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ሀበሻ ማለት ኢትዩ ብያ ነው
What do you mean by Habesha? — A look at the Habesha Identity (p.s./t: It’s very Vague, Confusing, & Misunderstood) | @habesha_union
Habesha Gaaffaa-Geeska Yäafrika, PhD.
Habesha Gaaffaa-Geeska Yäafrika, PhD.
Oct 1, 2018·110 min read
Habesha Union (@habesha_union)
June 6, 2018 — October 1, 2018 | By: Habesha Gaaffaa-Geeska Yäafrika, PhD., [Habesha Union (ሐበሻ)],
What do you mean by Habesha?
— A look at the Habesha Identity (p.s./t: It’s very Vague, Confusing, & Misunderstood)|by Habesha Union (@habesha_union)
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The Habesha Union | ሐበሻ:[💚💛❤️💙 @habesha_union] (also known as the Unified Ethiopian-Eritrean Cultural Community) Flag — //////// — [“The Habesha Flag” above can be shared under the “Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0” legal code].
Introduction
The Habesha peoples (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, ሃበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Häbäša, Habäša, Abesha; — other native names — or rendered in Greek [as] : Αἰθίοψ, romanized: Aithiops (!¿¡“Ethiopian” !¿¡)), Habesha, or the Habesha Community is a common pan-ethnic and meta-ethnic term used to collectively refer to Ethiopians and Eritreans as a whole [26][27].
It is a Supra-Ethnic term and cultural community with a wide range of meanings that is used as a cultural identifier and grouping of multiple interrelated ethnic groups and cultures in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and within communities of Eritreans and Ethiopians in the diaspora.
It contains two main types of Supraethnicities, one is a Meta-ethnicity and the other is a Panethnicity.
A supraethnicity is a grouping of several interrelated ethnicities that have similar but unique cultures. It is a cultural identity that goes on top of and used along side in a combination of a person’s ethnicity, national/national origin identity, and citizenship.
The term Habesha is used as a pan-ethnic identifier mostly by diaspora communities outside of their ethnic homelands as a broader community identifier encompassing all peoples of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin regardless of ethnicity as well as the inclusion of hyphenated ethnicities that have had an ethnogenesis in the diaspora. It not only encompasses the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea and people of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin, it also encompasses the cultural practices and Habesha regionalisms (that are unique to their city, province/state, geographic region, costal sea board, etc.) that the diaspora have adopted in their new home.
In the past the term was used as a meta-ethnic identifier referring to several Ethiosemitic-speaking and Central Cushitic-speaking peoples or ethnic groups that hail from the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands and are generally linked by a common ancestry.
The pan-ethnic term for Habesha emerged because certain national identities don’t adequately describe this phenomenon and cultural commonality, so a pan-ethnic sense of Habesha identity as a layer on top of ethnic, national origin, and citizenship identities emerged encompassing Ethiopia, Eritrea, the various ethnic groups of both, people of both national origins, and the Habesha diaspora regionalism that make them distinct in a way that Ethiopians and Eritreans in one region are closer to each other than they are to their counterparts in another region or country.
A broader sense of Habesha Culture and Identity has emerged as an inclusive term for all peoples descended from Ethiopians, Eritreans, and their diaspora by newer generations that have consolidated this cultural identity because of their shared experiences, their inter-dependence on each other, and as a way to consolidate and preserve their combined cultures in the diaspora while living outside of their parents’ homeland in places where their linked cultures are not dominant [81]. It has evolved into a pan-ethnic term (generally re-coined or re-purposed by the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora in North America and Europe) to refer to all Ethiopian and Eritrean Ethnic Groups and the New Ethnic Groups that have Emerged in the Diaspora via the Ethnogenesis of Hyphenated Ethnicities that combine national origins, ethnic groups, and citizenship-nationalities (or cultural identities of the countries they live in and are citizens of) into many new sets of various inter-related ethnic groups that constitute the larger Habesha Community or Habesha Supraethnicity.
[28] [29] [27][30][31][32].
Introduction Part 2:
The group of people or name, “Habesha” has a very confusing, and somewhat misunderstandingly ‘controversial’ meaning . Many people ask: “is it an ethnicity or a pan-ethnicity”, “is it the same as the citizens of the old former country of Abyssinia that once existed in parts of present day Ethiopia and Eritrea before it changed its was said to have changed its name to Ethiopia”, “Habesha is not the same as Ethiopian”, “who uses the name Habesha in Ethiopia or Eritrea”, “who’s included in this ‘grouping’”, “how about the diaspora and those who grew up or were born in a different country?”, and many more confusing/confused questions that have multiple vague answers that some would only lead to case-by-case analyses and for others a never ending un-exhaustive list of ethnicities, but this will eventually give most people, if not all, an understanding or at least a general idea of what Habesha means.
Inspiration to Write this Article
It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to write this article but I never had the chance to do so until now. The exact push that made me want to write this article was an “Unpopular opinions: Habesha edition”/“Unpopular opinions of Habesha twitter” (this is a comedy post made by people within the community, it is not anything offensive, it is actually a way for people to ask for feedback on certain semi-controversial topics) (https://www.instagram.com/p/BjVl4E0BWd6/?hl=en&taken-by=habeshacomedies) post by BunaTime (@habeshacomedies — https://www.instagram.com/habeshacomedies) and the post’s subsequent comments on Instagram published May 28, 2018. As one commenter wrote (this is not a direct quote): this [post] is a great way to start a conversation that we desperately need [in our community]. The “Unpopular opinions of Habesha twitter [and Instagram]” post, the BunaTime (@habeshacomedies), Habesha Union (@habesha_union — https://www.instagram.com/habesha_union), and other accounts that show the perspectives of the Generation Z and Millennials must be heard in this and in other discussions that affects us all. BunaTime (@habeshacomedies), the account that originally posted the “Unpopular opinions of Habesha twitter [and Instagram]”, has also implied a vague but not a definitive answer of who is Habesha.
Here are screenshots of two statements that inspired this article:
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Source: BunaTime @habeshacomedies | (https://www.instagram.com/p/BjVl4E0BWd6/?hl=en&taken-by=habeshacomedies)
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Source: BunaTime @habeshacomedies | (https://www.instagram.com/p/BjVl4E0BWd6/?hl=en&taken-by=habeshacomedies)
[To share this article - copy and paste from the link and tittle bellow:
What do you mean by Habesha? — A look at the Habesha Identity (p.s./t: It’s very Vague, Confusing, & Misunderstood) | @habesha_union [ https://medium.com/@habeshaunion/what-do-you-mean-by-habesha-a-look-at-the-habesha-identity-habesha-union-habesha-union-43f22ab8bc35 ] .]
Habesha is definitely a Pan-Ethnicity
Habesha [(Ge’ez and most Horn of Africa Languages: ሐበሻ ↔️ Habesha | (the etymology and literal meaning is uncertain with no consensus, but this is as close as some historians can get with the limited data and information that has been discovered (most pan-ethnic, ethnic, national, and country names have etymologies that are difficult if not impossible to pinpoint or define, Habesha is one of them), most of the research for the etymology and literal meaning was done outside the Habesha community and might not be as accurate) — Habesha (Ge’ez: ሐበሻ) is believed (not definitively) to mean / ~ ‘incense gatherers’ *** ‘incense burner(s)’ of the Horn of Africa | ~ dark-skinned — probably a reference to incense smoke/ ) in an uncertain ancient Horn of Africa/North-East African language, also known as Cushites in Hebrew (כאשיטאס | the namesake of the Cushtic branch of the Afro-Asiatic Language Family), or Aithiops (Αἰθίοψ — | “~ ¿ ‘Ethiopian’ ¿!? ~”- /dark-skinned | ~‘burnt-face’~ | B(b)lack person/ ) in Ancient Greek referring to the inhabitants of the Horn of Africa (and North-East Africa south of Egypt) ] is a pan-ethnicity. Habesha is a Pan-Ethnicity, it is not just one ethnicity but consists of multiple ethnicities. Examples of other pan-ethnic groups include Asian-Americans (Asian Americans), Hispanics, Latinos/latinoamericanos (Hispanic is a pan-ethnicity within the Latino pan-ethnicity, bare with me if I accidentally use it interchangeably. Most Hispanics are also Latinos at the same time.).
What is a Pan-Ethnicity?
A pan-ethnicity is an amalgamation of multiple ethnicities or groups of people that once at some point in the past “led their lives and their history separately” but later on share[ed] cultural commonalities and collaborate[ed] with each other for ‘¿? self-preservation ¿?’, protection, to gain a stronger socio-political presence, promote their cultures on a united front, protect their communities from discrimination, and reaffirm their cultural commonalities within their own ancestral homeland or more specifically abroad in the diaspora.
Approche 1: Unity in response Against Elitists-promoted splitting of multi-ethnic countries and families; and/or to Counter Unpopular Government-led War Sentiment within multiple Culturally Linked countries (…please read the whole thing…) [Keep in mind that this was partially written before the Landmark July 8, 2018 Peace Treaty Meeting between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali (አብይ አህመድ አሊ | Abiyyi Ahimad Alii) of Ethiopia (EPRDF-OPDO) and President Isaias Afwerki (ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ) of Eritrea (EPLF-PFDJ) that took place in Asmara, Eritrea.
In this article, I am not calling for the reunification of Ethiopia and Eritrea, but in reality, to show the intrinsic and undeniable socio-cultural connections between the Afar Region (Qafar | አፋር ክልል), Amhara Region (አማራ), Benishangul-Gumuz (ቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ), Addis Ababa (አዲስ አበባ), Dire Dawa (Dir Dhabe | ድሬ ዳዋ | Dirre Dhawaa), Gambela Region (ጋምቤላ), Harari Region (ሐረሪ | ሓረሪ), Oromia Region (Oromiyaa | ኦሮሚያ), Ogaden (Traditional Name: Ogaadeen | also known as the “Ethiopian Somali State — Dawlada Deegaanka Soomaalida Itoobiya” after the EPRDF-TPLF took power in Ethiopia), the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR | የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ህዝቦች ክልል | Debub Region-Ethiopia), Tigray Region (ክልል ትግራይ), Maekel Region (ዞባ ማእከል), Anseba Region (ዞባ ዓንሰባ), Gash-Barka Region (ዞባ ጋሽ ባርካ), Debub Region-Eritrea (ዞባ ደቡብ), Northern Red Sea Region (ዞባ ሰሜናዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ), Southern Red Sea Region (ዞባ ደቡባዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ), Arsi Province, Hararghe Province (Harargee | ሐረርጌ | Xararge | ሐረርጌይ), Sidamo Province, Begemder Province (በጌምድር), Illubabor Province, Tigray Province (ትግራይ), Ogaden Province (Ogaadeen), Gamu-Gofa Province, Kaffa Province (Kefa), Welega Province, Gojjam Province (ጎጃም | ጐዛም | ጐዣም | ጎዣም), Shewa Province, Wollo Province (ወሎ), Bale Province (Bali), Gondar Province, Omo Province, Agame Province (ዓጋመ), Agawmeder Province (Agwa | አገው), Bete Amhara Province (ቤተ አማራ), Dawaro Province, Dembiya Province (ደምቢያ), the Former Ethiopian Province of Eritrea, Enderta Province (እንደርታ | Enderta — Inderta), Fatagar Province (Fätägar), Hadiya Province, Ifat Province, Lasta Province (ላስታ), Menz Province (Menz — Manz), Qwara Province (ቋራ | Qwara — K’wara), Semien Province ( ממלכת סאמיאן | ממלכת ביתא ישראל | Beta Israel), Tembien Province, Tselemt Province, Tsegede Province, Wag Province (ዋግ), Wegera Province, Ethiopia (ኢትዮጵያ | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia — የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ), Eritrea (ኤርትራ | State of Eritrea — ሃገረ ኤርትራ), other parts of the Horn of Africa with overlapping ethnic/sub-ethnic groups, most evident around shared border towns and border regions with other countries) the various nomadic/semi-nomadic tribes, and Ethiopian-Eritrean Communities in other countries around the world, with each region, community, ethnic group, and country bringing in a distinct part of their culture to the table.]
A pan-ethnicity is necessary when power hungry corrupt governments and ruling parties split multi-ethnic countries apart (and/or maltreat people) to gain power, wealth, and control, while the people were at peace with each other at the time and when disagreements arose they were once (at least at some point in history, but even now) capable of resolving issues through peaceful civil dialogue. Ethiopia and Eritrea are some examples of these situations, where Eritreans and Ethiopians considered themselves “almost” “as one people” even though it was a multi-ethnic society with power hungry elitists within the various ethnic groups treating each other improperly in the past. In this situation Ethiopians and Eritreans can use the term Habesha as a way of keeping that cultural connection or link with each other. In the unlikely event that Eritrea and Ethiopia splinter off into many more smaller countries, the Habesha pan-ethnic identity would be a contingency plan for those who believe in a culturally connected but independant Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Ethio-Eritrean(s) Diaspora around the world. [Keep in mind that this was an oversimplification of the Eritrean War For Independence, the rejoing of Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the Ethio-Eritrean War. Nevertheless, many Eritrean and Ethiopian families were split apart from each other and disenfranchised.].
Approche 2: Unity to confederate multiple similar but to a certain extent semi-distinct ethnicities that are culturally linked to each other, into a larger community for socio-political strength, social class mobility, and protection against discrimination abroad in the diaspora.
A pan-ethnicity is a great advantage in the diaspora. Other pan-ethnic diasporic communities like the Asian-American and Latino (including the Hispanic subgroup) communities in the United States of America are starting to have a good standing in socio-political situations compared to other formerly-immigrant/immigrant/descendant-of-immigrant communities in the U.S. like the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. These communities if they were not united in this way, would not have had the same power and numbers (of people, because a large population number is necessary for socio-political and cultural strength in most democracies) as they have now, in comparison to Eritrean-Americans and Ethiopian-Americans. Even as a country-specific community Ethiopians aren’t even united on one front, they are so divided (with a few exceptions like, the very new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to the United States (many Ethiopian-and-Eritrean-Canadians joined as well) in July of 2018, that garnered much publicity even from Western Media. It was so popular that the local governments of the Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.), and the city of Los Angeles, California (CA) in the United States had proclaimed July 28, 2018 and July 29, 2018 respectively as Ethiopia(n) Day, and before that in Renton, Washington (WA | Washington State located on the West Coast not Washington, D.C. which is on the East Coast) July 2–8, 2017 was declared Ethiopian’s Week during an Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America-ESFNA Soccer/football tournament. These are only a few recent exceptions, though.). This socio-cultural unity between people of the same national origin or unity between multiple ethnic groups and peoples of different but similar national origins does help in creating a stronger socio-political protective force. For example you might hear about multiple Latino/Latina (Latino pan-ethnicity) Senators, Congress Members (Parliamentarians), executive cabinet secretaries (ministers), governors (premiers), mayors, government agence directors, judges, Supreme Court Justices (judges of the highest court in the country), and other government officials in the United States with national origins from Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Haiti, ethnic Puerto Ricans (of the U.S. Territorial Commonwealth of Puerto Rico), and Chicanos (ethnic Mexicans who for the most part have lived in the United States for centuries/generations), while you might not hear as much about influential Habeshas with national origins in Eritrea, Ethiopia, a few overlapping ethnicities in parts of Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, .etc, taking part in government or the larger society of the country they live in presently and are citizens of. When these similar but to a certain small extent, distinct groups come together, they can produce change to better their status in their respective countries they NOW live in or are citizens of.
Examples of other Pan-Ethnicities:
Pan-ethnicities can consist of many different ethnicities (multiethnic), national origins (national origins can evolve into ethnicities and pan-ethnicities when in the context of diasporic communities in need of mutual protection, and makes it easier to explain to Westerners), it can consist of citizens of many different countries, can be multiracial, newly formed ethnicities can turn into a subgroup of pan-ethnicities, it could even consist of other pan-ethnicities within a certain pan-ethnicity.
The Asian-American Panethnicity: the Asian-American panethnicity formed in 1990s America during a time when the various ethnic groups and national origins of Asian descendants in the United States had a very weak socio-political and economic power to the extent that they were being taken advantage of and discriminated against by dominant White (European-American) peoples. Many Americans of ethnic/national origin ancestry in Asia like the Samoan, Tongan, Guamanian, native Hawai’ians, Pacific Islanders, Lao, Hmong, Mien, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Burmese, Malay, Filipinos, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, and Sri Lankan, Afghani, Iranian, Korean, Japanese, China and various ethnicities and languages that comprises these national origins banded/allied together for mutual protection against most forms of discrimination and gain power/representation in the local, state (provincial), and federal (national) governments of the United States of America. For example a majority of politicians/government officials in the U.S. State of Hawaii, are held by Asian Americans, like Governor David Yutaka Ige of Hawaii from Japan, Former Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui from Japan, Attorney General (Provincial Ministry of Justice) Doug Chin of Hawaii from China, Senator (parliamentarian) Mazie Hirono from Japan, Former Governor Ben Cayetano who is ethnic Filipino (Philippines), Congressman (parliamentarian) Charles Djou from China, and many more.
The Latinoamericano (a.k.a. Latino) (Including Hispanic) Panethnicity: The Latino (Latinoamericano) panethnicity is one of the largest well known pan-ethnicities. It consists of many different ethnicities, races, national origins, nationalities (citizens of various countries), another pan-ethnicity within the Latino panethnicity which is almost but not actually coterminous/coexistent to the extent that most people accidentally use the term interchangeably, nevertheless all Hispanics are Latino, while a majority of Latinos are simultaneously Hispanic some of them are not. Even within a certain ethnicity, a recent subgroup will form when part of their people move to another place and incorporat parts of another culture while still keeping their ancestral culture intact. The ethnicities, national origins, races, pan-ethnicity, and cultures within the Latino panethnicity are (this may not be a full list, when pan-ethnicities become large it will be difficult to keep track of every group that is included), Hispanic, Mexicans, El Salvadorians , Cuban, Nicaraguans, Colombians, Guatemalans, Dominicans (Dominican Republic), Haitians, Brazilians, ethnic Puerto Ricans (from the U.S. Territorial Commonwealth of Puerto Rico), Chicanos (ethnic Mexicans who for the most part have lived in the United States for centuries or many generations), Nuyorican (an American of a mixed ethnic Puerto Rican descent and New York City Culture), Latin Americans, Mapuche (Mestizo-like Native American and Spaniard descent), Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Latinos, including some but not limited to Amerindians (Native Americans), Asians, Blacks (Africans), Whites (Europeans), Mestizos (biracial European-Amerindian), Mulattoes (biracial African-European), Zambos (biracial Amerindians-African), and many more that that are too vast to name.
A person can be multi-ethnic, in other words they can have multiple ethnicities, national origins, and pan-ethnicities all at the same time. A person can have parents and other ancestors from multiple ethnicities, and has an inalienable right to claim all ethnic group that they are a part of, (this is contrast to controversial Ethiopian law that forces children of inter-ethnic marriages to choose one ethnic group over the other -generally the father’s ethnicity- to identify with on legal documents and in their interactions with the larger society. This was purposefully done to divide people, force the general public into thinking that they don’t have any commonalities with other ethnic groups within Habesha Community, and the undermining or playing down the existence of a historically and exponentially large population of multi-ethnic/inter-ethnic families throughout and between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the larger Habesha Community that includes those of Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestry and heritage within the Diaspora.).
The Habesha Pan-Ethnicity
The Habesha Pan-ethnicity has many different ethnicities, that to a major extent are similar but to a certain extent distinctly different. In reality the Habesha Pan-ethnicity is smaller than the other pan-ethnicities mentioned earlier, but elitists, corrupt government officials, corrupt and vial “political activists,” have tried to split the Habesha pan-ethnicity back into smaller weak factions. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian-Eritrean-Somali Generation Z and Millennials especially in the diaspora, have taken up the mantle in protecting the intrinsic connections between these various ethnicities in the Habesha pan-ethnicity. For example BunaTime (@habeshacomedies — https://www.instagram.com/habeshacomedies), their followers on Instagram, other social media accounts, the #HabeshaTwitter hashtag, etc. have kept the Habesha culture (while incorporating some of the cultures of places where the diasporic communities live and had built their lives/livelihoods in) strong while elitists (some of the older generation, while others of this generation that have been corrupted by elitist, separatists-extremist, mob justice, and dictatorial ideologies) have tried to stop its unifying and solidarity message recreated by these new generations.
Ethiopian-Eritreans Societal & Cultural Relations and Community Organizations
Throughout the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora, there have been many multi-ethnic and bi-national origin community organizations founded by and for Eritreans and Ethiopians to foster good relationships, promote and express cultural commonalities well before diplomatic ties between the two countries’s governments were ever restored. A majority of these organizations are found on college/university campuses throughout the United States, Canada, and other parts of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora. [15][16]
An Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association, Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Union, Habesha Students Union, Habesha Students Association, Eritrean Student Union, Ethiopian Student Union, Eritrean Student Association, Ethiopian Student Association, Ethiopian Eritrean Unity Club, or Eritrean-Ethiopian Student Association) are College/University Student Community Organizations that promote and preserve the cultures of students of Ethiopian and/or Eritrean (Habesha[6]) heritage. (Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association or EESA is the generic term for these student organizations.)
{{History of Eritrea}}{{History of Ethiopia}}
The Habesha Pan-ethnicity includes (but is not wholly limited to):
** Pre-Diaspora Ethnic Groups: Aari, Afar, Agaw-Awi, Agaw-Hamyra, Alaba, Amhara, Anuak, Arbore, Argobba, Bacha, Basketo, Bena, Bench, Berta, Bodi, Brayle, Burji, Chara, Daasanach, Dawro, Debase/Gawwada, Dime, Dirashe, Dizi, Donga, Fedashe, Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), Gamo, Gebato, Gedeo, Gedicho, Gidole, Goffa, Gumuz, Gurage, Hadiya, Hamar, Harari, Irob, Kafficho, Kambaata, Karo, Komo, Konso, Konta, Koore, Koyego, Kunama, Kusumie, Kwegu, Majangir, Male, Mao, Mareqo, Mashola, Me’en, Mere people, Messengo, Mossiye, Murle, Mursi, Nao, Nuer, Nyangatom, Oromo, Oyda, Qebena, Qechem, Qewama, She, Shekecho, Sheko, Shinasha, Shita/Upo, Sidama, Silt’e, Somali, Surma, Tembaro, Tigray, Rashaida, Tsamai, Welayta, Werji, Zelmam, Zeyese, Tigrinya, Tigre, Afar, Saho, Bilen, Kunama, Nara, Yem, … →
** Post-Diaspora Ethnic Groups: Ethiopian-Americans, Eritrean-Americans, Swiss-Eritreans, British-Ethiopians, Canadian-Eritreans, Swedish-Ethiopian, Eritrean-Saudis, Ethiopian-Eritrean-Italians, Australian-Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Israelis, Eritrean-Israelis, Chinese-Ethiopians, Ukrainian-Ethiopians, Eritrean-Germans, Ethiopian-Germans, Eritrean-Sudanese, Ethiopian-Somalis, Ethiopian-Djiboutian-(Djibouti)-Somali-Eritreans, … etc. … etc. … etc. … . Ethiopian Australians (Oromo Australian), Ethiopian Canadians, Ethiopian Jews in Israel, Ethiopians in the United Kingdom, Ethiopian Americans, Ethiopians in Denmark, Ethiopians in Germany, Ethiopians in Norway, Ethiopians in Sweden, Eritrean Americans, Eritrean Canadians, Eritreans in Denmark, Eritreans in Norway, Eritreans in Sweden, Eritreans in the United Kingdom, many more, … etc. … etc. … etc. … and other Hyphenated Ethnicities of Ethiopian-Eritrean heritage ancestry.
Habesha is another term for: Aari-Afar-Agaw-Awi-Agaw-Hamyra-Alaba-Amhara- Anuak-Arbore-Argobba-Bacha-Basketo-Bena-Bench-Berta-Bodi-Brayle-Burji-Chara-Daasanach-Dawro-Debase/Gawwada-Dime-Dirashe-Dizi-Donga-Fedashe-Beta Israel-Jewish-Gamo-Gebato-Gedeo-Gedicho-Gidole-Goffa-Gumuz-Gurage-Hadiya-Hamar-Harari-Irob-Kafficho-Kambaata-Karo-Komo-Konso-Konta-Koore-Koyego-Kunama-Kusumie-Kwegu-Majangir-Male-Mao-Mareqo-Mashola-Me’en-Mere-Messengo-Mossiye-Murle-Mursi-Nao-Nuer-Nyangatom-Oromo-Oyda-Qebena-Qechem-Qewama-She-Shekecho-Sheko-Shinasha-Shita/Upo-Sidama-Silt’e-Somali-Surma-Tembaro-Tigray-Rashaida-Tsamai-Welayta-Werji-Zelman-Zeyese-Tigrinya-Tigre-Afar-Saho-Bilen-Kunama-Nara-Yem-Eritrean-Ethiopian-British-Irish-Ukrainian-Somali-Djibouti-Sudanese-German-Chinese-Australian-Russian-Swedish-Ethiopian-Eritrean-American-… .etc. … etc. … etc. … Ethiopian Australians (Oromo Australian), Ethiopian Canadians, Ethiopian Jews in Israel, Ethiopians in the United Kingdom, Ethiopian Americans, Ethiopians in Denmark, Ethiopians in Germany, Ethiopians in Norway, Ethiopians in Sweden, Eritrean Americans, Eritrean Canadians, Eritreans in Denmark, Eritreans in Norway, Eritreans in Sweden, Eritreans in the United Kingdom, many more, … etc. … etc. … etc. … and other Hyphenated Ethnicities of Ethiopian-Eritrean heritage ancestry.
Like ALL countries, cultures, ethnicities, groups of people, regions, etc. including the Habesha panethnicity (and other cultures, ethnicities, countries, like the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Finland Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, the United States of America, Russia, Austria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Latino panethnicity, China, Japan, Korea, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Somalia, the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and etc.) were developed or partially developed through conquest. Even though this vile, evil, and violent conquests happened and disproportionately affected those that were being conquered, in the aftermath when peace eventually occurs within or between these groups, a very important cultural exchange or cultural diffusion, and an intellectual exchange happens between both/all parties in the situation (it is for the most part or if not at least should be a symbiotic and reciprocal exchange). During this Cultural and Intellectual Exchange in the aftermath, many people would (or should if not) lean from each other. This is how things happen it’s not a very good method but life just happens. At least, in the long run, lets reap the good things that may come after the storm. We need to settle our derogatory rivalries and make peace with each other once and for all.
Summary Definition
Urban Dictionary:
Habesha is a term that refers to people of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage no matter their tribe/ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, whatever country they were born in, or whatever other culture they practice along with it.
Habesha, in modern times is used as a term of cultural pride and unity that is bigger than just the two countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea and even bigger than just the 80 to 90+ tribes/ethnicities recognized by the Ethiopian/Eritrean governments but spans around the world.
An older and less accepted definition used by most western dictionaries, some older people, and foreigners, say that only peoples from Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea like the Amhara, Tigreans, Tigrinya, Tigre, Agew, and other Ethiopian Highlanders are the only Habeshas but most Millennials and Generation Z disagree with this old definition.
In both the modern and older definitions, Habesha (#Habesha) has always been a pan-ethnicity. It originally included a few ethnic groups, more ethnic groups groups joined in later, then more and more joined in through cultural diffusion or sharing cultural ideas and practices with each other, forming a bigger culture.
Habesha is a term of unity for all people of Ethiopian and Eritrean Heritage Around the World even if they are bi-racial or a citizen of another country other than Ethiopia and Eritrea.
— Or In other words —
Habesha is a term that refers to people of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage without discriminating against tribe/ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship. It is a pan-ethnic term that includes the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora who live abroad.
Example:
Are you Habesha? — Yes, Yes I am.
What’s your national origin or where is your family from? — I’m part Eritrean and part Ethiopian.
What ethnicity are you? — I’m Amhara, Gurage, Oromo, Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish), Welayta (Wolayta), Tigre, Tigray-Tigrinya (Tigrayan), Agew, Anuak, Kafficho, Kambaata, Kunama, Blien, Afar, Beja, Somali, Gamo, Dorze, Hadiya, [or any of the other 80 or so Habesha/Ethiopian-Eritrean ethnic groups]. I’m also Ethiopian- American, Eritrean-American, Ethiopian-German, Ethiopian-Canadian, Eritrean-Canadian Eritrean-Swiss, Eritrean-Swedish, Italian-Eritrean-Ethiopian, [or any of the other Hyphenated Ethnicities of the Ethiopian-Eritrean (Habesha Community) Diaspora].
What’s your nationality or citizenship? — I’m American (United States), Canadian, Swedish National, Israeli, Germany Citizen, Ethiopian, Eritrean, [or a person who is of Ethiopian or Eritrean heritage, ancestry, or national origin but is a citizen of any other country]. [84][85][86]
Hence those who identified as Habesha were reflecting their common identification with the Ethiopian and Eritrean community, as the term Habesha describes a pan-ethnic identity category encompassing Eritreans and Ethiopians, along with all the constituent ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian-Eritrean Community.
Excerpts from “Being Habesha in a Black and White World: A Racial Identity Crisis” , by Abigail Mengesha (https://medium.com/@habeshaunion/being-habesha-in-a-black-and-white-world-a-racial-identity-crisis-by-abigail-mengesha-6fa834132482)
See bullet points bellow:
Habesha is a collective term for the native inhabitants of Ethiopia or Eritrea. Habesha is neither a race, nor an ethnicity, nor a nation. It is a way of living, a state of mind, and a collective of various cultures. It doesn’t have a common language or religion.
Most young [Ethiopians and Eritreans] or Ethiopian [and/] or Eritrean Americans use the term to refer to themselves and others in a way that eliminates the distinctions between [or brings together] different tribes and ethnic groups, while also prompting pride and a discourse of a grander and united Habesha identity [that includes the peoples, culture, and practices of its constituent ethnic groups (the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora) whilst recognizing the diversity within the Habesha Community].
So, the contemporary definition of Habesha is equivalent to “Latino” — a broad term, but also one that still recognizes its various ethnical and cultural constituents.
Conclusion (& When, How, Where,To Whom should you use the Habesha Pan-ethnic Identity. This is all dependant on context.)
The Habesha panethnic culture is back on the rise (surprisingly even with the diasporic communities abroad which historically have been known to have diminished in their cultural heritage identity), the Habesha panethnicity has evolved and has grown bigger and better in this generation, and is here to stay.
When talking about someone who is Ethiopian and/or Eritrean, you can use the term Habesha to describe them, unless they specifically ask you to not because they prefer to emphasize another ethno-cultural identity term for themselves. When this happens you should respect their wishes and use the term they prefer when they are mentioned. When talking about other peoples of the Horn of Africa for example non-Ethiopian-Eritrean Somalis and thoses from frontier (border) regions/towns, and nomadic/semi-nomadic peoples that live between multiple countries, exercise caution because you would not be sure if they identify as Habesha or not. This is the vague grey area in the Habesha panethnicity that I had mentioned in the beginning of this article. In these types of situations, in the best interest of not offending someone, use their specific nationality, national origin, or if known, their specific ethnicity (if appropriate). Then when you get to know them, ask if they identify as Habesha, if they don’t respect that, if they do, you can use that term to describe them.
Work Cited (Bibliography/References)
RaquelReichard. “9 Things Latinos Are Tired of Explaining to Everyone Else.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., 25 Oct. 2015, mic.com/articles/111648/9-things-latinos-are-tired-of-explaining-to-everyone-else#.vt2MX4cru.
Diaz-Hurtado, Jessica N. “Between Two Cultures: The Highs & Lows of Growing Up Latino & Asian in the US.” Remezcla, remezcla.com/lists/culture/asian-latino-experience-in-the-united-states/.
“Eritrea and Ethiopia to Re-Establish Diplomatic Ties.” BBC News, BBC, 9 July 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-44758327.
“Ethiopia and Eritrea’s Long History With Lasagna.” TASTE, 3 May 2018, www.tastecooking.com/ethiopian-diasporas-long-history-lasagna/.
Afeworki, and Niat. “Eritrean Nationalism and the Digital Diaspora: Expanding Diasporic Networks via Twitter.” EScholarship, University of California, 1 Feb. 2018, escholarship.org/uc/item/8bz6s6m0.
ecadforum. “Ethiopian Soccer Tournament and Cultural Festival Starts July 2 in Renton, Seattle.” ECADF Ethiopian News, 1 July 2017, ecadforum.com/2017/07/01/ethiopian-soccer-tournament-and-cultural-festival-starts-july-2-in-renton-seattle/.
Giambalvo, Emily. “Ethiopians Ready to Have a Ball in Renton: ‘Soccer Is the Vehicle of Bringing Everybody Together’.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 11 July 2017, www.seattletimes.com/sports/other-sports/ethiopians-ready-to-have-a-ball-in-renton-soccer-is-the-vehicle-of-bringing-everybody-together/.
“Understanding Our Perceptions of Asian Americans.” Asia Society, asiasociety.org/education/understanding-our-perceptions-asian-americans.
BunaTime (@habeshacomedies — https://www.instagram.com/habeshacomedies)
“Unpopular Opinions: Habesha edition”/“Unpopular opinions of Habesha twitter,” (https://www.instagram.com/p/BjVl4E0BWd6/?hl=en&taken-by=habeshacomedies) by: BunaTime (@habeshacomedies — https://www.instagram.com/habeshacomedies)
for more see in-text citations.
Here is a music video that shows the ethnic diversity of the Ethiopia side of the Habesha Community (I haven’t found a video for the Eritrean side yet but there are plenty of pictures in the Photo Gallery at the bottom of this article). The Video is called “Meskerem Getu — መስከረም ጌቱ — Ejochishen Zergi | እጆችሽን ዘርጊ — New Ethiopian music 2020 (official Video)” — By: Meskerem Getu (Meskerem Getu Official):
“Meskerem Getu — መስከረም ጌቱ — Ejochishen Zergi | እጆችሽን ዘርጊ — New Ethiopian music 2020 (official Video)” — By: Meskerem Getu (Meskerem Getu Official).
Edition 2:
— These are excerpts that were directly taken from old Wikipedia edits before Wikipedia Administrators Censored it by deleting both the content and the edit logs so it can be difficult to find (small parts can still be found dispersed throughout Wikipedia Mirrors, Talk Pages, some Previous Revisions, and Page Deletion Discussions), even though legitimate sources were used in these contributions to Wikipedia. —
According to more contemporary studies done by S. M. Oliphant on Ethiopian Immigration Experiences in the United States at the Catholic University of America in conjunction with Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services which works with Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants, the study shows that Habesha identity — more evidently in the context of diaspora communities — is used as an inclusive pan-ethnic identifier for Ethiopians, Eritreans, and the various ethnic groups they comprise; some non-exhaustive examples are the Tigre and Oromo ethnic groups as stated in the study.[32]
Statements made by Hannah Giorgis of The Atlantic[79], Heran Mamo of the University of Southern California[80], and The Washington Post[51] who are heavily connected with the Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Habesha communities also corroborates this same sentiment found in the studies published about the term Habesha as used within the community itself, with Mamo and Giorgis showing its wide use among the community and the Washington Post explaining it as “an umbrella [term], a way to describe the various ethnic groups hailing from the northeast corner of Africa … an insider’s phrase, a badge of pride and kinship among Ethiopians and Eritreans”[51].
Mary Goitom, a researcher at York University studying the usage of the term “Habesha” among Ethiopian and Eritrean youth in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area, also had similar findings as Oliphant’s study in that Ethiopian and Eritrean youth use ‘Habesha’ as a “supra-national” multi-ethnic term to signify their shared cultural identity but in contrast, Goitom does mention the existence of an older narrow definition for the term even though her current findings show that a more broader “supra-national”, multi-ethnic, and inclusive definition has emerged. According to these studies, neither Oliphant nor Goitom make the assertions that non-Highlander ethnic groups would have to abandon the non-Amhara or non-Tigray aspects of their culture and identity under the contemporary usage of the term “Habesha”, while Goitom’s study shows the generational tension between the ‘only Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlanders are Habesha’ faction vs. ‘all ethnic groups of Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestry are Habesha’factions of the cultural debate.[31][39]
In Mary Goitom’s study entitled Becoming Habesha: The journey of second-generation Ethiopian and Eritrean Youth in Canada produced at the University of Calgary also states similar finds as found in her other study including interviews with several members of the Habesha community. Goitom’s study interviewing multiple members of the Habesha community, shows the current use of the cultural identity term “Habesha” as a multi-ethnic idenity that includes all ethnic groups of Eritrea and Ethiopia and as a way to foster communal relations between the Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporas abroad, with Participant 15 stating that “Habesha” is used to fill a divide when Ethiopian and Eritrean youth want to invite each other to cultural event without having to use politically contentious terms that align with current national boundaries and also making it clear in their statement that Oromos are considered Habesha within said community. Goitom then goes to states that, “ transnational markers and experiences that comprise Habesha identity, for participant 6 [and those stated earlier in the study say that] Habesha is not a ‘zero-sum’ label that generates winners and losers rather it is an open and flexible identity” which is defined as “anyone who is Ethiopian or Eritrean.” Within this same study, Goitom re-iterates that “Habesha” was not always used as an inclusive term among previous generation of Ethiopians and Eritreans, but has emerged as an inclusive term for all peoples descended from Ethiopians, Eritreans, and their diaspora by newer generations that have consolidated this identity because of their shared experiences and their inter-dependence on each other outside of their parents’ homeland.[81]
It is difficult to determine the total population of people who identify as Habesha, the Official count is indeterminable due to the lack of a legal definition on Habesha Identity in Ethiopia or Eritrea in contrast to the legally established ethnic groups in these countries, its use as a self-identified cultural grouping, the existence of diaspora communities with separate characteristics and definitons, and the lack of a community or sociological consensus on its definition.
Work Cites 2
Goitom, Mary (2017). “‘Unconventional Canadians’: Second-generation ‘Habesha’ youth and belonging in Toronto, Canada”. Global Social Welfare. Springer. 4 (4): 179–190. doi:10.1007/s40609–017–0098–0. [31.031.131.231.3] . [York University] .
Goitom, M. (2012). Becoming habesha: The journey of second-generation ethiopian and eritrean youth in canada (Order No. NR91110). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1252883321). [University of Calgary] .
Oliphant, S. M. (2015). The impact of social networks on the immigration experience of ethiopian women (Order №3705725). Available from Ethnic NewsWatch; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1691345929). [32.032.132.232.332.432.5] . [Catholic University of America].
Hoang, A. (2016, May 05). Habesha students strengthen cultural ties through community organization. University of Califronia, Los Angeles (University Wire-Daily Bruin). Available from ProQuest: https://dailybruin.com/2016/05/05/habesha-students-strengthen-cultural-ties-through-community-organization . [University of Califronia, Los Angeles].
Giorgis, Hannah (2019–04–04). “Nipsey Hussle’s Eritrean American Dream”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020–04–30.. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/04/nipsey-hussle-la-rappers-eritrean-american-dream/586474/. [The Atlantic].
Mamo, Heran. “Habeshas around the globe mourn Nipsey Hussle: “It hit our community a different way””. University of Southern California’s Annenberg Media Center. http://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2019/04/08/habeshas-around-the-globe-mourn-nipsey-hussle-it-hit-our-community-a-different-way/. [University of Southern Califronia].
staff, Washington Post. “Review | Our favorite takeout in D.C. for nights when there’s no chance we’re cooking”. Washington Post. Retrieved 2020–04–30. https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/our-favorite-dc-takeout-spots-for-nights-when-dinner-must-be-had-in-pajamas/2018/01/03/0305db7a-e438-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html . [The Washington Post].
Stuteville, Sarah. “Facebook’s first Habesha reflects on her refugee roots”. The Seattle Globalist. Nov 21, 2014 . https://www.seattleglobalist.com/2014/11/21/facebook-tech-diversity-year-up-intern-eritrea-refugee/30813 . [The Seattle Globalist] .
Diversity makes a differences. (2012, Feb). Northwest Asian Weekly. Available from ProQuest .
Afeworki, N. G. (2018). Eritrean nationalism and the digital diaspora: Expanding diasporic networks via twitter (Order №10745022). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2015164934).
— —
This is in contrast to certian older narrow definitions that at some point only included the Ethiosemitic-speaking and Agaw-speaking Cushitic people ethnic groups of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlandes as part of the Habesha pan-ethnicity, but now the Habesha Community has evolved to include all Ethiopian ethnic groups, Eritrean ethnic groups, and all of the sets of combinations of Hyphenated Ethnicities that emerged out of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Diaspora.
Today with in most youth and diaspora groups in the Habesha Community, the Habesha pan-ethnicity is now considered to include all people descended from Eritrean and Ethiopian ethnic groups and their diaspora who self-identify as Habesha.
[28] [29] [27][30][31][32].
— —
Edition 3:
— More information deleted from Wikipedia —
Habesha people (Ge’ez: ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša; Amharic: ሀበሻ, ሃበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, Habäša, Habesha; Tigrinya: — , romanized: Abesha; and — other native names -) is a common pan-ethnic and meta-ethnic term used to collectively refer to Ethiopians and Eritreans.[26][27] In some narrow definitions, the Ethiosemitic-speaking and Agaw-speaking Cushitic peoples mainly inhabiting the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea were once considered the core linguistically, culturally and ancestrally related ethnic groups that were the historical constituents of the pan-ethnic group Habesha peoples but in a broder more contemporary sense Habesha is a cultural identity inclusive of the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and their descendants in the diaspora abroad[28] [29] [27][30][31][32]. Most population groups that make up the Habesha peoples trace their culture and ancestry back to the Kingdom of Dʿmt, the Kingdom of Aksum, and the various constituent kingdoms, predecessor states, and successor states of the Ethiopian Empire (present day Eritrea and Ethiopia) in the Horn of Africa.[33]
Usage
See also: People of Ethiopia and Demographics of Eritrea
There are varying definitions of who identifies as an Habesha. These definitions vary from community to community, from Western anthropological theories to day-to-day usage, from generation to generation, and between the various diaspora groups, and the communities that still reside in their ancestral homeland. Differences in usage can be found among different communities and people within the same constituent ethnic group.
While more contemporary studies done by S. M. Oliphant on Ethiopian Immigration Experiences in the United States at the Catholic University of America in conjunction with Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services which works with Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants, the study shows that Habesha identity — more evidently in the context of diaspora communities (because of more funding and sociological research being done in places where the diaspora live like the West)— is used as an inclusive pan-ethnic identifier for Ethiopians, Eritreans, and the various ethnic groups they comprise. Some non-exhaustive examples are the Tigre and Oromo ethnic groups as stated in the study.[27] Mary Goitom, a researcher at York University and the University of Calgary studying the usage of the term “Habesha” among Ethiopian and Eritrean youth in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area, also had similar findings as Oliphant’s study in that Ethiopian and Eritrean youth use ‘Habesha’ as a “supra-national” multi-ethnic term to signify their shared cultural identity but in contrast, Goitom does mention the existence of an older narrow definition for the term even though her current findings show that a more broader “supra-national”, multi-ethnic, and inclusive definition has emerged. According to these studies, neither Oliphant nor Goitom make the assertions that non-Highlander ethnic groups would have to abandon the non-Amhara or non-Tigray aspects of their culture and identity under the contemporary usage of the term “Habesha”, while Goitom’s study shows the generational tension between the ‘only Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlanders are Habesha’ faction vs. ‘all ethnic groups of Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestry are Habesha’ factions of the cultural debate.[26] In the study Becoming Habesha: The journey of second-generation Ethiopian and Eritrean Youth in Canada, Goitom also states similar findings as shown in her other studies including interviews with several members of the Habesha community. Goitom’s study interviewing multiple members of the Habesha community, shows the current use of the cultural identity term “Habesha” as a multi-ethnic idenity that includes all ethnic groups of Eritrea and Ethiopia and as a way to foster communal relations between the Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporas abroad, with Participant 15 stating that “Habesha” is used to fill a divide when Ethiopian and Eritrean youth want to invite each other to cultural event without having to use politically contentious terms that align with current national boundaries and also making it clear in their statement that Oromos are considered Habesha within said community. Goitom then goes to states that, “ transnational markers and experiences that comprise Habesha identity, for participant 6 [and those stated earlier in the study say that] Habesha is not a ‘zero-sum’ label that generates winners and losers rather it is an open and flexible identity” which is defined as “anyone who is Ethiopian or Eritrean.” Within this same study, Goitom re-iterates that “Habesha” was not always used as an inclusive term among previous generation of Ethiopians and Eritreans, but has emerged as an inclusive term for all peoples descended from Ethiopians, Eritreans, and their diaspora by newer generations that have consolidated this identity because of their shared experiences and their inter-dependence on each other outside of their parents’ homeland.[41] Statements made by Hannah Giorgis of The Atlantic[42], Heran Mamo of the University of Southern California[43], and The Washington Post (in Washington, D.C.) who are heavily connected with the Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Habesha communities also corroborates this same sentiment found in the studies published about the term Habesha as used within the community itself, with Mamo and Giorgis showing its wide use among the community and the Washington Post explaining it as “an umbrella [term], a way to describe the various ethnic groups hailing from the northeast corner of Africa … an insider’s phrase, a badge of pride and kinship among Ethiopians and Eritreans”[44]
Habesha and Ethiopian, etymological connection
See also: Ethiopia § Etymology
Following the Hellenic and Biblical traditions, the Monumentum Adulitanum, a third century inscription belonging to the Aksumite Empire, indicates that Aksum’s then ruler governed an area which was flanked to the west by the territory of Ethiopia and Sasu. The Aksumite King Ezana would eventually conquer Nubia the following century, and the Aksumites thereafter appropriated the designation “Ethiopians” for their own kingdom. In the Ge’ez Language version of the Ezana inscription, Aἰθιόποι is equated with the unvocalized Ḥbšt and Ḥbśt (Ḥabashat), and denotes for the first time the highland inhabitants of Aksum. This new demonym would subsequently be rendered as ‘ḥbs (‘Aḥbāsh) in Sabaic and as Ḥabasha in Arabic, rendered in Ge’ez Script as ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, or ሃበሻ (romanized: Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Häbäša, Habäša) from the Greek “Aἰθιόποι”, romanized: Aithiops (!¿¡“Ethiopian” !¿¡)), today Ethiopia denotes the modern country of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while Habesha denotes all Ethiopian and Eritrean (State of Eritrea) ethnic groups along with their diaspora as part of the Habesha Community with neither of the terms being restricted to the Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands [38].
Acceptance of definitions
Acceptance of these various definitions of “Habesha” Identity are partially rooted in history, traditional culture, personal taste, and modern life realities the diaspora face. Term “Habesha” as a cultural or pan-ethnic identity has a varied acceptance among various communities, even within the same ethnic groups. One reason is that the term is ambiguous and different definitions can be used by different factions. Another reasons is that the term fell out of use and was replaced with various singular ethnic identities prior to its reemergence among diaspora children and young adults wanting to consolidate societal power for representation in Western society.[26]
Diaspora
Habesha diaspora — the peoples of the Ethiopian Empire and its successor states of Eritrea and Ethiopia have migrated over the years due to political unrest, ethnic tensions, and civil wars like the Deg’s Ethiopian Revolution, Red Terror (Ethiopia) Ethiopian Civil War, 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia and Eritrea, Eritrean War of Independence, Eritrean–Ethiopian War, and other present conflicts and upheavals. The Habesha peoples have used various ethnological names like “Abyssinians”, “Erthyreneans”, “Habesha”, “Oromo”, “Amharic”, “Eritrean”, “Ethiopian”, and “[Insert Name of Ethnic Group (see bellow)]” depending on the time period they fled, their national origin, their political position, regional ancestry, or which of the approximately 85 to 89 constituent ethnic groups they come from. -
Eritreans — Around half a million of the total five million Eritreans fled the country during the thirty-year Eritrean War of Independence as well as fleeing violence perpetuated by the Eritrean government (EPLF-PFDJ). They have formed communities all over the western world (i.e. US in Washington D.C., and Los Angeles; and Europe: Sweden, Germany and Italy). There are more than half a million Eritreans in refugee camps (most in Ethiopia and Sudan).
Ethiopians — A mass movement of Ethiopian migration during the 20th century into the Middle East (mostly Israel), Europe, South Asia, East Asia, Australia, North America (esp. the U.S. and Canada), and Latin America caused by ethnic violence, politically unrest, and violence perpetuated by the Ethiopian government* (EPRDF) has created a global Ethiopian diaspora.
List of specific Ethiopian and Eritrean Ethnic Groups: |Aari, Afar, Agaw-Awi, Agaw-Hamyra, Alaba, Amhara, Anuak, Arbore, Argobba, Bacha, Basketo, Bena, Bench, Berta, Bodi, Brayle, Burji, Chara, Daasanach, Dawro, Debase/Gawwada, Dime, Dirashe, Dizi, Donga, Fedashe, Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), Gamo, Gebato, Gedeo, Gedicho, Gidole, Goffa (Gofa People), Gumuz, Gurage, Hadiya, Hamar, Harari, Irob, Kafficho, Kambaata, Karo, Komo, Konso, Konta, Koore, Koyego, Kunama, Kusumie, Kwegu, Majangir, Male, Mao, Mareqo, Mashola, Me’en, Mere people, Messengo, Mossiye, Murle, Mursi, Nao, Nuer, Nyangatom, Oromo, Oyda, Qebena, Qechem, Qewama, She, Shekecho, Xamta, Qemant , Sheko, Shinasha, Shita/Upo, Sidama, Silt’e, Tigurats, Somali (Ogden Region), Surma, Tembaro, Tigrayans (Tigray-Tigrinya), Tsamai, Welayta, Werji, Zelmam (Baale), Zeyese, Tigre, Saho, Bilen, Nara, Yem, etc.
List of Ethiopian and Eritrean Diaspora Communities: Ethiopian Australians (Oromo Australian), Ethiopian Canadians, Ethiopian Jews in Israel, Ethiopians in the United Kingdom, Ethiopian Americans, Ethiopians in Denmark, Ethiopians in Germany, Ethiopians in Norway, Ethiopians in Sweden, Eritrean Americans, Eritrean Canadians, Eritreans in Denmark, Eritreans in Norway, Eritreans in Sweden, Eritreans in the United Kingdom, etc. and other Hyphenated Ethnicities.
Templates
Ethnic groups in Ethiopia (People of Ethiopia) and the Ethiopian Diaspora — [ Main Template ]
{{Navbox
|name = Ethnic groups in Ethiopia
|state = {{{state|autocollapse}}}
|title = {{flagicon|Ethiopia}} [[List of ethnic groups in Ethiopia|Ethnic groups]] in [[Ethiopia]] ([[People of Ethiopia]]) and the [[People of Ethiopia#Diaspora|Ethiopian Diaspora]] — [ [[Template:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia|Main Template]] ]
|listclass = hlist
|titlestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|groupstyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|evenodd = swap
|group1 = [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]
|list1 =
{{navbox|subgroup
| basestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|group1 = [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic-speakers]]
|list1 =
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Agaw people|Agaw]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Daasanach people|Daasanach]]
*[[Gabra people|Gabra]]
*[[Hadiya people|Hadiya]]
*[[Kambaata people|Kambaata]]
*[[Konso people|Konso]]
*[[Oromo people|Oromo]]
**{{small|[[Yejju Oromo tribe|Yejju]]}}
*[[Qemant people|Qemant]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
** [[Irob people|Irob]]
*[[Sidama people|Sidama]]
*[[Somali people|Somali]]
*[[Tsamai people|Tsamai]]
*[[Werji people|Werji]]
|group2 = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiosemitic-speakers]]
|list2 =
*[[Amhara people|Amhara]]
*[[Argobba people|Argobba]]
*[[Chebo people|Chebo]]
*[[Gurage people|Gurage]]
*[[Harari people|Harari]]
*[[Silt’e people|Silt’e]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrayan]]
*[[Zay people|Zay]]
|group3 = [[Omotic languages|Omotic]]
|list3 =
*[[Arbore people|Arbore]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Banna people|Banna]]
*[[Basketo people|Basketo]]
*[[Chara people|Chara]]
*[[Danta people|Danta]]
*[[Dawro people|Dawro]]
*[[Dizi people|Dizi]]
*[[Dorze people|Dorze]]
*[[Gamo people|Gamo]]
*[[Gedeo people|Gedeo]]
*[[Hamar people|Hamar]]
*[[Koore people|Koore]]
*[[Maale people|Maale]]
*[[Shinasha people|Shinasha]]
*[[Welayta people|Welayta]]
*[[Yem people|Yemsa]]
}}
|group2 = [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]
|list2style = background:transparent;
|list2 =
*[[Anuak people|Anuak]]
*[[Rer Bare people|Bare]]
*[[Berta people|Berta]]
*[[Gumuz people|Gumuz]]
*[[Kichepo people|Kichepo]]
*[[Kwama people|Kwama]]
*[[Kwegu people|Kwegu]]
*[[Majang people|Majang]]
*[[Mekan people|Mekan]]
*[[Murle people|Murle]]
*[[Mursi people|Mursi]]
*[[Nuer people|Nuer]]
*[[Nyangatom people|Nyangatom]]
*[[Shabo people|Shabo]]
*[[Shanqella|Shanqella]]
*[[Shita people|Shita]]
*[[Surma people|Surma]]
*[[Tirma people|Tirma]]
*[[Weyto (African caste)|Weyto]]
|group4 = Non-Indigenous
|list4style = background:transparent;
|list4 =
*[[Italians of Ethiopia|Italians]]
*[[Chinese people in Ethiopia|Chinese]]
*[[African-American settlement in Africa|African Americans]]
*[[Jamaicans in Ethiopia|Jamaicans]] ([[Rastafari|Rastafarians]])
*[[Greeks in Ethiopia|Greeks]]
*[[Armenians in Ethiopia|Armenians]]
*[[Swedes]]
|group5 = [[Template:Ethiopian diaspora|Ethiopian Diaspora]]
|list5 =
* [[Ethiopian American]]
** [[Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.]]
** [[History of Ethiopian Americans in Baltimore]]
** [[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]]
* [[Ethiopian Australian]]
* [[Ethiopian Canadian]]
* [[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]] ([[Beta Israel]]
* [[Ethiopians in Italy]]
* [[Ethiopians in Russia]]
* [[Ethiopians in Denmark]]
* [[Habesha peoples]]
* [[Ethiopians in Germany]]
* [[Ethiopians in Norway]]
* [[Ethiopians in Sweden]]
* [[Ethiopians in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Demographics of Eritrea]] ([[Template:Ethnic groups in Eritrea|Ethiopian-Eritrean peoples]])
}}
<noinclude>
{{collapsible option}}
[[Category:Ethiopia templates|Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups by country templates|Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Africa ethnic group templates|Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Society and social science navigational boxes]]
[[Category:Ethiopia templates]]
[[Category:Habesha peoples]]
</noinclude>
Ethnic groups in Eritrea (People of Eritrea) and the Eritrean Diaspora — [ Main Template ]
{{Navbox
|name = Ethnic groups in Eritrea
|state = {{{state|autocollapse}}}
|title = {{flagicon|Eritrea}} [[Demographics of Eritrea|Ethnic groups]] in [[Eritrea]] (People of Eritrea) and the [[Template:Eritrean diaspora|Eritrean Diaspora]] — [ [[Template:Ethnic groups in Eritrea|Main Template]] ]
|listclass = hlist
|titlestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|groupstyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|evenodd = swap
|group1 = [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]
|list1 =
{{navbox|subgroup
| basestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|group1 = [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic-speakers]]
|list1 =
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Beja people|Beja]]
*[[Bilen people|Bilen]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
|group2 = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiosemitic-speakers]]
|list2 =
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrinyas]]
*[[Tigre people|Tigre]]
*([[Beni-Amer]]
*[[Beit Asgede]]
*[[Ad Shaikh]]
*[[Mensa people|Mensa]]
*[[Beit Juk people|Beit Juk]]
*[[Marya]])
}}
|group2 = [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]
|list2style = background:transparent;
|list2 =
*[[Kunama people|Kunama]]
*[[Nara people|Nara]]
|group3 = Non-Indigenous
|list3style = background:transparent;
|list3 =
*[[Italian Eritreans|Italians (colonial)]]
*[[Rashaida people|Rashaida people (nomadic)]]
*[[Swedes]]
|group4 = [[Template:Eritrean diaspora|Eritrean Diaspora]]
|list4 =
* [[Eritrean Americans]]
** [[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]]
* [[Eritrean Australians]]
* [[Eritrean Canadians]]
* [[Eritreans in Denmark]]
* [[Habesha peoples]]
* [[African immigration to Israel]] ([[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]]-[[Beta Israel]])
* [[Eritreans in Germany]]
* [[Eritreans in Norway]]
* [[Eritreans in Sweden]]
* [[Eritreans in the United Kingdom]]
* [[People of Ethiopia]] ([[Template:Ethnic groups in Ethiopia|Eritrean-Ethiopian peoples]])
}}<noinclude>
{{collapsible option}}
[[Category:Eritrea templates|Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups by country templates|Eritrea]]
[[Category:Africa ethnic group templates|Eritrea]]
[[Category:Society and social science navigational boxes]]
[[Category:Eritrea templates]]
[[Category:Habesha peoples]]
</noinclude>
— — — — — — — —
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Ethnic groups in Ethiopia (People of Ethiopia) and the Ethiopian Diaspora — [ Main Template ]
Afro-Asiatic
Cushitic-speakers
Afar
Agaw
Awi
Daasanach
Gabra
Hadiya
Kambaata
Konso
Oromo
Yejju
Qemant
Saho
Irob
Sidama
Somali
Tsamai
Werji
Ethiosemitic-speakers
Amhara
Argobba
Chebo
Gurage
Harari
Silt’e
Tigrayan
Zay
Omotic
Arbore
Banna
Basketo
Chara
Danta
Dawro
Dizi
Dorze
Gamo
Gedeo
Hamar
Koore
Maale
Shinasha
Welayta
Yemsa
Nilo-Saharan
Anuak
Berta
Gumuz
Kichepo
Kwama
Kwegu
Majang
Mekan
Murle
Mursi
Nuer
Nyangatom
Shabo
Shanqella
Shita
Surma
Tirma
Weyto
Niger-Congo
(Cushitic shift)
Rer Bare
Somali Bantu
Non-Indigenous
Italians
Chinese
African Americans
Jamaicans (Rastafarians)
Greeks
Armenians
Ethiopian Diaspora
Ethiopian American
Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.
History of Ethiopian Americans in Baltimore
Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles
Ethiopian Australian
Ethiopian Canadian
Ethiopian Jews in Israel
Ethiopians in Italy
Ethiopians in Russia
Ethiopians in Denmark
Habesha peoples ( https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habesha_peoples&oldid=962751042 )
Ethiopians in Germany
Ethiopians in Norway
Ethiopians in Sweden
Ethiopians in the United Kingdom
Demographics of Eritrea (Ethiopian-Eritrean peoples)
—
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Ethnic groups in Eritrea (People of Eritrea) and the Eritrean Diaspora — [ Main Template ]
Afro-Asiatic
Cushitic-speakers
Afar
Beja
Bilen
Saho
Ethiosemitic-speakers
Tigrinyas
Tigre
(Beni-Amer
Beit Asgede
Ad Shaikh
Mensa
Beit Juk
Marya)
Nilo-Saharan
Kunama
Nara
Non-Indigenous
Italians (colonial)
Rashaida people (nomadic)
Eritrean Diaspora
Eritrean Americans
Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles
Eritrean Australians
Eritrean Canadians
Eritreans in Denmark
Habesha peoples ( https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habesha_peoples&oldid=962751042 )
African immigration to Israel
Eritreans in Germany
Eritreans in Norway
Eritreans in Sweden
Eritreans in the United Kingdom
People of Ethiopia (Eritrean-Ethiopian peoples)
— — — — — — —
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Habesha Peoples (Infobox):
Habesha people
Ge’ez: ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, ሃበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, Habäša, Habesha, Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Abesha - other native names and romaizations -
Total population: Indeterminable (Self-Identification)
Regions with significant populations
National Origin:
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Ethiopia — People of Ethiopia
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Eritrea — People of Eritrea
Sub-National Regions:[hide]
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Maekel Region (1)
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Anseba Region (2)
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Gash-Barka Region (3)
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Debub Region (4)
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Northern Red Sea Region (5)
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Southern Red Sea Region (6)
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Addis Ababa
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Afar Region
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Amhara Region
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Benishangul-Gumuz Region
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Dire Dawa
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Gambela Region
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Harari Region
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Oromia Region
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Ogaden-Somali Region
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Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region
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Tigray Region
Diaspora Communities:
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United States[1][2]
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Israel[3][4]
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Saudi Arabia[1]
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Lebanon[1]
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Italy[1][5]
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United Kingdom[6][7][8]
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Germany[9][Note 1][10]
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United Arab Emirates
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Sweden[11]
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Djibouti
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Norway[12]
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Canada[13][14][15][16]
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Kenya
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Somalia
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Netherlands[17]
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Denmark[18]
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The Sudans (Sudan-South Sudan)
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Australia[19][20][21]
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Egypt
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Finland[22]
Pre-Diaspora Ethnic Groups:[hide]
Aari, Afar, Agaw-Awi, Agaw-Hamyra, Alaba, Amhara, Anuak, Arbore, Argobba, Bacha, Basketo, Bena, Bench, Berta, Bodi, Brayle, Burji, Chara, Daasanach, Dawro, Debase/Gawwada, Dime, Dirashe, Dizi, Donga, Fedashe, Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), Gamo, Gebato, Gedeo, Gedicho, Gidole, Goffa (Gofa People), Gumuz, Gurage, Hadiya, Hamar, Harari, Irob, Kafficho, Kambaata, Karo, Komo, Konso, Konta, Koore, Koyego, Kunama, Kusumie, Kwegu, Majangir, Male, Mao, Mareqo, Mashola, Me’en, Mere people, Messengo, Mossiye, Murle, Mursi, Nao, Nuer, Nyangatom, Oromo, Oyda, Qebena, Qechem, Qewama, She, Shekecho, Xamta, Qemant , Sheko, Shinasha, Shita/Upo, Sidama, Silt’e, Tigurats, Somali (Ogden Region), Surma, Tembaro, Tigrayans (Tigray-Tigrinya), Tsamai, Welayta, Werji, Zelmam (Baale), Zeyese, Tigre, Saho, Bilen, Nara, Yem
Post-Diaspora Ethnic Groups:[hide]
Ethiopian Australians (Oromo Australian)
Ethiopian Canadians
Ethiopian Jews in Israel
Ethiopians in the United Kingdom
Ethiopian Americans
Ethiopians in Denmark
Ethiopians in Germany
Ethiopians in Norway
Ethiopians in Sweden
Eritrean Australians
Eritrean Americans
Eritrean Canadians
Eritreans in Germany
Eritreans in Denmark
Eritreans in Norway
Eritreans in Sweden
Eritreans in the United Kingdom
(and other Hyphenated Ethnicities)
LanguagesLanguages of Ethiopia, Languages of Eritrea, and other languages adopted by the diaspora.ReligionReligions[23][24][25]
Predominantly: Christianity | Orthodox Tewahedo (Ethiopian Orthodoxy — Eritrean Orthodoxy) · P’ent’ay (Evangelicalism) · Catholicism (Eritrean Catholicism — Ethiopian Catholicism)
Minority: Islam-Sunni; Judaism-Beta Israel (ethno-religious group); “Traditional Faiths”.
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Habesha people
| population = Indeterminable (Self-Identification)
| popplace =
| region1 = National Origin:<br>
{{flagcountry|Ethiopia}} — [[People of Ethiopia]]<br>{{flagcountry|Eritrea}} — [[Demographics of Eritrea| People of Eritrea]]<br>
{{collapsible list
|titlestyle=background: transparent; text-align: left; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;
|title={{nowrap|Sub-National Regions:}}
|[[File:Central in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Maekel Region|Maekel Region (1)]]
|[[File:Anseba in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Anseba Region|Anseba Region (2)]]
|[[File:Gash-Barka in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Gash-Barka Region|Gash-Barka Region (3)]]
|[[File:Southern in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Debub Region|Debub Region (4)]]
|[[File:Northern Red Sea in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Northern Red Sea Region|Northern Red Sea Region (5)]]
|[[File:Southern Red Sea in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Southern Red Sea Region|Southern Red Sea Region (6)]]
|[[File:Flag of Addis Ababa.png|23px]] [[Addis Ababa]]
|[[File:Flag of the Afar Region.svg|23px]] [[Afar Region]]
|[[File:Flag of the Amhara Region.svg|23px]] [[Amhara Region]]
|[[File:Flag of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.svg|23px]] [[Benishangul-Gumuz Region]] |[[File:Flag of Dire Dawa.png|23px]] [[Dire Dawa]]
|[[File:Flag of the Gambella Region.svg|23px]] [[Gambela Region]]
|[[File:Et harrar.png|23px]] [[Harari Region]]
|[[File:Flag of the Oromia Region.svg|23px]] [[Oromia Region]]
|[[File:Somalistatenewflag.jpeg|23px]] [[File:Somali State original flag.jpg|23px]] [[Ogaden]]-[[Somali Region]]
|[[File:Flag of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.svg|23px]] [[Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region]]
|[[File:Flag of the Tigray Region.svg|23px]] [[Tigray Region]]
}}
— —
Diaspora Communities:
<br>
{{flag|United States}}<ref name=”Terrazas”>{{Cite web |first=Aaron Matteo |last=Terrazas |title=Beyond Regional Circularity: The Emergence of an Ethiopian Diaspora |date=June 2007 |url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=604 |publisher=[[Migration Policy Institute]] |accessdate=2011–11–25}}</ref><ref name=”Amharu”>United States Census Bureau 2009–2013, Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2009–2013, USCB, 30 November 2016,
<https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html>.</ref> <br>
{{Flag|Israel}}<ref name=”The Ethiopian Population In Israel”>[[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]: [http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/newhodaot/hodaa_template.html?hodaa=201211307 The Ethiopian Community in Israel]</ref><ref name=”Anbessa Tefera 2007 p.73">Amharic-speaking Jews component 85% from [[Beta Israel]]; Anbessa Tefera (2007). “Language”. ‘’Jewish Communities in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries — Ethiopia’’. Ben-Zvi Institute. p.73 (Hebrew)</ref> <br>
{{Flag|Saudi Arabia}}<ref name=”Terrazas”/> <br>
{{Flag|Lebanon}}<ref name=”Terrazas”/> <br>
{{Flag|Italy}}<ref name=”Terrazas”/><ref name=”Italia”>{{cite web|title=Istat.it|url=http://demo.istat.it/str2017/|publisher=Statistics Italy}}</ref> <br>
{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/27/ethiopian_london_feature.shtml|title=Ethiopian London|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=2008–12–06}}</ref><ref>pp, 25 (2015) United Kingdom. Available at: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/GB (Accessed: 30 November 2016).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/GB|title=United Kingdom|website=Ethnologue.com|accessdate=26 August 2017}}</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|Germany}}<ref name=”De”>{{cite web|title=Anzahl der Ausländer in Deutschland nach Herkunftsland|url=https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1221/umfrage/anzahl-der-auslaender-in-deutschland-nach-herkunftsland/|publisher=Das Statistik Portal}}</ref><ref group=”Note”>Roughly half of the Eritrean diaspora</ref><ref>Amharas are estimated to be the largest ethnic group of estimated 20.000 Ethiopian Germans|https://www.giz.de/fachexpertise/downloads/gtz2009-en-ethiopian-diaspora.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004233553/https://www.giz.de/fachexpertise/downloads/gtz2009-en-ethiopian-diaspora.pdf |date=2018–10–04 }}</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|United Arab Emirates}} <br>
{{flagcountry|Sweden}}<ref name=”Se”>{{cite web|title=Foreign-born persons by country of birth, age, sex and year|url=http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/en/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101E/FodelselandArK/?rxid=1bcec35a-5bd2-4a4a-9609-668463972a1c|publisher=Statistics Sweden}}</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|Djibouti}} <br>
{{flagcountry|Norway}}<ref name=”Norw”>{{cite web|title=Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents|url=https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/innvbef|publisher=Statistics Norway}}</ref> <br>
{{Flagcountry|Canada}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103001&PRID=10&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations — Detailed Mother Tongue (232), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada and Forward Sortation Areas, 2011 Census|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|website=12.statcan.gc.ca|accessdate=26 August 2017|date=2013–02–05}}</ref><ref>Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98–314-XCB2011032</ref><ref>Anon, 2016. 2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations | Detailed Mother Tongue (232), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada and Forward Sortation Areas, 2011 Census. [online] Www12.statcan.gc.ca. Available at: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103001&PRID=10&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=> [Accessed 2 Dec. 2016].</ref><ref>Immigrant languages in Canada. 2016. Immigrant languages in Canada. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011003_2-eng.cfm. [Accessed 13 December 2016].</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|Kenya}} <br>
{{flagcountry|Somalia}} <br>
{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}<ref name=”Netherl”>{{cite web|title=Population by migration background|url=http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=37325eng&D1=a&D2=a&D3=0&D4=0&D5=71&D6=a&LA=EN&HDR=T&STB=G2,G1,G3,G5,G4&VW=T|publisher=Statistics Netherlands}}</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|Denmark}}<ref name=”Denm”>{{cite web|title=Population by country of origin|url=http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1280|publisher=Statistics Denmark}}</ref> <br>
[[File:Flag of Sudan.svg|23px]] [[File:Flag of South Sudan.svg|23px]] [[The Sudans]] <small>([[Sudan]]-[[South Sudan]])</small>
<br>
{{flagcountry|Australia}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=2014|title=The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS|url=https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|accessdate=2017-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|archive-date=2017-04-17|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014, The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS, 30 November 2016, <https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf |date=2017–04–17 }}>.</ref><ref>[https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014, The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS, 30 November 2016], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf |date=17 April 2017 }}</ref> <br>
{{flagcountry|Egypt}} <br>
{{flagcountry|Finland}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_031.px/?rxid=726cd24d-d0f1-416a-8eec-7ce9b82fd5a4 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2019–05–02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626001544/http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_031.px/?rxid=726cd24d-d0f1-416a-8eec-7ce9b82fd5a4 |archive-date=2018–06–26 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| pop1 = *
| languages = [[Languages of Ethiopia]], [[Languages of Eritrea]], and other languages adopted by the diaspora.
| religions = Religions<ref>{{cite book|last1=Trimingham|first1=J.|title=Islam in Ethiopia|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978–1136970221|page=23|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=UfrcAAAAQBAJ|accessdate=19 September 2016}}</ref><ref name=”Pew”>{{cite web|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2050/percent/all/|publisher=Pew Research Center|accessdate=26 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=Religion-2007>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120604045256/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf 2007 Ethiopian census, first draft], Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009)</ref>
— —
Predominantly: [[Christianity]] {{!}} [[Orthodox Tewahedo]] ([[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodoxy]] — [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean Orthodoxy]]) · [[P’ent’ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism)|P’ent’ay]] ([[Evangelicalism]]) · [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] ([[Eritrean Catholic Church|Eritrean Catholicism]] — [[Ethiopian Catholic Church|Ethiopian Catholicism]])
— —
Minority: [[Islam]]-[[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]; [[Judaism]]-[[Beta Israel]] (ethno-religious group); “Traditional Faiths”.
| native_name = {{lang-gez|ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, ሃበሻ|translit=Häbäša, Habäša, Habesha, Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Abesha}} — other native names and romaizations -
| native_name_lang =
| related-c =
| image =
| flag =
| flag_caption = ethnic homelands of the Habesha people of [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] in the [[Horn of Africa]]
| Map =
| related_groups =
| region2 = {{collapsible list
|titlestyle=background: transparent; text-align: left; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;
|title={{nowrap|Pre-Diaspora Ethnic Groups:}}
|[[Aari language|Aari]], [[Afar people|Afar]], [[Agaw people|Agaw-Awi]], [[Agaw people|Agaw-Hamyra]], [[Alaba special woreda|Alaba]], [[Amhara people|Amhara]], [[Anuak people|Anuak]], [[Arbore people|Arbore]], [[Argobba people|Argobba]], [[Bacha people|Bacha]], [[Basketo people|Basketo]], Bena, [[Bench people|Bench]], [[Berta people|Berta]], [[Bodi people|Bodi]], [[Brayle people|Brayle]], [[Burji people|Burji]], [[Chara people|Chara]], [[Daasanach people|Daasanach]], [[Dawro people|Dawro]], [[Debase people|Debase]]/[[Gawwada]], Dime, [[Dirashe special woreda|Dirashe]], [[Dizi people|Dizi]], [[Donga people|Donga]], Fedashe, [[Beta Israel]] (Ethiopian Jews), [[Gamo people|Gamo]], [[Gebato people|Gebato]], [[Gedeo people|Gedeo]], [[Lake Abaya|Gedicho]], [[Gidole]], [[Gofa people|Goffa]] (Gofa People), [[Gumuz people|Gumuz]], [[Gurage people|Gurage]], [[Hadiya people|Hadiya]], [[Hamar people|Hamar]], [[Harari people|Harari]], [[Irob people|Irob]], [[Kafficho people|Kafficho]], [[Kambaata people|Kambaata]], [[Karo people (Ethiopia)|Karo]], [[Kwama people|Komo]], [[Konso people|Konso]], [[Konta special woreda|Konta]], [[Koore people|Koore]], Koyego, [[Kunama people|Kunama]], Kusumie, [[Kwegu language|Kwegu]], [[Majang people|Majangir]], [[Maale people|Male]], [[Mao languages|Mao]], Mareqo, Mashola, [[Me’en people|Me’en]], Mere people, Messengo, Mossiye, [[Murle people|Murle]], [[Mursi people|Mursi]], Nao, [[Nuer people|Nuer]], [[Nyangatom people|Nyangatom]], [[Oromo people|Oromo]], [[Oyda]], [[Alaba-Kʼabeena language|Qebena]], [[Qechene River|Qechem]], Qewama, She, Shekecho, [[Xamta people|Xamta]], [[Qemant people|Qemant]] , [[Sheko language|Sheko]], [[Shinasha people|Shinasha]], [[Shita people|Shita]]/Upo, [[Sidama people|Sidama]], [[Siltʼe people|Silt’e]], [[Tigurats]], [[Somali Region|Somali]] ([[Ogaden|Ogden Region]]), [[Surma people|Surma]], [[Tembaro]], [[Tigrayans|Tigrayans (Tigray-Tigrinya)]], [[Tsamai people|Tsamai]], [[Welayta people|Welayta]], [[Werji people|Werji]], [[Baale language|Zelmam (Baale)]], Zeyese, [[Tigre people|Tigre]], [[Saho people|Saho]], [[Bilen people|Bilen]], [[Nara people|Nara]], [[Yem people|Yem]]
}}
— — — — —
{{collapsible list
|titlestyle=background: transparent; text-align: left; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;
|title={{nowrap|Post-Diaspora Ethnic Groups:}}
|[[Ethiopian Australians]] (Oromo Australian)
|[[Ethiopian Canadians]]
|[[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]]
|[[Ethiopians in the United Kingdom]]
|[[Ethiopian Americans]]
|[[Ethiopians in Denmark]]
|[[Ethiopians in Germany]]
|[[Ethiopians in Norway]]
|[[Ethiopians in Sweden]]
|[[Eritrean Australians]]
|[[Eritrean Americans]]
|[[Eritrean Canadians]]
|[[Eritreans in Germany]]
|[[Eritreans in Denmark]]
|[[Eritreans in Norway]]
|[[Eritreans in Sweden]]
|[[Eritreans in the United Kingdom]]
| (and other [[Hyphenated ethnicity|Hyphenated Ethnicities]])
}}
| pop2 = *
}}
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Edition 4:
Excerpt from EVA POLUHA & ELEHU FELEKE’s book THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: ESSAYS ON THE HISTORY AND (UNDER) DEVELOPMENT OF ETHIOPIA
1. The first question concerns the artificial distinction that some [Western and European] authors try to create between the names Ethiopia [which at that point also included Eritrea] and Abyssinia. As mentioned earlier, the historical evidence suggests that the rulers of Aksum referred to the country [of Ethiopia and Eritrea] as Ethiopia when writing in Ge’ez or Greek and as Habesha or Habeshat when writing in Sabean (an extinct South Arabian language). Even today ordinary Ethiopians [and Eritreans] say Ethiopia or Ethiopian [and Eritrea or Eritrean] in writing and in more formal speech, but [both Ethiopians and Eritreans] use “Habesha” in informal conversation. The name “Abyssinia” is a European creation derived from the Arabic name, Habesh, for [the land and peoples of] Ethiopia [and Eritrea]. Thus, to all intents and purposes, Ethiopia [and Eritrea], Habesha and Abyssinia refer to the same entity. Those who insist on making a distinction are those who want to claim that “Abyssinians” ([erroneously] meaning Amharas [of Ethiopia] and Tigrayans [of Ethiopia and Eritrea]) conquered the [so-called] “non-Abyssinians” in the nineteenth century to form the “Ethiopian Empire.” Our review of Ethiopia’s history makes it clear that it was predominantly Amharic-speaking [Amhara or non-Amhara] and Oromiffa-speaking [Oromo] warlords who spearheaded the process [not just the Amharas and Tigrayans].
Google Books link: https://books.google.com/books?id=JeSOCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT205&lpg=PT205&dq=habesha+misconception&source=bl&ots=8WD82WETUx&sig=ACfU3U2d6me8zZRvH9XjcrreruR78uimEw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJ34m9i4rqAhX4hHIEHa13C6gQ6AEwBnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20first%20question%20concerns%20the%20artificial%20&f=false
Online Copy: https://www.poluhafeleke.com/The-book/
WayBack Machine Internet Archive of Online Version: https://web.archive.org/web/20180819232543/https://www.poluhafeleke.com/The-book/
Edition 5 | Debunking the False Ethno-religious Argument and Other Issues of Misinformation:
Debunking the False Ethno-religious Argument
There are various definitions for what “Habesha” means within the Habesha Community. But there is one such argument perpetuated by modern writers based on the confusing language European and Western Historians used to describe ethnic and pan-ethnic groups, as well as whole countries.
This false argument is that Habesha is a term describes a Semitic-speaking Christian ethno-religious group in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands. This is only 1/4 partially true but mostly false. There are some legitimate historical definitions that at some point have identified the Ethiosemitic-speaking (a sub-group of Semitic languages within the Afro-Asiatic language family) and Agaw-speaking (a sub-group of Cushitic languages within the Afro-Asiatic language family) Cushitic peoples (a meta-ethnic and ethno-linguistic group) inhabiting the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrea Highlands as Habesha under one of the various (semi-)legitimate historical definitions of Habesha identity, even though other definitions of Habesha are inclusive of all Ethiopians and Eritreans. This is not the issue at hand.
The main issue at had right now is that Modern Western Writers including those on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Habesha_peoples#Inaccurate_information_on_Habesha_peoples) are misinterpreting text written by old pre-19th Century, 19th Century, and 20th Century Western and European Historians that had a misguided tendency of identifying people groups by the dominate religion within that society or sub-group of a larger society. Here is an example: around the 19th Century a majority of the people who identified as Habesha at the time lived in the Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands (even at that time various people of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Lowland identified as Habesha as well but not to the extent as the Highlanders), simultaneously a majority of people who live in Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands happen to also be adherents of the Oriental Orthodox Orthodox Tewahedo Christian Religion. When stating this, these old Western Historians and their successor Modern Western Writers conflated a large and diverse pan-ethnicity with the dominate religious group of the time, thus falsely making the Habesha Community and Pan-ethnic Group look like an ethno-religious group (i.e. making it seem like: in order to be Habesha a person must be an adherent of Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity, which in reality by even the most conservative or strictest definition in use by the community doesn’t say, even though in the Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands there have always been people of different religious beliefs like Muslims, P’ent’ay Evangelical Protestant Christians , and some Pagan-Animists that have always identified as Habesha, even though the dominate religious group in that area of Ethiopia-Eritrea were Orthodox Tewahedo Christians.
Even though there are many different legitimate definitions of Habesha from the most exclusive to the most inclusive used by the Habesha Community at large, the Ethno-religious Argument perpetuated by misguided Westerner and European Historians, Writers, and a few Orthodox Highlander Supremacist, is not one of the various legitimate definitions of Habesha Identity. In general though, most instances of Habesha identity as used today in the most most broadest sense is inclusive of all Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora Ethnic Groups.
Other Issues of Misinformation
Over the last several years, many editors have gone on to correct the countless false pieces of information found on the Habesha peoples Wikipedia Article. These various editors (Class 1 editors / factually accurate editors) have been discussing the issue of other editors (Class 2 editors / biased editors) adding or using contributions that are heavily biased, sectarianly prejudice (the use of sectarianism/sectarian discrimination), and biased exclusionary viewpoints. Discussions took place on the Talk Page.
The two major issues that have caused conflict between these two groups are the issues of weather Wikipedia should adopt the Exclusionary and/or Inclusionary definitions of Habesha Culture and Identity. Over several months or even years one group (Class 1 editors) wanted to enlighten Wikipedia and others that an Inclusionary definition of Habesha Identity exists, while the other group (Class 2 editors) denied its existence, adopted an Exclusionary narrative that denies the culturally identity of several sub-sets of Habesha peoples (with these editors continuously changing the specific sub-sets of people groups that they deny the existence of within the Habesha Community). Those that have postulated an exclusionary narrative have had the desire to have hegemonic control over who is defined as Habesha in Wikipedia spaces. Several of these editors have had a tendency of using pseudo-scientifically racist Western sources to gatekeep Habesha Culture and Society. On the other hand the editors that wanted to include an inclusionary definition (Class 1 editors) realized that both definitions should be listed to honestly portray the variations in Habesha cultural identification. So, the Class 1 editors tried to make a compromise deal with the exclusionary-only (Class 2) editors, to have both definitions listed on Wikipedia (in the lead) as major co-equal definitions. The exclusionary-only editors did not budge an inch in regards to even considering the idea of having both definitions listed, until a new editor of the exclusionary-only persuasion listened to the Class 1 editors’ arguments and sources for having both the exclusive (only Ethiosemitic-speaking and Northern Highland Ethiopian and Eritrean ethnic groups are Habesha) and inclusive (all Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora ethnic groups are Habesha) definitions present on Wikipedia’s Habesha peoples article. After looking through the evidence, this new editor convinces the other exclusionary-only (Class 2) editors into accepting the existence of the inclusive (all Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora ethnic groups are Habesha) definition, all these Class 2 editors accept its existence but then go on to falsely characterize the inclusive definition (which is the most widely used definition in the Habesha Community, especially in this modern era) as a fringe idea with rare occurrence, as one Class 1 editor in the Talk page would later on put it as “ at the moment right now it seems like its giving preferential treatment to the exclusive definition” .
So, after the Class 2 editors took this position, they took the exclusionary definitions to the next level by falsely claiming that Habesha people were an Orthodox Tewahedo Christian ethno-religious group, in that in order to be considered Habesha, the person would have to not only be an Ethiosemitic-speaking Northern Ethiopian/Eritrean Highlander but also has to be part of the Orthodox Tewahedo denomination of Christianity. This false definition fails to account for Christians of other denominations, Muslims, and Jews that are evidently present in Northern Ethiopian-Eritrean Highlands that would already be considered Habesha under the most exclusive definition,(See Debunking the False Ethno-religious Argument above). After arguing about these issues, the Class 2 editors couldn’t stand the Class 1 editors so they blocked them.
Later on, a new editor (among those who hold Class 1 viewpoints) comes in to contribute to the article, and provides a compromise definition between the Ethno-religious Argument, the Exclusionary Argument, and the Inclusionary Argument. The compromise definition states:
Habesha peoples (Ge’ez: ሐበሠተ, romanized: Ḥäbäśät or Ḥabäśät[2]; Amharic: ሐበሻ, አበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, ‘äbäša; Tigrinya: ሓበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša; etymologically related to English “Abyssinia” and “Abyssinians” by way of Latin via Arabic) is a term that has most frequently been employed to refer to serval Ethiosemitic language-speaking peoples of highland Ethiopia and Eritrea, but the term in other cases has also been applied to other ethnic groups and all people of Eritrean and Ethiopian origin namely gaining popularity among those in diaspora communities brought about through an outgrowth of good non-state communal relations between Eritreans and Ethiopians in the diaspora.[1] Historically most are Eastern Christians of the Oriental Orthodox variety with origins in the state Orthodox Tewahedo Church of the Ethiopian Empire, the predecessor body of what would later become the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches, but the population also has a number of adherents of other denominations of Christianity like those among the Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical churches[2][3], as well as a few Muslim[4] and Jewish (Beta Israel)[5] minorities.
Historically, the term “Habesha” represented northern Ethiopian Highlands Orthodox Christians, while the Oromos and the ethnic groups that were referred to as “Shanqella”, as well as Muslims, were considered outside the periphery.[6][7][8][9] Predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the Eritrean Highlands such as the Tigre have historically opposed the name Habesha; most Muslim Tigrinya-speakers (especially in-rural- Eritrea) are usually referred to as Jeberti people. At the turn of the 20th century, certain elites of the Solomonic dynasty employed the conversion of various ethnic groups to Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and the imposition of the Amharic and Tigrinya languages to spread a common highland Habesha national identity.[10]
Even though the term is rarely used in modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea, because of the previously mentioned connotation it holds, within Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporic populations in North America and Europe, especially among second generation immigrants and for others (influenced by Habesha diaspora social media spaces) who employ the term, “Habesha” has taken on a broader supra-national ethnic identifier inclusive of all Eritreans and Ethiopians.[11] [12] Under this broader sense, it serves as a useful counter to more exclusionary identities, as well as a way to strengthen collaboration and ties between the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities in areas with limited numbers of both populations outside their native homelands.[13] [14] However, this usage is not uncontested especially in the Ethiopian and Eritrean homelands: On the one hand, those who grew up in Ethiopia or Eritrea may object to the obscuring of national specificity.[15]:186–188 On the other hand, certain people groups that were subjugated in Ethiopia or Eritrea sometimes find the term offensive,[16] while others oppose the term “Habesha” as well as terms like “Ethiopian”, and “Eritrean” on ethnic separatist grounds preferring to use specific ethnic identities over multi-ethnic inclusive national-citizenship, national origin, and pan-ethnic identities.
Several Class 2 editors removed this contribution and having the new Class 1 editor explain their reasoning on the Talk page, with the Class 1 editor saying:
So, what are the points of contention?
Ethiosemitic language-speaking vs. Semitic language-speaking?
“Christian peoples of” vs. “Historically most are Eastern Christians of the Oriental Orthodox variety with origins in the state Orthodox Tewahedo Church of the Ethiopian Empire, the predecessor body of what would later become the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches, but the population also has a number of adherents of other denominations of Christianity like those among the Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelical churches[1][2], as well as a few Muslim[3] and Jewish (Beta Israel)[4] minorities. ?
Because the first mentioned phrase mischaracterizes Habesha peoples as an ethno-religious group, while the later states what the most common religion among these people groups is (cf. Swedish Americans in that Swedish Americans aren’t characterized as a ‘Nordic Christian peoples’ but are described as “Most were Lutheran Christians with origins in the state Church of Sweden who were affiliated with predecessor bodies of what are now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) from the mergers of 1988 or the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (1847), or the recent North American Lutheran Church (NALC) of 2010; some were Methodists following Wesleyan doctrine.[2]”).
Is the phrase or positioning of the phrase “but the term in other cases has also been applied to other ethnic groups and all people of Eritrean and Ethiopian origin namely gaining popularity among those in diaspora communities brought about through an outgrowth of good non-state communal relations between Eritreans and Ethiopians in the diaspora.[5]” the issue of contention? Because this is also how the term is used and should be in the same sentence. On another note, also realize that the term Habesha is used more often in the diaspora than in modern day Ethiopia or Eritrea.
If there are any other pieces of contention, please tell me so all of us editors here on this page can work it out ?
The Class 1 editor continues saying:
Hi, I would argue that the previous consensus is fundamentally flawed. The assertion that Habesha people are an Christian ethno-religious has a rare occurrence in Habesha society.
I understand your issue of contention when it comes to the Habesha peoples vs. Jeberti people distinction, but this distinction is an outlier generally only found among some (rural) Muslim Tigre people and Eritrean Tigrayans. In most cases Muslim Tigrayans still simultaneously use the term Habesha along with their ethnic group’s name. The opposition by some Muslim Tigrayans to not identity as Habesha is found in only a small number of people mostly in rural Eritrea, they are only an exception, not the rule (as in the people in these ethnic group that make up the Habesha peoples don’t loose their Habesha identity or are called non-Habeshas if they happened not be Christian. The only people that make this claim are sectarian supremacists, which would further claim that unless a person is a member of the Ethiopian or Eritrean Orthodox Thewado Church, they cannot be considered Habesha, in other words they will even try to narrow it down to a specific denomination of Christianity even further and will use evidence that shows that Orthodox Thewado was the state church of the Ethiopian Empire to stregnhten that claim). When it comes to Muslim Amharas there is no such distinction between Habesha peoples and Jeberti people, a Muslim Amhara is still an Amhara and still has an unquestionable claim to Habesha identity (unquestionable as in people can’t really question the Habeshaness of a(n) (Muslim) Amhara to the same extent some people would question the Habeshaness of an Oromo as is seen in the usage section of the Habesha peoples article). And not all Habesha Muslims are Jebarti. Also, If you look at book (link: https://books.google.com/books?id=wnxeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39&lpg=PT39&dq=are+there+%22Habesha%22+people+that+are%22+muslim%22&source=bl&ots=EL9z8fseV2&sig=ACfU3U1FkocZ479ESJiZ6bo1FgAU-Wbr1Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4p8vR8PfrAhUwoHIEHY0tACo4HhDoATAJegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=are%20there%20%22Habesha%22%20people%20that%20are%22%20muslim%22&f=false) it shows that Muslim Habeshas exist, in which it states that they are “the minorities who compose the Habesha social fabric”. From what the author has seen, they allude to the idea that Jebartis may even be a subset of Habesha peoples.
… Class 1 and Class 2 editors continue discussing … .
In between these discussion, another Class 2 (pro-exclusionary definition) editor adds an offensive and racist statement calling diaspora groups who use an inclusionary definitions are “culturally bastardized” people. Here is the statement:
Habesha peoples (Ge’ez: ሐበሠተ, romanized: Ḥäbäśät or Ḥabäśät[1]; Amharic: ሐበሻ, አበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, ‘äbäša; Tigrinya: ሓበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša; etymologically related to English “Abyssinia” and “Abyssinians” by way of Latin) is a term most frequently employed to refer to Semitic language-speaking Orthodox Tewahedo Christian ethno-religious peoples of highland Ethiopia and Eritrea. Recently, the term has been applied by culturally b-a-s-t-a-r-d-i-z-e-d- diaspora communities to refer to all people of Eritrean or Ethiopian origin regardless of ethnicity or religion.
… Class 1 and Class 2 editors continue discussing …
Ok, I understand what you mean but here is an FYI that I really want you guys to also know about, that a lot of the types of sources you’re looking for, pretty much all sound like this https://twitter.com/jeffpropulsion/status/1293753526041153536 . A lot of academic sources on Habesha (Ethiopian and Eritrean) history and culture has not caught up with the times (most or even almost all are still stuck in the Era of Scientific Racism). I think the Wikipedia community should just cut its losses, and just use more ‘non-traditional’ sources, because these so-called academic sources are far worse, are far more inaccurate, and far more unreliable than the modern ‘non-traditionally used’ sources on this same subject. When we use only sources like these that I have called into question, without using other sources on the same subject from the other perspective and source type, we run into the issue of possibly pushing a Scientific Racism agenda.
….
I never said don’t include the exclusive definition, what I said is include both the exclusive and inclusive definitions at the same level of each other, but at the moment right now it seems like its giving preferential treatment to the exclusive definition. I’m new at Wikipedia stuff, and I’ve been doing research on this topic to fix this article but, its hard and will defiantly need more help with editing this topic. In the end, I rather have a vandal call the Habesha diaspora “culturally bastardized” like what happened earlier this week or last week, than have a a biased Wikipedia article misinform unsuspecting people into believing that there is only one correct definition for Habesha and the other is an illegitimate definition as this Wikipedia article may make people perceive.
After these Class 2 editors ganged up on new Wikipedia user and other users they disagreed with (a.k.a. the Class 1 editors), the Class 2 editors blocked another pro-Class 1 editor for calling them out for their bias. After the block, the Class 2 editors reverted the major edits done by the Class 1 editor, then went on the further restrict who, what, or which groups are defined as Habesha under their version of their exclusionary definition and confusing parts of or conflating certain parts of the inclusionary definition; this inaccurate definition is as follows:
Habesha peoples (Ge’ez: ሐበሠተ, romanized: Ḥäbäśät or Ḥabäśät[1]; Amharic: ሐበሻ, አበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, ‘äbäša; Tigrinya: ሓበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša; etymologically related to English “Abyssinia” and “Abyssinians” by way of Latin) is an ethnic (or pan-ethnic) identifier frequently employed to refer to Semitic language-speaking peoples of highland Ethiopia and Eritrea. Historically, the term was applied to predominantly Christian groups, and this usage remains common today. The term is currently sometimes employed in a restrictive sense to only refer to speakers of Tigrinya, and sometimes in an expanded sense to include Muslim communities as well as Christians. Recently, some within diasporic communities have adopted the term to refer to all people of Eritrean or Ethiopian origin.
This definition is inaccurate because it adds even more and unrealistic restrictions on even the exclusionary definition of Habesha identity (claming that only Tigrayans a.k.a. Tigrinya-speakers are Habesha) that even the most conservative and pro-exclusionary Habesha person wouldn’t even consider as valid because it omits several groups (namely the Amhara, as well as several others) that are considered Habesha even under the most exclusive of the authentic definitions, let alone having several mistakes, and having a bias that downplays the inclusive definition relegating it to a secondary or fringe position by using the word “some,” instead of having them as co-equal, even though the inclusive definition has a broad and wide acceptance.
After several Class 1 editors were blocked and barred from editing Wikipedia, Several Class 2 Pro-Exclusionary Definition editors, go on the delete any and all information that ties Habesha peoples with its constituent ethnic group and diaspora populations. These Class 2 editors claim that they have agreed to include both the Exclusionary and Inclusionary Definitions on Habesha Pan-ethnic Identity but go on to exclude the constituent ethnic groups and diaspora communities that are found in both definition, creating an unauthentic and false definition that puts even more nonexistent or unrealistic restrictions on Habesha Identity (including adding unauthentic and unrealistic restrictions on the already Exclusionary Definition that is starting to fall out of use). They have been planning to do this by removing any ethnic group that does not mention the term “Habesha” in their Wikipedia Pages.
This is flawed reasoning because the term “Habesha” has no legal definition in Ethiopia, Eritrea, or any of the countries the diaspora communities live in; Habesha is never used in the census of any of these countries: (1) because Habesha is not an ethnic group it is a panethnicity that includes several different ethnic groups and diaspora communities, (2) the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have no incentive to use the term because the Ethiopian government prefers people use their ethnic identity rather than a pan-ethnicity, the government of Eritrea generally has an incentive to oppose term because of it admits to the existence of cultural commonalities with Ethiopia, and (3) most people on official documents or the census would use their ethnic identity (according to Ethiopian law, a person cannot claim more than one ethnic group even if they come from a family with an broad ethnically mixed heritage) in Ethiopia or Eritrea, the diaspora who are either citizen-nationals or residents of another country (mostly in the West) would have to mark “Black” as their race and in some cases under newer editions of the census would be afforded the option to add their ethnic and/or national origin — which most of the diaspora population elects to do a combination of both; generally they would choose a combination of ethnic and/or national origin because that's what official or semi-official documents would ask (in the event it is asked for in rare occasions — and used in addition to race), instead Habesha people use the term “Habesha” in either informal settings or formally in relation to shared Eritrean-Ethiopian Culture (in other words, “Habesha” is in effect a shortening for the long phrase “the Various Ethnic Groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Diaspora Communities of Eritrean and Ethiopian Origin”).
They then continue in distorting and gatekeeping Habesha identity by planning to calculate the “ethnicities/nationalities that are considered ‘Habesha’” but that would cause more problems because of the various competing definitions of who is considered Habesha, one Class 2 editor says “based on whichever POV” which admits to the conflicting definitions but I highly doubt that they will try to fix the problem but would likely just go by their own Exclusionary Definition. Another Class 2 editor had instead planned to go by languages, which is also questionable and inaccurate because there are many people who’s native language is not the same as the language their ethnic group’s ancestors spoke. There are countless examples of certain sub-groups of an ethnic group adopting another surrounding language as a native language. One example are the Argobba people (who are mostly similar to the Amhara people) who’s native language used to be the Argobba language but have had a language shift — adopting a near by language as their own native language, some Argobba communities went on to adopt the Oromo language while others adopted the Amharic language, but still maintains a minority that still speaks the Argobba language. In effect, these Class 2 editors were trying to conflate ethnic groups with languages. But these editors have admitted that this plan may not work because native languages and ethnic groups don’t always match up, they also admit into running into the question of “whether the ethnicity is Habesha or not, [] according to whom”, and what definition, but there is a likely chance they may actually continue with these plans anyway as seen in their previous pattern of editing.
[This is an ongoing issue on Wikipedia and things may change for better or for worse.].
After the previously mentioned incidents transpired, new editors arrived, one came to add more information to the Exclusionary Definition and another came to fix the spelling and formatting mistakes of the previous editor and clarify information about both the the Inclusionary and Exclusionary Definitions because the wording may confuse other readers.
The editor that included information for the Exclusionary Definition added the Central Cushitic-speaking peoples or “central cushitic (Agaw) languages speaking peoples of highland Ethiopia and Eritrea” along with the Ethiosemitic-speaking peoples of highland Ethiopia and Eritrea as Habesha under the Exclusionary Definition.
The next editor adds on to the edits of the previous editor and clarifies some confusing wording and fixing some biased insinuations left by previous Class 2 editors. Here are some of the adjustments made be the new editor:
Habesha peoples (Ge’ez: ሐበሠተ, romanized: Ḥäbäśät or Ḥabäśät[1]; Amharic: ሐበሻ, አበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, ‘äbäša; Tigrinya: ሓበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša; etymologically related to English “Abyssinia” and “Abyssinians” by way of Latin) is a term with with a wide range of meanings that is used as a cultural identifier and grouping of multiple interrelated ethnic groups and cultures in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and within communities of Eritreans and Ethiopians in the diaspora.
The term is most frequently employed as a meta-ethnic identifier referring to several Ethiosemitic-speaking and Central Cushitic-speaking peoples of the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands. Historically, the ethnic groups of the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands, were predominantly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Christian faith; even though these ethnic groups are predominantly Christian, the identifier also includes Muslim communities within these same ethnic groups. In certain cases like in parts of Eritrea, the term Habesha may be used in a restricted sense as only applying to Tigrayans and Tigrinya-speakers. In other cases it can be used in a restricted sense in applying only to adherents of Christianity and excluding the adherents of Islam even though they may be part of the same constituent ethnic group of the highlands and speak the same ancestral language.
The term Habesha is also used as a pan-ethnic identifier mostly by diaspora communities outside of their ethnic homelands as a broader community identifier encompassing all peoples of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin regardless of ethnicity as well as the inclusion of hyphenated ethnicities that have had an ethnogenesis in the diaspora.
Then added this to the Template:Habesha peoples template (here is a link to this editor’s version).
{{Navbox
|name = Habesha peoples
|state = {{{state|autocollapse}}}
|title = [[Habesha peoples]]
|imageleft = [[File:Lion of Judah.svg|75px|Lion of Judah]] | image= [[File:Insigne Eritreae.png|50px|Arms of the flag of Eritrea]]
|listclass = hlist
|titlestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|groupstyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|evenodd = swap
|group1 = [[Meta-ethnicity|Meta-Ethnic]] Definition <br> (Common Ancestry)
|list1style = background:transparent;
|list1 =
{{navbox|subgroup
| basestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|group1 = Ethnic Groups
|list1 =
*[[Amhara people|Amhara]]
*[[Agaw people|Agaw]]
*[[Argobba people|Argobba]]
*[[Chebo people|Chebo]]
*[[Qemant people|Qemant]]
*[[Bilen people|Bilen]]
*[[Gurage people|Gurage]]
*[[Harari people|Harari]]
*[[Silt’e people|Silt’e]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrayan]]
*[[Zay people|Zay]]
*[[Tigre people|Tigre]]
*([[Beni-Amer]]
*[[Beit Asgede]]
*[[Ad Shaikh]]
*[[Mensa people|Mensa]]
*[[Beit Juk people|Beit Juk]]
*[[Marya]])
*[[Beta Israel]]
|group2 = Qualifications
|list2 =
*[[Homeland|Ethnic Homelands]] ([[Eritrean Highlands]] and [[Ethiopian Highlands]])
*[[Ethno-linguistic|Ethno-linguistic Qualifications]] ([[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiosemitic-speaking peoples]], [[Central cushitic languages|Central Cushitic-speaking peoples]])}}
|group2 = [[Pan-ethnicity|Pan-Ethnic]] Definition <br> (Interrelated-but-Distinct Cultural Commonality)
|list2style = background:transparent;
|list2 =
{{navbox|subgroup
| basestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|group1 = National Origin / [[Homeland|Ethnic Homelands]]
|list1 =
*{{flagicon|Eritrea}} [[Demographics of Eritrea|Eritreans]] ([[Eritrea]])
*{{flagicon|Ethiopia}} [[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]] ([[Ethiopia]])
|group2 = [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic-speakers]] ([[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]])
|list2 =
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Agaw people|Agaw]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Daasanach people|Daasanach]]
*[[Gabra people|Gabra]]
*[[Hadiya people|Hadiya]]
*[[Kambaata people|Kambaata]]
*[[Konso people|Konso]]
*[[Oromo people|Oromo]]
**{{small|[[Yejju Oromo tribe|Yejju]]}}
*[[Qemant people|Qemant]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
** [[Irob people|Irob]]
*[[Sidama people|Sidama]]
*[[Somali people|Somali]]
*[[Tsamai people|Tsamai]]
*[[Werji people|Werji]]
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Beja people|Beja]]
*[[Bilen people|Bilen]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
|group3 = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiosemitic-speakers]] ([[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]])
|list3 =
*[[Amhara people|Amhara]]
*[[Argobba people|Argobba]]
*[[Chebo people|Chebo]]
*[[Gurage people|Gurage]]
*[[Harari people|Harari]]
*[[Silt’e people|Silt’e]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrayan]]
*[[Zay people|Zay]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrinyas]]
*[[Tigre people|Tigre]]
*([[Beni-Amer]]
*[[Beit Asgede]]
*[[Ad Shaikh]]
*[[Mensa people|Mensa]]
*[[Beit Juk people|Beit Juk]]
*[[Marya]])
|group4 = [[Omotic languages|Omotic]] ([[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]])
|list4 =
*[[Arbore people|Arbore]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Banna people|Banna]]
*[[Basketo people|Basketo]]
*[[Chara people|Chara]]
*[[Danta people|Danta]]
*[[Dawro people|Dawro]]
*[[Dizi people|Dizi]]
*[[Dorze people|Dorze]]
*[[Gamo people|Gamo]]
*[[Gedeo people|Gedeo]]
*[[Hamar people|Hamar]]
*[[Koore people|Koore]]
*[[Maale people|Maale]]
*[[Shinasha people|Shinasha]]
*[[Welayta people|Welayta]]
*[[Yem people|Yemsa]]
|group5 = [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan speakers]]
|list5 =
*[[Anuak people|Anuak]]
*[[Rer Bare people|Bare]]
*[[Berta people|Berta]]
*[[Gumuz people|Gumuz]]
*[[Kichepo people|Kichepo]]
*[[Kwama people|Kwama]]
*[[Kwegu people|Kwegu]]
*[[Majang people|Majang]]
*[[Mekan people|Mekan]]
*[[Murle people|Murle]]
*[[Mursi people|Mursi]]
*[[Nuer people|Nuer]]
*[[Nyangatom people|Nyangatom]]
*[[Shabo people|Shabo]]
*[[Shanqella|Shanqella]]
*[[Shita people|Shita]]
*[[Surma people|Surma]]
*[[Tirma people|Tirma]]
*[[Weyto (African caste)|Weyto]]
*[[Kunama people|Kunama]]
*[[Nara people|Nara]]
|group6 = Diaspora Communities
|list6 =
*[[Eritrean Americans]] ([[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]])
*[[Ethiopian Americans]] ([[Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.]], [[History of Ethiopian Americans in Baltimore]], [[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]])
*[[Eritrean Australians]]
*[[Ethiopian Australians]]
*[[Eritrean Canadians]]
*[[Ethiopian Canadians]]
*[[Eritreans in Denmark]]
*[[Ethiopians in Denmark]]
*[[Eritreans in Germany]]
*[[Ethiopians in Germany]]
*[[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]]
*[[Eritreans in Norway]]
*[[Ethiopians in Norway]]
*[[Eritreans in Sweden]]
*[[Ethiopians in Sweden]]
*[[Eritreans in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Ethiopians in the United Kingdom]]
}}}}
Now, these edits give equal weight to both Exclusionary and Inclusionary Definitions and disassociates the term Habesha from the false Ethnoreligious Argument while still retaining information about the major religions in these communities possibly as a compromise even though the religious aspect is completely useless and gives off false impressions that makes it look like an Ethnoreligious group.
The Class 2 (pro-Exclusionary and Pro-Ethnoreligious Argument) Editors from before, saw both of these edits and editors and swiftly removed their contributions.
One of these new editors who had their contributions removed went to the talk page to ask why it was removed and said:
Agaw People
Why are our (mine [the editor’s] and [other editor’s name redacted])’s edits being deleted?
Here bellow are some peaces of information I got from my friends who know about Eritrean and Ethiopian culture and history that I talked to in a group chat asking them if they’ve run into the same situation I’m in right now. I copied this conversation down and put it here because I did not have the time and energy to rewrite the whole thing in my own words again. So I’m just leaving this here to help you understand where I am coming from.
Person 1: Hey, aren’t Agaw people Habesha even under the most strictest definitions of Habesha? They don’t speak an Ethiosemitic-languages (that’s not an accurate requirement) they speak Central Cushitic (Agäw)-languages which has had a considerable influence/substratum on Ethiosemitic-languages, and the Agaw were fully integrated into the political, social, and aristocratic structures of the Ethiopian Highlands.
Several Wikipedia editors have been been adding the Agaw to the conservative definition of Habesha (and they keep deleting it). There are conservative/exclusionary and liberal/inclusionary definitions of Habesha identity. The conservative/exclusionary says only Highlanders are Habesha while the liberal/inclusionary definition says anyone of Ethiopian and Eritrean national origin who choose to self-identify as Habesha can do so. Both of these definitions are accurate showing both the historical definition along with modern conventions. But on Wikipedia, it’s insinuating that you have to be (Orthodox Thewahdo) Christian in order to be Habesha and Muslims of these same constituent ethnic groups aren’t considered as such. And in one instance it’s even insinuating that only Tigrayans/Tigrinya speakers are Habesha, people tried to correct it saying this definition may only apply in Eritrea in contrast to Ethiopia (pretty much the main/only Highland ethnic in Eritrea is Tegaru). …
… when people try to correct the error, that wonts budge and end up deleting it.
See the comparison: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habesha_peoples&type=revision&diff=982916442&oldid=982886187
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Habesha_peoples&type=revision&diff=982880134&oldid=982864272
Person 2:
I consider them to be habesha honestly because of the shared history and culture they have with neighboring ETHIO semetic speaking tribes (especially Amhara
Would y’all say that in order to be considered “Habesha” a tribe has to be both ETHIO semetic speaking and orthodox?
Person 3: No, religion has nothing to do with being Habesha and strictly speaking you had to be an Ethiopian Highlander not necessarily an Semitic language speaker.
Person 1:
I wasn’t saying it’s Ethiosemitic I’m saying even under the strictest of definition for Habesha, the Agwa were considered as such, and traditionally speaking (excluding confusion made by European historians). In other words according to the conservative definition speaking an Ethiosemitic language was never a requirement, the main requirement was being from an ethnic group that hailed from the highlands which traditionally included Central Cushitic speakers like the Agaw.
Person 2: Makes sense I agree
Person 4:
Ya labels don’t mean much anyway. At least in modern times. If someone wants to say they are habesha no one should say no your not and vis versa if someone doesn’t want to be considered habesha that should be respected. It’s a ambiguous term that has held many meanings
One of the Class 2 editors, sees this and say “More of the same…” and completely ignores the comments made by an editor that may have a different view form them.
After reading these comments and contributions, the Class 2 editors, again go on to levy blocking and account deactivation procedure against both of these newer editors for disagreeing with them.
The hypocrisy is that when new editors or editors that disagree with a Wikipedia Admin collaborate with each other or tagged each other in a discussion to help explain a situation they are considered meatpupets or sockpuppets while when more established editors or editors with administrative privileges does the same thing it perfectly fine and is considered a good thing because it shows so-called “consensus”.
At this point, its noticeable that none of these Class 1 editors want to actually cooperate with others that disagree with them nor do they want to be accurate in what they write. This my way or get banned from editing agenda is very toxic and hostile to editors that are People of Color or from Non-Western Cultures.
One of the newer Class 1 editors asks why these issues are happening and explains their reasoning by saying:
Edits I Proposed
Can we go over the edits that I had made, Please? I don’t know what is wrong with my edits. All I did was try to clarify there are two major distinct definitions for Habesha. I know that it already contained both, but the wording is confusing and I didn’t want it to confuse others. Habesha people are a Supra-Ethnic group or cultural community with very vague definitions. It contains two types of Supraethnicities, one is a Meta-ethnicity and the other is a Panethnicity. The Meta-ethnicity portion is mostly restricted to the ethnic groups that haile from the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands, and who’s ancestral language is either an Ethiosemitic or Central Cushitic language, and are linked by a Common Ancestry. The Panethnicity portion is more inclusive of other ethnic groups and is mostly used by diaspora communities outside of their ethnic homelands as a broader community identifier encompassing all peoples of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin who self-identify as such regardless of ethnicity; these people groups don’t always share the same common ancestry (some do) but the main point of using the Panethnicity is about identifying with a larger cultural community that encompass several cultures and ethnic groups with these groups having interrelated but distinct cultural Commonalities. The Panethnicity is an offshoot of Ethiopian and Eritrean national identity in communities outside of their ethnic homelands or country of origin because most of them by now have lost their Ethiopian citizenship by gaining the citizenship of the country these diaspora communities live now as well as the national identity leveling through cultural diffusion between those of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin who already have a linked culture and history while combining the cultural practices of their new homes outside their ethnic homelands. The Panethnicity not only encompasses the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea and people of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin, it also encompasses the cultural practices and Habesha regionalism (that is unique to their city, province/state, geographic region, costal sea board, etc.) that they have adopted in their new home. With this Habesha diaspora regionalism, Eritrean Americans and Ethiopian Americans are closer in culture to each other than Eritreans and Ethiopians in their motherland, or in North American, US-Canada East Coast Ethiopians and Eritreans having a regional cultural similarity to each other that is distinct from their West Coast counterparts in both the USA and Canada. Another example would be the regional distinctiveness that contrasts each other between DMV Habeshas (Washington DC Metro), ATL/Atlanta Habeshas (Metropolitan Atlanta /other parts of Georgia), and Toronto Habesha or YYC Habesha (Greater Toronto Area/Southern Ontario). [In some cases an Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans + Ethiopian-Canadians and Eritrean-Canadians in the United States and Canada, are a lot closer culturally to each other than they are to Eritreans and Ethiopians in Eritrea and Ethiopia respectivly or to Eritrean/Ethiopian hyphenated ethnicities in the Nordic or Scandiniavian countries.]. Separate Ethiopian and Eritrean national identities don’t adequately describe this phenomenon, so a pan-ethnic sense of Habesha identity emerged encompassing Ethiopia, Eritrea, the various ethnic groups of both, people of both national origins, and the Habesha diaspora regionalism that make them distinct in a way that Ethiopians and Eritreans in one region are closer to each other than they are to their counterparts in another region or country.
The Class 2 editors still have not replied and the blocking and account deactivation procedure are still in place against the two new Class 1 editors.
Here is a summary of what these Class 1 editors are trying to contribute:
Habesha peoples (Ge’ez: ሐበሠተ, romanized: Ḥäbäśät or Ḥabäśät[1]; Amharic: ሐበሻ, አበሻ, romanized: Häbäša, ‘äbäša; Tigrinya: ሓበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša; etymologically related to English “Abyssinia” and “Abyssinians” by way of Latin) or Habesha is a Supra-Ethnic term and cultural community with a wide range of meanings that is used as a cultural identifier and grouping of multiple interrelated ethnic groups and cultures in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and within communities of Eritreans and Ethiopians in the diaspora. It contains two types of Supraethnicities, one is a Meta-ethnicity and the other is a Panethnicity.
The term is most frequently employed as a meta-ethnic identifier referring to several Ethiosemitic-speaking and Central Cushitic-speaking peoples or ethnic groups that haile from the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands and are generally linked by a common ancestry. Historically, the ethnic groups of the Ethiopian Highlands and Eritrean Highlands, were predominantly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Christian faith; even though these ethnic groups are predominantly Christian, the identifier also includes Muslim communities within these same ethnic groups. In certain cases like in parts of Eritrea, the term Habesha may be used in a restricted sense as only applying to Tigrayans and Tigrinya-speakers. In other cases it can be used in a restricted sense in applying only to adherents of Christianity and excluding the adherents of Islam even though they may be part of the same constituent ethnic group of the highlands and speak the same ancestral language.
The term Habesha is also used as a pan-ethnic identifier mostly by diaspora communities outside of their ethnic homelands as a broader community identifier encompassing all peoples of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin regardless of ethnicity as well as the inclusion of hyphenated ethnicities that have had an ethnogenesis in the diaspora. It not only encompasses the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea and people of Eritrean and Ethiopian national origin, it also encompasses the cultural practices and Habesha regionalisms (that are unique to their city, province/state, geographic region, costal sea board, etc.) that the diaspora have adopted in their new home.
Certain national identities don’t adequately describe this phenomenon and cultural commonality, so a pan-ethnic sense of Habesha identity emerged encompassing Ethiopia, Eritrea, the various ethnic groups of both, people of both national origins, and the Habesha diaspora regionalism that make them distinct in a way that Ethiopians and Eritreans in one region are closer to each other than they are to their counterparts in another region or country.
Or as stated in Wikipedia Simple English:
Habesha is a name that has different meanings. It is a supraethnicity which is a grouping of several interrelated ethnicities that have similar but unique cultures. It is a cultural identity that goes on top of a person’s ethnicity, national identity, and citizenship. Habesha is a cultural community that contains several different ethnic groups and unique cultures of the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia and has two main definitions.
One definition is a meta-ethnic definition of Habesha, which is used to refer to the people who’s ancestors have lived in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands for many generations, generally they speak Ethiosemitic and Agaw languages, and are descended from or related to a common ancestry or ancestral culture before their cultures started spreading apart from each other.
Another definition is a pan-ethnic definition of Habesha, which s used to refer to all peoples and ethnic groups who’s ancestors come from all over Ethiopia and Eritrea. This means that Habesha culture is made up of several similar but unique cultures, including the cultures of the two main countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the cultures of the 80 or so ethnic groups that comprise the two countries, and the adoption of cultural practices that the large diaspora population has adopted from the countries the live and grew up in outside of their traditional homelands Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Ethiosemitic and Agaw speaking peoples of Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, share a meta-ethnic connection to each other and have a common history. The Ethiosemitic-speaking peoples speak different but similar languages with each other; the Agaw-speaking peoples have the same relationship with each other as well.
The other people groups of Ethiopia and Eritrea are not meta-ethnically Habesha but they can be considered pan-ethnically Habesha . In other words, the Cushitic-speaking, Omotic-speaking, and Nilotic-speaking peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea have their own separate meta-ethnicities, different cultures, and slight different histories respectively.
The Habesha pan-ethnic identity used mostly by the peoples of Central Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as the diaspora. This pan-ethnic identity emerged because the cultures and peoples of Northern and Southern Ethiopia and Eritrea started interacting with each other leading to commonalities forming between different cultures and ethnic groups in areas of Central Ethiopia-Eritrea and most visibly in the diaspora where these people groups are culturally closer to each other than they are to other people groups outside of their traditional homelands of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Very often, the term is used for groups that are mostly Eastern Christian. Habesha are either Christian or Muslim, some are Jewish like the Beta Israel. A sizeable minority of the overall religious population is Muslim, most are Sunnis, a few belong to Sufi orders. Within the Christian population, most are Oriental Orthodox of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo (Orthodox Tewahedo) churches, while Protestants (Eastern Protestants) like the P’ent’ay / Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicals make up a sizable minority and Catholics (Eastern Catholics) of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church exist, and are among the oldest Christian groups known.
The actual number of people who identify as Habesha is unknow, because there is no legal definition defining Habesha identity because it is based only on cultural self-identification of cultural identity. Most attempts to gague the population of Habesha people generally leads to a huge undercount because of the huge variations in defining Habesah cultural identity, and most of the time completely ignores the number of Habesha peoples of all definitions in the diaspora who have left their traditional homelands.
Habesha Community
The Habesha Community, the Habesha (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ, ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, ሃበሻ, romanized: Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Häbäša, Habäša, Abesha; Habesha), or Habesha peoples, are a supra-ethnic[4] cultural community containing a continuum of various inter-related cultures and ethnic groups of Ethiopian and Eritrean origin with huge variations in meaning. The most common definition[5] of the endonym Habesha (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ) being a pan-ethnic and “supra-national”[6] term identified with the various peoples, cultures, and products of Ethiopia, Eritrea, the ethnic groups that comprise both of those countries, and people of Eritrean and Ethiopian origin in the diaspora who live and have set up their lives abroad, regardless of citizenship or country of residence. It is used as a term to name their intrinsically connected cultural and historical commonalities.[6][7] In informal settings Ethiopians and Eritreans use the name Habesha (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ) in place of their respective countries’ and national origins’ demonym[8].
— — — — Related Terms — — — —
Habeshat:
The term Habeshat (Ge’ez: ሐበሻይት) or Habeshat peoples, is a similar term that most people confuse with Habesha, but the term is generally exclusive and only applies to the Ethiosemitic-speaking (and in certain cases Central Cushitic (Agaw)-speaking)[9] ethnic groups in the Highlands of Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are believed to be the descendants of the Agʿazi people of the Kingdom of Aksum[10][11] who traveled farther inland and southward settling in North-Central Ethiopia/Eritrea after the collapse of the Aksumite Empire[12] (and in certain cases the Agaw people of the Zagaw Kigdom politically centered in North Central Ethiopia where the descendants of the Agʿazi settled)[9]; overtime the Habeshat split into several different but closely related ethnic groups that speak similar languages[13][14][15][16].
Al-Habash, Habishi, Al-Habesha, and Habeşistan:
The term Al-Habash (Arabic: الهباش, romanized: Al-Habash), is an name for the inhabitants of an ancient region within the Horn of Africa that was centered around the highland portions of modern-day Eritrea, Ethiopia, and included outlying areas of the region (according to some sources extending into Somalia and Djibouti), [17] the term was taken from the word Habesha. With the territorial expansion of the various Highland Habeshat groups (like the Amhara and Tigray) coming from the north and Oromo and other non-Highland Horn African groups coming from the south conquering neighboring areas (with both eventually expanding southward). Due to territorial expansion and merging of societies, the terms Al-Habash, Habesha and it’s Greek equivalent “Ethiopian,” was expanded over the new territories and its inhabitants[18], later evolving into the Ethiopian Empire (which Westerners used to call Abyssinia)[8] and the Habesha Community. The term Habishi (Arabic: حَبِيْشي, romanized: Ḥabīshī) has throughout history been used as a demonym for the people of Ethiopia when using the Arabic language, in the Turkish language the countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea have historically been referred to as Habeshistan (Turkish: Habeşistan, romanized: Habeshistan) and in its Arabic language cognate they have historically been refed to as Al-Habesha (Arabic: الحبشة, romanized: Al-Habesha)[19][20][21][22] with both terms being etymologically related to the name Habesha (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ).
Abyssinian, Abyssinia, and Abyssinian peoples:
The terms Abyssinian, Abyssinia, and Abyssinian peoples, which comes from the corruption or mispronunciation of the term Al-Habash, by Westerners is seen as controversial by some Ethiopian historians because it causes confusion between the terms “Habesha,” “Habeshat,” “Al-Habesh,” and the demonym of the citizens of the Ethiopian Empire (also known controversially known as Abyssinia). Historians Eva Poluha and Elehu Feleke, state that the distinction made between the names Ethiopia and Abyssinia (a corruption or mispronunciation of Habesha) are artificial and did not exist at the time nor was used in the Ethiopian Empire, they go on to say that Abyssinia “is a European creation derived from the Arabic name” Al-Habash. In other words, the term Abyssinian and its derivatives are unpopular exonyms that makes an “artificial” distinction between the Habesha Community and the peoples of the Ethiopian Empire of present day Ethiopia and Eritrea.[8]
Origins of the Terms Ethiopian and Habesha:
The Monumentum Adulitanum, a third century inscription belonging to the Aksumite Empire, indicates that Aksum’s then ruler governed an area which was flanked to the west by the territory of Ethiopia and Sasu. The Aksumite King Ezana would eventually conquer Nubia the following century, and the Aksumites thereafter appropriated the designation “Ethiopians” for their own kingdom when writing in Greek. In the Ge’ez Language version of the Ezana inscription, Aἰθιόποι is equated with the unvocalized Ḥbšt and Ḥbśt (Ḥabashat), and denotes for the first time the highland inhabitants of Aksum when writing or speaking in Ge’ez and Sabic. This new demonym would subsequently be rendered as ‘ḥbs (‘Aḥbāsh) in Sabaic and as Al-Ḥabasha in Arabic, rendered in Ge’ez Script as Habesha (ሓበሻ, ሐበሻ, ሀበሻ, or ሃበሻ; romanized: Ḥabäša, Ḥäbäša, Häbäša, Habäša) from the Greek “Aἰθιόποι”, romanized: Aithiops (“Ethiopian”)),[23] today Ethiopia denotes the modern country of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while Habesha (Ge’ez Script: ሐበሻ) in informal settings is used by Ethiopians and Eritreans in place of their respective countries’ and national origins’ demonym in contexts where topics apply to both countries and cultures or things that originate from there.[8]
— — — — History of the Habesha Community — — — —
The Aksumite Kingdom was a predominantly Christian state that at the height of its power controlled what is now the Ethiopian Highlands, Eritrea, and the coastal regions of Southern Arabia.[24] The Aksumite Kingdom was responsible for the development of the religious movement that became the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[24] However, the expansion of Islam in the 7th century caused the decline of the Aksumite Kingdom, and most of the lowland populations converted to Islam, while the highland people remained Christian.[24] Since the Aksumite people became divided between Christian highlands and Islamic lowlands, religious and tribal tensions and rivalries between the people intensified.[24] The Aksumite society changed into a loose confederation of city-states that maintained the language of Aksum.[24]
Additionally, expeditions by Ezana into the Kingdom of Kush at Meroe in Sudan may have brought about the latter polity’s demise, though there is evidence that the kingdom was experiencing a period of decline beforehand. As a result of Ezana’s expansions, Aksum bordered the Roman province of Egypt. The degree of Aksum’s control over Yemen is uncertain. Though there is little evidence supporting Aksumite control of the region at that time, his title, which includes king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan (all in modern-day Yemen), along with gold Aksumite coins with the inscriptions, “king of the Habshat” or “Habashite,” indicate that Aksum might have retained some legal or actual footing in the area.[25]
After the fall of Aksum due to declining sea trade from fierce competition by Muslims and changing climate, the power base of the kingdom migrated south and shifted its capital to Kubar (near Agew). They moved southwards because, even though the Axumite Kingdom welcomed and protected the companions of Prophet Muhammad to Ethiopia, who came as refugees to escape the persecution of the ruling families of Mecca and earned the friendship and respect of the Prophet. Their friendship deteriorated when South-Arabians invaded the Dahlak islands through the port of Adulis and destroyed it, which was the economic backbone for the prosperous Aksumite Kingdom. After a second golden age in the early 6th century[26] the Aksumite empire began to decline in the mid 6th century,[27] eventually ceasing its production of coins in the early 7th century. Around this same time, the Aksumite population was forced to go farther inland to the highlands for protection, abandoning Aksum as the capital. Arab writers of the time continued to describe Ethiopia (no longer referred to as Aksum) as an extensive and powerful state, though they had lost control of most of the coast and their tributaries. While land was lost in the north, it was gained in the south; and, though Ethiopia was no longer an economic power, it still attracted Arab merchants. The capital was moved to a new location, currently unknown, though it may have been called Ku’bar or Jarmi.[26]
Afthe decline of Aksum, the Eritrean highlands were under the domain of Christian Kingdom of Medri Bahri, ruled by Bahri Negus. The area was then known as Ma’ikele Bahri (“between the seas/rivers”, i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mereb river).[28] The entire coastal domain of Ma’ikele Bahri was under the Adal Sultanate during the reign of Sultan Badlay.[29][30] The state was later reconquered by Ethiopian Emperors namely Zara Yaqob, and renamed the Medri Bahr[31]i (“Sea land” in Tigrinya, although it included some areas like Shire in Ethiopia on the other side of the Mereb, today in Ethiopia).[32] With its capital at Debarwa,[33] the state’s main provinces were Hamasien, Serae and Akele Guzai.
Under the reign of Degna Djan, during the 10th century, the empire kept expanding south, and sent troops into the modern-day region of Kaffa,[34] while at the same time undertaking missionary activity into Angot and Amhara.
Local history holds that, around 960, a Jewish Queen named Yodit (Judith) or “Gudit” defeated the empire and burned its churches and literature. While there is evidence of churches being burned and an invasion around this time, her existence has been questioned by some western authors. Another possibility is that the Aksumite power was ended by a southern pagan queen named Bani al-Hamwiyah, possibly of the tribe al-Damutah or Damoti of the Sidama people. It is clear from contemporary sources that a female usurper did indeed rule the country at this time, and that her reign ended some time before 1003. After a short Dark Age, the Aksumite Empire was succeeded by the Agaw Zagwe dynasty in the 11th or 12th century (most likely around 1137), although limited in size and scope. However, Yekuno Amlak, who killed the last Zagwe king and founded the modern Solomonic dynasty around 1270 traced his ancestry and his right to rule from the last emperor of Aksum, Dil Na’od. It should be mentioned that the end of the Aksumite Empire didn’t mean the end of Aksumite culture and traditions; for example, the architecture of the Zagwe dynasty at Lalibela and Yemrehana Krestos Church shows heavy Aksumite influence.[35]
From the late first to early second millennium Eritrea witnessed a period of migrations: Since the late 7th century, so with the decline of Aksum, large parts of Eritrea, including the highlands, were overrun by pagan Beja, who supposedly founded several kingdoms on its soil, like Baqlin, Jarin and Qata.[36] The Beja rule declined in the 13th century. Subsequently, the Beja were expelled from the highlands by Abyssinian settlers from the south.[37] Another people, the Bellou, originated from a smiliar millieu as the Beja. They appeared first in the 12th century, from then on they dominated parts of northwestern Eritrea until the 16th century.[38] After 1270, with the destruction of the Zagwe Kingdom, many Agaw fled to what is now Eritrea. Most were culturally and linguistically assimilated into the local Tigrinya culture, with the notable exception of the Bilen.[39] Yet another people that arrived after the fall of Aksum were the Cushitic-speaking Saho, who had established themselves in the highlands until the 14th century.[40]
Previously, this area has been known as Ma’ikele Bahr (“between the seas/rivers,” i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mereb river), but during the reign of emperor Zara Yaqob it was rebranded as the domain of the Bahr Negash, the Medri Bahri (“Sea land” in Tigrinya, although it included some areas like Shire on the other side of the Mereb, today in Ethiopia).[41][42] With its capital at Debarwa,[43] the state’s main provinces were Hamasien, Serae and Akele Guzai. In 1879, Medri Bahri was annexed by Ras Alula, who defended the area against the Italians until they finally occupied it in 1889.[44]
Fearing of what recently occurred, Axum shifted its capital near Agew In the middle of the sixteenth century Adal Sultanate armies led by Harar leader Ahmed Gragn invaded the Ethiopian Highlands in what is known as the “Conquest of Habasha”.[45] Following Gragn invasions the southern part of the Empire was lost to Ethiopia and scattered several groups like the Gurage people were cut off from the rest of Abyssinia. In the late sixteenth century the nomadic Oromo people penetrated the Abyssinian plains occupying large territories during the Oromo migrations.[46][47] Abyssinian warlords often competed with each other for dominance of the realm. The Amharas seemed to gain the upper hand with the accession of Yekuno Amlak of Ancient Bete Amhara in 1270, after defeating the Agaw lords of Lasta.
The Gondarian dynasty, which since the 16th century had become the centre of Royal pomp and ceremony of Abyssinia, finally lost its influence as a result of the emergence of powerful regional lords, following the murder of Iyasu I, also known as Iyasu the Great. The decline in the prestige of the dynasty led to the semi-anarchic era of Zemene Mesafint (“Era of the Princes”), in which rival warlords fought for power and the Yejju Oromo እንደራሴ enderases (“regents”) had effective control. The emperors were considered to be figureheads. Until a young man named Kassa Haile Giorgis also known as Emperor Tewodros brought end to Zemene Mesafint by defeating all his rivals and took the throne in 1855. The Tigrayans made only a brief return to the throne in the person of Yohannes IV in 1872, whose death in 1889 resulted in the power base shifting back to the dominant Amharic-speaking elite prior to Yejju Oromo and Tigrayan rule. His successor Menelik II an Emperor of Amhara origin seized power. League of Nations in 1935 reported that after the invasion of Menelik’s forces into non Abyssinian-proper lands of Somalis, Harari, Southern Oromo, Sidama, Shanqella etc, the inhabitants were enslaved and heavily taxed by the gebbar-feudal system leading to depopulation.[48]
Some scholars consider the Amhara to have been Ethiopia’s ruling elite for centuries, represented by the Solomonic line of Emperors ending in Haile Selassie I. Marcos Lemma and other scholars dispute the accuracy of such a statement, arguing that other ethnic groups have always been active in the country’s politics. This confusion may largely stem from the mislabeling of all Amharic-speakers as “Amhara” even though they were from a different ethnic group, and the fact that many people from other ethnic groups have adopted Amharic names. Another is the claim that most Ethiopians can trace their ancestry to multiple ethnic groups, including the last self-proclaimed emperor Haile Selassie I and his Empress Itege Menen Asfaw of Ambassel of having both Amhara and Oromo linage.[49]
In southern Eritrea, the Aussa Sultanate (Afar Sultanate) succeeded the earlier Imamate of Aussa. The latter polity had come into existence in 1577, when Muhammed Jasa moved his capital from Harar to Aussa (Asaita) with the split of the Adal Sultanate into Aussa and the Sultanate of Harar. At some point after 1672, Aussa declined in conjunction with Imam Umar Din bin Adam’s recorded ascension to the throne.[50] In 1734, the Afar leader Kedafu, head of the Mudaito clan, seized power and established the Mudaito Dynasty.[51][52] This marked the start of a new and more sophisticated polity that would last into the colonial period.[52]
Oromo migrations, occurred with the movement of a large pastoral population from the southeastern provinces of the Empire. A contemporary account was recorded by the monk Abba Bahrey, from the Gamo region. Subsequently, the empire organization changed progressively, with faraway provinces taking more independence. A remote province such as Bale is last recorded paying tribute to the imperial throne during Yaqob reign (1590–1607).
By 1607, Oromos were also major players in the imperial politics, when Susenyos I, raised by a clan through gudifacha (or adoption), took power. He was helped by fellow Luba age-group generals Mecha, Yilma and Densa, who were rewarded by Rist feudal lands, in the present-day Gojjam districts of the same name.
The reign of Iyasu I the Great (1682–1706) was a major period of consolidation. It also saw the dispatching of embassies to Louis XIV’s France and to Dutch India. During the reign of Iyasu II (1730–1755), the Empire was strong enough to undertake a war on the Sennar Sultanate, where the emperor leading its army to Sennar itself, was afterwards forced to retreat upon defeat along the Setit river. Iyasu II also conferred the dignity of Kantibai of the Habab (northern Eritrea) after homage by a new dynasty.
In 1734, the Afar leader Kedafu, established the Mudaito Dynasty in Ethiopia, which later also came to include the southern Denkel lowlands of Eritrea, thus incorporating the southern denkel lowlands to the Sultanate of Aussa. 16th century also marked the arrival of the Ottomans, who began making inroads in the Red Sea area.[53][54][55][56][57]
The Wallo and Yejju clans of the Oromo people rise to power culminated in 1755, when Emperor Iyoas I ascended to the imperial throne in Gondar. They would be one of the major factions contending for imperial power during the ensuing Zemene Mesafint, starting from 1769, when Mikael Sehul, Ras of Tigray killed Iyoas I and replaced him with Yohannes II.
The establishment of modern Ethiopia was led by the Shawan people (which included both Amharas and Oromos), particularly Amhara emperors Tewodros II of Gondar, who governed from 1855 to 1868, Yohannis IV, who was from Tigray governed from 1869 to 1889 and managed to expand his authority into Eritrea, and Menelik II, who governed from 1889 to 1913 and repelled the Italian invasion of 1896.[24]
From 1874 to 1876, the Empire, under Yohannes IV, won the Ethiopian-Egyptian War, decisively beating the invading forces at the Battle of Gundet, in Hamasien province (in modern day Eritrea). In 1887 Menelik king of Shewa invaded the Emirate of Harar after his victory at the Battle of Chelenqo.
Beginning in the 1890s, under the reign of the Emperor Menelik II, the empire’s forces set off from the central province of Shoa to incorporate through conquest inhabited lands to the west, east and south of its realm. The territories that were annexed included those of the Western Oromo (non-Shawan Oromo), Sidama, Gurage, Wolayta, and Dizi. Among the imperial troops was Ras Gobena’s Shewan Oromo militia. Many of the lands that they annexed had never been under the empire’s rule, with the newly incorporated territories resulting in the modern borders of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, unlike the rest of Africa, had never been colonized.[24] Ethiopia was accepted as the first independent African-governed state at the League of Nations in 1922.[24] Ethiopia was occupied by Italy after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, but it was liberated by the Allies during World War II.[24]
Archived Version (Latest Version was unable to be archived before deletion): https://web.archive.org/web/20201125173647/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3AjfMLf2e-EtcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fsimple.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHabesha_Community+&cd=17&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us .
Template:Ethiopian-Eritrean Cultural and Historical Community
{{Navbox
|name = Ethiopian-Eritrean Cultural and Historical Community
|state = {{{state|autocollapse}}}
|title = {{flagicon|Ethiopia}}/{{flagicon|Eritrea}} Ethiopian-Eritrean Cultural and Historical Community {{flagicon|Eritrea}}/{{flagicon|Ethiopia}}
|imageleft =
|listclass = hlist
|titlestyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|groupstyle = background:lightsteelblue;
|evenodd = swap
|group1 =
|list1 =
*{{flagicon|Ethiopia}}/{{flagicon|Eritrea}} [[Habesha Community]] [[File:Insigne Eritreae.png|23px|Arms of the flag of Eritrea]]/[[File:Lion of Judah.svg|23px|Lion of Judah]] — {{lang-gez|ሓበሻ}} {{!}} Habesha
|group2 = National Origin
|list2style = background:transparent;
|list2 =
*{{flagicon|Eritrea}} [[Eritrea]] ([[Demographics of Eritrea|Eritreans]])
*{{flagicon|Ethiopia}} [[Ethiopia]] ([[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]])
|group3 = Ethnic Groups
|list3style = background:transparent;
|list3 =
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Agaw people|Agaw]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Daasanach people|Daasanach]]
*[[Gabra people|Gabra]]
*[[Hadiya people|Hadiya]]
*[[Kambaata people|Kambaata]]
*[[Konso people|Konso]]
*[[Oromo people|Oromo]]
**{{small|[[Yejju Oromo tribe|Yejju]]}}
*[[Qemant people|Qemant]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
** [[Irob people|Irob]]
*[[Sidama people|Sidama]]
*[[Somali people|Somali]]
*[[Tsamai people|Tsamai]]
*[[Werji people|Werji]]
*[[Afar people|Afar]]
*[[Beja people|Beja]]
*[[Bilen people|Bilen]]
*[[Saho people|Saho]]
*[[Amhara people|Amhara]]
*[[Argobba people|Argobba]]
*[[Chebo people|Chebo]]
*[[Gurage people|Gurage]]
*[[Beta Israel]]
*[[Harari people|Harari]]
*[[Silt’e people|Silt’e]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrayan]]
*[[Zay people|Zay]]
*[[Tigrayans|Tigrinyas]]
*[[Tigre people|Tigre]]
*([[Beni-Amer]]
*[[Beit Asgede]]
*[[Ad Shaikh]]
*[[Mensa people|Mensa]]
*[[Beit Juk people|Beit Juk]]
*[[Marya]])
*[[Arbore people|Arbore]]
*[[Awi people|Awi]]
*[[Banna people|Banna]]
*[[Basketo people|Basketo]]
*[[Chara people|Chara]]
*[[Danta people|Danta]]
*[[Dawro people|Dawro]]
*[[Dizi people|Dizi]]
*[[Dorze people|Dorze]]
*[[Gamo people|Gamo]]
*[[Gedeo people|Gedeo]]
*[[Hamar people|Hamar]]
*[[Koore people|Koore]]
*[[Maale people|Maale]]
*[[Shinasha people|Shinasha]]
*[[Welayta people|Welayta]]
*[[Yem people|Yemsa]]
*[[Anuak people|Anuak]]
*[[Rer Bare people|Bare]]
*[[Berta people|Berta]]
*[[Gumuz people|Gumuz]]
*[[Kichepo people|Kichepo]]
*[[Kwama people|Kwama]]
*[[Kwegu people|Kwegu]]
*[[Majang people|Majang]]
*[[Mekan people|Mekan]]
*[[Murle people|Murle]]
*[[Mursi people|Mursi]]
*[[Nuer people|Nuer]]
*[[Nyangatom people|Nyangatom]]
*[[Shabo people|Shabo]]
*[[Shanqella|Shanqella]]
*[[Shita people|Shita]]
*[[Surma people|Surma]]
*[[Tirma people|Tirma]]
*[[Weyto (African caste)|Weyto]]
*[[Kunama people|Kunama]]
*[[Nara people|Nara]]
*[[Eritrean Americans]]
*[[Ethiopian Americans]]
*[[Eritrean Australians]]
*[[Ethiopian Australians]]
*[[Eritrean Canadians]]
*[[Ethiopian Canadians]]
*[[Eritreans in Denmark]]
*[[Ethiopians in Denmark]]
*[[Eritreans in Germany]]
*[[Ethiopians in Germany]]
*[[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]]
*[[Eritreans in Norway]]
*[[Ethiopians in Norway]]
*[[Eritreans in Sweden]]
*[[Ethiopians in Sweden]]
*[[Eritreans in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Ethiopians in the United Kingdom]]
|group4 = Homeland
|list4 =
*{{Flagcountry|Eritrea}}
**[[File:Central in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Maekel Region|Maekel Region (1)]]
**[[File:Anseba in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Anseba Region|Anseba Region (2)]]
**[[File:Gash-Barka in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Gash-Barka Region|Gash-Barka Region (3)]]
**[[File:Southern in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Debub Region|Debub Region (4)]]
**[[File:Northern Red Sea in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Northern Red Sea Region|Northern Red Sea Region (5)]]
**[[File:Southern Red Sea in Eritrea.svg|23px]] [[Southern Red Sea Region|Southern Red Sea Region (6)]]
*{{flagcountry|Ethiopia}}
**[[File:Flag of Addis Ababa.png|23px]] [[Addis Ababa]]
**[[File:Flag of the Afar Region.svg|23px]] [[Afar Region]]
**[[File:Flag of the Amhara Region.svg|23px]] [[Amhara Region]]
**[[File:Flag of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region.svg|23px]] [[Benishangul-Gumuz Region]]
**[[File:Flag of Dire Dawa.png|23px]] [[Dire Dawa]]
**[[File:Flag of the Gambella Region.svg|23px]] [[Gambela Region]]
**[[File:Et harrar.png|23px]] [[Harari Region]]
**[[File:Flag of the Oromia Region.svg|23px]] [[Oromia Region]]
**[[File:Somali State original flag.jpg|23px]] [[Ogaden]]-[[Somali Region]]
**[[File:Flag of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.svg|23px]] [[Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region]]
**[[File:Flag of the Tigray Region.svg|23px]] [[Tigray Region]]
*{{flagicon|Ethiopian Empire}} [[Provinces of Ethiopia|Historical Provinces of the]] [[Ethiopian Empire]]
**[[Arsi Province]]
**[[Begemder]]
**[[Gamu-Gofa]]
**[[Gojjam]]
**[[Hararghe]]
**[[Illubabor Province]]
**[[Kaffa Province]]
**[[Shewa]]
**[[Sidamo Province|Sidama Province]]
**[[Tigray Province]]
**[[Welega Province]]
**[[Wollo Province]]
**[[Bete Amhara]]
**[[Assab]]
**[[Dire Dawa]]
**[[Eritrea Province]]
**[[Ogaden]]
**[[Tigray Province]]
**[[Asosa Zone]]
**[[Bale Province, Ethiopia|Bale Province]]
**[[Borena Zone]]
**[[East Gojjam Zone]]
**[[East Hararghe Zone]]
**[[East Shewa Zone]]
**[[Gambela Region]]
**[[Illubabor Zone]]
**[[Kaffa Province]]
**[[Metekel Zone]]
**[[North Gondar Zone]]
**[[North Omo Zone]]
**[[North Shewa Zone]] — [[North Shewa Zone (Amhara)]]-[[North Shewa Zone (Oromia)]]
**[[North Wollo Zone]]
**[[South Gondar Zone]]
**[[South Omo Zone]]
**[[South Shewa]]
**[[Agame]]
**[[Agawmeder]]
**[[Amhara Province]]
**[[Sultanate of Dawaro|Dawaro]]
**[[Dembiya]]
**[[Enderta Province]]
**[[Fatagar Province]]
**[[Hadiya Zone]]
**[[Sultanate of Ifat|Ifat]]
**[[Lasta]]
**[[Menz|Menz Province]]
**[[Qwara Province]]
**[[Semien Province]]
**[[Tembien Province]]
**[[Tselemt]]
**[[Tsegede]]
**[[Wag Province]]
**[[Wegera (woreda)|Wegera]]
**[[Hamasien]]
**[[Akele Guzai]]
**[[Barka (Eritrea)|Barka]]
**[[Denkalia]]
**[[Gash-Setit]]
**[[Sahl|Sahl Province]]
**[[Semhar]]
**[[Serae]]
** [[Kassala]] / [[Kassala (state)]]
*[[File:Ethiopian Empire in 1952.svg|23px]] Historical Kingdoms:
**[[Dʿmt]]
**[[Sultanate of Aussa]]
**[[Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea]]
**[[Kingdom of Aksum]]
**[[Zagwe dynasty]]
**[[Medri Bahri]]
**[[Land of Punt]]
**[[Ethiopian Empire]]
**[[Shewa|Kingdom of Shewa]]
**[[Sultanate of Showa]]
**[[Kingdom of Tankish]]
**[[Sharkha]]
**[[Kingdom of Qita’a]]
**[[Kingdom of Nagash]]
**[[Kingdom of Jarin]]
**[[Sultanate of Dawaro]]
**[[Kingdom of Bazin]]
**[[Template:Medieval Horn of Africa]]
**[[Sultanate of Dahlak]]
**[[Kingdom of Belgin]]
**[[Sultanate of Bale]]
**[[Sultanate of Arababni]]
**[[Sultanate of Ifat]]
**[[Sultanate of Harar]]
**[[Ajuran Sultanate]]
**[[Adal Sultanate]]
**[[Kingdom of Garo]]
**[[Kingdom of Kaffa]]
**[[Kingdom of Janjero]]
**[[Adulis]]
|group5 = Diaspora
|list5 =
*{{flag|United States}}<ref name=”Terrazas”>{{Cite web |first=Aaron Matteo |last=Terrazas |title=Beyond Regional Circularity: The Emergence of an Ethiopian Diaspora |date=June 2007 |url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=604 |publisher=[[Migration Policy Institute]] |accessdate=2011–11–25}}</ref><ref name=”Amharu”>United States Census Bureau 2009–2013, Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2009–2013, USCB, 30 November 2016,
<https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html>.</ref>
**[[Eritrean Americans]]: [[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]]
**[[Ethiopian Americans]]: [[Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.]], [[History of Ethiopian Americans in Baltimore]], [[Little Ethiopia, Los Angeles]]
*{{flagcountry|Australia}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=2014|title=The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS|url=https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|accessdate=2017-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|archive-date=2017-04-17|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014, The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS, 30 November 2016, <https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf |date=2017–04–17 }}>.</ref><ref>[https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014, The People of Australia Statistics from the 2011 Census, Cat. no. 2901.0, ABS, 30 November 2016], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417222156/https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/research/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf |date=17 April 2017 }}</ref>
**[[Eritrean Australians]]
**[[Ethiopian Australians]]
*{{Flagcountry|Canada}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103001&PRID=10&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations — Detailed Mother Tongue (232), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada and Forward Sortation Areas, 2011 Census|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|website=12.statcan.gc.ca|accessdate=26 August 2017|date=2013–02–05}}</ref><ref>Statistics Canada, 2011 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98–314-XCB2011032</ref><ref>Anon, 2016. 2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations | Detailed Mother Tongue (232), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada and Forward Sortation Areas, 2011 Census. [online] Www12.statcan.gc.ca. Available at: <http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103001&PRID=10&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=> [Accessed 2 Dec. 2016].</ref><ref>Immigrant languages in Canada. 2016. Immigrant languages in Canada. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011003_2-eng.cfm. [Accessed 13 December 2016].</ref>
**[[Eritrean Canadians]]
**[[Ethiopian Canadians]]
*{{flagcountry|Denmark}}<ref name=”Denm”>{{cite web|title=Population by country of origin|url=http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1280|publisher=Statistics Denmark}}</ref>
**[[Eritreans in Denmark]]
**[[Ethiopians in Denmark]]
*{{flagcountry|Germany}}<ref name=”De”>{{cite web|title=Anzahl der Ausländer in Deutschland nach Herkunftsland|url=https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1221/umfrage/anzahl-der-auslaender-in-deutschland-nach-herkunftsland/|publisher=Das Statistik Portal}}</ref><ref group=>Roughly half of the Eritrean diaspora</ref><ref>Amharas are estimated to be the largest ethnic group of estimated 20.000 Ethiopian Germans|https://www.giz.de/fachexpertise/downloads/gtz2009-en-ethiopian-diaspora.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004233553/https://www.giz.de/fachexpertise/downloads/gtz2009-en-ethiopian-diaspora.pdf |date=2018–10–04 }}</ref>
**[[Eritreans in Germany]]
**[[Ethiopians in Germany]]
*{{Flag|Israel}}
**[[Ethiopian Jews in Israel]]
*{{flagcountry|Norway}}<ref name=”Norw”>{{cite web|title=Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents|url=https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/innvbef|publisher=Statistics Norway}}</ref>
**[[Eritreans in Norway]]
**[[Ethiopians in Norway]]
*{{flagcountry|Sweden}}<ref name=”Se”>{{cite web|title=Foreign-born persons by country of birth, age, sex and year|url=http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/en/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101E/FodelselandArK/?rxid=1bcec35a-5bd2-4a4a-9609-668463972a1c|publisher=Statistics Sweden}}</ref>
**[[Eritreans in Sweden]]
**[[Ethiopians in Sweden]]
*{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/27/ethiopian_london_feature.shtml|title=Ethiopian London|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=2008–12–06}}</ref><ref>pp, 25 (2015) United Kingdom. Available at: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/GB (Accessed: 30 November 2016).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/GB|title=United Kingdom|website=Ethnologue.com|accessdate=26 August 2017}}</ref>
**[[Eritreans in the United Kingdom]]
**[[Ethiopians in the United Kingdom]]
|group6 = Religions
|list6 =
{{Collapsible list
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <! — Hides borders and improves row spacing →
|title= Religions
|1=
* [[Christianity]]
**[[Oriental Orthodox Christianity|Oriental Orthodoxy]]-[[Orthodox Tewahedo]]
***[[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodoxy]]
***[[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean Orthodoxy]]
**[[Protestantism]]-[[Evangelicalism]]
***[[P’ent’ay|P’ent’ay: <br> Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism]]
**[[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
***[[Eritrean Catholic Church|Eritrean Catholicism]]
***[[Ethiopian Catholic Church|Ethiopian Catholicism]] <ref>{{cite book|last1=Trimingham|first1=J.|title=Islam in Ethiopia|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978–1136970221|page=23|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=UfrcAAAAQBAJ|accessdate=19 September 2016}}</ref>
*[[Islam]]
**[[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]
*[[Judaism]]
**[[Beta Israel]] ([[Ethiopian Jews|Ethiopian Jewish]] ethno-religious group)
*Traditional Faiths }}
|group7 = Languages
|list7 =
{{Collapsible list
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <! — Hides borders and improves row spacing →
|title= Major Languages
|1= [[Amharic]], [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]], [[Oromo language|Oromo]], [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Afar language|Afar]], [[Geʽez]]}}
{{Collapsible list
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <! — Hides borders and improves row spacing →
|title= Native Languages
| 1=
*[[Languages of Ethiopia]]
*[[Languages of Eritrea]]
*[[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]
*[[Afar language|Afar]]
*[[Beja language|Beja]]
*[[Bilen language|Bilen]]
*[[Kunama language|Kunama]] ([[Bitama language|Bitama]])
*[[Nara language|Nara]]
*[[Saho language|Saho]]
*[[Tigre language|Tigre]] ([[Dahalik language|Dahalik]])
*[[Amharic]]
*[[Argobba language|Argobba]]
*[[Geʽez]]
*[[Gurage languages|Gurage]]
*[[Harari language|Harari]]
*[[Inor language|Inor]]
*[[Mesqan language|Mesqan]]
*[[Muher language|Muher]]
*[[Sebat Bet Gurage language|Sebat Bet Gurage]]
*[[Siltʼe language|Siltʼe]]
*[[Soddo language|Soddo]]
*[[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]
*[[Zay language|Zay]]
*[[Afar language|Afar]]
*[[Alaba-Kʼabeena language|Alaba]]
*[[Ale language|Ale]]
*[[Arbore language|Arbore]]
*[[Awngi language|Awngi]]
*[[Baiso language|Baiso]]
*[[Bussa language|Bussa]]
*[[Burji language|Burji]]
*[[Daasanach language|Daasanach]]
*[[Dirasha language|Dirasha]]
*[[Gedeo language|Gedeo]]
*[[Hadiyya language|Hadiyya]]
*[[Kambaata language|Kambaata]]
*[[Konso language|Konso]]
*[[Libido language|Libido]]
*[[Oromo language|Oromo]]
*[[Qimant language|Qimant]]
*[[Saho language|Saho]]
*[[Sidamo language|Sidamo]]
*[[Somali language|Somali]]
*[[Tsamai language|Tsamai]]
*[[Xamtanga language|Xamtanga]]
*[[Aari language|Aari]]
*[[Anfillo language|Anfillo]]
*[[Bambassi language|Bambassi]]
*[[Basketo language|Basketo]]
*[[Bench language|Bench]]
*[[Shinasha language|Boro]]
*[[Chara language|Chara]]
*[[Dime language|Dime]]
*[[Dizin language|Dizi]]
*[[Dorze language|Dorze]]
*[[Gamo-Gofa-Dawro language|Gamo-Gofa-Dawro]]
*[[Ganza language|Ganza]]
*[[Gayil language|Gayil]]
*[[Hamer language|Hamer-Banna]]
*[[Hozo language|Hozo]]
*[[Kachama-Ganjule language|Kachama-Ganjule]]
*[[Kafa language|Kafa]]
*[[Karo language (Ethiopia)|Karo]]
*[[Koore language|Koorete]]
*[[Maale language|Maale]]
*[[Melo language|Melo]]
*[[Nayi language|Nayi]]
*[[Oyda language|Oyda]]
*[[Seze language|Seze]]
*[[Shakacho language|Shekkacho]]
*[[Sheko language|Sheko]]
*[[Wolaytta language|Wolaytta]]
*[[Yem language|Yemsa]]
*[[Zayse-Zergulla language|Zayse-Zergulla]]
*[[Anuak language|Anuak]]
*[[Berta language|Berta]]
*[[Daatsʼiin language|Daatsʼiin]]
*[[Gumuz language|Gumuz]]
*[[Baale language|Kacipo-Balesi]]
*[[Komo language|Komo]]
*[[Kwama language|Kwama]]
*[[Kwegu language|Kwegu]]
*[[Majang language|Majang]]
*[[Meʼen language|Meʼen]]
*[[Murle language|Murle]]
*[[Mursi language|Mursi]]
*[[Nuer language|Nuer]]
*[[Nyangatom language|Nyangatom]]
*[[Opuo language|Opuuo]]
*[[Shabo language|Shabo]]
*[[Suri language|Suri]]
*[[Uduk language|Uduk]]}}
{{Collapsible list
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <! — Hides borders and improves row spacing →
|title= Foreign & Diaspora Languages
| 1=
*[[English language|English]]
*[[Italian language|Italian]]
*[[Arabic]]
*[[German language|German]]
*[[Swedish language|Swedish]]
*[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
*[[Danish language|Danish]]
*[[French language|French]]
*[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
*[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]
*[[Finnish language|Finnish]]
*[[Armenian language|Armenian]]
*[[Chinese language|Chinese]]
*[[Greek language|Greek]]}}
}}
From: https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Ethiopian-Eritrean_Cultural_and_Historical_Community&oldid=7190664
Edition 6:
Cultural Atlas (a project by Australia’s state media network: Special Broadcasting Service — SBS)
Habesha Culture and Identity:
Ethiopians and Eritreans both generally identify as ‘habesha’*. This term is used to describe the unique culture and people of the Ethiopian/Eritrean region, regardless of ethnicity. Today, “habesha” is commonly used as a unifying word to describe all people in the region, regardless of ethnicity or tribe. The habesha identity and culture is a very important source of pride for many Ethiopians as it encapsulates the way their culture differs from the rest of Africa.
Ethiopians and Eritreans both generally identify as ‘habesha’. This term is used to describe the unique culture and people of the Ethiopian/Eritrean region, regardless of ethnicity. Historically in the past, “habesha” at some point exclusively referred to the Ethiosemitic-speaking tribes and ethnicities in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia (such as the Amhara, Tigray and Tigrinya people, as well as several others). Today, however, habesha is commonly used as a unifying word to describe all people in the region, regardless of ethnicity or tribe. The habesha identity and culture is a very important source of pride for many Ethiopians and Eritreans as it encapsulates the way their culture differs from the rest of Africa. The word is also used in Omotic and other languages, and by some ethnicities in other countries.
Having never been colonised, the Ethiopian region differs from other African countries in many ways [Even though Eritrea was colonized, it mostly retains most of its indigenous culture unlike most other colonized countries. It retains a lot of indigenous similarities to that of Ethiopia]. The customs of Ethiopia continue to be deeply rooted in centuries of practice, and many aspects of daily life are ritualised. … Ultimately, Ethiopian and Eritrean culture is often unable to be neatly categorised. It shares similarities with some Arab or Mediterranean cultures, although these descriptors also do not fit. Rather, “Habesha” epitomizes the culture that is unique to the region.
Ethnicity and Language
While there are certain cultural traditions that represent a national or ‘habesha’ culture, practices differ between regions, religions and ethnicities. Ethiopia contains over 80 different ethnic groups. Their ancestries vary within sub-Saharan Africa. Most Ethiopians and Eritreans are from Afro-Asiatic speaking (Cushitic, Ethiosemitic-speaking, and Omotic-speaking) populations, while others are from Nilo-Sahran speaking Nilotic tribes. … According to the 2007 census, the largest ethnic groups are the Oromo (43.4% of the population), Amhara (26.9%), Somali (6.2%), Tigray (6.1%) and Sidama (4%). Other significant ethnic populations include the Gurage, Welaita, Hadiya and Afar people. Historically, each ethnic group has been divided into tribes and sub-tribes on the basis of people’s descent from common ancestors. This is still the case for many living in rural areas, particularly among pastoralists in less developed regions. However, tribal organisational structures have been dismantled in many areas, particularly urban spaces.
Each ethnic group has distinct cultural practices and speaks a language specific to their ethnicity (e.g. Oromos speak Oromiffa and Tigrayans speak Tigrinya). In total, there are 87 native languages spoken in Ethiopia. Amharic is the only language that has official status throughout the entire country of Ethiopia on the national level. Meanwhile, Somali, Oromiffo, Afar and Tigrinya have official status in the regional states relating the majority ethnicity. English is also the most widely understood foreign language. Most urban Ethiopians speak Amharic, their local/ethnic language and English.
Community Diversity
Australia’s Ethiopian [and Eritrean] community is very diverse, including people from different ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural backgrounds. It is common for people of different backgrounds to unite for national celebrations. There are also quite healthy relationships between Ethiopians and Eritreans in Australia — especially among the youth — formed on the basis of their mutual ‘habesha’ identity (See Habesha Culture and Identity). For example, it is common for Eritrean community representatives to be invited to Ethiopian events to symbolise good faith between the two communities. However, there is also a tendency to gravitate towards one’s own religious or ethnic community.
Ethnic Relations
Ethiopia has been organised as an ‘ethnic federation’ since 1995. This means that the country’s states are divided on an ethnic basis, with most people living in the region or zone where their ethnicity is the majority. For example, most Oromos live in the Oromia region, Amharas live in the Amhara region, Tigrayans live in the Tigray region, and so forth. The idea behind this state system was to allow ethnic groups more political autonomy. However, it is widely believed that this government structure has overly politicised ethnic identity and created more sectarian tension. Moreover, many people have ethnically mixed heritage and may not feel a close affiliation with one homogeneous ethnic identity. Most people living in central Ethiopia (e.g. the capital city, Addis Ababa) prefer to identify as simply “Ethiopian” but are required to associate with an ethnic identity.
It is generally believed that those belonging to an ethnic group with political power have better access to services and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Therefore, there are some concerns that ethnic Tigrayans dominate positions of power in the intelligence services, the military and business, despite making up only around 6% of the Ethiopian population. There is also widespread opinion that the Ethiopian national identity is more (or overly) reflective of the Amharas. This is exacerbated by the fact that Amharic is the official national language and Amharic speakers often have more access to opportunity. Some ethnicities may feel that their ethnic group has been excluded from the ruling class. For example, there continues to be underlying tension over the fact that Oromos have not had the most political influence despite being the largest ethnic group when compared to some of the other ethnic groups.
Ethnic tension usually occurs between the government and a tribe or group in a specific region. Generally, anyone who openly protests against the government may face a high risk of official violence, particularly if they oppose the government on issues relevant to their region or ethnicity. Oromos, Somalis, Anuak, Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin report being at particular risk of official discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity. Nevertheless, it is important to note that while ethnic tension exists, open hostility is not noticeable among the general public on a day-to-day basis. Most people find common ground under a strong national identity, as well as the unique ‘habesha’ identity used among Eritreans and Ethiopians (see Habesha Culture and Identity above).
Political History
… The two-decade-long political, economic and social divide between the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia has posed many challenges. War created rigid borders where fluid boundaries between the nations and their ethnic groups had previously existed. Some see the divide as a result of politics (rather than people and culture) as Eritreans and Ethiopians are historically and culturally interconnected in many ways. Indeed, it is common for expatriate Eritrean and Ethiopian communities to converge under a broader habesha identity (see Habesha Identity and Culture above). Nevertheless, thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin were deported from Ethiopia [by the governmnt], and vice versa. This created a humanitarian crisis and also an identity crisis for many people who previously felt a national belonging to both countries in some way.
Habesha Culture and Identity: https://web.archive.org/web/20200315030419/https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/ethiopian-culture/ethiopian-culture-core-concepts
Core Concepts: https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/ethiopian-culture/ethiopian-culture-core-concepts
BOUND BY BLACKNESS: AFRICAN MIGRATION, BLACK IDENTITY, AND LINKED FATE IN POST-CIVIL RIGHTS AMERICA (by: MECHERRI DENISE ABEDI-ANIM of the Department of Sociology-Graduate School of the University of Oregon)
Martha, who is [of] Oromo [ethnic origin], but identifies her [broader] ethnic identity [as] is Habesha [a pan-ethnic term that refers to all Ethiopian-Eritrean Ethnic Groups], explains how her attachment to this [pan-]ethnic identity gives her access to specific Habesha [Ethiopian-Eritrean] spaces,
“it gives me access to spaces that a Black identity doesn’t necessarily give me, like access to graduation parties, roots, the music, food, weddings, parties, access to cultural stuff. But it also affords me access to going back to somewhere in East Africa, and not be out to place, being able to stay engaged in a conversation about East African politics….It affords me privileges, but they only have meaning in Ethiopian cultural spaces or Afro-Caribbean spaces where everyone has that type of diaspora identity — recent memory of home, and home being not just the US, but somewhere else.” ~ Martha, 1.5 generation, Ethiopian
For Martha, her ethnic identity as Habesha — a unifying term used by some of my Ethiopian participants to denote the cultural connections between Ethiopians and Eritreans — gives her the knowledge and ability to access certain cultural spaces that her Black identity does not. These spaces are specific to the Habesha identity and culture, or other African diasporic identity spaces, where she says those who have identities linked to places outside the United States, come together around their “recent memory of home”. This home that Martha speaks of is the specific place of origin, that roots their families and ethnic groups on the African continent.
ABEDI-ANIM, MECHERRI DENISE. “BOUND BY BLACKNESS: AFRICAN MIGRATION, BLACK IDENTITY, AND LINKED FATE IN POST-CIVIL RIGHTS AMERICA.” Department of Sociology-Graduate School of the University of Oregon, https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/22696/AbediAnim_oregon_0171A_11896.pdf?sequence=1.
Edition 7
Excerpts from “‘My race is Habesha’: Eritrean refugees re-defining race as pan-ethnic identity in post-apartheid South Africa” -By Amanuel Isak Tewolde [Excerpts for Habesha Identity are found bellow while Excerpts for Black Racial Classification are in this link: https://medium.com/@habeshaunion/are-eritreans-ethiopians-habeshas-somalis-horn-of-africa-people-and-other-east-africans-9400dfbd616e ]
Habesha identity is a pan-ethnic cultural identity claimed (mostly by Tigrinya-speaking Eritreans and Tigrinya-, Amharic- and Gurage-speaking) Ethiopians and Eritreans but also many other Ethiopian-Eritrean Ethnic Groups. However, this does not imply that Habesha identity is limited only to speakers of Ethiosemitic languages as the identity is also clearly being claimed by members of the other ethnic groups in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Belcher, 2012). Habesha identity is rooted in shared cultural traditions and way of life (Habecker, 2012) shared in common with the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Habesha as a cultural identification refers to sharing cultural practices such as dress, music, food, customs, and so forth. For those living in the diaspora, Habesha identity is associated with being Eritrean or Ethiopian. For example, it is common for individuals to ask ‘Are you Habesha?’ when meeting strangers who appear to be of Eritrean or Ethiopian descent, then they would proceed to ask them if they are Ethiopian or Eritrean, and in certain rare cases could potentially ask which of the various Habesha ethnic groups they come from.
But Habesha people do not necessarily display a homogenous phenotype, Habesha identity exhibit wide variation in physical appearance ranging from dark to light skin, varying features and varying hair types (Woldemikael, 2005).
Habesha peoples (Ethiopians and Eritreans) exhibit a wide range of differences in physical characteristics and skin colour. Habesha self-identification is often based on shared cultural traditions rather than similarity in racial phenotype.
The Eritreans who defined their race as Habesha lived in urban neighbourhoods where many non-White communities such as Eritreans, Ethiopians, other African refugees and Black South Africans live. These are spaces where Eritreans and Ethiopians reside and socially interact and often use the collective Habesha cultural identity to define themselves.
This could be because the participants resided and socialized within the Habesha community (Eritreans and Ethiopians) in urban neighbourhoods.
Ethiopian Eritrean American Shares Message of Unity (2018) — By:
hannahjoytv .
Edition 8
Definition of Cushitic peoples
[Keep in mind that this is not a full account of the definition of Cushitic (Omotic, Nilotic, Ethiosemitic) peoples and that not all of these groups are Habesha peoples. This section is only here because there has been a lot of misinformation going around on both Wikipedia and other parts of the Internet, that made many false claims about Cushitic (Cushitic-Ethiosemitic) peoples (who substantially make up a majority of the Habesha Community). The purpose of this section is to preserve factual information and clear up misconception before it is burred deep on the internet or preventing it from being eventually deleted.]
The Cushitic peoples[8] (or Cushites) are a grouping of people who are primarily indigenous to Northeast Africa (Nile Valley and Horn of Africa) and speak or have historically spoken Cushitic languages, Omotic languages, or Ethiosemitic languages of the Afroasiatic language family. Cushitic languages are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia), as well as the Nile Valley (Sudan and Egypt), and parts of the African Great Lakes region (Tanzania and Kenya). The Ethiosemitic languages are spoken in the Horn of Africa and sparsely in the Nile Valley.[9] Some examples of these peoples include the Cushitic speaking ethnic groups (Oromo, Somali, Beja, Agaw, Afar, Saho and Sidamo) and the Ethiosemitic speaking ethnic groups (Amhara, Tigrayans and Gurages) among several others.
Regions with significant populations: The Horn of Africa, Nile Valley (Sudan and Egypt), parts of the African Great Lakes region, and due to immigration in parts of the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, and the Western world.
Languages: Predominantly various Cushitic languages (Oromo and Somali being the largest), some Arabic (liturgical, co-official, or language shifts), Ethiosemitic languages (Amharic and Tigrinya primarily and Ge’ez for liturgical reasons), Modern Hebrew & European languages (immigration), Nilo-Saharan languages (e.g. Nubian due to language shifts), Languages of Ethiopia, Languages of Eritrea, and others.
Ethnic groups
See also: Beja people, Oromo people, Somalis, Afar people, Sidama, Saho people, Agaw people, Iraqw people, Gedeo people, Hadiya people, Kambaata people, Habesha peoples, Barbara (region), and Horn of Africa, … etc.
Cushitic-speakers
The Oromo are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia and represent 34.4% of Ethiopia’s population.[129] Oromos speak the Oromo language as a mother tongue (also called Afaan Oromoo and Oromiffa), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The word Oromo is sometimes mistakenly said to have appeared in European literature for the first time in 1893. However, it was used as early as in 1868 by Arnaud d’Abbadie Arnaud-Michel d’Abbadie who explained that the people that the Amhara speaking Ethiopians called Galla actually call themselves Oromo.
The Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa.[130] The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. They are predominantly Muslim, mostly Sunni or non-denominational Muslim. Ethnic Somalis number around 12–18 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 9 million),[131] Ethiopia (4.5 million),[132] Kenya (2.4 million), and Djibouti (534,000).[133] A Somali diaspora is also found in parts of the Middle East, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa, North America, Oceania, and Western Europe.
The Beja (Beja: Oobja; Arabic: البجا) are an ethnic group inhabiting Sudan, as well as parts of Eritrea and Egypt, in recent history they have lived primarily in the Eastern Desert. The Beja are traditionally Cushitic pastoral nomads native to northeast Africa numbering around 1,237,000 people.[134] Many Beja people speak the Beja language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Some Beja groups have shifted to primary or exclusive use of Arabic. In Eritrea and southeastern Sudan, many members of the Beni Amer grouping speak Tigre.
The Agaw (Ge’ez: አገው Agäw, modern Agew) are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the third-century Monumentum Adulitanum, an Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the sixth century. The inscription refers to a people called “Athagaus” (or Athagaous), perhaps from ʿAd Agaw, meaning “sons[135] of Agaw.
The Afar (Afar: Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea. Afars speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. The Afar are traditionally pastoralists, raising goats, sheep, and cattle in the desert.[136] Socially, they are organized into clan families and two main classes: the asaimara (‘reds’) who are the dominant class politically, and the adoimara (‘whites’) who are a working class and are found in the Mabla Mountains.[137]
The Saho sometimes called “Soho”,[138] are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They are principally concentrated in Eritrea, with some also living in adjacent parts of Ethiopia. They speak Saho as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family[139] and is closely related to Afar.
The Sidamo are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) in Ethiopia. They speak the Sidamo language which is a language of the Cushitic of the Afroasiatic language family. Despite their large numbers they currently lack a separate ethnic regional state.[140]
Ethiosemitic-speakers (language shift)
Many Ethiosemitic-language populations were historically Cushitic speakers, primarily of the Agaw branch.[141] Prominent examples of these include the Amhara, Gurage, Tigrayans, and Tigre. The Beta Israel historically spoke an Agaw language, subsequently followed by a language shift to Amharic and Tigrinya, and in the early 21st century to modern Hebrew due to acculturation into Israeli society. Ethiosemitic speaking groups generally have a cultural and genetic affinity to Cushitic speakers and are occasionally considered a sub-group of Cushitic peoples.[142]
Nilo-Saharan speakers (language shift or substantial Cushitic ancestry)
While having weaker cultural and ethnolinguistic ties to the Cushitic core, many populations in the Sudan and Southeastern Africa have significant Cushitic ancestry. Examples of these are Nubians, Sudanese Arabs, Kunama, Nara, the Samburu and Maasai.[143][144] Controversially, the Tutsi are thought to have a partial Nilo-Cushitic origin, although this is still being debated in academia.[145][146][147][148][149] Old Nubian had its source in the languages of the Nubian nomads who occupied the Nile between the first and third cataracts of the Nile and the Makorae nomads who occupied the land between the third and fourth cataracts following the collapse of Meroë sometime in the 4th century after being invaded by the Axumites. These Nilotic nomads also gave Nubia its name where before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, included under the name Ethiopia (Aithiopia). Early Egyptians referred to Nubia as “Ta-Seti,” or “The Land of the Bow”.[150] Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a 1st-century CE travelogue written by a Greek merchant based in Alexandria writes about the “Berbers” (not to be confused with Berbers) of ancient North-East Africa, the first Barbara region extended from just south of Berenice Troglodytae in southeastern Egypt to just north of Ptolemais Theron in northeastern Sudan, whilst the second Barbara region was then located just beyond the Bab al-Mandeb up to the “Market and Cape of Spices, an abrupt promontory, at the very end of the Berber coast toward the east” found in northeastern Somalia.
Through lengthy interaction with neighbouring peoples, the Nilotes in East Africa have adopted many customs and practices from Southern Cushitic groups. The latter include the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms.[151][152]
Languages
Main articles: Cushitic languages, Ethiopian Semitic languages. Omotic languages, and Nilo-Saharan languages
Cushitic Languages
The Cushitic languages are usually considered to include the following branches:
North Cushitic (Beja)
Central Cushitic (Agaw languages)
East Cushitic
Lowland East Cushitic
Highland East Cushitic
Yaaku-Dullay
Dahalo
South Cushitic
… other languages
The Somali language is the sole Cushitic language recognized as an official language while Oromo is recognized as a regional working language in Ethiopia. Afar and Somali are recognized as national languages but are not official languages in Djibouti.
Extinct Cushitic languages
Linguistic evidence (according to Claude Rilly 2008, 2010, 2016 and Julien Copper 2017) indicates that in antiquity, Cushitic languages were spoken in Lower Nubia, an ancient region which straddles present day Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan, and that Nilo-Saharan languages of the Eastern Sudanic branch were spoken in Upper Nubia to the south (where the ancient Kerma culture was located), before the spread of Eastern Sudanic languages further north into Lower Nubia.[93][94][95][96]
Julien Cooper (2017) states that in antiquity, Cushitic languages were spoken in Lower Nubia (the northernmost part of modern-day Sudan):
“In antiquity, Afroasiatic languages in Sudan belonged chiefly to the phylum known as Cushitic, spoken on the eastern seaboard of Africa and from Sudan to Kenya, including the Ethiopian Highlands.”[113]
Julien Cooper (2017) also states that Eastern Sudanic speaking populations from southern and west Nubia gradually replaced the earlier Cushitic speaking populations of this region:
“In Lower Nubia there was an Afroasiatic language, likely a branch of Cushitic. By the end of the first millennium CE this region had been encroached upon and replaced by Eastern Sudanic speakers arriving from the south and west, to be identified first with Meroitic and later migrations attributable to Nubian speakers.”[114]
In Handbook of Ancient Nubia, Claude Rilly (2019) states that Cushitic languages once dominated Lower Nubia along with the Ancient Egyptian language. Rilly (2019) states:
“Two Afro-Asiatic languages were present in antiquity in Nubia, namely Ancient Egyptian and Cushitic.”[115]
Rilly (2019) mentions historical records of a powerful Cushitic speaking race which controlled Lower Nubia and some cities in Upper Egypt. Rilly (2019) states:
“The Blemmyes are another Cushitic speaking tribe, or more likely a subdivision of the Medjay/Beja people, which is attested in Napatan and Egyptian texts from the 6th century BC on.”[116]
On page 134:
“From the end of the 4th century until the 6th century AD, they held parts of Lower Nubia and some cities of Upper Egypt.”[117]
He mentions the linguistic relationship between the modern Beja language and the ancient Cushitic Blemmyan language which dominated Lower Nubia and that the Blemmyes can be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay:
“The Blemmyan language is so close to modern Beja that it is probably nothing else than an early dialect of the same language. In this case, the Blemmyes can be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.”[118]
Ethiosemitic Languages
North Ethiopic
Ge’ez
Tigre
Tigrinya
Dahalik
South Ethiopic
Transversal South Ethiopic
Amharic — working language of the Federal Government of Ethiopia.
Harari–East Gurage
Outer South Ethiopic
West Gurage
… and other languages
The historical linguistics of the relationship between Ethiosemitic languages and Cushitic languages is multi-layered and complex, not yet fully understood. Amharic, Argobba and Tigrinya seem to have a Central Cushitic substratum; Tigre contains a North Cushitic[119] substratum while Harari-Gurage languages reveal Highland East Cushitic influences.[120] The Agaw are mentioned in an inscription of the fourth century emperor Ezana of Axum having conquered their lands.[121] Based on this evidence, a number of experts embrace a theory first stated by European scholars Edward Ullendorff and Carlo Conti Rossini that they are the original inhabitants of much of the northern Ethiopian Highlands, and were either forced out of their original settlements or assimilated by Semitic-speaking Tigrayans and Amharas.[122] This theory is further strengthened by the existence of a Cushitic substratum in Ethiopian Semitic languages indicating population assimilation of an ancient migration from Southwest Arabia.[123][124][125] Ethiopian scholars specializing in Ethiopian Studies such as Messay Kebede and Daniel E. Alemu generally disagree with this theory arguing that the migration was one of reciprocal exchange, if it even occurred at all.
Kebede states the following:
“This is not to say that events associated with conquest, conflict and resistance did not occur. No doubt, they must have been frequent. But the crucial difference lies in the propensity to present them, not as the process by which an alien majority imposed its rule but as part of an ongoing struggle of native forces competing for supremacy in the region. The elimination of the alien ruler indigenize Ethiopian history in terms of local actors.”[124][125]
Nilo-Saharan languages (language shift or substantial Cushitic ancestry)
See also: Nilotic peoples
Nubian (related to Northern Cushites)
Samburu (related to the Rendille)
Datooga (related to the Iraqw)
… and other languages
As it relates to Nubians, although Cushitic is believed to be numbered among the earlier languages spoken in parts of Nubia, the classification of the Meroitic language of later periods is uncertain due to the scarcity of data and difficulty in interpreting it. Since the alphabet was deciphered in 1909, it has been proposed that Meroitic is related to the Nubian languages and similar languages of the Nilo-Saharan phylum.[126][127] The competing claim is that Meroitic is a member of the Afroasiatic phylum.[128]
[Keep in mind that this is not a full account of the definition of Cushitic, Omotic, Nilotic, Ethiosemitic, peoples and that not all of these groups talked about in this section are Habesha peoples, even though a substantial amount of the Habesha community are Cushitic peoples, the two words are never interchangeable.]
Photo Gallery
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Ethiopian-Israeli of Beta Israel-Jewish ethnic origin as an Israeli Border Guard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Israeli_Border_Guard_Police.jpg)
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Ethiopian Gurage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mahmoudahmedfeature.jpg)
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Ethiopian Oromo (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beauty_of_Oromia.jpg)
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Eritrean Tigray-Tigrinya/Tigrayans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eritrea_Eritrean_wedding.jpg)
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Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church-Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ()
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Yodit Tewolde (Eritrean-American) United States Criminal Defense and Legal Analyst on CNN (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Hre5FjXUTcs/hqdefault.jpg)
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Ethiopian Anuak children in Dimma, Ethiopia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anuak_Girls,_Dimma_(10399695426).jpg)
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Ethiopian Arbore (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arbore5.jpg)
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Eritrean Tigre women in Keren, Eritrea (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/468444798718962254/)
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Ethiopian-Americans (https://www.instagram.com/p/B_VEBDIntKm/)
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Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans (https://www.instagram.com/p/B4kwkozHK6U/)
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Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) in Israel (http://worldpolicy.org/2016/11/17/bring-me-the-ethiopian-jews/)
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Ethiopian-Eritrean Afar (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzq2RL5nhia/)
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Ethiopians of the Dorze ethnic groups, (Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHnnm1PHme_/ ).
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Ethiopian-American of Oromo ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BtoCjqbA7V8/)
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Ethiopian-Americans of Oromo ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ikZ5qnizd/)
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Ethiopians of possible Northern Highlander Origin in Kvinesdal, Norway (https://www.instagram.com/p/B04wKrbnTfH/)
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Eritrean-Americans of possible Tigray-Tigrinya ethnic Origin at San Jose State University in San Jose, California (CA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/B0SAIt3HRYb/)
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Kebur Zabagna (ክቡር ዘበኛ) Ethiopian Imperial Guard in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/B0M1OLYH-QM/)
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Eritrean-American paintings in Fresno, California (https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrCdzgHZX8/)
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Ethiopian-Eritrean-American Journalist Hannah Joy Gebresilassie in Los Angeles, California (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzq1zUNnGWC/)
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Lalibela, Amhara Region, Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/BtoEzYrAntC/)
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Peoples of the Gambela Region in Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/BtoBFaIAsoU/)
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Ethiopian-Eritrean-American in Chicago, Illinois (IL), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BezCPmDn2Zx/)
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Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association of Ohio State University — The Ohio State University Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association presents an energetic traditional performance displaying four different cultural dances within the two countries at Taste of OSU on February 7, 2014. The rhythmic neck, shoulder, and body motions as well as the distinctive instruments used are indicative of the region’s rich history and culture. In addition to the dances, the varying cultural fashions worn by the dancers showcase the diversity amongst the ethnic groups within the region. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7MfAALP6rE&app=desktop )
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Nipsey Hussle (Ermias Joseph Asghedom) was an Eritrean-American Celebrity, Rapper, and Singer of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. that was revered throughout the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora Habesha Community (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soundtrack_Beat_Battle_Judging_Panel_March2011_(cropped).jpg)
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Heran Mamo an Ethiopian-American Journalist for Billboard magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, the HuffPost (The Huffington Post), and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Media Center (http://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2019/04/08/habeshas-around-the-globe-mourn-nipsey-hussle-it-hit-our-community-a-different-way/)
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Eritrean-American of ethnic Tigray origin in Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BddbquQne4q/)
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Ethiopian-Americans of ethnic Oromo origin at the University of Maryland, College Park in College Park, Maryland (MD), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BdS7AlynH0q/)
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Ethiopian-Eritrean Students Association (EESA) at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in Long Beach, California (CA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bik_swgnQ1d/)
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Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans of various ethnic backgrounds showcase the clothing styles that are specific to the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Habesha Community. [Ethiopian-Eritrean Students Association (EESA) at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in Long Beach, California (CA), USA] (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bik_UVbH5-K/)
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Ethiopians of Dorze ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BiIdkGPn1Pg/)
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Eritrean-Ethiopian Community of the Nordic-Scandinavian Countries wearing clothing and jewelry styles of Tigray ethnic origin. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BgutPVknPKr/)
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Ethiopians wearing the clothing styles of Amhara ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BgukofgHlwf/)
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Ethiopian-Canadians in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (https://www.instagram.com/p/B0KA-NfH-8W/)
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Eritrean-American of Seattle, Washington (WA-Washington State), USA in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrU6mAnfIF/)
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Ethiopian-American of Riverside, California (CA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqaf6iNgPFA/)
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Eritrean-Ethiopian-American in Blacksburg, Virginia (VA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLq720nzs0/)
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U.S. Embassy Asmara Eritrea: “Young Habesha leaders in the U.S. [Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans] meet with State Department officials for their annual conference. Do you want to build YOUR leadership potential? You can! Join the YALI network today! Yali.state.gov . ETA: Thank you all for the healthy debate on use of the word “Habesha.” We posted the note with the understanding that the word embraced all Eritrean and Ethiopians, a conclusion reached based on discussions with friends and colleagues. Your comments added another dimension to the origins and use of the word. It’s been illuminating for us to see how differently the word can be perceived even by Eritreans themselves. Language notes aside, we commend the young students having roots in Eritrea and Ethiopia working together in support of regional developments and are pleased that our colleague was warmly received at the conference.” (Source: https://www.facebook.com/usembassyasmara/posts/10157171459610120?comment_id=10157171882390120&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D )
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Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans of the University of Michigan’s Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association (Source: https://maizepages.umich.edu/organization/-EESA ).
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Eritrean-Swedish Soccer-Football Player Alexander Isak playing for the Borussia Dortmund (@bvb09) Soccer Team in Germany (https://www.instagram.com/p/BdZQd4SHSXm/)
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Ethiopian children in the clothing styles of ethnic Amhara origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BdbHiRWHRcE/)
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Ethiopian-Americans and Eritrean-Americans of various ethnic backgrounds showcasing the clothing styles of the Habesha Community (and of Ethiopia and Eritrea) as part of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Students Association of the University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) in College Park, Maryland (MD), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BfTg4TUH-GP/)
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Ethiopian clothing styles of the Northern Ethiopian Highland Ethnic Groups (namely Tigray and Amhara) (https://www.instagram.com/p/BgrAT-knSev/)
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Eritrean-American of Tigre and Bilen ethnic origin at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/BgupkkLHUHq/)
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Ethiopian-Swedish Chef Marcus Samuelsson (Kassahun Tsegie | ካሳሁን ፅጌ) of ethnic Oromo and Gurage origin covered in the New Jersey Monthly a magazine published in Morristown, New Jersey (NJ), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BmNEdQAndbt/)
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Eritrean-Americans and Ethiopian-Americans (https://www.instagram.com/p/BlpCWxFnNw6/)
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Ethiopian-Canadians of Ethiopian Students Association of York University in Toronto, Ontario (ON), Canada showcasing the clothing styles of the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia but namely clothing of Oromo, Harari, Dorze, Amhara, and Tigray ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BmNUx4bnuHs/)
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Women’s traditional clothing of Ethiopian Harari ethnic origin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harar_tradition.jpg)
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Eritrean-Canadians and Eritrean-Americans of various ethnic groups in Asmara, Eritrea (https://www.instagram.com/p/BmQ_JmDH_Qf/)
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Dancing and Clothing Styles of Ethiopian Gurage ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BmaBwOVHw_B/)
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Ethiopian women (https://www.pinterest.com/redieatejigue/ethiopian-people/)
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Ethiopian-American of Oromo ethnic origin (https://www.instagram.com/p/BphwRPPH1oq/)
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Eritrean-American and Ethiopian-American Community Peace A All Mural in Oakland, California (CA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/BqeUuplAD8I/)
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Ethiopian-Canadians of Oromo ethnic origin showcasing Oromo Culture & Clothing at the Ethiopian Students Association of York University in Toronto, Ontario (ON), Canada (https://www.instagram.com/p/BqgqhxZgnpp/)
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Ethiopian-Americans of Gurage and Tigray (Tigrayans) ethnic origin in Atalanta, Georgia (GA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz9b6YIHQg0/)
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Ethiopian of Harari ethnic origin in Harar/Harer, Harerge, Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/B0J_0gsHYK8/)
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Ethiopian in Bishoftu-Debre Zeyit, East Shewa Zone, Oromia Region (https://www.instagram.com/p/B4il2YzHgWt/)
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Ethiopian-American Social Media Influencer Liya Hizkias of ethnic Tigray (Tigrayan) ethnic origin in both Habesha and Western Clothing in Los Angeles, California (CA), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/ByEHMQKnQcj/)
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Ethiopian in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (https://www.instagram.com/p/B_VDZKIHv81/)
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Ethiopian-American of ethnic Oromo origin in Canton, New York (NY), USA (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn18OhPH7dY/)
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Ethiopian-Australian in Melbourne, Victoria (VIC), Australia (https://www.instagram.com/p/B_S5Bzcn_fa/)
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Ethiopian-American in Washington, District of Columbia (D.C. ), USA participating in the #GabiChallenge by wearing the traditional Northern and Central Ethiopian Gabi Wearable Blanket (https://www.instagram.com/p/B4iiw3HHygr/)
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Ethiopian women (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/842595411514769555/)
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Ethiopian-British (Ethiopians in the United Kingdom) Football/Soccer Player in York, England, United Kingdom (https://www.instagram.com/p/B4irN5GnshD/)
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Ethiopian-American in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area (https://dingmanblog.com/2016/07/19/celebrate-ethiopian-culture-with-east-habesha/)
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Ethiopia is the hot new place in Africa — here’s why (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ethiopia-africa-travel-next-big-thing/index.html)
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Ethiopians of possible Tigrayan ethnic origin in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia (https://cz.123rf.com/photo_128621787_mekele-ethiopia-april-28-2019-happy-ethiopian-beautiful-woman%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-fashionably-dressed-in-mekele-seco.html)
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Ethiopian of Gurage ethnic origin (https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/02/gurage-people-ethiopias-afro-asiatic.html)
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Eritrean-Swiss and Eritrean-British people in Geneva, Switzerland (http://www.madote.com/2016/06/eritreans-will-hold-peaceful-mass.html)
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Ethiopians of Sidama ethnic origin (https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14630/ET)
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Kambaata people in Ethiopia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KembataFamily.jpg)
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Obang Metho, an Ethiopian-Canadian Human Rights Activist of ethnic Anuak origin. He is also the founder of the multi-ethnic human rights organization Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE). [https://twitter.com/ObangMetho/status/1170077281139798017]
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Ethiopians of Hadiya ethnic origin in Wachemo, Hadiya, Ethiopia (https://www.facebook.com/173657299409059/photos/pcb.1505967736178002/1505967672844675/?type=3&theater)
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Ethiopian of Dizi ethnic origin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dizi_Tribe,_Ethiopia_(10128556066).jpg)
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Eritrean and/or Ethiopians of Saho (Irob) ethnic origin in Los Angeles, California (CA), United States (U.S.). The Saho people are mostly concentrated in Eritrea with the remainder inhabiting Ethiopia. Within Eritrea, the Saho primarily reside in the Southern Red Sea and Northern Red Sea regions. In Ethiopia the Irob sub-group of the Saho people are mostly concentrated in Tigray Region. (https://twitter.com/SelamCen/status/1208515932957659138)
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Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese/South Sudanese, and Somali people are Black. [Source: https://www.pinterest.com/beamlakshimelis/ethiopian-beauty/]
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An Eritrean Women [Source: https://www.pinterest.com/ochumor/eritrean/]
Key Words and Key Phrases List:
Ethiopia Eritrea Ethiopian Eritrea Habesha Habesha Community Habesha peoples ; Who is considered habesha? ; Habesha Definition ; The difference between being an Ethiopian and being Habesha. ; What is the meaning of the word Habesha? ; The True Origin of Habesha. ; Is Habesha an ethnicity? ; are eritreans habesha ; are ethiopians habesha
Related Articles:
Are Eritreans, Ethiopians, Habeshas, Somalis, Horn of Africa people, and other East Africans “Black ?” (Long Story Short, We’re “Black” but …) [ https://medium.com/@habeshaunion/are-eritreans-ethiopians-habeshas-somalis-horn-of-africa-people-and-other-east-africans-9400dfbd616e ]
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