Ethiopia

I would like to start this post by saying how much I have enjoyed reading the Kebra Negast. It really is a good example of how religion can be used to form a protective shell around a community. I see a great deal of resemblance between the people of Ethiopia and the people of Israel, both examples clearly show how well this shell can protect their community from annihilation.

In the modern world, the Ethiopians and Israelis are in fairly similar geographic situations--surrounded by Muslim countries. This creates tremendous pressure on these groups of people, but somehow they are able to maintain a strong enough union to survive as independent religious groups in a sea of Islam.

When viewing their histories, several more parallels can be drawn between these two people groups. The Ethiopians, while a Christian nation, were isolated from the rest of Christendom, and therefore had to (1) fend for themselves and (2) create doctrine and interpretation of Scripture on an independent track than the rest of Christianity. Similarly, when the Jews were scattered throughout the world following the Roman attack, each small Jewish community was left with the same responsibilities as the Ethiopians. While they were not isolated in the form of doctrine to a great extent, many choose to revert to a more conservative interpretation of Jewish belief to counteract the great distance between the groups.

It is interesting to see the similarities between how the Kebra Negast paints the picture of God's favor being moved with not only the Arc, but also the lineage of divine kings (Adam, Seth, etc.) to Ethiopia, and the commands given to the people of Israel when God's favor was given to them. The perks that come with the favor of God are similar to those given to Abraham, and to his descendants during the exodus from Egypt. The Solomonic Ethiopia was given a sizable territory, from the Nile to India (53). In addition came the command that the new King David must himself follow God, and so must his people--or curses will rain down upon them from heaven--much like the command of the people of Israel (54-55).

The similar histories and similar mandate from God, as well as their ability to maintain cultural independence clearly shows that religion can be a tool for the protection of a community, even when great stress is placed on that community. This example can be related back to one of our first readings, "Why Do We Believe," to show how beneficial a common religious belief can fuse a community together with almost unbreakable bonds.