Menz or Manz ( am, መንዝ, romanized: ''Mänz'') is a former

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...

William Cornwallis Harris Major Sir William Cornwallis Harris (baptised 2 April 1807 – died 9 October 1848) was an English military engineer, artist and hunter. Life and career Early life The son of James Harris of Wittersham, Kent, he entered Addiscombe Milita ...

described Menz as lying "westward" of Gedem but between that former province and

Marra Biete Marra Biete (Amharic: መራ ቤቴ) is a former province of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, north of Shewa Meda. According to Johann Ludwig Krapf, Marra Biete lay in the northwest p ...

. Donald Levine explains that Menz was divided into three parts: Mama Meder in the center; Lalo Meder in the south; and Gera Meder in the north. Further, he defines its boundaries as "the

Mofar River Mofar River is a west-flowing river of central Ethiopia, and part of the watershed of the Abay. Part of its course is in a deep canyon.Adabay and Wanchet rivers in the west, the

Qechene River Qechene River is a river of central Ethiopia. It rises near Aiamsa in the Annas Mountains, and flows to the west to join the Wanchet. The watercourse's tributaries include the Ketama and Woia. According to Johann Ludwig Krapf (who calls it the "Ka ...

in the north, and in the east a long chain of mountains which pour forth the waters that drain across Manz and which divide it from the lowlands of

Efrata Efrat ( he, אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata ( he, אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, ...

, Gedem, and Qawat." This would roughly equate to the modern

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

s of

Gera Midirna Keya Gebriel Gera Midirna Keya Gebriel ("Gera Midir and Keya Gebriel") was one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is partly named after the northern district of the former province of Menz, Gera Meder. Located at the eastern edge of the Ethi ...

and

Mam Midrina Lalo Midir Mam Midrina Lalo Midir ( Amharic "Mam-land and Lalo-land") was one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It was named in part after the central and southern districts of the former province of Menz, Mama Meder and Lalo Meder. Located ...

History

The Shewa Amhara came to prominence later in the history of the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

than other provinces, but were instrumental in shaping the history and culture of the Ethiopian state during the 19th and 20th centuries. Menz especially is of anthropological interest because the culture of Menz differs in certain respects from the standard culture of the Amhara people. Menz is known as the "legends home" or in Amharic, "jegnoch hager". For example,

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...

came from Menz. Menz is first mentioned in the ''Glorious Victories of Amda Seyon'' (who ruled in the early 14th century) as a Muslim province, where it is called "''Manzehel''", and mentioned again in the ''Royal Chronicles'' of Baeda Maryam. This small province came to form the core of the autonomous Ethiopian state of

Shewa Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian language, Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous monarchy, kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The ...

Negasi Krestos Negasi Krestos was the ruling prince of Shewa (reigned c. 1682 — c. 1703), an important Amhara noble of Ethiopia. Although the official account is that his father Lesba Qal (lord of Agancha, in Menz) was a male-line great-grandson of Prince Yaq ...

, a leading warlord of Menz, extended his power to the south by conquest, proclaimed himself ruler of Shewa, and defeated all of his rivals. Afterwards Menz, along with Merhabete became birthplaces of a line of rulers which culminated in the Shewan branch of the Imperial family of Ethiopia. It is for these reasons that Shoans often refer to Menz as "ye Amara mentch'" the source of the Amhara. With "Menze" having historically been used by southern populations as a catch-all term for all " Abyssinian"

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

during the late 19th century Ethiopian imperial expansions.

Local culture

Based on discussions with neighboring peoples,

Johann Ludwig Krapf Johann Ludwig Krapf (11 January 1810 – 26 November 1881) was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first ...

wrote that the people of Menz "have the character of being brave, quarrelsome, inhospitable, inherently brave, and if they are educated, they can change their behaviour, and they are resilient in nature, and they are born with truth." Krapf continues, observing The culture of Menz is further distinguished by its selective emphasis on certain values which are universal in Amhara culture. Chief among these are the values of rest, - Rest, land inherited from a relative, usually father or mother, is an object of the highest respect and devotion in Menz. The feeling against selling it to someone out- side one's family is exceedingly strong among the Menzes. Those who migrate from Manz retain a deep sentimental attachment to any rest they may happen t o own there, and the claim of some- one who has been away from his family's land even for more than a generation is greatly respected in Manz. This sentiment is expressed in a favourite Manze proverb: Ye Menze rest ba shi amatu / la balabetu; Menz rest (belongs) to its owner until the thousandth year. Menz was also traditionally distinguished for its religious devotion and adherence to fasting, giving it an aire of conservatism. An example of Menz's conservatism is illustrated by the attempted revolt of Mesfin and Merid Biru, but it can not represent the entire Menz, and this must not mislead the reader; two brothers and the sons of one of Ethiopia's largest landowners. Following the

Ethiopian Revolution The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...

, in January 1975 they slipped away from

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

to organize a rebellion among peasants in Menz. Although this was not the center of their family's vast landholdings, it was only in Menz that they could obtain peasant support. Because of the area's isolation they could sell to the peasants their own interpretation of the events. They told the peasants that the

Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...

government was dominated by

Moslems Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

who would destroy the

Ethiopian Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

and take away land from Christians. As proof, the brothers played tape recorded statements of alleged government declarations broadcast over Radio Ethiopia which stated as much. Despite that their effort was doomed, it wasn't until October 1975, that security forces were able to finally track down Mesfin and Merid and kill them.Marina and David Ottaway, ''Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution'' (New York: Africana, 1978), pp. 87f In general, they are the peoples of God, and they trust in God, and they mean what they say.

History

Local culture

References

Further reading