The intersection of language, religion, identity, and scholarship: Opportunities for the revitalization of Ge’ez
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Hirut Woldemariam Teketel
Abstract
Religion, spiritual practices, scholarly interests, and a strong sense of identity are powerful means of preserving and potentially revitalizing languages, even amid dynamic language policy measures. These practices provide contexts in which languages are used, revered, and passed down through generations, ensuring the continuity of linguistic and cultural heritage. Ge’ez, an ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia with a history spanning over two millennia, exemplifies this intricate relationship. Ge’ez, historically an official and literary language, gradually lost its broader functionality due to socio-political and language policy shifts. Although Ge’ez ceased to be a vernacular language around 1,000 years ago, it remains alive, preserving the unique cultural heritage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), which dates back to the 4th century CE. Daily religious services, rituals, and ceremonies in the church still use Ge’ez as a liturgical language, resulting in over 15,000 traditional church schools using Ge’ez to teach religious knowledge and practices and to create new content and poetry for various rituals. Outside the church, Ge’ez texts are used by traditional spiritual practitioners who create healing scrolls. Additionally, there is a growing scholarly interest in Ge’ez, with many global and national research institutes studying it for its insights into ancient civilizations, endogenous knowledge and historical developments. Several institutes and museums have acquired large repositories of ancient Ge’ez manuscripts, encompassing religious, literary, legal, and philosophical works. These circumstances indicate the potential for Ge’ez to be revitalized, in a similar way to classical Hebrew and Sanskrit. This research aims to investigate the interplay between language preservation and potential revitalization founded on religion, spirituality, cultural identity, and scholarly interests, with Ge’ez as a focal point.
Abstract
Religion, spiritual practices, scholarly interests, and a strong sense of identity are powerful means of preserving and potentially revitalizing languages, even amid dynamic language policy measures. These practices provide contexts in which languages are used, revered, and passed down through generations, ensuring the continuity of linguistic and cultural heritage. Ge’ez, an ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia with a history spanning over two millennia, exemplifies this intricate relationship. Ge’ez, historically an official and literary language, gradually lost its broader functionality due to socio-political and language policy shifts. Although Ge’ez ceased to be a vernacular language around 1,000 years ago, it remains alive, preserving the unique cultural heritage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), which dates back to the 4th century CE. Daily religious services, rituals, and ceremonies in the church still use Ge’ez as a liturgical language, resulting in over 15,000 traditional church schools using Ge’ez to teach religious knowledge and practices and to create new content and poetry for various rituals. Outside the church, Ge’ez texts are used by traditional spiritual practitioners who create healing scrolls. Additionally, there is a growing scholarly interest in Ge’ez, with many global and national research institutes studying it for its insights into ancient civilizations, endogenous knowledge and historical developments. Several institutes and museums have acquired large repositories of ancient Ge’ez manuscripts, encompassing religious, literary, legal, and philosophical works. These circumstances indicate the potential for Ge’ez to be revitalized, in a similar way to classical Hebrew and Sanskrit. This research aims to investigate the interplay between language preservation and potential revitalization founded on religion, spirituality, cultural identity, and scholarly interests, with Ge’ez as a focal point.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Language in strange and familiar places: A short introduction 1
- The eternal and the ephemeral 9
- Language preservation in strangely familiar places: How traditional skills have helped preserve Shaetlan 39
- Hidden landscapes and the images of the “unseen”: from north-west Amazonia to the Middle Sepik region of New Guinea 75
- The intersection of language, religion, identity, and scholarship: Opportunities for the revitalization of Ge’ez 131
- Speaking of oneself in multi-term evidential systems: From the Himalayas to Amazonia 149
- Ideological and communicative perspectives on divination amongst the people of Northern Ghana 193
- Beyond participants–researchers–research outsiders: food talk and the (co-)construction of knowledge in multi-sited participatory ethnography 223
- Making and selling Greek food in London: Migrant hospitality professionals talk about food authenticity over dinner 257
- Feierabendziegel: Roof tiles with celestial bodies on them, and how they are relevant for understanding experiences of contingency 287
- Index of authors 329
- Index of subjects 335
- Index of languages, language families, areas, and peoples 339
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Language in strange and familiar places: A short introduction 1
- The eternal and the ephemeral 9
- Language preservation in strangely familiar places: How traditional skills have helped preserve Shaetlan 39
- Hidden landscapes and the images of the “unseen”: from north-west Amazonia to the Middle Sepik region of New Guinea 75
- The intersection of language, religion, identity, and scholarship: Opportunities for the revitalization of Ge’ez 131
- Speaking of oneself in multi-term evidential systems: From the Himalayas to Amazonia 149
- Ideological and communicative perspectives on divination amongst the people of Northern Ghana 193
- Beyond participants–researchers–research outsiders: food talk and the (co-)construction of knowledge in multi-sited participatory ethnography 223
- Making and selling Greek food in London: Migrant hospitality professionals talk about food authenticity over dinner 257
- Feierabendziegel: Roof tiles with celestial bodies on them, and how they are relevant for understanding experiences of contingency 287
- Index of authors 329
- Index of subjects 335
- Index of languages, language families, areas, and peoples 339
