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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Resistance and Representation in Amharic Folk Poetry (1889-1974)
Author(s)
Melakneh Mengistu
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2018.02.004
Affiliation(s)
Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ABSTRACT
Amharic folk literature is
a time-honoured tradition dating back to the imperial songs of the 14th and
15th centuries. One of these subgenres is Amharic folk poetry which is
permeated with the political, social, economic, and cultural legacies of
successive Ethiopian governments that rise and demise. The image of these
governments was determined by their integrity, vision, and responsiveness to
the aspirations of the populace. This study was designed to determine the
popular image of the imperial governments of Menelik II and Haile Selasse I as
reflected in Amharic folk poetry. Without prejudice to some odes which invariably
idealise the vision of these monarchs, the politically-inspired Amharic folk
poetry is found to be critical of the feudal status quo thus perpetuating
its negative images. This underpins the partial unpopularity of Menilik and
Haile Selasse. However, these critical gestures would by no means undermine
their monumental contributions to the reunification, modernization, and
survival of Ethiopia. Thus, the contemporary Amharic folk-poetry is neither
iconoclastic nor idealistic but an impassioned allegory of the nation-state.
KEYWORDS
satire, modernization, national reunification, Amharic folk poetry, resistance and representation, patriotism, centralization
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