Talk:Ethiopia

this article fails to recognize that ethiopia has no date of independence. no, it's not "nationalistic pride" as the moron who posted before claims. it's the truth. also, this article is biased on the current regime--yes, it is as a matter of fact a regime--and makes it look like the protesters blew themselves up because the government lied about it. did you know that voice of america had three of their reporters there arrested and killed? please take this article off the good articles list because as a regular wikipedia reader i am very angry with the biasement and factual inaccuracies of this so-called "good" article.

Deforestation

The Deforestation section appears to be a school (middle to high school) level essay on deforestation in Ethiopia simply copied and pasted into this section. As such, it makes too many exploratory statements about the nation that are covered elsewhere in the article. In addition to the tone being drastically different, the section also cites sources in an un-wiki format. Lutskovp 19:04, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Holidays

The "Holidays" table is certainly only for one specific year, as many of the Christian and Islamic holidays are movable feasts. This should be stated somewhere!

• Well, I've made an attempt at it, making a note of holidays that vary from year to year. So this calendar will work for the rest of 2005. Also, I was not sure what Mulud (May 2) is (a Google search indicates it might be an Indonesian holiday). I have removed this, at least for now. -- Gyrofrog 04:43, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

History

Arabian origins to Ethiopian civilization Africans are almost completely removed from the study of their own history. A history viewed through 18th century eyes which apply 18th century models of geography and race interpretation based on limited knowledge and understandings. Thus 8th century Africa is understood through 18th century models which would have been non-existents in that period. The concept of Southern Arabia’s relationship is understood today by the current geo-political models of Africa and Arabia. However at the pre-Axsumite history in Ethiopia this notion would not have held and thus almost distractive to think in these 21st century geographical terms of African and Arabia. Thus to see the people from Arabia as non-African is baseless as no one would assume the Ormo from Kenya were a non-African race. --82.43.64.41 01:02, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

The historical section only includes the most recent events. Someone should summarize the earlier history. --Shallot 12:24, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I like the 'timket' celebration. It is a wonderful. —preceding unsigned comment by 213.55.64.98 (talk • contribs) 07:15, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Cush founded Ethiopia in 6280 B.C. There were two capitals, Napata and Meroe. Ethiopia in it's earliest history included not only Africa but Southern Asia as far as India, according to Herodotus (525 B.C.).Prof. Dorsey, one of the foremost and realistic of the modern Anthropologists says, "Wherever the Indian Ocean touches land it finds dark-skinned people with strong developed jaws, relatively long arms, and kinky or frizzly hair. Call that the Indian Ocean, or Negroid division of the human race" (Why We Behave Like Human Beings, p. 44). Gotta go, I'll include more later. Tom 05/22/06

1) I wish people would remove politics from history and stop pumping themselves up with false empty pride from something that if it was not mythical, happened so long ago that it has no bearing or reflection on what you are and what you did today on your own. History should be an objective rendering of facts which maight give insight and background to present day realities, but let alone ancient history you cannot even honestly take credit for what your own mother and father did!

2) The hypocrisy! There is no reason for "Ethiopians" of today, to usurp the history of peoples in Sudan (Meroe and Napata) and even as far away as the Indian Ocean and call it theirs based on the rantings of some ignorant ferenji who could not distinguish between the nations of black people with kinky hair. The whole name "Ethiopia" is ferenji to begin with and ignorantly generalizes all black people south of Egypt as one nation. So unless you are writing "History of Subsaharan Africa (South Arabia and South Asia), you don't need to repeat the Europeans ignorance and take pride from forgery, ignorance and false information when it suits you, then accuse them of racism or cultural imperialism or whatever when it doesn't suit you.

2) You want to find racism and cultural imperialism? Know yourself. What do you call describing Damot, Saba, Axum etc as if it was the only and unified chronological history of the same one country and same nation over three millenia until modern Ethiopia? I guess it is ok to use "Ethiopia" to describe the history of the Abyssinian kingdoms because they are the ones who adopted this European name based on the European ignorance of thinking there was just one nation with people of burnt faces south of Egypt (from Greek version of the) Bible. But what about the history of the peoples who were CONQUERED when this Abyssinian Empire EXPANDED. Where is the mention of that? Don't these people have their own history? Or were they just barbarc half-animals with no history until they became associated with the civilized northerners from the Abyssinia? Ring a bell? Who is the racist now? Who is the cultural imperialist now?

If you have an accurate and honest portrayal of Ethiopia's geopolitical history (using correct terminology), it could actually shed some light on the CURRENT problems facing the country (regarding seccesionism, ethnic conflicts etc) instead of denying and hiding from the highly uncomfortable truth. Other than not being racist or ethnically/culturally chauvinistic towards the majority of Ethiopians (the "Galla", "Shankilla", "Taltal" and many other slaved peoples) you would also be doing yourselves a favor by facing up to your problems and dealing with them instead of continuing the sins of your fathers. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.49.251.132 (talk • contribs) 17:25, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

You say the name Ethiopia is "ferenji"??? Tell that to Haile Selassie I, he is the one who argued considerably and at length that it is the most appropriate name for the nation to be known by internationally, instead of Abyssinia! This is a page for discussing specific changes for the article and what sources back them up, not soapboxing our opinions. It seem like you are vaguely lecturing those who wrote this article, which is a very good article. So what specific changes would you like to see, and what sources back them up? We already have listed both opinions about the name, both the traditional view that it is indigenous, and the more recent ferenji view where they try to take credit for it for the Greeks by folk-etymology. NPOV means all significant views are going to be represented, along with their sources, are you suggesting that only one view be represented? ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 17:37, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

The anonymous contributor might be interested to see other Wikipedia articles such as Kingdom of Kaffa, Welayta people, or Kingdom of Jimma just to cite a few examples. But again, this talk page is for improving the article, not for debating the subject (nor is it for personal attacks). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 18:01, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

I am not anonymous I am zeragito, I just hadn't logged in sorry. Thank you for that link now this is what I'm talking about! I am also talking about the Oromo migrations, the Gada system, the Harar sultanate and all these things which should not be "separate" articles unless you are trying to say they belong less on the Ethiopia page because they are not really Ethiopians. Why do I have to find a separate article on them? Why are they not on the Ethiopia page? ARen't they Ethiopians?

Zeragito, I think your concerns are completely valid but there is no need (nor place) for the combative tone. "Sins of your fathers," "ignorant farenji" and "pot-smoking Ras-Tafari" do not advance the discussion at all. I think the information in the articles I mentioned could be better incorporated into the article, though not in too much detail — that's why they have separate articles. (Otherwise the main Ethiopia article could become unmanageably long.) I haven't looked at the separate History of Ethiopia article lately so I don't know if or how well it represents this same information. Though it might be a better place to go into a bit more depth than the Ethiopia article itself. P.S. You can sign and timestamp your comments using four tilde characters: ~~~~ -- Gyrofrog (talk) 18:32, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

There may be many opinions but there is only one truth and that is 'Ethiopia' is a ferenji name and it is a reference to an area which never existed as one unified vast Empire. There is no basis to state that or describe history as such. But you are right, all opinions should be represnted and the facts backing them, it will be clear for all to see then which is more than likely to be the true one, let the people judge for themselves. As far asking Haile Selassie I questions about the truth in this or that, well he is dead by the way and I don't know why I should take the ramblings of a man who usurped the throne from his brother in law, maintained a medeival feodal nation and stashed billions of dollars worth of a famine prone countries meager wealth in swiss bank accounts (being recuperated as we speak), as some kind of authority on the truth of anything. I am not a pot-smoking Ras-Tafari either so I don't recognize him as immortal god (he died after all). As far as changes, I don't mind reading about Damot, Axum and the many "Kings" or "Emperors" and the era's in which they ruled "Ethiopia". My point was not that this was false information. My point was that this is only PART of the picture and does not describe or represent ALL of Ethiopia's many peoples and their history. Emperor Amda Seyon or Gabremskal or whoever from back in 1426 or 1527 or whatever was not emperor of ALL Ethiopia as we know it today in 2006. They were ruling of an area which may have called itself "Ethiopia" at that time but it only corresponds with a small part of what is known as "Ethiopia" today in 2006 catch my drift? In fact their history does not even represent the majority of the Ethiopian people today, who had other things going on at 1427 or 1527 and were not "Ethiopians" then. What about THEIR history? What about the history of when "Ethiopia" took them over and slaved them? No mention of that? So basically Ethiopian history is only about the "Habesha", everybody else (Majority of Ethiopians) is just irrelevant until they are put into the context of being part of the "Habesha" Empire? You see what is wrong with this picture?

Why don't Ethiopians look like the rest of the africans in Africa? Ethiopians have straighter noses and different hair, were Ethiopians mixed with Indians or something long ago?

Secular state

I'm confused by this statement:

Ethiopia is the oldest secular state in the world.

Was Ethiopia ever a secular state before the Derg era? And then this is immediately followed with:

Christianity was officially adopted...

- Gyrofrog 05:27, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• See "Clean up" section below. I reworded this and moved it to "Demographics." - Gyrofrog 23:35, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Why don't Ethiopians look like the rest of the africans in Africa? Ethiopians have straighter noses and different hair, were Ethiopians mixed with Indians or something?

I thought Ethiopia was a secular nation (officially) furthermore I also thought that if not balanced, Muslims outnumbered Christians. Anyway, the introduction page alludes to the contrary. --Merhawie 08:00, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Clean up

Someone placed a "Clean up" template here and so I've made an attempt to clean up the first paragraph. Some of the information seemed a little specific for the first paragraph, considering there are specific sections in the article (which themselves contain links to more specific articles). I moved some information to the "Geography" section and some to "Demographics." I wasn't really sure what to do with this:

Even then, much of the country never gave way to the occupying power, and groups of rebels (known as Patriots) continued to fight a guerilla war against the Italians. The Italians were ousted in 1941 with the help of the British Army.

...but I didn't think it really belonged in the introductory paragraph, which is why I've removed it (for now). The article still needs a lot of work, though. - Gyrofrog 23:23, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Anuzutica

Hello. An anonymous editor has created an article Anuzutica and linked to it from Ethiopia and Derg. This is a prank, right? Maybe someone who is a regular editor of Ethiopia can comment. Thanks in advance for any information. Regards and happy editing, Wile E. Heresiarch 16:56, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• I am almost positive that it's a prank (and I feel like a chump for qualifying that with "almost"). I'm nominating Anuzutica for deletion. - Gyrofrog 20:08, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• • Thanks for following up. I'll take a look at the vfd listing. Wile E. Heresiarch 21:48, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• This is a troll and "Anuzutica" is a hoax. This person has also repeatedly vandalized Help:Contents and Wikipedia:Community Portal.

Date of independence

Ethiopia's date of independence sure is attracting a lot of attention. Specifically, various individuals keep deleting it. We went through something similar a month or two ago when the date kept going back and forth from 1941 (defeat of Italian forces) to 1944 (Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement). The December 1944 date would seem to be official, and this is cited within the article (twice). Unless someone can provide a good explanation as to why this date is incorrect, the article should use "December 1944." Otherwise I, for one, will continue to revert edits if I see the date changed or deleted. I have left comments on the talk pages of those who have made such edits over the last couple of days. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 18:51, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

And speaking of the date of independence, should the relevant sentences be moved from the introductory paragraph down to the "History" section? Maybe just mention something like "except for the Italian invasion" in the first paragraph, and move the specific info to "History." IMHO it seems a little weird to have a citation in the first paragraph (and I do think we should keep the citation). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:05, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I think there's a bit of nationalistic pride mixed with a plausible claim here -- it all depends on how you interpret the Italian interlude: should one see it as a period of colonialism, admittedly delayed 50 years from the height of the colonial movement; or should it be seen as one more occupied country in the way several European countries were occupied by Axis Powers during World War II? There is evidence to support either view.

Ethiopia could be said to have fallen into the same catagory as, say Sudan or Morocco, where a European power absorbed an internationally-recognized polity by placing a thin layer of foreign beauracrats & military over a local elite who were self-identified with that polity, & in many ways continued to run things. For both of those countries, European control was an interlude which merely suspended, but did not change, the dynamics within that country prior to annexation. If this is the case, then one could say that Ethiopia did have a "date of independence", & it needs to be defined.

On the other hand, a number of countries were effectively occupied or absorbed in the manner Ethiopia was, & re-emerged after WW II. Examples would be Czechoslovakia, Austria, & I believe Thailand (by the Japanese). As Thailand would show, not all Occupied Countries were in Europe. In this case, then the question of a "date of independence" is moot. Is there a "date of independence" for, say, the United Kingdom?

As I understand it, Ethiopians are very jealous -- & rightly so -- over the possession of the longest recorded continuous history for any country in Africa -- excepting, of course, Egypt. But to support this claim, some contrary details get overlooked; for example, there is a lengthy Dark Age between the end of the Axumite Kingdom (circa AD 700) & the beginning of the Zagwe dynasty (either AD 950 or 1150). This jealousy does not allow a dispationate consideration of the question whether Ethiopia actually ended in 1936, & therefore whether there was a "date of independence". -- llywrch 21:37, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

True, I didn't want to have the date there, as it only pertained to 8 years or so out of several centuries. But when the original 1941 vs. 1944 dispute came up, the case for the latter seemed pretty clear. I suppose one option (perhaps the most neutral of all?) is simply to omit the Date of Independence from the infobox entirely. This has been done with both the France and Japan articles, for example (though I'm not sure of the specific reason for the omissions where those 2 are concerned). That way, let the reader see the details for him or herself while reading the actual article. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:12, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Another approach would be to put the date in with a footnote explaining the controversy, perhaps with a reference to the place in the article where it is addressed. That way, the date is included, but the reader is made aware that there are other views. Ground Zero 22:20, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I think it is incorrect to put that Ethiopia received it's independence from Italy, as it was already a sovereign country before Italy occupied it. Also after Italy left Ethiopia retained the same languages, culture, laws, borders, government structure, and regime (including the return of the previous monarch in exile); these are some things that many other European countries didn't have after World War II, but France is not listed to have gained it's independence from Germany.

In short to portray Italy's five year control of Ethiopia was anything more then a brief occupaion by Italian Fascists, would be misleading. Mesfin 15:31, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

The point is won by citing France and none of Europe celebrate independance after German occupation, big difference Most of Ethiopia was never under Italian rule. only a few key cities, only thing changed is now Ethiopians say "chow" , baka!--Halaqah 20:52, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

External links and references

Does anyone else think that the list of external links is becoming unwieldy? I think the list could be pared down but I'm not sure where to begin. There also seems to be some jockeying for the "pole position" where some links are moved further up the list, which I assume is to gain visibility. I've been trying to keep the "CIA Factbook" and "Maps of Ethiopia" links near the top, as these are actual references (or in the former case, a primary source) for the article itself. Perhaps these two should go under the "References" section instead, and just alphabetize the rest? And speaking of "References," this section was deleted a while back. I've since restored it, as it contains a "Works cited"-style reference (the only one for this article, thus far). Specifically, that citation is for the date of independence (see above, "Date of independence"). I thought if it was included in the article, there might be less modifications/deletions of that date (again, see above). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:01, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Why should I even read this at all???? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.52.216.253 (talk • contribs) 17:47, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Independence

As far as I know, Ethiopia was never a British colony, so how could it gain independence from Britain in 1944, as the article states?

It was an Italian colony taken by the British in WWII, they would have occupied and administered the country til 44--nixie 11:56, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

Languages

A paragraph with links on the languages of Ethiopia is needed.

There is now a partial list. I have a question about languages, though. I'm under the impression that the Amharic language is no longer the sole official language. However, I doubt that all of the languages are official. Anyone know for certain? I bring this up because of an edit that occurred to the Somali language article. There were some mistakes, but the editor did assert that Somali is one of the official languages in Ethiopia. I assume this is true, at the very least in Somali Region. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 5 July 2005 18:55 (UTC)

Hello. I am working on the german site and made a Projekt:Ethiopia and tried to find all articles still to be written. Could be usefull for this site, though it is German. For Languages of Ethiopia try this wonderfull site-- Andro96 14:38, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

Ethiopia was not colonized neither by the Italians nor the Birtish. Ethiopia is the only Indepedent country in the history of Africa.

What this page needs

this article needs a COMPLETE list of all the ethiopian ethnic groups. unfortunately, i don't know near all of them myself, so i can't contribute this to the article. Gringo300 07:42, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Ethiopian names

As I understand it, Ethiopians do not have family names. In other words, the Ethiopian historian Taddesse Tamrat's proper name is a compound noun with a space in it, like "ice cream". Since this is based on materials 20+ years old, is this still the case? Should we have an "Ethiopian patrol" to fix this mistake where we find it? -- llywrch July 1, 2005 18:55 (UTC)

Ethiopians use their Fathers name as their second name... than their father's father's name and so on. EX:(your name, your fathers, your grandfathers, your great, grandfathers, your great, great, grandfather....ect) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.198.245.57 (talk • contribs) 20:06, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Eras B/CE vs. BC/AD

Two anonymous editors have changed the eras from the earlier CE to AD. First 132.24.126.26 (talk · contribs) [1] on Jun. 8, 2005, and now today, 81.19.57.146 (talk · contribs) [2]. Both changes were made without edit summaries, and neither adds anything except perhaps a specific POV to the article. Since the original usage [3] was CE, I am, in keeping with what I believe is the least POV way to approach this, at least until the argument about the proper use of eras is settled, reverting both to CE, pending explanations for why they were changed. Tomer ^TALK July 5, 2005 19:49 (UTC)

How do I see the Amharic?

Amharic just shows up like this on my computer: ??????????????????? just a bunch of question marks. How do I download the font? Revolución 18:52, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I found this link at the Amharic Wikipedia. I can't remember which one I used, I think it was GF Zemen (under the "TruType") section (that was for the Mac - I think I got Virtual Ge'ez to work in Windows). What type of computer are you using? (It might make a difference.) --

Thank you! Revolución 23:36, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

Gyrofrog (talk) 19:17, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Amharic is a stupidly difficult font to find; I got a few of them from around the net, by Googling for Amharic truetype unicode font, and eventually one worked. Try Gyrofrog's first. :) --Golbez 20:47, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

Technically it's Ge'ez or Ethiopic, as other languages (Tigrigna & Tigre, to name only a couple) use the same writing system (analagous to our use of the Roman alphabet). Finding the font is not as hard as getting it to work. I gave up trying on my older Powerbook (still running Mac OS 9). Typing the language is another story - I remember seeing an Ethiopic typewriter - and I assume there is some way to map a regular computer keyboard to the font. Kind of a moot point as I can barely read it anyway! ;-) -- Gyrofrog (talk) 21:31, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

I'm using WinXP and in IE at least, ጌኤዝ fonts show up just fine. Tomer ^TALK 00:23, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

Actually it is spelled ግዕዝ...! I have been an admin at http://am.wikipedia.org since August, and the site has improved a lot in the last couple of months, but we still need more contributors who can write Amharic! If anyone reading this writes Amharic, or knows someone who does, let them come and contribute! If you can't see the font, look for a link on the main page there that says "Can't see the font?"...

And while I'm at it, some other wikipedias in Ethiopian languages that haven't really got off the ground yet include:

• Tigrinya (ti.wikipedia.org)
• Oromifaa (oo.wikipedia.org)
• Afar (aa.wikipedia.org)

So if you happen to know anyone with any ability in those languages, do pass the word along! አመሰግናለሁ Codex Sinaiticus 15:29, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

I cant see any of the fonts but i can see the fonts on the Amharic version of the site---Halaqah 19:46, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

see font section on the amharic wikipedia

Religion

Someone mind adding something about religion? Isn't this considered a very holy place in some religions especially Rastafari?

There is information on religion, and links to further information, under both Demographics and Culture. - BanyanTree 16:08, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

This was edited from the front page. I'm not sure by whom. In 944 B.C. Zera, King of Ethiopia, invaded Egypt and Palestine with one million men (according to the Bible) and is beaten back by disease and the armies of Asa, King of Judea. In 70 A.D. Juda, the eunuch of Candace was baptised by the Apostle Philip. Also in 70 A.D. Candace established Christianity at her capitol, Axum, making Ethiopia the first Christian nation. In 341 A.D. Christianity was restored in Ethiopia by Abraha and St. Frumentius. Ethiopia is mentioned in the bible (King James Version) several times beginning as early as Genesis 2nd chapter 13th verse. These early Africans were religously vibrant centuries before their encounter with Greeks or Europeons. Tom 05/22/06

That was me, Tom. The Ethiopia in the Bible in most cases is almost assuredly referring to Nubia, and not the modern Ethiopian state or its predecessors. The 341 AD date is a little off, too, btw (more like 320s).:Yom 16:26, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm confident of the middle 4th century for the restoration of Christianity in Ethiopia but I feel the difference too small to be debate worthy. I do however agree that the Ethiopians referred to themselves as Nubians. There were two types of Ethiopians and also two capitals, Napata and Meroe (whose mighty ruins still stand). The Northern Ethiopians had wooly hair and the southern ones had straight hair. Hair texture was their only difference. Cush established an empire extending through China, India and Afghanistan. The bible also speaks of Arabian Ethiopians, who were Cushs offspring living in Midian (II Chron.21:16; Hab.3:7) The connective proof between the ancient and modern Ethiopians is their written langauge, (Ghez) which is derived from the Meroitic Ethiopia. Ethiopia also extended south-east on the Red Sea. This was Habashat-the Abaseni (Abyssinia) of the Greeks. It was also founded by Cush with it's capital being Axum. These two Ethiopias drifted apart in the 4th century A.D. when the Abyssinian Ethiopia invaded the Nubian one. The first king of the Abyssinian Ethiopia was Ori, 4470 B.C. Haile Selassie I, was its 334th ruler. Modern Ethiopians have a connected list of their kings since Ori. Ancient and modern Ethiopia are both Geographically and genetically connected. I really wish that you hadn't erased my input on the front page. It was well placed. Tom 5/22/06

Ignoring the 4th century date (it doesn't really matter as it's not sure anyway what time exactly Ezana's inscriptions were made), I still have to disagree with you fundamentally on your characterization of pre-Aksumite history. Who are the Northern Ethiopians & Southern ones? I've heard of Eastern & Western (Indian and African, respectively) and even Leuko (white - in NW Africa) ones, but never N & S. The reference to the Cushites having an empire (by Herodotus, right?) was most certainly him just naming the places that had dark-skinned inhabitants and assuming they were all from the same empire. Ethiopia certainly included modern Ethiopia (Habeshat), but it didn't begin to be used exclusively for it until the 4th century under Ezana. Certainly Meroitic influences can be seen in pre-Aksumite civilization (more specifically pre-D'mt), but how can you say they were the same? Firstly, the Meroitic language hasn't even been deciphered yet, so any claim that Ge'ez is its direct descendent is preposterous. And Ori? Where are you getting this from? The connected list you are referring to is actually very broken. Only 1270- is for certain, with the Zagwe dynasty not completely fixed (due to lists with more and fewer names in existence), a gap between Aksum and Zagwe that no one knows the size of, numerous gaps in the list of the Kings of Aksum, a huge unknown gap between D'mt and Aksum (With D'mt only having 4 known kings, - W`RN HYWT, R'DM, RBH, and LMN). Unless you're talking about the legendary list (which is technically unbroken), but that doesn't match up at all with known Kings of Aksum and can be largely disregarded for the construction of a king list. Your addition may have been well-placed, but it wasn't well-researched. I'm curious where you get this "Ori" figure from, though. That's a new one for me.

Yom 01:41, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, had to take a break for awhile. Yom, for Ori, you'll have to research a little more with Ethiopians. You have already stated that you don't trust the Ethiopians Chronical of themselves, preferring I suspect the Chronicals of non-Ethiopian historians. This outside research is why the front page of this article is focused on Ethiopia A.D. instead of centuries of regal B.C. existence. To state that Ethiopia's first verifiable kingdom of power rose in the first century B.C. required the ommission of several centuries of history. But enough of that. This page of this article was about religion. About 691 B.C. Tirhakah became the third Pharoah of the Twenty-Fifth Egyptian Dynasty during the Ethiopian (occupational) period. Ethiopia earlier had conquered Egypt to the mouth of the Nile. His control over Egypt and Ethiopia gave him unlimited power. Isaiah 37:9 The Old testament is full of facts about Ethiopia's dominance as what was then a world power. Tom 06/07/06

Not the first verifiable kingdom (as of now that's either D`mt or Punt, depending on the latter's location), but the first verifiable kingdom of great power. Tirhakah was the king of Ethiopia, but not Ethiopia as we know it today, but rather the kingdom of Kush, located in present-day Sudan. Most references to the bible of Ethiopia were translated from Hebrew Kush back when Ethiopia was also a term to mean any black person or black Africa (and not necessarily a specific empire or place). I don't distrust Ethiopian chronicles in General (any more than I trust English chronicles about themselves), I just think that there will be an inherent bias, and that some of these texts have been written centuries after the events they describe (e.g. the kings lists).

ዮም (Yom) | contribs • Talk 13:49, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

I agree, it is modern day Sudan. But it was part of the vastness of the Ethiopian Empire. Ethiopia today is like Rome is today. Like Mexico once owned Texas. Like Great Britain once was. What some modern day Scholars think was a symbolic use of the word "Ethiopian" by Herodotus, was in fact Ethiopian. Herodotus actually talked with the people of these lands. He was not guessing who they were or stereotyping them. They told him who they were. Abyssinia was also founded by Cush with its capital in Axum. When Abyssinian Ethiopia invaded Nubian Ethiopia it could be likened to our own Revolutionary War. Ethiopia in its earlier history included not only Africa but Southern Asia as far as India. Modern day Scholars are pompous and narrow in their belief that a darkened people could have possibly had such a vast and dominant civilization as Ethiopia once was. Like the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, the Egyptian Empire, they fell. But they were an Empire of great power centuries before the Romans or the Greeks who gave much to us in the way of religion and civilization. The Ethiopia of today is not disconnected from the Ethiopia of old. It is just a shadow of it. If modern scholars would connect (instead of separating) the dots, they would see Ethiopia in its former greatness. Tom 06/08/06

I have a concern about the figures for Christianity and Islam. Whomever came up with those number cited a three or four page report from some person. Almost all official cites, including the CIA WorldFactbook (mentioned by the author also) shows Islam as the predominant religion. Therefore I will mend those figures and add something in the intro of this country where the poster claims "Ethiopia is the oldest Christian country in Africa".

MPA 12:51pm, December 25, 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopia is the oldest Christian country. Islam may dominate now, but that wasn't the case long ago. In 70 A.D. Candace established Christianity at her capital, Axum, making Ethiopia the first Christian nation. Also in 70 A.D. Juda the eunuch of Candace was baptisted by the Apostle Philip. In the mid 4th century Christianity was restored to Ethiopia by Abraha and St. Frumentius. Tom 01/03/07

Portal

Why is there a portal template in this page? This shouldn't be there, because the portal doesn't exist. I didn't want to delete it, because maybe someone is already in the process of making it and/or there is a policy (that I don't know about) about putting portal templates every here and there. --Dungo (talk) 15:08, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

I removed it. Whenever the portal is ready, it can then be added to the article. El_C 03:08, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

Copyvio

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2892&Itemid=35

Archer7 22:56, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Come on, that's not a copyvio... It was written two weeks ago and borrowed from here; our article history will reveal it was added in stages by numerous people ages ago... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 22:59, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Whoops. Archer7 22:07, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

As I've noted elsewhere, the reporter cobbled together text from several Wikipedia articles. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 22:23, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

etymology

"older Ethiopian sources state that the name is derived from "'Ityopp'is", a son of Cush, son of Ham who according to legend founded the city of Aksum." Older? Older than what? Older than Herodotus? What evidence is there for these sources? Paul B 00:13, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Look, there is no such son of Cush in the Book of Genesis. Genesis 10.6 states "The sons of Cush: Seba, Hav'ilah, Sabtah, Ra'amah, and Sab'teca." The etymology of the word is undisputed in all respectable sources. Paul B 00:26, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

"respectable" is your code word for "Non-Ethiopian". Any Ethiopian source is evidently automatically not respectable according to you, eh> ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 00:46, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Codex, you obviously don't know the meaning of the phrase "systemic bias". You have provided no evidence of any "older" sources than Herodotus and Homer. The oldest known use of the term is in Homer, who is highly unlikely to have known anything about the actual land of ethiopia, and uses the term to refer to lands in the east and west. Herodotus refers to "eastern ethiopians", by which he seems to mean southern indians. I am aware of no evidence at all of any written Ethiopian sources as old as this. The Bible makes no mention of this son of Cush. Can you refer to any? You are trying to turn this into some issue regarding "Eurocentrism", as though Ethiopian sources must be more authentic because they are indigenous. Well the Romans believed they were descended from Aeneas and the Trojans, but we don't believe that now. Are you going to say "respectable" is your code word for "Non-Roman" to anyone who queries this story on pages devoted to ancient Rome? Paul B 01:02, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I am strongly tempted to encourage you two to have a nice cup of tea, but instead will ask for sources that are not Wikipedia or one of these mirrors. (I just did a search for and got a load of mirrors.) And would somebody clarify which form of Christianity's version of the Bible and which legend we are talking about? Maybe I'll go get that cup of tea... - BanyanTree 00:57, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

It's usually spelled with one p. Why two ps are used here, I don't know. "Ityop'is", "Etyop'iya" is just a variant spelling of the word Ethiopia. Paul B 01:02, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Banyan, I don't know what you mean by "which form of Christianity's version of the Bible". There is only one form of the Book of Genesis. Paul B 01:15, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

They're all exactly the same? I was not aware of that. I was just thinking that the Bible that Codex would be thinking about, as one of the contributors to Amharic Wikipedia, might be the Ge'ez version of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church or something similar, so there would be bound to be wording issues. In any case, it's good to see that an agreeable version was worked out. (Codex, I finally downloaded the fonts so I can finally see your username.  :) ) - BanyanTree 03:14, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Systemic bias is your comment and your pov that non-Ethiopians know all about Ethiopian history better than Ethiopians do. You obviously think any traditions Ethiopians have about their own origins are automatically to be brushed aside because you think Ethiopians are unreliable - either lying or stupid - while outside "experts" have all the answers for them. That's the kind of attitude that makes me sick, but I know it's out there and I will have to deal with it. Why are you citing Herodotus and Homer? Do either one of them say that "Ethiopia" comes from a Greek word meaning "burnt faces"??? No, Herodotus says on the contrary that it comes from the "sons of Ethiops". Making this name into a Greek word for "burnt faces" is the amateurish folk etymology, found in neither Herodotus nor Homer. That's not what it means at all, that lie is just another systematic way of insulting or poking fun at Ethiopia. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 01:06, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

It has nothing to do with poking fun at Ethiopia, any more than we "poke fun" at the Romans. Using language like "lies" is wholly inappropriate and in any case is mere assertion. Ethiopian traditions are not "automatically" to be brushed aside, they are to be treated with the same skepicism, on the same grounds, as any other traditions. It is not "amateurish folk etymology" at all, though I accept that there is some dispute about it. It is a reasaonable view, far more reasonable than the notion that Homer would use a word derived from a mysterious son of Cush. You still hgave procided no evidence of "older" Ethiopian chronicles. I'm sure we can reach a reasonable solution here, but the version you are defending is unsupported. Paul B 01:15, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Why isn't it "reasonable" that Homer would use a name derived from Cush? Oh yeah, because the name is in the Bible, and even the tinyest scrap of information in the Bible must be minimalized if not discarded, I almost forgot... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 01:19, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

No, because it's very unlikely that Homer would be aware of the Torah. And the name "Ethiopia" is not in the Bible anyway. Please stop being so indignant and consider the actual evidence. Paul B 01:23, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Homer wouldn't have to be aware of the Torah to have heard of the name Ethiopia, and of course I know that name is not in the Torah anyway. But as for actual evidence, I just did a search for the spelling Ityopis, and the oldest copy of the Book of Aksum, the Ethiopian history that tells about this, is dated to the 1600's. A reference or cite to this can be worked into the article. I don't know when the "burnt faces" folk etymology was first proposed, but if you feel it is earlier than the 1600's, that will also need a cite. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 01:29, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Well I think it's reasonable to wonder why the Bible - which is a lot nearer than Greece to the land we call Ethiopia - never uses this word if it was indigenous, and why this son of Cush is not in Genesis? However, the Greeks do use this word, and the first time it is used, in Homer, it does not appear to refer the land we now call Ethiopia. As far as I am aware the "burnt faces" etymology is a lot earlier than 1600. It's an ancient Greek interpretation of their own word. Paul B 01:57, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Where is it then? Cite please... I'm really curious to know where the "burnt faces" bit first appears... As I said, it's not in Homer or Herodotus, and all Herodotus says is that they are the "sons of Ethiops"... BTW The "land we now call Ethiopia" called itself by that name long before the 1600's... Hard to prove how long, but it does definitely appear on 4th century Aksumite inscriptions, as one of the names they were calling themselves... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 02:03, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Well 4th century isn't surprising - there's considerable Hellenisation at that date. I'm not aware of a "sons of Ethiop" passage in Herodotus, and as I say, he also uses the word to refer to the peoples of what appears to be India (though he may have believed that the south of Africa and India were geographically linked). Paul B 02:12, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

There is even a site in the city of Aksum that is said to be Ityopis' tomb, but of course that would also be difficult to prove for a skeptic of Ethiopian traditions...! Glad we worked out a npov, anyway, sorry if I got a bit wiki-stressed, you know how it adds up after a while... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 02:21, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Paul says that the name "Ethiopia" isn't in the bible. Look in King James, Genesis 2:13; Amos 9:7; IIChron 21:16; Isaiah 37:9 etc. I can go on. Not only is Ethiopia mentioned, it's existence is contemporary with the Garden of Eden, centuries before Homer or Herodotus. Can one be considered an authority on Ethiopia and not know these things? This does not speak to the debate above, but more to the omission of Ethiopia's importance in the developement of our concept of religion and civilization itself. See Religion above for more information. Tom 05/21/06

Amharic spelling

The Amharic version of Ethiopia is spelt with six letters at the top right (summary information), but with only five in the main body of the text. The UNGEGN transliteration system gives i-ti-yo-pi-ya or ye-i-ti-yo-pi-ya (ignoring a few accents). The shorter version sounds more likely, but perhaps somebody fluent in Amharic could comment. I have had no difficulty downloading the Zemen font.

As to what the name means, many years ago I met an Ethiopian who claimed it meant "bird feathers". At least I thought he said that, but maybe I mis-heard "burnt faces". User: Fitz Hugh

That is a good question. Amharic ኢትዮጵያ Ityopp'ya is Ethiopia, as the article says. The word on the top right, የኢትዮጵያ yä-ityopp'ya, is part of the official title, "Federal Democratic Republic "of" Ethiopia", the extra character at the beginning የ "yä-" is the part that corresponds to the word "of" (it is a genitive prefix). Always glad to help. Regards, ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 23:20, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

POV?

Why the POV section? The dispute was settled. Unless someone gives me a good reason, I'm going to remove the tag. Yom 18:21, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Which dispute was that, the spelling? Doesn't seem like a PoV dispute, nor does it seem sufficient for tagging a section that way (especially the introduction). I'd say go ahead and remove it and I will leave a note for the editor, if no one e3lse has. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:04, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

I doubt it's the spelling. I'm guessing he's talking about the row over "Ityopp'is," but that has been settled. I'm removing it now. Yom 20:04, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

The neutrality tag was added by a vandal only a few minutes before you queried it. It had nothing to do with any debates. Paul B 20:25, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Economy

Is someone joking with this statement: "Ethiopia has historically had one of the best economies in the world."? While I realize the 1974-2000 period was especially bad, Ethiopia hasn't had one of the best economies in the world for at least a couple millennia. The CIA World Factbook gives a much more realistic assessment: "Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices." The POV of the economy section is seriously biased.

Etymology

Dear friend

The first rule of etymology is to ascertain the earliest form and use of the word and observe chronology.

IMHO, the word derives from Greek Αιθιοπία (Aethiopia), from Αιθίοψ (Aethiops) "charred complexion", from αιθής (aethes) "charred, burned" + όψ (ops) "eye, face, complexion", since the first who mention the word Aethiops and Aethiopia were Homer and Herodotus.

The word did not have a "fun" or "negative" meaning as many today believe. Proof for that is that Aethiops was an epithet of the gods Zeus and Apollon. (Lykophron 537 and others)

Kassios

Well thank you for your opinion, but IMHO that is a folk etymology that you can't find anyone suggesting until much, much later. The earliest attestation may well be Homer and Herodotus, but neither of them says it comes from "aethes" "ops" or any other Greek words. On the contrary, all Herodotus actually says is that they are the "children of Aethiops", whom I would guess is the same person said to have founded Aksum according to longstanding native Ethiopian tradition, and whose tomb may still be seen nearby. As it stands, both theories are mentioned in the article, so I'm really not sure why you have to rock this boat any further, if you don't actually have anything new to add. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:05, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Also, I would suggest it is far more likely that personal names such as "Kam" (Egyptian KEMET=Black), "Kush" (Hebrew Kush=Black) and "Ityopis" (Greek aethes=burnt) all started out as personal names, and only came to mean "black" in these other languages later on, since their descendants named for them were black. In other words, the Greek word "aethes" may well come from the name Ityopis by way of folk etymology interpreting the last part as "ops"... That makes just as much, if not more, sense as assuming the other way around. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:10, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

As for "epithets of Zeus and Apollo", did you know that, according to the very earliest Germanic sagas, the Germanic race is descended from Thor, the first blonde / blue-eyed person, who was said to be the son of Memnon, who was king of - guess where - that's right, Ethiopia...! Hmmm, I guess that "proves" that the ancestry of the Germanic race originated in Ethiopia, huh...? ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:36, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Etymology

In the science of glossology it is by definition rather difficult to come to "facts", since, by its nature, it relies on scientific conclusions based on data after the appropriate researches (in philology, history, archaeology, etc.). These are "flexible", since they can (and must) change whenever something new comes to light, due to new traced data, so then the previous scientific conclusions must be adjusted to the new data. Therefore, in order to be historically accurate, we should accept the given scientific conclusions until something else comes up.

Now, in our situation: It is more than a fact that the word Αιθίοπς (Aethiops) in Ancient Greek language means "charred complexion", (or, in modern terms: "tanned complexion"). As well as the first rule of etymology, which I mentioned in my previous post, another basic rule is to observe the cognate forms, if there are any. To mention just a few of the Ancient Greek words starting with the prefix αίθ- (aeth-) ("charred, inflamed, burned"):

αιθαλέος , aeth-aleos - "smoked"

αιθάλη , aeth-ale - "smoke"

αιθόμενος , aeth-omenos – "to be charred, to be burned, to be inflamed"

αίθοψ , aeth-ops – "who looks like fire, who has charred complexion, who is fiery"

αίθω , aeth-o – "to burn, to ignite"

αίθων , aeth-on – literally "the inflamed one, the brilliant one".

It is well known that personal names are developed from common nouns and verbs and not the other way around. So I can’t find a reason why Homer and Herodotus should state the etymology of Aethiops or Aethiopia in their texts! So it is definitely not a "folk etymology that you can't find anyone suggesting until much, much later" here, it is more than obvious that the personal name Αιθίοψ (Aethiops) derives from αίθης (aethes) + οπς (ops), and actually is a form of αίθοψ (aethops). Anyone with a basic knowledge of the rules of etymology can see that.

Now, about the epithet Αιθίοψ (Aethiops) of gods Zeus and Apollon. I am not sure what exactly you meant there… Anyway what I wanted to say is that all the epithets given by the Greeks to their gods were honorific words, so they couldn’t have a negative meaning. Obviously Apollon and Zeus were also named Αιθίοψ simply because Apollon was the god of the sun (fire>brilliance>tanned>charred) and Zeus as the master in Olympous mountain was above all, so also closer to the sun, a good reason to be called Αιθίοψ!

To conclude:

IMHO, the relation between "Ityopis" and Ethiopia is folk etymology and it is more likely that "Ityopis" derived from Ancient Greek Aethiopia. So until new evidence will justify a stronger relation between "Ityopis" and Ethiopia, we have to rely on Αιθιοπία - Aethiopia – Ethiopia.

With respect to the science of etymology

Kassios

Once again, thank you for stating your opinion, and using "IMHO" to make clear that it is your opinion. Much of the language you used in giving your opinion is pretty heavy, as you started out correctly by stating that it is difficult to come by "facts", but then you go on to say that in the absence of "facts", we must rely on "science" (as if there is some difference) and then you proceed to define what "science" is, according to your definition, which seems very one-sided and biased against the Ethiopian account, in favor of the view that Greeks invented the name. I have not seen anything in your rant that really convinces me. Again, I ask: Since both viewpoints are already being given equal prominence in the intro to the article, why exactly are you stirring up this kettle of fish? There is no reason why the Ethiopian viewpoint on where the name 'Ethiopia' comes from should not be mentioned, if maybe you are suggesting deleting it and mentioning only the notion that Greeks invented the word. Language like "we should accept the scientific conclusions" and "although there are no facts, these are the science and rules of etymology" and finally summing it all up with "we have to rely on Ethiopia = Aethiops" - I presume with the pronoun "we", you are speaking for yourself only, because you are aren't speaking for me. I give greater weight to all the Ethiopian accounts, sorry if that bothers you. And yes, the reason none of the ancients mentioned that Ethiopia means "burnt faces" is because it is a neologistic theory. If you yourself know so much about the "science of folk etymology" (now there's an oxymoron if ever I heard one!) then you ought to know that it is entirely possible that the Greeks upon hearing of the name 'Ityoppis who ruled in Aksum, were reminded of one of their own words, and mutated it into "Aethiops". That, my friend, is how a "folk etymology" works. I'm through arguing this silliness, it's stressing me out, you can argue here to your heart's content, as long as you don't try to muck with the article by removing the sourced Ethiopian account of where their name originates. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 14:33, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Dear friend

1. I am using the term "IMHO" to be polite. I can refer you to a number of approved dictionary and etymology works to back up my "humble opinion", if you like.

2. "Science" and "facts" are not quite the same, as you state. Science is the way that you reach facts, and I am really sorry if you are not familiar with that.

3. Who ever reads our dialogue, can tell for themselves who is biased and ranting.

4. It is for the benefit of the article that both viewpoints are there but to me the uncertain one is the second one. However, history will tell.

5. "although there are no facts, these are the science and rules of etymology" and "science of folk etymology": Don’t quote things I haven’t said. If you didn’t understand what I meant, you can ask me.

6. If I wanted to "muck with the article" I would have done so already.

To conclude: We obviously have different ways of thinking. And to remember a quote by Socrates:

"When two people have a dispute, the loser is actually the winner because he learns something new."

Friendly

Kassios

I would like to point out that the word in question already turns up in Mycenean Greek as "ai-ti-jo-qo", see here. The native etymology bears all the hallmarks of a later re-interpretation. Florian Blaschke 19:57, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Odd sentence in "History" section

The following sentence was at the end of the paragraph discussing 17th century history:

At the same time, the Oromo people began to question the Ethiopian Christian authorities in the Abyssinian territories, and demanded to keep their own religion.

I removed it because it seems very odd to me. Firstly, there's no single religion practiced by Oromos (nor was there at that time, certain elements being influenced by Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and "Waaqfeta" (sp?)). Secondly, I'm not aware of any southern rebellion occuring at this time, though there has often been fighting in this area. Can someone provide some evidence to substantiate the claims and reword it to be more specific?

Yom 20:23, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

Languages

I have the list of most languages from the 1994 census (along with the number of speakers if needed). I believe someone said earlier that all langauges should be listed (even the minor ones). I don't think this is necessary, but I will post all 84 (in order of number of native speakers) below for future use (S-Semitic, C-Cushitic, O-Omotic, N-Nilo-Saharan).

Amara S Oromo C Tigrinya S Somali C Guraginya S Sidama C Welayta O Afar C Hadiyya C Gamo O Gedeo C Kafa O Kambaata C Awngi (Agew) C Kulo O Goffa O Bench O Ari O Konso C Kamir C Alaba C Gumuz N Berta N Koyra O Timbaro C Yemsa O Neur N Basketo O Mocha O Male O Me’en N Gidole C Konta O Anuak N Hamer O Maraqo C Qabena C Burji C Gawada C Dasenech C Sheko C Saho C Harari S Dizi O Dorze O Mello O Shinasha O Suri N Oyda O Mesengo N Nyangatom N Mao O She O Argobba S Zayse O Fadashi N Tsamay C Zergula O Chara O Mossiya C Dime O Bodi N Arbore C Nao O Mursi N Kachama O Kunama N Kemant (Agew&Beta Israel) C Koma N Ganjule O Mer O Shita N Gamili N Guagu N Kwama N Gebato N Mabaan N 139,047 speak other languages (but only 110,555 members of those langauges).

From [4] (Grover Hudson, the same linguist who posits a Semitic speaking Ethiopia at least as early as 2000 B.C.).

Feel free to format the list so that it's more readable. I don't know how and don't have enough time to do so right now.

Yom 01:22, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I haven't done a side-by-side compararison, but it looks like Languages of Ethiopia may have the complete list. I actually did a quick count of 91, though we say there are 84 languages. - BanyanTree 01:32, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Actually I get 78 ignoring extinct languages and counting all Gurage languages (including Silt'e - since that's what my above list does) as one. Nevermind, though. I didn't know such a list existed. Yom 01:37, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

An anonymous user has removed Ge'ez, Rer Bare, and Weyto from the language list. I know for a fact that Ge'ez and Weyto are extinct, and I'm guessing Rer Bare is too. Should we keep them in the list with a note that they're extinct (and disambig 84 languages to 84 living languages) or leave them out altogether?

Yom 04:59, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Population

The current population figure comes from the UN, which puts Ethiopia at ~77.5 million, as opposed to a little less than 75 million by the CIA. The UN also puts Egypt at about 74 million (where the CIA says 78.8). However, those numbers seem to come from here: http://esa.un.org/unpp/ (a 2004 simulator) for 2005. It was made only 2 years ago, so you'd think the population figures would still be relatively accurate for this year, but they disagree greatly w/ CIA figures (a complete reversal for Egypt & Ethiopia). Which of the two figures should we use? I believe all other articles use the CIA factbook.

Yom 16:43, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

We might have discussed this elsewhere, but I've been using the population figures from the Central Statistical Agency for my articles on the Regions, Zones & Woredas of Ethiopia, on the assumption that the officials of a country should have the best & most accurate information about their own population statistics. (And I also suspect that both the UN & the CIA derive their figures either directly or indirectly from the Ethiopian census records that the CSA produces; at most, these 2 agencies use different steps in arriving at their population totals.)

FWIW, as of 2005, the CSA estimated the population of Ethiopian as 75,067,000 -- which falls between the other 2 estimates & a bit below the average for all 3 numbers. -- llywrch 21:04, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

For reference, here are figures from several reliable sources:

• Central Statistics Agency: 75,067,000 (July 2006)
• UN Population Division: 77,431,000 (July 2005) / 79,289,000 (July 2006)
• Population Reference Bureau: 77,431,000 (July 2005) -- same as UN data
• CIA Factbook: 74,778,000 (July 2006)
• World Gazetteer: 72,238,000 (January 2006)

I think we should use the country's own estimates since 2006 figures are available. I'll go ahead and change the population figurein the infobox. Polaron | Talk 21:22, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopia would be the THIRD most populous nation, not second. Nigeria is first, followed by Egypt. DJDavis92 03:51, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but Wikipedia rankings are based on UN data, which puts Ethiopia's population at at 79.3 million and that of Egypt at 74 or 75 something million (74.033 for 2005). — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 04:34, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Demographics

Hello, I reorganized the "demographics" section with culture, religion and languages. I added detail, mostly from the sub-articles, some from personal knowledge, as the section did not look like a proper "demographics" section with so little content (while there is so much to tell about Ethiopia, what a country!). For famous musicians I applied the "must have article" rule. True, this is not perfect, but it works and even encourages creating extra articles on favorite musicians. I could not explain each single move while editing, but will answer questions in detail and am looking forward to see other suggestions in writing or just bold edits. "Demographics" is really a tricky concept; while demography is very well defined, "demographics" usually serves merely as a collection for people information: sociology, anthropology and parts of the human geography. The demography of Ethiopia, which should be part of this chapter, is still missing. I promise to write something. I must have a better muse for this. I hope at least the bulk of the edits are to the liking of my fellow editors. Cheers, gidonb 04:50, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

World Factbook

Yom, you say that these figures are not updated over time. Perhaps you meant over short span of time, but I compare 1990 and 2006: 1990: 40-45% Muslim, 35-40% Ethiopian Orthodox, 15-20% animist, 5% other 2006: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% Also the figure for 2006 seems to me the estimate for that year, even if it is not changed every year. The last Ethiopian census was held in 1994 and probably has serious issues of undercounts outside the highlands. I personally believe the CIA factbook figures are robuster, but I do not object to providing both to the reader. Supressing them seems not the correct way to go. gidonb 08:24, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

If you really think that the CIA data is worth including, then I won't object to it, but it simply doesn't seem accurate. The 1984 census, for instance, shows the exact same Christian:Muslim ratio as in the 1994 census (and similar numbers for ethnicity, though these have changed some due to the loss of Eritrea). I know that the internet 1997 version is exactly the same as the 2006 version, though. I'm not sure when between 1990 and 1997 the change took place, but it's interesting to note that they note an increase in Islam (and no change for Christianity) that the census doesn't record. The census is a nationwide one, though, so I'm not sure your fears of non-highlanders being counted are that salient... — ዮም (Yom) | contribs • Talk • E 08:37, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

The movement the CIA Factbook records is from animist religions towards the Islam. This movement is common in Africa and also makes geographical sense (relative proximity of populations). The Muslims may have higher birthrates than Christians, but not beyond compensation for higher deathrates. The Christian population seems the most stable. Undercounts among certain populations is a problem for any census. This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but surveys often provide better results than complete enumerations, especially when working under serious budget constraints. gidonb 09:05, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Apparently that data hasn't changed since a few years before the 1994 census, so it is obviously inaccurate. I will provide the evidence a little later and remove the info. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 21:41, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

See The World Factbook. The data hasn't really changed over the years. Here's a link to the 1990 one. You can see that it says the following for ethnicity and population before the split of Eritrea:

Ethnic divisions: 40% Oromo, 32% Amhara and Tigrean, 9% Sidamo, 6%

Shankella, 6% Somali, 4% Afar, 2% Gurage, 1% other

Religion: 40-45% Muslim, 35-40% Ethiopian Orthodox, 15-20% animist, 5% other

In the 1993 version, the first one to have Eritrea, it has the following:

Ethnic divisions: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella

6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Religions: Muslim 45-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35-40%, animist 12%, other 5%

The only change being that Animist goes from 15-20% to 12% (very odd, actually). For 1994 data (the year the Ethiopian census by the CSA came out), they have the same exact data. Assuming they didn't get it as soon as it came out, they still don't change their data at all by 1995, or by 1997, the year (or year after, actually, I think) that the delayed parts of the census for the Afar came out. Actually, to be accurate, they make "Other" for religions 3-8% for the first time in 1997. However, you can see that none of this data ever agreed with the 1994 census, nor changed in response to it. Moreover, the original data didn't agree with the 1984 census, which had an approximately 60-30 Christian: Muslim ratio (mainly orthodox) and about 29-30% Amhara and Oromo, while Tigray was around 9%, I believe. Moreover, their use of "Shankella" shows a lack of knowledge about the subject, as it is not an ethnic group but a pejorative Agew word for the dark Nilotic tribes living on the western borderland (also, 6% is higher than the numbers given for all those tribes put together in the 1994 census). I hope you can see why I don't like using the CIA Factbook as a source when there are reliable alternatives. This is why I removed the text a few days ago (and again yesterday). — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 21:20, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

These stats are well inaccurate, that why i think both extreams need to be published. You only need to live in Ethiopia to know that the Christian dominated government will be biased on way and the "politically" biased cia would swing another way (another "Muslim" country). I personally dont see it being 60% Christian, just look at even the North Bahir Dar, it is full of Amhara Muslims---Halaqah 19:38, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

As Halaqah suggests, it would be possible to quote both authoritative figures in an encyclopedia. It might even be possible to find some kind of explanation or commentary regarding the discrepency. It's also possible to link to Demographics of Ethiopia as the main article. But it's much more fun to engage in endless mindless reversions. JiHymas@himivest.com 00:07, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

League of Nations/UN

Apologies for getting things mixed up with regard to the UN and League of Nations. To me the 'founding members' were the countries represented in the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Conference. And then I got a bit confused with who joined the League of Nations when. Sorry! I certainly had no intention of maliciously reducing Ethiopia's place in history! garik 15:31, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Origins

CS, I don't see why you reject the version without a discussion of origins. It doesn't simply cut out the Sabaean origin theory, it also cuts out the arguments for an indigenous origin. Note how it ignores the fact that Epigraphic South Arabian inscriptions in a Semitic Proto-Ge'ez language are just as old (or older, 9th c. BC) in Ethiopia as they are in Yemen, linguistic evidence of long-standing Semitic-speaking peoples there, etc. It doesn't give any impression on the origins of the kingdom, which can be addressed in the specific respective articles like D`mt, Kingdom of Aksum, and History of Ethiopia. Why does a specific dispute like that have to be presented on the main page of a country and take up so much space? If you really insist I will include a detailed dicussion of evidence for and against the origin at the beginning of the history page without a conclusion, but I really think it's unnecessary and tangential. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 19:53, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I've rewritten the paragraph to show both views, but I left out Megalommatis's very small view that all Semitic-speaking Ethiopians are Sabaeans (i.e. no indigenous blood, just transplants). Keeping it in there violates WP:NPOV#Undue weight, as it is a very small minority view. Putting it on the main page like that makes it seem as if it has credibility and a significant number of believers. Really, Megalommatis is the only one with this view and he's a crackpot (read his theory on how all the Nubians got up and left and moved 2000 km to southern Ethiopia where they became the Oromo). I have no problem referencing to this minority view in some more specific articles like Sabaeans, D`mt (maybe Kingdom of Aksum, but the timeline for the migration doesn't really fit for the article and Aksum is almost 100% agreed upon that it's indigenous, it's D`mt that's really debated in the academic world), History of Ethiopia, History of Eritrea, etc. Note that the view that's included right now (Sabaeans mixed with and transplanted their culture to indigenous East Africans) is not an extreme minority view, so it does merit inclusion. Is there even anyone aside from Megalommatis (preferably also not a crackpot) who believes the theory that all semitic-speaking Ethiopians are full-blooded Sabaeans? Please provide contemporary examples if there are. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 20:32, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Well alright then, mention Megalomattis on the other articles, but can we please keep all the other changes, especially let us not make it seem as if Conti Rossini originated that theory, if he is to be mentioned at all, I really don't think he is the first one ever to suggest that Semites hybridized with Cushites to form the Habesha.. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 20:37, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

You're right, it was Hiob Ludolf who first proposed it in the late 17th/early 18th century, but it was Conti Rossini who re-proposed it and proposed that Habashat was a Yemeni tribe (which it wasn't) and really popularized it. Why did you keep the part about Ethiopia being a cross-roads, though? That just doesn't make any sense to me. The only time when there were cultural influences like that was really during Aksumite times when it was well-integrated with other places in the world, but from ca. 630 until the 19th century, there was really no blending of cultures with North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa (other than sub-Saharan Ethiopian culture, that is). The only real influence would have been the Jesuits from ca. 1540-1640, but the influence was limited (until 1624-32 I guess), and not from any of the areas mentioned (unless you want to include "Portuguese" on that list). — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 20:45, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

The world doesnt see things in Black and White. But where Africa is concerned it gets very Black and White. When you look at the Greek Section they play down African influence, when you come to Nubia and Ethiopia the "influence" is the big apology for Africa having "anything" civilized. I will now go to the Greek article and discuss the heavy African influence just as they have done here. Just a few years back it was stated as fact that Ethiopia came from Sabian States, Thank God it is being pushed further back this "influence". --Halaqah 20:49, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

"Intersection"

Yom, the part you want removed states

It has long been an intersection between the civilizations of North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Your above comments make it seem like you have never heard such an outlandish idea until now, when the reality is this view is so commonplace, it hardly needs citing. There are hardly any views about Ethiopia more commonplace than this, it's practically the first thing every single book about Ethiopia says. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:11, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

And the reason, is not the Portuguese, but maybe because Arabia is just across the Red Sea and Israel is right up the Red Sea. I think you probably knew this already. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:15, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

High taxes

Want to see why Ethopia is poor? Read this: [5] The government is a thief. 89% tax on agricultural profits! Economizer 03:43, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

I totally support this statement, it is 100% abslutley true! The Ethiopian government is a theif! The people on board just take the money for themselves! What happened to the money the American government gave them?? The people just took it for themselves! It breaks my heart just seeing little kids having to sleep on the road, cold and hungry just because of the selfish government. People should really see Ethiopia at midnight, you can see little kids sleeping on the side of the road. The saddest part is that nobody can do anything about it. Is there hope for Ethiopia? (MM)

Please keep in mind that this talk page is for discussing improvements to Wikipedia's Ethiopia article, rather than discussing the subject itself. Thanks, -- Gyrofrog (talk) 23:08, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Establishment date

Curious historical times chosen for establishment... most important would be to dispute that of Punt (the others are not as significant of a problem). Can it truly be argued that it is the predecessor of Ethiopia? For instance on the Italy page you do not see the establishment of the Roman Empire... just something to think about perhaps get some opinions on --Merhawie 14:36, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

I'll admit that I'm also not very comfortable with this assertion. Claiming this ancestory is similar to the present United Kingdom claiming its establishment circa AD 500 when Cerdic landed in England & founded the kingdom of Wessex or modern France tracing its origins to Merovingian times. (Some partisans do make these claims, but they are a fringe, & mainstream historians while acknowledging the contributions of these ancient kingdoms place the creation of these states at a much more recent point.)

However, Ethiopia is something of problem, for there is no decisive point before the 19th century where one can say that things changed. Yekuno Amlak's overthrow of the Zagwe dynasty was more of an exchange of ruling families, rather than a complete reorganization of the Ethiopian state, & his argument for legitimacy was based on a continuity not only with Aksum -- but back to Solomon of Israel! In this regard, Ethiopia is similar to the situation with China: when is the Chinese state considered to have been founded? Under the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang? Under the semi-legendary Zhou Dynasty or earlier? Or at a more recent point with the Han dynasty, when much of the permanent shape of the Chinese Empire & culture acquired a permanent form?

Still, I think connections with D'mt & Punt are stretching it a bit. The Ethiopians were always aware of a connection with Aksum; I have not seen any evidence of a similar historical awareness with those two earlier cultures. -- llywrch 21:07, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

HIM Haile Selassie I stated numerous times that anyone by picking up a few books written about Ethiopian history in many languages could easily satisfy himself that Ethiopia's establishment goes back 3000 years. In other words, around 1000 BC. He knew what he was talking about, since I have not been able to find any different by researching, apart from the claims of revisionists who would move it up to as recent as possible. I don't think His Majesty's views qualify him as "fringe", but I have actually seen some websites by this revisionist "fringe" even pretending that Christianity was utterly unknown in "savage" Ethiopia until whites introduced it in the 1700s! (Unfortunately that is the type of jealousy-stricken lie that will always be present in this world.) ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 22:01, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd prefer not to use establishment dates at all, but the template has made them necessary and I am simply using what I had thought the standards were. Punt is a stretch, but Aksum was simply a successor kingdom to D'mt, so I believe it should be included. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 23:46, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

CS, 1000 BC is the approximate date scholars at the time believed the kingdom of David & Solomon existed; Ethiopia's connectio with that kingdom is well known. I think that Haile Selassie was referring to that, rather than Punt or D'mt. -- llywrch 01:55, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

"scholars at the time" (ie., of Haile Selassie) ? It also just happens to be around the middle the same date range that scholars today still think Kings David and Solomon reigned... I'm not aware of any substantial or agreed upon reason for revision... ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 02:18, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

CS, may I direct your attention to Amy Dockser Marcus' book, The View from Nebo? Although it is not the primary emphasis of her book, she shows that a number of mainstream, tenured scholars have formed conclusions about the events narrated in the Old Testament that shrply differ with what the general public may think. As a result, I'd rather say what I am certain about -- that the scholars of Haile Selassie's time were certain about that date -- rather than risk a mistake & assume that the consensus of scholars today also believe that.

We are quibbling over a minor point in what I wrote, which leads to my next statement. If I am reading your comments correctly, you are angry with me. I don't understand why; people disagree all of the time -- especially, it seems, on Wikipedia. Am I reading you correctly? -- llywrch 01:36, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

The books His Majesty refers to were not just those written by "scholars of the time" but rather he mentions primary sources written in Greek, Arabic, Portuguese etc., which still remain the primary sources, as opposed to modernist Original Research which often seeks to negate primary sources, and with little substantial reason, other than to come up with "something new" to tell people to believe. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 03:04, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Sometimes, at this point in the conversation I might write something like "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree", because we obviously aren't making any headway in this conversation, However,t I'm not even sure we are sharing the same conversation. Have you read all of what I've been writing in response, Codex Sinaiticus? -- llywrch 21:37, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd be more interested if you have anything substantial or specific to point to as a reason for discarding the primary sources, than simply to be told that "scholars have formed opinions that differ sharply with what the general public may think" which isn't really saying anything that isn't already well known. I would go even further and say that it's common knowledge that these type of scholars have a downright condescending pov toward the general public's views on a variety of topics, but it's still, after all, just another pov, unless you actually have something concrete. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 22:12, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Punt? To say that the State of Ethiopia was establishmented in the 25th century BC as Punt is clearly a lie. I'm sure that noone will disagree with this point, I'm removing this. As for D'mt I don't think we should include it either because we know very little about this civiliztion, to claim it as "Ethiopian". Mesfin 15:19, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

"Ethiopian" History

I think the only one contributor here who is at least slightly sensitive to objectivity, logic and factuality (TRUTH) is 'Yom' who having said that is far from free of major chauvinistic shortcomings. I am referring to the complete omission of the history of Abyssinia's EXPANSION and CONQUEST of lands and peoples in the region and the complete omission of THEIR history before they were associated to the Abyssinian realm.

The adoption of the name "Ethiopia" (as Yom so eloquently put it) is in itself an adoption of the perspective of EUROPEANS because the name itself is European (Greek) based on the ignorant supposition that all black people with kinky hair (or 'burnt faces' as Ethiopus means) south of Egypt, were all part of one nation stretching from Africa to Asia...Now this European made "history" you swear by as an absolute truth, as true as the Bible. The Bible whose version you use by the way, is based on the Greek translation, which mentions "Ethiopia" (a country that never existed in history) about 99 million times right? But when Europeans talk about Ethiopia's association to Arabia, they are all liars and racists. Why the hypocrisy? If Abyssinians want to claim their history as "Ethiopian history", I have no problem with that. The Abyssinians are the ones who adopted this European name based on European ignorance from the (Greek version of the) Bible...But why is not there one sentence describing how this history of northern empires and northern kingdoms expanded to form modern Ethiopia as we know it today, by conquering the "Galla", "Shankilla", "Teltal" and other slaved people and incorporating them into this realm of "Ethiopia"? What history did these slaved people (the majority of Ethiopia's population) have before they were associated with Abyssinia? Were they just half-monkeys without a history except their association with the civilized Habesha? You are denying your country's majority their history as if they were non-entities and you have the audacity to whine about the cultural chauvinism and racism of Europeans?

Here is an idea: how about an OBJECTIVE, FACTUAL, ACCURATE, LOGIC (TRUE) look at history? Instead of a politicized collection of garbage based on a false empty pride? Here you are touting proudly about something that supposedly happened in a past so long ago that we can't tell what is myth and what is reality, meanwhile even a 12 year old kid can tell you that you can't take that much credit for what your mother or father did, you have to have something to show for YOURSELF, let alone for some people from 5000 years ago...What did YOU do to be proud of?

Here is another idea: if you take an honest look at your background, you are more likely to understand your current problems and fix them and less likely to repeat the sins or mistakes of those before you.

Wow, thanks so much for contributing outrage and chest-thumping instead of actual work. Ford MF 09:55, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Oldest independent country is wrong

It states in the religion section that ET is the oldest African country, I think the wording is wrong. Because Ethiopia never was dependant to be independent. If you are never conquered then how can you be the oldest independent. Independent implies it was conquered or owned by someone and then achieved independence. So the phrase almost implies that somewhere in this history independence was "earned". Britain does say it is the oldest independent country in Europe. Nor does Greece or Rome. i think it needs to be reworded.--Halaqah 11:58, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Independent does not imply former dependance. It is just the opposite to dependant. Two definitions of independent relating to countries:

"1. not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself: an independent thinker."

"# Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing."

To imply a country breaking free of dependance, there would have to be a verb in the wording of the text, something like:

"Ethiopia is the oldest African country to have achieved independence." --136.206.1.17 14:14, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

doesnt make sense, Ethiopia coulnt have achieved independence if it never lost it, you can gain what you always had, ur missing the point. the word independence is not relevant to Ethiopia, you can say it was never colonized. Et is the oldest continuous African nations/civilization an unbroken legacy blah blah. --Halaqah 23:25, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Umm... albeit 5 years it was still occupied... The early twentieth century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who undertook the rapid modernization of Ethiopia — interrupted only by the brief Italian occupation (1936–1941).[21]"

Where is the Quran image

where and why was the image of the old Quran removed, it was one of the oldest Qurans in Africa, something i thing Et should be proud of having, please put it back.--Halaqah 23:16, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

True, we don't simply need two Christian images. Check back very early in the history (like July or August) and it should be there. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 20:47, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

my point, i think we need to remember the legacy of Ethiopia in Islamic history, it is far from minor it is a major turning point in the development of this religion. Christian or Muslim should be proud of this. Because it showed tolerance of both faiths. I found the image and restored it--baka.--Halaqah 21:02, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

I have the impression that the photo doesn't show a Quran. It dosen't look like a Quran because there are too many comments written on the edges of the pages. The words written in red ink could be the name(s) of the prophet and therefor the book could be a prayer or zikr book. But it is in any case an Arabic manuscript and shows the level of indigenous Islamic higher learning in Ethiopia.--Driss 18:01, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I took the photo with my brand new canon eos, and thats what it said "old Qu'ran", you can go to the museum in Addis and c for yourself. dont forget Qurans look different in different areas of the world. --Halaqah 18:03, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

The fact that there is written "old Qur'an" dosen't necessarily mean that it is really a Qur'an. You wrote that you’d take the photo in the museum on Entoto. I assume that those who put the book there just couldn’t read Arabic nor were Muslims (just a guess). And often people who are not familiar with this kind of literature think that every handwritten Arabic book they see is a Qur’an. I actually have seen different copies of the Qur’an which had been written in Harar and in Wello. And I have also seen many other Arabic manuscripts written in Ethiopia. Based on that experience I would say the photo doesn’t show a Qur’an. But another photo where you could read the text would be helpful in that matter. But I also wanted to add that the photo serves it purpose quite well because it is a witness of the existence of an Ethiopian Islamic literature. And I think that was also the reason why it was put on the site. Driss 14:23, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I always take a photo of the text so i will go right now and have a look.--Halaqah 01:40, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

I think u r correct it might not be a Quran, i can see the text and there r no surah markings or other things, but yes it is an ancient Islamic document.--Halaqah 01:47, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

AGAIN someone has taken out the Islamic image in religion. This time i will watch it and report this person as a vandal.--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 07:47, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

clean up

too much text at least break it up into topics, that indep leak looks messy, needs better chapters, you can always create seperate pages to go into dept, you cant go into it here as the article becomes too long and unreadble. And need to talk about foreign realtions, ethiopia and eritrea etc ET and Kenya and Sudan--Halaqah 23:19, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Politic needs to be sum up and put seperately it is far too long, and the information is very focused on one or two events, critical to discuss is foreign realtions, ethiopia and eritrea etc ET and Kenya and Sudan and yes America (since ET allowed was "happy" about the war in Iraq)--Halaqah 14:03, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Move section

Ethiopian police massacre this needs to be moved to another place, it is long and specific, i could start adding all kinds of events in ET history and make this article v long. Have a summary and move it to a seperate page.--Halaqah 16:15, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Vandalism Bigtime!! Guys, look at the english version of The ethiopia article. Someone has seriously vandalized it!!! They put something REALLY obscene! Do something NOW!!! ---from a person who visits wiki often

I have moved the police thing, no one would have the discussion so i just moved it, doesnt the article feel and look better now?--Halaqah 10:38, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Politics

Needs some serious work, it almost raps on about what US and UK said about Ethiopia. The relationship on the whole terror thing should have been discussed, ET being a pawn of the US might be a POV. But this article is full of current events and they should be sumed, and the full stuff on ethiopian politics, The full dynamics of foreign relations should be in here as sums. please assist in making the article the best, by making it very easy to read.--Halaqah 10:43, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

New environmental page for Ethiopia

I dont really like the title but we need a page just to discuss all the environmental problems in Ethiopia, has anyone seen an Ethiopian wolf of recent? Has anyone seen the Ethiopian lion? I actually went looking lake chamu where lions once roamed they are very very few.Environmental issues in Ethiopia--Halaqah 20:54, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopia oldest Christian state

The reason i needed a refernces is because this information was newly added, most of us accept Ethiopia as the oldest Christian state, i think it is better to say "one of the oldest Christian states" i would have added the [[fact}} tag if this information was always here. But changes of this nature require the addition of a refernces, or we should leave them out. Notice i have not moved it but i still disagree, because it is a opinion open to debate, it is not a fact, it is a "some say" and more debate needs to be had, but now we have a refernce we can start a proper debate.--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 17:07, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

It's the second oldest official Christian state. The record's on Ethiopia's conversion are pretty secure (as are those on Armenia's, I believe, while San Marino's early history is mainly all legend). — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 08:01, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Yom, I was thinking it was Armenia as well. The World Factbook would seem to confirm this. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:07, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it might be important to note that while Ethiopia is purportedly a Christian state, the largest percent of th e population is Muslim.

Link to Constitution

The current reference to the constitution is http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/Ethiopian_Constitution.html which notes that the content provided is an "English Translation of the Ethiopian Draft Constitution is an unofficial draft that has been released to enable members of the International community follow the discussions and forthcoming elections, pending publication of the official translation." The website http://mail.mu.edu.et/~ethiopialaws/index.html (purportedly) has the official translation of the final document among many other resources. I don't know, however, how to get WHOIS information on .et sites, nor how to verify the reliability of whomever might be listed as owner. JiHymas@himivest.com 20:43, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

1984 Famine

The famine in Ethiopia in 1984 was an event in Ethiopia that had the attention of Europe, the United States and other countries, and started the Band Aid / Live Aid / Live 8 movement of Western celebrities trying to campaign against poverty in both Ethiopia and Africa. I can't find a single reference to the famine anywhere in the article.

The immediate reaction in the West was to send food and resources, but afterwards there has been much talk that the famine was entirely due to local politics and conflict rather than an overall lack of food in the country. I have no idea which view is correct, and I came to this article to find out.

It may or may not be significant in the full history of Ethiopia, but I think it at least deserves some kind of mention as I know a lot of Westerners reading the article will have it uppermost in their mind when they think of Ethiopia, rightly or wrongly.

Ethiopia vs. Somalia

Could anyone explain the current conflict? Thanks --71.81.201.8 03:57, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

The interim Somali government, wich was thrown out of most of the country some months ago, are backed by the Ethiopian government, which has launched an offensive in Somalia on the interim government's wish. It should be noted that Somali warfare often takes place between pick up trucks carrying troops, and that the bombing of the airports were nowhere near what e.g. Israel and the US would have done (in Mogadishu, reports say two bombs were dropped, and, according to the IHT, more in a "show of force" - Ethiopia itself confirms that the goal was to stop civilian flights into Somalia, carrying Jihad warriors from nearby Muslim states. Ethiopia and the West do not recognise the Islamic courts (UIC) as the Somali government. 62.249.183.54 22:14, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes please add this to the article it would be also good to mention Ethiopia allowed USA to launch an attack on Iraq in Iraq II , yes there is a connection, help us in our war or STARVE!!!--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 22:28, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Largest religion

What is the largest religion in Ethiopia today? Yesterday (2006-12-25), the article stated 61 % Christians according to the 1994 survey, today it says 61 % Muslims according to the 1994 survey. I think this is important to straighten out now; if Ethiopia is a predominatly Muslim country, why would it fight the Islamic courts?62.249.183.54 22:14, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

It has always said 61% Christian except when changed by vandals. Even if it weren't predominantly Christian, the historical core and rulers have always been Christian, which is more important (see e.g. Eritrea, which is also secular and 50-50 Christian:Muslim, but is largely controlled by the Christian Tigrinyas). — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 22:24, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Ethiopia is also controlled by Christians, who are very very dominant. I dont think those stats are accurate, drive through the south of ET and count the mosque vs churchs, go to Bahir Dar and start counting. There has always been a bias in the stats in Ethiopia when it comes to her Muslim population. I think it is as the CIA fact sheet says, 40%--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 22:30, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I take exception to Yom's implied reference to me as a vandal. I added information to the otherwise inaccurate/disputed facts complete with citations. He or whomever contributed to the introduction calls Ethiopia a "Christian state", which it isn't. It is secular and hasn't had Christianity as the official religion since the 1974 Constitution change, which I notated and someone keeps deleting. Secondly, in the Religion part, he or whomever claims that Christians are 61% of the population. I thought it was 63% at one point and a three page source from some lone Phd was cited. I cited the CIA Worldfactbook as one source, which disputes this (ironically the Phd also cites the same source) by showing that the Muslims are 10% points higher (40-50% to 30-40%) than Christians. I could be wrong but I believe that neutral sources from Answers.com, About.com, BBC.com/countryprofiles and Arabicnews.com also show that Muslims outnumber Christians. The only sites that I have seen that say contrarty are usually anti-Islam or Christian based. Even that isn't necessarily true, as I have come across one Christian site that proposes more missionaries to overcome the larger Muslim population. --MPA 21:45, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Quick reply - I didn't mean to call you a vandal. Perhaps I should have been more clear, but I meant that those who change the 1994 reference from saying 61% are generally vandals. You simply cited another source, which is completely different. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 03:07, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

Name?

Does anyone know what Ethiopians (Amharic, Tigray, Oromo, Somali etc) call the country in their own language and what the literal translations are? Would be great if this could be added to the name section as currently it only shows the meaning of the names in European and Middle Eastern languages. 82.133.110.226 19:00, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

It's already in there - "Ityop'ya," and for the people "Habesha" (the former an adaptation from Greek, the latter a native term); the later is mainly used by Semitic speakers, though. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 19:30, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Following your helpful direction i have done some more research on the topic. It seems the name of the country is hotly disputed - there are some who believe that the name Ethiopia is a concious attempt to hide the fact that the country is ruled by the Abyssinian provinces which make up only 25% of the land. Do you know when the word Ethiopia was first applied as the official country name in the Ge'ez script, and also internationally? I can see that Theodore II named himself the Emperor of Ethiopia in 1855 (when controlling only Gondor) but i do not know whether this is just an English mistranslation. Anyway, I have edited the section as far as I can, but feel it still does not explain the dispute in any real detail. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.133.110.226 (talk) 05:11, 29 December 2006 (UTC).

To be clear, the points I have added are as follows: 1. It is not certain how old the name Ethiopia is, but its earliest attested use in the region was as a Christianized name for the Kingdom of Aksum in the 4th century, in stone inscriptions of King Ezana[3]. (this point came indirectly from Yom); 2. Abyssinia strictly refers to just the North-Western provinces of Amhara and Tigray[4].; 3. The term Habesha strictly refers to only the Semitic-speaking peoples of Ethiopia (predominantly the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya people which combined make up about 36% of Ethiopia's population), who have historically dominated the country politically; 4. In contemporary Ethiopian politics the word Habesha is often used to describe all Ethiopans. I have spent a number of hours researching this and believe that all four points are beyond dispute (with the exeption of point 2 which should be refined). I also believe that all four points are crucial for outsiders to understand what "Ethiopia" means. If you disagree with any of these points please could you let me know?82.133.110.226 06:16, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Can you prove that Habesha refer to semitic speaking people? I dont think Arabs use it like that, All Ethiopians are know as Habesha, in Turkey it is like this an in the entire Arab World. And Semitic speaking is still from the same family as Oromo, and Somali, the Afro-Asiatic family, so even Hausa is very similar to Amharic. and your pop stat is incorrect, Amharas almost equal oromo people so if you add Tigray-Tigrinya to that then you are talking about 60% + also Guarages are Semitic speakers and Wolo is full of them--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 01:13, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Note that this has also been discussed at Talk:Habesha people. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 02:22, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi Hala. To answer your points in turn: 1. Has been answered by Gyrofrog; 2. The drafting currently states that Turkish and Arabic use Habesha to refer to Ethiopia (i.e. not just Abyssinia); 3. Please see this link http://community.livejournal.com/terra_linguarum/95880.html. Semitic diverged from Cushitic and Chadic languages more than 10,000 years ago; 4. I agree with you on this one. The population stats are highly disputable (e.g. earlier on this talk page) so it would be helpful to put a range (what range would you be happy with to take account of all sides of the arguement?). Also, I agree it is a simplification to refer to the Amhara and Tigray-Tigrinya as the only Semitic speakers and only Amhara, Tigray-Tigrinya and Western Eritrea regions as being Abyssinia. Would you be able to suggest a way of refining this without losing the concept that the Abyssinian people and region do not "necessarily" comprise the majority of the country?82.133.110.226 12:28, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

References to the history of Southern Ethiopia

Having read this talk page fully I came across an unsigned rant entitled "Ethiopian" History which has been ignored for not following Wiki standard I guess. However, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask everyone for their views on the underlying statements which seem broadly justifiable. As I interpret it, the ranter was make two sensible points: 1. The article makes no mention of the conquest of the South. Ethiopia's expansion in the late 19th/early 20th century is crucial for outsiders to understand "what is Ethiopia", so the article should explain clearly how modern Ethiopia was built up from a tiny core in Gondor in 1855 and covering the key steps in its expansion; 2. Whilst the borders of Ethiopia have changed significantly over time, as I understand it Oromo and Ogaden (for example) are not part of Ethiopia proper (i.e. they are not a decendent state of the Kingdom of Aksum and the peoples of those regions have different languages, culture ,history and (to some extent) religion), so should we not discuss their history as well. Can anyone provide any of this info?82.133.110.226 12:48, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

The introduction

It seems that almost one third of the introduction deals with other countries and their state/religion relationships. Perhaps this would go better somewhere else? Just a thought. 76.19.43.181 00:02, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

stop DELETING Islamic image

2nd time it has been sneakly removed from this page. i will ask editors to monitor and see who is doing this, it is vandalism.--HalaTruth(ሀላካሕ) 07:49, 8 January 2007 (UTC)