Tigrayans: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Tigrayans''' ({{lang-ti|ተጋሩ}}) are a [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Semitic-speaking]] [[ethnic group]] indigenous to the [[Tigray Region]] of northern [[Ethiopia]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Tigrayans|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Aethiopica|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|location=Wiesbaden|last=Smidt|first=Wolbert|date=2007|editor-last=Uhlig|editor-first=Siegbert}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia|last1=Shinn|first1=David|last2=Ofcansky|first2=Thomas|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc.|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8108-4910-5|location=Lanham, Maryland|pages=378–380}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Ethiopians|last=Ullendorff|first=Edward|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1973|isbn=|location=London|pages=31, 35–37}}</ref> They speak the [[Tigrinya language]], an [[Afroasiatic language]] belonging to the [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopian Semitic]] branch.

The daily life of Tigrayans is highly influenced by religious concepts. For example, the Christian Orthodox fasting periods are strictly observed, especially in Tigray; but also traditional local beliefs such as in spirits, are widespread. In Tigray the language of the church remains exclusively [[Ge’ez]]. Tigrayan society is marked by a strong ideal of [[communitarianism]] and, especially in the rural sphere, by egalitarian principles. This does not exclude an important role of [[Gerontocracy|gerontocratic]] rules and in some regions such as the wider [[Adwa]] area, formerly the prevalence of feudal lords, who, however, still had to respect the local land rights.<ref name=":1" />

Tigrayans are branched out across the world in diaspora communities but are native residence of Tigray. Areas where Tigrayans have strong ancestral links are: [[Enderta Province|Enderta]], [[Agame]], [[Welkait]], [[Kafta Humera]], [[Tembien]], [[Kilte Awulaelo|Kilite Awlalo]], [[Raya AzeboAxum]], [[Axum]]Raya, [[Tsegede]]Humera, [[Adwa]]Welkait, [[Tselemti]] and Tsegede. The latter three areas are now under the de facto administration of the [[ShireAmhara Inda Slasse|ShireRegion]], howeverhaving areasbeen whereforcibly Tigrayansannexed haveby historicalAmhara linksduring arethe many[[Tigray moreWar]].

==History==

{{Main||History of Ethiopia}}

[[File:Yohannes IV - 2.jpg|left|thumb|198x198px248x248px|[[Yohannis IV]], emperor of the [[Ethiopian Empire]] (reign 1871–89)]]

The Tigrayans trace their origin to early Semitic-speaking peoples whose presence in the region may date back to at least 2000 BC.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stuart |last=Munro-Hay|title='Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity|location=Edinburgh|publisher= University Press|date= 1991}}</ref> According to [[Edward Ullendorff]], the Tigrinya speakers in [[Eritrea]] Tigray, and Tigraythe Amharic speaking people of Amhara are the authentic carriers of the historical and cultural tradition of ancient Abyssinia.<ref>[[Edward Ullendorff]], ''The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973), p.&nbsp;35</ref> He regards the contemporary Tigrayans to be the successors of the [[Aksumite Empire]].<ref>[[Edward Ullendrof]], ''The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973), p.&nbsp;121</ref>

[[File:Stela aksum.jpg|thumb|The [[King Ezana's Stela]] in [[Axum]], [[Tigray Region]]|240x240px]]A variant of the term Tigray, first appears in a 10th-century gloss to [[Cosmas Indicopleustes]] ''Indicopleustes'', i.e. after the Aksumite period; according to this source one of the groups of the region were the "Tigrētai" and the "Agazē" (i.e. the [[Agʿazi]]) the latter being the Aksumites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wolska-Conus |first=Wanda |date=1968 |title=Cosmas Indicopleustès |journal=La Topographie chrétienne |location=Paris |volume=1}}</ref> The toponym Tigray is probably originally ethnic, the "Tigrētai" then meant "the tribes near Adulis". These are believed to be the ancient people from whom the present-day Tigray, the Eritrean tribes [[Tigre people|Tigre]] and [[Tigrinya people|Tigrinya]] are descended from. There is no indication that the term Tigray could be explained through Ge'ez gäzärä ("subdue"), with the meaning "the submitted" (in supposed contrast to the "free" Agaziyan linked with the rulers of Aksum).

According to Scottish explorer [[James Bruce]], [[Abyssinia]] was geographically divided into two provinces; "Tigré, which extends from the Red Sea to the river Tacazzé; and Amhara, from that river westward to the Galla, which inclose Abyssinia proper on all sides except the north-west." Tigray he notes, "is a large and important province, of great wealth and power. All the merchandise destined to cross the Red Sea to Arabia must pass through this province, so that the governor has the choice of all commodities wherewith to make his market."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bruce |first1=James |title=Bruce's Travels and Adventures in Abyssinia |date=1860 |pages=83 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.01037/page/83/mode/2up?view=theater&q=tigre}}</ref>

By the beginning of the 19th century [[Henry Salt (Egyptologist)|Henry Salt]], who travelled in the interior of Ethiopia, divided the Ethiopian region into three distinct and independent states.<ref name="A10">{{cite book|title=Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sttPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA53|year=1833|publisher=Charles Knight|page=53}}</ref><ref name="A4">{{cite book|first=Henry |last=Salt|url=https://archive.org/details/avoyagetoabyssi00saltgoog |title=A Voyage to Abyssinia|publisher= M. Carey |date=1816}}</ref> These three great divisions (based arbitrarily on Language) are Tigre, Amhara, and the [[List of rulers of Shewa|province of Shewa]].<ref name="A10" /> Salt considered Tigre as the more powerful state of the three; a circumstance arising from the natural strength of the country, the warlike disposition of its inhabitants, and its vicinity to the sea coast; an advantage that allowed it to secure a monopoly on all the muskets imported into the country.<ref name="A4" />{{rp|378–382}} He divided the Tigre kingdom into several provinces with the seat of the state, a region around Adwa, being referred as Tigre proper. The other Provinces of this kingdom includes [[Raya Azebo|Raya]], [[Enderta Province|Enderta]], [[Agame]], [[Wojjerat]], [[Tembien Province|Tembien]], and [[Shire Inda Selassie|Shire]].

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==Language==

[[File:Aksum, iscrizione di re ezana, in greco, sabeo e ge'ez, 330-350 dc ca. 10.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|The [[Ezana Stone]] records negus Ezana's conversion to Christianity, and his subjugation of various neighboring peoples, including [[Meroë]]]]Tigrayans speak [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]] as a mother tongue. It belongs to the [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopian Semitic]] subgroup of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] family.<ref name="Ethntir">{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/tir|title=Tigrinya|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=4 September 2013}}</ref> In Ethiopia, Tigrinya is the thirdfourth most spoken language. Several Tigrinya dialects, which differ phonetically, lexically, and grammatically from place to place, are more broadly classified as Hamasien (Eritrean) Tigrinya or Tigray (Ethiopian) dialects.<ref name="leslau">Leslau, Wolf (1941) ''Documents Tigrigna (Éthiopien Septentrional): Grammaire et Textes''. Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck.</ref> No dialect appears to be accepted as a standard.

Tigrinya is closely related to [[Amharic]] and [[Tigre language|Tigre]] (in Eritrea commonly called Tigrayit), another East African Semitic language spoken by the [[Tigre people|Tigre]] as well as many [[Beja people|Beja]] of [[Eritrea]] and [[Sudan]]. Tigrinya and Tigre, though more closely related to each other linguistically than either is to Amharic, are however not mutually intelligible. Tigrinya has traditionally been written using the same [[Ge'ez alphabet]] (''fidel'') as [[Amharic]] and [[Tigre language|Tigre]]. It has also met with the linguistic difficulty of the Ge'ez script being a syllabic system which does not distinguish long vowels from short ones. While this works well for writing Tigrinya or Amharic, which do not rely on vowel length in words, it does complicate writing Tigre, where vowel length sometimes distinguishes one word and its meaning from another. The Ge'ez script evolved from the [[Ancient South Arabian script|Epigraphic South Arabian script]], whose first inscriptions are from the 8th century BC in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Yemen.

==Religion==

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===Islam===

Tigrayan [[Muslims]] are virtually all [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]], including a minority of [[Al-Ahbash|Ahbash]] followers. Today, the [[Muslim]] community is concentrated mainly in urban areas. Many [[Jeberti people|Jeberti]] in [[Eritrea]] claim that they are a separate ethnic group from the [[Tigrinya people]] in the area and consider their native languages to be both [[Arabic]] and [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]], and are thus treated as a separate ethno-religious community.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Ashura - a Festival in al-Negash Mosque|last=Buzuayeu|first=Wondimagegn|publisher=Mekelle University|year=2006|location=Mekelle, Ethiopia}}</ref>

==Culture==

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==== Regional dishes ====

[[Tihlo|T'ihlo]] ({{lang-ti|ጥሕሎ}}, ''ṭïḥlo'') is a dish originating from the historical [[Agame]] and [[Akele Guzai|Akkele Guzai]] provinces. The dish is unique to these parts of both countries, but is now slowly spreading throughout the entire region. T'ihlo is made using moistened roasted barley flour that is kneaded to a certain consistency. The dough is then broken into small ball shapes and is laid out around a bowl of spicy meat stew. A two-pronged wooden fork is used to spear the ball and dip it into the stew. The dish is usually served with ''[[Tej|mes]],'' a type of honey wine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nutritionfortheworld.wikifoundry.com/page/Tihlo|title=Tihlo|website=Nutrition for the world}}</ref>

Hilbet is a vegan cream dish, made from fenugreek, lentil and fava bean powder, typically served on injera with ''Silsi,'' tomatoes cooked with [[berbere]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wgntv.com/midday-news/lunchbreak-a-traditional-northern-ethiopian-recipe-and-details-on-chicago-chefs-cook-for-tigray/|website=WGN-TV |title=Lunchbreak: A Traditional Northern Ethiopian Recipe and Details on Chicago Chefs Cook for Tigray |date=12 September 2022 }}</ref>

==Genetics==

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{{Div col}}

*[[Meles Zenawi]] – Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia▼

*[[Rophnan]] – musician▼

*[[Yohannes IV]] - [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] born in [[Tembien Province|Tembien]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]▼

*[[Debretsion Gebremichael]] – Governor of [[Tigray Region|Tigray]].▼

*[[Gebrehiwot Baykedagn]] – was an Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.▼

*[[Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher]] – Ethiopian writer▼

*[[Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher]] – world-renowned environmental scientist▼

*[[Kinfe Abraham]] – Founder of Ethiopian Institute of Peace and former president of Horn of Africa Democracy and Development▼

*[[Gebregziabher Gebremariam]] – runner who won 5 times in the World Cross Country Championships▼

*[[Werknesh Kidane]] – runner who won a gold medal in the 2003 World Cross Country Championships▼

*[[Abeba Aregawi]] – runner and gold medalist of world, world indoor and European indoor

* [[Abebe Fekadu]]- Tigrayan– Tigrayan-Australian powerlifter.▼

*[[Tsgabu Grmay]] – road cyclist, one-time African time trial champion▼

*[[Siye Abraha]] – leading the UN Development Programme's security sector reform in Liberia▼

*[[Abune Mathias]] – "His Holiness Abune Mathias I, Sixth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Taklehaimanot.

*[[Abune Paulos]] – Former Patriarch of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].▼

*[[Tedros Adhanom]] – The Director General of [[World Health Organization]]<ref>"Together for a healthier world", Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's General Director [https://www.who.int/dg/tedros/en/]</ref>▼

*[[Arkebe Oqubay]] - is a senior Ethiopian– politician, a Minister and Special Advisor to the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn.

*[[Gebrehiwot Baykedagn]] – was one of the pioneer Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.▼

*[[Fisseha Desta]] – [[Vice President of Ethiopia]]▼

*[[Atse Baeda Maryam]] – Atse a pretender, son of [[Mikael Sehul|Ras Mikael Sehul]]<ref>[[Herbert Weld Blundell]], ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769–1840'', (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), pp. 384–390</ref>

*[[Dawit Kebede]] -– winner of the 2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Award.▼

*[[Mikael Sehul]] – [[Ras (title)|Ras]] of [[Ethiopia]]▼

▲*[[Debretsion Gebremichael]] – Governor of [[Tigray Region|Tigray]].

*[[Eyasu Berhe]] - was an Ethiopian– singer, writer, producer and poet, as well as a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).▼

▲*[[Fisseha Desta]] – [[Vice President of Ethiopia]]

*[[Freweini Mebrahtu]] – the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year

▲*[[Gebregziabher Gebremariam]] – runner who won 5 times in the World Cross Country Championships

▲*[[Gebrehiwot Baykedagn]] – was an Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.

▲*[[Gebrehiwot Baykedagn]] – was one of the pioneer Ethiopian doctor, economist, and intellectual.

*[[Gudaf Tsegay]] -– athlete, who5,000 isand 10,000 world champion, current world record holder for 5,000 m ▼

*[[Gotytom Gebreslase]] – athlete, marathon world champion

*[[Hagos Gebrhiwet]] - – athlete and former World Junior Record holder in the 5,000 meters▼

*[[Haile Selassie Gugsa]] – Dejazmatch from [[Ethiopia]]

*[[Wolde Selassie]]- [[Ras (title)|Ras]] of [[Ethiopia]]

*[[Ras Alula|Ras Alula (Abba Nega)]] – 19th Century Ras of [[Ethiopia]]▼

*[[Ras Mengesha Yohannes]] – [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Men.27s honorifics|Ras]] of [[Tigray Province|Tigray]].▼

*[[Hayelom Araya]] – Ethiopian [[General of the army]]<ref name=Gebru-105>Gebru Tareke, ''The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa'' (New Haven: Yale University, 2009), p. 105 {{ISBN|978-0-300-14163-4}}</ref>

*[[MirutsIlfenesh YifterHadera]] – athleteAmerican whoactress, wonher twofather gold medalsis in the 1980from Moscow OlympicsTigray

▲*[[Kinfe Abraham]] – Founder of Ethiopian Institute of Peace and former president of Horn of Africa Democracy and Development

*[[Letesenbet Gidey]] - athlete who holds two world records and one world best▼

▲*[[Gudaf Tsegay]] - athlete who is current world record holder for 5,000 m

▲*[[Hagos Gebrhiwet]] - athlete and former World Junior Record holder in the 5,000 meters

▲*[[Abune Paulos]] – Former Patriarch of the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]].

*[[Kiros Alemayehu]] - Kiros was a prolific songwriter and singer. He popularized Tigrigna songs through his albums to the non-Tigrinya speaking Ethiopians.

▲*[[Letesenbet Gidey]] - athlete, who10,000 meters world champion and multiple medalist, holds two world records and one world best

▲*[[Eyasu Berhe]] - was an Ethiopian singer, writer, producer and poet, as well as a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

▲*[[Meles Zenawi]] – Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia

▲*[[Dawit Kebede]] -winner of the 2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Award.

*[[FreweiniMikael MebrahtuSehul]] -2019– CNN[[Ras Hero(title)|Ras]] of the Year[[Ethiopia]]

*[[Miruts Yifter]] – athlete who won two gold medals in the 1980 Moscow Olympics

*[[Ilfenesh Hadera]] -is an American actress, her father is from Tigray

▲*[[Ras Alula|Ras Alula (Abba Nega)]] – 19th Century Ras of [[Ethiopia]]

*[[Zeresenay Alemseged]] -is Tigrayan paleoanthropologist who was the Chair of the Anthropology Department at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, United States. ▼

▲*[[Ras Mengesha Yohannes]] – [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Men.27s honorifics|Ras]] of [[Tigray Province|Tigray]].

▲* [[Abebe Fekadu]]- Tigrayan Australian powerlifter.

▲*[[Rophnan]] – musician, DJ

▲*[[Sebhat Gebre-Egziabher]] – Ethiopian writer

▲*[[Siye Abraha]] – leading the UN Development Programme's security sector reform in Liberia

▲*[[Tedros Adhanom]] – The Director General of [[World Health Organization]]<ref>"Together for a healthier world", Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's General Director [https://www.who.int/dg/tedros/en/]</ref>

▲*[[Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher]] – world-renowned environmental scientist

*[[Tsadkan Gebretensae]] – Lieutenant general and member of the central command of the Tigray Defense Forces

▲*[[Tsgabu Grmay]] – road cyclist, one-time African time trial champion

▲*[[Werknesh Kidane]] – runner who won a gold medal in the 2003 World Cross Country Championships

▲*[[MikaelWolde SehulSelassie]] – [[Ras (title)|Ras]] of [[Ethiopia]]

*[[Yared Nuguse]] – American professional middle-distance runner bronze medalist in 1500m from the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].

▲*[[Yohannes IV]] -– [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] born in [[Tembien Province|Tembien]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]

*[[Yohannes Abraham]] – He has been selected to lead the planned presidential transition for Democratic presidential nominee [[Kamala Harris]].

▲*[[Zeresenay Alemseged]] -is Tigrayan– paleoanthropologist who was the Chair of the Anthropology Department at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, United StatesU.S.

{{div col end}}

==Notes==

{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==