essay
The structure and functions of religious belief among the Amhara of Ethiopia
Proceedings of the First United States Conference on Ethiopian Studies, Michigan State University, 2-5 May, 1973 • (3) • Published In 1975 • Pages: 25-42
By: Reminick, Ronald A..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Amhara religion is a composite of Monophysite Christianity and pagan beliefs, which include those in protective spirits, demons, and the evil eye. The Christian God is a mystery, remote and hard to reach, except through the mediation of priests and angels. At the household level are ZAR spirits who demand sacrifices in exchange for protection against family misfortune. The evil eye is an attribute of low-status class of landless artisans who are envious of Amhara landlord and tenants alike. Devils are capricious spirits who inhabit the natural landscape and are the cause of degenerating illnesses. Reminick relates the beliefs in various supernatural beings to both Amhara social structure and the individual life cycle. For example, the belief in God legitimates the top-down patron-client relationships which constitute Amhara political order, whereas the belief in ZAR spirits butresses patricarchal authority within the household. With regard to individual development, devils correspond to a child's feeling of vulnerability to the unpredictable authoritarian power of the father.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Form and rules of government
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Amhara
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1967-1969
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1960s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Manz District, Shoa Province, Ethiopia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Ronald A. Reminick
- Includes bibliographical references (p.41-42)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75014611
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Amhara (African people)