Impacts of blood feud in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the major impacts of blood feud in Amhara National Regional State (ANRS), northern Ethiopia. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis were used to generate data. The findings revealed that blood feud has both positive and negative impacts. The positive impact is its role in promoting and strengthening unity within the relatives of counterparts. Moreover, blood feud serves as an instrument of deterrence for further killings and acts of revenges. On the same token, it facilitates family integration and cohesion of the feuding parties to ensure a common security defense. However, blood feud costs human lives in addition to its huge psychological and financial externalities upon concerned parties. It has also been resulting in family disintegrations, migration and social vulnerabilities of groups in the study areas.

KEYWORDS:

• Blood feud
• impacts
• Amhara Region
• northern Ethiopia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A spiritual and community leader, who is the head of reconciliation committee which is common in Werebabo Study Site.

2. A third party who acts as an intermediate between the disputants in study sites other than Werebabo.

3. Data Obtained from Key informant interviews and FGDs in Worebabo Woreda, 2017.

4. Welmaye chewata had been a cultural ceremony among groups of unmarried young boys and girls, which initiates young men to verbally, morally and physically compete for each other over those selected girls singing around. Those young boys winning the fights could be entitled to be Yekenfer Wedaj (literally mean boyfriend) of the most beautiful girls from those members of girls singing around. As such, it had been a real test for young men as an expression of social pride and recognition in the perceptions of the community, particularly of young girls. Thus, this competition among groups of young men to maintain their social status had been one of the main causes of blood feud.

5. In Ethiopian political economy, land has been the most dominant source of wealth. The overall urban land administration and tenure system, especially the inheritance law has not been transparent, efficient and effective. As a result, such normative and administrative fault lines aggravates blood feud.

6. Key Informant Interview, 20 October 2017 conducted at Werebabo Woreda.

7. Key Informant Interview, 15 July 2017 conducted at Dekulkana Kebele, Dega Damot Woreda.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gubaye Assaye Alamineh

Gubaye Assaye Alamineh is a lecturer of social anthropology at Bahir Dar University. He has more than fourteen years of experience in teaching, research, project coordination and community services at different public universities in Ethiopia. His research interests are conflict, tourism, peace and development issues.

Abebe Dires Dinberu

Abebe Dires Dinberu is an assistant professor of history and heritage management at Bahir Dar University. His research interests include; social history, cultural heritage studies, museum and tourism resources areas.

Mohammed Seid Ali

Mohammed Seid Ali is an assistant professor of political science and international studies at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. He is also a presidential scholar at the University of Michigan, African Studies Centre. His main research interests are political economy, human rights, and development, governance, and peace and security issues.

Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh

Kumilachew Siferaw Anteneh is an assistant professor of social anthropology at Bahir Dar University. He is currently working as Internal Projects Coordinator of the University. He has more than nine years of experience in research and teaching. His research interests are conflict, migration, gender and development.