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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.
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