Vicky's Project

Ethiopia

In the past

The country has a long history going back to the earliest human, Lucy. She was discovered in the north east of Ethiopia, an area which is now a hot and dry place.

Thousands of years later, at about the time of Jesus, the country became an important trade centre. Axum, in the north of the country, was also important because this is where the Queeen of Sheba lived. She apparently went to see King Solomon in Jerusalem and their son, Menelik, brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Ethiopia. Whether or not this is true, every year in January all the Orthodox churches across Ethiopia bring out their copies of the Ark and celebrate Timket. Axum is also famous for the tall carved stones called stellae.

Another famous place is Lalibela where the churches are not built up from the ground but down. They were carved out of the soil and rock. This is the roof of one.

One of the most interesting rulers in Ethiopian history was Theodros II. He wasn't born a prince but studied hard and became popular with the people. He wanted his country to be strong but peaceful so he took the money from the rich and gave it to the poor. The people liked him and he grew more powerful until he became emperor of the whole country of Abyssinia (which is what they called it then). He built his capital on a hill at a place called Meqdela. He knew he needed weapons to defeat his enemies so he sent a letter to Queen Victoria asking her help. She had already given him a gun as a present.
When he didn't get a reply he took some Europeans as prisoners. He was a bit mad by then as both his wife and his best friend had died. By the time the Queen read the letter he'd imprisoned the British consul. So, instead of sending weapons, she sent him a letter ordering him to release the prisoners. When he didn't reply, she sent an army to rescue the European prisoners.

The British army was enormous with modern weapons and even elephants. Theodros and his men had some cannons as well as swords and spears. They fought bravely but they were defeated in Easter 1868. Then an awful thing happened. Theodros used the same gun that Queen Victoria had given him to shoot himself. His wife and son were looked after by the British army but his wife died on the way back to England. His son, called Alemayehu, returned to live and study in England.

Years later Menelik II became the emperor and moved the capital to Addis Ababa. He was famous for saving the country from the Italians in 1896. The Italians wanted African land (just like Britain, France and Portugal) so they tried to invade. Even though they had modern weapons, the Ethiopian army defeated them at the Battle of Adwa.

Then in 1936 the Italians decided to have another go at colonizing Ethiopia. Haile Selassie I was the Emperor then and he tried to get help from the rest of the world (he made a speech at the League of Nations) but they did not listen. He had to leave his country and move to England. In 1941, when Britain was fighting the Second World War against Germany and Italy, its army helped the Ethiopians to get rid of the Italians. (They left some things behind like Pizza). One of the really interesting things that happened in 1963 was a visit to that country by our Queen Elizabeth. She was paraded through the streets in a beautiful coach with the Emperor.

In 1974, after riots by students and terrible poverty, Haile Selassie was forced to give up power and he later died (some still believe he was killed). Instead of being ruled by an Emperor, the people had a military government but things did not work out well. There were droughts, many people died and in the end they were defeated and the country became a federal republic. I think that means that all the reagions have power but there is one central government. Anyway, things are okay at the moment thought there is still a lot of poverty.

Ethiopia today

Children often have to work to earn money if they are poor. Some sell things on the street and some clean shoes. In the countryside the children have to help with the farm. Some make money by dancing for tourists.

There are some modern buildings in Addis Ababa such as Bole Airport, but this country has some older buildings, some built by the Emperors of Ethiopia when the capital was Addis Ababa such as the palace which is now part of Addis Ababa University. People live in different types of buildings - some have mud walls and some are built of stone or concrete.

The people travel round the city on buses and minibuses which carry twelve people as well as a driver and a boy who takes the money. Some people have cars which have to cope with very bumpy roads, especially when it is raining.

People eat spicy sauces called 'wat' on a type of pancake called 'injera'. They also eat lots of fruit and vegetables. After their meal many people have a coffee ceremony. Coffee is grown in Ethiopia.

There are over eighty languages spoken in Ethiopia but in most areas people understand Amharic. Here are some words in Amharic with their meanings in English.

chigger yellum - no problem

chigger alle - there's a problem

ishee - okay

woraj - there's a stop (when you want to stop the bus)

amesegenalu - thank you

tenaystilign - hello

dehna neh - how are you? (used when talking to a male)

dehna nesh - how are you? (to a female)

dehna nachoo - how are you? (to a group)

shy - tea

buna - coffee

ow - yes

ay - no

serategna - house help