The Relevance of a 350-Year-Old Hateta

  As the first entry of our Dig Deeper Initiative, we will be highlighting a piece that most of our readers will find informative, useful and maybe even inspirational. The piece is called ሐተታ ዘርያቆብ and it was written in 1667 by a man that hailed from a poor farming community in the ardently religious city of Axum. 

   The author, a religious scholar himself, is not known for his pious teachings. His popularity did not come from performing miracles or witnessing the type of revelations that are reserved for the most devout followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Instead, Zere Yacob is known for advocating a way of thinking that was not only frowned upon but continues to be heavily discouraged by our mainstream culture.  

   It is his efforts to interrogate tradition as well as promote independent and critical thinking that this piece will try to explore. And I hope that our like-minded readers will find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in experiencing exclusion, ridicule and personal attacks. For the consequences of challenging dogmatic thought, blind convictions and entrenched prejudices are as old as ዘርያቆብ’s ሐተታ. 

From Fortress to Solitude

   Born in 1592, Zere Yacob came of age in a very conservative community. One that was enveloped by what some have described as the powerful fortress of tradition. Where traditional convictions and entrenched practices, religious and secular alike, did not leave room for personal reflection and critical examination. 

  In this milieu, Zere Yacob’s tolerant and questioning attitude, along with his divergent teaching methods, quickly resulted in his persecution and ultimately his exile. 

   In trading what he describes as “the land of the priests” for an isolated cave, Zere Yacob’s 2 years of solitude and deep contemplation helped him re-evaluate some of the deeply held notions of his time. Be it religious persecution, the subjugation of women, cultural indoctrination or other forms of cultural prejudices, he attributed most of his society’s ills to one simple truth. The unwillingness to question dogmatic belief and conventional wisdom. As he puts it: 

“ሰው ሁሉ በአንድ ነገር ላይ ሲስማሙ ነገሩ እውነት ይመስላቸዋል።” 

   Although fierce in his convictions, Zere Yacob’s writings should not be considered as a complete rejection of tradition. Whether you look at his personal story, his educational background or some of his staunch religious beliefs, it is clear that he is not diametrically opposed to every notion of tradition. 

 What he is against, however, is unexamined conventions. The type of practices and beliefs that are not only considered to be unassailable but also go against the fundamental tenets of the traditions they claim to support. 

   For example, he chastises the type of religiosity of his time for abandoning the basic religious tenets of compassion, brotherhood and tolerance, but he does not abandon his faith. He chastises the traditional understanding of marriage for undermining the sanctity of marriage. And argues that the conventional belief that the husband is superior than the wife goes against the central tenets that marriage is based on; i.e. consent, partnership and equality. But he does not turn his back on the tradition of marriage. 

“እውነትን ለማግኘት አይመረምሩም። ልክ ዳዊት “ልባቸው እንደ ወተት ረግቷል” እንዳለው እነዚህም ሰዎች ከቀደሙ አባቶች በሰሙት ነገር ልባቸው ረግቶ እውነት ይሁን ሐሰት አልመረመሩም።”

Introspection over Inclination 

    So, what you see in Zere Yacob’s writing is not a complete rejection of tradition. Instead, what you are witnessing is him evaluating and then devoutly trying to live up to the central teachings of his tradition, as he understands them to be. It is what Abel Cherenet  and  Tedros Kiros characterize as a choice based on introspection, not inclination. On inquiry, not prejudice. On reflection, not blind faith. It is the understanding that a belief system, be it religious, secular, traditional or modern, is only superior to reason if it is first examined and passes the test of critical examination. 

 This practice, one of examining conventions before adhering to them, does not only breed a new found understanding of tradition. It also promotes a type of devotion to its central tenants without it being a threat to others. It is the type of adherence where we not only live the philosophy we preach, but do so in a manner that is based on the cardinal virtues of tolerance, moderation and self-control. A sentiment that is articulated by Zere Yacob in the following quote: 

“ወዴት እንደሚሄዱ አያውቁምና ይጣላሉ። የሚያምኑትንም አያውቁምና በጭለማ ውስጥ ይኖራሉ።”  

   But this road of informed and examined belief is less traveled, for the power of unexamined tradition and conventional wisdom continue to inform the actions of our fellow citizens. And whilst Zere Yacob’s pioneering efforts to interrogate tradition has afforded him praise in our mainstream culture, his words are yet to inform our social lives. 

   Whilst praising him as being the “founder of African enlightenment”, the “father of ethics” and the “pioneer of rational philosophy”, we have continued to choose the unassailable fortresses of tradition and conventional thinking for their comforts and familiarity. We have continued to hurdle ad-hominem attacks and question the allegiances of those that choose reflection before devotion. Which is why the following quote holds as much truth in contemporary Ethiopia as it did in the 17th century:

“ሰዎች እንዲደለሉ ይፈልጋሉ። እውነቱን ብገልጽላቸው ትልቅ ጥፋት ይሆናል እንጂ ጥቅም የለውም፤ ይሰድቡኝና ያሳድዱኛል እንጂ አይሰሙኝም። ስለዚህ ከሰዎች ጋር እንደነሱ ሆኜ እኖራለሁ።” 

The Value in Reflection 

   All in all, ሐተታ ዘርያቆብ is a must read for any social critique that wishes to challenge the type of dogmatic thinking that we continue to see in our traditional as well as modern ways of life. Whilst some have continued to use this work to support nationalistic claims about the author and the tradition he comes from, such writers have failed to fully appreciate this classic piece of writing. 

  For its value does not come from it preceding Immanuel Kant or other European philosophers; but rather its continued relevance in the modern era. That we, Ethiopians and others alike, continue to not only hold unexamined views about our social lives but have also carried on attacking and discrediting those that dare to question them. We keep viewing those who scrutinize our dogmatic convictions as somehow betraying us and, by extension, our communities. 

  This, in my mind, is the underlying issue that is being challenged by ዘርያቆብ’s ሐተታ. The characterization of independent thinkers as being deviants for merely questioning the supreme authority of unexamined beliefs, be they modern or traditional. The failure to see them as members of the community that have not only recognized the complexities of its inhabitants but, in doing so, are also paying homage to a society that is already accommodating more than one way of life. 

 For ዘርያቆብ, independent thinkers are choosing introspection, despite its difficulty, because that is what they, our nuanced society and its diverse members deserve. To be treated with awareness, reflection and examined thoughts; not to be completely lauded or wholeheartedly dismissed by blind conviction and unexamined prejudices. 

  This, in my mind, is the most important lesson that we can take from  ዘርያቆብ’s ሐተታ. That critical reflection, with all of its continued difficulties and dangers, will always be worth the trouble.