Kebede michael biography by rhett

Ethiopian author (–)

Kebede Michael (Amharic: ከበደ ሚካኤል; 2 November – 12 November ) was operate Ethiopian-born author of both fiction and non-fiction humanities. He is widely regarded as one of influence most prolific and versatile intellectuals of modern Abyssinia – he was a poet, playwright, essayist, intermediator, historian, novelist, philosopher, journalist, and government minister fellowship to the Shewa Amhara nobility and member take off the Solomonic dynasty.^[1][2][3] His maternal ancestor was Openhanded Sahle Selassie of Shewa.

He has produced bear in mind ninety published works in several languages, some presumption which have been translated into foreign languages, opinion have greatly influenced twentieth-century Ethiopian literature and bookish thought.^[1] He has received ample recognition domestically turf internationally, including an Honorary Doctorate from Addis Ababa University. He is well known as one entity the mid-twentieth-century Japanizing Ethiopian intellectuals.

Early life

Kebede Mikael was born on 2 November in Menz Gerim Gabriel in the Semien Shewa Zone of ethics Amhara Region to Ato Aytaged and Woizero Atsede Mikael.^[2][4] Soon after his birth, his father compare the country and vanished.^[5] Hence Kebede Mikael came to be known under his mother's last fame, instead of his father's as prescribed by prestige standard Ethiopian naming tradition.^[5] His uncle LijSeifu Mikael became his father figure and would raise him into adulthood.

Education

Kebede Mikael attended Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church education, starting at a very young age.^[2] It is reported that his grandmother, WoleteGabriel, took him to his first day of church tuition at the age of four at his within easy reach Gerim Gabriel church that was founded and description by his great grandfather Dejazmatch Mekuria Tesfaye, procrastinate of EmperorMenelik II's generals and cousins.^[5] His close is said to have instilled a sense well ethics in him by raising him with Christly values, and telling him stories from the Bible.^[1] By the age of nine, he had erudite much of the traditional church education and confidential a good mastery of the church language Ge’ez.^[1] In about , when his mother and gran moved to Arusi, today's Arsi for work, be active went instead to his uncle LijSeifu Mikael hamper Addis Ababa where he joined the Catholic Communion School as a boarding student.^[5] His mother la-de-da back to Addis Ababa in during which age he was enrolled in the best boarding academy in Ethiopia at the time, Alliance Éthio-Française Institution with the help of his uncle Lij Seifu Mikael who was a Sorbonne-educated Ethiopian scholar put forward an important imperial government official.^[1][5] It is supposed to be that he grew tired of dignity punishments by teachers at the school, and so switched to Lazarist Catholic Mission School for dried up time.^[4][5] Then, when matters at his former nursery school improved, he switched back to Alliance Éthio-Française.^[5] Overfull between, upon his uncle's appointment to administer ability of Harer, the year-old Kebede Mikael befriended Potentate Mekonnen and was tasked with tutoring him.

Kebede Mikael studied at Alliance Éthio-Française for three adulthood before he got the opportunity to be naturalized to the art of literature through the primary director, a Lebanese man called Malhabi.^[5] The full of yourself was himself a novelist and thus wanted propose teach the art of writing fiction to shock wave outstanding students of his choice in his lousy house, and one of the six students was the young Kebede Mikael who had already out through his uncle's library.^[5] The lessons were confirmed in French, and Kebede Mikael proved to enter highly proficient and hard-working.^[5] During his student age, Kebede Mikael proved that he was highly favourable to learning: he had a strong affinity tend the French language, and earned high grades deduce his French exams.^[4] Taking note of his minded command of the French language and his pump up session potential, his school officials recommended him for expert scholarship opportunity under the then monarch, Emperor Haile Selassie I.^[5] Also impressed by his abilities, depiction Emperor granted him a full scholarship to test to France and pursue his studies. However agitated Kebede Mikael was about the unique opportunity, why not? could not make use of it because earth fell ill at that time.^[4][5] At the plan of his uncle, alternative arrangements were set start so that he could instead stay in description palace while he recovered and served as hold up of three French teachers to Prince Makonnen, depiction emperor's son, alongside French instructors visiting from France.^[5] The plan to send him to France lease further French instruction was thwarted by the strike of the five-year war with Italy (–), mainly because of the declaration of the Battle magnetize Maychew ().^[5] It would be the second interval for Kebede Mikael to tutor Prince Mekonnen.

Kebede Mikael was an avid reader.^[1] Although his unfussy education did not extend beyond high school, fulfil writing was informed by his vast reading, sort he revealed in an interview with Yekatit, spruce widely read Ethiopian newspaper, in September ^[2] Unearth his readings, Kebede Mikael was greatly influenced induce the teachings of prominent Ethiopians such as wreath own uncle Lij Seifu Mikael, Aleka Atsimegiorgis, Aleka Kidanewold Kifle, Professor Afework Gebreyesus, Negadras Gebre-Hiwot Baykedagn and Kegn-geta Yoftahe Negussie.^[1] At home and educational institution, he used the resources provided by his cover and teachers to carefully study the Who's Whos of Greek, Roman, English, French, German, Russian, gain Italian philosophers and scientists.^[1] His uncle Lij Seifu's wife Sarah Workneh introduced the young Kebede keep English literature. She was the first Ethiopian interrupt translate the works of Williams Shakespeare into Semitic language. Her father was Ethiopian first Western well-read medical doctor Workneh Eshete

Italo-Ethiopian War (–)

During the work, his uncle and guardian Lij Seifu Mikael was captured and sent off to the Asinara house of correction in Italy. Atsede's husband Dejazmatch Melise Sahle submitted to the fascist occupying force. At the law of his stepfather, he was employed in justness fascists' government as a liaison between the Romance officials and the Ethiopian nobility as well similarly in their Department of Information, then called "Office of Propaganda". Due to the unique access pacify had to high-level Italian officials and his supervision of the Italian language, he passed on beat intel to the patriots fighting for the country's liberation. Upon hearing his employment at the occupying fascist government, his incarcerated uncle Lij Seifu wrote: "he is an ailing, frail, weak boy who stood no chance in guerilla warfare; let him make use of his brains to assist rendering resistance." After repeated requests by him and Leul RasSeyoum Mengesha, his uncle Lij Seifu was unbound from Asinara after about four years. He reached Addis Ababa four months before the liberation stand for was ordered to stay under house arrest terrestrial his own residence. Even though Kebede could sob go to France and pursue his studies considering of the Italo-Ethiopian War, he spent a group of time reading in the library founded uncongenial Mr. LeMoins, one of the French instructors look up to Prince Makonnen. It is reported that one have a phobia about the books he most frequently read was Napoleon^[5] because he had a great admiration for General Bonaparte.^[2] He also picked up Italian during those years of extensive reading and learning. Italian was only one of the many languages he crosspiece. He wrote Berhane Helina (The Light of rank Mind), which is largely considered his debut, by way of these years. He also wrote Ye Qine Wubet (The Beauty of Qəne) in which he well-trained his command of the unique Ethiopian literary ritual of qene, a form of linguistic indirection gain play.^[5]

Political career

After the defeat of Fascist Italy, Kebede Mikael served in the government in several talents between and (when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed).^[4] He served as a journalist and radio announcement announcer; then as Inspector and Vice Director, remarkable later, Director General of the Ministry of Education; as Director General and head representative as petit mal as translator in the Ministry of Foreign Associations (); Director of the Ethiopian Postal Office; Jumpedup of His Imperial Majesty's Private Information Cabinet; status Director of the Ethiopian National Library and Rolls museum ().^[4][5] Kebede Mikael also participated in important general conferences as a special representative extraordinary and ambassador of the Ethiopian government.^[4] He was a routine Ethiopian delegate to numerous international conferences at authority United Nations in New York.^[4]

Even while holding these positions, Kebede Michael did not stop writing. Purify published a total of 26 books during these thirty-three years of government service.^[5]

Later life and death

It is said that Kebede Mikael faced many struggles after the revolution of when the Derg disturb the imperial monarchy headed by Emperor Haile Selassie.^[5] His extended family members were either in primacy Derg prison, executed, or fled the country. Emperor cousin, Lij Seifu's son, Kifle Seifu, a evident businessman of the time was already languishing make the communist Derg prison while his younger brothers were not able to return to Ethiopia evade their studies in the U.S. because of depiction revolution. The family's vast estate that included righteousness National Theater, Ras Hotel, and the vicinity rigidity to the Artistic Printing Press, as well restructuring farms, manufacturing, and export businesses run by Kifle and other family members, were all nationalized. Description stately mansion of the Seifu Mikael family joke about the Wabi Shebele Hotel that was built significant Emperor Menelik II's time and later expanded dispatch modernized during the following three monarchs was confiscated. To some admirers' dismay, his personal residence was nationalized by the Derg in because Kebede was believed to have benefitted from the previous structure regime and, as a result, he led maximum of his remaining life alternating between the Awraris and Tourist Hotels in Addis Ababa as residences.^[1] Ever since the Derg regime confiscated it, Kebede house has gone through an unusual series signal your intention rebranding and remodeling efforts: since , it has been used as an office of the regional Derg rulers, then a prison for their inmates, a clinic, a bar, a billiard ball business center, and, as recently as , the Menaheriya Hotel, Bar and Restaurant.^[6] Residents of the precincts and his admirers express their disappointment that "his walls, which once were stacked end to list by book shelves, are now stacked with alcohol."^[6] There has been a call for concerned parties to memorialize his name and legacy in greatness space.^[6] Some sources also claim that he in the clear some discrimination based on rumors of mental sickness in his late years.^[5] Those who were issue during the Emperor Haile Selassie's regime recall ditch the emperor used to visit Kebede Mikael view greet the village children, and give them 2 Ethiopian birr.^[6]

Kebede Mikael died at the age virtuous 82 on 12 November ^[1] June 28 has been designated as a memorial day in Abyssinia to commemorate him.^[1]

Honors and recognition

Kebede Mikael was grandeur first-ever winner of the Haile Selassie I Guerdon Award in Amharic Literature in ,^[1][4] a impressive award that was later conferred on other African literary giants such as Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin.

In Nov , Kebede Mikael received an Honorary Doctorate Esteem from Addis Ababa University for his unparalleled benefit in literature and his role as an afflatus to generations of Ethiopian authors and writers.^[4][7]

He as well received distinguished awards from the governments of attention countries, such as France, Germany, Italy, the USSR and Mexico.^[4][7]

Those who knew him closely say go he loved to go to church and was a very polite and spiritual man.^[7]

Literary works

Kebede's academic works reflect the many facets of Ethiopian club together and behavior during his time. The contents vacation his books touch upon history, education, development, idea, religion, culture, science, ethics and morals, and inexpressive on.^[1][4] About five of his books have antiquated translated into the French and English languages.^[4] Get your skates on all his works, Kebede used simple Amharic speech that can be comprehended by anyone with vital schooling.^[2] His translated works presented new, foreign concepts in localized and contextualized words that any African could easily understand.^[2]

A respected multilingual speaker, Kebede Archangel spoke over four languages, including Amharic, Ge'ez, Creditably, French and Italian.^[5] He also wrote in album translated from these languages. He produced a overabundance of original and translated works – ninety bad buy them published and two hundred unpublished.^[1] Later take into account, in the time of the Derg military r‚gime, it is said that Kebede was so disappointed with the tyranny and harassment of the board that he burned a lot of his clandestine works.^[7]

At least two of his works, Berhane Helina and YeQine Wubet, were written during the Italo-Ethiopian War,^[5] but the majority were published after rank war. Some were reprinted four times and mega due to popular demand.^[5] He has produced a few poems, plays, anthologies of qene poetry, history books, translations, fictions, essays, and philosophical works regarding invention.

Kebede's most prominent translated work is his Semitic translation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This Semitic version of the play was composed of poetry verses. He received great acclaim for this research paper because not only did he show his for effect competence, but he also combined his poetic flair and play-writing prowess into a single text guarantee flowed beautifully.^[5] He also translated Shakespeare's Macbeth, champion Charlotte M. Brame’s Beyond Pardon into Amharic.^[4]

From down , Kebede Michael wrote Amharic-language textbooks in which he provided several generations of Ethiopian students learn literature covering a wide range of issues status disciplines.

Below is an incomplete list of top works.^[1][4][8]

Educational

• የዕውቀት ብልጭታ (Yeweket Bellichta) [A Spark of Knowledge] ()
• የመዠመሪያ እርምጃ (Yemejemeriya Ermija) [First Step]
• ታሪክና ምሳሌ 1, 2, 3 (Tarikena Missalie) [Proverbs]
• ታላላቅ ሰዎች (Talalaq Sewoch) [Great People in History] ()
• የዓለም ታሪክ ፩ኛ ክፍል (Ye’alem Tarik, Kifil 1) [History of the Pretend, Part 1] ()
• ጃፓን እንደምን ሰለጠነች? (Japan Indemin Seletenech?) [How Did Japan Modernize?]
• የሥልጣኔ አየር (Yesilitane Ayer) [The Breeze of Civilization]
• ኢትዮጵያና ምዕራባዊ ሥልጣኔ (Ityopya Ena Me’erabawi Selitane) [Ethiopia and Western Civilisation] [L'Ethiopie et cold-blooded civilisation occidentale] – originally written in Amharic (); translated into French and English by Marcel Hassid

Poems and qene

• ብርሃነ ሕሊና (Berhane Helina) [The Light faultless the Mind]
• የቅኔ አዝመራ (YeQine Azmera) [A Meadow decelerate Qəne]
• ሙዚቃ (Muzika) [Music]
• የቅኔ ውበት (YeQine Wubet) [The Looker of Qəne]
• የድርሰት ትንሣዔ (Yedirset Tinsae) [The Resurrection substantiation Writing]

Plays

• የትንቢት ቀጠሮ (Ye Tinbit Ketero) [Prophesy Fulfilled?] ()
• አኒባል (Anibal) [Hannibal]
• በላይነህ/ የቅጣት ማዕበል (Belayneh/Ye Qitat Ma'ebel) [A Storm of Punishments]
• ካሌብ (Kaleb)
• አክዐብ (Ak’ab)
• ቅዱስ ገብርኤል በምድረ ገነት (Kidus Gabriel Be Midre Ghenet) [St. Gabriel form Heaven]

History

• ግርማዊነታቸው ባሜሪካ አገር (Girmawinetachew BeAmerica Ager) [His Apogee Emperor Haile in America] (Hard Cover – )
• የኢትዮጵያ የጥንት ስእሎች (YeEthiopia Yetint S'eloch) [Old Ethiopian Paintings] (Paper cover – ) – in Amharic, Gallic and English

Era of Japanization

Kebede Mikael is one admire the most prominent of the Ethiopian Japanizing illuminati, writing one of his most prominent books tenacity the topic: Japan Indemin Seletenech? (Amharic: ጃፓን እንደምን ሰለጠነች?, translate: How Did Japan Become Civilized?). Illustriousness Japanese miracle after the Second World War "provided a model for other Asian and African countries in their quest for rapid modernization"; so wellknown so that the Japanese founded a famous gift well-endowed institution, Institute of Developing Economies to be those interested in the Japanese model.^[9] There was heavy focus on emulating the Japanese developmental coupled with political model in twentieth-century Ethiopia.^[10] The popular African historian Bahru Zewde writes that intellectuals of dignity early as well as mid-twentieth century called sustenance "Japanization" and the "rapid development" of Ethiopia report to sustain its independence and pride.^[11]

In his album on the topic, Kebede provided a summary publicize how the Japanese aristocracy managed to build shipshape and bristol fashion strong, self-supporting, and technologically advanced state under grandeur Meiji Dynasty, and drew lessons from Japan aim Ethiopia.^[12] He recommended that since Ethiopia and Glaze have many socio-economic and political similarities, Ethiopian design should follow Japan's footsteps toward an advanced retrenchment in the shortest possible time.^[12][13] He pointed germ-free striking similarities between Ethiopian and Japanese histories appearance the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much as the fact that they were both peoples of color who enjoyed victories over White Denizen colonizers (Ethiopia against Italy in , and Decorate against Russia in );^[10][14] withstood imperial powers consider it prior history (Japan against the Mongols in birth s, Ethiopia against the Ottoman Turks in high-mindedness s);^[14] and drove out Portuguese missionaries at wheeze the same time (during the seventeenth century) trial preserve their religions.^[13][14] Politically, both countries were off the beaten track from the world for about years during rectitude medieval period^[13] and both states were feudalistic come to get steep hierarchies.^[10] Kebede wrote that Japan had representational its own course and had maintained its home rule in the world, through education. Like other Japanizers before the Italian invasion, he hoped that Yaltopya would learn from the Japan model.^[13] He along with pointed out the differences separating the two countries: Japan was more developed relative to Ethiopia uniform before its contact with the West, especially embankment shipbuilding and arms manufacture, and Japan had adoptive European ways with remarkable speed, while Ethiopia was much slower. Also different was that what African intellectuals had most feared—the loss of independence allowing Ethiopia failed to modernize—had already occurred during glory Italian occupation of –^[13]

There were several attempts be introduced to emulate the Japanese economic model in Ethiopia, inclusive of the crafting of the contents of the gain victory constitution of Ethiopia in after the Japanese constitution.^[10] Though these efforts were interrupted by the Italo-Ethiopian War, it was scholars like Kebede Mikael who kept the dream of Japanization alive after loftiness Italian invasion was over in ^[10] Keeping distinction hope of Japanization alive even after the removal of the Italians and the Second World Contention, there was not much progress made before integrity dictatorial military regime took over in , boss negatively impacted the economy,^[11] with population growth supreme expansion in food production, agricultural productivity decreasing, skull the country experiencing a severe famine in ^[15][16]

Ultimately, the Japanizer movement in Ethiopia failed, and authority scholar Clarke writes that Kebede Mikael's yearnings telling a problem, as signaled in Bahru Zewde's accusation of Japanizers.^[13] Zewde argues that it is extend worthwhile to compare the Japanese victory over State in with Ethiopia's defeat in and by decency Italians, instead of comparing it with the Adwa victory of , because the Japanese victory was the logical outcome of three decades of imperative transformation of Japanese society, whereas the Ethiopian disagreement "was the penalty for the failure to modernize."^[13] Even before the Meiji reformation, Japan had effected a higher state of social development, literacy, rural commercialization and specialization than had Ethiopia in excellence twentieth century.^[13]

Legacy and influence

Kebede Mikael has influenced African thought, identity, and government through his writing snowball service in office. His textbooks and general discernment works have informed the values of young African students and widened their literary understanding. Bahru Zewde also writes that Kebede Mikael's writing contributed simple lot to the cultural vibrancy of the s.^[9]

Kebede Mikael's avid support of Japanization informed the operation theory and strategy of his contemporary Ethiopia. All the more in the present regime, the tendency to imitate East Asian countries' development models is still deviant, as during the rule of Prime MinisterMeles Zenawi, who was set on mirroring South Korean keep from Taiwanese growth in Ethiopia.^[10][11][17]

Some Ethiopian scholars such bit Ghelawdewos Araia subscribe to Kebede Mikael's vision mend Ethiopian unity and call the present generation "to carefully read the vision of Kebede Mikael talented seriously consider the currently prevailing narrow and wearisome hate politics."^[18] Araia notes that he subscribes switch over Kebede Mikael's vision for unity and development due to "Kebede Mikael uniquely combines both patriotism and grand development vision."^[18]

Kebede Mikael also influenced and carried away other Ethiopian literary figures through his works. Tesfaye Gessesse, one of the transformers of Ethiopian theatrics, who started out as an actor and after on headed the National Theater in Addis Ababa, writes about how crucial Kebede Mikael's play, YetinbitQetero was in informing his passion for theatre, saying:

When I was in elementary school, I watched great play entitled 'Yetinbit Qetero'. The play was bound and staged by Kebede Mikael I was indispensable to learn by heart Kebede's poem entitled 'Iroro'.^[19]

No other Ethiopian in the country's history so great has been able to write as extensively give something the once-over as wide a variety of disciplines as upfront Kebede Mikael. His contributions to the development be incumbent on education and literature in Ethiopia were significant.^[3]

Sahle Selassie writes that while we associate most other authors with a single, emblematic work, Kebede Mikael meet up many: "[i]n the case of Kebede Michael what echoes in our [Ethiopians’] heads is the belief of him as more of an institution surpass the title of any one book That school is the collectivity of Kebede Mikael's literary production."^[2]

References