Social organization is associated with the quality of your land, social and military customs, the church, labor, gender, and age. You can be considered a peasant if you are a farmer owning land (they have the power to thwart the power of the government) or if you are a sharecropper, who do not have power over their landlords. You may be higher up in class if you work in a skillful occupation, particularly blacksmiths, tanners, and pottery makers, as people fear them. However, socially, Amharic artisans are not very respected. They may even be excluded from town events. These people are known as the buda (or sometimes known as tebib, meaning the knowing one), who have magical powers that can be used to harm other Amhara. This is also the magic that makes the artisans have good craftsmanship, and their products strong (Amhara - Economy: 2014). For more on the Buda, see the religon tab. Underneath them in social status are the people whose ancestors were slaves, the slaves had been imported from the Shanqualla of the Sudanese border, also known as the Nilotic Barya, dubbing each the equal to “slave”. (Amhara - Sociopolitical Organization: 2014) Nobles were given land in return for military service under the imperial system.
Control over the social structure is maintained in traditional ways: conflict is settled closely connected to the social hierarchy. Along with the written laws created by the church and written Abyssinian laws, unwritten laws must be followed (i.e. “ the payment of blood money to the kin of a murder victim”). A grieving person could plead to authority by shouting “abyet” (hear me) while lying facedown in their path. Contracts are not necessary, as long as there are trustworthy witnesses. In order to get a job or loan, a was (personal guarantor) is needed. The was can also become a bondsman, who can keep those accused from going to jail. Talking well in court (the drama of litigation) is respected. Children can also enact it, using the correct body language of “pointing a toga at the judge” to emphasize what they are saying. (Amhara - Sociopolitical Organization: 2014)
Between 1270 to 1974, only one emperor was not Amharic. Because of the aforementioned ruling, the Amhara are quite competitive with their neighbors in the north, the Tigray (sometimes seen as Tigre), the Oromo, and other Ethiopian ethnic groups. During 1974 to 1991, the conflict between the Oromo became increasingly intense as they became more important in social and political aspects of the country. Afterwards, the Amhara clashed with the Tigray, who had gained power in their scuffle against the Marxists: marxism: “the political ideology commonly associated with states governed by Communist parties” (Amhara: 2014).
Unlike the clashes with the Tigray and Oromo, the Amhara made friends with the Portuguese, whom they had first contacted in 1508, their first communication to those outside their plateau. This came into play later, during the period of colonialism, when Portugal sent soldiers to the Amhara to protect them from colonialism. (Amhara People: 2014)
Most Amhara are farmers as an occupation. Their farming methods include simple irrigation techniques or complete dependency on rainfall and ox-drawn plows. The main farming tool of the Amhara is the plow (a device made of wood and has a tip made of iron), pulled by oxen. They terrace farms to stop erosion. Coffee and sugar cane are main crops. The Amhara also farm corn, barley, wheat, millet, teff (an Ethiopian grain), sorghum, beans, chickpeas, peppers, and cayenne pepper. The Amhara also raise sheep, cattle, and goats. However, this was not easy living (Amhara People: 2014). Many Amhara can’t be sure if they will still own their land by the end of the growing season, so they tend not to invest in their crops and produce more than the amount needed to survive (Amhara - Economy: 2014). In the past, they have had rich soil and as much rain to have three harvests a year. Then, there was a famine and a drought, especially in the years 1974 and 1975. In some parts of Ethiopia, it is still affecting crop growth.
Before the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974, landlords, not living in the area, would be completely strict towards the farmers, creating much debt. Afterwards, the people of the local government would inflict the same problems (Amhara people: 2014). The new government that took over Ethiopia in 1991 does not consider the Amhara as an important part of Ethiopia. The Amhara live in some cities, crowded against other people, in houses with folded iron roofs and mud walls. There is not a waste disposal system, and there is only one pipe filled with water for an entire city. (Amhara: 2014) So, the Amhara have a clean water problem, which has led to much disease. There is a flooding problem, though, so villages are normally built on top of hills. Also, children normally do not have the opportunity to attend school. However this chance has been rising in recent years. (Amhara People: 2014)
The Amhara use nature to their benefit. They make soap from crushed fruit and preserve butter from boiled leaves known as odes. The Amhara mostly farm, but they also fish. Their main source of income is farming, however, because they can only fish during a rainy season that lasts for three months. The original way of farming meant some land in the crop rotation would have to be unused to replenish the soil with minerals, nutrients, and worms. Cattle manure can be made into smooth sections, dried in the sun, and be used to help warm up food. If the Amhara obtain land, its lumber will be exploited through the slash/burn technique.
Recently, the government began a villagization program. This program tried to even out which land was being farmed. It took the best Amharic planters and growers and forcefully moved them to parts of Ethiopia that needed to be farmed. This made the Amhara people dislike growing good or extra crops so they could stay united with their families. On top of farmers being separated from their wives and children, they would usually die from starvation in the new regions because the government would not provide them with the materials necessary to grow crops.
Often, farming is complicated. The Amhara raise livestock to gain social footing. Oxen are not used for milk, only to pull plows. The marketplace will sometime harvest wild coffee, but usually will buy domestically grown coffee from local farmers. They will grind the beans in front of the customer, and salt can be added. However, they normally don’t add sugar. (Amhara - Economy: 2014)
Control over the social structure is maintained in traditional ways: conflict is settled closely connected to the social hierarchy. Along with the written laws created by the church and written Abyssinian laws, unwritten laws must be followed (i.e. “ the payment of blood money to the kin of a murder victim”). A grieving person could plead to authority by shouting “abyet” (hear me) while lying facedown in their path. Contracts are not necessary, as long as there are trustworthy witnesses. In order to get a job or loan, a was (personal guarantor) is needed. The was can also become a bondsman, who can keep those accused from going to jail. Talking well in court (the drama of litigation) is respected. Children can also enact it, using the correct body language of “pointing a toga at the judge” to emphasize what they are saying. (Amhara - Sociopolitical Organization: 2014)
Between 1270 to 1974, only one emperor was not Amharic. Because of the aforementioned ruling, the Amhara are quite competitive with their neighbors in the north, the Tigray (sometimes seen as Tigre), the Oromo, and other Ethiopian ethnic groups. During 1974 to 1991, the conflict between the Oromo became increasingly intense as they became more important in social and political aspects of the country. Afterwards, the Amhara clashed with the Tigray, who had gained power in their scuffle against the Marxists: marxism: “the political ideology commonly associated with states governed by Communist parties” (Amhara: 2014).
Unlike the clashes with the Tigray and Oromo, the Amhara made friends with the Portuguese, whom they had first contacted in 1508, their first communication to those outside their plateau. This came into play later, during the period of colonialism, when Portugal sent soldiers to the Amhara to protect them from colonialism. (Amhara People: 2014)
Most Amhara are farmers as an occupation. Their farming methods include simple irrigation techniques or complete dependency on rainfall and ox-drawn plows. The main farming tool of the Amhara is the plow (a device made of wood and has a tip made of iron), pulled by oxen. They terrace farms to stop erosion. Coffee and sugar cane are main crops. The Amhara also farm corn, barley, wheat, millet, teff (an Ethiopian grain), sorghum, beans, chickpeas, peppers, and cayenne pepper. The Amhara also raise sheep, cattle, and goats. However, this was not easy living (Amhara People: 2014). Many Amhara can’t be sure if they will still own their land by the end of the growing season, so they tend not to invest in their crops and produce more than the amount needed to survive (Amhara - Economy: 2014). In the past, they have had rich soil and as much rain to have three harvests a year. Then, there was a famine and a drought, especially in the years 1974 and 1975. In some parts of Ethiopia, it is still affecting crop growth.
Before the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974, landlords, not living in the area, would be completely strict towards the farmers, creating much debt. Afterwards, the people of the local government would inflict the same problems (Amhara people: 2014). The new government that took over Ethiopia in 1991 does not consider the Amhara as an important part of Ethiopia. The Amhara live in some cities, crowded against other people, in houses with folded iron roofs and mud walls. There is not a waste disposal system, and there is only one pipe filled with water for an entire city. (Amhara: 2014) So, the Amhara have a clean water problem, which has led to much disease. There is a flooding problem, though, so villages are normally built on top of hills. Also, children normally do not have the opportunity to attend school. However this chance has been rising in recent years. (Amhara People: 2014)
The Amhara use nature to their benefit. They make soap from crushed fruit and preserve butter from boiled leaves known as odes. The Amhara mostly farm, but they also fish. Their main source of income is farming, however, because they can only fish during a rainy season that lasts for three months. The original way of farming meant some land in the crop rotation would have to be unused to replenish the soil with minerals, nutrients, and worms. Cattle manure can be made into smooth sections, dried in the sun, and be used to help warm up food. If the Amhara obtain land, its lumber will be exploited through the slash/burn technique.
Recently, the government began a villagization program. This program tried to even out which land was being farmed. It took the best Amharic planters and growers and forcefully moved them to parts of Ethiopia that needed to be farmed. This made the Amhara people dislike growing good or extra crops so they could stay united with their families. On top of farmers being separated from their wives and children, they would usually die from starvation in the new regions because the government would not provide them with the materials necessary to grow crops.
Often, farming is complicated. The Amhara raise livestock to gain social footing. Oxen are not used for milk, only to pull plows. The marketplace will sometime harvest wild coffee, but usually will buy domestically grown coffee from local farmers. They will grind the beans in front of the customer, and salt can be added. However, they normally don’t add sugar. (Amhara - Economy: 2014)