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Introduction to Sidama Nation

Little is known about the Sidama nation, its people, its history and culture. Sidama studies were virtually non-existent even for academic purposes. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, the emergence of enlightened nationalists and the promotion of Sidama nationalism were late and slow in comparison to other regions. Secondly, the Ethiopian historiography had no room for the promotion or development of non-Habasha cultures and peoples. Worse, still, it had circumvented and undermined knowledge production and dissemination of the latter. The combination of these factors engendered ambiguity about the past and uncertainty about contemporary developments. The ensuing lack of critical scholarship, as William Shack noted, had “distorted the human achievements of conquered peoples including transformations of their social, cultural and political institutions” (quoted in Jalata 1995: 95). A lot has to be done to reverse this scenario and to revitalize the Sidama studies. Without pretending to offer a definitive source of knowledge about the subject, this effort constitutes the onset of a multi-disciplinary research agenda. [Free download: Chapter 2. pdf 208 kb]

Excerpt from the book: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA, Essays on Underdevelopment, Democracy and Self-Determination
 Edited by Seyoum Hameso and Mohammed Hassen

[Order from the Publisher | Amazon.com]

NEWS                      

Report: Horn of turbulence

CUD disarray  

Sidama Land - Coffee

Sidama not Sidamo

More Examples of wrong Sidamo name

 

ARTICLES                      

Introduction to Sidama

Abuse of religion

Why Sidamas Reject SNNPRS

The Sidama Diaspora [pdf]

© 2007 The Sidama Concern