Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa: The Case of Gondar, Ethiopia

Author(s): Solomon Addis Getahun

Source: Journal of Ethiopian Studies , December, 2012, Vol. 45, Special Thematic Issue on
Urban History (December, 2012), pp. 117-133
Published by: Institute of Ethiopian Studies

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 117
JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa: The Case of Gondar,

Ethiopia

Solomon Addis Getahun1

The genesis of urban settlement is not definitely known. Yet one thing
seems clear: human life has been swinging between two poles: movement
and settlement.3 Therefore, partly from legends, myths and speculations;
and partly from archaeological findings and to some extent from the
recorded history of cities, "there is a literature on the origin and
development of cities.4 In spite of this, the study of urban history is
relatively young compared to the study of urban sociology, geography and
economics.5

The earliest work of urban historiography appeared in the 1 840s with the
publication of The Age of Great Cities by Robert Vaughan that deals with
the features of early industrial towns.6 Even then, the study did not
proceed at a uniform pace. In the first thirty or forty years of the 20th
century, urban history seems to have stagnated. Moreover, what had been
studied did not include all areas of the urban phenomenon. It merely dwelt
upon Europe and North America, an oversight that sprang from the notion
that Africa and other parts of the globe have not experienced
urbanization.7 Thus, until the United Nations and its specialized agencies
commenced a comprehensive study of urbanization in Africa in the late

1 Solomon Addis Getahun, Associate Professor, Central Michigan University

Email: [email protected]
Phillip M. Hauser and Schnore Leo F. The Study of Urbanization (New York: John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., 1965), p. 1.
3 Lewis Mumford, The City in History : Its Origin, Its Transformation, and Its Prospect (London:
Penguin Books, 1979), pi 3
4 Hauser and Schnore, The Study of Urbanization, p. 1
5 A. Bose, Urbanization in India: An Inventory of Course Materials (Bombay: Academic Books
Limited, 1970), p. 3
Harold D. Dyos, (ed.) The Study of Urban History (New York: St. Martin s Press, 1968), p. 3, 23;
Bose, Urbanization, p. 3.
W. J. Hanna and J. L Hanna, Urban Dynamics in Black Africa (Chicago: Academic-
Atherton, 1971), p. 13; John J. Palan, The Urban World (New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1981), p. 347.

Journal of Ethiopian Studies. Vol. 45 (December 2012). Copyright. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. AAU.

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118
Urban History

1950s and early 1960s, the urban history of Africa was left on the back
burner.8

The multi-functionality of the urban space in pre-colonial Africa in

general and in Ethiopia in particular had lent to the notion that Africa had
not experienced urbanization.9 To contemporary Europeans, pre-colonial
African urban centers were not impressive in size, activity or layout.
However, it does not mean that they were not towns. They had
distinguishing features such as a higher degree of social complexity than
their surrounding settlements. They can be identified by their use of clay
bricks for housing and by their city walls. Tolls were collected at the city
gates from caravans and out-of-town traders. Besides the administrative
and trade centers, other urban sites were also functionally differentiated.10
Yet, unlike Europe, the differentiation may not solely depend on
occupation. Religion, sex and ethnicity also have a distinct role to play in
African urban centers. 1 1

It is true that urbanization in Ethiopia was very limited due to certain

factors, some of which were also peculiar to pre-colonial Africa: sparse
population distribution, a low level of technological development and the
existence of indigenous social organizations that did not require an urban
setting.12 The multi-functionalism of the pre-colonial socio-economic
setting seems to have prohibited innovativeness and flexibility of the
urban activities in Africa. So, factors that had brought urbanization in
Africa were not necessarily similar to those which operated elsewhere:
while it was industrialization that was a major "pull" factor for rural-urban
migration in industrial Europe, it was trade and other urban activities that

8 Despite its enormous contribution to understanding urban development in Africa, the UN

sponsored study has shortcomings. Though some of the studies dealt with the process and problems
of urbanization from African context and although they have passed recommendations pertaining to
the needs for collaboration between sociologists and anthropologists in African research as well as
on the significance of studying the accompanying rural environment, some of the studies were
focused on Central, East and South African towns in which Africans felt strangers and where the
Europeans were the beneficiaries. See Bose, Urbanization, pp. 3-7; Ikemma W. Nwachukwu,
"Urbanization in Africa South of the Sahara: Survey and Description of Emerging Urban Trends."
University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D. dissertation, 1974, pp. 9-10; Gideon Sjoberg, The Preindustrial
City: Post and Present (New York: The Free Press, 1960), pp. 5. 6.
9 Hanna and Hanna, Urban Dynamics , p. 13; Palen, p. 374; Frederick C. Gamst, " Peasantries and
Elites without Urbanism: The Civilization of Ethiopia," Comparative Studies in Society and
History , Vol. 12, No. 4. (Oct., 1970), pp. 373-392.
Nwachukwu, "Urbanization in Africa," pp. 47, 49, 57-58
J. Comhaire and Werner J. Cahanman, How Cities Grew: The Historical Sociology ofOties (New
Jersey: The Florham Park Press, Inc. 1962), p. 35
12 Hanna and Hanna, Urban Dynamics , p. 13.

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 119
JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

supplied the grounds for such migrations in Africa. Moreover, "it needs to
be emphasized that socio-economic activities of African urbanities
oscillated between the land and urban center... and often cut across
different specialties and functions."13

Determinants of the Urban Space in Pre-Twentieth Century Gondar

The pre-twentieth century urban . growth in Ethiopia was very much

associated with the emergence of political power. Some Ethiopian towns,
kätämas, emerged as centers of administration or as garrison towns while
others came into existence as nodal points of caravan trade routes.
Therefore, often times, it was not uncommon to see a change of rulers to
be accompanied with a shift of capital.14 The result was the establishment
of a series of urban centers that dotted the Ethiopia» landscape, exhibiting
the shift of political power from"the north (Aksum) to the south (Addis
Ababa). The site for these towns was usually selected with an eye on
security and the availability of supplies.

Accordingly, when Emperor Fassiladas (r. 1632-1667) made Gondar his

royal abode, his choice must have been influenced by the aforementioned
variables and more. The site, besides its advantage of being surrounded by
such fertile areas as Dambia and Wagara, was also an upland encircled
with mountain ridges.1^ Moreover, Gondar was healthier than the flat
lands of Dambia, which, though fertile, were infested with malaria.

During much of the early medieval period, unlike the eastern part of the
country, the northern and central parts of today s Ethiopia were relatively
peaceful. This may, therefore, have helped Gondar to evolve and become
one of the localities where rich caravans from the Sudan and the Red Sea
converged.17 Hence, Fassiladas' translocation of his capital from Danqaz
to Gondar in c.1636 might have been intended to share from the benefits
of the trade.

13 Nwachukwu, "Urbanization," pp. 41, 42.

14 Akalu Walda Mikael, 1973: 1; Markakis, 1974: 160.
15 Jean Doresse, Ethiopia: Ancient Cities and Temples (London: Elek Books Limited, lyijyj, p. ±00,
Akalu Wolde Mikael. "Sòme Thoughts on the Process of Urbanization in Pre-Twentieth Century
Ethiopia,? Ethiopian Geographical Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1967), p. 37.
16 Ghiorghis Mellesse, "Gondar Yesterday and Today," Ethiopia Observer , Vol. xn, No. J, (ivoy;,
D. 166. .
17 Mend Wol
international C

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120
Urbah History

Lent add the rainy season seem to have prohibited expeditions, which had
made emperors of Gondar stay in the capital. Such instances and the long
duration of his reign enabled Fassiladas to construct many buildings for
varied purposes giving the capital an additional boost.

Another aspect that influenced the foundation and growth of Ethiopian

towns was the tradition of church building. When an emperor, king, ras
etc., established his residence, a town, church or churches would also be
built in the vicinity of the palace and in neighboring areas adding more
quarters to the city.18

This feudal social organization, i.e. a palace and a church or churches

usually had its replica. A Ras or a lord of certain province or area might
wish "to dignify the palace with his presence and order a large church to
be built to serve,"19 his entourages and the surrounding residents. This,
beside other things, would attract priests and their kinsmen resulting in the
growth of the population and specialization based on creed.

It is in such a way that churches play a significant role in the evolution of

Mändärs, otherwise known as Mändär or säfärs, or urban centers, side by
side with the palace or the residence of the Rases and other dignitaries.
While such names as Shumeya Mändär (Shumeya Village), Aba Fitarari
Mändär (Aba Fitarari Village), Dejach Gassasa Mändär (Dejach Gassasa
Village) etc., signify quarters in the čity that are named after notables,
Baata, Qaha Iyasus, Lideta, Rufael, Gabriel, Abba Samuel etc., are areas
that are named after churches. Accordingly, in pre-Italian occupation
Gondar, for that màtter Ethiopia, "the early säfärs [Mändärs]," as Bahru
Zewde noted, "were urban parishes."20

One has to also note that prior to the introduction of western education
into Ethiopia, these churches (at one time or another), in addition to'being
places of worship, were centers of learning. Distinguished scholars of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church, who are referred to as liqâ-aïlaf (professor of

11 Richard Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns From the Middle Ages to the Early 19 th Century
(Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1982), pp. 121, 123-124, 126, 128 ; Silvia Pankhurst, Ethiopia, a Cultural
History (Essex: Lalibela House, 1955), pp. 378-379; Akalu W/Michael, "Some Thoughts," pp. 36-
37

19 Simon D. Messing, "the Abyssinian market town, " in Paul Bohannan and George Dalton (eds.,),
Markets in Africa (Evanston: Northwestern Uņiversity Press, 1968), p. 389.
• Bahru Zewde, "Early Safars of Addis Ababa patterns of Evolution," Proceedings of the
International Symposium on the Centenary of Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa: AAU, 1987), pp 47

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JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

numerous), liqä-liqawint (professor of all professors), märigeta (leading

professor) etc taught q'ine, zema, aqwaqwam and mäwasi't. Thus, Ethiopian
Orthodox Churches, in addition to being places of worship, have also
served as centers of learning and scholarship - indicating the existence of a
clearly defined urban space by profession.

Churches, besides the palace and the residence of the nobility, would serve
as "large functional areas."21 For one thing, the church would be
surrounded by a cluster of hamlets. Secondly, people would flock to
church for worship and other reasons from various corners of the country.
Thirdly, where hotels and lodgings were unknown in pre-Italian
occupation Ethiopia, the church served as lodging for the däj- t'än
(petitioners) who came from afar. The däj- tan, after finishing their sinq
(food supply) usually gets his/her food from the various feasts held in the
church.2

The existence of a mobile population concentrated around the palace ani

the church seemed to have contributed to the evolution of markets, which
seems to explain, beside other things, the proximity of the market to the
palace and church in pre-twentieth century Ethiopian towns.

The market of Gondar, Qïdame Gäbäya (Saturday Market), otherwise

known as Arada, was a large open space in front of the main, southern,
gate of the palace. There were no shops. Every vendor presented his/her
merchandise on a piece of mat. The site was also reserved for multifarious
purposes: it served as an adäbabay, Public Square, and an execution site.
The fact that two of the earliest churches, Adäbabay Iyäsus and Adäbabay
Täklä Haymanot, that Emperor Fassiladas built flanking the left and right
side of the open-space, signify a deliberate measure on the part of the
emperor to use the space as a public square.

21. Johnson Martin Erick, "The evolution of the Morphology of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia." Ph.D.
Dissertation in Geography, University of California, 1974, p. 89.
22 Sahafi Tizaz Gabira Sillasse, Tarik Zaman Za-dagmawe Minilik Nigusa Nagast ¿a-ttmopia
(Addis Ababa: Birhanina Salam, 1959), p. 330
23 C. J. Poncet, A Voyage to Aethiopia Made in the Year 169$, 1699, and 1700 (London: Dolphin,
1 709, 1 909), pp.54-55; Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns, pp. 1 34, 1 38, 1 69- 1 70.
24 The market continued to serve various purposes even after it was moved to the present-day
location. Decrees were read, afarsata (public investigations) were held, criminals were lashed or
hanged there. It was also in the market that lost and found property was declared. In addition to
the market, churches also served as fora for the announcements of government decrees. See R. Di
Lauro, Tre anni a Gondar (Miland: A Mondadori, 1936), pp. 50-51

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Urbbn History

As a public space, though the function of the marketplace and the

adäbabay appears to overlap in Ethiopia, it does not mean that there are no
differences between the two. The market, which often is held on a certain
day of the week, entails the limited availability and the conditionally of
the space - the marketplace - for public use outside of the market day.
The adebaby, meanwhile, is available for the public regardless. The
adäbabay has also another purpose that the marketplace cannot fulfill or
handle. The adäbabay serves the Ethiopian Orthodox Church clergy as
margäja, a place where the clergy held religious chant on specific days of
the year, including Timqät (Epiphany). In this regard, the adäbabay has
the functions of a holy ground. 5

The Nägad Ras, who was usually the appointee of the emperor, exacted
taxes at Qidame Gäbäya and the various markets and gates that exist in
and outside of the city. He also arbitrated civil cases while passing on
criminal offences to the Ras.26 He was usually a Moslem and resided at
Islam Bet or Islamge, which was south of Gondar proper. The inhabitants
of Islam Bet, as the name implies, were Mqslems with the majority being
traders. However, there were also a .sizable number of weavers who also
professed Islam.27 Islam Bet, which later came to be known as Addis
Aläm, was officially decreed to be a Moslem quarter at the time of
Yohannis I (1667-1682) and was one of the most populous suburbs of
Gondar.

Emperor Yohannis also designated Kaila Meda to be the residence of the

Beta Israel, otherwise known as the Falasha.28 Located to the west of the
town, its residents included hewers of wood, potters, masons and artisans.

25 The Ethiopian Muslims' request to use the Adebabay in Addis Ababa and other major towns in
Ethiopia such as Bahir Dar and the protest against to such request by some followers of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church reveals the existence of the dual purpose of the publio square in
Ethiopia. The adebaby in Addis Ababa was used to be known •as Meskel Adebabay and Abiyot
Adebaby.
Walter Plowden, Travels in Abyssinia and the Galla Country with an Account of Mission to Ras
Ali (London: Gregg International Publishers Limited, 1972), pp. 130-131; Pankhurst, History oj
Ethiopian Towns, pp. 157-158
James Bruce, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771,
1772, and 1 77 3 , in Five volumes, Vol. Ill (Edinburgh: G.G.J, and J. Robinson, 1790), pp. 198, 382;
Nathaniel Pearce, The Life and Adventure of Nathaniel Pearce , J.J. Halls, ed., in two volumes,
Vol. II (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831), p. 235; Plowden, Travels in
Abyssinia , pp. 42-43; Powell-Cotton, A Sporting Trip through Abyssinia (London: Ronil and Ward
Limited, 1901), pp. 301-302
28 Ignazio Guidi, Annales Johannis 1. Iyasu 1. et. Bakaffa (Paris: Imperimerie Nationale, Louvain
Secretariat de Corpussco, 1903-1961), pp. 9, 37; Poncet, A Voyage to Aethiopia , p. 61; Pankhurst,
History of Ethiopian Towns , pp. 122, 127

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 123
JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

Its inhabitants also cultivated teff.29 Besides Kaila Meda , the Falasha were
also found in the environs of Gondar.30

The Abun Bet, which was situated northwest of the palace, at the foot of
Tigre Mâé'ohya hill, was also known by its church, St. Gabriel and hence
it was «ometimes referred to as Gabriel Bet. It was the residence of the
Abun which also served as an abode for asylum seekers. Its settlers
included traders, property owners, ecclesiastic students and refugees. By
the early nineteenth century, it also had soldiers, possibly soldiers of the
Abun.31 The rope makers were also found in this locality.3

Eč'āge Bet, . located to the west and almost opposite Enkoye Ber, was
another node of the town. It was surrounded by a wall and had a sizable
population. Yet, it was also the spacious quarter of the town with orderly
built houses. Besides the Eč'āge, its residents included asylum seekers,
both Moslem and Christians. It was deemed so inviolable that the wealthy
of the town had residence in this locality. Moreover, traders, artisans,
crippled soldiers and nuns also constituted its population. The Qägrt Bet^
which was the residence of the aristocracy, was also situated nearby.
Here, one notes class distinction that was not solely based on wealth but
on birth hence the cohabitation of the aristocrat with the artisan.

Other quarters like Turkoch Mändär, Qusqwam, Gra bet and Qäha existed
as separate quarters where some of the residents had distinct
characteristics. For instance, in Gondarian tradition, a person who
resided in Gra Bet was believed to be of plebeian origins. He/she must
have been born from concubines, servants, slaves, and people of mixed
marriage, hence the term mäwalid or yäbet-wild. Therefore, to refer to a
Gondare as Gra-Gondare implies that the person is of lower class origin
or his/her "stock" is unknown.

29 Bruce Travels , Vol. 1, pp. 484-485; Pankhurst, History of Ethiopian Towns, p. 258
JV Pearce, The Life and Adventure, Vol. 1., p. 240; Hermann iNoraen, Ajnca s losi w»*#*
Abyssinia to Lake Tana and the Country of the Falasha (London: H.E. and G. Witherby, 1930), pp.
185,194)

31 Pear
Bruce,
32 Gar
E.C),. p. 72

33 Pearce, The Lif

History of Ethiopi
34 Guidi, Annale
"Gondar and Adw

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124
Urban History

The rise of Emperor Menelik II to power in 1889 and subsequent

developments such as the transfer of the capital to Shoa, Addis Ababa, and
the growing importance of the eastern trade and trade route had a negative
impact on Gondar. Though it was one of the very few towns with
municipal administration, Gondar ceased to serve as the commercial and
political heart of the realm.35 With that, many of its localities that
displayed the prevalence of an urban space based on profession, religion
and ethnicity lost their vibrancy and continued to exist in name only. The
views and descriptions of Gondar by many of the nineteenth and early
twentieth century travelers was that of a city in decay36 - a feature that
prevailed until the coming of the Italians and the post-independence
period.

Gondar under Italians: Urbanization, the Urban Space and the Color
I. ine

One of the salient features of colonialism was racism that manifested itself
i i many different guises and forms. Soon aftér their successful conquest of
i.thiopia, the Italians established what they called l'Africa Orientale
Italiana (Italian East Africa) and made Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa,
the center of Italian East Africa. To guarantee the longevity of their
colonial empire, they began implementing "divide and rule" colonial
policy. Accordingly, Italian East Africa was divided based on "ethnicity."
Fthiopia was partitioned into Amhara, Galla-Sidama, Harar, Somali (it
encompassed Ethiopia's Ogaden, British and Italian Somaliland) and
Eritrea (Tigray and Eritrea). Meanwhile, the Italians made Gondar the seat
of the Amhara governorate, which included Gojjam, Begemider, Semen,
Northern Shoa and Wallo.37

A town plan designed to reflect an Italian possession of "ancient and

modern architecture, both visible history and visible modernity, [that also]

y Bahru Zewde. "Gondar in the Early Twentieth Century: A Preliminary Investigation of the
1930/31 Census," Journal of Ethiopian Studies , Vol. XXI, No. 2, (1988), p. 60.
3- Pearcc, The Life and Adventure, pp. 234, 235, 242; Plowden, Travels in Abyssinia , p. 41; Powel-
Cotton, A Sporting Trip , pp. 301, 302-303; H. C. Maydon, Simen : Its Heights and Abysses . A
Record of Travel and Sport in Abyssinia, with Some Account of the Sacred City of Axum and the
Ruins of Gondar (London: H.F. and G. Witherby, 1925), p. 133; Norden, Africa's Last Empire , pp.
157-158.
y' Mia Fuller. "Wherever You Go, There You Are: Fascist Plans for the Colonial City of Addis
Ababa and the Colonizing Suburb of EUR,'42,M Journal of Contemporary History , Vol. 31, No. 2,
Special Issue: The Aesthetics of Fascism (Apr., 1996), pp. 397-418; See also Alberto Sbacchi,
E'hiopia Under Mussolini: Fascism and the Colonial Experience (London: Zed Books Ltd., 1985),
p 168

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 125
JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

served as a double distancing from the ahistorical and an architectural

barbarism -that were presented as characteristic of Ethiopia,"38 was
prepared for Addis Ababa and cities like Gondar.

The Italian town plan that made the imperial enclosure (the Castle of
Fassiladas) its centre and divided the city- into roughly European
(nasioñale) and native ( indigeni ) quarters, käwarka bälay (above the fig
tree) and käwarka bätach (bellow the fig tree) respectively, as the locals
refer to it, was outlined. The Italian urban plan also had a business district,
piazza (downtown), and an industrial zone (Azazo). 39 They had also
commenced a dairy farm and cattle breeding centre at Aba Samuel.
Public service giving institutions, though they were meant for the
colonizers, also flourished. With such development, settlement sites like
i'äwa Säfär, Che-che-la (ce'ce'la) and Azazo41 took pre-eminence and
dwarfed the former nodes: Eč'āge Bet, Abun Bet, Addis Alām etc.

The emergence of such newer quarters as Piazza, c' ¿iwa Säfär, Che-che-la
etc., besides dwarfing the earlier suburbs in stature, changed the urban
landscape. While piazza replaced the traditional business district, Qïdame
Gäbäya (arada), 6'äwa Säfär eclipsed Eč'āge Bet and Abun Bet as the
residence of the wealthy and the affluent.

The evolution of t'äwa Säfär was associated with the establishment öf the
locality as an Italian administrative quarter. The headquarters of the
Amhara Governorate, the judiciary, the police, education and the military
were all located in this neighborhood. To accommodate the Italian
officials, the colonial government built four-story buildings and villas in
the zone. Thus, clearly identifying the locality as a prime residence of the
nasionale, Italian nationals, while relegating the indgene, natives, to
Arada and its environs, south of the Fassiladas Castle - käwarka betach
As Mia Fuller notes, "it was crucial that the colonial city, once it was
established as such, reflected the. colonizer's history and modern power

38 Fuller, "Wherever You Go," p. 400.

39 Sbacchi, Ethiopia Under , pp. 97, 168-170; Main Feature of Italy s Action in ctniopia, lyjo
(Firenze, Istituto Agricolo Coloniale, 1946), p. Plate XII; .Quaranta, Ethiopia, pp. 103, 108; Ya-
Qesar Mangist Maleketegna , January 15, 1939.
F.1 Quaranta, Ethiopia : An Empire in the Making (London: P.S. King and aons, Ltd., iyjy), PP-
90-91; Ya-Qesar Mangist Malikitegna (special issue) September 12, 1939 and March 12-25, 1939.
41 Sbacchi, Ethiopia Under , p. 97; Garima, Gondare Begashaw , pp. 69-73; ühiorghis Mellesse,
Gondar Yesterday and Today," Ethiopia Observer , Vol. XII, No. 3 (1969), p. 174

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126
Urban History

rather than those of the locals/'42 The colonial urban planning thus
obliterated, at least for the time being if not forever, the pre-twentieth
century differentiation of the urban space in Gondar that was based on
birth, Gra and Qägn Gondare, occupation and religion. Instead, affiliation
to and allegiance with Italian masters and exposure to western education,
yaskuwal tmhrt, defined one's social place and hence loci in the urban
. setting - a trend that continued even after the departure of the Italians. As
it happened in colonial Africa, "national independence . . . made little
difference to the structure of the city; a native elite replaced the foreign
ruler."43 Thus, localities like i'äwa Säfär remained an exclusive suburb-
for the post-Italian elites of Gondar. These elites were primarily composed
of government functionaries from Shoa and to some degree from Eritrea.

Kaila Meda was another locality that was transformed from being the
residence of the Beta Israel and "others" into an auto park with a garage
complex. The Italians named the locality auto parco , which the Gondares
call to this day otto barco. The locality accommodated a sizable white
population that might have been working as technicians and mechanics.
The majority of the Italian residents of auto parco must have been blue-
collar workers and hence of lower class origin. Unlike the stone and brick
built villas and two and four story buildings and residential complexes
found in i'äwa säfär, Aratägna Foq and parts of Rufael, which the Italians
collectively referred to as casa familia, the houses in auto parco were
shacks built of sheet metal, qoriqoro, and plywood, blafon, .another word
inherited from the Italians. Besides, one of the finer houses, which today is
a kindergarten, was owned by a certain Warqit, who used to be a slave but
married an Italian. In doing so, it seems, the Italians transformed Kayla
Meda from a locality, which was defined by occupation, creed and birth
into an area that was defined by class, "race" and profession.

In the 1920s, the establishment of an Italian consulate at the foot of

Qusqwam gave the locality a new name, Che-che-la, and an impetus to
evolve as one of the suburbs of Gondar.44 In addition to the consulate and

42 Fuller, "Wherever You Go," p. 402

43 J. R. Rayfield, "Theories of Urbanization and the Colonial City in West Africa," Africa. Journal
of the International African Institute , Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr., 1974), p. 173
44 The evolution of Qusqwam, which today is often referred to as Chě-che-la, was very recent
compared to the other mandars in Gondar. It was Queen Mintwab, the mother of Iyoas, who built a
church and a palace at Qusquam sometime in 1725. The palace and the church were located
southwest of the city at the foot of Mt. Hogg. The locality was also provided with a market See

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JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

its spacious courtyard,45 there was a 'hospital,' which rendered midwifery

service. Moreover, some sixty better-built tukuls of the guards of the
consulate existed. A school that provided reading and writing skills to the
offsprings of the employees of the consulate was also found within the
consular enclosure.46

Almost» all European travelers of the twentieth century lodged at Che-che-

la.47 Until Ras Gugesa Wolle granted this site,48 the office of the Italian
consulate was northeast of the Baàta Church. The reason for the shift of
the consular office from the city proper to Che-che-la, which was beyond
the Qeha River and hence out of the city, was unknown. However,
opposition to foreigners that emanated from religious grounds had been
reported.49 Besides, quarrels between the retinues of the Italian counsel,
Raphael Di Lauro, and the inhabitants of the city have been documented
even after the relocation of the office at Che-che-la. 50 This time the root
cause of the conflict was the radîotelegraphy, which was found within the
consular compound. The people were determined to destroy the telegraph
station, which they believed was the work of the devil.51 Moreover, even
after the relocation of the councilor office to Che-che-la, which is beyond
the Qaha River and the traditional boundaries of the city, the entourage of
Di Lauro kept coming to the city. The city folks viewed this as a flagrant
violation of their town by the servants, ashker, of an Italian.

During the occupation period, 1936-1942, the Italians had built two
hospitals, one "çlinic" for emergency cases and one recovery center in the
city. While one of the hospitals was "blacks only" (< ospedale indegnie )
and had been located at Samuna Bar, the other hospital was "Whites
only," ( ospedale nasionale ) and was situated in Che-che-la. Today,
Gondares interchangeably refer to the locality as Che-che-la and asbadale.
In front of the "whites" only hospital, there had been a recovery camp,

Pearce, The Life and Adventure, Vol. I. p. 241; When the church of Qusquam was built, the head of the
stonemasons, who built the church was Bajirond Esayas. See Guidi, Annqles, p. 91 . Ghiorghis puts the
sum. at one thousand waget of gold. Ghiorghis Mettesse, "Gondar yesterday and today, p. 165; Guidi,
Annales, p. 221
45 R. Di Lauro, Tre anni a Gondar (Milano: A Mondadori, 1936), p. 53; Maydon, Simen : Its Heights
and Abysses, p. 132; ÑGarima, Gondare Begasahw» p. 13.
^ Norden, Africa 's Last Empire, pp. 174-175, 154.
47 Maydon, Simen: Its Heights and Abysses, p. 132.
" "Yaras Kassa Astadadar Danb", pro. No. 142.
49 " Yaras Kassa astadadar ^ pro. No. 1 32.
50 Ibid, pro. No. 142.
51 Di Lauro, Tre anni a Gondar , pp. 42, 44, 46, 47.

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126
Urban History

Sanita , by which the locality is still referred to and remembered by the

town's folk.

Among these health institutions of the Italian times, the Che-che-la

hospital, which was also commonly referred to as asbadale had remained
relatively intact. The rest were non-existent, especially the "blacks only"
hospital at Samuna Ber. Not only were its beds looted and sold for a token
siim on the immediate aftermath of independence but its building had been
completely demolished. Therefore, Samuna Ber or Maraki (the
vanquisher)52 remained obscure until the 1970s.

In 1971, Haile Sellassie visited Gondar for the last time.53 During his visit,
the emperor placed an inaugural stone for Gondar University at the
vicinity where the former Italian "Blacks" only hospital was built. Soon,
the Public Health College & Training Center (PHC & TC), which served
as a medical school and hospital, established a dairy farm. The farm
supplied dairy and dairy products to the PHC & TC. The hospital also
harvested t 'eff on the land allotted for the university. This, too, was used
by the hospital.

Except for the re-naming of the Italian hospital to PHC & TC, Gondar saw
very little activity during the reign of Haile Sellassie, 1930- 1974. The
overall picture of the city was that of decay and decline.

The Emergence of Samuna Ber as a Killing Field under the Derg, and
Its Transformation into American Mändär since the 1990s

After the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution, which brought down the ancien
regime, the various decrees of the Derg such as the urban and rural land
proclamations discouraged urban development throughout the country;
and Gondar was not an exception.54 This coupled with the evolution of

52 The latter was also referred to as Maraki, which literally means "vanquisher," due to its strategic
location, as one of the two southern gates into the city. From this location, a man with a rifle can
stop an advancing army from entering the city.
53 Addis Zemeny 31st Year, Sane 25, 1963 E.C.
54 For a detailed account of the revolution and the student movement in Ethiopia, See Fantahun
Tiruneh, The Ethiopian Students: Their Struggle to Articulate the Ethiopian Revolution (Chicago:
Nyala Type, 1990); Andargachew Tiruneh, The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974-1987 : A
Transformation From an Aristocratic to a to Totalitarian Autocracy (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1993); Teferra Hąile-Selassie, The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1991: From A
Monarchia! Autocracy to A Military Oligarchy (London: Kegan Paul International, 1997);
Randi Ronning Balsvik, Haile Sellassie 's Students: The Intellectual and Social Background to
Revolution, 1952-1977 (East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1985)

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 129
JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

pan-Ethiopian political parties such as the All Ethiopian Socialist

Movement (AESM), Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) and the
Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in the country that
s^unchly opposed the military regime dimmed the prospect of urban
development throughout the county. For instance, in the Begemdr and
Semen (the Derg renamed it. Gondar) province, Admasu Belay, an awraja
(district) administrative clerk, who later joined EDU, mobilized the people
of Gaynt, one of the seven awrajas of the province located southwest of
the city of Gondar, ran over Debre Tabor, the capital of Debre Tabor
awraja and threatened the city. Solomon and Abera Tassew, the hereditary
rulers of Semen awraja, located north of Gondar, took control of their
fiefdom and openly defied the Derg. The two brothers also threatened one
of the strategic routes through which the government supplied its army
stationed in Tigray province and Eritrea. Bitwädäd Adane Mekonnen of
Wegera, an awraja that adjoins Sudan, "liberated" the fertile lands of
Metema, Humara and Abderafi from the Ethiopian army.

Faced with Somali irredentism in the east, Eritrean secession in the north
and EPRP in the center, the Derg resorted to brutal measures in many of
the urban centers of the country. Mengistu Haile Mariam, declared the
"Red Terror," ( qày-shïbr ), and " nás 'a ermija" (which literally means "kill
freely" ot extra-judicial killing) in February 1977 against the EPRP and all
counter-revolutionaries.55 To overlook the day-to-day operations against
"counter-revolutionaries," the Derg organized the infamous Revolutionary
Committee at the national, regional and local levels. Each Kebele (local
association) and Käftäna (higher association) of urban centers throughout
the country were equipped with detention centers run by -the Kebele
association officials.

In the city of Gondar, in addition to the three police stations, located in

t' äw a säfär, Arada (adjacent to St. Rufael church) and in Addis Alem,
and the central prison at Baata (located between Fit Mikael and Baata
churches), each kebele office (the city had been divided into 21 kebeles
including Azezo) served as temporary detention centers. The former

55 Teferra, The Ethiopian Revolution, pp. 198-199; Halliday and Molyneux, The Ethiopian
Revolution, pp. 124-125. For a detailed information on prison condition, torture and the killings in
Ethiopia, see Babile, To Kill a Generation; Amnesty International, Human Rights Violation in
Ethiopia, (London: International Secretariat, 1978), pp. 14-17; Genet, Yeletena Colonel Mengistu,
pp. 28-36. For the gruesome stories of torture and killings during the Red Terror see Babile Tola,
To Kill a Generation: The Red Terror in Ethiopia (Washington, D.C: Free Ethiopia Press, 1989)

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130
Urban History

Italian garage in otto barco was transformed into one of the largest prison
warehouses. The city officials dubbed the premises, Maaikälawi (it
literally means "central").

While the abovementioned served as centers for mass detention, afessa,

Samuna Ber evolved as a "secret" mass execution site. Many of those who
were detained were summarily executed at Samuna Ber. The choice of
Samuna Ber as a killing field seemed to have been made due to its relative
distance from the city. The area between Lidetta Church, which is situated
south of the PHC & TC, and Azezo was devoid of residential settlements.
It was also a wooded area covered with eucalyptus trees, some of which
were planted during Italian times. The execution and executioners,
therefore, could not be noticed by the city folks. Samuna Ber has another
advantage: Maraki provides a commanding height to monitor and check
any intruder/s from any direction while the mass executions were taking
place. Thus, one of the reasons for thé revival of Samuna Ber in the 1970s
was associated with those terrible days of the revolution that beset the city
with mass detention, mass killings and the red terror. In those days, the
name Samuna Ber used to evoke ire and gut wrenching sorrow.

In 1991, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Forces

(EPRDF), a coalition of partisan movements led by the Tigrian Peoples
Liberation Front (TPLF), overthrew the military junta. Members of the
EPRDF, some of them were victims of mass detention, torture, and extra-
judiciary executions immediately began detaining the alleged perpetrators
of these heinous crimes during the Derg period. With the information
gleaned form these perpetrators, some government files (the Derg was
noted for painstakingly documenting all its activities), and parents and
relatives of the victims were discovered. Residents of the city who lost
their beloved ones due to the red terror and mass killings and those who
were detained and tortured established a committee (Association of
Victims of the Red Terror). The latter listed the names of the victims,
probable dates of execution etc. and pressed the government for a decent
burial for their kin. The unmarked graves at Samuna Ber were dug and
skeletons and some personal effects of the deceased were brought back.
Parents and relatives of the victims held a symbolic burial and a mass
mourning. With that the sąd chapter of Samuna Bär was over.

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JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

The Transformation of Samuna Bär as "American Mender"

One of the consequences of the red terror and mass detention in Ethiop
in general and in Gondar in particular was the flight of thousands o
Ethiopians to neighboring countries and then to the U.S, Europe and othe
parts of the world. These Ethiopians lived in these parts of the world as
asylum seekers and refugees. The Derg, on its part, regarded them
counter-revolutionaries and thus denied them the right to return
Ethiopia. Communication between them and their families was oft
monitored. Some of the refugees and asylum seekers, especially tho
from places -like Gondar, where there was a very limited postal an
telephone service, did not even have that chance. Most of the time, they
had to rely on word of mouth and proxies for their communication. Thu
the EPRDF takeover of power and some of the positive developments th
followed such as unrestricted travel throughout Ethiopia and the grantin
of exit visa for international travel, the improvement and availability o
postal and telecommunication services throughout the country, th
establishment of the Ethiopian Expatriate Affairs Office that special
caters to the Diaspora Ethiopians etc., was a boon for Ethiopians livin
abroad.

Encouraged by the aforementioned development in Ethiopia and enticed

by the offer of free land by the Gondar Municipality: it automatically
grants 250m2 of land, free of charge, for an Ethiopian immigrant of
Gondar origin - an offer that did not exist in other parts of the country
until the 2000 Ethiopian Millennium celebration, Gondares began
investing in real estate. The inconveniences that may have disheartening
effects due to the absence of realtors in that city (in Addis Ababa there are
major national and international real estate agents that cater and facilitate
the construction of homes for members of the Ethiopian Diaspora and the
local community. In Gondar, there are none) seems to have been
compensated by the offer of free land.

One major consequence, in addition to the economic benefit that Gondar is

getting, is the evolution of an additional residential quarter, " American
Mändär" (American village), in the southern part of Gondar, in Samuna
Bär. Here one finds well-planned villas and ground plus one apartments.

56 Although it is clear that Ethiopians from the Diaspora are also building new houses in Addis
Ababa, especially in Kotebe and beyond, the involvement of the real estate agencies in the
construction of these residential areas seemed to have precluded knowing who the owners of these

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132
Urban History

The houses and apartments are investments. Some are being rented to
NGO workers, university professors and students while others are
occupied by the relatives of Diaspora Ethiopians, who were brought to the
city from the remotest corners of Gondar where postal, banking and
telecommunication services are unavailable. There are also Ethiopian
returnees who have decided to live and work in Ethiopia for good. But, the
majority are absentee landlords who made an investment for the future -
one day, they may come back for good. In addition to this, government
officials, university instructors and business owners also have residences
in this same locality, which adds a class dimension to the neighborhood.

Conclusion

Gondar is one of the oldest urban centers in Ethiopia. Its development

exhibits the juxtapositions of pre and postindustrial as well as indigenous
and colonial urban development. These are reflected in the variou
quarters of the city that also explain speciation based on occupation, class
and political power. With its 16th century castles and early 20th century
Italian buildings, Gondar however remained a relic from the past. The
city's modern infrastructure is a leftover form the Italian times with no
visible development since then. Lately, however, the city is experiencing
new phenomena - Remittance driven consumerism57 and spatia
development, which is redefining the urban space while creating new
ones.

The Gondar of today has newer localities such as Addisu Gondar (the New
Gondar), which is located on the plains of Abera Giyorgis; and not fa
from Samuna Bär. The evolution of Addisu Gondar as commercial,
educational and residential center further enhances the vailability of
American Mändär as an affluent suburb

The Gondar province is the home of the majority of the Beta Israel who
migrated to Israel. This coupled with the devastation that the Red Terro
exacted on the city in particular and the province in general resulted in
mass migration. One of the unintended consequences of this mas
migration was remittance. Thus, though Gondar was less connected with
the outside world even by Ethiopian standards, it became one of the mai

houses were; and hence there is po attachment to a certain group of Ethiopians from abroad as in
the case of Gondar.
57 "Dollar in Gondar," Addis Zaman, October 12, 2002

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JES, Vol. XLV (December 2012)

origins of Ethiopian immigrants in the US, Israel and other countries; and
hence has become one of the places to. which Ethiopian immigrants return.

So much seems the flow of remittance into Gondar and its ripple effect in
the province, similar developments have been witnessed in one of the
districts of the province, the capital of Chilga Awraja, Aykel Kätäma.
There, Ethiopians from America (including others from abroad) had built
ground plus one apartments and villas; and more Ethiopians are doing the
same. As a consequence, part of the town had been baptized, once again,
as American mändär. In addition to their names, what makes these
American mändär unique is that unlike other localities where houses were
built with mud, wood and their roofs thatched with grass or corrugated
iron, the houses in American village are all made of stone, bricks and
cement.

Pushing the definition of space further can provide us a little mo

understanding regarding the new urban transformation. The city of Gon
is dotted with Cyber Cafes and Azmari bets (night clubs). Both cater
returnees and Euro-American tourists - another urban space that
primarily dominated by expatriates yet redefines the existing space and t
meaning of space itself.

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