4.2.1 A Bird’s Eye View on the Ethnographic History of ‘Mecha’ Woreda
The ethnographic history of Mecha Woreda, the study area, is viewed from two different angels. On one hand, there are inconsistent oral accounts about the origin of the name ‘Mecha’ Woreda and its settlement patterns. On the other hand, there are very few written historical and anthropological documents (published and unpublished) tracing the history of ‘Mecha’ Woreda in West Gojjam.
Initially, I was interested to know why the area is called ‘Mecha’. For this purpose, I personally
interviewed five elderly66 key informants who were born and brought up in the study area. The
elders’ oral accounts about the history of the study area and its settlement patterns were fragmented and to some extent self-contradictory. As a result, I have tried to search for written historical as well as anthropological documents on the issue at hand in the libraries of Bahir Dar University and Addis Ababa University. Unfortunately, I could not mange to get any anthropological study on the area. The only material I found was Ayele Tamene’s unpublished B.A Thesis entitled “The History of Merawi up to 1991” (2000). I found this material in the History Department of Bahir Dar University. Hence, in writing the historical, political and socio-economic history of the area, I used relevant materials cited in Ayele Tamene’s thesis. I have also reviewed historical and anthropological studies indirectly related to the issue at hand.
According to James Bruce67, the name ‘Mecha’ is derived from “the peaceable settlers” of the
‘Mecha Oromo’68 who were settled at this territory by Iyasu the Great (Emperor Iyo’asu69) for
65 Defining the “peasantry” as an analytical concept and how to understand rural communities has triggered hot debates among anthropologists (Redfield [1930], Steward [1950], Wolf [1966], Shanin [1973] and Silverman [1979] have contributed to this debate). Based on early studies (Redfield’s study of Tepoztlan [1930] is a good example) which conceived rural communities as a “distinct socio-economic” category within a culture [Kroeber 1948:248] in Teferi Abate 1998:1)
66 During the second phase of my ethnographic fieldwork in Mecha Woreda (from 13th September 2003 to 30th January 2004), I have made intensive personal interviews with many informants (men, women, young, adult, and elder people). Among them, the relatively elder key informants were personally interviewed for the oral account of the historical background of the study area and its settlement patterns. These are: 1) Abba Muluneh Fentie (92 years old) 2) Liqäräd Mulualem Kidanu (91 years old), 3) Abba Emirie Kassahun (78 years old), 4) Ato Melaku Gualie (75 years old), and 5)
Abuhay Alebachew Tafere (71 years old).
67 Bruce, James Travel to Discover the Source of the Blue Nile, London: Printed by J. Ruthuen, 1778, pp. 245-56 (in Ayele Tamene 2000:44).
68 Mecha Oromo, who live in Wollega, western Shoa and the northern part of Kaffa and Ilubabor, are made up of a large number of named territorial groups. The Sibu group lives in the northwestern part of the Mecha area. Their territory extends from the Dabbus river in the west and some 200 kilometers eastwards, and from the Abbay escarpment and some 100-150 kilometers to the south (Hultin 1984: 451-52).Geographically Oromos’ territories extend from the highlands of Ethiopia in the north, to Ogaden and Somalia in the east, to the Sudan border in the west and across the Kenya border to the Tana River in the south. The question of the original home of the Oromo has been discussed at length by several historians and anthropologists (Hirut Terefe 2000:47). The form the Oromo migration took in the gradual movement
political purposes from the south of the Nile. By contrast, according to Aläqa Tayä,70 it was King
Amda Sion who granted lands to settle them between Lake Tana and Damot (West Gojjam) which they named by their father’s name, “Mecha”. Gradually, however, they were assimilated to the surrounding Christian Amhara and became speakers of the Amharic language (Aläqa Tayä 1960:63, in Ayele Tamene 2000:5). Moreover, elders disagree with the statement of James Bruce regarding the period of their settlement and support that of Aläqa Tayä. According to him, the date of settlement goes back to the reign of King Amda Sion. According to the elders, the settlers established themselves in six territories (Semä Adbara, Timtä Abuna Arägawi, Kaja Abo, Kudmi Giorgis, Abola Giorgis and Merawi Maryam, which are collectively called the Six Villages of Challia (Sedestu Daber Challia) of Mecha Woreda in West Gojjam. Yet, their exact number and the date of settlement was barley studied (Ayele Tamene 2000:4-5).
Concerning the relationship between Gojjam71 Amhara and Wollega Oromo, Oligira (1994, in
Assefa Tolera 1999:74) asserts that “the Gojjames relationship with the Oromo, mainly in the form of small scale raids, large scale fighting and through trade, goes as far as the seventeenth century.” These days the Oromo trade cattle in Gojjam, whereas the Gojjame trade pack-animals among the Oromo. There are many Gojjames in Wollega, particularly in Horro Gudru, who came either as traders or who started living as share-croppers, and have now established themselves as important families—some marrying Oromo women and others marrying Oromo men. There are also Oromo communities in Gojjam, which had settled there during the raids and counter raids between Oromo and Amhara of Gojjam in the Seventeenth Century (Assefa Tolera 1999:74). However, these historical and anthropological accounts of the relationship between Gojjam Amhara and that of Wollega Oromo do not explain the ethnographic history of ‘Mecha’ Woreda in West Gojjam and its settlement patterns.
Overall, there is a great lack of consistent and exhaustive knowledge about the ethnographic history of the research setting. The very limited available written historical documents as well as elders’ oral accounts provide us with inconclusive information about the issue at hand. In short, the inconclusive nature of the ethnographic history of ‘Mecha’ Woreda in West Gojjam suggests the need for further research.
4.2.2 The Political and Socio-Economic History of Mecha Woreda
The present Mecha Woreda was in the hands of a few landlords before 1974 (Pre-revolutionary Ethiopia). Prior to the evolution of Merawi, the present capital town of Mecha Woreda, Rim Qusqwam (south-east of Merawi), was the main political and administrative center under the ruling families of Däjjazmač Jämbäre and Däjjazmač Imere. Until 1945, it became a seat for several governors of the woreda. In the early 1930s, Fetawrari Täsämma was appointed governor of Mecha by his father Ras Hailu. Yet, he revolted against the central government, together with his brother,
Fetawrari Admasu, opposing the imposition of non-Gojjame rulers, Ras Imeru and Käntiba Matäbe
Därso72. The latter made unremitting effort to lull tumult. He wanted the two brothers to relegate their
known about the original homeland of the Oromo, why they began their migration from the areas they occupied in the beginning of the 16th century, and how this expansion was possible (Baxter, et al 1996:215-216).
69 Emperor Iyasu was the child of a temporarily successful dynastic alliance between the Gondärine monarchy and the neighboring Oromo. He and his family were, however, unable to withstand the superior might of the Tigray ruler Ras Mikael Seul. The latter’s rise to power resulted in the Emperor’s murder, and hence the end of the dynastic union, and the collapse of Oromo influence at Gondär (Richard Pankhurst 1997:217).
70 Aläqa Tayä. Ya-Itiopiya Hizb Tarik. Addis Ababa: Central Printing Press, 1960, p.63 (in Ayele Tamene 2000:4). 71 In Gojjam, there has been extensive mixing with Oromo, Kambata and Wollamo peoples (Molvaer 1995:18-19).
72 Seltene Seyoum. “A History of Resistance in Gojjam 1936-1941”, Ph.D. thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1999:23 (in Ayele Tamene 2000:5).
repugnancy. While Admasu turned down the call, Täsämma showed his docility and was re-installed as governor of the woreda until 1935, when his place was taken over by Fetawrari Šefäraw Imere.
Däjjazmač Mängäša Jämbäre became a successor upon the death of Šefäraw. However, his rule of
Mecha was tumbled down because of the Italian invasion and occupation. Consequently, he left Rim for Dagi, the town of his residence in Guta, where he waged a patriotic struggle against the horrendous enemy. As a retaliation, the Italians devastated the territory of Mängäša, Mecha (Seltene Seyoum 1999:24-26 and 113, in Ayele Tamene 2000:5-6).
On the other hand, Mängäša Jämbäre had a territorial conflict with Däjjač Abärä Yemam because both were claimants of legitimacy for Mecha. Fetawrari Admasu descended, on his mother side, from the ruling family of Gojjam. Likewise, Mängäša validated his claim based on the marriage alliance (dynastic inter-marriage73) with Ras Hailu (Säbläwängel). The controversy became intractable when Abärä was promoted to by Ləğ Yoannes Iyasu, which led them into a major confrontation where Abärä was bitterly defeated but joined the enemy camp at Mäšanti, north of Merawi. Disappointed by this incident, his (Däjjač Abärä’s) brother, Fetawrari Abärä, also betrayed for another enemy garrison at little Abay (Seltene Seyoum 1999:304-305, in Ayele Tamene 2000:6).
During and after the occupation period (1935-41), Rim74 emerged as a predominant town. Some
governmental institutions such as justice and police offices were established. As a result, Rim was more firmly established and became a relatively permanent town in comparison with other, which portrayed a rather periodical character. Furthermore, its fertile territory made Rim the center of production. In spite of these economic advantages, Rim could not become a sustainable political and administrative center owning to its peripheral location (Ayele Tamene 2000: 6-7); about 40 km away from Merawi, the present capital town of Mecha Woreda, and about 74 km away from Bahir Dar, the capital town of the Amhara Region (see Appendix 10, Map 3 and 4). From the middle of 1940s on wards, therefore, Rim began to decline in favor of Merawi, which is located at the center of Mecha
Woreda.
During the Italian occupation period (1935-41), the pace of urbanization got momentum (Bahru Zewdie 1991:230, in Ayele Tamene 2000:3). Some infrastructural developments, like road construction, had accelerated urban development. The road built by the Italians that extends from Debre Markos to Bahir Dar had important impact on the region. The village of Merawi, which lays along this road, benefited from it. The road brought economic and social significance to Merawi town. Accordingly, it has got access to vital services such as health and education. Regarding social amenities, the opening of a Senior Secondary School and the building of a Clinic in 1984 and 1972, respectively was an immense contribution to the development of the town (Ayele Tamene 2000).
73 Dynastic inter-marriage was a notable aspect of Ethiopian statecraft, which has perhaps still been insufficiently considered. Marriage was used to consolidate the government of the realm, as well as to strengthen control over economically or strategically important areas. Prominent among these latter was the Country of the Bahr Nägash, through which most of the empire’s export and imports, including fire-arms, had to pass, and the Hadeya and Enarya areas, long a valuable source of gold and slaves. Marriages were also important in resolving, or minimizing, conflicts, including those on the borders of the realm. These may be illustrated by the sometimes difficult relations between the central Ethiopian state and the Fälasha, often widely referred to as Bétä Esra’èl, as well conflicts connected with the great northward migration of the Gallas, now more generally known as Oromos. Dynastic marriages were often threatened by outside events. The murder of the Enarya leader Bénär threatened his territory’s alliance with Emperor Susneyos, but his son Yämanä Krestos, who was the Emperors’ son-in-law, succeeded in restoring it. However, the Emperor’s subsequent fall, and that of his Roman Catholic regime, brought about the alliance’s final, and total, collapse. Emperor Särsä Dengel effected an apparently successful liaison with the Fälasha Harägo, but the defeat of Emperor Suseynos’s brother Yämanä Maryam, and the subsequent decline of the Bétä Esra’él ruling house, spelt the end of any such dynastic affiliation with the Fälashas (Richard Pankhurst 1997:206-217). In short, Richard Pankhurst (1997: 206-220) examined a score of notable interregional or inter-ethnic dynastic marriages, liaisons, or proposed unions, in the economic, political and military contexts of the time and concluded that dynastic inter-marriage represented an important, and recurring, factor in Ethiopian statecraft, as well as a colorful feature of the country’s social life.
With regard to social development, modern education had an invaluable contribution to the town development. Before its commencement, church schools offered educational opportunities. Such schooling was conducted in the church, carried out by märigeta (head of clergy).75 Modern education
was, however, stared in 1949 up to two-grade level with a small number of students. The smallest number of students at the initial stage was attributed to the prejudice of the people towards modern education.76 In 1959, Emperor Haile-Selassie visited the school and ordered the concerned officials
that new buildings should be constructed. Accordingly, the construction of new buildings for the elementary school (grades 1-6) was started in the same year and completed in 1962.77 The number of
students grew rapidly. Hundreds of students were enrolled and attended. Nonetheless, students could not continue further education after they had completed their first level education.78 In line with the
“point of four agreements,” signed by the Americans, additional classrooms were built.79 As a result, a Junior Secondary School (grades 1-8) was opened in 1975. The school, however, could not accommodate the growing number of students on the one hand and lacked provisions for further education on the other. Students had to go to Bahir Dar or Dangela to complete their high school education.80 The necessity of building other additional classrooms so as to promote a Senior Secondary School, therefore, became unquestionable. To accomplish this task, a local committee was set up and decided to build ten additional classrooms and asked assistance of trained workers from the municipality of Bahir Dar to design the building. Accordingly, the building was started in 1982 and completed in 1984. The expense was covered by the government together with the contribution of the town people. Grade 9 had begun in 1984 and from 1985-1987 consecutively, 10th, 11th, and 12th
grades were opened. The number of students in the year of its opening (1984) was 144 (78 males and 46 females). Correspondingly, the number of teachers was nine (eight males and one female).81
Concerning health services, the people of the town lacked such services until the 1970’s. Several kinds of diseases appeared at different times and claimed off the lives of hundreds of people. They were obligated to go to Feleghiwot Hospital in Bahir Dar for diagnosis and treatment. The first clinic was established in 1972 by the central government. The service of the clinic became vital not only for the town but also to the surrounding rural peoples. The latter, especially had no access to health facilities due to shortage of money for transportation and time constraint. Nevertheless, the clinic could not afford to give successful treatment for the large number of patients because of shortage of medicines (Ayele Tamene 2000:26-27).
4.3 CURRENT DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES AND SOCIAL AMENITIES