[CPProt.net] The Importance of Ethiopian Manuscripts

[MSN CPPnet]

The Importance of Ethiopian Manuscripts 
July 16, 2005 

By Richard Pankhurst
 

Ethiopian manuscripts, which are mainly in the country's classical language,
Ge'ez, but also in Adare or Harari, Arabic and other languages, are of
fundamental value for the study of Ethiopia's history and culture. 

Religious 

The majority of such manuscripts are basically religious, and are important
for the study of the Ethiopian Church, and Koranic institutions, from point
of view of both organization and dogma. 

Such manuscripts are, however, also of immense value from the linguistic,
literary, and philosophic points of view.

Non-Religious 

Many manuscripts are, however, devoted to secular or non-religious subjects.
These include history, law, government, mathematics, and medicine, as well
as linguistics - as seen for example in traditional dictionaries.  

Traditional Ethiopian manuscripts include royal chronicles, which record
events of he past, as well as gadl, or "lives of saints" which throw
considerable light on events of the past - including for example outbreaks
of, in many cases datable, famine and disease.

"Marginalia" 

Many Ethiopian religious manuscripts also contain what is termed
"marginalia", that is to say the beginning and/or end pages, which served to
record entirely secular information. Such "marginalia" often includes data
on royal and other land grants, gifts and sale of land and other property,
marriage contracts inventories of books and other articles, taxation
records, and the like. 

Some years ago, my friend Ato Germa-Sellassie Asfaw and I produced for
example a small monograph on the Tax Records and Inventories of Emperor
Tewodros housed in the British Library in London. This work, published by
the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. 

A particularly important London University thesis making extensive use of
"marginalia" in London and Cambridge was subsequently produced by Dr Haddis
Gabre Meskel.

What is the significance of "marginalia?" To cite a few examples: 

1. If you want to study the importance of women in Ethiopia in the past, an
examination of manuscript "marginalia" can indicate the extent at any time
of female ownership of land.

2. If you want to find out what particular books could have been read in
former times, or what was available to potential readers, the inventories in
the "marginalia" will prove an invaluable source.

Binding 

It may also be noted that many manuscripts are bound in wooden cases, the
insides of which are decorated with coloured, and in many instances highly
decorated, imported cloth. Study of such cloth can be interesting in
revealing the kind of woven material available in Ethiopia at the time of
binding - as well as the country of origin of such cloth. This in turn can
throw light on the otherwise unknown direction of Ethiopia's foreign trade
of former times. (I have personally written a series of detailed articles on
this, which appeared in the Nairobi-based journal Azania).

Art 

Ethiopian manuscripts are of major importance also for the study of
Ethiopian art. The illustrations found in so many manuscripts, are
significant not only as an expression of Ethiopian creativity - and for the
history of Ethiopian art, but also for the evidence they provide on the
country's past. 

Many manuscripts will thus depict the crowns of kings and queens; the
clothing, and decorations, worn by people of various ranks an professions;
the guns, spears, shields and other weapons used in battle: the saddle
cloths and stirrups of mules and horses; the tents used by travelers and
soldiers on campaign - and even such traditional Ethiopian games as guks and
gena!, etc., etc.

Such manuscript art is indeed nothing short of a social document. It can
throw light on items used or worn in the past - and establish precisely when
they were so used or worn. As such a single page from an illustrated
manuscript can be more revealing than many pages of writing. 

Unique 

We must remember that every manuscript is hand-written, and by its very
nature, unique. If one is studying a particular text it is important to have
access to a multiplicity of versions - to establish which is the original
text - and perhaps how and when any variations, if any, occurred. 

 It is important also to see how a particular artistic theme was conceived,
by different artists and at different periods of time, and to try to
discover who were the Ethiopian artists of yesteryear. At the last
International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art, held in Addis
Ababa, I was able for example to reveal the existence of a number of
hitherto unknown Ethiopian artists who lived in the eighteenth century - and
are known today only by their manuscript illustrations.

And all that is why we must make Addis Ababa a center for the study of
Ethiopian manuscripts!

Some of the most important medieval Ethiopian manuscripts are in the
Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and in the Vatican Library; and for the
Gondar period in the British Museum in London. But there are also notable
collections in Germany and in Italy, as well as on a smaller scale in many
other countries, also in the United States, and Israel.

Our Objective 

We need to obtain microfilms, or preferably digital copies, of most if not
all such manuscripts - as well as the originals of the manuscripts looted
from Maqdala - Our objective is very simple: It is that the Institute of
Ethiopian Studies Library should have copies of all known Ethiopian
manuscripts of any significance, be they in Ethiopian churches and
monasteries, or in foreign library collections abroad. An Ethiopian student
should be able to see such works, at least on microfilm - or perhaps even
better on digital scan, without having to travel over the world to consult
them. He or she should be able to see such material in Ethiopia. Preferably
at the IES - without having to travel to London, Paris, Rome, Munich,
Moscow, and elsewhere.n

 
http://www.addistribune.com/