Traditional Smithery and Its cultural context In Aksum
| dc.contributor.advisor | Benzing, Brigitta(Prof | |
| dc.contributor.author | Fitsum, Haftsh | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-03-22T06:12:29Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-04T11:56:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-03-22T06:12:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-04T11:56:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2012 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This st/(dy is about "tmditional smithery and ils cultural context in Aksum. " This studyji)clIses on the hislOrical background uf smiths and smithery of those different calagories: describing smithery with different aspects of culture, status of smiths and analyzing the relationships between traditional smiths and local people. in order /0 achieve the obj ecti ve of the study, both primCll)' and secondary data were collected and used. Secondary data were collected from a re\'iew 0/ literature, including books, published reports and unpublished sources. Various methods of pril1Utry data collection were used to collect the required information such as: observation, participant observation, key-info rmant interviews andfocus group discussion. £ pcn though tF(-Iditional .Ym ithelY in Ethiopia has a long history and still is practiced in different parts o.l Eth iopia, it is not well studied. Traditional smithery studies usually focus in fi" agmented way on a single aspect ol smithelY. Some scholars have allempted to study the status of the smiths 017(1 the artistic eXjJression 0/ the traditional metalwork, but still do /lot cover all the dil1l ensiol1s 0/ it. The tmditional smiths' CIIlture was and still is ignored Most \I'riters are only appreciating andfocusing on the materials and deSigns and do not even mention who has made those objects. There/ore, this thesis intends to add some f acts to the limited data available on traditional smiths and smithery in Aksum. The traditional smiths in this town have a long history which usually relates legend, religion and oral histolY of the area. Most of the contemporary traditional smiths claim that they are desce ndingfrom ancient Aksumite craftsmanship and some o.lthem claim that they came Fom israel with the Ark of Covenant. In Aksum now, there are three types of traditional smiths. The re are the black-smiths, the liturgical smiths and the j ewelry-smiths, with their own expression of identity. They produce different types of objects, and use different technologies. The lost wax casting is one 0/ the best techniques in producing church objects. There are many technical terms, names of objects and · materials. The artistic expression 0/ smithel), also lestijies the long hislOJY of lhe area and the influence oj the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The smiths have the local knowledge about the nature of the metals, clays and tools. The status also relatively differs among the groups of smiths and is now undergoing status changes. in this thesis also an ancient "language" is identified. This language is called Owadu "language " and sometimes called "Seyyak language. " The "language" is very secret and the loco! societic>s do nol even know about its existence. Now the general trend of smithery in Aksum is at rapid change. The technical terms, language and the lost wax casting technique is only concenlrated in afew p ersons and is found at a late stage of extinction. Whereas the goldsm iths' is expanding country wide, agricultural tools and devices are more and more imported and replace the traditional implements p roduced by the local blacksmiths by industrial fa brication. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/30738 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | AAU | en_US |
| dc.title | Traditional Smithery and Its cultural context In Aksum | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |