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The Essay in Tigrigna: An Overview of the Early Period1
Samuel Emaha*
Introduction
The period spanning roughly from 1942 to 1952 witnessed arguably one of the most intensive and
vibrant political debates in t he Eritrean history. Centered on the question of the future of the
country, and using the platform of the fledgling newspapers , Eritreans of varying and conflicting
political persuasions and visions argued their positions in essays characterized by civility and
elegant literary style. In fact, it is amidst this political milieu that the essay in Tigrigna acquired its
full-blown form. Thus, to a great extent, the consolidation, if not the emergence, of the essay in
Tigrigna is, as Ghirmai Negash put it, ‘a product of the heated political polemics about the future
of Eritrea’ in the 1940’s.
This paper tries to present an overview of the essay in Tigrigna in its early phase. By virtue of its
exploratory character, it attempts to present, rather copiously, examples of th e different types of
Tigrigna essays written during the 1940s. One of its main tasks is to show how the consolidation
and maturity of the essay in Tigrigna is inextricably linked to the political debates of the day. On
top of this, it tries to provide the political, ethical and epistemological context within which the the
essay, as a distict genre, emerged and operated, and explores their stylistic and literary qualities.
It must be noted that, with the exception of a parenthetic and cursory observation made by Ghirmai
Negash, little has been done on the essay in Tigrigna in general and the essays written in the 1940s
in particular. It is not that these writings have not been noticed earlier. They do figure in the
historical works of Alemseged Tesfai, though he looks at them primarily as source documents and
does not identify them as essays; and Tiquabo Are’se has produced an anthology of selected essays
penned by Woldeab Woldemariam. Only people do not recognize them as separate generic
category and no systematic analysis has been done on them. Many people use the words ዓንቐጽ and
ቴማ, Tigrigna words for article and essay respectively, interchangeably.2 The aim of this essay is
to clear the confusion.
1 This essay has greatly benefited from fruitful discussions with my classmates in the Introduction to Literature classes,
Dr. Yonas of the department of Eritrean Languages and Literature, and from the untiring and stimulating guidance of
Professor Tej.N.Dhar.
2 Eventhough the difference between article and essay is not watertight, the conscious attention given to language and
the various rhetorical and literary devices employed for aesthetic reasons in the latter are some of the distinguishing
factors. In the pi eces discussed herein for example, the pervasive employment of poems, imaginative dialogues,
parables, metaphors, repetition, imagery, hyperbole, verses and stories from the Bible, and anecdotes distinguish them
from ordinary and vapid articles. PDF page 2
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Context
The arrival of the British in Eritrea in 1941 and the subsequent limited civil and political liberties
they initiated ushered in a period of intellectual and cultural vitality. The main fora in which these
intellectual and cultural activities found express ions were the newspapers among which the
Eritrean Weekly News stood out. Immediately after its first print on August 31 1942, the Eritrean
Weekly News became a big hit. All along its ten years of publication, it ran 522 issues, each of four
(occasionally six) pages (Negash 1999: 115). This amounts to a huge corpus of ‘ a total of more
than 2100 pages or some three million words’ ( Ullendorff Cited in Negash 1999: 115). After the
British Military Administration allowed the creation of political parties in the second half of the
1940’s, many other Tigrigna newspapers like Hbret (Union), Hanti Eretria (United Eritrea) and
Mebrahti Eretria, which served as official mouthpieces of the political parties, flourished. Other
newspapers like Brhan, which featured non-political writings, also got into print. Beside creating
democratic space and promoting political engagement, the newspapers made an indelible service
in vastly improving the modern grammatical and stylistic tone of the Tigrigna language. Hundreds,
if not thousands, of essays, articles, and poems of high literary value were produced. And it is in
this period and through the medium of the largely political newspapers that the essay as a distinct
prose composition came into its full form.
Even though the essay in Tigrigna flowered around this time, the question of its beginning is far
from being settled. According to Negash it was ‘discovered’ as a literary form in the 1940’ s
(Negash 1999: 119). Granted that further archival research has yet to be done to make a conclusive
statement possible, nevertheless, there are some indications that lead us to assume that it went way
back before this period. A letter written to the editor of the Eritrean Weekly News by a one Bairu
Oqbit on June 1, 1944 for example, referred to essays written in Meleekti Selam and Nay Elet Were
Eretria, a periodical and a newspaper published under the auspices of the Evangelical Church and
the Italian colonial government respectively. The writer claims that beginning from 1909 Mele’ekti
Selam featured pieces on ‘spiritual and earthly’ matters written by Eritreans from different places
including Somalia and the Sudan. In addition to this, t he mastery and elegance with which the
essays of the 1940’s were written further suggests that there might have been some exercises prior
to that period.
Development
Right from the beginning of its publication on August 31 1942, the Eritrean Weekly News featured
essays touching on wide -ranging issues: opinion pieces on the ongoing Second World War;
warnings and lamentation s on what the writers perceived as moral failure and decadence; the
importance of education and its ‘civilizing’ effect; attacks on supposedly harmful and backward
traditions such as a rranged and underage marriages , slothfulness, political corruption, and
nepotism; strong admonitions against brutal exploitation of peasants and proposals calling for land
reform; account of the development and structure of the Tigrigna language; history of Eritrea and
prominent local heroes; and descriptive and comparative analyses of different political PDF page 3
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philosophies and practices. Thus, right from its inception, the essay in Tigrigna, is programmatic
in the sense that it emerged out of a serious concern for what the essayist thought as fundamental
political and cultural problems , and found its matu rity in that programme. In fact, personal or
autobiographical essays were somewhat rare.
Most of the essays written between 19 42 and 1944 were written in the Addisonian mode3. They
were aimed at exposing existing follies and caprice, absurd fashions, and ridiculous customs;
educating the people about social manners; and promoting self -discipline and moderation. Even
though the structure and the content of many of the se essays invariably in volve some form of
storytelling, they also have a touch of the Baconian aphoristic style 4. For a better look at the kind
of writing style and the marvelous use of language and profound ideas they express, I quote some
samples taken from different essays.
Most of the Tigrigna essays written in the Addisonian mode focus on issues the essayists thought
useful for ‘civilizing’ their compatriots. Curiously, but not unexpectedly, what the writers try to
sell to their readers as ma rkers of modernity and civilization and the condescending manner of
their presentation remarkably resembles what the colonial educational system tried to inculcate in
the minds of the colonial subjects. Most often, the subjects of the essays were hygiene, dressing
codes, work ethic, and marriage. One such essay is the one written by Teweldebrhan Xgeyesus
and published in the Eritrean Weekly News on October 26, 1942, under the title Upholding One’s
Own Dignity (ክብረት ርእስኻ ምሕላው). The essayist, without being feminist in the Western sense, builds
a case sympathetic to women. He writes:
ንሕና፡ ኤርትራውያን፡ ብጀግንነት፡ ብልግሲ፡ ብጽቡቕ፡ ጠባይ፡ ንኡዳት፡ ኢና። ብዙሓት፡ ሰባት፡ መጽሓፍት’ውን፡ ከይተረፉ፡
እዚ፡ ሕጂ፡ ኣብዚ፡ ተጸብጺቡ፡ ዘሎ፡ ደግነት፡ ኩሉ፡ ናይ፡ ተፈጥሮ፡ ባህርዮም፡ እዩ፡ እናበሉ፡ ብዛዕባና፡ ብዙሕ፡ ጽቡቕ፡ ይዛረቡ፡
እዮም። እምበኣረከስ፡ ስምና፡ ኣዝዩ፡ ዓብዪ፡ ካብ፡ ኮነ፡ ነዚ፡ ጽቡቅ፡ ስም፡ እዚ፡ እንበቅዕ፡ ኴና፡ ክንርከብ፡ ምሉእ፡ ተስፋ፡
ኣሎኒ። ጅግና፡ ማለት፡ ኣብ፡ ጸምጸም፡ በረኻ፡ ወይ፡ ኣብ፡ ሓደ፡ ውግእ፡ ወይ፡ ኣብ፡ ሓደ፡ ዓብዪ፡ ጭንቂ፡ ትብዓቱን፡
ምጽማሙን፡ ዘርኢ፡ ሰብኣይ (ወይ ሰበይቲ) ኢዩ። ግናኸ፡ ንብረት፡ ሰብ፡ ኩሉ፡ ግዜ፡ ኣብ፡ ጸምጸም፡ በረኻ፡ ወይ፡ ኣብ፡ ብርቱዕ፡
ጭንቂ፡ ኣይኮነትን። እምበኣረስከ፡ ንሕና፡ እዞም፡ ብሰላም፡ እንነብር፡ ሰባትከ፡ ድኣ፡ ጀጋኑ፡ ወይ፡ ዘይጀጋኑ፡ ምዃና፡ በየናይ፡
መንገዲ’ኾን ክንግለጽ ምኸኣልና?5
[Trans.] We, Eritreans, are praised for our heroism, compassion and courteous behavior. Many
people, even books, say that all these virtues listed here are innate in us. Therefore, as our repute is
found great I have hope that we are found worthy of it. A hero is a man or a woman who shows
pluckiness, perseverance and resolve in situations of great battle or wilderness or desolation.
3 Named after an 18 th century British essayist Joseph Addison, Addisonian essays are essays written for a large
audience and are aimed at improving manners and morals of people by using morality tales and wit. Exposing folly
and caprice, elevating peoples’ sensibility and taste, and gardening culture and civility are their main agenda.
4 A style of essay-writing where the essay is organized in tight frames, and as few words as possible are used to express
whatever the essayist has to say.
5 All the translations from Tigrigna to English contained herein are mine. In translating I have tried to be faithful to
the style and content of the original.
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However, it is not always that human life is found in desolation, wilderness and war. Then in what
way would we, those who live an ordinary life, be defined as heroic or cowardly?
At the end of his essay, Teweldebrhan advices his readers to respect their wives and restrain
themselves from terrorizing and dominating them so that they can be found worthy of a heroic
stature.
Another essay written by Woldeab Woldemariam to educate and admonish the public and
published on the 20 th of December 1943 , N o 69 of the Eritrean Weekly News , talks about
civilization and its meaning in the following way:
ቀደም ዘበን፣ ቺቪልታ ወይ ከኣ ስልጣኔ ማለት፣ (ኣውራ’ኳ ብሓሳብ ፈረንጂ)፣ እቲ ሓሳብ ሰብ ኬስተውዕሎን ኪምህዞን ኪፈጥሮን
ዚኽእል፣ ጽቡቕ ዘበለ ነገር ዚሕዝን ዚጥርንፍን ብሉጽ ሓሳብ ማለት ነበረ። ስእሊ፣ ህንጻ፣ ጽርበት፣ ቅርጺ፣ መዝሙር፣ ቅኔ
ምኽኣል፣ በዝይ’ውን ምስልጣን፣ ቺቪልታ ይብሃል ነበረ። ከምኡ’ውን ለውሃት፣ ፍቕሪ፣ ትሕትና፣ ነሕድሕድካ ምክብባር፣
ነንሕድሕድካ ምትሕግጋዝ፣ ሰላምታ ምሃብ፣ ኣዘራርባን ወግዕን ዘተን ኣገባብን ምፍላጥ፣ በዝይ’ውን ምስልጣን ከኣ ቺቪልታ
ይብሃል ነበረ።
[Trans.] In the bygone days, civilization (mainly in the eyes of the whites [westerners]) was all the
good things the human mind can fathom, invent and create. P ainting, architecture, carpentry,
sculpture, music and poetry; and their mastery was called civilization . What’s more, love,
compassion, humility, mutual respect, cooperation, greetings, becoming knowledgeable in the art
of oratory and their mastery was called civilization.
The writer then interjects his idea by asking the question “what does civilization mean today in the
West?” (ሎሚ ቺቪልታ ማለት ብፈረንጂ እንታይ ማለት ኢዩ?) and answers thus:
ኣነ ዝጽሕፍ ዘለኹ፣ ፈረንጂ ስለ ዘይኮንኩ፣ ነቲ ሊቅነትን ኣእምሮን ደቂ ፈረንጂ መርሚሩስ ክመዝን’ሞ ኪካታዕን ዚኽእል
ፍልጠት ከኣ ስለ ዘይብለይ፣ ነዚ ክንድ’ዚ ዚኣክል ሕቶ፣ ደረቕ ምላሽ ንምሃብ እምብዛ ድፍረት ኮይኑ ይርኣየኒ ኣሎ። ግናኸ
ከመዮ ሓደ ኣረጊት ምስላ ዝብሎ፤ “እንተጋጌኻ (ማለት እናተጸረፍካ) ትምሃር” ኢዩ’ሞ፣ ስለ’ዚ ዚመስለኒ ኣሕጽር ኣቢለ እምልስ
ኣሎኹ።
[Trans.] For I am not a westerner and for I lack the requisite intellectual genius, I feel I am in no
position to give a proper answer, and I thin k it would be thought a faux pa s on my part to attempt
one. However, since, as an old saying has it, one learns from his follies let me suggest a brief answer.
Woldeab goes on to talk about what he thinks is a crass and mistaken conception of civilization in
the West. He satirizes the idea of confusing civilization with technological advancement and the
undeserved emphasis given to material life over what he called “the sublime and the spiritual.”
After one paragraph, he throws another question at the reader “lest we waste our time talking about
others let us return to ourselves and ask what civilization means to us [Eritreans] and h ow we
perceive it?” (ሕጂ ግን ብዛዕባ ካልኦት ክንዛረብ ግዜ ከይሓልፈናስ ናብ ገዛእ ርእስና ድማ ምልስ ንበል’ሞ፣ ንኣናኸ ቺቪልታ እንታይ ማለት’ዩ?
ከመይ ጌርናስ ነስተውዕሎ፣ እናበልና ንርእስና ንሕተት።) He then goes on exposing what he considers manifestations
of misconceptions and vulgarization of the idea of civilization among some of his compatriots. He
vehemently and sarcastically condemns the tendency among some of the youth who he says “ape
what is vulgar and vile and ne glect what is good in the West.” He especially makes an intensely
biting remark on their views on and attitudes toward religion. With a mixture of mockery and great
moral indignation he states; PDF page 5
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እቶም መንእሰያት ደቂ ሃገርና፣ ንፍልጠትን ንሃይማኖትን ኪዓርቁወንን ኬማራቕሑወንን ከም ዘይከኣሉ መሲሉ ይርአ ኣሎ። እቲ
ልቦም፣ ነቲ ካልኣይ ሓዲጉስ ናብ’ቲ ቀዳማይ ኣቢሉ ዘንበል ከም ዝበለ’ውን ይርአ ኣሎ። ንሳቶም፣ ናብ ሃገሮም ብዝተመልሱ፣
ኣብ ዝወዓልዎ ኣኼባን፣ ምስ እተራኸብዎ ሰብን፣ ወግዖምን ክርክሮምን፣ እቲ መብዝሕታኡ ብዛዕባ “ዘይምህላው ኣምላኽ ኢዩ።
ግሩም ዝኾነ ምህዞ….መስተንክር ዝኾነ ምግላጽ….ኢዩ!!! በቲ ንሳቶም ዚብልዎን በቲ ንሳቶም ዚደግምዎን፣ ሃገርና ድሕሪት ተሪፋ፣
ካብ ዓለማ’ውን ሓሚቓ ዘላስ ያኢ፣ ኣምልኾ ስለ ዘብዝሐት ኢያ። በቲ ንሳቶም ዝብልዎን ዝደግምዎን፣ ኣምልኾስ ያኢ፣ ንሓደ
ህዝቢ ምእንቲ ከይስልጥንን፣ ቺቪልታ ከይኣትዎን ኣሲሩን ኣምባዕዚዙን ዚሕዞ “ኦቢዮ (እንተሰቴኻዮ ዜደቅስ ዓይነት ትንባኾ)
ኢዩ።
[Trans.] Some of our young are unable to reconcile and balance knowledge and religion, so it looks.
Their heart has abandoned the former an d is inclined towards the latter , so it looks . After their
homecoming [from abroad] , in every meeting they attended, and with anybody they chanced to
meet, almost all their talk and dispute is about the non -existence of God. What a wit … How
incredible an insight!!! According to what these folks say and repeat, the reason why our country is
inferior and why it is behind its peers is because of its obsession with worship [religion]. According
to what these folks say and repeat , worship [re ligion] is an “opium” that fetters and zombifies
societies from achieving civilization.
He finally warns the youth not to fall prey to this preposterous position lest they call destruction
unto themselves and their country, and closes his es say with a rhet orical question “ which way
might be the shortest which leads to genuine civilization?” (እቲ ኣብ ናይ ሓቒ ቺቪልታ ብቅልጡፍ ኬብጽሕ ዚኽእል
መንገድኸ ኣየናይኮን ይኸውን?)
The use of repetition 6 as a rhetorical device in the above essay , as evidenced by the use of
epistrophic7 and anaphoric8 words such as “so it looks” and “according to what these folks say and
repeat”, lend the essay a poetic and dramatic air. What is as equally striking as the style of the
above essay is the issue with which it is trying to grabble with. It seems atheism was finding a
good following among a good number of Eritreans who returned from school in abroad to merit
such vehement admonishment from Woldeab Woldemariam.
The Addisonian Tigrigna essays of the 1940s were not or should not be seen as limited to a mere
normative proselytization or moral preaching. Their critiquing of what their writer s perceived as
ethical malaise also inevitably had political and civic dimension to them. One remarkable example
of such essays was the one written by Woldeab Woldemariam on the 31st of January 1944 titled
‘A Country.’ The essay does not merit attention only because of its content but also because it is a
specimen of the high literary quality achieved through the combination of different rhetorical and
literary devices in the writings of the period. A small excerpt of the essay reads:
6 It is a rhetorical/literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to enhance the beauty of a
sentence and to stress the significance of a point.
7 Epistrophe or epiphora is the repetition of the same words or phrases at the end of successive clauses or sentences
for rhetorical effect.
8 Anaphora is the repletion of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for
rhetorical effect.
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ሰብ፣ ናይ’ታ እተወልደላ ቤት ጥራይ ኣይኮነን። ሰብ፣ ናይ’ታ ስም ዝሃበቶ ስድራ ቤት ጥራይ’ውን ኣይኮነን። ንሱ፣ ካብ’ታ ኪውለድ
ከሎ ዝረኣየቶ ቤት ኣዚያ እትዓቢ ካልእ ቤት ኣላቶ፣ ንሳ ድማ ሃገሩ ኢያ። ንሱ፣ ካብቶም ብኽንደይ ክንክንን ብኽንደይ ፍቅርን
ዘዕበይዎ ወለዱን ኣሕዋቱን ኣዚዮም ዚበዝሑ ካልኦት ወለድን ኣሕዋትን ኣሓትን ከኣ ኣሎውዎ። ንሳቶም ድማ ደቂ ሃገሩ ኢዮም።
ሓደ ናይ ሓቂ ሰብ፣ ቅድሚ ኹሉ፣ ነቲ ፈጣሪኡን መድሓኒኡን፣ ማለት ንኣምላኽ ኬፍቅር ይግብኦ፣ ቀጺሉ ንስድራቤቱ ኬፍቅር
ይግብኦ፣ ቀጺሉ ድማ ንሃገሩ ኬፍቅር ይግብኦ። እቲ በዚ መንገዲ’ዚ ተር ቢሉ ዘይኸይድ ሰብ እሞ ሃገረይ አፍቅር ኢየ ድማ
ዚብል ግጉይ ኢዩ። ሓደ፣ ኣቦኡን ኣደኡን ሓዉን ሓብቱን ብዓልቲቤቱን ደቁን ዘየፍቅር ሰብ፣ ከመይ ኣቢሉ ወዲ ሃገሩ ኬፍቅር
ይኽእል?— ሓደ ፍርሃት ኣምላኽ ዘይብሉ ሰብከ ከመይ ኣቢሉ ፍቅሪ ህዝቡን ክብረት መንግስቱን ኪህልዎ ይኽእል?—
እቲ በቲ ኣብ ላዕሊ ተመልኪቱ ዘሎ መንገዲ ገይሩ እናኸደ በቲ መሳልል ገይሩ ኸኣ እናደየበ፣ ኣብ ፍቅሪ ሃገሩ ዚበጽሕ ሰብ፣
ምእንቲ እቲ ዜፍቅሮ ህዝቡን ምእንቲ እታ ዜፍቅራ ሃገሩን፣ ዘሎዎ ኹሉ፣ ምስ ዜድልስ አረ ህይወቱ’ውን ከይተረፈት ኣሕሊፉ
ይህብ።
ሃገር ማለት፣ እምባታት፣ ጎልጎላት፣ ውሓይዝ፣ ቀላያት፣ ኣዳራሻት፣ ሓወልትታት ኣይኮነን። ሃገር ማለትስ ሰባት ኢዮም። እቶም
ኣብታ መርየት ኣቦታትካን መርየትካን ዚነብሩ፣ ሕብርኻ ዚሕብሮም፣ ልሳንካ ድማ ዚልሳኖም ሰባት፣ ንሳቶም ኢዮም ሃገርካ፣፣
ንኣታቶም ዘይተፍቅሮም እንተ ድኣ ዄንካ፣ ሃገርካ ዘይተፍቅር ሰብ ምዃንካ ኣጸቢቅካ ተረዳእ።
[Trans.] A man is not only of the home he is born into. He is not also of the family that gave him
his name. He has a home bigger than that. And that is his country. He hath parents and siblings more
numerous than his intimate parents and siblings who raise him with great care and love. And they
are his countrymen. A real person, worth his name, must first of all love his creator and saviour.
Then he must love his home and family. After that he must love his country. One who does not love
his home is wrong when he says he loves his compatriot. How can one who does not love his father,
mother, sister, brother, spouse and children love his country? How can one who does not have fear
of God claim to have love for his countrymen and respect for his government?........ One who loves
his home and family gives all he hath, even his life, to his country. [But] a country is not the
mountains, the plains, the river s, the lakes, the spacious and sprawling palaces, and imposing
monuments. A country is its people. Those who live in your fatherland, those who have the same
colour as yours, those who speak the same tongue as yours are those who constitute your country.
If you do not love them, you must know that you really do not love your country.
The musicality and gentleness of the rather short sentences and powerful imageries crammed into
them lend the essay a pleasant intensity which cannot escape even untrained eyes. And the aesthetic
gratification one can get from reading it is, in no way, lesser than its undeniably profound message.
The stylistic beauty of the essay lies on the skillfull use of metaphor , imagery, and repetition. By
equating love for a country with love for one’s home and family, and by making the latter a
precondition for the former, the writer taps on a very strong metaphor intimate and understandable
for everybody. The secret behind the vividness and vibrancy of the essay is the imageric language
employed. Through and through, the reader is presented with images which appeal to his/her visual
senses and thus aid him/her to easily make sense of an abstract notion as a ‘country.’ And the
essay is rendered poetic due to the plenteous use of repetition as literary device . In the quoted
paragraph alone a cursory word count will show over fifty repetitions9.
9 On top of anaphoric and epiphoric forms of repetition, epimonic type is also used in the essay. Epimone is the
repetition of a word or phrase in a form of a question to stress a point. The bolded beginnings of the following two
sentences taken from the essay are examples of epimonic repetition: “ How can one who does not love his father,
mother, sister, brother, spouse and children love his country? How can one who does not have fear of God claim to
have love for his countrymen and respect for his government ?” (ሓደ፣ ኣቦኡን ኣደኡን ሓዉን ሓብቱን ብዓልቲቤቱን ደቁን ዘየፍቅር
ሰብ፣ ከመይ ኣቢሉ ወዲ ሃገሩ ኬፍቅር ይኽእል?— ሓደ ፍርሃት ኣምላኽ ዘይብሉ ሰብከ ከመይ ኣቢሉ ፍቅሪ ህዝቡን ክብረት መንግስቱን ኪህልዎ
ይኽእል?)
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Another essay which uses its moral arsenal for political aim is the one written by an anonymous
writer on 7 February 1944 under the title ‘For Leaders and the People’ (ንሹማምንትን ንሕዝብን) in The
Eritrean Weekly News. It reads:
ሰብ፣ ብህይወቱ ልክዕ ዚትምነዮ፤ ሹመት፣ ሀብቲ፣ ጥዕና፣ ዕድመ፣ ዉሉድ፣ ከማኡ ዝመሰለ’ውን ካልእ መሕለፍ ግዜ ኢዩ። ኩሉ
ተተኻኺሉ ኪመጽእ ከሎስ ፍጹም ዓብዪ ዕድል (ጸጋ) ክንብሎ ንኽእል። ስለ ዚተዓደልካዮ ድማ፣ ኣነባባር፣ ኣተሓሓዝ፣
እንተኸኣልካሉ ኢዩ’ምበር፣ ኩሉ ካብ ረኸብኩስ ዝደሌኹ ክገብር፣ ሰብ ክጎድእ፣ እንጌራ ብጫየይ ክቆርጽ ምባል’ውን ዝገደደ
ዓቢዪ ሓጢኣት ኢዩ ዜምጽእ። ከምዚ ዝመሰለ ሥራሕ ካብ ምግባር ግን፣ ድኻ ኴንካ ሓሪስካ ቆሪፍካ ምንባር ይሓይሽ።
ብእውነተኛ ርቱዕ ሕሊና እንተመርመርናዮ፣ ሹመት ንርእሳ፣ ዓባይ መዚ (ሓላፍነት) ዘሎዋ ትሕዳር ኢያ። ዋናታታ
እግዚኣብሔርን ንጉስን ኢያቶም። ስለዚ ዋሕስ፣ መድሕን፣ ርስተኛ፣ ጉልተኛ፣ ከም ዘይብላ ርግጽ ኢዩ።
ንሹመት ዝተጸወዔ ሰብ ኣቐዲሙ ንእግዚኣብሔር ኪፈርህሞ፣ ሕልፈት፣ ሞት፣ ጥፍኣት፣ ከምዘሎ ኪሓስብን ኬስተውዕልን
ይግብኦ። “ቀዳሚሃ ለጥበብ ፈሪሃ እግዚኣብሔር” ከም ዝበለ ዳዊት። ቀጺሉ ድማ፣ ተጊሁ ንሕዝቡ ዚሓሊ፣ ዚጽዕር፣ ዚሕግዝ፣
ዚመክር፣ ኪኸውን ይግብኦ።
[Trans.] Man craves for high station, wealth, health, longevity, children and other some such past-
times. It is absolutely a big fortune (grace) if it so happens that we get all these all together. But, one
has got to know how to manage the blessings. Blinded, as it were, by one’s fortu ne, it is the worst
sin to say I will do whatever the heck I want to do ; to hurt people; and to take the bread of one’s
friend. Rather than doing such a thing, it i s better to remain poor and work in the fields. If we look
into the issue with genuine and rational conscience, [possessing] power implies responsibility.
Power belongs to God and the King. Therefore, it is well-known that there is neither guarantee nor
an heir and legatee who can lay claim to it.
Primarily, one who is designated for office is supposed to have fear of God and to fathom that death,
destitution, demise, and downfall are imminent. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom , said
King David. What’s more, an incumbent must diligently help and advice his people.
In the above piece, the palpable influence the Tigringna Bible had on the conception (political or
otherwise) and linguistic style of the essayist of the time is very evident. One also must note the
use of Geez statements and their flavouring effect.
Among the essays written between 1942 and 1944 were philosophical and psychological essays .
For example, one which appears on 7 February 1944 under the title ‘Education and Discipline’
reads:
ትምህርቲ፣ ጽቡቅ ኣተዓባብያ፣ ወይ ከኣ ስነ-ስርዓት፣ ንሰብ ጥራይ ኢዩ ኪወሃብ ዚከኣል። ስለምንታይ፣ ካብ’ዚ ኣብ’ዛ ዓለም ዘሎ
ኩሉ ፍጥረት ኣምላኽስ፣ ብስነ ስርዓትን ብትምህርትን እናተገርሐ ዓብዪ፣ ብመንፈሳውን ብስጋውን “ብሱል” ኪኸውን ዚኽእል
ሰብ ጥራይ ኢዩ። ብመንፈሳውን ስጋውን “ዝበሰለ” ሰብ ማለትከ እንታይ ማለት ኢዩ?— እዚ ማለት፤ ነቲ ጽቡቕን ነቲ ክፉእን
ኣብ ምልላይ ወይ ከኣ ኣብ ምፍላይ ምብጻሕ ማለት ኢዩ። ቀጺልካ ድማ፣ ነቲ ጽቡቕ ምፍላጥ’ሞ ምቕባል፣ ነቲ ክፉእ ከኣ
ምፍላጥ’ሞ ምፍንፋን ማለት ኢዩ። ቀጺልካ ድማ ሰብነትካ ምግታእ ወይ ከኣ “ጎይታ” ሰብነትካ ምዃን ማለት ኢዩ። እንስሳ ወይ
ከኣ ከብቲ ከይተረፋ’ውን፣ ብልማድ ወይስ ብተፈጥሮ ሓያሎ ጽቡቕ ግብሪ ኪገብራስ ይኽእላ ኢየን። ግናኸ ምንም’ኳ
እንተለመዳን እንተተገርሓን፤ “እዚ ጽቡቕ ኢዩ’ሞ ክገብሮ ይግብኣኒ ኢዩ፣ እዚ ግና ክፉእ ኢዩ’ሞ ክገብሮ ከቶ ኣይግብኣንን ኢዩ፣
” ኣብ ምባል ኪበጽሕ ኣይኽእላን ኢየን።
[Trans.] Education, good upbringing or discipline can only be given [thought] to man. For it is only
man, from amongst all God’s creatures in the world, whom education and discipline can tame. And
it is only man who can a ttain spiritual and bodily maturity through education and discipline . But, PDF page 8
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what is maturing in spiritual and ear thly matters mean? I t means first being able to distinguish the
difference between good and evil; then knowing the good and thenceforth embrace it; and at the
same time knowing the evil and loath it. What’s more, it also means reigning in on your body and
lording over it.
Let alone man, beasts or cattle can also do a lot of good things out of instinct or mere habit. But,
however tamed or domesticated might a beast be, it cannot say ‘this is good so I should do it and
this is evil so I should not do it’.
The essayist expressing his enlightenment-era-like humanist faith in the capacity of man to change
himself through education continues “Education or discipline or good upbringing is the staff on
which one props up oneself to attain perfection.” But, for this to happen the writer reminds teachers
and parents of their duty to help their students and children “develop the good and subdue the evil
in them” and ends his essay with the following counsel : “This is what we must aspire for and
achieve: thinking on our own, loving by our hearts, eliminating the evil, tendering the good, doing
what we know, knowing what we do and doing what we do with utmost love and care.” (ብገዛእ ሓንጎልና
እናሓሰብና፣ ብገዛእ ልብና ድማ እናፍቀርናስ፣ ንክፉእ ምጥፋእ፣ ንጽቡቅ ግና ምስልጣን። ነቲ እንፈልጦ ምግባር፣ ነቲ እንገብሮ ኸኣ ምፍላጥ። እሞ
ንኹሉ ድማ ብፍቅሪ ምግባሩ።)10
Along the Addisonian and philosophical varieties, argumentative11 and analytical essays were also
written. One such essay, which falls under this category, is published on 14th of December 1942.
Titled In Defense of Resurrection (ስለ ትንሳኤ) it presents a critical appraisal of the Italian colonial
system and enthusiastically welcomes the British administration. Employing repetition as a
rhetorical strategy of driving his central message home, the writer, Hrui Mengstu, explains:
ኣብዛ ብርኽቲ ሃገርና ንኣና ዜድሊ ኹሉ ከሎና ከም ጓኖትን ከም መጻእተኛታትን ኴና ተኾርሚናን ተሸቑሪርና ንነብር ከም
ዝነበርና ዘይዝክር ሓደኳ የልቦን። ዝመጸ ዘበለ ኹሉ ድማ ‘ዓሚለይ’ ቢሉ እናጸውዔን እናቀባጠረን ዝነበረና ዘበለ ኹሉ ናይ
ኢድናን ናይ እግርናን መጣጢጡ ኸም ዝወሰዶ ዘይፈልጥ ሓደኳ ኣይርከብን። ምኽንያቱ ድማ ስለ ዘይተምሃርና እሞ ክፉእን
ጽቡቕን፣ ረብሓን ወጽዓን ዚብሃል ዘይንፈልጥ ስለ ዝኾና እዩ። ምናልባሽ ሓደ ሰብ ስለምንታይ እሞ ዘይንምሃር ቢሉ ይሓትት
ይኸውን። ግናኸ ይርእን ይሰምዕን ነይሩ እንተዝኸውንሲ ምኽንያት ዘይመምሃሪና ምፈለጠሞ ከምኡ ቢሉ ኣይምሓተተን ነይሩ።
ምእንቲ ከይንምሃር እሞ ከይነስተውዕል ሰብ ንምዃን’ውን ምእንቲ ከይንምነስ ኣብ ኣእዳውናን ኣብ ኣእጋርናን ኣሲሮም ኣብ
ድቕድቕ ጸልማት ደርብዮምና ይነብሩ ከም ዝነበሩ ሎሚ ይፍለጠና ኣሎ። ከይንገይሽ እሞ ከይንርኢ ኣእጋርና ተኣሲርና ነበርና።
ከይንዓዪ እሞ ከይንምሃር ከኣ ኣእዳውና ተኣሲርና ነበርና። ከይንጥምት እሞ ከይነስተውዕል ኣዒንትና ተዓሚትና ነበርና።
ከይንዛረብ እሞ ምእንቲ ከይነአዊ ድማ ኣፍና ረጕድ መሐንገጋ ኣትይዎ ነበረ። በዚ ነገርዚ ማህሚናን ተሸቝሪርናን ንነብር ከም
ዝነበርናኸ መን ኪጠራጠሮ ይኽእል? ሎሚ ግና ግዜ ተለዊጡ እዩ። ምድሪ ወጊሑልና እዩ። ኣብዚ ግዜ እዚሞ ሓለፋ እቲ ዝሓለፈ
ግዜ እንታይ ረኺብናሉ ኢና ቢሉ ዚሓትት ሰብ ምናልባሽ ኣይስኣንን ይኸውን። እታ ምላሽ ኸኣ ቐረባ እያ። ሎምስ ንዛረብ እኳ
ኣሎና።!!.....እዚ ህያብዝኸ ንእሽቶይ ህያብ ኮይኑዶ ይስምዓኩም ኣሎ?!
Even though everything that we need is found in this sacred land of ours, no one can fail to remember
that we used to live fear-stricken and cowered as strangers. There is no one among us who does not
know that whoe ver manages to lay hand on our land has cajoled us into acquiescence and
appropriated every bit of our resource. The reason was that we were uneducated and thus were
10 The linguistic and literary scaffolding of this essay is similar to the ones discussed before. Especially one needs to
note how repetition and pairing is skillfully employed to affect a poetic prose.
11 Essays of argument that are meant to educate, illuminate, convince and influence. To push their point home, essayist
of this kind use strong rhetorical devices.
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unable to tell the evil from the good and the unprofitable from the profitable. One might ask why
we were not educated. But if he were able to see and hear he would have known the reason and
would not have asked this question. We now realize that lest we know and understand and thus long
for fullness they had put our hands and legs in fetters a nd thrown us into total darkness. Lest we
travel and thus see our legs were in shackles. Lest we work and thus learn our hands were in chains.
Lest we see and thus understand our eyes were blindfolded. Lest we speak and thus voice our
lamentation our mouths were muzzled. Who can then doubt that owing to all these we were living
in fear and languishment? But now time has changed. Now it is dawn. One might ask what is new
that we get now which was not there back then. The answer is near at hand. Now we at lea st can
speak……and do you think, dear reader, this is a trifling a gift?
Political Polemics and the Essay
Even though the essays written between 1942 and 1944, show a great deal of finesse, the best and
elaborate essays were in store waiting for and accompanying the political debates soon to explode
after mid 1944. Thenceforth, the genre saw a noticeable change in terms of style and content.
Essays were written in a dense prose, with sprinklings of aphoristic statements. Many a time they
were punctuated by plenteous use of hyperboles, superlatives and adjectives. This seems to be a
conscious rhetorical strategy meant to drive home the message of the writer easily. One also gets
the feeling that t he writers were attempting to intimidate the reader into accepting their point of
view by creating textual ambience where the reader is not only given the pleasure of understanding
but also mystified.
While reading through the essays, one is struck b y one unfailing element in them — literary
elegance. Even amidst bitter and recriminatory debates, the essays d o not descend into vulgarity
and continue to consistently exude civility and sophistication.
Generally, the essays reflect the political tendencies and inclinations embraced by many Eritreans.
It mirrors not only the clear stand taken by the Unionists and Pro -independence parties but also
the confusion and political disorientation in which Er itreans found themselves in the midst of a
delicate situation made worse by British connivance.
The Eritrean Weekly News began to feature political essays in February 1944. The first essay of
this kind was written on the 14 th of the same month by an an onymous writer under the title The
Fate of Eritrea (ዕድል ኤርትራ). To see how the need to articulate the complex political issues changed
the style and form of the essay in Tigrigna, a rather long excerpt is presented here below.
The anonymous writer begins his essay by noting that “amongst all the parties living in Eritrea,
the future state or the fate of the country has become a cause for self-examination, much talk and
speculation.” (ናይ ኤርትራ ናይቲ ዚመጽእ ግዜኣ ኩነታት ወይከኣ ዕድሎት ኣብ ማእከል እቶም ኣብዛ ሃገር እዚኣ ዚነብሩ ወገናት ኩላቶም ኣብ
ነሓድሕድካ ምርምርን ይመስለኒ እናበልካ ድማ ሃንዲስካን ምሂዝካን ኣብ ምትሕስሳብን ዜብጽሕ ምኽንያት ኮይኑ ኣሎ።)
After stating that the British and Italian governments were also interested in and concerned with
the issue the writer stresses that “for it is their own lives and their own affairs, and for, whatever PDF page 10
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happened, this country is their country and home, it is Eritreans who above all are anxiously
whelmed by this vital and crucial issue.” (ካብ ኩሉ ዝበለጸ ግና እዚ ዓብዪ ነገር ወይከኣ እዚ ዓብዪ ኩነታት’ዚ ሩሓቶምን ገዛእ
ጉዳዮምን ስለ ዝኾነ፣ ዝኾነ’ውን እንተኾነ ድማ፣ እዛ ሃገር እዚኣ ሃገሮም ወይስ ቤቶም ኢያ’ሞ ኣውራ ኣውራስ ንኤርትራውያን ኢዩ ከቢድዎም ዘሎ።)
Initiating the reader into the intricacies of the subject through a dense prose the writer continues;
ግናኸ ዝኾነ ይኹን ሐደ ነገር ግና ክዉንን ርግጽን ኢዩ። ንሱ ድማ እዚ ሎሚ ሃገር ኤርትራ ዘላቶ ኩነታት ኢዩ። ሃገር ኤርትራ
ንሎሚ ድኣ ክሳዕ’ቲ ናይ ሰላም ናይ መወዳእታ ውዕል ብኣማሓዳርነት እንግሊዝ ትምሐዳር ኣላ’ምበር ብስርዓት ዓለምስ ኣብ
ትሕቲ ስልጣን መንግስቲ ኢጣልያ ዝኾነት፣ ናይ ኢጣልያ ግዝኣት ምዃና ኢያ። እዚ ኩነታት እዚ ድማ፣ ንጊዜኡስ ብዝኾነ ይኹን
ምኽንያት ኪልወጥ ዘይከኣሎ ኩነታት ኢዩ። እቲ እዚ ኩነታት’ዝስ ቅድም’ቲ ጊዜኡ ኪልወጥ ይከኣል ኢዩ ዚብል ሓሳባት ከኣ
ኣብቶም ዓያሱን ደናቝርን ዝኾኑ ሰባት ጥራይ ኢዩ ኪሐድር ዚኽእል።
ኣብ’ቲ ቅድሚ ናይ ሰላም ውዕል ኪኸውን ዘሎዎ ዋዕላ ወይስ ዘተ፣ ናይ’ቲ ዚመጽእ ጊዜ ናይ’ዛ ሃገር እዚኣ በብዓይነቱ ዝኾነ
ኩነታት ኣብ ቅድሚ ኣኼባ እቶም ንኹሉ ኪምድቡዎን ኬመሐድሩዎን ስልጣን ዚውሃቦም ልኡኻት ናይ መንግስቲ ሰባት ከም
ዚቀርብ’ሞ ብቝምነገር ከኣ ከም ዚምርምርስ ተስፋ ምግባር ግቡእን ቅቡልን ኢዩ። ግናኸ እዞም ሰባት እዚኣቶም ንኸመይ ዝበለ
ወይስ ካብ መን ዝመጸ ምስክር ከም ዚቕበሉ ብኸመይ ዝበለ ኣገባብ’ውን ከም ዚገብሩዎ ሎሚ ብርግጽ ኪፍለጥ ኣይከኣልን።
በቲ ሓደ ወገን ከኣ እዞም ሰባት እዚኣቶም (ማለት እቶም ነዚ ነገር’ዚ ኪምድቡ ስልጣን ዚወሃቦም ናይ መንግስቲ ሰባት) ነቲ
ዚምድቡዎ ነገርስ ነቲ ካብቶም ኣብዛ ሃገር እዚኣ ዘሎዉ ኣውራ ዚበዝሑ ወገናትን ዓልየታትን ዚመጽእ፣ ብምስትውዓል እተገብረ፣
ቅኑዕ’ውን ዝኾነ ድልየትን ሃረርታን ከይተመልከቱን ከይተዓዘቡን ኪገብርዎስ ዘይመስል ኢዩ።
[Trans.] But, one thing is real and ce rtain. And that is the state in which the State of Eritrea is in.
Even though the State of Eritrea is under British administration up until the [post -war] peace
settlement, in accordance to the world order [international law] Eritrea is still an Italian colony. And
this state can’t be altered under any kind of pretext. The notion that this state can be changed before
its time has come can only be found in the minds of the fools and ignoramuses.
To hope that all our ideas about the futur e of our country have the chance to be submitted to the
parties who will be delegated to legate and decide on our fate and thus they will be subjected to
serious considerations and deliberations is fairly acceptable. Nevertheless, we have no way to know
with certainty to whose testimonies and opinions will the power -that-be listen to nor do we know
the procedures and ways they will go about doing this . On the other side, it is unseemly and
improbable for these people (government officials who are responsible for adjudicating the case) to
decide on the issue without taking note of and comprehending the well-thought and righteous desires
and aspirations of the main parties and races in Eritrea.
The writer finally concludes his essay by proposing the partition of Eritrean into two parts; the
highlands to be united with Ethiopia and the lowlands to be given to the Sudan.
As can be observed from the above excerpt and as will be amply shown in the following essays ,
Tigrigna had to stretch itself to accommodate the political subject-matter concerning the future of
Eritrea. The crisp and poetic style that we have seen before in the Addisonian essays were, to some
extent, abondaned for political essays with long, intricate, dense, and redundant sentences . And
this would become typical of all the political essays of the period.
The essay which ignited the fire of political debates was one written on the 3 rd of August 1944
under a pen name ‘One Eritrean’ and titled ‘Few Thoughts Pertaining to the Future State of Eritrea’ PDF page 11
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(ብዛዕባ’ቲ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ ዚትንኪ ገለ ሓሳባት).12 It was so provoking that it resulted in an outpouring of
inflammatory essays on the pages of the Eritrean Weekly News and set off a chain of political
debates that would continue for the years to come (Tesfai 2001: 121). Without exceeding the
bounds of decorum and civility lampoons were composed, ideas ridiculed, sarcasm employed, and
insults traded. As the result, the Eritrean political landscape became highly polarized.
The essay begins by an explanation why the writer wants to write it. He says;
እዚ ሕጂ ዜጽሕፈኒ ዘሎ ምኽንያት እውን ሃገር ኤርትራስ ከም ሃገር ወይስ ከም መሬት ካብ’ተን ናይ ምሥራቃዊ ኣፍሪቃ ሃገራት
ዝበለጸት ወይስ ዝሓሸት ሃገር ከም ዝኾነት ኣምሲለ ከርእያ ወይስ ከምዝና ቢለ ኣይኮንኩን። እዚ ናይ ሕጂ ሓሳበይን ድልየተይንሲ
ነቶም ደቅዓደይ ወይከኣ ንሕዝበይ ብዛዕባ’ቲ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ሃገሮም፡ ህይወቶም፡ ዕላማኦም፡ ናይቶም ዚበዝሑ ድልየት እንታይ
ከም ዝኾነ ንምክፋል ጥራይ ኢዩ።
[Trans.] The reason why I am writing now is not to shew or judge that the state of Eritrea, as a land
or a nation, is the best or better than the Eastern African countries. My present wish and thought is
to share what I think are the wishes and thoughts of the majority of my compatriots about the future
of their country, their lives, and their intents.
He then continues;
በዚ ዘሎናዮ ጊዜ እቲ ኪመጸና ወይስ ኪወርደና ዘሎዎ ኩነታት ክንፈልጦ ዘይንኽእል ስለዝኾና፡ ኣብ’ቲ ብዛዕባ ሃገርና ዚምደብ፡
ወይከኣ ኣብቲ ንሃገርና ዚወርዳ ነገር እውን፡ እቲ ንሕና ክንብሎ እንኽእል ኣዚዩ ዝነኣሰን ዝወሓደን ከም ዚኸውን ኣርጊጽና
እንፈልጥ ስለ ዝኾና፡ ሓሳባትናን ድልየታትና ይደባለቕን ይናወጽን ኣሎ። እወ፡ እቲ ንኣና ዚስምዓና፡ እቲ ዚፍተወና፡ እቲ ዜካትዓና
ዝኾነ ይኹን ኩሉ ብዙሕ ቅዉም ነገር ዘሎዎ ኾይኑ ኣይኪቚጸርን ኢዩ።
ዝኾነ ኾይኑ ግና “ዶኾን” ኪብሃለሉ ዚኽእል ሓያሎ ሓሳባት ኣብ ኣየር ኣንጠጢዉ ኣሎ።ንሱ ድማ እቲ ሓደስ ካብ’ቲ ሓደ
ዚበላለጽ ጽቡቕ ሓሳባት ኢዩ። ግናኸ ካብኡ ሓደ’ኳ ኣብ ትሕቲ ምምዳብና ዚወድቕ የልቦን። ገሊኣቶም- ኢትዮጵያ ንኤርትራ
ክትወስዳ ኢያ ይብሉ፡ ንገሊኣቶም ከኣ ኤርትራ ናብ ኢጣልያ ከም እትምለስ ርግጽ ኮይኑ ይስምዓቶም፡ ገሊኣቶም ድማ በቲ
“ልቕሓን ክራይን” ዚብሃል በዚ ጊዜ’ዚ ወጺኡ ዘሎ ሓድሽ መንገዲ ኤርትራ ንኣመሪካ ክትውሃብ ኢያ ይብሉ፡ ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ
ንኤርትራ ውሕጥ ከም እተብላ “ዚፈልጡ” ድማ ኣሎዉ። ብዝተረፈስ ነዚ ዚመስል ካልእ ብዙሕ “ተሃብራት” እውን ኣሎ።
[Trans.] At the present time; since we are incapable of knowing what will come to pass and befall
on us; since we definitely know what we can say and do in regard to the future of our country is
very little and inconsequential; our thoughts, wishes and desires are confused and befuddled. If truth
be told, the thing that we feel, the thing that we like, the things that we debate on will be considered
worthless and insubstantial.
All the same, hoping that perchance they will be heard by the powers-that-be, we have some of our
ideas suspended in the air. These ideas of ours surpass each other in their merit and worth. But, it
fell not under our powers to realize any one of them. [To mention some of these ideas] some people
say that Ethiopia will take Eritrea. Some people feel certain that Eritrea will return back to the Italian
rule. Some say Eritrea will be given to the United States of America under the ‘Lend-lease’ program.
And there are those who ‘know’ th at Britain will ‘swallow up’ Eritrea. There are also man y other
conjectures like those.
12 According to Alemseghed Tesfai, the essay is originally written by the then British military governor of Eritrea,
Steven Longrigg, and is translated by Woldeab Woldemariam. Though it needs a separate and exhaustive study, it
must be noted here that it seems that Tigrigna was not operating in isolation. In the specific essay, the translation
must obviously have absorbed something in style from the original English. PDF page 12
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12
The writer then tries to refute each idea and gradually present his to the reader:
ኣነ እዚ ብዛዕባ ኩነታት ሃገር ኤርትራ ዚትንኪ ዓቢይ ሕቶ ኪፍትሓሉ ወይስ ኪዕረየሉ ዚኽእል መንገድታት ክሕብር ሃረርታይ
ኢዩ። ኬጽብቦ ጊዜን ስፍራን ስለ ዝደረኸኒ ግና፡ ብኣዚዩ እተወሰነ ቓላት አቕርቦ ኣሎኹ፥
ኤርትራ ብዓልየታትን ብቛንቋታትን ብወገናትን ብሃይማኖታትን ድብልቕልቕ ዝበለት ሃገር ኢያ። እቶም ኣብ መታሕት ዚቕመጡ
ወገናት (ወይስ ሕዝቢ) ብገለ መንገዲ ምስ’ቲ ብትምህርትን ብንግድን ብሃይማኖትን ንኣኦም ዚመስል ምስ ሕዝቢ ሱዳን ኪሓብሩ
ከም ዚደልዩ ርግጽ ኢዩ።
ዝኾነ ኾይኑ ግና እቲ ንኣይ ኤርትራዊ ወዲ ከበሳ ስለ ዝኾንኩ ኣውራ ዜገድሰኒ ዘሎስ እቲ ነቶም ቋንቋ ትግርኛ ዚዛረቡ ብዙሓት
ክርስትያን ዚትንኪ ነገር ኢዩ። እዙይን እቲ ኣብ ሰሜናዊት ኢትዮጵያ ዚቕመጥ ሕዝብን ብዓልየትን ብሃይማኖትን ብያታን
ብዛንታን ብትምህርትን ብልማድን ሓደ ወገን ከም ዝኾነ ኣጸቢቑ እተፈልጠ ኢዩ። እቲ ንምልእቲ ኢትዮጵያ ስልጣንን ጭውነትን
ዕብየትን ስርዓትን ዝሃበ ሕዝቢ ኣብ ክልተ ኪምቀል ከኣ ከቶ ዘይግባእ ኢዩ።
ኣዂሱም፡ እታ ናይ መንግሥቲ ኢትዮጵያ መናገሻ ዘልዓለማዊት ከተማ፡ ናይ’ቲ ቋንቋ ትግርኛ ዚዛረብ ሕዝቢ መንፈሳዊት መደበር
ወይስ ብልጽቲ መዝገብ ኢያ። ናይ ምሉእ ሕዝቢ ትግርኛ፡ ሃይማኖታውን ፖለቲካውን ሃረርታን ናፍቖትን ከኣ ኣብኣ ኢዩ
ተዓቚሩን ተዓቂቡን ዚነብር ዘሎ። ሕዝቢ እስራኤል ትንሳኤ ‘ጽዮን’ ከም ዚኣምንን ከም ዚጽበን ሕዝቢ ትግርኛ’ውን ትንሳኤ
ኣዂሱም ይኣምንን ይጽበን ኢዩ።
እምበኣርስከ፡ እዛ ናይ ኢጣልያ ምሥራቃዊት ሃገር እትብሃል ዝነበረት ክፍሊ፡ ካብዚ ዝብሎ ዘሎኹ ዚሓይሽ ካልእ ምምሕዳር
እትርክብ ኮይኑ ኣይስምዓንን።
[Trans.]It is my wish to suggest ways and means of solving or fixing the big riddle pertaining to the
future of Eritrea. With time and space constraints forcing me to limit myself, I here below present
my opinion with few words:
Eritrea is a mélange of diverse races, tongues, factions and confessions. It is certain that those people
who live in the lowlands, in one way or the other, wants to tie the knot with the people of Sudan
with whom they share a great deal. But, as a Christian highlander, the thing which concerns me in
the main is the issue touching on the future of the Christian Tigrigna speakers.
That the Tigrigna speakers in Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia are of the same people, of t he same
race, and of the same religion; and that they share the same story [history] and custom is well -
known. It is improper to divide the Tigreans [Tigrigna speakers], who gave Ethiopia its civilization,
culture, decorum and order, into two. Aksum, the eternal city, the seat of the Ethiopian government,
is the spiritual mecca of the Tigrigna people. The religious and political longings and aspirations of
the whole Tigrigna people lives in the bosom of the city. Therefore, as the Israelites believe in and
wait for the resurrection of Scion, the Tigrigna people also believe in and wait for the resurrection
of Aksum.13 Therefore, I feel that the ex -Italian East African colony [Eritrea] cannot face a better
fate than the one I am suggesting.
Even in its transl ation, the above essay keeps the poetry of the sort we have witnessed in the
Addisonian essays. I could not establish whether this is the result of the English original or the
translator’s established mastery. But, judging from Woldeab’s other writings his stylistic and
linguistic imprints are all over the translation.
The above essay elicited a series of responses. It faced strong disapproval from left and right. One
such strong confutation was written by one of the best polem icist of the period Ghebremeskel
13 The comparison drawn between Scion and Aksum is highly emotive. And it is a strong example where religious
feelings and beliefs were made into powerful arsenal in the public discourse battles of the period waged for the soul
of the country.
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Woldu on 31st of August 1944. Its title in Geez14, ኢታብኣነ እግዚኦ ወስት መንሱት፣ ብዛዕባ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ (O
Lord Lead Us Not into Temptation: About the Future of Eritrea), Gebremeskel employs powerfully
penetrating extended metaphor to argue for a complete unification of Eritrea with Ethiopia . His
essay begins with a refrain typical of the times “ even though it is not pellucid for many people
what will happen or what will be considered and pla nned about Eritrea in the post -war peace
settlement, I entreat thee to receive a humble opinion of thy fellow and forward it to your readers.”
Then he goes on presenting his opinion in the most unforgettable lines of the period:
ሓደ ሰብ፣ ተኾርምዩ ዝነበረ ኣካሉ እንተዘርግሐ፣ ሓደ ሰብ ጥራይ ምዃኑ ኣይተርፎን። ከምኡ’ውን ካብቲ ዋና ኣካሉ ርሕቕ ቢሉ
ዝነበረ ናይ ሰውነቱ ክፍሊ እክብ እንተበሎ፣ ሓደ ሰብ ምዃኑ እኳ ኣይተርፎን። ስለ’ዚ ኢትዮጵያ ነታ ኣካላ ዝኾነት ኤርትራ
ብርትዒ እንተኣከበት ከም ምስፋሕ ኮይኑ ድኣ ይርአ እምበር፣ ከም ሓዲስ ግዝኣት ምውሳኽ፣ ከም ዘይነበረካ ግዝኣት ምውሳኽ
ኮይኑ ዚርአ ኣይመስለንን። በቲ ሓደ ወገን፣ ምሉእ ኣካል ዘለዎ ሰብ ምስትርኢ ደስ ይብለካ፣ ቁምጣ ምስትርኢ ግን እንኳን ደስ
ክብለካ ሰውነትካ’ኳ ከም ገለ ይገብረካ፣ ባሕርያዊ ነገር ኢዩ።
[Trans.]To separate Eritrea from Ethiopia is like separating a suckling from its mother. A person
who stretches his contracted body does not fail to be one person. Or he fails not to be one body if
he pulls back his stretched body. Therefore, if Ethiopia takes back Eritrea, which is part of its body,
I think it should be seen not as irredentism and colonial expansionism but a mere stretching of one’s
body. And frankly, when one sees a person with a full body, one feels good. But, if one happens to
see an amputee, let alone feeling good, the sight would definitely nauseates him. That is in the nature
of things.
In my view, the most powerful quality of this essay is its use of an apparently simple but intimate
metaphor to argue for a poltical position which would have become, if debated in the usual prosaic
manner in which political matters are discussed, a dull political editorialing. Equating separating
Eritrea from Ethiopia with separating an infant baby from its mother, and equating Ethiopia’s claim
on Eritrea with a natural contacti on and stretching of a human body have the power of hiding a
whole set of factual details and construing a political case in a manner where the reader is, if not
convinced, at least thrown into uncertainity.
Many other essays supported the idea of independence for Eritrea and opposed partition or union
with Ethiopia. On the 7th of September 1944, one of the most prominent politicians of the period,
Abraha Tesemma, wrot e a piece in sup port of Eritrea’s independence. Dotted with proverbs,
stories and historical anecdotes, Abraha presented the idea of Eritrean independence in an alluring
style. He begins his essay with a story and says:
ደቂ ኖህ (ኦሪት) ማይ ኣይሂ ብዝሓለፈ፣ ዳሕረዋይ ማይ ኣይሂ ከይመጽእ እሞ ከየጥፍኣና ኢሎም ኣብ ባቢሎን፣ ኣብዚ ሎሚ
ባቅዳድ ዚብሃል ከተማ ኣብ ሃገር ኢራቅ ኣል ዓረቢ፣ ኣብ ገማግም ሩባ ኤፍራጥስ ሰማይ ዚበጽሕ ግምቢ ንስራሕ ኢሎም ጀመሩ።
ብዙሕ ዓመታት ብዝጽዓሩን ብዝደኸሙን ግን፣ ቋንቋ ምስምማዕ ሲኢናቶም ፋሕ ፋሕ ስለ ዝበሉ ዓንዮም ተረፉ ይብሃል። ደቂ
ኖህስ’ኳ ቋንቋ ተለዋዊጥዎም ምስምማዕ ስኣኑ ይብለና። ንሕናኸ ደቂ ኤርትራ ሓንቲ ‘ትግርኛ’ ዝቛንቋና እንታይ ኢዩ ምስምማዕ
ዚኸልኣና ዘሎ? ዳሕራይ ግምቢ ባቢሎን ንምጅማር’ሞ ፋሕ ፋሕ ኢልና ኣብ ቁምነገርን ስጉምትን ከይበጻሕና፣ ጥበባትን
ትምህርትን ከይጠዓምና ኣብ ናይ ናጽነት ጎደና ከይኣቶና ዶኾን ክንተርፍ ይኸውን?
14 Very often, the essayists of the 1940s sprinkled their pieces with Geez words, phrases and statements to, I assume,
infuse them with classical flavor almost in the same vein as Latin was used in English. PDF page 14
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ሓሳባት ሰብ ኵሉ ብሓደ ግዜ ዘይተሳማሞዐ ኢለ ኣይኮንኩን፣ ሓሳባትና ከም መጠን መልክዕና ፍጹም ዝተለዋወጠ ከም ዝኾነ
ዜጠራጥር ኣይኮነን። እዚ ድማ ብጥንቲ ዝጸንሐ ኢዩ’ምበር ሓዲስ ክንብሎ ኣይንኽእልን። የግዳስ ኵሉ ኣናጻጺርካን ነፊኻን
ጸሚቝካን፣ ኣብ ዝሓሸ ንሕዝቢ ዝጠቅም መንገዲ ምእታው ኢዩ ዜድሊ ዚመስለኒ።
[Trans.] In the Old Testament, after the great flood subsided, to prevent future calamity, the sons of
Noah decided to build the Tower of Babel in what is today Baghdad, I raq El Arabiya, along the
bank of the Euphrates. However, after strenuously laboring for years, they began to speak tongues
unintelligible to each other and consequently got dispersed. It is said that the sons of Noah couldn’t
communicate amongst each other because they lacked a common language. But what is it that is
preventing us, the sons of Eritrea, who speak one language, Tigrigna, from coming to an
understanding? Do we mean that we are going to build a modern-day Tower of Babel, get dispersed
without making any pro gress and without tasting [the fruits of] education and art? Do we mean to
fail from entering the avenues of freedom?
I do not mean to suggest that everybody must concur on one point. There is no doubt that our
opinions differ as much as our looks. And th is is but new. But, I insist we must collect, sift and
compress these ideas and come up with suggestions which best serve the interest of the general
public.
Abraha then weaves his way to his point and submit his ideas thus:
ኣዪ! ኣዪ! ንሕዝቢ ኤርትራ ከምዚ ገቢሩ ከም ኣእምሮ ህጻን ርእሱ ዜዝሮን ከም ነፋሒቶ ሓሳቡ ዚለዋውጦን ዘሎስ እንታይ ኮን
እዩ? ድኽነት፣ ዕርቃን፣ ስንፍና፣ ሃኪት ደኾን ይኸውን? ትምህርቲ ምስኣን፣ ድንቍርና ዶኾን ኢዩ? ኣይኮነን። ስምምዕ ምስኣን
ድኣ ኢዩ። ኣርቅቕ ኣቢልና እንተሓሰብናዮን እንተመርመርናዮን ብዙሓት መንእሰያት ደቂ ኤርትራ ናይ ፖሊስን ኣመሓዳዳር
ዚኽእሉ፣ ንርእሳቶም ኮይኖምስ ንዓዳቶም ኬሰልጥኑ ዚኽእሉ ኣለዉ፣ ከምኡ ድማ ብወገን ወተሃደር ኩባንያ፣ በጦሊዮኒ ኪመርሑ
ዚኽእሉ ብዙሕ ኵናትን ጸበባን ዘሕለፉ ፍቱናት ጀጋኑ ሹምባሻት ዝነበሩ ኣለዉና። ተሌግራፍን ተሌፎንን ዜዓርዩን ዜተኻኽሉን
ኣለዉና። ብወገን መኪናታት ምዝዋርን ምዕራይን ዝፈልጡታ ኣጕባዝ ኣለዉና፣ ብስራሕ መንደቅ፣ ሓጺን፣ጽርበት ዕንጸይትን
እምንን፣ ኖራ ምፍላሕ፣ እንተኮነ ሰነፍ ዘየእትዉ ደቂ ኣለዉና። ጎዲሉና ዘሎ ድኣ ኣንታይ ኢዩ? ስምምዕ ስምምዕ ስምምዕ ምስኣን
ኢዩ።
[Trans.] Ah! Ah! What might be the reason which stirs the minds of our people like kids and sway
their opinions like chameleon? Is it penury? Is it deprivation? Is it ineptness? Is it slothfulness? Is it
lack of education? Is it ignorance? Definitely not. It is only the lack of agreement. If we ponder on
and examine the subtleties of the issue, we would find that there are politics -savvy Eritrean youths
who can develop not only their country but others too. What’s more, we are blessed with war -
hardened heroes who can command companies and battalions; with citizens who can operate the
telegraph and telephone systems; and with people who are proficient in construction, wood and
metal works. Then what is it that is missing? Agreement, agreement, and agreement!
Rejecting vehemently the idea of partitioning Eritrea into two, Abraha also out rightly rejects the
idea of joining Ethiopia by employing the ‘we-are-better-than-Ethiopia’ and ‘we-are-historically-
different’ theses. Finally, he winds up his essay with a n ote of forewarning against any kind of
union with Ethiopia by declaring:
ንሕና ደቂ-ኤርትራ ቍሩብ ናይ ሥልጣኔ ምልክት ዘሎና ኢና። እቲ ናይ ቅድሚ ሕጂ ዝነበረን እቲ ኪኸውን ዘለዎን
ከየስተውዓልናስ ብዝኾነ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ንተሓወስ! ንተሓወስ እንተበልና ሃገር ዜናብሩ መኳንንትን ወተሃደራትን (ኣምሓራ)
ኪመጹና ግድነት ዘይተርፍ ነገር ኢዩ’ሞ ተመሊስና ድማ ናብ ዕግርግርን ናብ መርገምን ምምላስና ኢዩ። “ኣታ ትማሊ ጾምካ
ዝሓደርካ ጋሻ ሎሚ እውን ከምታ ትማሊኻ።”
[Trans.] We Eritreans have a little sign of civi lization. To gullibly say, let’s unite with Ethiopia!
Let’s unite! without examining the past and future scenarios, would inevitably mean inviting PDF page 15
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Amhara soldiers and officials to come to rule over us and this would in turn definitely enmesh us in
chaos and curse. As the old Tigrigna saying goes, “thou guest, who didst not eat yester night, today
is not different.”
Another essayist who wrote under the pen name Hayansh ufi on 2 1 September 1944 made a
sarcastic attack on the proposals for union and immediate independence and the manner and
language they were presented in. Hayanshufi writes:
ብዛዕባ እቲ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ ዚትንኪ፣ ነንበይኑ ዝኾኑ ሓሳባትን ባህልታትን ዚገልጽ ዓንቀጻት፣ ብሰሙናዊ ጋዜጣ
ኪዝረብ ከሎ እሰምዕ ኣሎኹ። ግናኸ፣ ሓያለ ኻብኡ፣ ጋህዲ ብዘይኮኑ ሓሳባትን ክዉን ብዘይኮነ ቃላትን ስለእተሓስበን
እተዘርበንስ ቅዉምነገር ከምዘይረኸብክሉ ክእመኖ እግደድ ኣሎኹ።…ብኣዝዩ ዓበይቲ ግናኸ ጥራዩን ባዶሽን ብዝኾነ ቓላትስ፣
ናይ ዝኾነ ይኹን ሃገር፣ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኪፍታሕ ወይስ ክምደብ ከቶ ኣይክኣልን። “ከቶ ዘይፈናትን ዘይፈላለን ሕብረት!”…
“ኣዝዩ ቀጥ ዝብለ ዝምድናን ሕውነትን”…ዝብል ቃላት፣ ንምስማዕ ደስ ዜብል ኣዝዩ ዓብይን ጽቡቕን ቃላት ኢዩ። ግናኸ፣ ኣብ
ቅድሚ ጋህድን ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕይወትን ንብረትን ኪቐርብ ከሎስ ኪትሓዝ ዚከኣል ቅወም-ነገርን ፍረን ኣትርከቦን’ዩ።
ሓራ ኾይኑ ወይስ ርእሱ ክኢሉ እተወልደ ሕዝቢ ሓደ’ኳ ኣይርከብን። እዚ ኸምዚ ዝበለ ዕድል ወይስ መዓርግ፣ ተጋዲልካ
ክትረኽቦን ክትበቅዖን ግድን የድሊ። ብዙሓት ሕዝብታት፣ ብቓልን ብመልክዕን ብትርኢታትን ሓርነት ዘለዎምን ርእሳቶም ከኣ
ዝኸኣሉን ይመስሉ። ግናኸ መልክዕ ሓርነት ድኣዮም ዝነበሱ’ምበር ካብቲ ናይ ሓቂ ሓርነትስ ርሑቓት ኢዮም።
[Trans.] I am hearing to essays carrying different opinions concerning the fate of Eritrea and posted
on the Eritrean Weekly News. But, I have to confess that I have found most of the pieces thought
and written in an obscure and unrealistic manner. It is not possible, as it were, to resolve or settle
any country’s problem with grandiose but hollow statements. Statement such as ‘very robust
relationship and camaraderie’ ‘inseparable and eternal unity’ are big and good statements one can’t
help but like to hear. However, when such statements are subjected to a reality check they are
intangible and fruitless. In addition, it is useful to note that no society is born free. One has to fight
or find oneself fit for a fortune or prestige such as freedom. There are many people who are free in
theory and appearance and it seems that they are free. However, though they don a mantle of
freedom they are way far from the real one.
Finally, the writer calls all Eritreans to understand that freedom is an ‘apparition’ which is
insubstantial and illusory (ስለ’ዚ ብዙሓት ኤርትራዊያን ሓርነትን ገዛእ ርእስኻ ምኽኣልንሲ መንፈሳዊ ቃል ድኣዩ’ምበር ቅዉም-ነገር ዘለዎ
ስጋዊ ቃል ከም ዘይኮነ ኬስተውዕልዎ ዚግብኣቶም ኢዩ።) and he proposes British or French protectorate until the
Eritrean people achieve ‘political, earthly and spiritual maturity’.
Conclusion
In the 1940’s, apart from the political, the form and content of the essay was heavily influenced
by the prevailing epistemological and ethical ambience. Almost all the essayists were the product
of a limited Italian and Mission schooling, and their highest terms of reference was religion. Even
the most politically vitriolic essays bore the imprint of religious, most of the times Christian, moral
principles. Sentence structures followed the form of the Tigrigna Bible, political opinions were
couched in visibly religious terms, and long quotes and parables were taken from the Bible to give
credence to ideas and stances. Some of the prominent essayists were Weldeab Weldemariam,
Abraha Tessema, Ghebremeskel Weldu, Zerai Seqwar, Redda Mengesha, Tesfazion D eres,
Gebremichael Grmu, Sahle Andemichael, and Tedla Habtemariam. PDF page 16
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As the Eritrean political landscape became extremely polarized towards the end of the 1940s, the
essay in Tigrigna picked up more stylistic sophistication, depth and number. Written within the
frame of the old Tigrig na Biblical diction and syntactical structures, and greatly benefiting from
the writers’ ability to make use of the rich reservoir of Tigrigna oral expressive forms, the essays
were powerful, vivid, animating and engaging. The impeccable style, with which Tigrigna essays
were written, indeed, makes the period the classical phase of the language; and the essay the womb
out of which all other literary genres in Tigrigna were born.
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Works Cited
Anonymous. ዕድል ኤርትራ (The Future of Eritrea), Eritrean Weekly News, February14, 1944, issue
No 77.
Hayanshufi. ብገዛእ ርእስኻ ምሕዳር (To be Independent) Eritrean Weekly News, September 21, 1944,
issue No 108.
Mengstu, Hrui. ስለ ትንሳኤ (In defence of Resurrection ), Eritrean Weekly News , December 14,
1942, issue No 16.
Negash, Ghirmai. A History of Tigrigna Literature: The Oral and the Written, 1890-1991. Leiden:
Research School CVWS, 1999.
One Eritrean (ሓደ ኤርትራዊ). ብዛዕባ’ቲ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ ዚትንኪ ገለ ሓሳባት (Few Thoughts Pertaining
to the Future State of Eritrea), Eritrean Weekly News, August 3, 1944, issue No 101.
Oqbit, Bairu. ብደቂ ትግርኛ, Eritrean Weekly News, June 1, 1944, issue No 92.
Tesemma, Abraha. ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ (On the Future State of Eritrea), Eritrean Weekly News,
September 7, 1944, issue No 106.
Tesfai, Alemseged. Aynfelale, 1941-1950. Asmara: Hdri Publishers, 2001.
Woldemariam, Woldeab. ቺቪልታ- (ስልጠኔን)፣ ቺቪልታ እንታይ ማለት’ዩ? ከመይ ጌርና’ኸ ነስተውዕሎ?
(Civilization- What is it? And How do we understand it?), Eritrean Weekly News, December 20,
1943, issue No 69.
— ሃገር (Country), Eritrean Weekly News, January31, 1944, issue No 75.
— ትምህርትን ስነ-ስርዓትን (Education and Discipline), Eritrean Weekly News, February
7, 1944, issue No 76.
— ንሹማምንትን ንሕዝብን (For Leaders and the People), Eritrean Weekly News, February
7, 1944, issue No 76.
Woldu, Ghebremeskel. ኢታብኣነ እግዚኦ ወስት መንሱት፣ ብዛዕባ ዚመጽእ ኩነታት ኤርትራ (O Lord Lead Us Not into
Temptation: About the Future of Eritrea), Eritrean Weekly News, August 31, 1944, issue No 105.
Xegeyesus, Teweldebrhan. ክብረት ርእስኻ ምሕላው (Upholding One’s Own Dignity), Eritrean Weekly
News, October 26, 1942, issue No 9.
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*Samuel Emaha is a history graduate from the Eritrea Institute of Technology who later worked as
graduate assistant (2012-1015) in the same department of the College of Arts and Sociel Sciences and
as co-writer of history textbooks for Eritrean secondary schools. Although it has not been produced, he
also translated Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot into Tigrigna. Samuel is currently studying at
Kocaeli University of Turkey to earn masters in political history; he can be reached at:
samuelemaha@gmail.com