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Ethiopian-Israelis Rejecting Mandatory Military Service In Protest of institutional racism
- Thread starter satam55
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Grano-Grano
The Bando
Israel 
Nah, Habeshas are descendents of the Axumite Empire's diverse population. Axum was a very cosmopolitan city, it wasn't compared to Persia, Rome, and China for no reason. Since it was the source of African products in the old market it was a major economic hub. You had amongst the native populations a slew of Greeks, Indians, Persians, Romans, people from the Levant, Arabia, and all types of other people along with Jews in Axum. You're right though, the common ancestor is most likely the Agaw tribe since they are the original inhabitants of the highlands. But many other groups migrated from other parts of the region as well, Axum also practiced slavery so good chance there were other groups from the south and west that were introduced into the greater Axumite society.
Judaism was only widespread until King Ezana of Axum converted to Orthodox Christianity, even then I'd argue that the traditional practices still had a place since Axumites also practiced cosmology and numerology. But the Zagwe dynasty was established after the fall of Axum which by that time was already a Christian state. It's told in legend that a Jewish Queen of the Agaw was the one that brought the end of the Axumites. The Zagwe's origins are very mysterious, but the legend of the Queen made them all the more suspect to the former Axumite subjects. This Christianized them intensely in order to gain legitimacy amongst the old Axumite population that was now widely Christian. Aside from the Muslim enclosure around the country, that would explain why the Zagwe ruler Lalibela went on to build the magnificent churches out of rock which helped further legitimize them. Mind you, the Zagwe's are their own individual dynasty and do not tie into the Solomonic line which goes back to Axum.
One thing to keep in mind is that Ethiopia had been used as a safe haven by persecuted people for centuries. Beta Israel survived because it found refuge in the impenetrable landscape of the highlands. Not far from where Beta Israel set up a home, the first hijra took Muhammad's followers to al Negash in the highlands near Gondar which gave them a perfect springboard to spread Islam all the way down the East African coast. With all of this intermingling, the Beta Israelite kept their Jewish character because some of the Jews that mixed with the Agaws strictly practiced the faith and stayed within their ranks in order to keep their society intact. So they didn't mix in the same way the Habeshas did, the strict religious codes of the Jews and the taboos the dominant Christian society held made that almost impossible. Beta Israel was a very isolated community even though it was part of a semi-caste system in feudal Ethiopia.
Amharas and Beta Israel literally couldn't stand to be around each other. For Amharas, the Jews had the evil eye and could curse you so they were only fit to do work the Amharas found lowly like masonry, smithing, and pottery while to the Jews the Amharas were total impure especially given their consumption of raw meat. Beta Israel was partly an isolated community because they themselves fought to maintain their Jewish character. If an Amhara bought something from a Beta Israelite, they wouldn't look them in the eye for fear of catching the evil eye. So they would drop the money in a dish filled with water, which the Beta Israelite used to clean the Amhara impurities off of the money. It was that serious. One thing I will say is that Habeshas have always considered themselves Israelites given their Solomon/Sheba origin story. Orthodox Christianity is probably the most Jewish form of Christianity in the world given its Old Testament practices and many of the old books found in the Ethiopic Bible. So as I said, the Beta Israel had a tremendous impact in the development of the Habesha people and Ethiopian culture but they aren't the sole contributors or reason behind the culture.
Ge'ez is a semitic language and preceded the Amharas or Tigrays by centuries. There's actually growing argument that the Semitic branch started in the Horn. So at the very least, the Semitic branch has been in the country for awhile. Not before the Cushytic or Omotic language groups of course but it's pretty ancient. It's definitely clear that Hebrew, Arabic, and Ethiopic (Ge'ez/Tigringya/Amharic) are very close cousins so the connections between the people are there.
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^interesting post. But modern DNA research does not seem to confirm the melting pot theory as far as I remember. Highlanders have minimal amounts of recent Semitic admixture. The rest of the West Eurasian admixture is pre-agricultural and is shared with other groups of the Horn. How do you explain this? Is there any concrete evidence of a large scale population movement from the countries that you mentioned into Ethiopia? For all modern day habeshas to descend from Axumites, this would require a large population movement.
And what do you make of the fact that there is an Agaw substratum in both Amhara and Tigrinya? This would suggest that the dominant language in the Ethiopian Highlands was Agaw until it was replaced by Semitic.
IMO the ruling class might've been of mixed heritage, but most of the subjects were Cushytes who simply adopted a Semitic language over time. "Habesha" is just a culture really. Lots of assimilated people became habesha whereas others lost their "habesha privilege" and got their habesha card revoked the moment they adopted a different culture/religion (I.e the Muslim Semitic speakers of the Horn).
And what do you make of the fact that there is an Agaw substratum in both Amhara and Tigrinya? This would suggest that the dominant language in the Ethiopian Highlands was Agaw until it was replaced by Semitic.
IMO the ruling class might've been of mixed heritage, but most of the subjects were Cushytes who simply adopted a Semitic language over time. "Habesha" is just a culture really. Lots of assimilated people became habesha whereas others lost their "habesha privilege" and got their habesha card revoked the moment they adopted a different culture/religion (I.e the Muslim Semitic speakers of the Horn).
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lol, I'm sure I'll need to edit this a lot but I'm trying to reply before I go to work.
The melting pot moreso explains the extreme variance between Habeshas, plus the mixture was not exclusively Semitic by any stretch but it had Semitic elements within it such as the language and script of Ge'ez. I didn't mean to suggest that it was a mass migration but rather a gradual one upon hundreds of years which was stimulated by Axum's central role in international commerce and later due to invaders/travellers at various points in Ethiopian history. Axum/Ethiopia's reputation at the time is why many peoples came to it's shores. As I stated in the previous post, the Beta Israelites migrated all the way to Ethiopia and became a part of the society and later lived in the Simien Mountains. Bilal the Ethiopian advised Prophet Muhammad to send the first hijra to Ethiopia where they would be protected by the Axumite Emperor of the time Negus Armah. So again, when you factor the long history of Ethiopia as a sanctuary along with having been an economic power it brought many people to its shores which affected the indigenous population. Hell, Christianity found it's way to Ethiopia through a shipwrecked Syrian and even when the royal court converted it wasn't from Judaism but rather from Ethiopic cosmology. Axumite nobility worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. If you look at the obelisks, it has been argued that the design of the top of the obelisks is a representation of the rising sun which speaks to this ancient cosmology. So Jewish influence on Habesha cultural development varies. I'll be honest though, Ethiopia is probably still 90% unexcavated so there's a great deal still unknown about Axum and Ancient Ethiopia. At the very least, the British could stop being jerks and hand back all the artifacts that were stolen from the country in the 19th century.
So some Habeshas have more "mixed" features while others more closely resemble their Cushiitic foundation. These mixtures could be very old or more recent like the Portuguese, Arabs, Turks, Italians, etc. To be clear, the population movement in and out of the region wasn't large scale however compared to other parts of Africa it was a bit more pronounced. From the little information so far uncovered, the history speaks about the capital being a hub for the African side of the global market and through this there were different groups of people (mostly merchants) whom came to Ethiopia/Somalia/Djibouti/Eritrea and settled. I won't speak on pre-agricultural admixtures, but don't forget that the Axumite Empire at different points in time controlled the coast from modern Eritrea to the port city of Zeila in Somalia. When Yemeni Christians were being persecuted by the Jewish Yemeni kingdom, Axum invaded and took administrative control of what is now Yemen which inspired more migration. Some historians have suggested that the Ethiopian Jewish population grew from this event by the migration of a small group of Yemeni Jews into Ethiopia. There is also a population of Ethiopians in Yemen from the time of that Axumite occupation whom still exist today, I believe they are known as the "Dakkas".
So clearly being a hub for African wares like animal skins, gold, incense(very important), and ivory, turned Axum into a magnet for merchants from around the Ancient world looking for their fortune and this also sent Axumite traders all over the ancient world. Archeologists have found coins from Axum from as far as in the waters off the coast of Gujarat in India so this shows how powerful and expansive of a trading nation Axum was. So of course in the Ancient world you couldn't have a mass scale migration, but the gradual migrations from different parts of the world definitely played a role which would explain why there was never a spike in mixture because the indigenous population always outnumbered the migrant groups which also preserved our overall Africanness and didn't dilute us like the North Africans for example. When you factor the long period of time between Axum's rise and fall it definitely can be said that it's position in the Ancient world played a critical role in the development of the people known as Habeshas.
As I said, Agaws are a common thread because they were the original inhabitants of the highlands. And yes, Agaw was the original language of the highlanders, but again, Ge'ez came before Amharic/Tigrinya/Tigre so people were speaking a Semitic language for centuries before the creation of those exclusive vernaculars. Part of the stigmas around the Jews was because it was believed that they preserved the Agaws art of sorcery/witchcraft which was anti-Christian they were undesirables. Agaws being on the periphery helped save their language and culture from extinction but the people that would later become Habeshas were already Semitic speakers by the time Axum fell. I agree that Agaw was probably still widely spoken but since they weren't the administrators of the empire they had to adopt the Semitic language as you said. My only disagreement is in when that transition took place which was to me during Axum's reign as opposed to after it's reign. Ge'ez probably spread because Axum was according to scholars, a collection of small kingdoms/fiefdoms which was administered from the capital as a grand empire. This, as well as the church, would explain why the Semitic Ge'ez language was able to better travel through Ethiopia before the fall of the Empire.
Your last point is true though, Habesha was almost like a "quasi-Jew" where ethnicity and religion blended together. Habeshas that were Muslim were known as "Jeberti" which is the root for the modern name "Djibouti". But ethnicity still played a role, remember Ethiopia was a slave society and practiced a caste system of sorts so although a slave from Sidama could learn Amharic/Tigrinya or practice the customs, to a Habesha that slave is assimilated and not a pure member of their tribe(Amhara/Tigray). It's only through time that this is forgotten and future generations are fully assimilated into the Habesha bubble. This denial of true assimilation in the past is also one of the reasons why there's so many racist undertones in Ethiopian culture today. As close as the Jews and Amharas lived they couldn't be further apart. Modern times is when this has been relaxed much more I would definitely agree with you that now the nature of "Habesha" is more cultural/ethnic than it is religious.
One more point to make is that the very Jewishness of the Beta Israel is not 100% agreed upon. Some scholars believe that during the reign of Susenyos when he abolished the Orthodox Church in favor of the Catholic church, a sect of ultra-Orthodox Christians split and converted to Judaism in protest and had their lands taken as a result. Orthodox Christians believe they were the people that came with Menelik bearing the Ark which the Beta Israel wholly deny, and the Beta Israel themselves argue that they are the lost tribe of Dan. So there's no 100% consensus. Of course, as long as Jewish scholars affirm their Jewish character it doesn't matter. Now I don't agree with the theories that argue against them being Jews but it shows how like many things in Ethiopia, the story is shrouded in a lot of mystery.
Here's some light reading:
Aksum | ancient kingdom, Africa
Khan Academy
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Aksumite_Empire
Here's a pic of the trade routes through Axum according to Ancient Greek scholars:
Mind you, trade with India goes back much further than Axum. You'll notice it in how similar our foods are for example like tea (Shye=Chai) (Channa Dal=Alecha Kik wot). Some Amharic words like the word for earrings "guticha" is believed by some scholars to have Indian origins. I'd argue that one of the similarities that Habeshas have with people from northern Somalia and Djibouti is our contact with India. I'll add more when I get a chance, I might have some books to cite but I have to go through them after work.
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Trajan
Veteran
Yeah Israel swung to the right with the influx of Eastern European Jews. These people coming from illiberal, right wing, xenophobic shytholes.
Damn, habesha breh hit me with a novel 
It was a good read though. I'll get back to you later on. I'm by no means an expert on Axumite history, and I am aware that there are many theories about the origins of the habesha people.
Some scholars actually believe that the term "habesha" was first used to describe southern Yemeni tribes who were known for gathering Frankincense.
There are many myths and hypotheses.
It was a good read though. I'll get back to you later on. I'm by no means an expert on Axumite history, and I am aware that there are many theories about the origins of the habesha people.
Some scholars actually believe that the term "habesha" was first used to describe southern Yemeni tribes who were known for gathering Frankincense.
There are many myths and hypotheses.
Archeologists recently discovered Jewish and Christian burial sites in Somaliland.
Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire
There is still much left to uncover about the history of the region. Much of it is lost due to theft and negligence.
Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire
There is still much left to uncover about the history of the region. Much of it is lost due to theft and negligence.
Free White & 21
AAGang
<----lol, that elder sister definitely from Gondar her Amharic is sharp as fukk.
As you can see, they been beefing for a second.
Fighting to integrate with those devils is a huge mistake and the children will suffer greatly
There's so many levels of confusion going on here
Fighting to integrate with those devils is a huge mistake and the children will suffer greatly
There's so many levels of confusion going on here
You can't integrate with these people
They sterilise Ethiopian women without their consent
https://www.google.dk/amp/www.indep...n-jews-without-their-consent-8468800.html?amp
https://www.google.dk/amp/www.indep...n-jews-without-their-consent-8468800.html?amp
@2Quik4UHoes
How come this Greek etc DNA does not show up when modern day habeshas take a DNA test? There's not much European DNA. All that shows up is a bit of Semitic admixture. The recent Semitic admixture is quite negligible. The bulk of your admixture is prehistoric and is shared with other Horners.
What is your opinion on the following article on the origins of the Tigrinya people? It's from an Eritrean website. I know that many Eritrean nationalists love to distance themselves from their Ethiopian cousins by claiming that y'all have entirely different origins, but this particular article cites archeological studies etc.
The ancestors of the Tigrinya people - Madote
By the way, are you Amhara?
How come this Greek etc DNA does not show up when modern day habeshas take a DNA test? There's not much European DNA. All that shows up is a bit of Semitic admixture. The recent Semitic admixture is quite negligible. The bulk of your admixture is prehistoric and is shared with other Horners.
What is your opinion on the following article on the origins of the Tigrinya people? It's from an Eritrean website. I know that many Eritrean nationalists love to distance themselves from their Ethiopian cousins by claiming that y'all have entirely different origins, but this particular article cites archeological studies etc.
The ancestors of the Tigrinya people - Madote
By the way, are you Amhara?