ECONMOIC CULTURE OF TIGRAY

BY

SINTAYEHU KASSAYE

MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

 

 

 

 

                                                       April, 2006

ECONOMIC CULTURE OF TIGRAY

By Sintayehu Kassaye

Introduction

Currently, Tigreans are engaged in different and various economic occupations. Most Tigreans in the rural area, and thus the larger portion of the population get its livelihood from the direct exploitation of the land. Mixed farming is the economic field that holds the larger number of the Tigrean population. In the urban centers, inhabitants are engaged in many occupations, ranging from shoe polish activity to industrial activities. The urban population could be categorized into two: private and government engagements.

It is generally accepted that Ethiopians and particularly Tigreans are considered as hard workers. Some even had gone to the extent of considering Ethiopians as industrious. Is this common understanding real and true?  If so why are we poor and remained to be the poorest of all? Why are we living under the level of poverty? This is the genesis of the conception of this paper. The paper is intended to assess this nationally very important and the discourse of the time. Tigray is taken as a case in the study.

The initial attempt was to make an ambitious research on a very huge issue of “The Cultural History of Tigray”. This title is huge in a sense that its scope is very wide and more complex. At the beginning, this was the title I chose to work on. Thanks to the comments given by colleagues, I am obliged to limit myself to the concept of Economic Culture of the region of Tigray. This very vast and complex topic was restructured as “The Economic Culture of Tigray”.

For long, culture had been observed, investigated and treated as an independent social aspect of a particular society.  Most of the time the concept of economy was considered from the scholastic point of view of its theory and the assessment of the major determinants factors that influence economic growth. The cultural aspects of economy had been either neglected as having no importance or forgotten as anything else. Based on this, the major aim and target of this paper is to fill this gap (in which the role of culture in economic development and growth was neglected). This paper tries to analyze the relationship that existed between culture and economy. Within this great idea are included the culture of work, the culture of saving, and the role of religious practices and beliefs on both work and saving, and thereby on the economic growth and development.

The concept of economic culture is not a simple issue. It is more complex and wider in scope. Even though there is nothing exhaustive in research, to limit such a wider conceptual analysis into a manageable scope is an important strategy in research.

Because of the above and some other reasons, thus, the study of the economic culture of Tigray is designed to concentrate on two major issues of the economy: The culture of work and the culture of saving. It mainly emphasizes on the economic aspects particularly the culture of work and the Culture of Saving which are the basic elements of economic development. With in these territories the researcher will try to address issues of traditional practices that affect the economic culture of the area and other social issues such as the philosophy of work, the culture of saving, and other matters.

As a result of the investigations, particularly concerning the culture of work, two attitudes are observed. Most informants have the stand that Ethiopian and/or Tigreans do not have the culture of work. Still some others are convinced that Ethiopians and/or Tigreans have working culture. Almost all informants agree that Ethiopians and/Tigreans do not have the culture of saving. Both stand points on the issue of the culture of work blame the Christian religious practice and beliefs for the economic backwardness of the region in particular and the country in general.

The relationship between culture and economy is significant and determinant. Culture affects economy and economy also affects culture. The reciprocative influence of economy and culture is just similar to the relationship that existed between the hen and the egg.  The issue of economy should not be limited only to the basic theories and principles formulated by scholars, and to the economic calculation of demand and supply. More over the issue of economy should not only be limited to the best government policies. In other words, the investigation and explanation for economic growth should travel beyond theories, policies and principles, and should include the cultural aspect of a particular society. Although usually culture is thought to influence economic outcomes by affecting personal conceptions, reciprocatively culture also influence and affect economic development and growth.

In this respects, two interconnected aspects of culture are pivotal and determinant: the culture of work and the culture of saving. Economic growth and development is unthinkable with out well developed and sophisticated conceptual understanding and practical application of these two aspects of culture.

These cultural aspects are also highly affected by another cultural trait-religion. Religion is one important dimension of culture. Thus religion, as Weber argued, has important consequences on economic development. This is an aspect where most economic researchers and economists have paid little attention.

For the better understanding of the issue of economic culture, attempts are made to define some key terms such as economy, culture, economic culture, culture of work, and culture of saving. The definitions are literal ones and empirical in nature. The definitions are not metaphorical but in a way a layman can understand and conceptualize.

Methodologically, the most difficult inference problem with a social science researches involves the sorting out of directions of causation with non-experimental data. In the case of this particular paper, there is the need to know not only how culture and all its accessories affect the national or regional economic performance, but also there is the intention and worry about the reciprocative effect, i.e. economic development influence on culture. The influence of economy on culture has, in fact, been the focus of a substantial literature. This means it is believed and said that the development of economy will greatly affect the cultural aspects of society. Generally speaking, economic growth brings about better and progressive culture. Thus the focus of this paper is on the influence of culture on economy. I think this is the one that had been denied attention for long.

This research will basically be the product of empirical and observational analysis.  This is supported by field works, interview, questionnaire, and literature consultations. Principally, the research is qualitative in method.  In this post-modernist period, indigenous or local knowledge matters than the so-called ‘official knowledge’, which is universally accepted without the recognition of contextual circumstances and the right of preferential thought. I personally preferred such qualitative research because a substantiated idea of a person could be much greater, important and influential than a reluctantly filled data and mass thought. On the other hand, no one has the right to neglect the idea of a practitioner. A peasant around Shire knows more about the agricultural system of his area than an agriculturalist from any higher institution or the academia in general. Wukro is not the same as London or Washington from where most theories and principles emerged. The circumstances in which universal theories and principles formulated are not similar with the situations here in our area. In most cases ‘official knowledge’ is the brainchild of western scholars. These scholars formulated their theories without considering the circumstances elsewhere. Ethiopian peasants, or Ethiopian ‘industrialist’, or Ethiopian child grew in a different situations and circumstances. There could not be a general principle that can rule the American industrialist, peasant and child with that of Ethiopia.  The Angolan or Somalian situations are very different from the western circumstances. So, what we know here locally is equally important for us. Hence, the idea of a peasant in Shire is equally impressive for the issue at hand. A substantiated practitioner’s knowledge is important in its area. This is the genesis for the preference of qualitative method of research.

I have traveled to Addis Ababa to consult some literature documents in the internationally reputed library of the IES-Institute of Ethiopian Studies. This effort enabled me to frame the conceptual understanding of the key terms related to the theme of Economic Culture, the historical background of the people of Tigray and the cultural manifestations and traditions of the region or the country. Evidences to the core issue of the research are expected to be obtained from field works. Accordingly, I have traveled from mekelle to Shire for the purpose of collecting data. Because of shortage of time, the other parts of the region are represented by informants communicated here in the campus. This includes the summer students. Even though it is not complete, therefore, I can confidently conclude that I have explored the whole of Tigray because there is a representative idea at hand.

There is also a plan to conduct workshop on this issue of national importance. The workshop will consist of representatives of all Zones of the region of Tigray. The research approach to completion after the workshop participants enriched and commented upon the thence findings. The workshop is expected to consolidate the findings at hand and also attempt to find solutions for some investigated problems related to economic culture.

Almost all evidences at hand attest that we need education, and thereby attitudinal change to improve our economy. For these to take place the state and the society should work in hand and glove. Particularly a lot is expected from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Muslim Affairs in teaching and encouraging the people for work. Both religious centres better teach their laities about the need for work on the bases of the holly books. Through the mass Media, the state should also encourage its citizens to work with out any discrimination. Citizens should be ready to work any kind of work. It can also assist its people by making available trained expertise, by developing education and the like. At the same time, the state should also be very sensitive to hear grievances of the people. It has to avoid the principle of “copy-paste” application. It should be ready and devoted to the utilization of indigenous knowledge rather than worshiping the ferengies.

The hitherto investigation clearly show that Ethiopians and/or Tigreans do not have the culture of work and saving. We Ethiopians and/or Tigreans are living without any plan and culture of work and saving. We know nothing about planned life. We work more hours, with very backward technology or sometimes without the help of means of labour, for a handful of yield, and paradoxically expend more than what we produced. All these problems are the product of much precedence of traditional practices and laws. These include religious practices, lack of education, lack of good governance, lack of concern, and the like.

Currently, there are some efforts to develop the culture of work and productivity but with full of repercussions that need the attention of all Ethiopians and above all the government. An important progress is on the way. This is the cutting of holidays that retard the working force from using all days for work.

Although there are some attempts to improve the economic culture of the country in general there are many problems that need attention. And the basic question (how can we come out of this poor economic performance?) needs thorough discussion and investigation. This is the reason behind the call for a workshop in October.

 

 

 “….the practical thing for a travel, who is uncertain of his path, is not to proceed with the utmost rapidity in the wrong direction: it is to consider how to find the right one.” (Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, p. 45)      

Survey of the Land and the people

The Land

Ethiopia has about 1.115 million km2 or 111.5 million hectares land area. Roughly,  the country possessed around 74 to 80 million hectares of fertile land of which only 16.5 million hectares is cultivated. And this is mainly located in the high lands of the country. This means it only 14.7% of the fertile area is utilized for agricultural purposes.  In general senses, Ethiopia is considered as having a good potential of resources but the actual situation is quite different. Paradoxically, most Ethiopians are living in poverty. And one of the objectives of this paper is to indicate some of the reasons behind this paradox.

It is common to hear that most Ethiopians are proud that their country is rich and paradoxically most Ethiopians are living even below the level of poverty. Is really Ethiopia rich in her natural resource? I raised this question not to find answers, but to storm the minds of readers. Most Ethiopians agree that Ethiopia is rich, because it is believed that it endowed with plenty and abundant potential natural resources such as, high number of man power, large population of livestock, a large water body with water resources such as fish, minerals, and etc. Moreover Ethiopia is also lucky in consisting of various plant life, including such cereals as wheat, barely, miller, teff, --- Coffee is also originated here in Ethiopia.

The country has also potentially rich center of attractions that means tourist centers. The basic questions here are why Ethiopians are living below poverty? Why the economies of the country, almost in all sectors reflect poor performance?  Before attempting to answer these seemingly two but one question, the assessment of the economic structure of the country will help the easy understanding of the economic system and gives as a clue to the above basic inquiry.

Ethiopia cover a total area of  around 113,000,000 hectares, It is one of  the largest  landmass in Africa  epigraphically depresses diverse physical Features, Lowlands, high land plains ranging from about 500 meters below sea level /Dallol  Depression/  to over  4, 600 meters above sea level /the semen mountain of Raw Dashen/ respectively. The high land area covers 35-40% of the total land. There many is low land. 

   In her climate Ethiopia experienced, three weather that are associated with the topographic nature and locally known as Qolla,    woyna Dega   and Dega. The Qolla climate is the hot area, and the Woyna Dega is the moderate, and the Dega one is the cool area of the country respectively.

                        Dega: 2300-3200 m. m above sea level

                                                   1200-2200 m.m year rain falls

                                                   16 degree centigrade means annual temperature

.

                         Woyna Dega: where most of the agricultural is found.

-         1800-2300 m.m above sea level

-         800-1400 m.m  year rain full

-         16 degree centigrade -29 degree centigrade mean annual temperature.

A substantial portion of Tigray, Wollo, and Gondar are considered as “Dry Woyna Dega” and have a mean rainfall between 300mm-800mm

                            Q0lla:     - 500m-1500m above sea level

-         30 degree centigrade-27 degree centigrade mean annual temperature sorghum in common cultivating. 

-         45 m.m annual rain full

-         manly habited by pastorals

The People

Tigreans are descendants of the ancient Axumites who were neither Tigreans nor Amhara but who were speaking Geez and other foreign languages such as Greek and Sabean. Their descendants were the people of the kingdom Da’mat. They were Da’amatese. Tigreans are considered as one branch of the ancient Axumites who belong to the Semitic language family. These people, together with other ethnically affiliated peoples, used to inhabit the north eastern and northwestern regions of modern Ethiopia. Through linguistic evolution, the Semitic peoples of Northern Ethiopia developed diverse culture: and one of the societies that branched off from those Geez speakers of the Axumites was the Tigreans. (Sargaw H/Selassie, “Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1527” pp, 59-68)

This society, as part of the Axumites, accepted Christianity in the 4th century A.D. The religion of Islam is also introduced into this part of the Axumite society beginning from the 8th century mainly through Dahlak and the commercial port of Adulis (Bahru Zewude, 1998, pp 33-38.) Through evolution, Tigreans developed their own specific culture such as the Tigrean language (derived from Geez) and ways of life. Today they have diverse cultural practices that need to be studied, publicized and documented to the new and the coming generation. 

In the 19th century Tigre had been subdivided into Hamazain (Hamassen), Serowee (Seraye), Kaligooza (Akale-Guzay), Agamee, Tegray Proper, Shire, Adiabo, Temben, Inderta, Woggerat (Wajirat), and Siloa. (Plowden, p. 39) Geographically Plowden described Tigray as a country “with no heavy rain, its soil in most parts remarkably stony and the locust frequently occasion a scarcity of corn.” (P.39) But according to Wylde, the northern part of the Ethiopian region had been very attractive and fertile. Some foreign travelers “enjoyed the scenery and the happy reminiscences of days passed in this charming country.” (Wylde, p.140) While crossing Tigray and Eritrea, Wylde described his journey in the region as follows:

 A lovely march to Axum, all nature blithe and gray and at its best; birds singing and busy building their nests, butter flies in myriads, and of all colors, flying over the flowers, bees hard at work, mimosa trees are mass of bright golden balls, or lades with nearly white battle- brushed flowers, and the lovely mimosa with a prim rose bloom which ends with a rose colored tassel, the most beautiful of all. (Wylde, p.140)

The region of Tigray experienced ‘a long series of population movements and displacement over the centuries” for a number of reasons. (Tsegay, p.219)  This situation made ancient Tigray “a vast plat form of early Cushitic, Nilo-Saharan and Semitic interaction which were clearly the early bases for the evolution of the pre-Axumite and Axumite civilization.” (Ibid)   Ancient inscriptions contain references to ‘black’ and ‘red’ people in the area which is probably an indication of the early ethnic diversity among the inhabitants of the region. The ‘black’ may refer to the Nilo-Saharans and the ‘red’ may indicate the rest of the population of the region, most probably the Cushitic and Semitic groups of the community of the Horn.

In ancient time that is before the development of Amharic and Tigrinna as languages, it was very difficult to distinguish the Amhara from the Tigrean because both were speaking Geez. The undistinguished people of the region of Ethiopia developed the ancient kingdom of Axum. And even before the development of Axum they had a very ancient state known as Damat that belongs to period before the birth of Christ. It was the gradual geographical isolation from one another that eventually brought about ethnic and political separation between the Amhara and the Tigreans and the rest peoples of the region. The Tigreans who remained confined in the North claim to be purer than the Amhara who made some blending with the rest of the people of the Ethiopian region in the South. The Tigreans also claim to be the “founders of Coptic Christianity” because the kingdom of Axum where Christianity had been first officialized in the 4th century is located in modern Tigray. (Lipsky, P. 39)

The Tigreans and the Amhara are the most stable societies both in culture and social structure and thus they are most resistant to change. As a society both are conservatives with a strong element of fatalism. They believe in that everything happens by the “will of God”. And thus for them the ordinary man can do little to affect the course of events. Everything was explained in terms of the Ye-arba-qan-idl. (Predetermined fate of the human creature)

Describing the people of Tigray Plowden said the following:

Tigreans are “a race quick to anger but bearing little malice- eager, individually brave, faithful to their masters and their friends with less ceremony and more heart than their nieghbours- intending well, but wanting in the execution- united in their plan action, but disunited in the battle.”  (Plowden, p.39-40)

In any way as a result of long and layered process of population interaction in the North, the region of Tigray remained consisting of more than six linguistic communities with varying degree of cultural blend. These are Afar, Agaw, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinna speakers, Kunama and the Raya Azebo Oromo. Actually today the region of Tigray consisted predominantly of three ethnic groups, namely Tigre and Tigrinna speakers, Kunama and Erop.

The region consisted of the two major and dominant religions- Christianity and Islam.

We find both religious practices in urban and rural centers almost everywhere in he region. Economically, the majority of the people of Tigray are engaged in agriculture, and there are some communities that are active in trade. There are some pastoralists most probably among the Kunama. The commercial engagements, which are mainly dominated by the Muslim community, rage from small scale trading activities, locally known as Gulit, to large scale trading activities. Some members of the society of the region also engaged in handicraft technology such as weaving, Iron smiths, carpentry, construction and the like.

 Many Tigreans are rural dwellers, and hence most of them are farmer paradoxically, most Tigreans do not have enough food to eat. They live in small huts with one or two rooms. Neither Tigray nor the country-Ethiopia- could raises or import enough food to feed its large population The region repeatedly suffered from disastrous famine and the consequentially many Tigreans died and displaced. Significant number of them engaged in begging activities.

Educationally, most Tigreans are illiterate. They do not read and write. 

           

            Table I: Educational Data

Educational Situations

Urban Centers

Rural areas

Total

Literate

Male

Female

Total

 

 

 

104,379

184,378

288,757

87,426

63,392

150,818

191,805

247,770

439,675

Illiterate

Male

Female

Total

 

 

 

41,801

706,076

747,877

100,931

855,046

955,977

142,732

1,561,122

1,703,854

Source: (the EthiopianStatistics Authority, statistical abstract, 1997)

 

Religious composition:  Most Tigreans are Christians particularly Orthodox Christians as you can see it from the table below. There are also significant numbers of Muslims. And our economic culture is very closely related to our religious beliefs and practices.

Table 2: Religious Composition

Religion

Male

Female

Total

Christianity

Orthodox

1,471,492

1,520,813

2,992,305

Protestant

566

570

1,136

Catholic

4,076

6,414

12,489

Islam

 

62,632

65,025

127,657

Others

 

1,400

1,280

2,680

Total

 

 

 

 

(Source: the Ethiopian Statistics Authority, statistical abstract, 1997)

 

 Table 3:   Consolidated table of population status of Tigray   

Population Status

Urban

Rural

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

1.Total population (3,136,267)

214,066

254,412

468,478

1,328,099

1,339,690

2,667,789

2.Total Pop. by Age

0-9

10-14

15-24

25-49

50-64

Above 64

 

 

 

 

 

 

66,279

65,602

131,851

435,715

420,003

855,718

33,769

33,409

69,178

185,276

162,420

347,704

40,374

53,292

93,666

242,812

258,440

501,252

51,074

66,897

117,971

289,205

337,027

626,232

14,448

22,508

36,956

115,540

115,652

237,192

8,122

10,704

18,826

59,551

46,140

105,691

3.Religion

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christianity

Orthodox

Protestant

catholic

 

 

 

 

 

 

185,004

224,253

409,257

1,286,488

1,296,560

2,583,048

430

402

832

136

168

304

1,203

1,224

2,427

4,872

5,190

10,062

Islam

27,197

28,353

55,550

35,435

36,672

72,107

Traditional

11

13

24

11

18

29

Others

53

36

89

70

92

162

Not stated

168

131

299

1,087

990

2,077

4.Disabled = 90,742

Below 15 years old= 12,940

15-49 years old =38,465

50 and above =39,337

 

 

18,748?

 

 

71,742?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.Education (above ten years old)

Illiterate=1,703,854

Literate=439,575

 

 

 

 

 

 

41,801

100,931

142,732

706,076

855,046

1,561,122

104,379

87,426

191,805

184,378

63,392

247,770

6.Economic Status (Above 10)

active=1,492,339

Inactive=644,795

Not stated=9,822

 

 

 

 

 

 

76,200

65,482

141,682

717,329

633,328

1,350,657

69,412

122,279

191,691

170,745

282,159

453,104

1,030

892

1,922

3,805

4,095

7,900

7.Migrational issues

Migrants

Not stated

 

 

 

 

 

 

102,602

125,189

227,761

158,968

164,831

323,799

2,249