1962 Hardback

Narga Sellase plays an important part in the history of 18th century Ethiopian art, when European, Islamic and Indian influences gathered into an artistic form which maintained its fundamental Ethiopian features. Chejnacki introduces the historical and background references which characterize and distinguish Gondar's imperial court in the 18th century and its effect on art. Di Salvo fits the Lake Tana region into the story of Ethiopia's civilization, and Raineri presents the sources of the paintings. Numerous colour plates. App, glos, bib, index, 224pp, ITALY. SKIRA.

Studies of the impact of the Old Testament in the Ethiopian church, with notes on linguistic matters and on the story of the Queen of Sheba. Index, bib, notes, 172pp, UK. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Since the Sixteenth Century, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity has been confronted and influ-enced by numerous Catholic and Protestant missions. This study offers historical, anthropologi-cal and personal analyses of these encounters. Essays range from the Jesuit debate on circumcision to the Oromo Bible translation, from Pentecostalism in Addis Ababa to conversions among the Nuer. Index, 243pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG.

Purports to be a Christian text but also draws on Jewish, Egyptian and 'magical' traditions of the region. BNS, 67 b/w ill, 166pp, UK. KEGAN PAUL INTERNATIONAL, 0710307063

An introduction to the Oriental Orthodox Christian Church in Africa and the diaspora, well illustrated with b/w photographs. Includes the Ge'ez and Amharic alphabets, diagrams and maps. An extensive bibliography covers all the themes of the book. Contact addresses for the Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate in Ethiopia, USA, West Indies, South America, and Europe are also included. B/w ill, bib, maps, 256pp, FRANCE. INTER-ORTHODOX DIALOGUE, 8385368981

When Orthodox reformers, Protestants from Eritrea and Wollega moved to the capital, and when European missions were asked by the Imperial Government to open educational and medical institutions in town - such were the events that marked the beginning of Evangelical Christianity in Addis Ababa. After the Italian occupation church leaders of the capital worked for the unity of all Ethiopian Evangelicals and formed the Addis Ababa Synod. The author de-scribes responses of the big churches to urban needs in the 1970's and lists activities and sufferings of Christians under the Marxist Derg Regime. Index, bib, maps, b/w photos, 347pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG. 3825877914

Religious writings of the ancient Jewish Ethiopian community with a detailed first hand description of its way of life. Illustrated with b/w photographs. Index, notes, gloss, refs, xliii, 222pp. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0300039271

Examines the impact of the twentieth century and the worldwide Jewish community on the isolated Ethiopian Falashas who came to the attention of the world during the 1850s. Their subsequent transformation into Ethiopian Jews and immigration to Israel questions what it is to be Jewish and assesses their influence on World Jewish history. Index, bib, notes, xi, 226pp, UK. CURZON PRESS, 0700712186

Presents the general religious and cultural background of Ethiopian history and the belated emergence and development of Islam on the coastal lowlands. The ensuing era of rivalry and armed conflict between the highland and the coast are portrayed, as the Muslim states weather early and severe reversals. The charismatic Imam, Ahmad ibn Ibraham (Gragn), eventually directs an army of pastoralists and immigrants to a climactic invasion of the wealthier, agricultural highlands during the sixteenth century. The timely arrival of the Portuguese provide the assistance by which the Christian kingdom survives. Index, map, 299pp, UK. FRANK CASS.

Documents excised by royal decree from the authorised 1611 King James version of the Bible, substantiating the claim that Ethiopia is the resting place of the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Bib, b/w illus, xxxi, 193pp, USA. RED SEA PRESS.

Comprehensive study of gult, a system of land tenure, taxation and tribute unique to highland Ethiopian states and of central importance to the understanding of historic Ethiopia. Using land documents from as far back as the 13th century, the author traces the history of gult up to its end in the 20th century and examines the relations between tribute payers and tribute receivers, and the state's role in regulating land claims. 27 tables, 8 charts, 12 maps, 36 b/w illus, notes, bib, index, xv, 373pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852557639

An examination of the Biblical traditions of Ethiopia, with retelling of legends and descriptions of the culture surrounding the Emperors. Considered a sequel to the author's Kebra Negast. B/W illus, bib, 183 pp, JAMAICA. LMH PUBLISHING LTD, 9768184159

What is the significance of Islam's growing strength in Ethiopia? And what is the impetus for the Saudi financing of hundreds of new mosques and schools in the country, the establishment of welfare organizations, and the spread of the Arabic language? Tracing Saudi-Ethiopian relations from the 1930s to the present, Erlich highlights the nexus of concrete politics and the conceptual messages of religion. His fresh approach encompasses discussions of the options and dilemmas facing Ethiopians, both Christians and Muslims, across multiple decades; the Saudis' nuanced conceptualization of their Islamic self in contrast to Christian and Islamic others; and the present confrontation between Ethiopia's apolitical Islam and Wahhabi fundamentalism. 249pp, USA. LYNNE RIENNER.