Aethiopica 13 (2010)

International Journal of Ethiopian and

Eritrean Studies

________________________________________________________________

ALESSANDRO TRIULZI, Universit¿ degli Studi di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ

Personalia
In memoriam Merid Wolde Aregay (1934/35߃2008)
Aethiopica 13 (2010), 208߃212
ISSN: 1430߃1938
________________________________________________________________

Published by
UniversitÃt Hamburg
Asien Afrika Institut, Abteilung Afrikanistik und £thiopistik
Hiob Ludolf Zentrum fÛr £thiopistik
 Mauro Tosco

Review of WOLF LESLAU, Fifty Years of Research: Selection of Articles on Semitic,

Ethiopian Semitic and Cushitic, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1988, in: Journal of the
American Oriental Society 111/1 (1991), p. 199.
Review of WOLF LESLAU, Arabic Loanwords in Ethiopian Semitic, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
1990, in: British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (Durham) 22 (1995), pp. 226߃229.
Phonologies of Asia and Africa (Including the Caucasus). Edited by Alan S. Kaye. Tech-
nical Advisor Peter T. Daniels, 2 vols., Winona Lake: IN: Eisenbrauns 1997.
Review of ABDURAHMAN GARAD ߃ EWALD WAGNER (eds.), Harari-Studien: Texte mit
»bersetzung, grammatischen Skizzen und Glossar = Semitica Viva 18, Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz 1998, in: Aethiopica 3 (2000), pp. 247߃251.
ߋRobert Hetzron as Afroasiaticist ߃ The Career of a Genius: A Review Articleߌ, in:
Aethiopica 5 (2002), pp. 215߃223.
Review of WOLF LESLAU, Introductory Grammar of Amharic = Porta Linguarum Ori-
entalium. Neue Serie 21, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2000, in: ALAN S. KAYE: Journal
of the American Oriental Society 122/1 (2002), pp. 168߃169.
Morphologies of Asia and Africa, 2 vols., Winona Lake: Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2007.

In memoriam Merid Wolde Aregay (1934/35߃2008)

ALESSANDRO TRIULZI, Universit¿ degli Studi di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ

Merid Wolde Aregay passed away on 31 December 2008, leaving a wife and
three children (two sons and a daughter). It is hard to believe that Merid is
no longer with us. For all those who for many years used to pace the long
corridor in the second floor of the College of Social Sciences at Arat Kilo
leading to the Department of History of the Addis Ababa University
(AAU), the thought that ߇Prof. Merid߈ would not be there waiting for you, a
broad smile on his face, is hardly tolerable. For years, since the early 1970s,
Merid has been there, a loyal, friendly, compassionate scholar, a witty yet
self-effacing presence at the University of Addis Ababa, like in all other
gatherings, both formal and informal, and important moments in the life of
its History Department.
The Department was Merid߈s second home. He would come every day,
often including Saturday, to his office to receive students and friends, al-
ways ready to welcome a close friend or a foreign guest with the same
openness and enthusiasm. No one could claim as much influence and criti-
cal enquiry, fairness and friendship, among the Department߈s staff. No one
could get as much respect and consent. Because Merid was not only a good
scholar, but a just and open human being, whose intelligence matched his

Aethiopica 13 (2010) 208

 Personalia

warmth, and scholarly and family endeavors always prevailed over career
and academic positions.
His research work was exacting as was his modesty in referring to it. Born
in ʞAdwa in 1927 E.C. (i.e. 1934/35 A.D.), he got his first degree in what was
then University College of Addis Ababa (UCAA, now AAU) in 1956 and an
M.A. degree in Education from Harvard University in 1957 as well as an
M.A. in History from the University of Chicago in 1959. The one year master
after his graduation from UCAA was afforded to him as one of the bright
young people sent to the United States immediately after their graduation.
He never consented to publishing his Ph.D. thesis (Southern Ethiopia
and the Christian Kingdom 1508߃1708 with Special Reference to the Galla
Migrations and their Consequences) which he discussed at the School of
Oriental and African Studies in 1971 as one of the first modern-trained
Ethiopian professional historians to be trained abroad. He was the first
Ethiopian scholar who seriously engaged himself with the Oromo question
then arising among scholars and at large in the country. Equally, he was the
silent, supportive and most influential force in the Department of History
behind Sven Rubenson߈s Acta Aethiopica, well beyond its 3rd volume of
which he was one of the co-editors. Indeed, throughout his life Merid ap-
peared to many as the epitome of the Ethiopian scholar in its truest sense, a
person of honor and justice, deeply imbued in the tradition and culture of
his country, yet endowed with a curiosity for things foreign which made
him a modern traditionalist of the best kind.
As such, Merid knew several local languages beside Amharic (TƼgrƼÐÐa,
GƼʞƼz, some Oromo) and several European languages beside English (Ital-
ian, French, Portuguese). He read a lot from different sources, and learned
from them. When foreign guests visited him during their stay in Ethiopia,
he always enjoyed the gift of a new book above other amenities. He used to
take them out, at a private restaurant near the campus, and fed them there,
as he said, in recompense.
But food and thought was not the only thing we shared with Merid. In
1972, after returning to Addis AbÃba from the 4th International Conference
of Ethiopian Studies which had been held in Rome at Accademia Nazionale
dei Lincei in April that year, Merid headed the first Departmental project of
collection of oral sources in the Džimma area, the first of a consistent at-
tempt by the Department of History and Institute of Ethiopian Studies of
the AAU, then Haile Sellasie I University, to recover local sources through
many of its B.A. and later M.A. students as a way to balance the royal
chronicles߈ bias towards the history of the political centre. And again, 30
years later, when the Department headed a project of collecting ߇local
sources for development߈ sponsored by the Italian Cooperation, it was Me-

209 Aethiopica 13 (2010)

 Alessandro Triulzi

rid again who led the Department to the Heritage cause, and provided
strong support for both staff and student involvement.
As scholars, students, old friends and colleagues of ߇Prof. Merid߈, we are all
deeply shocked by his departure which we can only mourn in silence and
sadness, but also in thankfulness and joy for having had Merid as a ߇com-
pagnon de route߈ at some moment or period of our own lives. May his mem-
ory be an example for the younger generation of Ethiopians and Ethiopisants.

Bibliography of Merid Wolde Aregay

GIRMAH BESHAH ߃ MERID WOLDE AREGAY, The Question of the Union of the
Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations (1500߃1632), Lisbon: JIU-CEHU, 1964.
ߋTwo inedited letters of GÃlawdewos, emperor of Ethiopia (1540߃1559)ߌ, in: Studia
(Lisbon) 13߃14, 1964, pp. 363߃76.
Ityoਇyà ‫ب‬ortugòzoìì endàyyuwàt (e.ò.a. 1520߃1526 ʞà.m.) ya‫ص‬àfaw Fransiŀku Alvàreŀ
yataraggomaw Germà Baŀŀàh (in collaboration with MERID WOLDE AREGAY) Lis-
bon: Centro de Estudios HistÒricos Ultramarinos, 1966 A.M. [1973/74 A.D.].
Southern Ethiopia and the Christian Kingdom 1508߃1708 with Special Reference to the
Galla Migrations and their Consequences, Ph.D. thesis, University of London, 1971.
ߋPolitical Geography of Ethiopia at the Beginning of the Sixteenth Centuryߌ, in: IV
Congresso Internazionale di Studi Etiopici (Roma, 10߃15 Aprile 1972), I (Sezione sto-
rica) = Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Anno CCCLXXI ߃ 1974, Quaderno N.
191, Problemi attuali di scienza e di cultura, Roma: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei,
1974, pp. 613߃32.
ߋPopulation Movements as a Possible Factor in the Christian-Muslim Conflict of Me-
dieval Ethiopiaߌ, in: Symposium Leo Frobenius: Perspectives of Contemporary Afri-
can Studies, Final Report of an International Symposium Organized by the German
and Cameroon Commissions for UNESCO from 3rd to 7th December 1973 in
YaoundÈ, Cologne: Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission, 1974, pp. 266߃81.
ߋA Reappraisal of the Impact of Firearms in the History of Warfare in Ethiopia (c. 1500߃
1800)ߌ, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 14, 1976߃1979, pp. 98߃122.
Review of EMERI J. VAN DONZEL, Foreign Relations of Ethiopia 1642߃1700. Documents
Relating to the Journey of Khadja Muràd = Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-
Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul 46, Leiden, 1979, in: Journal of Ethiopian
Studies 17, 1984, pp. 175-77.
ߋMillenarian Traditions and Peasant Movements in Ethiopia 1500߃1855ߌ, in: SVEN
RUBENSON (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of Ethiopian
Studies. University of Lund, 26߃29 April 1982, Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian
Studies ߃ Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies ߃ East Lansing: African
Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1984, pp. 257߃62.
ߋSociety and Technology in Ethiopia: 1500߃1800ߌ, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 17,
1984, pp. 127߃46.
ߋSome inedited land charters of Emperor SÃrsà Dengel (r. 1563߃1597)ߌ, in: Annales
d߈¨thiopie 13, 1985, pp. 87߃101.

Aethiopica 13 (2010) 210

 Personalia

Review of RICHARD PANKHURST, History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to
the Early Nineteenth Century = £thiopistische Forschungen 8, Wiesbaden: Franz
Steiner Verlag, 1982, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 18, 1985, pp. 122߃24.
ߋLand Tenure and Agricultural Productivity 1500߃1850ߌ, in: Proceedings of the Third
Annual Seminar of the Department of History, Addis Ababa, 1986, pp. 115߃29.
Review of RICHARD PANKHURST, History of Ethiopian Towns from the Mid-Nineteenth
Century to 1935 = £thiopistische Forschungen 17, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag,
1985, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 19, 1986, pp. 147߃50.
Review of DAVID L. APPLEYARD ߃ ARTHUR K. IRVINE ߃ RICHARD K.P. PANKHURST ߃
BAIRU TAFLA (eds.), Letters from Ethiopian Rulers (Early and Mid-Nineteenth Cen-
tury). Translated by D.L. Appleyard from Gi߇iz and Amharic and by A.K. Irvine
from Arabic. Annotated by R.K.P. Pankhurst = Oriental Documents 9, Oxford: Ox-
ford University Press, 1985, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 20, 1987, pp. 113߃15.
Review of SVEN RUBENSON ߃ GETATCHEW HAILE - JOHN HUNWICK, Correspondence
and treaties 1800߃1854 = Acta Aethiopica 1, Evanston ߃ Addis Ababa, 1987, in:
Journal of Ethiopian Studies 20; 1987, pp. 113߃15.
ߋThe Early History of Ethiopia߈s Coffee Trade and the Rise of Shawaߌ, in: The Journal
of African History 29/1, 1988 (Special Issue in Honour of Roland Oliver), pp. 19߃25.
ߋGondar and Adwa: a Tale of Two Citiesߌ, in: TADDESE BEYENE (ed.), Proceedings of
the Eighth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. University of Addis
Ababa, 1984, II, Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1989, pp. 57߃66.
Review of J. HENRY ARROWSMITH-BROWN (ed.), Prutky߈s travels to Ethiopia and other
countries, Annotated by RICHARD PANKHURST = Hakluyt Society Second Series 174,
London, 1991, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 27/1, 1994, pp. 199߃201.
ߋMilitary Elites in Medieval Ethiopian Historyߌ, in: Journal of Ethiopian Studies 30/1,
1997, pp. 31߃73.
ߋJapanese and Ethiopian Reactions to Jesuit Missionary Activities in the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuriesߌ, in: KATSUYOSHI FUKUI ߃ EISEI KURIMOTO ߃ MASAYOSHI
SHIGETA (eds.), Ethiopia in Broader Perspective. Papers of the XIIIth International
Conference of Ethiopian Studies. Kyoto 12߃17 December 1997, Kyoto: Shokado
Book Sellers 1997, I, pp. 676߃98.
ߋAs caracterÌsticas judaicas do cristianismo etÌopeߌ, in: Povos e culturas 6, 1998, pp. 347߃57.
ߋThe Legacy of Jesuit Missionary Activities in Ethiopia from 1555 to 1632ߌ, in:
GETATCHEW HAILE ߃ AASULV LANDE ߃ SAMUEL RUBENSON (eds.), The Missionary
Factor in Ethiopia. Papers from a Symposium on the Impact of European Missions on the
Ethiopian Society, Lund University, August 1996 = Studies in the Intercultural History
of Christianity 110, Frankfurt am Main ߃ Berlin ߃ Bern ߃ New York ߃ Paris ߃ Wien: Pe-
ter Lang, 1998, pp. 31߃56.
SVEN RUBENSON (ed.) ߃ AMSALU AKLILU ߃ MERID WOLDE AREGAY ߃ SAMUEL RUBEN-
SON (co-editors), Internal Rivalries and Foreign Threats 1869߃1879 = Acta Aethio-
pica 3, Addis Ababa: University Press ߃ New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publish-
ers, 2000.

211 Aethiopica 13 (2010)

 Alessandro Triulzi

MERID WOLDE AREGAY et al. (eds.), ConmemoraciÒn del IV centenario de la llegada del
sacerdote espaÐol Pedro PÀez a Etiopia: Actas del seminario internacional celebrado
en Addis Abeba del 9 al 11 de diciembre de 2003, tr. ENRIQUE GISMERO, Madrid:
Agencia EspaÐola de CooperaciÒn Internacional, 2007.
ߋEl conocimiento de Pedro PÀez de la TeologÌa de la Iglesia Ortodoxa etÌopeߌ, in: MERID
WOLDE AREGAY et al. (eds.), ConmemoraciÒn del IV centenario de la llegada del sa-
cerdote espaÐol Pedro PÀez a Etiopia: Actas del seminario internacional celebrado en
Addis Abeba del 9 al 11 de diciembre de 2003, tr. ENRIQUE GISMERO, Madrid:
Agencia EspaÐola de CooperaciÒn Internacional, 2007, pp. 71߃91.

In memoriam Diana Mary Spencer (1923߃2009)

EWA BALICKA-WITAKOWSKA, Uppsala University

Diana Spencer first travelled to Ethiopia in 1964 to join her husband, Oscar, a
United Nations adviser stationed in Addis AbÃba. Having acquired a good
knowledge of Arabic while they lived in the Sudan, she began to study Am-
haric in Ethiopia with a private teacher and later on in the Mission Language
School in Addis AbÃba. Inspired by books on Ethiopian history and travel-
lers߈ accounts she set about to explore the cultural centres of the country,
travelling by public busses and staying in modest countryside hotels.
In 1965, after a successful trip to Wag, Lasta and Amba GƼŀÃn, which re-
sulted in important discoveries of unknown churches, manuscripts and art
objects, Diana Spencer joined a research project on the history of Ethiopian
art carried out by the ߋFriends of the Institute of Ethiopian Studiesߌ. In this
capacity, she travelled alone and extensively by mule and on foot, making
some 20 trips between 1967߃1975 to remote churches and monasteries in
the Ethiopian highlands in search of rare manuscripts and paintings. To
further this research, she studied in a traditional ecclesiastic school attached
to the church of BaʝÃtà Maryam in Addis AbÃba, where she learned GƼʞƼz
and Ethiopian church literature, together with theology and liturgy. She
graduated at the level of the qƼne bet.
The difficult and adventurous travels she undertook gained renoun
among the officials of the Ethiopian government and the hierarchy of the
Ethiopian church, who encouraged her by providing letters of recommen-
dation and important information concerning the rural network. Some of
her expeditions were supported by the Crown Prince Asfa WÃsÃn ‫׼‬aylÃ
ĹƼllase and the Patriarch abunà Theophilos.

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