Ethiopia+Culture

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The People
The proper name for citizens of Ethiopia, is Ethiopian. The country has 82 million people that represent the follow ethnic groups and their percentage of the populartion: Oromo 34.5%, Amhara 26.9%, Tigre 6.1%, Somali 6.2%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Wolaita 2.3%, Afar 1.7%, other nationalities 3%. They speak Amharic as their official language as well as Tigrinya, Arabic, Guaragigna, Oromifa, English, Somali. English is the most spoken foreign language and is taught in all the secondary schools. Only 88% of children attend elementary school while only 43% of those students are literate. For work, 80% of the population work in agriculture while the other 20% are involved in industry and commerce. (Background Note: Ethiopia, 2011)



Government
They work within a system of a Federal Public government with branches being the executive (president) branch with the Council of State, Council of Ministers with the executive power residing with the Prime Minister. The legislative branch is filled with thebicameral parliament and the judicial branch is divided into federal and regional courts. ([|Background Note: Ethiopia, 2011])

Beliefs
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.6%, remainder indigenous beliefs. Christianity first entered Ethiopia when two Syrian Christians were traveling and stopped to preach about their faith. They convinced the King that their religion was superior to the others and he quickly converted. Soon after the King changed religions he decreed that Christianity would now be the main faith in his land. They follow Orthodox Christianity and few are Roman Catholic and Protestant. They firmly believe in fasting and do not eat meat or dairy products on those days. They believe that in order to gain forgiveness for the previous years sins, they must fast and maintain a rigorous prayer schedule. The only ones with exceptions to the fasting rules are those who are travelling, sick, or weak while those who do partake in the fasts will do so for their whole life until they are unable to any longer. During the fasting time, Ethiopians may only consume one meal which is eaten after their daily service around 9 o'clock in the afternoon Ethiopian time. On the weekends the meal is eaten after the morning service. Vegetarian meals such as lentils, ground split peas, grains, fruit, varieties of vegetable stew accompanied by injera and/or bread are only eaten during fasting days. Meat and diary products are only eaten on feasting days for example Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and at all other times. (Ethiopian Treasures, 2011)

Gender Roles
In Ethiopia, men and women have clearly defined roles. Typical male roles leave them responsible for providing for the family and for managing family contact outside the home. Typical female roles give them responsibility over all the domestic work and looking after children. Many people continue to follow these roles, but life is constantly moving forward including the role of men and women. This can be seen especially in urban areas where women have started to take a major role in all areas of employment and men are beginning to take a greater role in the home.

Clothing
The traditional Ethiopian outfit is made of woven cotton. Ethiopian men and women wear traditional clothing called gabbi or Netella. Women will wear dresses and netella with mostly borders of colored embroidered crosses, but other designs are also used. Other ethnic groups in the south and west of the country wear different clothing that reflect their own traditions. Some groups of people partially cover their body with leather but others do not wear any clothes at all and instead decorate their faces and bodies with distinctive images. (Ethiopian Treasures, 2011)

Music
Ethiopia does not have just one style of music. It is just as diverse as the people that make up this country. Each ethnic group has a style that reflects their life. Most styles reflect folk music and originate from the horn of Africa, but Ethiopian music does have a strong Christian style influence.

Food and Drink
The Ethiopian national dish is called wat which is a hot spicy stew served with injera that tastes like a spongy pancake. Teff is a type of flower that is unique to the country and is grown on the Ethiopian highlands. Wat can be made with chicken, beef, lamb, vegetables, lentils, and ground split peas stewed with hot spice called berbere. This is made of dried red hot pepper, herbs, spices, dried onions, dried garlic and salt ingredients. The food is eaten with fingers by ripping off a piece of injera and dipping it in the wat. Jews and Muslims do not eat pork as it forbidden by their religious beliefs.

Ethiopia's most popular drink is bunna, this is what we call coffee. Bunna is consumed in a unique way known as a coffee ceremony. The ceremony begins by the coffee being roasted then ground and placed in a Jebena also known as a coffee pot with boiling water. When completed it is then delivered to people in little cups which they may get up to three times per ceremony. Other popular beverages in Ethiopia are tella and tej, which are served for major religious festivals and weddings. Tella and tej can also be found in numerous designated commercial houses all over the country. (Ethiopian Treasures, 2011)



Family Structure
Parents are stricter with their daughters than their sons. Most often because of this, parents give more freedom to males than females. Like seen in many cultures, men were never thought of to do house work or cooking because it was seen as a woman's job to take care of the home, their husband, and the children. This view continues to be held in many areas of Ethiopia still today. (Ethiopian Treasures, 2011)

Created by Kelly Woods © kkwoods@ilstu.edu Date Created: November 28, 2011 Date Last Modified: December 6, 2011