Memories of the Victory of Adwa: A Focus on Its commemoration. (1941-1999)
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Date
2004-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
National Commemoration and memories of glorious past of a given
nation have played significant role in shaping national identity in many
parts of the world. In Africa, where colonialism resulted in the formation of
new states, each of the newly born countries tried to build a distinct national
identity in order to prevent disintegration. This was made possible partly by
retaining a collective past that would epitomize the unity of a given people.
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As opposed to many of the African countries, Ethiopia is not a creation
of Europeans. The country has existed over a long period in spite of repeated
invasions from external powers. The Victory of Adwa, which rescued the
country from European colonialism, among many wars the country fought,
was fought by almost all the peoples of Ethiopia. This unique Victory has
been, therefore, the most celebrated and glorified part of the history of the
country.
This resounding Victory acquired a strong religious interpretation
especial from the early times up to the Revolution. Emperor Menelik began
the celebration of the Victory Day to pay homage to Saint George who was
considered to have assisted the Ethiopians at the Battle of Adwa.
Nevertheless, political implications of the celebration were also conspicuous
when the magnificent parade was displayed before foreign representatives,
which Emperor Menelik used it as a forum to display the military potential of
his country to neighbouring colonialist countries.
The commemoration and memories of Adwa fostered strong sense of
patriotism and heroism at times the country encountered invasion from
external forces throughout the twenty century. The memory people had,
regarding the Victory of Adwa, was instrumental on the eve of the Italian
invasion and during the resistance war in arousing many people to fight
against the Italians.
Adwa’s memories were also employed to reconstruct the symbols of the
state in the aftermath of the liberation. The Emperor, by renovating the
statue of Emperor Menelik II, put himself in the line of national contunity
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and declared symbolically the defeat of the Italians. Emperor Hailesselasie
also employed to strengthen his throne by overplaying the role of his father.
During the regime of the Emperor, the fame of his father, Ras Makonnin,
was glorified as a man who brought Victory to Ethiopia at the Battle of Adwa.
Nevertheless, with the passage of time the Emperor subtly avoided praising
Adwa and its memories to evade the contempt that could have come to his
regime by praising Adwa.
The new ideology introduced by the Darg, resulted in a total departure
in the commemoration and the meanings given to the Victory of Adwa. The
divorce of the state and religion had a direct ramification in this regard. The
religious symbolism of the Victory was abandoned (at least from the state
point of view) and secular interpretations of the Victory were given and
overplayed. The commemorations of Adwa Day began to take place out side
the Cathedral of St. George, at Menelik II Square and Revolution Square.
The Darg , by colorfully celebrating the Victory of Adwa and by
activating and reinvigorating the memory of the Victory, tried to undermine
the old regime, got its ideology and policy delivered and mobilized the people
against the tide of external invasion and internal oppositions.
With the demise of the Darg, the political philosophy of the ruling
regime brought about change in the commemoration as well as in the
interpretations of the Victory of Adwa. EPRDF did not seem to take notice of
the values of national symbols like the Victory Day of Adwa. In the first three
or four years, after it took power narratives of the Victory were not published
in the newspapers and its memories were not told in the government media.
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Moreover, unlike the earlier regimes, when the commemoration was presided
over by higher officials, the top leaders of the EPRDF showed their
ambivalence by not presiding over the celebrations.
The Centenary celebrations in particular showed vividly the
ambivalence of the government. The government handed over the
responsibility of celebrating the Grand National Centenary to a third party
and allotted a very insignificant amount of money to its celebrations. The
opposition, on the other hand, took an extreme stand rejecting the
Centenary celebrations at Adwa where Ethiopians got the resounding victory
in 1896. The controversy between the government and the opposition made
the Centenary celebrations highly politicized.
It is understood from the discussion of the theisis that the meanings
and commemorations of the Victory of Adwa were maneuvered in line with
the political philosophy of each of these governments. The memories and
commemoration were revived and reinvigorated at times when the unity of
the country was challenged, became dormant when peace and order was
established and were vulnerable to manipulation for a destined political
objective. In spite of this, however, Adwa was a useful past that the three
regimes invariably used to mobilize the Ethiopian people against enemies
and to inculcate their policies
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Keywords
Victory of Adwa