• A glimpse of the odyssey of Ethiopian writers and novelists of the 60s
The first time Samrawit Tesfu, 29, leafed through the pages of one of Ethiopia’s literary masterpieces, Haddis Alemayehu’s Fikier Eske Mekabir, she was filled with emotions that were unique and unforgettable.
What was then a requirement by her grade 11 Amharic teacher switched on her passion for books, particularly novels.
“Reading Fikir Eske Mekabir made me smile and shed a few tears. I will never forget the thrill I experienced while I was reading it and I would read it again with the same gusto,” Samrawit says.
The renowned fiction, Fikir Eske Mekabir, is considered to be a magnum opus not only by Samrawit but by a large number of Ethiopians.
Many argue that a book with its level of profundity will not be hitting the shelves as frequently as most bookworms want to.
Nowadays, in contrast, self-help motivational books pile up the stack carried by book vendors commuting the streets of the metropolis and one of the vendors around Sidist Kilo says, “That is where the business is.”
Apart from self-help and motivational books, worn-out, second-hand hardcover books from the 1960’s, books written by Ethiopian writers like Sibhat Gebregziabher’s Tikusat and Letum Aynegalign and Graham Hancock’s Lords of Poverty complete the list. These books sometimes have a price tag that is going for a song beyond belief.
Even during the gloomy rainy days, the book sellers wait for customers safeguarding their merchandise by covering them in plastic sheets until the sun comes out.
One of these customers is Robel Hailu, sociology graduate from Addis Ababa University. Residing around Sidist Kilo gave him the opportunity to sometimes buy books or window-shop.
“Finding Chinua Achebe’s distinguished work, ‘Arrow of God,’ for 30 birr is really amazing,” he remarks.
Having already read Achebe’s iconic work ‘Things Fall Apart’ a while back, which, according to him, was an enlightening escapade, he thought that continuing with ‘Arrow of God’ would also have the same upshot. Robel, who also reads Amharic books, has deep respects for Haddis Alemayehu, Kebede Michael and Bealu Girma. And being a buff of Amharic novels, he added Adam Reta’s ‘Yiwosdal Menged Yametal Menged’ to his collection.
For many Ethiopians, writers from the 1960s were not only storytellers but radicals who, even today, cross generations aspiring change. Though most of them passed away the works of the 60’s writers, poets, artists, musicians are considered to be works of genius.
Many people seem to agree with the idea that writers like Daniachew Worku, Tsegaye Gebremedhin, Haddis Alemayehu, Gebrekirstos Desta, Abe Gubegna and Birhanu Zerihun were activists, who moulded and shaped societies. Some even have dubbed the time as “The Golden Age” of Ethiopian arts.
The beginning of Amharic creative writing goes back to 1908 with Afework Gebreyesus and his work ‘Tobya’ which also marked the shift away from the predominant Geez literature.
This book tells a story of horrific chaos between Christians and gentiles (Ahzab) who consequently created destruction as they were unwilling to stop.
The pioneers of Amharic literature, Afework Gebreyesus, Gebre Hiwot Baykedagn, Tamrat Ammanuel, Kentiba Gebru and Aleqa Taye Gebremariam immersed themselves into the social, cultural and political arena of the country. The making of new Ethiopia started with their writings, fighting feudalism and incorporating modernity with tradition. Their works left marks during the beginning of the 20th century.
Enlightened writers like Gebrehiwot Baykedagn aspired for modernization and progress. Historians, literary experts suggest that their education and exposure of the early writers helped them achieve their goal; and instil the concept of modernity in the minds of Ethiopians. Even if they were described as reformists by many, they were very analytical and criticized the untouchable at that time, the church.
Gebrehiwot Baykedagn recommended a secular state, separate from state and religion as described by Yonas Admassu (Ph.D.), in the journal Callaloo: A journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters. Their writings about tradition and modernization were labelled as “utter madness” at the time.
“Religion is a matter of conscience. Consequently, it is for the heavenly king and not the earthly one to intervene in,” Gebrehiwot argued.
“This generation wrote about how the country is leaving off its legacy sleeping while other western countries and African countries were moving towards change,” Yonas cited Gebrehiwot Baykedagn writing, “What befell you, oh people of Ethiopia! When are you going to awaken from your deep sleep and open your eyes to get even a glimpse of all that is going on in the rest of the world?”
For one young contemporary poet, Bewuketu Seyoum, these writers understood Ethiopia’s status quo and started a new chapter in Amharic literature.
“In spite of the efforts of the leaders, the continuities from the past were all too evident. This exposed it to the bitter criticism of the younger generation, the generation of Gebrekirstos and his juniors. The critics were themselves products of the educational opportunities provided by the same state they bitterly blamed for its sluggishness,” Shiferaw Bekele (Prof.) states in one of his articles.
New breed of writers, who were pigeonholed as “radicals” and “change aspiring” by some scholars, came on the Ethiopian literary scene starting from the late 50’s up to the coming of the military regime. They were different when compared with the earlier generation.
According to Yonas, the earlier generation could be easily discerned and safely described as homogenous both in outlook and temperament, the young generation was mixed a lot: disillusioned, sad, angry, outright rebellious, sceptical and in few cases, almost nihilistic.
Another renowned Ethiopian writer, Sahleselassie Birhanemariam, author of ‘The Afersata’ and ‘The Warrior King,’ on the other hand, characterizes these writers as heterogeneous, liberal and radicals who wanted to abolish the system.
For example Dagnachew Worku’s work ‘Adefris’ aspired for anarchism and Abe Gubegna’s ‘Alwoledim’ resited the system. The same goes for Bealu Girma’s Keadmas bashager which showed the frustration of the then youth.
“ the vacuum created by the five-year Italian occupation started to be filled by these writers,” Bewketu explains
After liberation, development and expansion of schools and education was high on the agenda and General Wingate School gave rise to Gebrekirtsos Desta, Solommon Deressa, Sebhat Gebregziabher, Tesfaye Gessese, Bealu Girma, Asfaw Damte and Sahleselassie Birhanemariam.
These scholars formed a group where they spend considerable amount of time engaging in debates, conversations and critics where in some cases were fierce. One of the clubs which was initiated by Germame Neway, also a returnee from the U.S., the Qechene Club as Sahleselassie reminisces.
Even if the lifespan of the club was short-lived Shiferaw says, “It was most probably the first consciously organized literary circle in the country’s history.” This was a club where they read poetry, discuss about novels and art in general.
Most of these writers were returnees from Europe or the U.S. who pursued their higher education, with the exception of Tsegaye Gebremedhin in late 50’s which Shiferaw describes them as the emergence of new social groups in society.
The liberation movement in Africa and South America also influenced those writers in some way during their stay abroad. And eventually, books like Fiker Eske Mekabir, Ke Admas Bashager and Adefris turned a new chapter in Ethiopian literature.
According to Blen Magazine of the Ethiopian Writers Association, a discussion among scholars like Asfaw Damte, Mesfin Habtemariam, Alemayehu Abebe, Zerihun Asfaw (Prof.), and the late Debebe Seifu describe these books as showing new techniques, new form of literature and put these writers as prominent figures in Ethiopian literature.
“A small group within this generation transformed Ethiopian literature and the arts substantially,” Shiferaw explains.
According to a lecturer from Addis Ababa University who requested anonymity, these writers loved reading which he believes has influenced their outputs. They were highly influenced by the works of French writers like Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Shiferaw substantiates this remark saying that the young intellectuals were equally fascinated by Sartre’s existentialist ideas which are often manifested in the works of Solomon and Sebhat.
According to the lecturer, these writers criticized the system in different levels citing a phrase from Fiker Eske Mekabir where Haddis Alemayehu advised the then government in a reformist statement made by the major character, Gudu Kassa, which goes like, “Heap of loosely piled rocks, will one day come crumbling down in its own when the pieces of the bottom start giving way under weight of those at the top.” Apart from that, Sahleselassie’s firebrands, which aspired radical change, some of them considered the society they are living in as backward and some of them criticized the earlier generation for living in darkness.
“If anything Ethiopia was a dismal reality punctured all over with poverty, disease, ignorance, oppression, exploitation, greed, corruption, and every imaginable social ill more than its share. In short there was nothing promising insight, which made their disillusion of a different hue from that of their predecessors,” Yonas states in his article.
In this period the Ethiopian unity symbol was represented by three writers Tsegaye Gebremedhin, in an English play titled Tewodros, Berhanu Zerihun’s Ye Tewodros Imba and Abbe Gubegna’s And Lenatu.
Trying to introduce a new socio-political system and bring down the system, the writers mainly focused on undermining the values of the rulers.
However, the university lecturer and Bewketu do not agree with dubbing the time as “The Golden Age” without downplaying their contribution in succeeding in averting the saying “Semay Ayitares Nigus Aykesses” (Heavens cannot be ploughed, a king cannot be tried).
Some of the writers went on to criticize the elite including themselves. According to Shiferaw, in Ke Admas Basahager, the educated are represented as selfish, opportunistic, egotistic, petty and purposeless - a crowd of mediocrities. Tsegaye does the same in his play Belg. The two major characters of the play, Abate (the writer) and Heruy (the painter) are depicted as pitiable figures.
Paradoxically, members of the old ruling class were portrayed as dignified. In Ke Admas Bashager, Abate, the elder brother of the protagonist, Abera, who is meant to represent members of the traditional society, shows purpose and determination.
“The disillusion they had about the system seems to have turned, by some alchemy into disillusion about themselves, about their perceived capacity as educated intellectuals. They criticized themselves for being detached from the people and for cultivating meaningless alien values that encouraged selfishness to the point of being narcissists, therefore insensitive to the needs of others. Their education was seen as hollow, too bookish for them to be able to speak the language of the cultural limbo to which they could attach no meaningful label,” Yonas argues.
On the other hand, Bewketu and the lecturer deem that these writers contributed during a time where censorship was loose.
During the military rule many writers were imprisoned killed and missing, which includes Bealu Girma and Abe Gubegan who chose to write.
“It was much better during the imperial regime where they criticised the government even in the presence of the aristocrats but during the Derg era they were forced into self-censorship,” the lecturer explains comparing the situations during to two regimes.
For Sahleselassie the situation changed through time. “The minds of the writers from the 60s were filled with revolutionary ideas and change but things change and contemporary writers shifted to romance and comedy,”
Many, including Bewketu, still emphasize that the current literary works are not as good as the ones written in the 60s, putting the blame on the internet and TV. But in spite of everything there are still some good writers,” Bewketu believes.
