Unheard Voices: Drought, Famine and God in Ethiopian Oral Poetry

The research that forms the basis of this book was conducted in various regions of Northern Shäwa in Ethiopia. It focused on the collection, organisation and analysis of famine-inspired oral poetry in indigenous languages. On the premise that the history, culture, beliefs and practices of a people are found in folktales and various forms of oral literature, the special objective was to examine aspects of the famine of 1984/5, and work up an indigenous conception of the peasants' response to famine.