ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS

SCHOOL OF THEATRE ARTS

GRADUATE PROGRAM

THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY IN AMHARIC

DRAMA: WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON ETEGE
TAYITU, TEWODROS AND YEQAQE WURDOT

BY:
DESALEGN KETSELA MENGISTU

JUNE 2021
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
 The Portrayal of Women’s Identity in Amharic Drama:
With a Particular Emphasis on Etege Tayitu, Tewodros and
Yeqaqe Wurdot

By
Desalegn Ketsela Mengistu

Adviser
Assefa Worku Tiruneh /Assistant Professor /

College of Performing and Visual Arts

School of Theatre Arts
Graduate Program

June 2021
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 Letter of Approval

Addis Ababa University

School of Graduate Studies

College of Performing and Visual Arts

This is to certify that the thesis prepared by Desalegn Ketsela, entitled Women‘s Identity in

Amharic Drama that is submitted for the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of

Master‘s of Degree (MA) in Multimedia Theatre complies with the regulations of the University

and meets the accepted standards to originality and quality.

Approved by Board of Examiners:

Advisor Signature Date

Examiner Signature Date

Examiner Signature Date

Chair of Department of Graduate Program Coordinator

The following symbols have been used for the transliteration of Ethiopian words (adapted from

Encyclopedia of Aethipica

I. Consonants

ሀ= h ረ= r ተ= t ኘ= ñ ዏ= ‘ ዯ= d ጨ= ,č

ሇ= l ሰ= s ቸ= č አ= ’ ዘ= z ጀ= ǧ ጸ= s'

ሏ= ḥ ሸ= š ኀ= h ከ= k ዠ= ž ገ= g ፈ= f

መ= m ቀ= q ነ= n ወ= w የ= y ጠ= t’ ፐ= p

ሠ= ś በ= b

II. Vowels

Order 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

Symbols Ä u i a e ə ዏ

Example በ= bä ቡ= bu ቢ= bi ባ= ba ቤ= be ብ= ə ቦ= bo

i
 DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this thesis to my late father Kes Ketsela Mengistu (R‘ese Debir).

ii
 Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank my advisor, Assefa Worku /Assistant Professor/, for his

constructive comments, advice, and patience. I also thank the management of Debre Markos

University for helping me in ways to complete this thesis. Third, I wish to thank my family

members for their very love and prolonged financial support. My study would have been

impossible without them. I have also indebted to those of my friends for providing me all the

necessary information. In addition, I would like to thank my teacher Dr. Balew Demissie for his

unlimited help. Finally, Paulos Aemero, Abebaw Asrat, Staff Members of Addis Ababa

University Libraries and others who help me in different ways, I said thank you and God bless

you for your kindness.

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 Table of Contents

Contents Pages

Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1

1.1. Background of the Study .................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 4

1.3. Objectives of the Study .................................................................................................... 7

1.3.1. General Objective: .................................................................................................... 7

1.3.2. Specific Objectives: .................................................................................................. 7

1.4. Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 8

1.5. Delimitations .................................................................................................................... 8

1.6. Limitations of the Study ................................................................................................... 9

1.7. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................. 9

1.8. Definition of concepts .................................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 12

2.1. Theoretical Literature ......................................................................................................... 12

2.1.1. Notion of Identity.................................................................................................... 12

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 2.1.2. Why Identity Matters .............................................................................................. 20

2.1.3. Gender and Politics ................................................................................................. 27

2.1.4. Historical Women in Ethiopia ................................................................................. 29

2.2. Empirical Literature ....................................................................................................... 31

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 35

CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF DATA .................................................................................. 37

4.1. Plot Summaries of the three Amharic Dramas ............................................................... 37

4.1.1. The Plot Summary of ʾətege T’ayətu ..................................................................... 37

4.1.2. The plot Summary of Tewodərosə ......................................................................... 38

4.1.3. The Plot Summary of Qaqe Wərədəwotə ................................................................ 39

4.2. Politics as an Identity Maker .......................................................................................... 40

4.3. Political Manifestation of Identity.................................................................................. 52

4.4. The Quest for Social Change ......................................................................................... 54

4.5. Politics, History, and Identity in the Drama ................................................................... 58

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................... 63

5.1. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 63

5.2. Recommendations of the Study...................................................................................... 64

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 1

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 Abstract
This thesis is about women‘s political identity character in three Amharic Dramas. Its main
target is how women‘s political identities are manifested in the dramas. So, taking this general
objective, the research sets four specific objectives. First, how do politics become identity
makers? Second, how do women manifest their political identities? The third objective is how
women react to various social norms and values. Finally, the study examines the interlink among
history, politics, and identity. In this research, a political approach to drama is used as a
theoretical framework. As a methodology, the study uses textual analysis. Finally, the study has
got the following findings. First, the political position women held establish their identities.
Second, they manifest these political identities in various ways such as in the language they use
and in the affiliation they show towards their country and land. Women also have a strong quest
for social change and for fighting against stereotypes. They strive to change the status quo. The
study concluded that historical women‘s identities are more political than gendered. For the
future, women‘s identities should be studied from the perspectives of multiple disciplines. Other
researchers should also study ways that the interactions, and meaning negotiations between high
class and ordinary women. They can also study how do women narrate their own stories for their
peers. As an implication, contemporary women‘s identities in contemporary Amharic drama
have to be studied with various theories in comparison with other literary genres.

vi
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

The question that we are also comprises lots of components that can be either answered or not

answered. The various components build our identity. The separate part is one component of our

identity and this separate component does not build wholly who we are. Besides, society shapes

our identities and identities are often created. The process of identity creation is dynamic. Thus,

identity is not an end; it is a creative process. A child born in Ethiopia may have another

country's identity if it has grown somewhere else. Indeed, its DNA and skin color are from its

parents. A child born from mixed-race can have also multiple identities. The biology,

psychology, ancestry, and culture determine who we are(Abrams & Hogg, 1990).

Every person has also self-identity associating his name, his family background, profession, and

marital life, and so on. At the same time, every person has also a group/social/ identity that

he/she associates his/her identities with other groups of society. Spirit of the age or a specific

period also determines our identity. The identity we have 30 years ago might not be the same like

the present one. Identity has transformational characteristics. Identities revolve around time and

human interactions. In our identity understanding, we have our identity self-identification and we

also identify others and others identify us; our identity determines our ideas, beliefs, opinions.

This reality, thus makes us have common interests and similar or varied political discourse

(Lindholm, 2008).

We have also different identities and people get confusion either to adhere or leave their identity.

This results in identity conflict (Burke & Stets, 2009). As a man, woman, black, white person,

1
and so on, we have faced problems. In this conflict, we may decide to believe in our identity to

tackle the problem or we may want to escape our identity to escape our immediate social

problems (Horley & Clarke, 2016). As identity is a mix of our own perceptions and other

perceptions towards us, it is full of contradictions. The contradictions emanated from our

differences. The differences of various types create our diverse identities. So, identities

encompass both diversities and unity. For example, we have common interests with others based

on our ethnic groups, religions, educational backgrounds. In this case, we have identities.

(Abrams & Hogg, 1990, 1990).

The common goals and solidarities individuals have helped them to have a common identity.

One thing that should be emphasized is that people often believe in identities. Of course, lots of

people are also rational and conscious leaving their identities. According to (Alvesson et al.,

2008), identity politics determine our globe today. Our identity guides the way we give ballot

papers to our political contenders. In this politically oriented identity, people despite varied

forms of identity within themselves in terms of gender, religion, occupations, jobs, and so on,

their ethnic affiliations-based identity overtakes the other forms of identity. Sometimes, an

identity may affect other forms of identity and the intersections of identity may be taken by one

dominant identity(Andrés-Cuevas, 2014). Over time, our physical body change creates and

recreates a new identity. As our body has its natural DNA, our perception of our body and the

impact our body creates upon our psyche reshape our identity. This physical body in turn creates

the physical worlds.

The various questions we often ask ourselves such as who am I, where do I belong, why am I the

way I am is often motivating but difficult to answer as identity itself and theories of identity are

2
multiple. Personal/individual/ identity is different from social identity. Our individual identity is

only ours. It seems complex as well as simple. It is also changing. we can be husbands, wives,

accountants, teachers, and so on. The roles we have are diverse. Each role has shaped and re-

shaped our behavior and associated actions. In this way, identity determines how I do, how do I

react and how do I see others, and how others see me. The danger is sometimes others determine

your identity (Balibar& Wallerstein, 2005).

Many of the studies that focus on identity either in the real world or fictional works, analyze the

issue either from personal or social identity perspective using various theoretical frameworks.

This study is about the portrayal of women‘s identity in Amharic Drama. Various scholars have

studied these issues(Habtamu, 2008; Mesfin, 2020; Siraw, 2016). Some approach women‘s

identity in Ethiopian Drama from a gender perspective; some studied from a psychological

perspective. Most of these studies use feminism as a theoretical framework(Habtamu, 2008).

This study unlike the previous studies uses the political approach to identity as a theoretical

framework. Since these women are high political figures of the time, the appropriate perspective

to examine their identity is politics. The women in history have their political identity. The

study argues that the Ethiopian women portrayed in the Amharic Drama are portrayed from the

point of view of their political identity and the women‘s cause, and purpose depicted in the

drama is also more of political.

On the whole, identity affects all our lives. particularly political identity which is part of social

identity affects all of us in a historical continuum of the past, present, and the future(Fukuyama,

2018). Understanding the political identity of women depicted in the drama helps us understand

the social, historical, and political milieu of the time. Overall, understanding the political identity

3
of prominent women of the time against us not only with the but also women‘s lives but tells us

the whole social fabric of the society of the time and it implicates the present society. Therefore,

this study examines the historical and political identities of women as portrayed in the drama

using political theoretical framework.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Identity is a complex subject that many scholars try to define it based on specific disciplines. The

identity a person has can be personal as well as social. Scholars also study both the personal and

social aspects of identity(Hogg, 2016a). Particularly, understanding identity in fictional works is

difficult because the story time and space and the nature of the character development are limited

in scope. A wide range of studies has been taking place on women‘s identity. These studies have

also resulted in different findings as they have used various theoretical frameworks and

methodological approaches. Women in Ethiopia have a long history and they were also in a

leadership position since antique time despite they are few in number. What makes women's

identity more complex than men's is that they have pressures from society, culture, men, and

their social grouping themselves.

The various studies that I read at Addis Ababa University Library repositories examined

women‘s identity in literary works follow either a cultural or a feminist approach. These

collection of studies in this anthology though they are political, their focus is more of gendered

politics. One thing that these studies often missed is that a grand cause of identity formation is

the political perspective Since the ancient Ethiopian women had faced challenges due to their

sex, the political system, the culture, and their friends. Various factors affect their identity. This

study argues that women depicted in Amharic Drama, despite various challenges of the time,

4
identify, categorize and compare themselves and with others as political agents and they have

predominantly exhibited political identity(Meyer, 2002). This does not mean that they have no

other forms of identity. They have all forms of identity but for the political position they hold

and for correcting the political injustice during the time, they react to every action politically.

My thesis argues that the historical women portrayed in the Amharic Drama have a predominant

political identity than any other forms of identity. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to

explore the various aspects of their political identity to identity and the ultimate aim of the thesis

is to show how political women are interacted with politics and at the end of the day all the roles

and activities they played manifest political identity. Indeed, understanding identity through

political lenses is not a new phenomenon (Hogg, 2016a). The new phenomenon of this study is

understanding women‘s identity from the view point of political approach. in other words, the

study examines the mix of gender, identity, politics, and history.

Many of the MA theses at Addis Ababa University approach women‘s identity from a gender

perspective. Most of the scholarly literature found on women‘s identity regards women as a

political figure in a gendered perspective than a political figure. Even the political approach of

women‘s identity often sees women of ordinary citizens than those found in the upper political

echelons. The prominent women in the political circle need special treatment of their political

identity which ultimately shows the politics of the time and the political configurations of the

society found during that time. Still, this problem seems to exist today. Agboluaje (2003) in his

PhD dissertation entitled the Constructions of Identity in Contemporary African Drama: A

Comparative Study of Wole Soyinka and Zakes Mdae has Studied and concluded that the

5
playwrights constructed African identity in an Afro-centric perspective. So, he doesn‘t study in a

way of political identity.

Habtamu (2008) in his MA thesis entitled- Popular Culture and Identity: An Investigation Into

Images of Modern Ethiopian Music Video Clips in the Orientation of Gender Identity of

Adolescent Audiences in Addis Ababa, attempts to explore how the adolescent audiences of

Addis Ababa, amid their lived reality, make meaning about their gender identity out of the

images of the modern Ethiopian music video clips. The study investigated how the image-makers

depict femininity and masculinity in the modern music video clips they produce. Habtamu also

study in a gender and feminist approaches, he doesn‘t study in a political approach to identity.

The second research which has a relation with my research in an indirect way is Mesfin's

(2020)study. This study focused on the representation of women‘s issues in contemporary

African Anglophone novels. He argues that such novels are not studied comparatively and

comprehensively from African feminist perspectives. Like other researches, He doesn‘t focus on

political identity.

Ethiopia has many women politicians in various ministerial positions; however, their political

identity has not been examined separately under the umbrella of the political identity of the

country. My research, thus, will be helpful to understand the nexus among politics, history,

gender, and identity. History often gives birth to political system and that political system

affects the women‘s identity as well as their gender. Thus, understanding women‘s identity

through political lenses helps us compared Ethiopian social, cultural, historical, and political

configurations. A society cannot advance for the better by excluding women in all social,

political and economic aspects. Women‘s benefit is the societal benefit. If women‘s problem is

6
not understood, society problem continues. The aim of this study is, therefore, to explore,

historical women as portrayed in the Amharic drama using a political approach to identity. The

above studies were not focused political identity manifested; prominent political aspects that

shape and reshape women‘s identity, why do the plays portray women‘s identity in political

configurations in a political identity.

1.3. Objectives of the Study

This study has general and specific objectives.

1.3.1. General Objective:

The general objective of this study is to examine the various aspects of the political identity

portrayed in Amharic Drama using a political theoretical framework.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives:

The study has the following specific objectives:

1. To examine women‘s identity from the viewpoints of politics of the time.

2. Explore the manifestation of women‘s political identity in the drama

3. Investigate women‘s political motives as portrayed in the drama

4. Implicate the nexus between politics, identity and history

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 1.4. Research Questions

1. What were the prominent political aspects that shape and reshape women‘s identity

portrayed in the drama

2. How is women‘s political identity manifested in the Amharic drama?

3. Why do the plays portray women‘s identity in political configurations?

4. What are the implications of the study?

1.5. Delimitations

This study aims to examine women politicians in a political approach. This helps understand the

political configuration of the time and its nexus with its identity. In this way, the main subject

examined in this study is women‘s identity using a political theoretical framework. The location

of the study is the fictional setting where the three Amharic dramas cover and the setting and

time of the study are related to the drama. From all the characters depicted in the three dramas,

only major female characters are taken into considerations. The research follows interpretive

criticism using a qualitative case study approach.

This study is limited to examine the political identities of female characters depicted in the three

Amharic dramas. The study does not see women‘s identity from the perspectives of gender and

feminist theories.. As the study firmly believes that the women are political, their identity is more

political and therefore the analysis should be based on political understanding. Thus, the study is

limited to the research objectives and research questions mentioned above and the main research

variable of the study is women‘s identity.

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 1.6. Limitations of the Study

This study has various limitations. The first limitation is the study takes only three scripts for

study and these scripts are taken for the playwrights' acclaimed nature. Thus, the sample size and

the purposive selection of the sample can be limitations of the study. Lack of previous local

studies on this specific drama can be another problem. Time and money are also constricting of

the study.

1.7. Significance of the Study

This study has the following significance. First and foremost, the study introduces the political

identities of prominent women known in the history of the political scene of Ethiopia. it is also

significant to the subject of women‘s identity that can bring a new perspective in terms of the

political lens than the common frame of a gender perspective. This study is also significant for

future researchers, playwrights, theatre practitioners, and students of theatre to see women's

identity from a new perspective. The study also adds new insights and literature about women's

identity. Particularly, identity practitioners can benefit a lot from women‘s perspectives. The

findings, recommendations, and implications of the study are significant to theatre scholars and

practitioners. Finally, the study contributes to a new interdisciplinary approach to link women,

identity, politics, and history.

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 1.8. Definition of concepts

This study adopts the definitions of the following concepts given by different scholars.

Identity: it is a social construct and it implies either who we think we are or who others

think we are. It refers to both an individual‘s self-respect or dignity and social categories.

We tell ourselves and others about who we are, who we were, and who we foresee

ourselves to be. But how does this concept work when trying to understand identity in

terms of politics? (Meyer, 2002).

Identity Politics: Identity politics is an approach to politics by which people of a

particular religion, race, social background, class or other identifying factors organize

themselves politically based on the systems of oppression that they believe apply to them

because of these identities(Fukuyama, 2018).

National Identity: National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one

state or one nation. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by

distinctive traditions, culture, and language.". It is viewed in psychological terms as "an

awareness of difference", a "feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they'‘(Balibar&

Wallerstein, 2005).

Personal Identity: Personal identity deals with philosophical questions that arise about

ourselves by our being human (or, as lawyers and philosophers like to say, persons). This

contrasəts with questions about ourselves that arise under our being living things,

10
conscious beings, material objects, or the like. Many of these questions occur to nearly all

of us now and again: What am I? When did I begin? What will happen to me when I die?

Others are more abstruse(Hogg, 2016a).

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Theoretical Literature

This chapter attempts to review the literature of the area. Particularly, it emphasizes identity,

types of identity, identity in literary works, political approach to identity, the necessity of identity

study, and recent scholarly debates on women‘s identity. Finally, it examines the recent research

development on women‘s identity.

2.1.1. Notion of Identity

Identities are important in all different levels, from political to personal levels. Identities define

ourselves and they are important how we interact with each other. They are important in political

structures that often define us legally by different identity categories. People collectively

develop certain identity categories like ethnicity or gender or race or nationality. As to Horley&

Clarke (2016) identities are the things that we use to see others, and to see ourselves. They also

help us classify others and make our interpretation of them simpler, and also give us a sense of

understanding of ourselves.

Identities give us a sense of belongingness, and they give us certain legal rights, as in rights for

ethnic minorities, and women. According to Lindholm (2008), identity grants certain people

some more rights, and others less. Besides, Balibar& Wallerstein (2005) claim that one of the

identities which strongly divides the world today is nationality; if we belong to a given nation or

citizenship, we have many more rights or access to certain things which people who do not

belong to the citizenship. Consequently, discrimination in different ways along identities is still

relevant and is everywhere. It gives us a sense of solidarity. we often want to grant more

12
privileges or refer differently or treat different people whom we see as members of the same

group. Moreover, as to Cavallaro (2001, p. 73), ―physical, psychological, political, ideological,

sexual and racial elements play a key role in the construction of our identities.‖

According to (Watson, 2010, p. 9), identity politics is the politics in which people engage when

they mobilize on the basis of, and when they define their experiences, their political

problems, and their aims in terms of the good of identity-groups. Historically, identity

politics grew out of the experience of identity-based oppression: the experience of

inequalities in resources and opportunities that people encountered as members of particular

identity groups.

There are many ways of manifestation of Identity. Identity is defined as the distinctive

characteristic belonging to any given individual or shared by all members of a particular social

category or group. It may be distinguished from identification; identity is a label, whereas

identification refers to the classifying act itself. Identity is thus best construed as being both

relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently procession.

There are certain identity formation strategies that a person may use to adapt to the social world.

(Watson, 2010, p. 349) says ―Identity as Erikson conceives it is both formed and manifested

through social relationships.‖ What makes women's identity different from male identity is

women‘s biology and psychology affects the female‘s identity. He adds that gender identity is

more of social identity than biological identity.

According to Gellner (1995), identity formation also known as individuation is the development

of the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity (known as personal

continuity) in a particular stage of life in which individual characteristics are possessed and by

13
which a person is recognized or known. This process defines individuals to others and

themselves. (Horley& Clarke, 2016) explain that pieces of the person's actual identity include a

sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. This may be

through individuation whereby the undifferentiated individual tends to become unique or

undergoes stages through which differentiated facets of a person's life tend toward becoming a

more indivisible whole.

Hogg (2016b) examines there are various Theories on identity formation. Erikson says

throughout each person's lifetime, they experience different crises or conflicts. Each of the

conflicts arises at a certain point in life and must be successfully resolved for progression to the

next of the eight stages. Cavallaro (2001, p. 108) says ―….influential, in the redefinition of

traditional approaches to gender and sexuality, has been the work of Judith Butler, who argues

that gender is performative.1 This implies that a person's gendered identity is produced through

performance and role-playing.‖. Gellner, 1995) also adds that Cultural identity is the (feeling of)

identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as they are influenced by their belonging

to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlapped with, but is not

synonymous with, identity politics. There are modern questions of culture that are transferred

into questions of identity. Historical culture also influences individual identity, and as with

modern cultural identity, individuals may pick and choose aspects of cultural identity, while

rejecting or disowning other associated ideas. Ethnic identity is the identification with a certain

ethnicity, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry.

According to Groppe (2013), recognition by others as a distinct ethnic group is often a

contributing factor to developing this bond of identification. Ethnic groups are also often united

14
by common cultural, behavioral, linguistic, ritualistic, or religious traits. On the other hand,

Balibar& Wallerstein (2005) argue that national identity is an ethical and philosophical concept

whereby all humans are divided into groups called nations. Members of a "nation" share a

common identity, and usually a common origin, in the sense of ancestry, parentage or descent.

Besides, Horley& Clarke, 2016) argue that religious identity is the set of beliefs and practices

generally held by an individual, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of

ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as faith and mystic

experience. The term "religious identity" refers to the personal practices related to communal

faith and rituals and communication stemming from such conviction. This identity formation

begins with an association in the parents' religious contacts, and individuation requires that the

person chooses the same—or different— religious identity than that of his/her parents.

Identity is a reflective self-conception or self-image that we each derive from our family, gender,

cultural, ethnic, and individual socialization process. Cultural Identity is a shared system of

symbolic verbal and non-verbal behavior meaningful to a group. Selected social identities are

racial identity, ethnic identity, gender identity, national identity, regional identity; organizational

identity and personal identity. Others include age, religion, physical ability, socio-economic

class.) Racial Identity is a social construct arising from efforts to categorize people into different

groups. Science has determined there is very little genetic variation among humans. The human

population will become more alike as the races merge(Meyer, 2002).

According to Fukuyama(2018), ethnic identity is derived from a sense of shared heritage,

history, traditions, values, similar behaviors, area of origin, language. Gender identity refers to

how a particular culture differentiates masculine and feminine social roles. Culture influences on

15
what constitutes gender beauty and how it is displayed. National identity refers to our nationality.

Usually, it becomes more pronounced when persons are away from their home country. Regional

identity refers to smaller divisions of geographic area. Cultural contrast among these regions may

be manifested through ethnicity, language, accent, dialect, customs, food, dress, historical and

political legacies, organizational identity In collectivistic cultures organizational affiliation is

often more important. Personal identity In collectivistic cultures organizational affiliation is

often more important(Alvesson et al., 2008).

The dark side of identity is stereotyping, prejudice and ethnocentricity(Watson, 2010).

Psychologists researching the area of interpersonal relations have established that the more

similar two people are to each other the more likely they are to like each other(O‘Dowd &

Purvis, 2018). This preference for things we understand are familiar with can adversely influence

our perception and attitudes. Stereotyping is learned in a variety of ways - from parents - from

peers - from religious, social groups - from mass media - from fear of difference(Bernstein,

2005). Stereotyping is defined as a form of categorization containing perceiver‘s knowledge,

beliefs, expectancies about particular collections of people(Horley& Clarke, 2016). Difficulty

lies with overgeneralization and negative evaluations (attitudes and prejudices). Even positive

evaluations can narrow perceptions, jeopardize intercultural communication(Andrés-Cuevas,

2014).

Identities provide ways of knowing, and sense of the world. People try to make sense of the

world through identities. identities in all the diversity and different forms are everywhere, and in

social behavior, and in our personal lives(Meyer, 2002). People still define us in certain ways,

which we disagree with. It is very important to speak about identities because they often how

16
they are being used is often very problematic. In a mistaken or fallacious, sense, people and

politicians often use notions of identities that are far from our perceptions.

One of the most basic problems with identity thinking in politics is the common fallacy of

essentially assuming that some identities have an essence to a person that being a man or being

black, or being white, or being German or Polish defines who a person is(Fukuyama, 2018). The

fallacies of seeing identities as essences of something necessarily as opposed to something,

accidental as this is how we were put this is how we were perceived by society and is how

history shaped this notion of identity. What is understood as a woman or a man is very much

historically shaped by history. People who use very mistaken notions of identities often reduce

individuals to a single identity. This is very commonly seen and xenophobic anti-migrant Islam

phobic discourses. concerning women‘s identity in literature, Watson (2010, p. 347) argues

females often measure their identity basing males as a benchmark. This is wrong. Roy (2017, p.

123) says, ―Successful women are "male-identified" but that it is a "failure" for a "woman to take

her identity from her man. Women never form a self because they "need never undergo an

identity crisis," yet they have an identity to lose: "the price of wifehood is an abandonment of

self". And fictional women are worse off than real ones: women's "search for identity has been

even less successful within the world of fiction than outside it".

In a notion of what identity is, we no longer see an individual, and we ascribe to certain

characteristics, without trying to see him/her as a complex individual with many plurals and

changing identities with a different life story from all the other people around you. This is

reductionism (taking all characteristics into one category) as another part of our identity mistake

17
and do these two are the basis of what's wrong with a lot of identity thinking today,, with a lot of

violence. We begin with, categorizing and reducing people to categories(Fukuyama, 2018).

We have multiplicity of identities, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and personal identities

like being a father or a son or a teacher or a citizen and we see them in different constellations to

each other. Identities could be intersectional when, at a given moment, two identities are

important at the same time, and they overlap. There might be a situation which there's a

dominance of one identity over the other, in which someone is an ethnic minority of a country

but also members within the national traits within that specific. For example, a person might

have both his/her minority culture as the same time he /she might have national trait. So, there

will not be any problem as long the person holds the two types of identities in compatibility.

country and they see this identity as overarching over a small identity. Sometimes we see two

identities for two different situations. We will often contradict ourselves and those contradictions

are very difficult to support because we think in a given context we don't think of ourselves as

beyond context. Cavallaro (2001, p. 129) says ―Otherness is a basic ingredient of all social

identities‖.

Burke & Stets (2009, p. 2)says ―An identity is the set of meanings that define who one is when

one is an occupant of a particular role in society, a member of a particular group, or claims

particular characteristics that identify him or her as a unique person.‖. Besides, personal identity

is defined in analytical philosophy as the sense of being a continuous and persistent person, in a

sense, as being one person in time. Both social identities and personal identity are formation of

illusion created through history, memory, feelings of belonging. This implies that there are no

any correct sources for identity formations. Our history, memory, culture, religion and so on

18
shape us to have a unique identity in the course of time. Thus, the illusion that is the perception

not the objective realities rather the perceived facts create, reconstructs and deconstructs our

identity. Such things as nationality or gender are largely defined through how people define it;

we could change how we define them we could change how which categories are important to

us. If we understand that those identities are plural, they're situational. We see all sorts of

different types of discrimination in different places in the world, along with different types of

identities.

The phrase identity politics is very broad and it is applicable in all aspects of movement,

organizations and groupings. Any group that has common political goals may have identity

politics. According to Bernstein (2005, p. 47) the word used for the first time in 19 79 . He

further states that ―Anspach first used the term identity politics to refer to activism by people

with disabilities to transform both self-and societal conceptions of people with disabilities.‖.

Scholars often evaluate the political practices of these groups of people using sociological

analysis and there are many theoretical frameworks to understand the experience, culture,

identity, politics, and power of the people involved in identity politics. Thus, there are lots of

theoretical frameworks that can approach identity politics in terms of power, operation, and

cultural politics. The consequence is beyond imaginable. It is more psychological and the cause

may be economic, cultural, social or political(Jaspal & Nerlich, 2020; Meyer, 2002; Ovejero,

2008).

One can approach identity politics using various theoretical frameworks as Marxism, neo

Marxism, structuralism, sociological, postmodernism and so on noted. No single method is

either right or wrong. The best way to study identity politics is to use an integrative

19
approach(Siraw, 2016). Sociologists can study the experience, culture, politics and power of the

participants to understand the concept deeper. One thing that is often less emphasized is the

coexistence or conflict of multiple identities in identity politics(Mesfin, 2020). Groups may have

the same religions but multiple ethnic and educational backgrounds so that sometimes the

multiple identities may be compatible and sometimes it might be opposing. Identity politics

should be framed either from a single identity or multiple identities. In general, identity is being

misused in many ways for political reference that often leads to, xenophobia, violence, even to

genocide, which is still happening all over the world.

2.1.2. Why Identity Matters

Identity is a socially and historically constructed concept. We learn about our own identity and

the identity of others through interactions with family, peers, organizations, institutions, media

and other connections and communications. Key facets of identity—like gender, social class,

age, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, religion, age and disability—play significant roles in

determining how we understand and experience the world, as well as shaping the types of

opportunities and challenges we face. Social and cultural identity is inextricably linked to issues

of power, value systems, and ideology. As to (Watson, 2010, p. 41)

Identity matters for political life, neither because it expresses who people
―really‖ are—nor because one‗s ascribed identity in its canonical form is the
necessary context for autonomy and other liberal goods. Instead, we have
emphasized, identity matters politically because people are so very often
dominated along identitarian lines. ―Recognition is rarely adequate to
challenge such identity-based domination. Instead, our constructivist-
democratic alternative recommends that states promote non domination, in the form
of inclusive and egalitarian political contests over the identities at the heart of
―identity politics.

20
In sociology, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i.e., whether

one perceives oneself to be a man, a woman, outside of the gender binary, etc.), but can also be

used to refer to the gender that other people attribute to the individual based on what they know

from gender role indications (social behavior, clothing, hairstyle, etc.) (Alvesson et al., 2008).

Another way of defining identity formation is ―the problem‐ solving behavior aimed at eliciting

information about oneself or environment to decide on an important life choice‖ (Lindholm,

2008). Social support can be defined as supportive relationships with others Interpersonal

identity development. Interpersonal identity development is composed of three elements:

Categorization: Labeling others (and ourselves) into categories. Identification: Associating

others with certain groups. Comparison refers to comparing groups.

When we think about identity, we may focus on cultural markers (things like clothing) or

biological and physiological markers (things like skin color etc.); however, it‘s also important to

understand that our identities are comprised of shared ideas, ideologies, biases and ways of

seeing the world around us. Our identities, therefore, are socially constructed, and our biological

attributes are only one part of who we are(Alyahya, 2014).

In many cases, we‘ve learned and internalized these values throughout our lives from family,

peers, role models, school, organizations, government, etc. The media also plays a prominent

role in creating meaning, shaping our values, defining who we are, and establishing norms

(Habtamu, 2008). These values are powerful because they generally come from places of power,

but also because we internalize them and take them for granted; the way things should be, and in

turn, shape the way we see and understand the people, objects, practices, and institutions in our

lives(Balibar& Wallerstein, 2005).

21
Our gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, disability, religion, and age can play a

significant role in determining whether or not we have social, political and economic

power(Akerlof & Kranton, 2000) While many assume that anyone can accrue social, economic

and political power if they have talent, ability, and hardworking (the idea of meritocracy), we

also need to acknowledge the way historically ingrained prejudices (Xiaomei &Shimin, 2014).

We are inherently plural. For example, social identity theory is a concept of socialization

recognizing that the way we perceive others and ourselves, is based on both our unique

characteristics and our membership in various groups. Social identity is about a group, which

they belong to, such as a citizen of a certain country particular student in any university. Then,

these persons began to compare themselves to other individuals and groups to help define who

they are, both to themselves and others(Akerlof & Kranton, 2000).

Social categorization, which is a process of classifying people based on similar characteristics.

There are two groups that in group and out group; in group is a group of people with a common

interest or identity. Out group is those people who do not belong to a specific group. The second

is Social identification which is asserting a self-descriptive, the qualities that contribute to one

school, for example, a student. Students adopt and add new ways for their identities. The third is

social comparison. We are also our own group by comparing with others. In the absence of

objective measures for self-evolution, we compare ourselves to others, to find out how we are

doing.

The importance of social identity theory is to identify themselves in terms of their characters in

their own group membership. The social identity approach, focuses on contextual factors that can

affect the salient and strategic expression of identity, how identity is transformed and radicalize

22
through collectives, struggle, and the importance of emotion to group identity and group life. The

other form of identity is personal identity. Person identity is about a personal

characteristic(Horley& Clarke, 2016).

Various factors make women‘s identity. The first one is male power. Everywhere where females

are available, there are male powers that shape and reshape women's identity. Meyer (2002)

intervenes in this debate, theorizing an appropriate role for the state in the contested field of

identity politics. The factors start by passing different theories of multiculturalism that favor state

recognition of minority identity. They then summarize the retreat from recognition found in

poststructuralist arguments that recognition promotes particularistic attachments and exacerbates

normalization and coercive subjectification.

Besides, religious society follows some definitions of female and the patriarchal norms and the

culture, the media are components of identity makers. In all these factors, women themselves

have their own roles. The past women‘s identity has an impact on the present women‘s identity.

The intergenerational transformations in women‘s identity of the past have an impact on the

present. Besides, the place where women grow up have an impact on the recreation of women‘s

identity of the past and present(Xiaomei &Shimin, 2014).Particularly, the macro-societal

changes such as political, economic and cultural over years redefine the present women identity.

These factors create a collective identity and force women to hold collective identity. Scholars

also take identity as narrative construction and the context this identity operates is also taken as a

construction. One mistaken idea often raised in the political approach of women's identity is

personal identity. Women‘s political identity should be seen both as personal and social identity.

Their identity may force them to be involved in political events and the social identity also forces

23
them to be part of the political identity. Thus, political identity is often a link between personal

and social identity(Bernstein, 2005)

Theoretically, This study argues that despite there are many forms of identities in human lives,

women‘s identities in Ethiopian historical drama are more of political identity. The main

characters who are women in the drama have political outlooks. Their national identity is the

other version of their political identity. This study, therefore, uses political identity as a

theoretical framework particularly national identity is taken into consideration.

There are various forms of identities as cultural, personal, and social and so forth. For example,

the other name for cultural identity is ethno-national identity and it is more of specific ethnic

groups. According to Xiaomei & Shimin (2014, p. 1) ― Identity is the ―sameness‖ and belonging

of identification. In a real sense, cultural identity is often related to ethno-cultural identity, while

political identity and national identity are more often inseparable.‖ As the author argues, the key

concept in this theory is politics that the politics of national identity. Politics is all about the

governance of a country. It reflects how rulers govern that country. Different scholars also define

politics differently. This study uses the following definitions of politics. It is all about state,

power, public activity, social activity and conflict, context and interpretations. Iain Stwart says:

[Politics]…is the interaction of lots of different issues that affect how we live. Those are local

issues, national issues, and international issues. Most issues interact with each other in some

way, and when you‘re making a decision, you have to think through the consequences of each

decision. It‘s like playing a multi-dimensional game of chess. You have to think what would

happen three, four, five moves down the road. Whatever decision you make has implications

elsewhere at lots of different levels. And the job of a politician is to try and understand the

24
complexity of the situation and think through the consequences of making a decision. …. Politics

is the safe way of resolving disputes. At every level of society, and globally, people compete for

resources, for wealth, for lots of different things, and if you didn‘t have politics to resolve these

issues, you would have an armed conflict in some way(Stewart, 2021, p. 7).

Despite feminism began in the 1960s, it can also discuss works the went back to the ancient

periods. Besides, the theory not only magnifies the injustice committed upon women but also

appreciates the various positive representations of women in literary works. As to (Watson,

2010, p. 9)―When political theory treats identity politics, it focuses specifically on

analytic, normative and political questions, asking how the state should treat identity

groups and/or the claims that people advance in their name.‖ Besides Watson (2010, p. 348)

argues, To reach a theory of female identity, however, we must first adapt identity theory as it is

now constituted by male theorists who assume a male paradigm for human experience. Erik

Erikson is the architect of modern identity theory: his ideas are popularly cited…]. One thing that

should be emphasized is women‘s identity began at home from her mother. The strong relation

between the mother and the daughter shapes women‘s identity. AS (Watson, 2010, p.

349)ARGUES, Female identity formation is dependent on the mother-daughter bond…..thus,

the work of literature produced by men and women are also different . Female writers have their

own styles of female identity framing.

Historically women that achieved a lot and literary works also portray these women in the

historical milieu of the time (Gellner, 1995). These women who are vital in the historical period

have various identities and these identities can be personal, cultural, religious, national and so on.

However, this study argues that the women exhibit national identities in that historical context

25
and the national identities can be approached from political identity theory. The concepts in this

study are historical women, politics, multiple identities, and political approach to identities. A

range of studies examines women‘s identity from various perspectives. Most use identity

theories; whereas, others focus on a historical approach to royal or historical women and even

some of the studies that consider women in a political approach see women in general theories of

politics than specific theories. This study approaches historical women in a political approach

and from that approach it uses political identity as a theory. It can be represented diametrically

as:

Women

IDENITY Politics History

Personal Political theories of Political history

Cultural identities Social History
Social Cultural History and So on
National
Politics..etc.

26
I have designed the above conceptual framework to analyze my thesis. I first think that my

subjects are women. Then, I thought that these women had been living in their own identity,

political system and historical milieu. Their identities are also multiple that include personal,

cultural, social, national, political and so on. There are also different political theories and history

can be social, economic, political and so on. Therefore, the diagram clearly shows how identity,

politics, history and gendered are interlinked. This theory is applicable for this study due to the

following reasons. Political identity can help examine women who played great roles in politics.

Of course, this theory often perceives identity from a political perspective and this can be a side

effect for totally perceiving women‘s identity in political lenses.

2.1.3. Gender and Politics

Politics plays an important role when we talk about gender. Politics has become so important to

understand the role of women in society and how politics can be used to empower women and

realize gender equality. It is also a time that the question of identity has become very important,

because the whole issue of belongingness has become crucial, and that becomes very significant

to understand the sense of belonging, of women to a country, to a state to a region where it is

very significant that their contributions become important to the domain of politics which was

once assumed to be a male domain began to be influenced by feminist and female researchers.

Women, activism, and slowly and steadily we see a certain kind of change taking place in

society. Politics is a real-world phenomenon and Political Science is an academic discipline. So,

most of the time, it is an assumption that politics belongs to the domain of political science and

therefore to understand gender, it needs to be understood from both the science and the real

world. There is also a certain kind of gender bias. People, all over the world, find that basic

27
conditions of the life, safety, health, education work, as well as access to public spaces are

fundamentally shaped by identification as belonging to particular sex or gender group. That is

very important to understand the whole concept of politics because politics is power. So, the

whole idea of those who have and those who don't have is a relation between the powerful, and

the powerless; so, whether you have access to resources or you don't have access to resources

again these are determined by the political domain.

Until recent time women's issues, interest and so on had been excluded from the political domain

for two basic reasons. One was the whole understanding between the private and public sphere.

And this takes me back to the whole conceptualization of gender, and we see that the whole

gender norms are constructed on the dichotomy between public and private. Public refers to the

public life of a person; white, private refers to life at home or private life out of the public

domain. That is to say that public belongs to men, and private belongs to women, and there was a

clear-cut division of labor that all tasks associated in the private realm, are the responsibility of

women, and everything that is happening in the public it belongs to men following from this

assumption appeared that since politics belongs to the public domain; women had no role to play,

and therefore they were excluded from political participation.

The second reason for exclusion of women from politics was the whole idea of dominating in the

society was the patriarchal norms and ideology, and it was the backyard patriarchal norms and

ideology which strengthened women's domestic role and responsibility. They were considered to

be caretaker and nurturers of children and domestic space, and therefore they were not suitable

conditions for participating in political life. These assumptions began to be questioned with the

emergence of the suffragists movement, where they started questioning the right of women to

28
vote and to participate in political life, with the large number of political activism across the

world; we started seeing a little bit of seats,, safe, where there was a large number of women.

Politics in the very traditional way or in the very initial ways was understood as the activity of

government, or governing; the word politics in the original Greek was used by Aristotle to

connote those questions that pertain to the operation of followers, or the political community,

and for a very long time this political community was considered synonymous to public and

therefore women were excluded from the political community. The distinctive feature of politic

is its public or general nature, the way it affects the community as a whole, as distinct from

private matters. The traditional concept of politics centers on the study of the machinery of

government and electoral politics of political elites and formal institution rendered Women and

Gender invisible. When we look into the reality of politics in the traditional political science

discipline, we see that it was a male domain, or it was a dominance of men, and therefore, there

were statements like men are the maker of world politics.

2.1.4. Historical Women in Ethiopia

Ethiopian women like that of the world women had undergone many problems. However, history

has shown that there were women of high power, politician, queens, warriors and fighters in

history. The injustice committed upon them has existed and continues since ancient time. The

good news is since the 1660s where feminism began as a movement in the world, various women

activists of world including Ethiopia question the roles and identities of women. Besides, the

spread of education and various stereotypes towards women galvanizes questions of women‘s

identity. The government creates affirmative action, political participation and institutional

support to make women equal with that of male. The government still works on this gender

29
equality concept. According to (Cavallaro, 2001, p. 109)― A gender role, therefore, is neither

natural nor optional: in fact, it is constructed by various cultural discourses,2 and particularly by

language.‖. Historically, Ethiopian women had undergone various injustices and they

experienced lots of problems. Besides, the various external challenges women face affecting

their identity.

Ethiopian woman has played a significant role in the economic, social, and political life (Seltene,

1994, p. 15). As we know from Ethiopian history, especially in political history, most of

positions were dominated by male society, and women‘s are the supporters of their men‘s. For

instance, emperor Zara Yaeqob (1434- 1468) had set up a women‘s administration replacing that

of men (Seltene, 1994, 18).

These historical conditions continued from the ancient time to the present in direct and indirect

situations. During the 19th century, Ethiopian women‘s play a significant role in political systems

of the government from the low level to the high level at the country and in the world level.

Qaqe Wərədəwotə for example: is one of the women who is influential in the Gurage

community. She was against the community‘s traditional domination and breaks the rules of that

clan. She quests the right for divorce, the right to equal wealth, and the right to marriage any one

as they love and choice him.

Moreover, during the 19th century, the mother of Rasə Ali II, Empress Mänänə was a political

figure. She leads different Rasəes during the Zämänä mäsafənətə. After Zämänä mäsafənətə,

the granddaughter of empress Mänänə or the daughter of Rasə Ali II Täwabäčə was the wife of

emperor Tewodərosə II and she assists him in different way. So, she participated in politics of

the country in different and indirect ways.

30
The other event during the 19th century was the war between the Ethiopians and Italy. During

this time, empress T’ayətu played a key role, especially in the discussion of the treaty article and

the war time. As Seltene (1994, p. 21) stated, regarding Article XVII of the treaty, controversial

but decisive discussions followed in which empress T’ayətu, the wife of Məniləkə II, showed her

commitment and dedication in defending the sovereignty of her country.

The war of Ethiopians and Italians were not only the war of Ethiopia and Italy, but also a war

between Europe and Africa, and it is also a war between blacks and the white. In this regard,

empress T’ayətu played an important role in African continent and over the world.

Ethiopian women‘s history also continued to the 20th century and many women‘s were

participating in the history of Ethiopia and the world. During the 20th century, Ethiopian women

like empress T’ayətu were patriots. They participate in different political positions. Some of

those women include Empress Zäwəditu Məniləkə Šäwarägädə Gädəle Sənədu Gäbəru, and

others who worked in different positions of leadership.

2.2. Empirical Literature

Lots of researchers have conducted the portrayal of identity in literary works. This sub-topic

presents those researches which are related directly and indirectly to this thesis. These studies are

presented in different departments and different Universities.

2.2.1. Oladipo Agboluaje

Agboluaje (2003) in his PhD dissertation entitled the Constructions of Identity in Contemporary

African Drama: A Comparative Study of Wole Soyinka and Zakes Mdae has commenced his

Dissertation by giving a brief introduction and thus he has organized his research in six different
31
chapters. In chapter one, he looks the nature of resistance to colonialism with specifically to

indirect rule. Beyond this, he examines Soyinka‘s position on Negritude and Mdae‘s position on

black consciousness, in relation to their skepticism towards ideology.

In chapter two, the researcher gives a title to the dramatic theories of Wole Soyinka and Zakes

Mdae and he clarifies Soyinka the concept of an authentic African Identities in Myth, Literature

and the African world. He also analyzed the concept of tragedy in the plays of Soyinka. He also

focuses the Apartheid and the identity formation among black South Africans. In chapter three

Agboluaje focuses on the themes and influences that Wole Soyinka employs in constructing an

authentic African Identity. In this chapter, according to Agboluaje the family and moral Identity

are two points.

In chapter four Agboluaje describes how apartheid and black consciousness operate as ideology

of essentialism, and in chapter five of the dissertation he addresses and examines the

representation of women from dramatic, literary and historical perspectives, and the status of

women in colonial and post-independence Africa, and the way they are portrayed in drama by

Soyinka and Mda. Agboluajea addresses politics in the works of Soyinka and Mda in chapter six.

And finally, Oladipo Agboluaje concludes that the playwrights constructed African identity in an

Afro centric perspective; however, Wole Soyinka portrays from an essentialist perspective but

Zakes constructs from a materialistic perspective.

Generally, Agboluaje‘s dissertation focused on the constructions of Identity in Wole Soyinka and

Zakes Mda plays in a comparative way. However, my this is different from him for its political

and historical focus. My thesis examines gendered, identity and history in a political framework.

And Agboluaje‘s study has direct relation with my thesis in the following points. The issue of

32
Agboluaje;s dissertation is the matter of Identity and my research also focuses about Identity.

However; Agboluaje;s dissertation and my thesis are different from each other in many ways.

First of all Agboluaje;s dissertation title is construction of Identity in contemporary African

Drama: a comparative study of Wole Soyinka and Zakes Mda, and My thesis title is Women‘s

Identity in Amharic drama; with the special focus of S‘ägaye Gäbərä Mädəhənə‘s Tewodərosə ,

Getənätə Enyew‘s Etege T‘ayətu and Č‘anəyaläwə Woldegiwrgis‘s qaqe wərədəwotə.

Agboluaje;s dissertation focused on the plays of Wole Soyinka from Nigeria and Zakes Mda

from South Africa. And my study focuses the above-mentioned Ethiopian‘s. Agboluaje in his

dissertation concluded that the playwrights constructed African identity in an Afro-centric

perspective, and however, my thesis focused that the Identity of the Amharic drama which is

studied in this thesis is constructed in a political way.

2.2.2. Habtamu Woldeyohannies

Habtamu (2008) in his MA thesis entitled- Popular Culture and Identity: An Investigation Into

Images of Modern Ethiopian Music Video Clips in the Orientation of Gender Identity of

Adolescent Audiences in Addis Ababa, attempts to explore how the adolescent audiences of

Addis Ababa, amid their lived reality, make meaning about their gender identity out of the

images of the modern Ethiopian music video clips. The study investigated how the image-makers

depict femininity and masculinity in the modern music video clips they produce. In all these

studies, scholars approached women‘s identity from various angles. Like many studies,

Habtamu‘s research has also focused on Identity. But Habtamu focused the Identities on music

and this research focuses on the issue of identity in a play.

33
2.2.3. Mesfin Wodajo Woldemariam

The third research which has a relation with my research in an indirect way is Mesfin's

(2020)study. This study focused on the representation of women‘s issues in contemporary

African Anglophone novels. He argues that such novels are not studied comparatively and

comprehensively from African feminist perspectives. To this end, he takes eight novels such as:

Kintu (2014), Hiding in Plain Sight (2014), Ancestor Stones (2006), Season of Crimson

Blossoms (2016), Coconut (2008), The Hairdresser of Harare (2010), Minaret (2005) and The

Yacoubian Building (2004) and analyzed them based on African feminist theoretical framework.

Like my study, Mesfin in short focused on women.

2.2.4. Siraw Demas Dinku

The other research which is related to my research is Siraw's (2016)study. He examines the

ongoing new-nation-building process through the lenses of the national and regional education

system curriculum and student attachment to the values, symbols and traditions represented in

the curricula. In his PhD dissertation, he examined how Ethiopian identity is presented in the

formal education curriculum and students' reactions and attachments to these representations.

Like my research, he focused on Identity. But the relation between my study and Siraw‘s is not a

direct one. In that, my study focuses on drama and Sraw‘s study focuss on the education

system‘s curricula.

Generally, the above four researches have indirect relation with my study. Those above-listed

researches take a single concept-identity and they are similar to my thesis in this respect.

34
 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

This section is about the research methodology of the study which consists of the researcher‘s

reflexivity, study design, methodological orientations, sampling, methods of approach, place of

data collection, description of samples, data collection, data analysis, validity, and reliability

Further, it explains how the scripts of the dramas were selected for the study and how data were

collected, and the methods by which the collected information was analyzed and interpreted.

The main focus of this study is to analyze and interpret the political identities of women

portrayed in the three Amharic dramas. This study argues that historical women of empresses

and queens are more depicted in political terms and their identity has to be approached from a

political angle. Thus, the data drawn from the drama are interpreted politically. The research

questions for this study are what aspects of the women‘s identity are depicted in the drama and

how these political identities are manifested and why do the plays portray women‘s identity in

political configurations and What are the implications of the study. In terms of Research Design,

this study employed an interpretive case study research design to understand women‘s identity

more deeply. Thus, only three scripts and major women characters portrayed in the drama are

taken into consideration.

Concerning data collection, from the many samples, the study has selected three dramas and the

data are collected based on the research questions. The instrument to collect data for this study is

prepared checklist. , the basic data collecting methods are play texts. The data analysis method of

this study has the following limitations.

35
There are many dramatic scripts in Ethiopia. Among these dramatic scripts, this study has taken

historical drama as a focus and from the historical drama only, the well-acclaimed 3 dramas are

taken into consideration. These are Getənätə ʾənəyäwə’s ʾətege T’ayətu, S’ägaye Gäbəräe

Mädəhənə’s Tewodərosə and Č’anəyaläwə Wälədägiyorəgisə’s Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə. Thus, the

sampling method is purposive. To gather the data of the study, the researcher has read the

dramatic scripts critically then taken major women characters and focused on their political and

gender identity and they are analyzed based on political and gender theories.

36
 CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter presents the analysis of women‘s political identity as manifested in the drama.

Similar dramas with similar contents are grouped thematically. Once the themes are identified,

they are given representative names for each theme. The predominant themes are politics as an

identity maker, Political manifestation of identity, questioning the status qua such as Defiance,

against the political environment, revolting against the culture, gender subjugation, and the quest

for social change, and the nexus among history, politics, and identity. Then, the themes with

revealed through textual analysis are grouped into different themes. Finally, the interpretations of

the major findings of the study will be presented as per the order of the findings.

4.1. Plot Summaries of the three Amharic Dramas

In this sub topic I tried to address the plot summary of those plays which are selected for this

study in a separate way.

4.1.1. The Plot Summary of ʾətege T’ayətu1

In Emperor Məniləkə‘s palace, all members of the government become conscious about Ethiopia

and Italian messenger Cont petro Antoneli became a cause for this thoughtful idea. Because of

his deceit in article 17 in Wəč'ale treaty, most of the Ethiopian nobles were against him, and they

push him to rewrite the article. However; Antoneli doesn‘t agree with their idea. Because of this

Empress T’ayətu and other nobles clash with Antoneli. Because of this, empress T’ayətu asked

him as he couldn‘t control Ethiopia. And Antoneli tries to resist the Empress T’ayətu’s question

about the article. However she always denied his idea regarding about article 17. Antoneli also

1
This drama was written by Getənätə ʾənəyäwə and directed by Tomasə Tora and acted by different Actors and
actresses. It was staged in 1999 E.C (2006) at Ethiopian national theatre and published in 2000 E.C at Addis Ababa
University Press.

37
tries to espionage the empress by using Mr. Täkola and on the other hand, the empress espionage

him by using Fätəlä. And Fätəlä was the girl friend of Täkola; she tries to collect information

and give for the empress.

Because of empress T’ayətu’s standing regarding her country, Antoneli tries to get assistance

from Rasə Mäkonənə. But Rasə Mäkonənə stands for his country Ethiopia and with his emperor

and empress. Because of this and the empress‘s greatness Antoneli was angry. He said to Mr.

Täkola ``she is a female and why her mentality is greater than me?`` And he tried to intimidate

her to start a war between Italy and Ethiopia. However, Empress T’ayətu said, ―do it a week

today.‖ Then Antoneli goes to his country and the war begins.

As she said earlier, ―we are waiting ready for you‖, she leads her army to fight the invaders.

Then his idea and his country army defeated by the Ethiopians as the Empress said before

Antonelli‘s intimidation.

4.1.2. The plot Summary of Tewodərosə 2

During the Zämänä mäsafənətə period, Kasa hayəlu rose and he started again the unification of

Ethiopia. To fulfill his ambition, he established a war group and fight against different lords. One

of those lords was empress Mänänə and her son Rasə Ali II. And, he became a brave man and

known in around gonədärə, goǧamə, šäwa, Wollo, Təgəre and other parts of Ethiopia. Most of

the lords were afraid him. Then to control the power and him, Empress Mänänə and Rasə Ali II

give Rasə Ali II‘s daughter as a wife for Kasa.

2
Tewodərosə is a historical play. The story encompasses about emperor Tewodərosə and his
government, which is written by S'ägaye Gäbərä Mädəhənə and directed by ʾäbatä mäkuriya. This play was
staged in different stages and acted by different actors, and published by Addis Ababa University Press in
2003 E.C.

38
However; Kasa did not stop his work regarding with the unification of Ethiopia, and his wife

Täwabäčə supported him to fulfill his ambition until she passed away. To get a success, she went

to any battlefield with him and his solders. Because of her support, Kasa was happy and her

father Rasə Ali II and her grandmother on the other hand were sad. Then, they neglect her from

their family.

Then Täwabäčə assists her husband in idea and they defeat the army of Däǧačə Wänədiradə,

Empress Mänänə, Rasə Ali II and other lords. Kasa became an emperor called Tewodərosə.

Then Tewodərosə expands and unifies different province of Ethiopia as one country. In this case,

different provincial leaders were protesting against him. And Britain on the other side, and some

lords in the country side were pushing him to destroy his government. His wife empress

Täwabäčə died. Because of her death Tewodərosə was sad. Because of his grief, some war

leaders like Gäbərəye, asked him to marry Empress T’əruwärəqə and he married. But she is not a

good housewife like Empress Täwabäčə. Because of the internal and external oppositions,

emperor Tewodərosə committed suicide at Mäqədäla.

4.1.3. The Plot Summary of Qaqe Wərədəwotə3

In Gurage community, there was a woman called Qaqe Wərədəwotə. ʾägazə furəčəye was her

husband. But she is not the first wife of him. Because of this, Wərədəwotə protests against him to

get a divorce. However, in the culture, without the permission of her husband, any woman

cannot get a divorce. This is a tradition. In this case, the woman has no a right to divorce. If a

man does not raise ʾänəqitə4 his divorce doesn‘t make a divorce. In this case, Wərədəwotə asks

3
Qaqe Wərədəwotə is a play which is written by Č’anəyaläwə Wälədägiyorəgisə and directed by dagəmawi
ʾämäläwärəqə fäyəsa in 2005, and it is unpublished script.
4
ʾänəqitə in gurage culture is the issue of divorce; it is a system of giving permission for woman to get divorce from
a man.

39
her husband by the ǧoka5 council by including the right to get equal wealth, the right to divorce

and the right to make a female ǧoka council. She also facilitates females of Gurage community

to ask the above rights. Because of her facilitation, many women‘s were active and ask their

rights. However; the male community were against them and they stop other women. Men‘s send

priests to Qaqe wərədəwotə’s house. But she is not agreeing with the idea of males. Then, Qaqe

wərədəwotə ask her right, especially the right to divorce and the right to marry as her choice. In

her braveness, she can protest the male domination and can protect her right. And she divorced

from ʾägazə furəčəye and she get married ʾäsehəʾärəbə in her volunteer.

4.2. Politics as an Identity Maker

Many of the women characters depicted in ʾEtege T‘ayətu, Tewodərosə , and Qaqe Wərədəwotə

dramas are portrayed in political configurations. Politics comprises many things. Hence, in the

selected dramas, the women characters are more political and their identities are related to

nationalism, patriotism, social justice, and ideology.

The women in the three dramas exhibit the natural commitment of which they are geographically

or culturally closest and they follow nationalism as a political motivator. Women heard of the

history of their society and country from their earlier kings. As the women depicted in the

dramas play significant polemical roles beyond housewife, they are more of political figures,

their concerns are more national. Indeed, there are different theories of national identity. One of

the first groups of theories of national identity is primordialism. According to Stets & Serpe

(2013), primordialism is a term first used by Edward Shales, who argued that national identities

5
Ǧoka is a traditional council of Gurage community.

40
are natural and attribute it to blood. For theorists of primordialism, national identities are

explained through blood relations, language and birth. The following extract shows this fact.

ጣይቱ፡- ከንግስተ ሳባ አንስተህ እስከ ትናንቱ አፄ ዮሏንስ ዴረስ፣በሀገሩ

ክብርና ነፃነት ሇዴርዴር የሚቀመጥ የአበሻ መሪ ሰምተህ ታዉቃሇህ?

ሳሉምቢኒ፡- አሌሰምቶም እቴጌ

ጣይቱ፡- ታዱያ የደሮዎቹን እንኳ ቢረሳ የትናንቶቹ አፄ ቴዎዴሮስና አፄ

ዮሏንስ ሇእፍኝ አፈራቸዉ የነበራቸዉን ስስት ዘንግቶ፤ሇኢትዮጽያዊ ክብራቸዉ
የከፈለትን የሕይወት ዋጋ ከሚዛኑ ዯፍቶ፣ ዛሬ" እባካችሁ ሃገሬን በናንተ ስር
አዴርጉሌኝ" ብል የሚሇምን፣ምኒሌክ የእነማን ሌጅ ይመስሌሃሌ? ... ትዉሌዴስ
ምን ይሇናሌ? ታሪክስ ምን ይሇናሌ?... (ጌትነት፣ 2000ዓ.ም፣ 35).

T’ayətu:- From the Queen of Sheba to Emperor Yohänəsə, have you ever heard of an
Abyssinian leader negotiating on the dignity and freedom of the country?
Salimbini :- I did not hear Empress
T’ayətu:- Even if he forgets the past, how he forgets the love of Emperor Tewodərosə
and Emperor Yohänəsə toward their soil? Remembering the price they have paid for
their Ethiopian dignity, he prays today, "Please do my country for me." Whose son do
you think Məniləkə is? What does the generation say us? What does history tell us? ...
(Getənätə, 2007, p. 35).

On the above quotation, we can understand that Emperor Tewodərosə and Emperor Yohänəsə are

in the same blood genealogies which both are interlinked with in Ethiopian nationality. However;

Emperor Yohänəsə and Emperor Tewodərosə during their reign did not have similar language.

Emperor Yohänəsə was from Təgəre and Emperor Tewodərosə was from the Amhara nation. But

as that time, Emperor Tewodərosə and Emperor Yohänəsə can speak the same language; Ge‘ez,

and Amharic. In this regard, we can say that their power and social life can be examined in

premordialism.

Critics of primordial theory maintain that anything natural about blood ties are socially

constructed (Ranjitha & Unnithan, 2018).They explain primordialism implies that national

identity is a spiritual mystical unchangeable phenomenon. National identity for primordiallists is

41
something that affects us. We don't have any control over modernist theories of national identity.

In this way, critique of primordialism modernists argues that national identity is a concept that

developed roughly over the last two centuries. Thus, national identity is not a natural or

biological inclination. It's a construction that has a modern cause(Abrams &Hogg, 1990).

Anyway, the most prominent modernists such as Ernest Gellner and Benedict, and Anderson

Gellner are by far the most influential theorist and nationalist. As to Stets & Serpe (2013), there

is a concept called imagined communities. The originator of this theory-Anderson-argues

national identity is imagined. In this regard, Täwabäčə in Tewodərosə reminds us that the

Ethiopian society of the past did not know each other. The drama implicates most fellow

members of the nation did not know each other.

Similarly, T’ayətu in Getənätə ʾənəyäwə’s drama associates national identity to a number of key

phenomena. The drama is primarily about power, class culture, language or myth that is created

to justify the people of the country. T’ayətu mentions the national myths through repetition and

continuity of the past. In this way, T’ayətu claims: -

ጣይቱ፡- /ከሳቃቸዉ በኋሊ / ስማ ! …../ቆመዉ ይፋጠጣለ / የዛሬ ሳምንት

አዴርገዉ፡፡ የኔ ሴትነትና ያንተም ወንዴነት የሚሇየዉ፣ እዚህ እንዲሻህ
በተፈራገጥህበት የምኒሌክ እሌፍኝ ሳይሆን እዚያዉ ጦር ሜዲ ሊይ ነዉ!!
……….ሂዴ!..... ሂዴ መንግደን ጨርቅ ያዴርግሌህ! እግሩን ሇጠጠር ዯረቱን
ሇጦር አስጥቶ፣ ዯሙን ሇሃገሩ ፍቅር አፍስሶ፣ ሇአፈሩ ክብር አፈር ሇብሶ፣ እሱ
ወዴቆ ሃገሩን የማያቆም እዚህ ያሇ እንዲይመስሌህ! ሂዴ! ሂዴ መንግደን ጨርቅ
ያዴርግሌህ! የኢትዮጵያን ሰዉ ባታዉቀዉ ነዉ፡፡ሇሃገር መሞት ማሇት ሇሀበሻ
ጌጡ ነዉ፡፡ …..ሂዴ! ....... .ሂዴና ባሻህ ጊዜ ተመሇስ፣ ተሰናዴተን
እንጠብቅሃሇን፡፡ ያንተን ወንዴነትና የጣይቱን ሴትነትም ያን ጊዜ እናየዋሇን!
........ሂዴ! ....ሂዴ መንገደን ጨርቅ ያዴርግሌህ! /ጌትነት፣ 2000 ዓ.ም፣ 90-
91/
T’ayətu: - (after laughing) Listen! … ../ staring at Each other / do it a week
today. The difference between my femininity and your masculinity will be seen.
The game not here in the peaceful place of Məniləkə, room where you are
trampled, but on the real battlefield!! ………. Go! ..... Go, make the road smooth

42
 for you! Don't think that there is one here who will not stop the country by
throwing his legs to the gravel, pouring his blood for the love of his country, his
soil for the glory of his soil! go over! Go and make the road smooth for you! If
you don't know an Ethiopian. Dying for the country is a pride for Abyssinians.
....Go! ........Go and come back whenever you want, we are ready and we will wait
for you. Then we will see your masculinity and femininity! ........ Go! .... Go, make
the road smooth for you! (Getənätə, 2000, 90-91)

T’ayətu at her first choice loves peace and she informs Antonolie to run for peace. But, if
this option is not possible, she clearly informs him that war can be inevitable between the
two countries.

Patriotism: The other political issue mentioned in the dramas is women are obsessed with the

love of their country. This is not only a war between Ethiopia and Italy. It is also a war among

Africa and Europe, black and white peoples through the world.

Indeed, the difference between patriotism and nationalism is not vivid (Balibar& Wallerstein,

2005). The historical development of patriotism is ancient. The word patriot itself could even be

traced back further to the Greek word patriotic, the meaning of one's father. There isn't much

evidence of nationalism occurring until just before the 19th century. However, nationalism

appears to have been largely interchangeable with patriotism. However, in the 19th century and

up until today, nationalism has changed meaning, while the meaning of patriotism has remained

largely unchanged. In the three dramas, women show strong affections to their country. They

have a genuine feeling for their country, along with the feeling of unity with those who share

those feelings as T’ayətu roars:

ጣይቱ፡- /በንዳት እየተንጎራዯደ /እኔ ሴት ነኝ፡፡ ጦርነት አሌወዴም፡፡ ነገር

ግን ሀገሬ እንዯዚህ ያሇ ክብር የሚነካ ዘሇፋ ከምትሸከም ጦርነትን እመርጣሇዉ፡፡
/ጌትነት፣ 2000ዓ.ም፣35/

T’ayətu: I am a woman. I do not like war. But I prefer war than disrespect. (Getənätə,
2000, 35)

43
Täwabäčə in Tewodərosə drama is also portrayed as a woman who loves, supports, and defends

her country. She shows loyalty and devotion to the nation-Ethiopia. In the drama, nationalism is

conceptualized as promoting one's nation, above all others, and placing primary emphasis on the

promotion of its culture and interests. The play also portrays nationalism as the policy or doctrine

of asserting the interests of one's nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations, or

the common interest of all nations. Anyway, the difference between the two words-patriotism

and nationalism- is largely debated and even today there's not an official consensus among

scholars and social scientists. Similarly, Täwabäčə attributes the feelings of patriotism based on

positive values. In all her dialogues, she embraces freedom, justice, equality, bravery, value and

devotion. Täwabäčə claims as:

ተዋበች፡ …/በይበሌጥ ኮስተር ገተር ብሊ/ … እኔ ሌጠይቅህ፣እውነት እንዯ

ወሊጅ ቢወደኝ፣ እኔን አንዴ ሌጃቸውን ሊንተ እንዱህ ሇሚንቁህ ሰው፣
ሇምንዴነው የሰጡኝ? መስዋእት ያዯረጉኝ? /ጸጋዬ፣ 2003፣ 50 /
Täwabäčə: got -more upseted, Let me ask you, if they truly love me as the only
daughter of them , Why did they allow me to marry a person ? why they
sacrificed me? / S’ägaye, 2003, 50

T‘ayətu preaches the system of government and the people of her country to be good and work

together for a better quality of life. In contrast, her feelings of nationalism are based on a belief

that her country-Ethiopia- is superior to all others and her thinking often carries the connotation

of distrust or disapproval of Italy, leading to the assumption that Italy is rival. T’ayətu to this end,

tends to find her political interest. She is proud of her country, no matter what it does. When

using these words- patriotism and nationalism, it's important to keep context and connotation in

mind. Patriotism generally has a positive connotation. Patriotism is used for various positive

sentiments, attitudes, and actions involving loving one's country, and serving the greater good of

its entire people. It's used for political ideologies and movements that have a more extreme and

44
love of one's country, at the expense of invaders. In Getənätə’s ʾətege T’ayətu, nationalism uses

as a very strong motivator for uniting people together in the struggle against injustice.

Social justice: All the dramas narrate the spreading of social justice. The voices of the dramas try

to improve the lives of Ethiopians, to bring economic justice and social justice to the nation. In

short, social justice is one of the pillars of a just society. No one needs to argue for, and no one

dare be against this very much trouble; all the three dramas portray the fair and compassionate

distribution of the fruits of economic growth. According to Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə, social justice is

not possible without strong and coherent redistributive policies, conceived and implemented by

society. She believes that truth and justice are concepts that win the race. She condemns that

enemy of social justice. Her underlying point of social justice is to create a free society. She

suggests that any perceived unfairness or sorrow or economic loss must be addressed by the

society‘s effort to diagnose and hear it. In her dialogues, she exercises fairness, prosperity and

any good values and things for her society. She opposes an institution that aborts social justice.

She is the self-declared champion of social justice, and believes remedy all perceived wrongs as

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə claims:

አባ ጋዲ ጅባቦ፡- የአባትዋን መሬት ሴት ሌጅ ትውረስ ብሊችሁ ጠይቃችኋሌ፡፡

ወርዴወት፡- ሇምን ወንዴ ብቻ! ሴትም ሌጅነች- የወሊጆቿ መሬቱን ከብቶቹን

ትውረስ! የወሇዶት ንብረት አይካዶት፡፡ ሊጣ ዴሃ ባሌ ጥሇው ወንዴሞቿ
ሲዯሊቸው እሷን አንገቷን አይስበሯት፡፡ የአገር ሸንጏ በቃሽ ብል ሏቋን ይስጣት!

ʾäba gada ǧəbabo:- You asked that a woman to inherit her father's land.

Wərədəwotə: why a man? A woman is also a child for the family – let she inherit
from her parents' land and the cattle! Do not deny her property. Leaving her for a
poor husband, do not break her neck when she is abandoned by her brothers. Let
the communal court give her the truth

45
Cultural identity: As mentioned above in the review part, every person has both individual and

collective culture. In the above dialogue, Wərədəwotə has individualistic culture that she often

uses to fight against the collective culture; whereas, ʾäba gada ǧəbabo, who represents the society,

has a collective culture that he believes women are inferior to men. As good outcome,

Wərədəwotə‘s thinking which was originally individualistic become collective across time. The

other features of the three dramas all show them a cultural identity which is the identity and

feeling of belonging to a group. All the women characters show self-conception and self-

perception and they attribute this conception to their nationality, religion, social class, and

generation. In this way, cultural identity is both characteristics of the individual and the

culturally identical group of members sharing the same cultural identity. The various

accompanied women in Empress T‘ayətu, Yäqaqe wərədəwotə and Täwabäčə exhibit cultural

identity. For example, in Tewodərosə, Tewabech‘s marriage with the king and other women‘s

marriage with the aristocracies and the royal families show cultural identity of marriage.

Culturally, Täwabäčə married Kasa in a political marriage. This political convenience for her and

the like cool down the political lords, warriors, braves and the like to be a fierce competitor for

the palace. Political marriage helps to keep the countries peace and stable. According to this

Täwabäčə said that:

ተዋበች፡ …/በይበሌጥ ኮስተር ገተር ብሊ/ … እኔ ሌጠይቅህ፣እውነት እንዯ

ወሊጅ ቢወደኝ፣ እኔን አንዴ ሌጃቸውን ሊንተ እንዱህ ሇሚንቁህ ሰው፣
ሇምንዴነው የሰጡኝ? መስዋእት ያዯረጉኝ? /ጸጋዬ፣ 2003፣ 50 /

Täwabäčə: /got -more upset/ Let me ask you, if they truly love me as the only
daughter of them, why did they allow me to marry a person? Why they sacrificed
me? / S’ägaye, 2003, 50/.

However; Täwabäčə was not angry because of her husband Tewodərosə II. She loves him and

her country. But she was angry because of her parent‘s ideology regarding with the politics and

46
the country as a whole. This political marriage6 a typical culture of Ethiopia during and it is

manifested by Täwabäčə as portrayed in the drama.

In ʾətege T'ayətu, different cultural events happened such as local food and drink preparations

and Ethiopian hospitality. For example, she receives Salimbinie happily. The tradition of war,

patriotism as a tradition, different traditional foods like t'äǧə and others were disclosure in the

drama. Those cultural events which are disclosure in the drama shows the characters who is she

in terms of her culture.

According to Hall & Du Gay (2011), in recent decades, a new form of cultural identification has

emerged. This cultural identification may be the result of various conditions including location,

gender, race, history, nationality, language, sexuality, religious beliefs, ethnicity and even food

.According to Andreatta & Ferraro (2012), the divisions between cultures can be very fine in

some parts of the world, especially in rapidly changing cities where the population is ethnically

diverse and social unity is based primarily on location proximity. Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə gives

individuals a greater sense of freedom. A dialogue below attests such fact as:

ውርዴወት፡- ጉዲዩ ባጭሩ፤የባሌ ፈቃዴና የፍቺ ምርቃት ሳትቀበሌ ሇሄዯች ሴት

የሚረግመው
የሽማግላዎች የቃሌ እስር አንቂት ይነሳሌን ብሇው የአገሩ ሴቶች ሇጆካ ሸንጏ
አጠንክረው ጠይቀዋሌ፡፡…

6
Political marriage in Ethiopia is known. During the period of Zämänä mäsafənətə, Täkəlä giyorəgisə married
kasa’s sister /he was an emperor Yohänəsə/ and because of the marriage relationship he helps Täkəlä
giyorəgisə to become an emperor. After Zämänä mäsafənətə most of the leaders of different provinces
connected by each other to settled their provinces and their power. ʾEtege T'ayətu made different political
marriage from Shoa to Gondar. The conflict between Ləǧə ʾiyasu and Qädamawi Hayəlä śəlase for example,
was cool down in somewhat by the marriage of Emperor Hayəlä śəlase. Generally when we look the
family of different lords, most of those are married royal families or related to the other lords of different
province.

47
 ወርዴወት፡ የተበዯሇች ሴት ትዲሩ በቃኝ ብሊ መሄዶ ሇምን በእርግማን
ይከሇከሊሌ? በዯሌና ግፍ እንጂ መረገም ያሇበት ግፍን ሸሽቶ መሄዴ ሇምን
ይረገማሌ?

Wərədəwotə: Briefly: Cursed be a woman who has not received her husband's
permission and blessing, the women of the country urged the Ǧoka Council to
stand up to the verdict of the elders.

Why is it forbidden for a woman who has been abused to get married? Why is it a
curse to flee from a curse that is to be cursed?

Related to the above dialogue, Andreatta & Ferraro (2012b) says culture is an important factor

in shaping identity. Since one of the main characteristics of a culture is its historical reservoir,

many if not all groups undertake revisions, either consciously or unconsciously, in their

historical record to either strengthen the strength of their cultural identity or to forge one which

gives them precedent for actual reform or change. Some critics of cultural identity argue that the

preservation of cultural identity being based upon difference is a divisive force in society.

Sociologically speaking, a group is any given body of people who consider themselves as one.

And, every group bound together by a shared culture operates within certain sets of social

mechanisms, roles, institutions, values, and symbols, all of which fundamentally condition, its

members' perception of the world and its challenges. The members of each culture group in

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə operate in accordance with norms and customs that guide their interactions

with one another and with strangers. This might sound exotic at first, but a quick look at a

person's associations, social life service groups, business associations, etc., will make it clear that

an independent, and sometimes interdependent social culture develops around the group.

Indeed, the pronounced individualism at one end to strong collectivism at the other

individualistic cultures. Anyway, groups become a component of our own personal identity. Not

48
only do they define who we are to others, but they also allow us to become part of something

bigger than ourselves, connecting us with like-minded people, and perhaps allowing us to feel

like we're contributing to a cause we believe in(Hall & Du Gay, 2011).In the same way , Abrams

& Hogg (1990)conceptualizes social identity as a part of an individual's self-concept, derived

from his or her knowledge of membership of a social group or groups, including the value and

emotional significance, the member gets from his or her membership in that group.

In other words, being categorized as a member of certain groups comprises an important part of

an individual self-concept. As we know, human beings are bombarded with a wealth of complex

information concerning other people. We, therefore, have a need to simplify and systematize

such data(Ranjitha & Unnithan, 2018). And one way to achieve this is to generate schematic

mental images of particular types of persons. These images are what we refer to as stereotypes,

and they help us perceive and interpret reality. The men in Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə have a negative

attitude towards women. Women did not do anything regarding with their affairs without a

permission of men council. However, males do anything by meeting in their counsels. In ʾətege

T‘ayətu, for example, Antoneli said the following.

አንቶላኒ፡- (ንዳቱ እየጨመረ) ሃ « ከስበለ፣» እስከመቼ « አሴ

ምኒሌክ ስሌታን ሁለ ሇአንዴ ሴት ሰቶት ፣እሷ ዯሞ በኛ ይቻወታሌ፡፡
አንተዯሞ « ከስበለ» ይሊሌ፡፡ አንዴ ሴት፣ አንዴ መሃይም፣ ትኩር፣
የሃበሻ ሴት፣ የኢታሉያ መንግሥት ክብሩ ሲነካ፣ ትክሙ፣
እንዯዚ……ከአፉ ሲወሰዴ ነዉ፡፡ «ከስበለ»? ……የእኔ የኮንት ፔትሮ
አንቶላኒ አንጉለ፣ በጣይቱ ሴት አንጏሌ ተሸፍኖ፣ በኢሮፓ ሃገር ሁለ፣
በኢታሉያ ሃገርሁለ፣ መሳኪያ ሲሆን ነዉ፡፡ «ከስ በለ?»…. ማነዉ ሴቱ?
እኔ ነዉ ሴቱ፣ ወይስ ጣይቱ ነዉ ሴቱ? ------- «ከስበለ» ምንዴነዉ «
ከስበለ!?» /ጌትነት፣2000 ዓ.ም፣57/

Antholeni:- Cool down. If so, how long will it take? Emperor Məniləkə gives
all his power to a single woman and she also plays with our life. Cool

49
 down. A single woman, illiterate, , an Ethiopian woman, when the dignity
of the Italian government under threat, its interest is alienated, when we
become a fool in all the European regions,…..who is a feminine me or
T‘ayətu (Getənätə, 2007, 57)

This implies that Antoneli does not represent only himself, and he is also a representative of the

male society of Italy, the tyrant Italians as a whole, Europe, a chauvinist male society of the

world and also a raciest white in general.

Before the formulation of social identity theory, stereotype was the subject of intense study.

According to Deaux (1994), scholars believe that people characterize large human groups based

on a few crude attributes. These are learned from a young age, and become more pronounced in

the situation of conflict between groups. They also produce harmful consequences. Within the

context of social identity theory, stereotypes are reconceived as based on category membership.

These stereotypes function according to the belief that all members of a particular group have the

same qualities, which creates a particular in group in opposition to an out-group or particular

group members assumed to be or treated as essentially identical to the other members of the

group. When a specific social identity becomes salient self-perception and conduct become

stereotypical of the in-group, while perceptions of members as the other groups become out

group stereotypical(Stets & Serpe, 2013).

Ideology and identity are also related and that institutions affect us. Thus, these institutions force

us to behave in certain ways and think in certain ways. The institutions are creating our cultural

identity. This is a process called interpolation. In ʾətege T’ayətu, the Italians tried to create an

interpolation in taking ideology. So, cultural identities are constructed through institutions.

History has also a lot to do with women‘s political identity as portrayed in the drama. There is a

50
concept called geographical narcissism. The narratives in the dramas define and situate women‘s

understanding of the world and their society, and also of themselves, and consequently, how they

interact with others. These spheres of narrative or story are essentially the animating force or

soul of a society's self-understanding. According to (Bonk & Graham, 2012, p. 99) ―Narrative

identity is then internalized and evolving story of the self that a person constructs to make sense

and meaning out of his or her life. The story is a selective reconstruction of the autobiographical

past and narrative anticipation of the imagined future that serves to explain, for the self and

others, how the person came to be and where his or her life may be going.‖

The narrative structures in ʾətege T’ayətu and Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə define and situate women‘s

understanding of the world. Their real physical existence, in which they find their world, is their

conceptual framework for understanding the real environment. The way they typically

understand the narrative falls on two basic levels. These are the macrocosm and the microcosm

world. The macrocosmic level is about the narrative of society at large, of the world, and thus in

history. At the level of the microcosm, they are talking about the narrative of the individual

person, her self-identity, who implicitly believes herself to be. This is called a personal

narrative. Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə said:

ወርዴወት፡- ግማሽ አካላ ናት ካሊችሁ ስንት ግማሽ አካሌ አሊችሁ? ግማሽ

አካላ ናት ካሊችሁ አንዴ አባወራ አንዴ ሚስት ትብቃው! ግማሽ አካላ ካሊችሁ
ሴት ሌጅ ከባሌዋ ጋር ጥረው ግረው የዯከሙበት ሏብትን በትዲር ከባሌዋ ጋር
እስካሇች በመሬቱም ሆነ በሏብት ንብረቱ ሊይ እኩሌ ባሇንብረት ሆና በጋራ
እየተጠቀሙ ይኑሩ፡፡

Wərədəwotə:- If you say it is half a body, how many halves do you have? If you
say she is half my body, let a husband has only one wife! If you say a half-
body, let she become equal in all the resources that the spouses work hard.

51
This Dialogue despite seems gendered is about narrative structure. The character
mentions all the injustices committed on women. Societal narrative inYäqaqe
Wərədəwotə is the dominant narratives of society at large; these are often implicit but
reinforced message by social structures by aesthetic and messaging as

4.3. Political Manifestation of Identity

Contemporary Ethiopians suffer from a crisis of identity. They identify themselves more with

their ethnic linens, than as Ethiopians, and will always put their ethnic interests first, before the

national interest. The national passport gives Ethiopians, a sense of collectiveness. However, the

question is whether the passport has achieved its aim of promoting collectiveness among

Ethiopians, or is it real that the passport has given helps in reducing insecurity in the country.

Different factors can create a national identity. The first one is language, and having a shared

language and shared vocabulary can be a very powerful building block of a nation. Another

factor that can help build national identity is ethnicity. Our ethnicity can also play an important

role in creating that sense of national identity. Another important building block of national

identity is culture and history that the dramas deal with. Besides, religion is a key building block

for the formation of nationalism( Getənätə, 2007). For example, Jews, for centuries, didn't have

a nation-state. Israel was formed in the mid-20th century; Jews lived all over the world. But, part

of that national identity comes from their religion, and historically religion is one of the things

that bound. Jewish people are a nation in the world today(Balibar & Wallerstein, 2005).

Another major identity manifestation is the relationship we have to our land. For example,

Ethiopians as portrayed in Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə have very spiritual connections to the land that

they inhabit. The following dialogues of the two characters reflect what has been said so far.

52
 አባ ጋዲ ጅባቦ፡- የአባትዋ መሬት ሴት ሌጅ ትውረስ ብሊችሁ ጠይቃችኋሌ፡፡

ወርዴወት፡- ሇምን ወንዴ ብቻ! ሴትም ሌጅነች - የወሊጆቿን መሬቱን፣ ከብቶቹን

ትውረስ !
ʾäba gada ǧəbabo:- You asked her to inherit her father's land.

Wərədəwotə:- Why only a man! She is a daughter - inherit her parents' land, and
cattle!

T’ayətu mentions that her sacred sites are places where significant things happen to her

ancestors. This is where ancient stories often relate to the present. These sites are uniquely

important to us. She retells the audience that her ancient stories and now and then confirms that

Ethiopians belong to this place in a way that no other human being can. In her dialogues,

Ethiopia is portrayed as sacred geography and she advises her society to follow her path through

life. by following this path, she says people will live long and productive. Her relationship with

the land is too high as.

ጣይቱ፡- ታዱያ የደሮዎቹን እንኳ ቢረሳ የትናንቶቹ አፄ ቴዎዴሮስና

አፄ ዮሏንስ ሇእፍኝ አፈራቸዉ የነበራቸዉን ስስት ዘንግቶ፤ ሇኢትዮጽያዊ
ክብራቸዉ የከፈለትን የሕይወት ዋጋ ከሚዛኑ ዯፍቶ፣ ዛሬ "እባካችሁ
ሃገሬን በናንተ ስር አዴርጉሌኝ" ብል የሚሇምን፣ምኒሌክ የእነማን ሌጅ
ይመስሌሃሌ?... ትዉሌዴስ ምን ይሇናሌ? ታሪክስ ምን ይሇናሌ?...
/ንዳታቸዉንመቆጣጠርእየተሳናቸዉብዴግይሊለ /ትሰማኛሇህሳሉምቢኒ…

T’ayətu:- From the Queen of Sheba to Emperor Yohänəsə, have you ever heard

of an Abyssinian leader negotiating for the dignity and freedom of the

country?

Salimbini - I do not hear Empress

53
 T’ayətu:- Even if he forgets the past, how dare he forgets the love of Emperor

Tewodərosə and Emperor Yohänəsə toward their soil? Remembering the

price. They have paid for their Ethiopian dignity, he prays today, "Please

do my country for me." Whose son do you think Məniləkə is? What does

history tell us? ...

4.4. The Quest for Social Change

Every era in every country attempts to transform society and some succeed; while, others falter.

The women in the three dramas strive to bring social change to their country. In the dialogues,

they converse with, and the playwrights portray them in their quest for building social changes.

The women characters comment on the three core elements of social changes such as the

political system, institutional infrastructure and committed individuals. These components are

shaped both by long social, economic and political trends and un precedence eruptions.

According to (Deaux, 1993), for significant change to occur, all three must be strong. Yäqaqe

Wərədəwotə‘s speech expresses her outrage at systemic inequality, political oppression. She

demands some reforms, and her thinking is now gaining strength as:

ወርዴወት፡- አዎ የጉራጌ ሴት ተበዴሊሇች - ሏቁ ይታይሊት፡፡እንግዱህ ትሌቅ ችግር

የሚያመጣው ሴት ሌጅ ባሌወዯዯችው ቤት መግባቷ ነው፡፡ ስሇዚህም እኛ ሴት ሌጅ
የመረጠችውን የወዯዯችውን ታግባ፤ ይኼ ይፈቀዴሌን፡፡
ወርዴወት፡- ባሌየው ሚስቴን እፈታሇሁ ብል ፍቺ ካሌፈቀዯና አንቂት ካሊነሳ
የቱም ያህሌ ብትበዯሌ የአካባቢ ሽማግላም ግፍ መዋለን ቢያውቅም ፍቺ ሊይ
መወሰን አይችሌም፡፡
አጋዝሲቆራ፡- ነውና ! የአጥቢያ ሽማግላ ጥልሽ አሌከፈሇ፡፡

Wərədəwotə:- Yes, the Gurage woman has been wronged – let her truth is out.
The big problem, then, is that the girl has moved into a house that she does not
like. So let us the girl shall marry whom she loves, and let us marry her. ...

54
 Wərədəwotə:- If the husband does not approve of the divorce and does not raise
the issue of divorce, no matter how much he or she is abused, the local elder will
not be able to decide on a divorce. The local elder did not pay the dowry.

Many of the women depicted in the drama strive for social change that refers to any alteration,

difference, and modification that takes place through time. Change in the dramatic society has

been taken place concerning time, as a society is a wave of social relationship. As we know, a

society is not static but dynamic; however, for most sociologists, social change refers to change

in social structure and any society has also factual reality and normative reality(Bernstein, 2005).

The normative aspect in Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə refers to the status and roles or positions and roles

women have within the society. The drama Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə mentions women‘s various

positions in society and what are the rules associated with them. Different positions have

different statuses. Because of the social rules, and their upbringing in the society, women

develop empathy, and they interpret their social worlds from a given situation and other‘s

expectations or rules. Relationships between roles or positions and relationships between human

beings are often used interchangeably because when we talk about relationships among human

beings, we are only referencing to expected relationships between different positions(Abrams &

Hogg, 1990).

According to (Bonk & Graham, 2012), there are many types of changes taking place in society.

For example, technical or technological, or economic changes may lead to social change, or

social change sometimes brings population, technological and economic change. Service

structure itself may determine population change. In this way, social change is defined as a

change in the social structure(Stets & Serpe, 2013). Sometimes there are changes in belief in the

same religion, or they may be a change of religion. A mere change in belief about Gods and

Goddesses, changing supernatural beliefs do not qualify to be called social change. Only those

55
changes in roles and relationships are considered to be part of social change. Change fulfills

orders in beliefs and values and changes practices. This is a more inclusive definition of social

change(Chang & Ren, 2016).

But change may be slow or maybe fast and they are passing through a period of transition. Many

of the women in the dramas say that they are passing through a period of transition, whether they

are discussing political or family issues. In all respects, the women in the drama and their society

strive for social change. Changes are everywhere in dramas. Changes in cultural symbols,

gender, social order, belief, and values; the standards of truth, beauty, goodness, values,

practices, and practices have also changed. The women in ʾətege T’ayətu and Tewodərosə

identify themselves very strongly with Christianity. Many of them have been influenced by

Christian ideologies. However, we don't know what religion Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə was following.

So, there is a change from the primitive religious tradition to a new one and everything including

the cultural symbols and social order will be changed.

The women in the dramas often challenge the status quo: The status quo is defined as the current

or existing state of affairs. Similarly, Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə challenges to dismantle the status quo;

she resists the norms and values of the social structure. As to (Abrams & Hogg, 1990),status quo

is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regards to social or

political issues in the sociological sense. It generally implies maintaining or changes the existing

social structure and values. The status quo is to keep things the way they presently are. In

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə’ social movement, the status quo has been challenged. The phrase

frequently refers to the status of a large issue, such as the current culture or social climate of an

entire society or nation. When people are seen as supporting the status quo, it is generally seen

56
negatively, and they are often portrayed as being resistant to societal progress and so does

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə.

ወርዴወት፡- ጉዲዩ ባጭሩ፤የባሌ ፈቃዴና የፍቺ ምርቃት ሳትቀበሌ ሇሄዯች ሴት

የሚረግመው የሽማግላዎች የቃሌ እስር አንቂት ይነሳሌን ብሇው የአገሩ ሴቶች
ሇጆካ ሸንጏ አጠንክረው ጠይቀዋሌ፡፡
Briefly, cursed be a woman who has not received her husband's permission and
blessing, the local women urged the Ǧoka Council to demand an end to the verbal
abuse of the elders.

Indeed, for Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə’s thinking, people were supporting the pro-status quo. Yet, she

portrays the formation of resistance identities. Her identities are used in many different ways to

resist changes and she used to resist exploitation. As to Stets & Serpe (2013),there are many

identity discourses, which fear the loss of identity. These are the core of resistance identity.

Resistance identity discourses are much thicker than other types of identity discourses, and this

gives this distinction between thick and thin identities.

One of the skills Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə has critical thinking and persuasion skills. She was aware

of factors that can influence the quality of her thinking; aware of how those same factors can

influence other people's perceptions and beliefs and how others might respond to her efforts to

challenge those perceptions and beliefs. Anyway, identity change is also resistance and society

resists everything in that, the situations become new to it as:

ወርዴወት፡- እንዯ ሌቡ መኖር የሇመዯ ወንዴ በምክር አይመሇስም፡፡በሚስት ሊይ

የተጣሇው
አንቂት ቢነሳ ግን አባወራም ሚስቱ ጥሊው እንዲትሄዴበት በሌኩ ይሆናሌ፡፡
በጥልሽ በገዛኋት ሚስቴ ማን ይዯፍረኛሌ ማሇቱ ያቆማሌ፡፡

Wərədəwotə:- A man accustomed to living modestly does not respond well to

advice. If A sanction thrown on the wife has been left, the husband may not be

57
 able to leave his wife. He stops saying My wife, whom I bought as a dowry, will
be my forever property.
The above quotation shows Wərədəwotə stands for the oppressed women’s in the society of

Gurage. Her stand implies to the idea quality of Wərədəwotə and shows the identity of her.

4.5. Politics, History, and Identity in the Drama

The women in the three dramas have undergone various historical encounters. T’ayətu has faced

Italian aggressions and Täwabäčə has also encounter the historical encounter of the reigns of the

prince. These historical happenings have created their own political configurations. At the end of

the day, women adjust their identities in the spirit of the age and the political configurations. For

example, T’ayətu has struggled to fight against the Italians and Täwabäčə has also sensed the

attempt of Turkish invasion towards Ethiopia. According to history, politics and identity are

related. In a similar way, the drama Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə has portrayed cultural history. The

culture of the Gurage as portrayed in the drama asserts that women do not have any right to

divorce their husbands. Only this cultural history is revoked during the time of Yäqaqe

Wərədəwotə.

ወርዴወት፡-ወርዴወት፡- ግማሽ አካላ ናት ካሊችሁ ስንት ግማሽ አካሌ አሊችሁ?

ግማሽ
አካላ ናት ካሊችሁ አንዴ አባወራ አንዴ ሚስት ትብቃው! ግማሽ አካላ ካሊችሁ
ሴት ሌጅ ከባሌዋ ጋር ጥረው ግረው የዯከሙበት ሏብትን በትዲር ከባሌዋ ጋር
እስካሇች በመሬቱም ሆነ በሏብት ንብረቱ ሊይ እኩሌ ባሇንብረት ሆና በጋራ
እየተጠቀሙ ይኑሩ፡፡ግማሽ አካላ ካሊችሁ ሴት ሰው ናትና የእረፍት ጊዜ
እንዱኖራት ይፈቀዴ፡፡ ግማሽ አካላ ካሊችሁ ሴቶችም ጉዲይ ሲገጥመን በጀፎረ
ተሰብስበን እንዴንመክር በሴቶች ሸንጏ ውሳኔ እንዴንሰጥ ወንዳው የጆካ ሸንጏ
ይወስንሌን፡፡ ግማሽ አካላ ናት ካሊችሁ ሚስት ግፍ ሲበዛባት በአንቂት
አሥራችሁ አታስሇቅሱ - የተበዯሇች ሴት እርግማን አንስታችሁ ፍቺ በሴቶች
ሸንጏ ይወሰን፡፡

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 Wərədəwotə:- If you say it is half a body, how many halves do you have? If you
say she is half my body, let a husband has only one wife! If you say a half-
body, let she become equal in all the resources that the spouses work hard. If
you say it is half a body, she is a woman and she should be allowed to rest.
If you are a woman of half age, the male council will decide for us to
convene a meeting of the women’s council to make a decision. If you say
your wife is half-dead, don’t cry a few times when there is a lot of abuse
– take a curse on the abused woman and let the divorce be decided by
the women’s council.

Identity politics emerges in the late twentieth century to manifest a wide range of political issues.

The range of political activities includes legal, political, and constitutional recognition and

accommodation. Besides, identity politics touches individuals, women, linguistic, ethnic,

cultural, regional, and religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and religious people (Ball &

Bellamy, 2003). The point here is a political system of a country often creates historical contexts

and that history creates identity. Of course, the nexus among politics, history, and identity are

often iterated despite their relationships are mutual.

For centuries long as portrayed in the three dramas, women demand formal and substantive

equality and equal respect for their identity-related differences, in opposition to dominant

patriarchal and heterosexist norms of private and public conduct. They seek different forms of

public recognition, representation, and protection of their languages, cultures, familial lives, and

religions. They struggle not only for the rights of themselves but also for the freedom of others.

Many of their demands are not only for the present legal, political, and economic issues but also

raise historical injustices committed upon women as:

የጥሪው ቃሌ፡፡- ስማ ጉራጌ! አባወራ ነኝ ያሌክ፣ እዴሜህ ሇጋብቻ የዯረሰ ስማ!

ትዲርህን ጏጆህን የምትወዴ ሁለ ስማ! የቃቄ ወርዴወት ትዲሬን ባላን
አሌፈሌግም ብሊ ባሎም ፈቷታሌ፡፡ ከአሁን ወዱያ ትዲሯን የፈታች ሴት ናትና

59
 ያንተን ትዲር እንዲትበጠብጥ ተጠንቅቀህ ንቀሊት ተብሇሏሌ፡፡ሴት ማሇት ዯግሞ
ሌጅህ፣ ሚስትህ፣ እህትህ፣ እናትህ፣ማሇት ናትና ከዚች ቀን አንስቶ ምንም
እንዲታስከፋ ጥብቅ መሌእክት ከጆካ ሸንጏ ስሇወጣ፤አባወራና እዴሜህ ሇጋብቻ
የዯረሰ ሁለ በያሇህበት ጀፎረ፣ በያሇህበት መንዯር ተሰባስበህ፤በግንባር ቀርበህ
ከጆካ የተሊሇፈሌህን አስቸኳይ መሌእክት ጠጋ ብሇህ በገዛ ጀሮህ ተቀበሌ
ተብሇሃሌ!

Listen Gurage! You say you are a man, listen whose age reaches for marriage!
Everyone who loves your home, listen! Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə husband divorced her
because she did not want to marry him. She is no longer a married woman, so be
careful not to disrupt your marriage. A Woman means your child, your wife, your
sister, your mother because from that day onwards a strong message came out of
the court of Ǧoka: Family and all those who are old enough to marry are
gathered in your village, in your village; You are told to come face-to-face with
an urgent message from Ǧoka!

Moving beyond the private level, they experience identities in collective public political affairs.

Their gender, class, religion, social backgrounds, and age, or for that matter any other commonly

shared women‘s experience have been at the center of struggles. The women in the dramas look

at identity politics through the lenses of history as well as politics as:

አንቶላኒ፡- (ንዳቱ እየጨመረ) ሃ « ከስበለ፣» እስከመቼ « አሴ ምኒሌክ

ስሌታን ሁለ ሇአንዴ ሴት ሰቶት ፣እሷ ዯሞ በኛ ይቻወታሌ፡፡ አንተዯሞ «
ከስበለ» ይሊሌ፡፡ አንዴ ሴት፣ አንዴ መሃይም፣ ትኩር፣ የሃበሻ ሴት፣
የኢታሉያ መንግሥት ክብሩ ሲነካ፣ ትክሙ፣ እንዯዚ……ከአፉ ሲወሰዴ
ነዉ፡፡ «ከስበለ»? ……የእኔ የኮንት ፔትሮ አንቶላኒ አንጉለ፣ በጣይቱ
ሴት አንጏሌ ተሸፍኖ፣ በኢሮፓ ሃገር ሁለ፣ በኢታሉያ ሃገርሁለ፣
መሳኪያ ሲሆን ነዉ፡፡ «ከስ በለ?»…. ማነዉ ሴቱ? እኔ ነዉ ሴቱ፣ ወይስ
ጣይቱ ነዉ ሴቱ? ------- «ከስበለ» ምንዴነዉ « ከስበለ!?» /ጌትነት፣
2000 ዓ.ም፣57/

Antholeni:- Cool down. If so, how long will it take? Emperor Məniləkə gives
all his power
to a single woman and she also plays with our life. Cool down. A single
woman, illiterate, an Ethiopian woman, when the dignity of the Italian
government under threat, its interest is alienated, when we become a fool

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 in all the European regions,…..who is a feminine me or T’ayətu
(Getənätə, 2007, 57)

On the above quotation, we can understand the conflict is not only between Antholeni

and Empress T’ayətu. It is also between black and white, male and women, and between

Europe and Africa. So in this case we can say that the identities of Empress T’ayətu is

highly portrayed in political way. In that those dialogue (her defense) and Antholoni’s

ambition to control Ethiopia shows this.

The question is how identity becomes political. For example, T’ayətu traces the

emergence of cultural/political phenomenon in her country and she walks through this

history. She argues that identity politics is essential to creating more just and democratic

societies despite her fellows and the Italians are profoundly critical of how she reflects on

the web of identity, politics, and history of her country.

ተራኪ፡- ተነቃነቀ! ሃገር ከዲር እዲር ሇአንዴ ዓሊማ ተነቃነቀ … ከተተ! ሀገር
እዲር ሇአንዴ ዓሊማ ከተተ… ዘመተ… ሃገሩን ከወራሪ ሉታዯግ፣ ሀገር
ከዲር እዲር ነቅል ዘመተ!!.... እቴጌ ጣይቱም አዱስ አበባ ተቀምጣ አገር
እንዴትጠብቅ ብትጠየቅ፣ ‹አሻፈረኝ› አሇች፡፡ አንቶኔሉን ተሰናዴተን
እንጠብቅሃሇን እንዲሇችዉ ፣ እንዯ ሴት ሇዘመቻ የሚያስፈሌገዉን የሸክሊ
እቃ ሁለ ፣ የአገር ሸክሊ ሰሪ አሰባስባ በቅዴሚያ አሰናዴታ፣ እንዯ
አዝማች ከ300 ያሊነሰ ፈረሰኛ ጦሯንና 6000 የሚዯርስ እግረኛ
ሠራዊቷን መርታ፣ ከእምዬ ምኒሉክ ጋራ ዘመተች፡፡ በጥቅምት 2 ቀን
ከአዱስ አበባ የተነሳዉ ጦር….. ጊድን፣ ወረኢለን፣ ዯሴን ፣ ጃሬን፣
መርሳን፣ አሊማጣን፣ ወፍሊን፣ አሸንጌን ፣ አምባሊጌን፣ አቆራርጦ ታህሳስ
29 ቀን ከመቀላ ዯረሰ፡፡ እቴጌ ጣይቱ ብርሃን ዘኢትዮጵያ ‹‹የእኔ ሴትነት
ያንተ ወንዴነት የሚሇየዉ፣ እዚያዉ ከጦሩ ሜዲ ሊይ ነዉ›› እንዲሇች፣

61
 ቃሎን ጠብቃ ፣ እንዲየሱስ ጉባታ ሊይ ከመሸገ የጠሊት ሠራዊት ጋር
ሇፍሌሚያ ተፋጠጠች፡፡ /ጌትነት፣ 2000 ዓ.ም፣ 92-93/

Narrator:-Shaken! The country is moving from one end to the other. Gathered in a single
place! All the people of the country are set up for a purpose, marching for a
battlefield…. it will "fight" to save the country from invaders!! "We are ready and
waiting for you," said Antonelli. The army that left Addis Ababa. As a woman, she
assembled and prepared all the pottery needed for the campaign, leading an army
of no less than 300 cavalry and 6,000 infantry, and marched with emperor
Məniləkə. The army that left Addis Ababa on October cross.. gido፣ wäräʾilunə፣
däse, ǧare, märəsa, ʾälamat'a, wäfəla, ʾäšänəge , ʾäməbalage, arrived in Mäqäle

on December 29. Empress T’ayətu Bərəhanə Zäʾitəyop'əya says,." the Difference

between My femininity from your masculinity will be seen right there on the
battlefield,", keeping her word, and confronted the enemy army, which was hiding
in the mountainous area of ʾənədayäsusə. (Getənätə, 2000, 92-93)

Overall, history plays a great role in shaping the political, economic, social and cultural aspects

of a society. Then, the political, cultural and social system by in turn affects the historical aspects

of the society. In this way, members of the society including women have begun to develop their

own reconfigured identities in line with the historical and political winds of the time.

In general, both history and politics are good bedfellows. Both have reciprocal relationships and

the synthesis of the two disciplines affects all walks of life in a given society. History, politics

and identities are often found in a historical continuum.

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 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions, and recommendations of the study.

5.1. Conclusions

This study is all about the portrayal of women‘s political gender identity who are delineated in

three selected Amharic dramas. The study at the very beginning argues that women‘s identities

in Ethiopian historical dramas are more political than gendered. Accordingly, the study tries to

answer the following four major research questions. First, how women‘s identity is politically

portrayed? Second, how their political identity is manifested. Third, women‘s reaction to the

social systems. Finally, the study tries to interlink the nexus among politics, history, and identity.

The study has concluded the following major points. First, the women depicted in the historical

plays are portrayed politically and in terms of their gendered identity and powerful position.

They are depicted as politically strong, determined, courageous, and brave. Besides, the women

oppose all those social systems, the economic inequalities, and the traditional practices that harm

their benefits. To this end, they show strong resistance towards society and society‘s values.

They often challenge the status quo which is harmful to them. Finally, the study concludes that

there is a strong interrelationship between history, politics, and identity. All these three concepts

are reciprocal among themselves. History affects the political system and vice versa. The politics

then affect women‘s identity and women‘s identity affects the history of the nation.

From the analyzed dramas, it can be concluded that women characters try to maintain their

identity. In the course of this, they challenge their society and their husbands. They make

significant efforts to bring social change within the society. All the women in the three dramas

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want peace, freedom, and all of them dislike attacks of all kinds. All of them love their country

and their society. As to Hoftra (2020, p. 1)―Womanhood is an ever-changing conceptualization,

a fluid idea defined by society and culture; a biological fact that has created various implications

for women all over the world.‖. The study has also identified the various stereo types within the

society that affect women‘s identity. Society has also a strong assumption to see all women‘s

identities in terms of beauty. Ranjitha & Unnithan (2018, p. 1)also report this same perception as

―being an ideal woman is being beautiful and feminine, and to have stereotyped perfect bodies

and behavior. These seem to be driven by the expectations from men, which bring transitions in a

woman‘s public and private self. The study has also discussed the implications to marketing and

advertising.‖. Finally, the three dramas also portray about the quest for social change is where

human interactions and relationships transform cultural and social institutions over time to create

impact upon society.

5.2. Recommendations of the Study

Women in literary works are often examined from recurrent concepts such as representation and

gendered issues. And, the theoretical frameworks that researchers often use to examine women

are more of the feminist angles. This study, however, has examined female characters from a

political angle; hence, the theoretical framework the study used is the political approach.

Therefore, future studies can also examine women‘s identity from psychological, sociological,

anthropological, and so on perspectives. Besides, this study has taken women of the upper

classes from their respective positions. Thus, other future studies should also consider women of

ordinary classes and study them from different theoretical angles. Overall, dramas cannot be

64
considered simple reflections of social reality. In turn, they are thought to produce their

meanings by complex codes, conventions, narrative and generic attributes.

Identity is a big part of people‘s everyday lives. It influences both how we see ourselves and the

world to some extent. The different types of identity such as personal, social, cultural, group,

political, and nationalistic identities are more originated with the mix of history and politics. In

these different forms of identities, there are images of men and women, which are represented in

different ways and with different characteristics. By using political analysis, the result shows that

the various types of women‘s identity representation show political power challenge and

patriarchal privilege. These images of identities in dramas affect our perception of what a man or

a woman is. The women characters as portrayed in the dramas are strong enough to stand by

themselves. Our society continues to associate qualities like strength, intellect, and autonomy

with men; while, they associate qualities like weakness, emotion, and dependence with women.

The portrayals of women that have political figures can be a model for other Ethiopian women

and this can be one of the strongest sides of all the three dramas. These positive depictions can

help Ethiopian women of the past, the present and the future. Täwabäčə in Tewodərosə can be a

model of generosity, patriotism and heroine for Ethiopian women. Similarly, ʾEtege T'ayətu.

In Getənätə ʾEnəyäwə’s drama is portrayed having a quality of winner, pride, patriotic and so on.

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə also exhibits a feature of social defenders and she often strives for social

change, justice, equality and open society. Overall, all the female characters in the drama show

positive qualities related to their political lives and these can be a motivation for all the

generations of Ethiopian women.

65
Unfortunately, all the positive features of all these women characters have not gone to the end of

each dramatic storyline. For example, ʾEtege T'ayətu as depicted in the drama was expelled from

the royal palace by the royal nobilities and inner circles. The playwright depicts her in defeat in

the end of the storyline of the drama. Therefore, it is possible to say that her political identity

has not been presented in a static way up to the end of the drama.

Similarly, Täwabäčə in Tewodərosə drama has not been portrayed in a fixed way. She was

unfortunate to see a united Ethiopia where her husband often dreams to see Ethiopia in such a

way. Moreover, the playwright portrayed her in less strength as compared with other men

characters of the drama. She does not have any prominent role in the drama as compared with

other men characters. Her dream has been short-lived. Thus, we can say that her positive

depictions have not stayed long-lasting.

Yäqaqe Wərədəwotə, despite portrayed as committed, determined, heroine and change maker,

was alone to fight all the social injustices done upon women. She cannot mobilize the other

women to defend the social injustice. She lives and struggles alone without the inclusion of

others. Overall, she becomes successful in defending the traditional harmful practices; yet, she

wins all alone. She cannot produce other strong women.

66
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ጫንያሇው ወሌዯ ጊዮርጊስ፡፡ (ያሌታተመ ተውኔት 2005 ዓ.ም)፡፡ የቃቄ ውርዴወት፡፡ አዱስ

አበባ፣ የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ቴአትር

ጌትነት እንየው፡፡ (2000 ዓ.ም)፡፡ እቴጌ ጣይቱ፡፡ አዱስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቴ ፕሬስ፡፡

ጸጋዬ ገብረ መዴኅን፡፡ (2003 ዓ.ም)፡፡ ታሪካዊ ተውኔቶች፡፡ አዱስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ ፕሬስ፡፡