The Perception of Power in Ethiopia through the Amharic Biographies of ras Mäkwännǝn (1852-1906)

Abstract

Mäkwännǝn Wäldä-Mikaʾel (1852-1906) is an officer of the reign of Menelik II. Governour of Harär in 1887, he is in contact with Westerners as diplomat, while also being charged with the security of the Ethiopian territory. Indeed, the province he rules has common boundaries with the expanding European colonies of the Horn of Africa. However, Mäkwännǝn’s political and diplomatic ability as well as his military skill fuel the eulogistic currents which run through his public image, often represented as that of a good prince according to Erasmus’ conception of power. Two Amharic biographies have allowed us to deepen our understanding of the values Ethiopian society attributes to the man of power embodied in Mäkwännǝn and the perception of the outside world in parallel. One is written by a specialist of the Scriptures, the author of the other one being close to the imperial court of Haylä-Sǝllase, ras Mäkwännǝn’s son. The cultural elements these documents carry do not blind us to the pitfalls of hagiographical packaging in an analysis of the quest for ideal power through the celebration of a just government which echoes not only in East Africa, but also in Europe.