The Ethiopian Church Journal Blog

Home of the Shy, Land of the Brave By Mitiku Adisu Ethiopians are often portrayed as "shy" people. We are told that athlete Kenenisa is not quite the marketable commodity that Usain Bolt is because he is 'shy’ or to be more precise, ‘diminutive and shy’. It is not surprising that the world has little patience for the long distance; instant gratification is what really mattered. "Farm life agrees with "this shy Ethiopian girl" Or "a shy and beautiful Bodi woman from Ethiopia"; "A shy Borana girl from Ethiopia"; "Two shy girls from Aksum." We don’t want to take the "shy thing’ too far, but according to Ortolani et al., most dogs observed in four Ethiopian villages surveyed "are shy and prefer to avoid human contact." Not to confuse men with dogs, "Ethiopian men are generally shy"; "Birdlife abounds and indigenous animals, from the rare Walis Ibex (sic) to the shy wild ass, roam free just as nat...

The Prince and the last Maharaja

What Punjab’s last Maharaja and an Ethiopian Prince had in common Maharaja Duleep Singh and Prince Alemayehu did not have an easy time in England despite their royal lineage and “imperial” benefactor. And their remaining there was also a consequence of geopolitics—protecting British commercial and political interests The connection between India and Ethiopia—once called Abyssinia—goes back a long way. Thanks to more recent dissemination of information (particularly via social media, not textbooks) many Indians now know not only about Razia Sultan’s Abyssinian lover Jamaluddin Yaqut but about the Ethiopian mercenaries who came to India to fight battles for many kingdoms in the Deccan including Malik Ambar and Ikhlas Khan. But there’s a more recent link. This week there’s news that Britain has turned down yet another request from Ethiopia to return the remains of their young Prince Alemayehu, who lies buried among many British monarchs, aristocrats and clergy inside St...

Violet-backed Starling

Violet-backed Starling, Ethiopia @BDR Photography

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