When considering the history of various countries within Africa, it is important to remember that different people groups often cross today’s political boarders. This information is also important when considering faiths of a country. The Oromo people are a large portion of Ethiopia’s population, but they also live in other surrounding countries such as Kenya and Somalia. This people group is an important link to the past to see the local religious beliefs and practices. The God figure of the Oromo is called Waqa. In the story of origin provided in the book African Myths and Legends, we see Waqa as a God who set things in place, and occasionally becomes involved with the characters in the stories. The man is said to have fallen from the sky, this is significant because Waga is the Sky-god. Together with a woman that he finds they begin to populate the earth. Their children grow and spread across the world, perhaps this is connected to the fact that the Oromo people themselves migrated and were assimilated into other tribes and people groups around them. This story has many similarities to biblical stories and perhaps was influenced by the early sharing of stories. (1)
These traditional beliefs of the Oromo people only account for a tiny portion of the religious peoples within Ethiopia today. Of the various faiths that are in present day Ethiopia, forms of Christianity make up the majority. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians account for nearly half of all the religion in the entire country on their own! Protestant and Catholic make up a smaller fraction together. (2) Christianity has quite a long history in Ethiopia.
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Orthodox Priest of Ethiopia. cc-by-sa-2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOrthodox_Priest%2C_Ethiopia_(15472380061).jpg
According to Stephanie Black, “ The Ethiopian Orthodox Church dates its beginning to Ezana’s conversion to Christianity in c. 330 AD, under the influence of Frumentius, a Syrian Christian captive who rose to prominence in Aksum.”(3) Of course some believe that Judaism had an been in Ethiopia for even more time. In the Kebra Negast, the author(s) try to draw a direct connection between Solomon and the kings of Ethiopia. They claim that a descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba resided on the throne.(4) This helped to rebuff the attempts by Muslims to influence the people. This story is also a reflection of the story recorded in 1 Kings. Although the story has clearly evolved and gained some artistic license over the centuries, at it's core they remain quite similar.(5) Because this story has been told and retold, it does much to connect the faith of Ethiopia to the history of Christianity. Ethiopia is also said to be the where Matthew the apostle died, which connects the faith to the country once again.(6) Christianity continues to be a major force within Ethiopia from it's origin though the Middle ages. Ethiopians are said to have visited Italy as early as 1306, and through this visit the tales of a great Christian king (with unbelievable powers) spread. Prester John was the name given to the Ethiopian king, and he became the stuff of legend. (7)
Islam, also has a long history in Ethiopia. It is amazing to think of these two major faiths within this African country for centuries before Europeans paid much attention to them at all. The beginning of Islam in Ethiopia dates all the way back to the beginning of this religion. Muhammad himself was said to direct his followers to escape persecution my fleeing to Ethiopia. Islam has thrived here over the centuries and now makes up a large portion of the religious faithful of Ethiopia. (8)
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By Eden Hailu [Public domain], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMikael_Ali_(Mohamed_Ali)._King_of_Wollo.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>
Two other small contingencies of believers round out the notable religions. One is the Jews, who lived in seclusion until just the last century. The other are of the Bahai faith, which sprang up in the early 20th century as a result of missional work within Ethiopia. (9)
(1) Belcher, Stephen. African Myths of Origin. London: Penguin
Books, 2005.
(2)“Religion in Ethiopia,” Wikipedia, last modified May 10, 2016,
accessed July 19,
2016,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia.
(3)Black, Stephanie L. ""in the Power of God Christ": Greek
Inscriptional Evidence for the
Anti-Arian Theology of Ethiopia's First Christian King."
Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies.University of London 71, no. 1 (02, 2008): 93-110,
(4)Kriz, L. "The Kebra Negast: The Book of Rastafarian Wisdom and
Faith from Ethiopia and
Jamaica." Library Journal 1 Oct. 1997: 88. General Reference
Center GOLD. Web. 20
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GRGM&sw=w&asid=6cf8ca39b28768d46adbff62cbd846d0
(5)Bellis, Alice Ogden. "The Queen of Sheba: A Gender-Sensitive
Reading." Journal of
Religious Thought 51, no. 2 (Winter, 1995): 17-28,
(6) National Geographic Channel. “How Did the Apostles Die?” Killing
Jesus. Last modified
February 19, 2015. Accessed July 19, 2016.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/killing-
jesus/articles/how-did-the-apostles-
die/.
(7) Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York:
Vintage books, by Random
House, Inc., 1999.
(8)“Religion in Ethiopia,” Wikipedia, last modified May 10, 2016,
accessed July 19,
2016,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia.
(9)“Religion in Ethiopia,” Wikipedia, last modified May 10, 2016,
accessed July 19,
2016,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia.
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