiopia"in Gideon Goldenberg,ed., Proceedings
of the SixthInternationalConference,Tel-Aviv,1980 (Rotterdam,1986), 193-203.
28. Interviews with qes Yeshaq Iyyasu, 15 December 1975; with qes Yeheyyes Madhane
and ato Yalaw Siyamer,27 October 1975; and with qes MenaseZammaru,13 Ocotber 1975.
29. Ibid. For the spelling of Sabrasee my article cited in the following footnote.
30. For a translationof the texts of these traditionssee James Quirin, "The Beta 'Esra'el
(Falasha) and ayhud in Fifteenth-century Ethiopia: Oral and Written Traditions," Northeast
African Studies 10(1988): 89-104.
Emmanuel'sNotes of Falasha Monks and Holy Places" in
31. Wolf Leslau, ed. "Taanmrat
Salo WittmayerBarron Jubilee Volume,American Academyfor Jewish Research (Jerusalem,
1975), 626-627, 630.
32. Antoine d'Abbadie, "Journalet melanges," 464, 473; idem., "Reponses des Falasha
dits juifs d'Abyssinie aux questions faite par M. Luzzatto,"Archives Israelites 12(1851): 180-81;
idem., "Extrait d'une lettre de M. Antoine d'Abbadie sur les Falacha ou Juifs d'Abyssinie,"
Bulletin de la socited de geographie, 3/4(1845): 49.
33. A.Z. Aescoly, ed., Receuil de textes Falachas. Travaux et memoires de l'institut
d'Ethnologie,55(Paris, 1951): 201; J. Hal6vy, "Nouvelles pribresdes Falachas,"Revue snmitique

ORALTRADITIONS
AND THEBETAISRAEL

311

19(1911): 99 (text), 103 (text), 351 (translation), 356 (translation); idem., Te'ezaza Sanbat
(Commandementsdu Sabbat) (Paris, 1902), 108 (text), 220 (trans.).
34. On literaturesee Ibid. and Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology (New Haven, 1952). On
the liturgy and speculations on their origins see especially: Kay Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and
Falasha History (East Lansing, 1986); idem., "A ComparativeStudy: Jewish LiturgicalForms in
the Falasha Liturgy?"Yuval. Studies of the Jewish Music Research Centre 5(1986): 372-404;
idem., "'Historical Ethnomusicology': Reconstructing Falasha Liturgical History,"
Ethnomusicology24(1980): 246-47. See also Veronika Krempel,"Die soziale und wirtschaftliche
Stellung der Falaschain der christlich-amharischenGesellschaft von Nordwest-Athiopien"(PhD,,
Free University of Berlin, 1972), 252-67; Taddesse Tamrat,"The Sheba Legend and the Falasha:
Problems of EthiopianHistoriography,"lecture presentedto African Studies Program,University
of Illinois, 11 February1986.
35. Wajnberg,"Leben,"50-59; Conti Rossini, "Appunti,"567-77.
36. GetatchewHaile, "Endof a Deserter;"Quirin,"Beta 'Esra'el"
37. Conti Rossini, "Appunti,"579.
38. A tradition may represent true historical processes, even if the specific events or
individuals depicted cannot be otherwise verified: Randall Packard, "The Study of Historical
Process in African Traditionsof Genesis: The Bashu Myth of Muhiyi," in African Past Speaks,
167-74.
39. Richard Pankhurst, "Notes for a History of Gondar," Ethiopia Observer 12(1969):
177-227; idem., History of Ethiopian Towns (Wiesbaden, 1982); Ghiorgis Mellessa, "Gondar
Yesterday and Today," Ethiopia Observer 12(1969): 164-76; A recent study of the monumentsis
Francis Anfray, "Les monumentsGondariensdes XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles" in Taddese Beyene,
ed., Proceedings of the EighthInternationalConferenceof EthiopianStudies, Addis Ababa, 1984
(2 vols.: Addis Ababa, 1988), 1:9-45. See also my Evolution, chapter3.
40. Conti Rossini, "I Castelli di Gondar,"Bollettinodella reale societa geografica Italiana
7/4 (1939): 165-68.
41. Interviewswith Gete Asrass, 3 June 1975 and 9 November 1975; BerhanBeruk, 3 July
1975 and 14 August 1975; Menase Zammaruand Wande Iyyasu, 13 October 1975; Jammara
Wande, 21 July 1975; GarimaTaffara,4 August 1975; and MulunahMarsha,Tafari Neguse, and
Qanu Ayyalew, 22 November 1975.
42. Interviews with Gete Asrass on 9 November 1975, Menase Zammaru and Wande
Iyyasu on 13 October 1975.
43. Ignazio Guidi, Annales Regum lyasu II et lyo'as. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum
Orientalium66(1912): 98.
44. Rest rights are inherited land-use rights passed down within an ambilineal corporate
structure:Allan Hoben, Land Tenureamong the Amharaof Ethiopia (Chicago, 1973). Gult rights
were grantedto the local administrationand entailed rights to collect tributeor exact labor from
the rest-holders on the land, but were generally not inheritable.The answer may lie in a hybrid
form known as rest-gult which seemed to involve the best of both worlds. In Begamder land of
this type was said to have been grantedto Beta Israel artisansduringthe reign of Menilek II, but
probably the practice extended back to the Gondarera: Simon Messing, "The Highland-Plateau
Amharaof Ethiopia" (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1957), 248-52. Another possibility is
that rim land grantedto the Churchwas reallocatedto those Beta Israel who helped constructor
performedother services for the Church:Donald Crummey, "Some Precursorsof Addis Ababa:
Towns in ChristianEthiopiain the Eighteenthand NineteenthCenturies"in Ahmed Zekaria,et al,
eds., Proceedings of the Inteltational Symposiumon the Centenaryof Addis Ababa, 1986 (Addis
Ababa, 1987), 24.
45. The principal missionary group was the London Society for Promoting Christianity
Amongst the Jews. See the accountin their publication:J.M. Flad, "Journal,"Jewish Records 2829(1863): 13-20. Another mission was Scottish; see Staiger, "Journal,"The Home and Foreign
Missionary Record of the Churchof Scotland, n.s., 2 (1863): 80-8 1. For the best brief analysis see
Donald Crummey, Priests and Politicians. Protestant and Catholic Missions in Orthodox
Ethiopia, 1830-1868 (London, 1972), 130-31.
46. The unique Falashawrittenchronicle was based on oral traditionswrittendown in the
reign of Menilek II (1889-1913). It has been translatedby Wolf Leslau, "A Falasha Religious
Dispute," Proceedings of the American Academyfor Jewish Research 16(1947): 71-95. For my

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JAMESQUIRIN

descriptionof this periodsee Quirin,"TheProcess of Caste Formationin Ethiopia:A Study of the

Beta Israel (Felasha), 1270-1868,"IJAHS12(1979): 247-58.
47. Leslau, "Dispute," 81. See also interviews with Berhan Beruk, 3 July 1975, and
Ayyalegn Adgwachawand KebrateSamu'el,26 October 1975.
on 15 October 1975.
48. Interviewwith Menase Zammnaru
49. Ibid.; Leslau, "Dispute,"81.
50. Flad, "Journal,"13; idem., "Twelve Years in Abyssinia,"Jewish Intelligence 9(1869):
244-45.
51. Interviewwith Gete Asrass, 11 June 1975.
52. Other versions of this tradition agree it had a positive ending for the Falasha:
Interviewswith Mammo Sagga Amlak, Ya'eqobBalay, and Mulu Mammo, 24 June 1975; Berhan
Beruk, 3 July 1975; Ayyalegn Adgwachaw and Kebrate Samu'el, 26 October 1975; and Webe
Akala, 27 December 1975.
53. Perruchon,Chronique
54. William E. Conzelman, Chroniquede Galawdewos (Claudius), roi d'Ethiopie (Paris,
1895). See also the comments of James McCann, "The Ethiopian Chronicles as Documentary
Tradition:Description and Methodology"in Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference,
387-96; idem., "The Ethiopian Chronicles: An African Documentary Tradition," Northeast
African Studies, 1/2 (1979): 47-61.
55. Ahmed ben 'Abd el-Qader (Arab Faqih), Chihab Ed-Din, Histoire; Miguel de
Castanhoso, The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia, 1541-1543, trans. and ed. R.S. Whiteway
(London, 1902).
56. See the commentsby TaddesseTamrat,Churchand State, 1-4.
57. A useful, but by no means complete, list of hagiographies giving the various
manuscripts known-and which sometimes contain important variations-is Kenefe-Rigb
Zelleke, "Bibliographyof the Ethiopic HagiographicalTraditions,"Journal of Ethiopian Studies
13/2 (July 1975): 57-102.
58. For example, the original Gadl of Zena Marqos, who lived in the fourteenth century
was lost and was writtendown from memory more than two hundredyears later by monks in the
monasteryhe founded: Enrico Cerulli, "Gli Atti di Zena Marqos,Monaco Ethiope del sec. XIV,"
Studi e Testi 219(1962): 211-12. The two main versions of the life of Takla Haymanot,one of the
greatsaints of thirteenth-and fourteenth-centuryEthiopia,were writtendown only in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries: G.W.B. Huntingford, "The Lives of St. Takla Haymanot," Journal of
Ethiopian Studies, 4/2 (July 1966): 35.
59. See note 6 for references,especially to the work of Steven Kaplan.