By Abel Merawi
March 8, 2021 (Ezega.com) -- Adwa marked the victory of freedom for the oppressed over the Western ideology of supremacy. White hegemony has been an agency of evil, which spread its insidious root using shallow pseudointellectuals to cover sheer lust for power and money. The academic wolves wore sheep garbs to defend their theory of Teutonic Origins. This theory advocated white supremacy by claiming to have noble origins as descendants of ancient Germany’s Teutonic tribe, which vouches of whites’ exceptional ability for nation-building, justifying their unparalleled crime of colonization and slavery. This white fire of hoax had affirmed itself as most African nations and indigenous people across the globe were consumed by this evil. Consequently, they were able to make the world believe their dominance, being undefeatable by any other race. But Adwa shifted the course of history by defeating Italian colonizers and dispelling the myth of white supremacy.
The swift Ethiopian victory at Adwa reawakened a slowly dying spirit of the colonized. It showed that the pompous theory of white supremacy is but a myth. Ethiopia stood as the proud nation of the unconquerable people, the defenders of unassailable humanity – the humanity which flourishes only in freedom and equality. That Sunday morning of March 1, 1896 echoes through space and time to teach us a lesson on unity, justice, and the triumph of good over evil. Furthermore, this victory was possible only through the central role of great women, which carries a lesson to the misogynists and chauvinistic men. Sadly, this historic occasion is marred internally by ethnic myth-makers and externally by past colonizers who now pride themselves as the defenders and prescribers of democracy to the world.
The victory of Adwa manifests the strategic genius and combat skill of Ethiopians. Italian colonizers relied on their advanced weaponry and their ‘divide and conquer’ strategy. They worked hard to weaken the rule of Emperor Menelik by bribing provincial princes and rulers. Yet, they failed to see that these Princes were mostly loyal to the King, who reported to the king while still leading the colonizers to assume otherwise. Furthermore, the King sent diplomatic letters to the Italian representatives while ordering every brave leader in every section of the country to prepare for war, which made it easier to organize the approximately 100,000 brave warriors when the official decree for battle was issued. Empress Taytu also outwitted Count Antonelli, when she managed to play the same trick Italians played on the Treaty of Wuchale, Article 17, by making him sign a statement that discarded this article, which he assumed to only postpone discussion of the article. Ethiopia communicated this new agreement with the rest of the world, making the Wuchale Treaty null and void. This constituted a double victory in the diplomatic and the battlefront.
We have mentioned the Empress Taytu, and so truth demands speaking of the Queen and all the patriotic women who defended our nation. The Queen proved to be a great military strategist when she instructed 1,000 of her special guards to control at night the stream which served as a water source for Italian troops, who barricaded themselves in the thickly constructed Church embankment. The Italians futile attempt to recaptured the stream for 15 days failed and finally evacuated through the appeal of an Italian commander.
Moreover, Empress Taytu didn’t stay sheltered but directly participated in the battle. As Tsehafe-Teizaz Gabre-Selassie remarks, the Queen became the vanguard with her riflemen, courageously uttering, “Courage! come on! victory is ours! cut down the enemy!” She managed to command the army that broke the Italian troops that tried to penetrate the Ethiopian formation. Her Majesty had also organized the women in the camp to fetch water to fighters and care for the wounded. Besides the Empress, the peasant Tigray women made their contribution as they cut the telegraph wires by rubbing them between two stones. Above all, the courage of Ethiopian female freedom fighters was even uttered by Dr. Ambrogetti, an Italian engineer, who admitted to seeing a woman firing a rifle at them. We must realize that Ethiopian mothers chose to fight for freedom, they refused to abandon their children to a life of servitude. The response of the queen when the Italian Count Antonelli tried to threaten with war still stands. The patriotic words of Empress Taytu resonate even now to those who attempt to invade our sovereignty:
No one here is afraid of your threats. We will slaughter those who come to invade us. There is no Ethiopian who will not plant his feet in the sand and face death to save his country. To shed one’s blood and lose one’s life for the motherland is not death, it is an honor!
The victory of Adwa is a national victory because it was Ethiopians regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, or otherwise who sacrificed for the sake of a unified nation. The ethnic myth-makers attempt to defame the national victory and Great King who earned the name ‘Emye’ or ‘Motherly’ for his love and mercy. The formation of the Ethiopian army is enough to discard the contemporary ethnic discourse. The central army of the King mainly represented Showa Amhara infantry and Oromo cavalry. Ras Mekonnen’s troops were composed of Showa Amhara and Gurage Infantry with Oromo cavalry. The son of Emperor Yohannes IV led Tigray and Azabo Raya Oromo infantry. In every division were found Muslims and Christian cavalry. As various sources, including the work of various authors titled ‘The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia’s Historic Victory Against European Colonialism’ prove, the Ethiopian army at Adwa comprised of all nationalities, religions, and genders, presenting a united front to defend a common cause – Ethiopian sovereignty.
Article 17 of the Treaty of Wuchale is symbolic as it speaks of the current demand of former Western colonizers and oppressors who canonized themselves as global defenders of democracy. The Italian version dictates that the Ethiopian king, ‘consents to avail himself' to the Italian king in foreign affairs, while the Amharic version states that the Ethiopian king, ‘may, if he so desires, avail himself’ to Italian king in foreign affairs. Currently, Westerners are demanding that Ethiopia should ‘consent’ to their standards of democracy. We, in the spirit of Adwa, will handle our internal issue and bring democracy by ourselves and will ask for their assistance if we only desire it. We are the Abyssinians who made a unified nation while Europeans were engaged in tribal wars that amounted to ethnic cleansing, which led to a mystically singular white identity. But we managed to maintain an Ethiopia in which diversity did not prevent unification. The message to both internal and external enemies has been engraved at the victory of Adwa – a victory of a united Ethiopia.
_______________________________________
Abel Merawi is Addis Ababa-based contributor for Ezega.com. He can be reached through this form.
Other articles by Abel Merawi:
Democracy and Democratic Institutions
Democracy and Democratic People
Paideia or Deep Education
Educational Purpose: Good Citizenry Vs Rational Autonomy
Crowd Leaders as National Enemies of Ethiopia
Ethiopia Under the Threat of Crowd Mentality
Conformist Realism in Ethnic Federalism
Alternatives to National Identity
Ethiopia in Conflict - Part II: A National Stand for Unity
Ethiopia in Conflict - Part I: EPRDF and the Creation of Ethnic Division
Forms of Human Violence (Part II)
Forms of Human Violence (Part I)
The ‘Having’ Mentality
Group Narcissism
Segregated Justice
Creativity
Free but in Chain, Part IV: Personal Bondage
Free but in Chain. Part III: Economic Bondage
Free but in Chain. Part II: Social Bondage
Free but in Chain. Part I: Bondage of Worldview
Unemployment and Economic Growth in Ethiopia
The Underestimated Human Ignorance
Is America the Land of Freedom? (Part II)
Is America the Land of Freedom? (Part I)
Capitalism Becoming an Impediment to Morality
Ketman: Living in Disguise to Gain Acceptance
The System and the 'Criminal'
Trust as an Economic Force
Do You Trust the Government?
Our Online World
Fame Mistaken for Expertise
The Heavy Burden of Healthcare Workers
A Time to Reflect
The Plague by Albert Camus: Fiction Becomes Reality!
History of Pandemics in Ethiopia
Human Struggle Against Pandemics: Historical Perspective
Crisis Profiteers
You Can Make a Difference
Rule of Law for a Free Society
Adwa
The Origins of Law
Determinants of Market Value: Part II
Determinants of Market Value: Part I
Your life Matters Too
Manifestations of Artistic Expression
Achievements vs Natural Accidents
The Grip of Sacrifice
Injustice is Never Justifiable
Education Demands of the Future
Job Security, Life and the Unpredictable Future
The Shift From Racism to Culturism
Sacrificing Meaning for Power?
Culture and Market Forces
Intersubjective Reality
Seeking Cosmic Justice
National Myths: Makers and Destroyers of Nations
Are We Truly Free?
Maturity: The Prerequisite to Freedom and Democracy
Loyalty to Truth, Not to Group
The Value of Work
The Flaws with Ethiopian Political System
Intellectuals and the People
Where Are Our Pathfinders?
The Allegory of the Cave and Its Lessons to Leaders
The Truth Behind Humanity
The Seven Virtues
The Seven Deadly Sins
What is the right thing to do?
Building National Identity
Adey Abeba and the Spirit of Change
Mob Violence
Living the Truth as a Human Being
Hubris - The Tragedy of Not Learning from Others
The Era of Group Mentality: Us vs Them
_____________________________
Join us on social media:
Like Ezega.com on Facebook and get Ethiopian News updates regularly.
Get the latest Ethiopia News by following us on Twitter @Ezega_Official.
Follow Ezega on LinkedIn for Ethiopia Jobs and Ethiopian News Today.