Ethiopic an African Writing System: Its History and Principles [Paperback]

Ayele Bekerie Ayele Bekerie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

This is a groundbreaking book about the history and principles of Ethiopic (Ge'ez), an African writing system designed as a meaningful and graphic representation of a wide array of knowledge, including languages. In this important and unique study, Ayele Bekerie argues that Ethiopic is a component of the African knowledge systems and one of the major contributions made by Africans to world history and cultures. The author further elaborates that Ethiopic is a knowledge system which is brilliantly organized to represent philosophical features, such as ideography, mnemonics, syllograpy, astronomy, numerology and grammatology. Ethiopic is not only a cultural agency, but also a foundation to a great literary tradition in Ethiopia, which, for instance, has made a critical contribution to the history of Christianity by organically preserving The Book of Henok, widely believed to be a precursor of Christianity. In a sharp departure from the established view of most Ethiopianists of the old school, Ayele Bekerie contends that the Ethiopic writing system is much older than it has been previously thought, tracing back its origins to as far back as 2,000 B.C.E. This study also explores the dynamic linkages between the Ethiopic and Egyption writing systems, suggesting the possible relationship between all African writing systems of the Nile Valley.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This is groundbreaking book about the history and principles of Ethiopic (Ge'ez), an African writing system designed as meaningful and graphic representation of a wide array of knowledge, including languages. In this important and unique study, Ayele Bekerie argues that Ethiopic is a component of the African knowledge systems and one of the major contributions made by Africans to world history and cultures. The author further elaborates that Ethiopic is a knowledge system which is brilliantly organized to represent philosophical features, such as ideography, mnemonics syllography, astronomy, numerology and grammatology. Ethiopic is not only a cultural agency, but also a foundation to a great literary tradition in Ethiopia, which, for instance, has made a critical contribution to the history of Christianity by organically preserving The Book of Henok, widely believed to be a precursor of Christianity. In a sharp departure from the established view of most Ethiopianists of the old school, Ayele Bekerie contends that the Ethiopic writing system is much older than it has been previously thought, tracing back its origins to as far back as 2,000 B.C.E. This study also explores the dynamic linkages between the Ethiopic and Egyptian writing systems, suggesting the possible relationship between all African writing systems of the Nile Valley.

About the Author

Ayele Bekerie was born in Ethiopia, and studied at Addis Ababa University and Cornell University. He earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies at Temple University. He is currently an assistant professor in the African Studies and Research Center at Cornell University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Red Sea Press (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569020213
• ISBN-13: 978-1569020210
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > History > Africa > Ethiopia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indigenous African Script, May 17, 2009

By 

A Customer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ethiopic an African Writing System: Its History and Principles (Paperback)

This book is excellent, for not only educating the masses of Africa's indigenous genius, but exposing prior African scholar's unquestioning trust in the opinions of scholars from outside the continent as truthful. The author exposes the biases that European scholars had when examining African genius. The underlying theme of these biases is that African genius comes from outside of the African continent. Mr. Ayele Bekerie represents the new African scholar that not only exposes distortions, but provides you insight into the politics of European and European trained scholars that have used unscientific methods, and terminology to discredit indigenous African genius. His dissecting of the term "Semite" is thorough. He provides sources, proof and examples to back up his work and analysis. Mr. Bekerie's detractors have reviewed his work and criticized it without providing any evidence, only opinions, and these opinions are no longer accepted as truth as they once were. This practice of making statements such as "it is believed", or "it is thought" is no longer accepted without scientific proof. Mr. Bekerie's book provides scientific proof. This is a must read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An original ; a must-read for any student of African history, July 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Ethiopic an African Writing System: Its History and Principles (Paperback)

This is a groundbraking study about the history and principles of Ethiopic (Ge'ez), the language and writing system of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea. The author argues that Ethiopic is a knowledge system which is brilliantly organized to represent philosophical features such as ideography, mnemonics, syllography, astronomy, numerology and grammatology. The ancient mysteires of books such as KIBRA NAGAST and THE BOOK OF HENOK [ENOCH] are also dealt with in-depth.

This study explores in a very original and interesting approach the dynamic linkages between the Ethiopic and the ancient Egyptian writing system. In a sharp departure from the established view of most Ethiopianists of the old school, Ayele Bekerie contends that the Ethiopic writing system is much older than has been previously thought, tracing back its origin to around 2000 BC. This is a work of Africanist scholarship in the tradition of Cheikh Anta Diop that will have significant impact in the study of African linguistics and philosophy.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dubious work, May 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ethiopic an African Writing System: Its History and Principles (Paperback)

A thought-provoking but finally frustrating book whose theses are not backed by the facts. Read with caution. It's worth reading Peter T. Daniel's review of the book on the H-Africa list [H-Net Reviews] as Daniels has a lot of useful things to say on the book which may not be apparent to the non-specialist in Afro-Asiatic languages.