Ethiopia Culture

Indigenous People of Ethiopia

There are a great diversity of indigenous people of Ethiopia.  For example, there are Semitic (Amhara tribe), Cushitic (Afar, Arbore, Oromo, Somali, and Nyangatom tribes), Omotic (Hamer tribe), and Nilotic (Mursi and Surma tribes)  people.  The political power in Ethiopia lies with the Amhara tribe who also dominate Ethiopian culture.  One characteristic of Ethiopian culture is the immense respect given to older people.  In traditional Ethiopia culture, it is common for someone to give up their seat or even their bed to an elder.  Many Ethiopian woman will cover their head with a traditional "shash" which is a type of head covering which is often made out of a white cloth.  Ethiopian cusine is typically eaten with the hands by "scooping up" entrees with "injera" a flat tortilla-like sourdough bread. With respect to religions, the Christian Ethiopian Orthodox church is the main religious institution and is related to ancient Judaism, with similar taboos such as forbidding the consumption of pork products.  Islam is also very important in Ethiopia and many of the indigenous people of Ethiopia are muslims.  Many Ethiopian Jews who lived in Ethiopia for millenia are now living in Israel.