343-Article Text-1058-1-10-20121119 PDF

Aethiopica 08 (2005)
International Journal of Ethiopian and Eri-

trean Studies
________________________________________________________________
DIRK BUSTORF, Universität Hamburg

Review
EZEKIEL GEBISSA, Leaf of Allah. Khat & Agricultural Transformation in Harerge,
Ethiopia 1875–1991
Aethiopica 08 (2005), 225–227
ISSN: 1430–1938
________________________________________________________________
Published by
Universität Hamburg
Asien Afrika Institut, Abteilung Afrikanistik und Äthiopistik
Hiob Ludolf Zentrum für Äthiopistik
Reviews
entstanden. ߃ Der Buchtitel AnqÃ‫ص‬Ã amin (von ʞŭnbaqom) ist nicht amha-
risch (so im Index p. 160), sondern gƼʞƼz.
Stefan Weninger, Philipps-UniversitÃt Marburg
EZEKIEL GEBISSA, Leaf of Allah. Khat & Agricultural Transforma-

tion in Harerge, Ethiopia 1875߃1991. Oxford: James Currey ߃ Addis
Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press, Hargeisa: Btec, Athens: Ohio
University Press, 2004. pp. 210. Price: 16.95. ISBN: 085255480X
For observers of the recent Ethiopian economy and culture it is hard to

imagine how w negligible
n was the role of the production, trade and consump-
tion of khat ( at) before the first half of the 20th century. Today there is practi-
cally no segment of Ethiopian society where there is no khat consumer and
there is practically no interurban bus without a considerable number of bun-
dles of the stimulant leaves. In many day-to-day situations it is as usual to see
somebody with his cheek filled with a small ball of green substance as the
sight of a smoker in Europe. Chewing khat has become a common cultural
feature transcending regional limitations and ethnic or religious boundaries.
The importance of khat goes far beyond the national sphere: in 1999 khat
became the second largest foreign exchange earner for Ethiopia.
By using khat as a unifying concept Ezekiel Gebissa has managed to
write a history of agricultural transformation in HarÃrge which correlates
the political, demographic and economic circumstances. His description of
khat economy combines in a well done manner the ߋfrog-perspectiveߌ on
the local farmers with the ߋbird߈s viewߌ of regional and macro-history.
Taking into account climatic peculiarities, botany, agricultural techniques,
time management, transport opportunities as well as prices, commercialisa-
tion strategies and structures of khat marketing, the author follows in a
diachronic perspective the career of the leaf from the soil to the rituals of
consumption and cultural appraisal.
Ezekiel Gebissa߈s Leaf of Allah describes the dramatical development of
khat from a local ߋholyߌ plant to the basic cash-crop of the majority of farm-
ers in HarÃrge and to a catalyst of socio-economic developments. Between
1875 and 1991 the region of HarÃrge underwent a process of significant
change. During this period its agriculture transformed from coffee-based
economic strategies to a system which mainly relies on khat. Until the late 19th
century the production of Catha edulis was exclusively in the hands of the
Harari. It was consumed mainly by the urban elite of HarÃr and by those
who wanted to use the altered state of consciousness evoked by the drug for
225 Aethiopica 8 (2005)

Reviews
religious purposes. The most important trade good from HarÃr was coffee.
Khat, which is preferably chewed fresh, was only traded at local markets;
areas outside of HarÃrge it could only reach in an undesirable dry state.
The spread of khat among the Oromo started with their adoption of sed-
entary agriculture and their conversion to Islam. As the author reports, the
transfer of the knowledge related to khat cultivation was facilitated, when at
the end of the 19th century, Hararis started to hire Oromos on their planta-
tions where they grew vegetables, coffee and khat. The sedentarization of
the Oromo and the increase of agricultural production and trade were
strongly promoted by the Egyptian administration. Pastoral land was ex-
propriated, and sold to the Egyptian and Harari elite who in turn leased it
to Oromo farmers. The Egyptian administration gave farmers usufructuary
rights on their land and the right for hereditary transmission. It was also
Egyptian policy to introduce new crops and to encourage the growing of
coffee. The Egyptians started to secure the trade routes to the coast and in
doing so supported trade. When MƼnilƼk of ĿÃwa took over HarÃrge, it was
already a rich agricultural region which now had to feed the ĿÃwan soldiers
and the new administrators. Under MƼnilƼk߈s rule trade was further en-
couraged. The land became more concentrated in the hands of the state and
the governing elite controlled the access to all lands. Although new agri-
cultural land was frequently aquired population growth and land shortage
became increasing problems.
Ezekiel Gebissa presents farmers not just as poor peasants who only react
to the land and tax policies of different governments. He shows how small
farmers grasped the opportunities of modern infrastructure and developed
new economic strategies. Only after the Addis Ababa߃Djibouti railroad was
established in 1902 could khat commerce reach beyond the local scale. Now,
fresh khat was exported from Dirre Dawa to Djibouti, Aden and Addis
Ababa. When trade infrastructure became more dense and coffee prices fell in
the following decades, Oromo farmers introduced new farming techniques
and increasingly planted khat as a new cash crop. This again integrated the
farmers more and more into monetary economy.
The history of khat is a history of growth, the demand grew, the pro-
duction grew and the prices increased. Khat became big business. The im-
porting countries spent a significant amount of money on khat and when
their balance of payments was affected, they started initiatives to ban the
trade. On the exporters߈ side khat commerce gave the opportunity to gain
political ends. Accordingly, Ethiopian governments tried to control the
market, first through monopolies and later through taxes and duties. Un-
controllable smuggling or contraband trade and parallel markets, based on
kinship and traditional commercial networks, were the result. The khat
Aethiopica 8 (2005) 226

Reviews
economy made possible a tremendous increase of other illegal or unofficial

economic activities, but also the legal sector was fuelled by khat. Khat prof-
its and contraband goods helped to improve the standard of living of
HarÃrge farmers and facilitated investment into other economic strategies.
The author shows persuasively the multiple economic benefits of the
ߋholyߌ leaf. However, reading about its positive impact on the economic
development of the region, one can imagine the negative: an almost total
dependence of the HarÃrge economy on only one product. A product, by
the way, which obviously harms the psychological constitution of, at least,
a considerable number of more or less addicted consumers; and a product
that can aggravate family problems. This last aspect, the sometimes destruc-
tive side effects of khat, are only discussed very sparsely in the book.
The book is recommended to all those interested in the history of
HarÃrge. Furthermore, it is indispensable for those who want to understand
how and why khat restructured the economy and society of this region and
how this is interrelated with the economic and political history of the Horn
of Africa in general. Beyond the regional perspective, Ezekiel Gebissa߈s
book helps to comprehend similar processes of an increasing influence of
khat on the economies and societies in other areas of Ethiopia.
Dirk Bustorf, Research Unit Ethiopian Studies, Hamburg University
ULRICH BRAUK£MPER, Islamic History and Culture in Southern

Ethiopia. Collected Essays (= GÕttinger Studien zur Ethnologie,
Band 9), MÛnster ߃ Berlin ߃ Hamburg ߃ London ߃ Wien: LIT Verlag,
2004. XII + 195 pp. Price ߫ 27.28. ISBN 3߃8258߃5671߃2.
As well known, Ulrich BraukÃmper is one of the few outstanding ethnolo-

gists who during the 70߈s and, more recently, at the end of the 90߈s devoted
a great part of their activity to the study of the society and of the history of
the peoples of Southern Ethiopia. In his long and extensive research he
managed to make use of the keen perception of anthropology and of a re-
fined historical insight thus demonstrating a combination of gifts which is
often lacking amongst other anthropologists.1 In his career he accomplished
some invaluable scholarly achievements which are and will remain for a
long time to come essential references. In particular, with his fascinating
1 On the problem of the use of oral and written sources in Southern Ethiopia see his
ߋThe Correlation of Oral Tradition and Historical Records in Southern Ethiopia: A
Case Study of the Hadiya/Sidamo Pastߌ, Journal of Ethiopian Studies, 11 (1973), pp.
29߃50.
227 Aethiopica 8 (2005)

343-Article Text-1058-1-10-20121119 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

343-Article Text-1058-1-10-20121119 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

343-Article Text-1058-1-10-20121119 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Aethiopica 08 (2005)

International Journal of Ethiopian and Eri-

DIRK BUSTORF, Universität Hamburg

EZEKIEL GEBISSA, Leaf of Allah. Khat & Agricultural Transforma-

For observers of the recent Ethiopian economy and culture it is hard to

225 Aethiopica 8 (2005)

Aethiopica 8 (2005) 226

economy made possible a tremendous increase of other illegal or unofficial

ULRICH BRAUK£MPER, Islamic History and Culture in Southern

As well known, Ulrich BraukÃmper is one of the few outstanding ethnolo-

227 Aethiopica 8 (2005)

You might also like