CULTURE
Religion
The Ethiopian population is predominantly either Christian (60.8%) or Muslim (32.8%).
Interestingly, Ethiopia is also the spiritual homeland of the Rastafari movement, which believes that Ethiopia is Zion and views Emperor Haile Selassi as a human incarnation of God (even though he was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and did not believe this himself). Few Rastafarians remain in Ethiopia as Haile Selassi spent a long period in Jamaica during his exile and many from this movement followed him there.
Calendar
Ethiopia uses the ancient Egyptian system of years divided into twelve months, each of thirty days, with an additional month of just five days. As a result, Ethiopian dates fall behind western dates and have done so since early Christian times – currently, their system is 7 years behind. Therefore, in our 2007, Ethiopia celebrates its Millenium!
The People
Ethiopia’s population has grown dramatically over the last few decades reaching 75.1 million in 2006. The country’s population is highly diverse with more than 80 ethnic groups and some with as few as 10,000 members. According to the 1994 national census, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia at 32.1%. The Amhara represent 30.2% while the Tigray people are 6.2% of the population.
Languages
Ethiopia has 84 indigenous languages and its own alphabet (Ethiopic). In the capital, Addis Ababa, the main language spoken is Amharic – this used to be the only language of primary school instruction throughout the country, but has now been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya.
Cuisine
Traditional Ethiopian cuisine consists of various meat or vegetable side dishes served on top of “injera”, a large sourdough flatbread. There is usually also an entrée of “wat” – a thick stew. Pork and shellfish are forbidden in Islamic, Jewish and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faiths and so would not be used in traditional Ethiopian foods.
Sport
Ethiopia has some of the finest athletes in the world, in particular middle- and long-distance runners. Haile Gebreselassie (World Champion and Olympic Champion) has set over 20 new world records and currently holds the 20km, half marathon and 25km fastest times. Mirutus Yifter, known for his brilliant finishing speed, won gold at 5000 and 10000 metres at the Moscow Olympics – he is the last man to achieve this feat.
Ethiopia’s track record in athletics has been long standing with Abeb Bikila winning the Olympic Marathon in 1960 and 1964, setting world records in both. He is well known today for winning the 1960 Rome marathon whilst running barefoot.