Kush, Nubia, Ethiopia and Sudan: Ancient Civilisations and Modern Nomenclature: Part II
Dr. Wolassa L. Kumo
April 14, 2009
4. Kush, Ethiopia and Abyssinia
Other historians argue that the Aksumite / Abyssinian king Ezana invaded the declining and weakened Kushitic/Meroitic Ethiopian kingdom at about 340 AD and burned down the city of Meroe. With the destruction of Meroë, this year marked the end of Kushitic state.
Subsequently, Ezana adopted the Kushitic name ´Ethiopia´ in place of Abyssinia for the Aksumite Kingdom and its surroundings. By ca. 340 AD the Axumite King Ezana established Christianity in Abyssinia following the major conversions of Egyptians to Coptic Christianity between ca.260-300.
However, this trend gradually changed in Egypt after 639-640 AD with the Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt led by Amr ibn al ´As for Khalifa ´Omar. This marked the first Muslim contacts with Lower Nubians who were forced to pay tribute in slaves and livestock and promised no aggression against Egypt now under the Arabs.
As the Kushitic/Mereotic original Ethiopian kingdom faded away in history, the term continued to be preserved among the Abyssinians who lived in the northern part of the present day Ethiopia. However, the highland Kushites, the Agaws, defeated Abyssinians at about 10th century (i.e. 922 AD) (after 6th centuries of the destruction of Meroe) and ruled Abyssinia under the Agaw Kushitic dynasty until the end of the 13th century AD, 1270 AD to be precise. The Kushitic Agaw king Lalibela is famous for building the amazing rock hewn Churches of Lalibela which are the UNESCO heritage sites in today´s Ethiopia. The Abyssinians reorganised under the mythological Solomonic dynasty regained their political hegemony in 1270 and ruled that part of the country ever since. In 1880s and 1890s, 1550 years after the destruction of Kushitic/Meroetic Ethiopian kingdom by Aksumite Abyssinian king Ezana, another Abyssinian king Minelik II conquered the vast Kushitic lands to the south, west and east of the present day Ethiopia forming a vast Abyssinian Empire in the horn of Africa.
This empire continued to be known officially as the Land of Abyssinia until Emperor Haile Sellassie changed the official name of the country into Ethiopia in the 1930 Constitution. With the official renaming of the Abyssinian empire, Ethiopia, in 1930, the majority Kushitic people of the North east Africa regained their original Ethiopian identity minus any political glory of the ancient times.
The present day Ethiopia therefore includes the original Kushitic Ethiopians who represent over 52% of the country´s population today and who predominantly live in the southern, western, central and eastern parts of the country; and Abyssinian Ethiopians who represent about 30% of the total population and who live in the northern and some central parts of the country. The remaining "Ethiopians" are of Nilotic and Omotic origin and live predominantly in southern and western parts of the country.
5. Are the ancient Kushites and modern Kushites connected?
The modern day Kushites who live in the Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are believed to be strongly linked to the ancient Kushites. The present day Kushites, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia, claim that they are descendants of ancient Kushites who once ruled Egypt and who played a central role in Africa´s Greatest and oldest Civilisation at Meroe, the present day northern Sudan.
Several Sidama and Oromo studies provide evidences supporting the Meroitic origin of the these and other Kushitic peoples. The Sidama elders discussed the origin of the Sidama people of the present day South Ethiopia in series of workshops organised in the Sidama Cultural Hall in Awassa (aka, Hawassa) in the mid 1990s. The workshops were attended by about 1200 Sidamas of whom 200 were elders. Most of the elders preserved the Sidama oral history very well over the years and stated in the workshops that the Sidamas were the original settlers in north east Africa and descendants of the larger Kushitic group that once ruled Egypt in ancient times but latter pushed down by the waves of popular migration and conflicts and also the search for better cultivable and grazing lands.
The most solid evidence is the linguistic interconnections between ancient Kushites and the modern day Kushites. Although, most of the Meroitic writings are not yet deciphered by modern Palaeographers, making the direct comparison of the ancient Meroitic languages and various modern Kushitic languages difficult, the names of the ancient Kushitic kings and queens are still preserved in several of today´s Kushitic languages. For instance, the name of one of the famous Kushitic Pharaoh during the Napatan Kushitic era was King Taharqa. This has two meanings in Sidama and other modern day Kushitic languages. "Ta" or "Xa" means now while "Harqa" means roar like a lion. "Taharqa" therefore means a roaring lion, the name preferred by most kings through out history. Most Sidamas still today choose to name their male child as "Harqa" dropping the "Ta" or "Xa".
The latter Meroitic Kushitic Ethiopian kings and queens used a distinct pattern of names. The names of Kushitic kings of the time had a suffix "amani" while the names of the Queens had the same word "amani" as a prefix. Today "amani" means "believe" in major Kushitic languages such as Sidama and Oromo. For instance, the two Kushitic/ Meroitic Ethiopian king and queen who ruled Meroe between 0-20 AD, were named King Qore Natakamani and Queen Kandake Amanitore. These names are still today used in Sidama and Oromo languages. Today in Sidama language, Qore means a big bowl made of wood while "Amanitore" roughly means "I believe in what you believe". The names of Meroitic kings and queens depict a vivid interconnection between ancient Kushitic languages and the modern day ones.
The history of over 4600 years of Kushitic civilization is preserved through the interconnections of Kushitic culture and languages. A prominent linguist Joseph Greenberg [8] divides Kushitic languages into 4 major subgroups. These include:
(a)Beja language (often placed outside Kushitic proper)
(b)Central Kushitic or Agaw language
(c)East Kushitic languages (Oromo, Sidama, Somali and Afar)
(d)South Kushitic or Rift valley languages (Iraqwe-Alagwa, Burunge and arguably Dahalo in Kenya and Tanzania)
The Beja language is spoken today by the nomads in parts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea while the Agaw language is spoken by small groups in Eritrea and Ethiopia including Agaw and Bilen. The East Kushitic languages are more diverse and comprise more than thirty languages belonging to Kushitic languages with in Afro-Asiatic Phylum [8]. Dahalo lanaguge spoken in Kenya is endangered as only 400 people spoke the language in 1997. Another linguist Richard Hayward [8] breaks up East Kushitic languages into further three well supported families. These are:
a)Sidamic (Sidama) or Highlands
b)A diverse low land Kush family (with Afar, Somali, and Oromo subgroups) and
c)Dullay which he believes should be treated separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of the Kushitic languages.
The linguistic interconnection is the great heritage of the Kushitic peoples of North East Africa. Their common history and culture reflected in their common language provides an ample opportunity to revive their lost civilization. Together with other Africans in the region, the Kushitic peoples of North East Africa should work hand in hand for greater sub regional and continental unification, economic development , poverty eradication and greater political rights and freedom. After all, we are all Sudanese!
References
1] History of Ethiopia According to Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo available at http://wysinger.homestead.com/strabo.html
2] Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, Books II.35 - IV.58, Translated by C.H. Oldfather, Harvard University Press, 2000.
3] http://www.north-of-africa.com/article.php3?id_article=356
4] The People: Ancient and Modern Ethnic Groups of Nubia, available at . http://www.nubianet.org/about/about_people3.html]
5] Ancient History of Western Sudan available at
http://www.ancientsudan.org/articles_ibrahim_musa_westernsudan.html
6] Williams, B. 2000. Book Review, The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization by Laszlo Torok. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Oct., 2000), pp. 306-310
7] Richard Hooker, 1996. Civilisations in Africa: Kush. Available at http://wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/KUSH.HTM
8] See http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Cushitic-languages
Other historians argue that the Aksumite / Abyssinian king Ezana invaded the declining and weakened Kushitic/Meroitic Ethiopian kingdom at about 340 AD and burned down the city of Meroe. With the destruction of Meroë, this year marked the end of Kushitic state.
Subsequently, Ezana adopted the Kushitic name ´Ethiopia´ in place of Abyssinia for the Aksumite Kingdom and its surroundings. By ca. 340 AD the Axumite King Ezana established Christianity in Abyssinia following the major conversions of Egyptians to Coptic Christianity between ca.260-300.
However, this trend gradually changed in Egypt after 639-640 AD with the Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt led by Amr ibn al ´As for Khalifa ´Omar. This marked the first Muslim contacts with Lower Nubians who were forced to pay tribute in slaves and livestock and promised no aggression against Egypt now under the Arabs.
As the Kushitic/Mereotic original Ethiopian kingdom faded away in history, the term continued to be preserved among the Abyssinians who lived in the northern part of the present day Ethiopia. However, the highland Kushites, the Agaws, defeated Abyssinians at about 10th century (i.e. 922 AD) (after 6th centuries of the destruction of Meroe) and ruled Abyssinia under the Agaw Kushitic dynasty until the end of the 13th century AD, 1270 AD to be precise. The Kushitic Agaw king Lalibela is famous for building the amazing rock hewn Churches of Lalibela which are the UNESCO heritage sites in today´s Ethiopia. The Abyssinians reorganised under the mythological Solomonic dynasty regained their political hegemony in 1270 and ruled that part of the country ever since. In 1880s and 1890s, 1550 years after the destruction of Kushitic/Meroetic Ethiopian kingdom by Aksumite Abyssinian king Ezana, another Abyssinian king Minelik II conquered the vast Kushitic lands to the south, west and east of the present day Ethiopia forming a vast Abyssinian Empire in the horn of Africa.
This empire continued to be known officially as the Land of Abyssinia until Emperor Haile Sellassie changed the official name of the country into Ethiopia in the 1930 Constitution. With the official renaming of the Abyssinian empire, Ethiopia, in 1930, the majority Kushitic people of the North east Africa regained their original Ethiopian identity minus any political glory of the ancient times.
The present day Ethiopia therefore includes the original Kushitic Ethiopians who represent over 52% of the country´s population today and who predominantly live in the southern, western, central and eastern parts of the country; and Abyssinian Ethiopians who represent about 30% of the total population and who live in the northern and some central parts of the country. The remaining "Ethiopians" are of Nilotic and Omotic origin and live predominantly in southern and western parts of the country.
5. Are the ancient Kushites and modern Kushites connected?
The modern day Kushites who live in the Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are believed to be strongly linked to the ancient Kushites. The present day Kushites, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia, claim that they are descendants of ancient Kushites who once ruled Egypt and who played a central role in Africa´s Greatest and oldest Civilisation at Meroe, the present day northern Sudan.
Several Sidama and Oromo studies provide evidences supporting the Meroitic origin of the these and other Kushitic peoples. The Sidama elders discussed the origin of the Sidama people of the present day South Ethiopia in series of workshops organised in the Sidama Cultural Hall in Awassa (aka, Hawassa) in the mid 1990s. The workshops were attended by about 1200 Sidamas of whom 200 were elders. Most of the elders preserved the Sidama oral history very well over the years and stated in the workshops that the Sidamas were the original settlers in north east Africa and descendants of the larger Kushitic group that once ruled Egypt in ancient times but latter pushed down by the waves of popular migration and conflicts and also the search for better cultivable and grazing lands.
The most solid evidence is the linguistic interconnections between ancient Kushites and the modern day Kushites. Although, most of the Meroitic writings are not yet deciphered by modern Palaeographers, making the direct comparison of the ancient Meroitic languages and various modern Kushitic languages difficult, the names of the ancient Kushitic kings and queens are still preserved in several of today´s Kushitic languages. For instance, the name of one of the famous Kushitic Pharaoh during the Napatan Kushitic era was King Taharqa. This has two meanings in Sidama and other modern day Kushitic languages. "Ta" or "Xa" means now while "Harqa" means roar like a lion. "Taharqa" therefore means a roaring lion, the name preferred by most kings through out history. Most Sidamas still today choose to name their male child as "Harqa" dropping the "Ta" or "Xa".
The latter Meroitic Kushitic Ethiopian kings and queens used a distinct pattern of names. The names of Kushitic kings of the time had a suffix "amani" while the names of the Queens had the same word "amani" as a prefix. Today "amani" means "believe" in major Kushitic languages such as Sidama and Oromo. For instance, the two Kushitic/ Meroitic Ethiopian king and queen who ruled Meroe between 0-20 AD, were named King Qore Natakamani and Queen Kandake Amanitore. These names are still today used in Sidama and Oromo languages. Today in Sidama language, Qore means a big bowl made of wood while "Amanitore" roughly means "I believe in what you believe". The names of Meroitic kings and queens depict a vivid interconnection between ancient Kushitic languages and the modern day ones.
The history of over 4600 years of Kushitic civilization is preserved through the interconnections of Kushitic culture and languages. A prominent linguist Joseph Greenberg [8] divides Kushitic languages into 4 major subgroups. These include:
(a)Beja language (often placed outside Kushitic proper)
(b)Central Kushitic or Agaw language
(c)East Kushitic languages (Oromo, Sidama, Somali and Afar)
(d)South Kushitic or Rift valley languages (Iraqwe-Alagwa, Burunge and arguably Dahalo in Kenya and Tanzania)
The Beja language is spoken today by the nomads in parts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea while the Agaw language is spoken by small groups in Eritrea and Ethiopia including Agaw and Bilen. The East Kushitic languages are more diverse and comprise more than thirty languages belonging to Kushitic languages with in Afro-Asiatic Phylum [8]. Dahalo lanaguge spoken in Kenya is endangered as only 400 people spoke the language in 1997. Another linguist Richard Hayward [8] breaks up East Kushitic languages into further three well supported families. These are:
a)Sidamic (Sidama) or Highlands
b)A diverse low land Kush family (with Afar, Somali, and Oromo subgroups) and
c)Dullay which he believes should be treated separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of the Kushitic languages.
The linguistic interconnection is the great heritage of the Kushitic peoples of North East Africa. Their common history and culture reflected in their common language provides an ample opportunity to revive their lost civilization. Together with other Africans in the region, the Kushitic peoples of North East Africa should work hand in hand for greater sub regional and continental unification, economic development , poverty eradication and greater political rights and freedom. After all, we are all Sudanese!
References
1] History of Ethiopia According to Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo available at http://wysinger.homestead.com/strabo.html
2] Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, Books II.35 - IV.58, Translated by C.H. Oldfather, Harvard University Press, 2000.
3] http://www.north-of-africa.com/article.php3?id_article=356
4] The People: Ancient and Modern Ethnic Groups of Nubia, available at . http://www.nubianet.org/about/about_people3.html]
5] Ancient History of Western Sudan available at
http://www.ancientsudan.org/articles_ibrahim_musa_westernsudan.html
6] Williams, B. 2000. Book Review, The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization by Laszlo Torok. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Oct., 2000), pp. 306-310
7] Richard Hooker, 1996. Civilisations in Africa: Kush. Available at http://wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/KUSH.HTM
8] See http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Cushitic-languages