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Ethiopia - People & Society
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On the way to the market. |
Ethiopia’s people belong to many different ethnic groups,
including the Oromo, Amhara, Tigre, Gurage, Niloti, Somali, and
Danakil. The official language is Amharic but English, French, Italian,
and Arabic, and at least 100 local languages are spoken. Ethiopia’s
culture and tradition have been greatly influenced by both Christian
and Muslim religions. Today there are large numbers of Christians,
Muslims, as well as people of other major religions, and local animist
beliefs.
Ethiopia is working to rebuild itself after years of civil war,
drought, famine, and an oppressive regime which made it, for many
years, one of the poorest countries in the world. Most Ethiopians,
85 per cent of the population, live in rural areas and earn a living
from agriculture.
Food & Drink
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Pouring coffee from a jebena,
a traditional clay-fired coffee-pot |
Injera (Ethiopian flat bread) is the mainstay of the Ethiopian
diet; it is made from Ethiopian teff cereal. Most dishes are based
on Wat or We’t, the sauce in which meat and vegetables are
cooked: kay is a fiery and spicy sauce, or there’s
the milder one, called alicha. The southern region of Kefa
claims to be the original home of coffee, and the bean has been
grown in Ethiopia since 1000AD. T'ella is the local beer
made from barley or maize, and t'ej is honey wine.
Time and date
Ethiopia is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, but a 12-hour
clock is sometimes used locally, and this can be very confusing
to visitors. The first ‘cycle’ starts with ‘one’
at 7am and continues until ‘12’, at 6pm. The second ‘cycle’
starts at 7pm (‘one’), and goes on until 6am (‘12’).
Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of 12 months
of 30 days each, and a 13th month of just five days (six in a leap
year). The calendar is about eight years behind the Western (Gregorian)
calendar.
Sport
Ethiopia has produced many outstanding athletes, especially in
the Marathon, and other long-distance running events, including:
Olympic Gold Medallists Fatuma Roba (Marathon), and Haile GebreSellassie
(10,000 metres).
Arts and Crafts
Ethiopian church architecture and wall paintings are famous, especially
the 12 ancient churches carved from rock at Lalibela, a World Heritage
Site. Ethiopian silversmithing is remarkable for the imagination
and the skill it entails.
Photos: Jenny Matthews/Oxfam
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