Self-Segregation and Incorporation as a Means of Social and Economic Development: the Case of the Ethiopian Betä Ǝsra’el

In traditional societies the ethnic consciousness and the feeling of the proper cultural, religious and national identity constitute the core of social links for every person. This phenomenon is clearly observed through different peoples of the African continent. Archaic social structure of some African ethnic groups is connected in this context with relevant origin myths and legends about their past. During almost three thousand years of its written history, Ethiopia was and still remains the state with ethnic and linguistic variability which has very few parallels in the world from this viewpoint. From the mid-1^st millennium AD to the present day the Christian monarchy is predominating in the Horn of Africa. After the coup d’État of 1270 that had brought to power the so-called Solomonic dynasty, the ruling class of Ethiopia was recruited from the Amhara and, to a certain extent, from the Təgräy peoples, who for a long time were in focus of relevant researches. However, the reconstruction of a detailed and balanced history of that country cannot be realized without recourse to data on other ethnic groups subjugated by the Ethiopian Christian kingdom. The Betä Ǝsra’el (or Falasha¹) [Kaplan, 2003] are of special interest, since they are rather well attested in traditional historiography compiled in Gə‘əz, the only written language of Christian culture in medieval Ethiopia [Mamher Asras Yayeh, 1989]. Moreover, a rather good preservation of the generational memory on their past (at least on its legendary version) in their cultural milieu (in comparison with other peoples of the Horn of Africa) makes the history of the people a very promising material for researchers.

The overwhelming majority of the peoples inhabiting the territories of the Horn of Africa have no literary tradition of their own. With that in mind, the Betä Ǝsra’el (the so-called ‘Ethiopian Jews’) are of particular interest, since they are more or less well represented in traditional Ethiopian historiography and have conserved their proper generational memory. The monuments of the Ethiopian Royal historiography and a series of relevant historical texts constitute the main source base of the present research.

The Betä Ǝsra’el self-consciousness revealed through the lens of written and oral tradition exerts its influence on patterns of their behavior in the changing world. One of the most contradictory positions in the Ethiopian state was occupied by the Betä Ǝsra’el, who claim to be of Israeli origin, completely ignoring their local African roots.² Most of them believe to be descendants of the famous first-born sons of the Israelite nobles sent to Ethiopia by King Solomon. That genealogical tradition goes back to the legendary tale of the Queen of Sheba, the King Solomon and their only child Menelik (Mənilək) I, from who the uninterrupted succession of the monarchs of Ethiopia can be traced [Kebra Nagast, 1905]. The Betä Ǝsra’el claim to practice the genuine Judaism, that in reality seem to derive from a group of extreme Christian sectarians, who completely rejected the New Testament in favor of the Old one, or, less likely, of non-Talmudic Jews.

The present research is concentrated on the Betä Ǝsra’el people that used to inhabit Ethiopian territories on the Horn of Africa³, and the aspect of correlation of their past and present in the everyday life inside the Ethiopian multiethnic society. Being also of a different religious affiliation in relation to the majority of the population of Ethiopia (commonly Christian and Muslim), for a number of reasons hostile to the Jews, the Betä Ǝsra’el in different historical periods and circumstances chose (when it was possible) voluntary or obligatory self-segregate (morally, physically and geographically) or to incorporate in the developing society of Ethiopia. This led to different results in their conditions of everyday life, standards of living in general, and economic development or recession.

It’s worth saying few words about the origin of the people. The problem of the ethnogenesis of the Betä Ǝsra’el is controversial. There are several versions of their appearance in the North-Eastern Africa. The diffusionist version explains their presence on the Horn of Africa in different ways and considers the Betä Ǝsra’el as descendants of the “Ten Lost Tribes”, immigrants from South Arabia or Egyptian Jews. Regardless of exact origin, they were for the first time attested in Ethiopic written sources in the Chronicle of the wars of ‘Amdä Ṣiyon I (1314-1344), the first monument of the Ethiopian Royal historiography [Turaev, 1936, p. 20]. It seems that the Betä Ǝsra’el used to live in Ethiopian territories (first of all, in the difficult of approach mountain region of Sǝman⁴) from ancient times (probably even before the Christianization of the country in the 4^th century AD).⁵ As a matter of fact, no reliable information about their migration to the Horn of Africa can be found in written sources.

The Betä Ǝsra’el themselves do not elaborate any coherent version of their origin. However, a representative of the Betä Ǝsra’el in his book written in Amharic, the language spoken by the majority of that people [Teferra, 2017], and published in Addis Ababa in 1989, not only describes their cultural characteristics, habits, traditions, but also gives a detailed tale of their origin [Mamhar Asras Yayeh, 1989]. This is one of the diffusionist versions dealing with the arrival of the Jews exiled from Palestine in times of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, through Egypt and Nubia to Ethiopia.

It does not seem that the Betä Ǝsra’el ever had even a tiny knowledge of the Hebrew language before they started studying it in Israel in the last quarter of the 20^th century. The texts they use for religious needs and services were compiled in Gǝ‘ǝz, or Classical Ethiopic, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Christian Church. It seems more probable that they borrowed their literature from Ethiopian Christians. Moreover, we well know cases of the adoption by the Betä Ǝsra’el of the Ethiopian manuscripts of Christian origin with addition of some corrections in their texts and decoration.⁶

Some of the Betä Ǝsra’el say that one of the languages of the Cushitic group, Kwarinya⁷, used to be the native one for their fathers. Others declare, although without any foundation, that their mother language was Hebrew, but they have lost its knowledge during their very long stay in Ethiopia and only recently, for social and economic purposes, began to speak the Cushitic language Agau.⁸ Before their emigration to Israel, in spite of their habit to live separately from the representatives of other religions, they were obliged to master Amharic and Tigrinya (the languages of official use in Ethiopia) to be incorporated into the social structure of modern Ethiopia and were gradually forgetting their native Cushitic language.⁹ Some of them even think that they have never had another language except Amharic and wonder, if any Agau ethnic group could be connected in any way with the ‘Ethiopian Jews’ [Herman, 2012, p. 25–26]. In all likelihood, the ancestors of the Betä Ǝsra’el belong to an ethnic group of Agau who converted into Christianity and then, as a result of long periods of isolation and presumable sporadic contacts with some Jews, created their own doctrine of faith based on the Old Testament.

The Ethiopian ruling class and the majority of the people indeed were not favorable to the aliens from the point of view of their customs and traditions. The Betä Ǝsra’el, who proclaimed themselves to be the ‘genuine Jews’ [Kaplan, 2003], were treated by the Ethiopians in the course of the Middle Ages as the ‘people of blood’ in full accordance with Matthew 27:25 (‘His blood be on us, and on our children’).¹⁰ Prejudices against the Betä Ǝsra’el on the part of the Amhara-Təgräy society, which constituted one of the main pillars of the Ethiopian traditional ideology¹¹, used to be wide-spread in all the historical periods.

As a result, a large amount of fantastic stories about the Betä Ǝsra’el was created in Ethiopia: for example, common people often believe that they can turn into hyenas at night and attack people. Such magic practices proved to be ascribed to the Betä Ǝsra’el, since they were largely involved in blacksmith craft and pottery production [Shvarts, 2023], which from time immemorial were considered by African peoples as occupations peculiar to sorcerers. Unexpectedly, such heightened superstition of the majority of the Ethiopians had a significant impact on the position of the Ethiopian Jews in the country. As Christian and Muslim majority preconceptionally stood aloof of some useful arts, the Betä Ǝsra’el began to engage in these crafts and soon monopolized them. This, on the one hand, gave rise to even greater antagonism (and fear) towards them, and on the other hand brought them considerable economic benefits. Moreover, this contributed to their recognition in the country as talented craftsmen, which more than once worked to their advantage.

As far as historical facts are concerned, beginning from the famous military campaigns of ‘Amdä Ṣiyon I (1314–1344) (and probably even before them), a parallel processes went on. The kings of Ethiopia were pursuing the policy of Christianization of the population of their country. Pursuing that policy, they tried to incorporate the non-Christian population of surrounding areas, including the Betä Ǝsra’el, into the Ethiopian traditional society and to submit them to the central authority. On the other hand, during that epoch the majority of trade routes were under the control of Muslims. Many Ethiopian feudal lords and wealthy traders professed Islam and spread their religion (consciously and unconsciously) in vast territories of the Horn of Africa.¹² As an alternative to the official religion of the Ethiopian kingdom the Islamic faith seemed to be attractive for many local peoples. Meanwhile, the Betä Ǝsra’el did not practice commerce and used to live in isolation, thus belonging neither to Christianity nor to Islam, the two “official” religions of medieval Ethiopia. In the course of time some of them were forced to change their faith, being converted into Christianity by the will of the kings expressed during their military campaigns. Usually, people were not free in the choice of their religion. One of the most cruel examples traces back to the reign of King Susənyos (1607–1632) who ordered to kill a lot of the Betä Ǝsra’el “to cancel the memory of Judaism in all the lands of his Kingdom” [Chernetsov, 1984, p. 231] and short after started a campaign to spread Christian faith among the survivors¹³. Many of them adopted the official faith of the Christian state of Ethiopia under constraint (and some rejected it after some time).

The Betä Ǝsra’el indeed have never really attempted (and probably never desired) to get involved into the Ethiopian kingdom and for that reason preferred remaining in isolation. Disobedience normally caused physical and economic repressions. It was the main reason of the self-segregation of the Betä Ǝsra’el. The struggle of the Betä Ǝsra’el for their cultural and religious identity left a lot of examples in the Ethiopian Royal historiography. The enthronement of the King Susənyos illustrates that situation very well [Cohen, 2010]. He was not the direct descendant of a king but a great-grandson of the King Ləbnä Dəngəl (1508–1540) and did not practically have a right to the throne. Moreover, his mother was a daughter of an influential Oromo chief. At the same time, the mother of the legitimate heir to the throne Ya‘əqob (Jacob) was of Falasha (Betä Ǝsra’el) origin.¹⁴ She entered in the struggle for power with the help of the Falasha ruler Gedewon. The outcome of the confrontation of the two strong parties depended on the attitude of the people and the army. And here again the Oromo and the common people of Ethiopia supported King Susənyos [Chernetsov, 1990, p. 90-94]. Probably the fact that some Oromo adopted Christianity played the main role in the triumph of their party, while the Falasha were considered the ‘damned Jews, crucifiers of Jesus Christ’.

It is obvious that there is no sense for a people to start a “struggle for identity” in a “historical vacuum” [Mekuria Bulcha, 1996, p. 49] and without a presence of another stronger and often hostile population in its vicinity.¹⁵ In case of the Betä Ǝsra’el the “struggle” took shape of marginalization and voluntary segregation instead of open confrontation. In that context it should be concluded that complex processes of their common history reflected in specific variants proved to be kept in the consciousness of the Betä Ǝsra’el and their collective memory. The self-identity constitutes a concept, common for most individuals of the people, which can be justified by the unity of their religion and customs, but not by the language. The majority of the Betä Ǝsra’el used to live compactly and separately from the other population of Ethiopia in isolated areas, mostly located in elevated rugged terrains. Such segregation was partly a consequence of the just mentioned Royal policy towards them, since separately and compactly living peoples are easier to be controlled by the central authorities and local chiefs.

At the same time physical and geographic self-segregation in a hard-to-reach region, such as the Sǝman mountain ranges, contributed to the conservation of religious purity and protected the people from too often visits of the representatives of the Royal administration. From time to time the Betä Ǝsra’el decided themselves to live separately in order to avoid the Royal control and the offensive discrimination against them and the last but not the least because of their habits and religious traditions (special restrictions in food consumption [Shvarts, 2024], ritual purity, etc.).

In the case of the Betä Ǝsra’el, there were special territories allocated for their dwelling by the Ethiopian kings. Proof of this are numerous examples of descriptions in the Royal chronicles of the Ethiopian king’s military campaigns in the mountains of Sǝman. As far as 1332 king ‘Amdä Ṣiyon I sent troops to suppress the uprising of the Jews [Turaev, 1936, p. 20-21]. King Isaac (1414-1424) was the first to attempt to include Sǝman and its population in the administrative system of the Ethiopian kingdom [Quirin, 2010, p. 612]. In the first half of the 15^th century Samen became an administrative unit of the state and its inhabitants began to be subject to the rights and duties, in particular the obligation to feed the royal army during military transitions and pay taxes. During the reign of King Sarsa Dengel (1563-1597), the royal army several times devastated Sǝman due to rebellions of the Betä Ǝsra’el and their refusal to pay tribute [Chernetsov, 1984, p. 81-82], despite the inaccessibility of their habitats and climatic conditions, characterized by a predominance of low temperatures, unusual for the bulk of the Ethiopian population.

Under similar circumstances, the Royal troops invaded the habitat of Betä Ǝsra’el during the reign of Adyam Sagad (1682-1706) [Chernetsov, 1991, p. 37-43] and even in the times of political disintegration of Ethiopia in the end of 18^th century [Chernetsov, 1991, p. 175] etc. Sǝman is regularly mentioned in the Royal chronicles in connection with appointments of the administrative head there [Chernetsov, 1989, p. 11; Chernetsov, 1991, p. 81, 97, 151], that shows the economic importance of this area for the treasury.

As a result, at least from the 17^th century, the Betä Ǝsra’el were residing separately, with the exception of some short periods when they managed to enter the “Ethiopian life” as carpenters or craftsmen at the Royal court. The breach of their isolation was connected with the foundation of Gondar, the new capital of Ethiopia, in 1636 by the King Fasilidas (1632-1667). A great need of good craftsmen was felt. The process of building started under the previous King Susənyos, who was the first to introduce wages for builders and craftsmen of the Royal residence [Chernetsov, 1984, p. 308, 310].

The Betä Ǝsra’el, that used to be potters, carpenters and smiths, in spite of their discrimination and prejudices against them, were in mass involved in the construction of Royal residences.¹⁶ They were exclusively employed as smiths, since this craft is considered impure by the Christian population of Ethiopia. The attitude towards pottery was almost the same. In modern terms, those occupations continued to be practically monopolized in Ethiopia by the Betä Ǝsra’el and that situation allowed them to improve their economic conditions. This is the most obvious example of a positive side of their discrimination.

In 1668, King John I (1667-1682) issued a decree on the separate residence of the Franks (i.e. foreigners, Europeans), Muslims, Turks and Falasha [Chernetsov, 1989, p. 12], whose representatives by this time began to receive honorary titles of the state. According to the Royal chronicles the Betä Ǝsra’el have never had such respect in Ethiopia.

As a matter of fact, the isolation of the Betä Ǝsra’el was not total. Many of them became assimilated, kept in secret their origins and, as a result, lost their cultural identity, especially in big towns. In any case the attitude of the superstitious Christian population of Ethiopia towards them was aggressive and derogatory. Periods of peace for them were alternating with periods of conflicts with the central authorities and wars. During the reign of Tewodros (Theodore) II (1855–1868) several religious disputes between the Betä Ǝsra’el and Christian clerics took place [Flad, 1920]. We don’t know in detail what had happened, but soon after many of the Betä Ǝsra’el were converted into the Christian faith. The others began to think, for the first time in the history of that community, about moving into the land of their legendary ancestors.

These hopes took shape only in the last quarter of the 20^th century when (in 1975) the Chief Rabbinate of Israel recognized the belonging of Ethiopian Jews to the Jewish people, and in 1977 it was decided to allow their repatriation. In total by 1999 more then 55 000 of the Betä Ǝsra’el emigrated to Israel. Nowaways, the great majority of the Betä Ǝsra’el lives in that country. As previously in Ethiopia, they mostly speak Amharic.¹⁷ In Israel the Betä Ǝsra’el faced a different reality of existence. First of all, they got acquainted with a modern standard of life, which they were not ready to be faced with. They had to study Hebrew, to go to school and to work. The problem is that a considerable percentage of the Betä Ǝsra’el, as the majority of the population Ethiopia, was illiterate or had no regular education. As a result, in the beginning they did not succeed in studying at school and in mastering a new language. There was also a problem of employment. The local ‘paleface’ population did not hospitably accept the black ‘Ethiopian Jews’. The encounter with them provoked again the creation of new stories of legendary character as a result of prejudices towards the Betä Ǝsra’el.

All those circumstances led them to a new isolation and social vacuum. Here again the Betä Ǝsra’el chose the familiar self-segregation. This is a common desire for immigrants all over the world (for example, for Muslims of different origin and others living compactly in European countries, the Chechens in Cairo, etc.). Due to the disinclination of dealing with the “black” Jews, the Betä Ǝsra’el have problems in obtaining a job (specially a “good” job) in Israel, so that many of them are living on the dole.

Some of them (especially young people) earned their living by playing and singing in musical bands and the songs they performed were mostly in Amharic [Kaufman Shelemay, 1986; Herman, 2012]. At the same time they were improving their Hebrew in special schools. Although the phenomenon of forming such bands had no parallels in their past, it was probably a way of their self-realization in new conditions of life and of making money. The participation of women in those musical bands also broke the traditions, since Ethiopian women never appeared before the public in such a way, saving their reclusive lifestyle. However, in the modern society of Israel the Betä Ǝsra’el are commonly considered as quite old-fashioned. Moreover, many young Betä Ǝsra’el, both male and female, often born already in Israel and thus speaking Hebrew more or less as a mother language, entered in the armed forces or police¹⁸].

On special occasions and performances they wear traditional Ethiopian white dresses and cook Ethiopian dishes. Thus, they try to maintain their traditions, without which the risk of losing their identity seems for them very high. In contrast to other discriminated peoples of Ethiopia, first of all to the Oromo, the Betä Ǝsra’el succeeded in realizing their dream providing security for future generations. The legendary story of their past found its materialization in the present. Nevertheless, the so-called neo-traditionalism in their behavior demonstrates that the traditions they carry on are connected with their previous existence in Ethiopia rather than with their mythical past. Every person of the Betä Ǝsra’el affirms that he or she is a Jew, whose ancestors moved to Ethiopia in the reign of the Biblical King Solomon, and belongs to the Jewish culture, but in everyday life proves to be an Ethiopian with all the specific manners and customs.

Historically the interrelation between the local Christian and Muslim population of Ethiopia, on the one hand, and the Betä Ǝsra’el, on the other, was reciprocal. The Betä Ǝsra’el considered them corrupt, impure, followers of wrong religious traditions and the communication with them was a sort of “taboo”. That is why, in contrast to other peoples of Ethiopia, they normally did not assimilate. Rare cases of their ethnic and linguistic assimilation were attested, but in any case individuals kept their ‘Jewish’ religious identity intact.

The Betä Ǝsra’el have conserved the generational memory and the legends of their past not as a folklore, but as their genuine national history. Their belief in the origin from common ancestors, firstborn children of Israeli nobility, was joining them in a united nation, superior to the local African population. As a result, their everlasting struggle for self-identity and recognition of them as the descendants of the King Solomon noblemen is still in progress, even in Israel.

Profession of Judaism, considered by the Betä Ǝsra’el as the original and right religion, became a symbol of the nationalist movement for freedom and independence, against the persecutions from the predominant Amhara-Təgräy society of Ethiopia that were taking place during all the Middle Ages. Moreover, the Betä Ǝsra’el pretend to be superior to the other peoples inhabiting the Horn of Africa. Thus, the central point in the self-identity of the Betä Ǝsra’el is their claim for being the genuine Jews. For a long time they were looking towards their official recognition at the Royal court as the Jewish religious community, not as a nation (as in the case of the Oromo). When they failed to obtain that goal as a result of the policy of Christianization of the peoples of Ethiopia, the only possible escape for them proved to be a self-segregation. Such a way out proved to be a good idea both for the king and for the Betä Ǝsra’el themselves. Thus the traditionalism acquired a new form, so that some of its manifestations are aimed at implementing the objectives set by new circumstances. Traditional patterns (mostly forgotten and out of use) were placed in the base of a future Betä Ǝsra’el freedom and recognition in accordance with their nationalist aspirations. They have always had a desire to come back to the land of their ancestors. However, this dream was materialized for the first time as a real possibility during the Emperor Menelik II’s reign (1889-1913).

Incorporation on the levels of the state and of the society does not mean assimilation and vice versa. It constitutes the main factor for a people living in multiethnic country, since the isolation leads to cultural and economic regress. Archaic social structure as the base of strong organization and unity of the people in obtaining their goals facilitates the common struggle for recognition. In this connection we can conclude that in any case the self-segregation excludes the integration in any modern or archaic society. Awareness of being indigenous in the area facilitates the integration. Access to the central power is secondary and can be considered as an intermediate result but it provides the subsequent integration.

In the State of Ethiopia, that represents multiethnic and multicultural society, the self-identity and religion from time to time play the central negative role in the process of integration. Religion used to be the primary initial symbol and tool for centralization of the country. Then, when it became territorially formatted, religion started playing a disintegrating role. Till nowadays Ethiopia can be considered as one of the most tolerant multi-religious countries in the world. Religion in such conditions became the prerogative of the private space of life.

Thus, discrimination in Ethiopia, as elsewhere, depends on how to treat it and to benefit from it. As a result, this phenomenon can have different effects on the history of the peoples, who fell under it, and of the country as a whole.

It seems that the idea of obtaining the independence and freedom for the Betä Ǝsra’el consisted in their expectation of coming back to the land of their fathers and of worshipping God according to their rites. The central component of the ideology of the Betä Ǝsra’el proved to be their traditional mythology, which is based on the Old Testament and enters in complete contradiction with objective linguistic, cultural and religious data.