''Shifta'' originally was a word that had a
heroic or ''
anti-heroic
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...
'' connotation rather than a
villainous character (similar to the historical romanticization of the legendary outlaw
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
in
western society
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
), over time, the term has taken on a more villainous meaning. It is a term mostly used in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
,
Eritrea
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
,
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, and
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
. The
Swahili word was loaned from the
Somali ''shufta'' during the
Shifta War, and is in turn derived from
Amharic
Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...
ሽፍታ (šəfta). Historically, the shifta served as a local militia in particularly remote, rural and often lawless parts of the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, namely the
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...
. The word shifta can be translated as "bandit" or "outlaw," but can include anyone who rebels against an authority or an institution that is seen as illegitimate, like the
Arbegnoch guerillas during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.
Concept
The term ''shifta'' has positive and negative connotations, that of a common bandit and that of a revolutionary; both concepts being distinct, but not necessarily mutually exclusive. They are often considered as highly respected, politically-minded outlaws struggling for social order or a political cause. When applied in this context, ''shiftinnet'' (being a shifta) in its diverse forms has a social function as a form of
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...
.
History
One of the first mentions of shifta-like activity in the region comes from the
Portuguese in
medieval Ethiopia who stated that due to the countries mountainous nature rebels could hide out in the countryside, evading capture by imperial troops, setting up ambushes, and subsisting off the local land for months. The idea of the shifta as a form of law enforcement in east Africa likely comes from northern Ethiopian societies historical propensity for
blood feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
(). A common occurrence in many
Middle Eastern
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
,
North African, and
Horn African cultures,
[Roeder, Larry W., Jr. ]
The Sinai Bedouin
'' it plays a larger role in
Amhara and
Agew
The Agaw or Agew (, modern ''Agew'') are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, also known as the Central Cushitic languages, which belong to the Cushitic bran ...
culture as those wanted for murder can easily escape arrest due to the rugged and difficult-to-traverse topography of the
Ethiopian Highlands
The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , whil ...
, leading
next of kin
A person's next of kin (NOK) may be that person's spouse
A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband.
Married
The legal status of a spouse, and the specific righ ...
to take matters into their own hands.
In Ethiopia, individuals who started as shifta have risen to the level of regional or
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
thus legitimizing the concept of shifta itself. Two nineteenth-century shiftas,
Kassa Hailu of
Gondar
Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...
and
Kassa Mercha of
Tigre, became Emperor Tewodros and
Emperor Yohannes respectively in the late 19th century. Thus the shiftas formed the military elite and became the core of the resistance, using their military skills against the Italians. Conventionally however, a shifta whose acts trespassed social norms would be called ''t'era-shifta'' and would be regarded as a thief or bandit. Nevertheless, to be described as a shifta, especially during the
Italian occupation, was an honor for an Ethiopian and this was how resistance started and spread. In Eritrea, during the British administration, military units were used to police the lawless areas and stop common shifta activity.
In recent times, both prime ministers
Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afwerki (, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and leader who has been the president of Eritrea since 1993 and the chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) since 1994.
Isaias joined the pro-independen ...
of Eritrea and
Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia were called shifta when they served, respectively, as rebel leaders of the
EPLF and
TPLF,
along with members of the 21st century
Amhara ethnic nationalist Fano
Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...
.
See also
*
Brigandage
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded ...
*
Shifta War, (1963–1967) in northeastern Kenya
*
Klepht
Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...
, a similar status in Greece.
*
Arbegnoch
*
Fano (militia)
References and notes
{{Reflist, 2
History of the Horn of Africa
Outlaws
Rebels
Swahili words and phrases
Amharic language
Military history of Eritrea
Military history of Ethiopia
Military history of Kenya
Military history of Tanzania
Military history of Somalia
Good and evil