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Ethiopia Social Relations
Ethiopia's ethnic and cultural diversity has affected
social relations. Most lowland people are geographically and
socially isolated from the highland population. Moreover,
rural inhabitants, who constitute about 89 percent of the
total population, generally live their lives without coming
into contact with outsiders. Exposure to other ethnic groups
usually occurs by means of relatively limited contact with
administrators, tax collectors, and retail merchants. By
contrast, the towns are a mosaic of social and ethnic
diversity. Since the early 1940s, towns fulfilling
administrative and economic functions have proliferated. In
Addis Ababa, it is common for families and groups from
disparate social and economic classes to live side by side.
Only in recent years, with unprecedented urbanization, have
upper-income residential zones emerged. Smaller urban
centers have tended to be fairly homogeneous in ethnic and
religious makeup. But with increasing urbanization, towns
are expected to be the scene of increased interaction among
different ethnic groups and social classes.
Traditionally, among the most important factors in social
relations in Ethiopia has been religion (see
Religious Life,
this ch.). Ethiopian emperors nurtured the country's
identity with Christianity, although there were at least as
many Muslims as Christians in the country. Although the
imperial regime did not impose Orthodox Christianity on
Muslims and pagans, very few non-Christians held high
positions in government and the military. In many cases,
Muslims gravitated to commerce and trade, occupations
relatively untainted by religious discrimination.
The Mengistu regime downplayed the role of religion in the
state's life and disestablished the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. Moreover, the 1987 constitution guaranteed freedom
of religion. In principle, all religions had equal status in
relation to the state.
Muslims live throughout Ethiopia, but large concentrations
can be found in Bale, Eritrea, Harerge, and Welo. Muslims
also belong to many ethnic groups, a factor that may prevent
them from exerting political influence commensurate with
their numbers. Centuries of conflict between the Christian
kingdom and its Muslim antagonists, recent apprehensions
about Arab nationalism, and Arab support for Eritrean
separatism and Somali irredentism all continue to perpetuate
Ethiopian historical fears of "Islamic encirclement." Such
historically rooted religious antagonism has persisted in
creating a social barrier between Christians and Muslims.
Those who profess traditional religious beliefs are
interspersed among Christians and Muslims. Such groups
include the Sidama, the Gurage, the Oromo of Arsi and
Borana, and the Nilotic groups along the Ethiopia-Sudan
border. They have no political influence and are scorned
socially by Muslims and Christians.
The existence of more than seventy languages has been
another barrier to social communication and national
integration. The imperial government, recognizing the
importance of a national language, adopted Amharic as the
official tongue. The use of Amharic became mandatory in
government, education, radiobroadcasts, and newspapers. But
the government's promotion of Amharic entailed the
suppression of other major languages, which aroused
opposition and accusations of cultural imperialism. Language
policy changed under the Mengistu regime, which attempted to
reverse the trend by dropping Amharic as a requirement in
schools for non-Amharic speakers. The new policy recognized
several languages widely spoken in specific areas--such as
Oromo, Tigrinya, Welamo, and Somali--for use in schools at
the lower levels (see
Primary and Secondary Education since
1975, this ch.). Addis Ababa also authorized the use of the
five languages mentioned above, as well as Afar, in
radiobroadcasts and literacy campaigns. Nevertheless,
Amharic remained the language of government, and anyone who
aspired to a national role had to learn to speak and write
Amharic.
The most preferred occupations traditionally have been in
government, the military, the clergy, and farming, with
commerce and trade considered less important and
consequently usually left to Muslims and foreigners. All
major Ethiopian ethnic units include hereditary groups of
artisans and craftsmen. Their occupations historically have
been held in low esteem by the dominant groups. Prior to
1974, artisans and craftsmen could not own land or hold
political office and could not participate in local meetings
or assemblies. Dominant groups in their respective areas
generally treated them as subjects.
Social status in Ethiopia during the centuries of imperial
rule depended on one's landholdings, which provided the
basis for class formation and social stratification. The
emperor, the nobility, and landlords occupied the social
hierarchy's highest positions. Under them were smallholding
farmers, followed by millions of landless peasants who
cultivated rented land. In the twentieth century, most of
the southern landlord class consisted of Christian settlers
from the north, whereas the tenants were mostly nonChristians and natives of the area. Thus, ethnic and
cultural differences exacerbated class distinctions, which,
in turn, adversely affected social relations (see
Rural
Society, this ch.).
With the dissolution of the imperial system and the
nationalization of urban and rural land, social
stratification and community relations based on landholding
largely disappeared. The military regime wanted to create a
classless society, but the social hierarchy based on
landholdings simply was replaced by one based on political
power and influence. National and regional party members,
government ministers, military officers, and senior civil
servants had enormous political sway and enjoyed the
economic perquisites that the nobility and landlords once
possessed.
After Ethiopia's liberation from Italian occupation in
1941, education played an important role in social relations
by creating a "new nobility" and a middle class whose
position and status were largely independent of
landownership. This new group consisted of educated children
of the nobility, commoners who had achieved distinction for
their loyalty to the emperor, and others with advanced
education whose skills were needed to modernize the
bureaucracy and military. The postwar education system, the
new government bureaucracy, and the modern sector of the
economy also encouraged the growth of a middle class
employed in the public and private sectors. Members of the
small educated class that filled the bureaucracy and the
professions during the postwar imperial period by and large
retained their positions under Mengistu, although many left
the country because of disenchantment with his regime.
The educated group was generally less attached to religion
and tradition than was the rest of Ethiopian society.
Members' education, income, occupation, and urban life-style
likewise set them apart. They had more in common with
educated people from other ethnic groups and frequently
married across ethnic lines, although rarely across
religious lines. Nevertheless, in the last decade or so
before the 1974 revolution, some younger and better-educated
non-Amhara expressed continued, even heightened, ethnic
awareness through membership in urban-based self-help
associations, which the Mengistu regime later banned.
Although this educated group played a vital role in the
emperor's downfall, it had little influence on the military
government.
Many of the PMAC's policies were perceived as inimical to
the interests of major ethnic and class groups. Despite the
regime's tentative efforts--such as land reform--to defuse
some longstanding grievances, opposition based on ethnic,
religious, and class interests continued.
Data as of 1991
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