The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
Today's date is: 5/12/2025
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The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
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1 Strangers in the MidstTHE state of Socialist Ethiopia, the successor since 1974 to the empire of Haile Selassie I, holds a unique position on the African continent. It is the only African state which has never succumbed to foreign rule, if we exclude the five years of Italian occupation, and the only country of black Africa to develop its own written language. The pattern of its history is shot through with legend and romance. Even today, as it struggles to find its destiny in a new world, an air of mystery attaches to the country with its superb mountain scenery and fascinating archaeological sites. In Byzantine times it was at one period rated the third most important power in the world. Hamito-Semitic or Afro-Asian, by language and culture, and basically a product of the civilisations of the Nile and the Red Sea, it shows a closer affinity with the Middle East than with sub-Saharan Africa. Hebraic traditions run deep in the only country of its continent which can claim that its rulers have always been Christian since the fourth century.Ethiopia is a state composed of many peoples, many languages and several religions. Accurate statistics are hard to come by but it is estimated that of the present population of about 32 million, Christians of the Orthodox Coptic Church represent 60 per cent, Sunni Muslims 25 per cent, and others, including Jews, 15 per cent. There is a homogeneity in the appearance of most of the population. With the exception of small numbers of people of negroid stock along the southern and south-western borders and of Arabs on the Red Sea littoral the majority are a brown-skinned people of 'Caucasian' stock with a slight admixture of negro blood which has darkened their colour. Their features tend to be regular, many of them are tall and well built and both men and women are often strikingly handsome. The main languages of the country can be roughly divided between those of the older Hamitic or Cushitic |
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