Judaism in Ethiopia

It is known that Judaism were practiced side by side in Ethiopia long before the introduction of Christianity, according to the tranditional sources. Judaism is not a popular religion in Ethipia, but there are still a few percent of people who are Jews. The Jewish people in Ethiopia are called Beta-Israel, or Falashas. The religion of the Falashas is a modified form of Mosaic Judaism. Menelik, son of King Solomon of Israel and the queen of Sheba, is claimed as the ancestor of the Falashas.

The Falashas also celebrates both scriptural and nonscriptural feast days, and one of the Falasha nonscriptural feast day is the Commemoration of Abraham. Masjid, or synagogue, centers the Falasha religious life.

Ethiopia struggle

Ethiopia’s main opposition, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) says the struggle in Ethiopia is a struggle for democracy, and it hopes the United States will stand on the side of those fighting for democracy in Ethiopia.

In July this year, the Ethiopian government pardoned and released from prison 38 of the country’s top opposition leaders. They had been arrested and charged with treason in a government crackdown following the 2005 parliamentary elections. Now a five-man delegation of the opposition CUD is in the United States.

Education in Ethiopia

Education in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is divded in to elementry school, low grade of middle school and higher grade of middle school altogether add up 6 years of education, and usually people in the country side of Ethiopia does not go to school, because their parents do no think that they must go to school, and make them to work in church and educate them in church, and in Ethiopia, usually foreigners are not allowed in local Ethiopian school, and there are few schools made for foreigners in Ethiopia.

The stone churches in Lalibia

In the 13^th century, in the mountain areas in the heart of Africa, lies carved stone churches. Lalibia known to be the holiest city in Ethiopia. Churches dug out from the rock bed of the mountains. These churches were said to be inspired by angels.

In northern Ethiopia there are eleven scared churches, which have been up since the 12^th century, they are a special kind of stone church, and they are rock hewn churches. They were all carved from under the earth, that makes the roof the same level to the ground. They where built

under the rule of King Lalibela.

By - Viki

Timkat Ceremony

One of Ethiopia's largest cities, Gondar, celebrates the Timkat Ceremony every January 19. The Timkat Ceremony is a Christian event where the celebrate Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River by reenacting the holy ceremony. The Timkat Ceremony takes place in the Fasilides Castle,which is outside town in the Royal Enclosure. They would have a model Ark wrapped around in cloth. Visitors from all over the world will come over just to prove the Timkat Ceremony.

During dawn, they have royal bath where people sprinkle water all over the people. They carry colorful umbrellas which stands that the cityspace had unforgotten colors. The people perform wonderful dances and songs. The children run around hollering and playing games. At dusk, where the Ark is carried back to it's home church, that's when the Timkat Ceremony ends.

Thanks to:
http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/timkat

Islam in Ethiopia

Islam in Ethiopia

Islam is said to be the second most practiced religion in Ethiopia. The first most practiced religion is Christianity. Islam has over twenty-five million followers that are Ethiopian which has been devoted to Islam. The earliest city in Ethiopia that was the earliest Muslim settlement is a city in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, that city is called Negash.

The first few Muslims in Ethiopia are said to be refugees from where Muslim originated: the city of Mecca. Those Muslims, of course, was received by the ruler of Ethiopia during that time who has himself Arabic traditions. The ruler was named Aṣḥama ibn Abjar. Ashama later settled those Muslims in Negash, and that is why Negash is the city in Ethiopia of the earliest Muslim settlement.

Christianity in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the only pre- colonial church.

There is a population of 40million people in the church.

Around 58% of Ethiopia is a Christian people

Christianity already existed before 330AD but they started off mainly in 330AD

They spread from North to south Ethiopia very fast.

The Christianity was brought with new idea during the time when Africa was colonized by Europe.

These are the facts on Christianity in Europe

Government of Ethiopia

The Government of Ethiopia is Federal republic which is a federation of states with a republican form of government. Ethiopia adopted a new constitution that established Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1994. A constitution is a system for government that defines the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government.

The federal state is headed by a presidentand the federal government by an executive prime minister who is accountable to the council of peoples' Representative.Each autonomous (self-governing) state is headed by a state president elected by the state council. The judicary is constitutionally independent.

Thanks to:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Ethiopia
www.mfa.gov.et/Facts_About_Ethiopia/Government_Political_System.php

The Majestic Lammergeier Vulture

The Lammergeier Vulture, also known as the Bearded Vulture-Eagle, is one of the oldest vultures known to the world. This vulture is known to reside in the high mountains of southern Europe, Africa, India, and Tibet. This vulture is a very heavy yet graceful bird. It can be 95-125cm long and weigh 5-7kg. However unlike most vultures the Lammergeier Vulture has large, narrow winds and long tail feathers. The colors of this vulture are mud brown, black, grey, and rustic color. This beautiful bird is one of the rarest birds in the world.


The Lammergeier Vulture lives in various places across the world. Its habitat is mainly in the mountain terrain. From mid December to med February these birds breed. Females lay 1-2 eggs. One bird’s life span is around 25 years. In the harsh mountains the vultures scavenge most of their food. One method they are famous for is dropping bones from great heights then eating the bone marrow. The Bearded Vulture-Eagle’s diet consists of 90% bone marrow. This rare and astonishing bird has been on this earth for a very long time and has many techniques!

By: Tiana Marrese
Thanks To: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammergeier

Green Hunger in Ethiopia

Although everything is fairly green in Ethiopia, people are still suffering from hunger. They call this green hunger. This type of hunger has been a long struggle in Ethiopia, some cases worse than others. This type of hunger is odd for Ethiopia because the country is considered a source of water, but it still has droughts. Also, Ethiopia is a huge producer in corn, but it still needs millions of dollars of aid each year.

The population of Ethiopia is growing by 10% each year, this is a major factor of green hunger. The number of people in Ethiopia has doubled since the mid 1980s. Many children do not receive enough nutrition and are dying. Some say that the economy is a cause of this hunger because the government has control over the major industries and don't allow people to own land. Other causes are the continuous growing of food price and droughts.

These are starting to bring back the memories of the 1984 famine, which caused the death of 1 million.

Thanks to:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/08/10/ethiopia_struggles_with_green_hunger/

The Nile and Ethiopia

Blue Nile (Arabic Al Baḩr al Azraq), river in northeastern Africa, 1,370 km (850 mi) long. It rises at an altitude of 1,830 m (6,000 ft) in the region of Lake T’ana, in northwestern Ethiopia, flows south and then west in Ethiopia, and follows a northwestern course in Sudan before merging, at Khartoum, with the White Nile to form the Nile proper. The Blue Nile, which contributes about two-thirds of the water of the Nile, is known as the Abbai in Ethiopia, where it, in part, flows through a deep gorge. The river is dammed for irrigation and hydroelectricity production in Sudan.

The Blue Nile is vital for Sudan. Blue Nile produce 80% of Roseires and Sennar dam and produce the country's power. These dams also help irrigation, Gezira Plain, which is most famouse for good quality cottons. Also it produce wheat and animal feed crops

The Ethiopian wolf

The Ethiopian wolf is a bright orangery chestnut color with a long snout pointy ears and long legs. The wolves live packs. The packs are formed of about 3-13 adults and there is a about 1-7 pups in each pack at a time. The wolves although live in packs, They hunt alone. There diet consists of about 90% bring rodents that they catch. Their favorite meal is the giant mole rat. The wolf is most commmonly found 3,000m above sea level.

The wolves population is starting to dwindle down. They are becoming one f the rarest animals found on the planet. There numbers are falling because there is a lot of farming from local people and it is quickly taking up the animals hunting ground. Another reason is that the animal use to hunt in packs for larger prey but then they found an appetite fro small rodents. Since the rodent population began to fall from rising temperatures there is less prey for the wolf. The wolf is now to be and endangered animal and is soon possibly going to be critically endangered.
Endangered animal

The Gelada Baboon

The Gelada Baboon, often just called Gelada, is a species of Old World monkey, with the genus name of Theropihtecus. They are found only in the Ethiopian highlands, though scientists have discovered their fossils in other places in Africa, Asia, and along the Mediterranean. There are only 50,000 to 60,000 Geladas known to exist, however, they are not listed as endangered creatures.

Geladas are not really baboons, since their nostrils are set in a different place from true ones and they have a bright patch of skin on their chests, but many people classify them as baboons anyway. Geladas have a lifespan of more than 19 years, and can get up to 74 cm tall, and weigh up to 20 kg. They live on treeless cliffs, in order to be safe from predators, and live in packs of up to 600. They are herbivores that mainly eat grass. They have the most opposable thumb of all primates, excluding humans, which helps them in their grass picking.

Thanks to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/233.shtml
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelada

Celebrations in Ethiopia

There are quite a few celebrations in Ethiopia. To name a few are the Timkat festival, the Maskal festival, Kullubi festival, the Buhe festival, the Kullubi festival,and the Enkutatash festival. There several more and a number of holidays too.

There are about 12 holidays in Ethiopia. They list as New Years Day, Genna, Timkat, Adwa Day, Patriot's Day, International Labour Day, Ethiopian Good Friday, Fasika, Idd Al Fitr, Id Al Adha, Buhe, and the Enkutatash holidays . Some of the dates in these holidays may vary, like the Fasika which is usually on for an Easter Sunday on May, might not actually take place on Sunday. Also, some festivals like the Timkat are at the same time, holidays.

The Timkat Festival:

Current Event: Ethiopia ONLF rebels ‘seize town’
Who: Ethiopian rebels and the ONLF (Ogaden National Leberation Front) are fighting for independence for the Ogaden region.
What: The Ogaden region, wants to become independent, and now things are starting to turn violent. So far, almost 80 soldiers from the Ethiopian army have been killed. The ONLF are taking over the other countries in the region, wanting people to agree with them that they should become independent.
When: March 9, Ogaden region started holding protests, about how they should become independent.
Where: The Ogaden region, who is rich in oil, located right at the horn of Africa.
Why: The horn of Africa, rich in oil and easy access trade-routes want to be independent so they can make their won choices about what hey can do with their natural resources.
My opinion about this article is that since Ethiopia, where the Ogaden region is located, was ever colonized by any of the countries from Europe, such as France, they should keep their lifestyle. It would give them more freedom to do what they want if they were independent, but I do not think they should want independence so badly that hey need to attack surrounding towns.

Introducing the Ethiopian Highlands

Hailed as the "cradle of humanity," Ethiopia boasts a human history that dates back millions of years. At its heart lie the Ethiopian Highlands.

Home to 80 percent of Africa's tallest mountains, the highlands have helped shelter Ethiopia from foreign conquest and preserve one of the world's most distinct cultures. Ethiopia is the only African country never to have been colonized. It is also the second country after Armenia to have adopted Christianity as its official religion. The setting for this pivotal event was the northeastern highland city of Aksum, a leading civilization of the ancient world and, reportedly, the resting place for the Ark of theCovenant. To the east, Lalibela, a former capital, contains one of Christianity's most important sites -- a series of 13th century churches carved out of rock with the help of angels, according to legend.

Few spiritual heritages can lay claim to a more awe-inspiring setting. The Blue Nile courses through this region, the Great Rift Valley sprawls in its center, and the Simien and Bale Mountains enclose it on either side.

But the Ethiopian Highlands are a place of problems, as well as mystery. After 7,000 years of agriculture, the land is tiring out. Plagued by recurring drought, the area saw the worst of Ethiopia's 1985 famine. Soil erosion from clearing lands for the cultivation of coffee, Ethiopia's main export, and teff, an endemic grain, remains unchecked. Famine, long the scourge of Ethiopia, is an ever-present threat.

Still, the optimism of highlanders shines through. One Ethiopian proverb declares that when a spider's web forms, it can trap a lion. The people of the Ethiopian Highlands have managed to trap one of the world's richest cultural treasure chests.

Taken from:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/ethiopia/ethiopia_overview.html

Government of Sahel

The types of government of the countries in the Sahel region.

Burkina Faso - Parliamentary
Head of State: Blaise Compaore
Prime Minister: Ernest Paramango Yonli

Chad - Republic
President appoints the Prime Minister.
President elected by the people every five years.
President: Idress Deby
Prime Minister: Nagoum Yamassoum


The Gambia – Republic
President is the Head of State
Has a unicameral parliament, which is elected by popular vote.
Head of State/President: Yahya Jammeh

Guinea Bissall – Republic
Elects every five years.
President: Lansana Conte
Prime Minister: Lamine Sidime

Mali – Republic
Presidents are elected to 5 year terms, with a limit of two terms.
National Assembly, sole legislative arm of the government of Mali, currently consists of 116 members.
Prime Minister: Maumoon Abdul
President: Maumoon Abdul

Niger – Republic, emerging for military rule
Prime Minister: Amadou, Hama
President: Tandja, Mamadou

Senegal – Multi-Party Democratic republic
Prime Minister: Seck, Idrissa
President: Wade, Abdoulaye

Sudan – Military Government
President: Al-Bashir, Umar Hasan Ahmad, Lt. Gen.


*Republic: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizen entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law. (dictionary.com)

*Parliamentary: government by a body of cabinet ministers who are chosen from and responsible to the legislature and act as advisers to a nominal chief of state (dictionary.com)

*Military government: a government in defeated territory administered by the military commander of a conquering nation (dictionary.com)

*Democratic Republic: a form of government embodying democratic principles and where a monarch is not the head of state (dictionary.com)

A Current Event

Who: A Women named Hadizatou
What: In Niger a women named Hadizatou was bought as a slave for $500 in 1996 when she was just twelve. Since then she worked hard to bring her case to the officials which brought her, her freedom.
When: This story is based on two events one where Hadizatou was bought as a slave in 1996 and after getting her freedom she was honored a Woman of Courage award in 2009.
Where: The storty took place in Niger.
Why: She was bought as a slave so she would work for the man who bought. she wanted to earn her freedom so she brougth the case to the officials which was recognized as her working really hard to end slavery, this is why she got the award.

Struggles In The Sahel

The Sahel is one is the poorest and economically damaged place on EARTH due to soil erosions, droughts, deforestation, decertification, insignificant irrigation, and over population. Most of the Sahel region is unusable land. For example, the people cannot grow crops due to the soil, or the area is to small to hold enough people. The countries in the Sahel are Burkino Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Sudan.
Soil Erosion
Cause: Farmers chop down trees, and remove the roots from the ground, to use the bark as border lines, to make houses, and to make fire.
Effect: With all of the roots pulled out of the soil, the soil no longer is tightly packed, and becomes loose and crumbly. The farmers can no longer use the soil to grow crops, and when it rains, all of the soil slides down onto plants damaging them, and covering houses in mud.

Droughts
Cause: Sahel region rarely receives any rain due to its location near the equator. This causes droughts.
Effect: With no rain, farmers cannot grow crops, everything goes dry, animals and people die because they have no water to drink, and no food.

Deforestation
Cause: People cut down trees and use them for shelter, warmth for fire, and more land to live on.
Effect: Most of the land in the Sahel region is unusable due to soil erosion, and deforestation. If there is usable land with many trees, almost everyone would want to move there, and that place would soon become over populated. Then, with everyone using the resources in that area, that area would be unusable soon.

Decertification
Cause: Decertification is when the desert spreads
Effect: It is caused by too many people cutting down plants, and the over use of land. With more and more land not being able to use anymore, people migrate to another area where resources might be more rich. With everyone moving, the Sahel expands, and the people re-use the land all the time.
These are the 4 major reasons why the Sahel region is considered one of the poorest, and economically damaged place on Earth.

Desertification in Sahara(Tuareg)

Group of people in Tuareg are having political unrest struggles. They are struggling about desertification. The desertification is eating away at Niger's usable sand. So many people are immigrating to Algeria or Libya. Tuareg are blaming on climate, but also they are blaming at government. “The first drought has was characterized by the authorizes not helping people need, and more dangerous than the government didn't care at all”said the Tuareg people

Sahel Colonization

France and Great Britan colonized most of the Sahel region

Burkina Faso- France
Chad - France
The Gambia- Great Britain
Guinea Bissau- Germany
Mali- France
Niger- France
Senegal- France
Sudan- Great Britain
Eritrea- Italy
Nigeria- Great Britain
Mauritania- France

Introduction on Sahel

The Sahel region is a semi-arid region locate near the north of Africa. The Sahel Region is a band the crosses Africa.. This band covers 1,178,800 square miles of Africa and is about 620 miles wide. This region gets roughly 200mm north and 600mm south rainfall each year. The Sahel region covers many countries such as Chad, Mali, Niger, and even Sudan. Many people populate this region however most of the people are semi-nomads. These people farm and raise livestock. Main crops are millets and peanuts. The region of Sahel has been struck by many disasters such as a drought that lasted 6 years and a widely spread famine. Since these disasters have struck this region the Sahel is now know to be the poorest and most environmentally damaged place on earth.

Sahara Region (Colonized)

Colony means any people or territory separated from but subject to a ruling power. (from Dictionary.com)

These are the countries in the Sahara Region that were colonized:

Libya-Italian
Algeria- French
Chad-French
Niger-French
Egypt-British
Morocco-French
Western Sahara-French
Tunisia-French
Sudan-British
Mali-French
Mauritania-French

Here's a picture showing the countries that were colonized:

Political Unrest in the Sahara

One of the Sahara region, Niger has political unrest problems. Niger is one of the most poorest countries in the world, and the Niger Nomads are fighting for their right against their government as the 'terrorist MNJ'. Nomads are saying that they are not even considered as citizens in Niger, and they said that they have no development and always suffer from disease and hunger.
This is one of the biggest political problems in the Sahara region. On 2007, July, the MNJ terrorist group had kidnapped one of the Chinese engineers, they had killed more than 70 soldiers, so the government call MNJ group as “Bandits” or “drug dealers”. MNJ group is made of mostly with Tuareg people and Niger nomadic people.

Sahara Region's-Countries

Countries in the Sahara
The countries in the Sahara region are:
Mauritania
Mali
Sudan
Libya
Algeria
Chad
Niger
Egypt
Morocco
Western Sahara
Tunisia
These countries are mainly in the northern part of Africa. Shown here in this map

If you look at a physical map you find some similarities in these countries. The most obvious physical similarity is that all of these countries are in the Sahara desert, hence the name of the Sahara desert. The Sahara desert covers 25% of Africa and is spreading at an alarming rate due to desertification. This are is also known as the Arab Influenced Africa, while below it is known as “Black” Africa

Countries in the Sahel

Countries in the Sahel are a semi-arid tropical savanna region and they border the Sahara Desert. The Sahel region is 200-400 meters in elevation and used to have florishing kingdoms that benefited from trade. Unfortunatley, the Sahel is suffering from many diffculties today.

COUNTRY POPULATION AREA
BURKINA FASO 1322800 274000
CHAD 10780600 1284000
THE GAMBIA 1700000 10380
GUINEA-BISSAU 1586000 36544
MALI 11995402 1250192
NIGER 1327679 1267000
SENEGAL 11658000 196723
SUDAN 39379358 2505813

The Sahara Introduction

Sahara is a well known word around the whole world, but most people don't really know what it means. Sahara means desert in Arabic. The Sahara is a vast region that covers 25% of Africa. It has been and still is the largest desert in the whole world. Sahara has been the gateway for other countries to go in to Africa. Continents like Europe, North America, and South America have been mining oil, buying salt, trading slaves and other mineral products smoothly through the gateways of Africa. The picture above shows one of the oldest visible stone walls in the Sahara.

Types of governments of the countries in Sahara region:

The types of government of the countries in Saharan region.

Mauritania – Republic
Mali – Republic
Sudan – Republic
Libya – Military dictatorship
Algeria – Republic
Chad – Republic
Niger – Republic
Egypt – Republic
Morocco – Constitutional monarchy
Tunisia - Republic
Western Sahara – Status and sovereignty unresolved

Definitions:

Republic: The form of government in which the administration of affairs is open to all the citizens.
Military dictatorship: The form of government wherein the political power resides within the military.
Constitutional monarchy: a form of monarchy in which the ruler is limited by a constitution. Usually the limitations take the form of a need to consult and representative body or religious authorities.

Wecome to Our Adventure Through Africa

This is a place where students can combine experiences, knowledge, thoughts and feelings on the subject of Africa. Already we have learned lots about the Sahara, and Sahel regions. There are five regions left to study, and each region will be rich experience. Use this space to post blogs, and comment on others.