Today, let’s talk of tents

Historically the courts of Ethiopian royalty moved around the length and breadth of Ethiopia as they engaged in defending the nation from insurrection and invasion. Tents therefore, were an indispensable item to serve as shelters until the monarch and his courtiers could return to their built up palaces and castles. Two particular tents which belonged to Emperor Tewodros, are featured in this week’s Pankhurst’s Corner, along with a reminder in this Ethiopian millennium year. That they must be repatriated…

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A tour of Italian archives on Ethiopia

Today, dear Reader, I will take you on a tour of some Italian and Ethiopian archives.

Let us start in perhaps the easiest way by looking at the UNESCO-sponsored Guide to the Sources of the History of Africa, more especially the volume on Italian-sources: the Guida delle Fonti per la Storia dell’ Africa a Sud del Sahara esistenti in Italia.

It was edited by my old friend Professor Carlo Giglio, once a Fascist, but by my day far less committed –and a great conversationalist. The volume was published in 1973 by the Inter Documentation Company, of Zug, in Switzerland, and is in itself an important source.

Some thoughts on traditional Ethiopian medicine and surgery

Ethiopia’s ancient and still very much alive culture of traditional medicine is highlighted in this week’s Corner. Prof. Pankhurst urges us to give traditional Ethiopian medical science a larger profile…

Ethiopia’s historic heritage and the struggle for its preservation (Part 2)

Pankhurst’s Corner continues this week on the theme of heritage preservation, highlighting the nation’s precious trove of rare manuscripts. The professor illuminates us on efforts underway in various initiatives, to maintain and establish the repositories of Ethiopian antiquity.

Ethiopia’s historic heritage and the struggle for its preservation (Part 1)

The distinctive centrality of Ethiopia and of the Great African Rift Valley as the cradle of mankind and early history is perhaps the most enthralling of subjects. Unfortunately, despite hosting the many unique sites, preservation has not been adequate and enforced in Ethiopia. This week’s Pankhurst’s Corner discuses the urgent need for museums and the scientific preservation of the legacies of antiquity.

The mystery of Shaka’s House

As urban development picks up pace, familiar landmarks are disappearing all too fast, along with structures of priceless historical value. Addis Ababa lacking an official list of its historically significant buildings, developers alone can not be blamed. This week’s Pankhurst’s corner sheds light on this significant heritage loss.

The ancient city of Aksum: Its origins, zenith, and decline

For hundreds of years up to its rapid decline in the early 7th century, Aksum had reigned as one of the most powerful empires of antiquity. This week’s Pankhurst’s Corner explores the rise and eventual decline of this mighty civilization.

Historical notes on James Bruce

The 18th century Scottish “explorer” James Bruce, who lived in Ethiopia from 1769 to 1774, was one of the great European travellers to Ethiopia. His famous five-volume work Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile – in which he explains his greatness and proudly quotes his allegedly important conversations with Ethiopian kings, queens and other historic figures – was first published in 1790. It created much controversy – with many readers taking it as Gospel truth, while others believed it to be very largely fictitious. The book was nevertheless almost immediately translated into French and German, and was subsequently reprinted, both in complete and abridged versions.
But how, dear reader, did Ethiopians evaluate their Scottish visitor?

A page from Ethiopian history

It is the standard practice of authoritarian regimes to distort the facts of history so that the new ‘sanitized’ version of past and present events will suit their particular philosophies. To Nazi Germany and, in our case, Fascist Italy, propaganda was a forceful weapon – or so they had thought when dropping an audacious propaganda leaflet in 1941. Enjoy a delightful footnote from modern Ethiopian history in this week’s rather special Pankhurst’s Corner.

Captain Harris: Poor author – good artist

Not all scholarship is worth the name, as this week’s Pankhurst’s Corner explains. Bigotry, racial prejudice and sheer ignorance are reflected in the writing on Ethiopia by an otherwise accomplished artist. Enjoy this rather unique fourth installment of Professor Pankhurst’s running series of chronicles and other literature on Ethiopia.