Author(s) :

Eyob Kelemework Wolde.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Girma Awgichew Demeke’s book, ኩሽ እና ኩሻዊ፤ ቋንቋ፣ ታሪክ፣ ሀይማኖት እና ነገድ (Cush and Cushitic: Language, History, Religion and Race), promises to be a major academic contribution to Cushitic studies, drawing on the author’s extensive background in linguistics. His previous contributions in the area have significantly shaped the current work. Especially, the two books written in Amharic (አማርኛ)፡ ቋንቋ እና ነገድ በኢትዮጵያ ቅጽ አንድ እና ቅጽ ሁለት (Language and Race in Ethiopia, Vol. 1 & 2), are notable in this regard. Like some of his other works in the field, Demeke’s use of the local language Amharic (አማርኛ) has an invaluable contribution to the local community, where the local readers get access to books in their language. Demeke, who holds both an MA and PhD in Linguistics, skillfully combines linguistic analysis with historical and cultural research to explore the significance of Cush and Cushitic peoples in African history, particularly within the Ethiopian context. This in-depth study is published by The Red Sea Press, adding to an expanding body of work that aims to illuminate the often-confused interpretation of the current usage of the term Cushitic in linguistics with the ancient Kush civilization and the usage of the similar word in religious texts. In his thorough discussion, Demeke clearly shows that the current usage of the term Cushitic has nothing to do with the ancient Kush Kingdom or the biblical Kush. The author’s thesis, as clearly indicated in the preface and introduction, is to make a general analysis of Cush and Cushitic from linguistic and historical perspectives. The main objective reads as “ዋናው አላማችን ኩሽ ወይም የዚህ ዝርያ ቃል በሆኑት ስያሜዎች ስለሚጠቀሱት ህዝቦች እና ቋንቋዎች እንዲሁም ስለጥንታዊ የኩሽ ስርወመንግስት ጠቅለል ያለ ግንዛቤ ማስጨበጥ ነው” (p. XVII). This literary means the book aims to create a general understanding of the people and languages named by the word Cush and its derivatives, and the ancient Cush Dynasty. The book does what is said; this thesis statement is met.

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