Looking at Ethiopia: History, Photography, and Power
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LOOKING AT ETHIOPIA: HISTORY, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND POWER By JAIME BAIRD A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 Copyright 2005 by Jaime Baird This thesis is dedicated to Brian, Hayes, and Marley. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study would not have been possible without the generous assistance of a great many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my committee: Robin Poynor and Vicki Rovine provided guidance and crucial insight throughout every stage of this project, and Eric Segal was always available to answer my questions and give valuable advice. Additionally, all three offered moral support and encouragement during the arduous final stages of the writing process. Dr. Rebecca Nagy, Director of the Harn Museum of Art, also provided much crucial assistance. Her vibrant enthusiasm for Ethiopian culture was the impetus for my own interests in this topic and had it not been for her encouragement, I may never have realized how rich Ethiopian culture truly is. I would also like to thank several other professors, who all contributed in one way or another to my thinking on this project. In the art school, Dr. Barbara Barletta, Dr. Alex Alberro, and Dr. Melissa Hyde, all deserve many thanks. I would also like to thank Dr. Abdoulaye Kane in anthropology, Dr. Fiona Mclaughlin in linguistics and African studies, Dr. Joan Frosch in theater and dance, and Dr. Akintunde Akinyemi in African languages. I am also very grateful to several individuals who assisted me in a number of ways during the research and writing process. While my ideas were still in a very formative stage, Dr. Al Roberts offered advice on how to direct my research, and as my project neared completion, Dr. Peri Klemm provided valuable insight and encouragement, and Dr. Jon Abbink amiably replied to all of my numerous queries about Suri culture. I would also like to thank Tom Southall whose keen enthusiasm for my topic was a great iv inspiration. Dan Reboussin and John Nemmers deserve many thanks for their support and eagerness to share their hard-earned research and ideas with me. Ras Adam Simeon, Jah Jim Marshall, and BenGee also deserve a great deal of thanks for sharing not only information but also a significant aspect of their lives with me for this project. I also wish to thank my fellow students in the art and art history, and African studies programs at the University of Florida, without whom I would never have had the courage to undertake this study. In particular, I wish to thank Mariola Alvarez, Jeremy Culler, Wood D. Weber, Kathy Huala, Izabela Riano, Lauren Turner, Natalie Haddad, Joann Ihas, Jody Berman, Ade Ofunniyin, Ann Baird, and Tim Nevin. Most of all I would like to express my enormous gratitude to Nicholas Frech, who provided assistance, friendship, and undying support during my entire time at the University of Florida. Last, but certainly not least, I wish to thank Brian Henderson and our two dogs Hayes and Marley, whose love and support kept me alive and sane. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: SCOPE AND CONTENT ...........................................................1 Ethiopia: An Overview................................................................................................6 Ethiopia and the History of African Photography ......................................................11 Organization and Goals ..............................................................................................17 2 MAPPING ETHIOPIA’S HISTORY: LEGENDS OF THE NILE AND THE ÆTHIOPIAN OCEAN ...............................................................................................25 Early Visions of Africa...............................................................................................26 Æthiopia, Abyssinia and the Quest for Prester John ..................................................31 The “Habit” of an Ethiopian.......................................................................................40 3 PHOTOGRAPHING ETHIOPIA: THE SAFARI AND THE PILGRIMAGE.........63 Gazing at Ethiopia ......................................................................................................64 Touring Ethiopian Bodies...........................................................................................70 Gazing Back................................................................................................................75 Authenticity as Spectacle and the Politics of Display ................................................81 Beckwith and Fisher’s Ethiopia in Context................................................................88 4 VISIONS OF POWER: THE IMAGE OF EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE I........105 The Image of Selassie in the Western Media ...........................................................106 Selassie as the Chapel...............................................................................................112 5 CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................136 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................138 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...........................................................................................153 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1.1 Photograph of a Suri man by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher ...........................20 1.2 Formal coronation portrait of Haile Selassie............................................................21 1.3 Linguistic map of Ethiopia.......................................................................................22 1.4 Map of Ethiopia showing regional boundaries of the nine Ethiopian States ...........22 1.5 Spirit of Sisterhood, by Aida Muluneh.....................................................................23 1.6 Lij Iyasu, his father Ras Mickael and Ras Hapte Ghiorgis. Attributed to Bedros Boyadjian. Private Collection (Pankhurst and Gérard, 1998: 127)......................24 2.1 Map of the World according to Ptolemy’s second projection, 1482........................49 2.2 Reconstruction of Ptolemy’s oikoumenē..................................................................49 2.3 Libyē (Africa) according to Ptolemy........................................................................50 2.4 Reconstruction of Libyē (Africa), following Ptolemy..............................................50 2.5 “T-O” map................................................................................................................51 2.6 Copy of a map by al-Idrisi........................................................................................51 2.7 Sebastian Münster’s Map of Africa .........................................................................52 2.8 National Geographic map of Ethiopia printed in 1931............................................52 2.9 Africa According to y Newest and most Exact Observations created by Herman Moll, London, 1714..................................................................................................53 2.10 Detail of figure 2.9 ...................................................................................................53 2.11 Africa Ex Magna Orbis Terre created by Gerard Mercator (the younger), 1595 ...54 2.12 Detail of figure 2.11 .................................................................................................54 2.13 Detail of figure 2.11 .................................................................................................55 vii 2.14 Detail of figure 2.11 .................................................................................................55 2.15 Africae Tabula Nova, created by Abraham Ortelius, Antwerp, 1570 ......................56 2.16 Presbiteri Johannis Abissinorium Imperii Descripto (A representation of the empire of Prester John, or, of the Abyssinians), created by Abraham Ortelius, Antwerp, 1573..........................................................................................................56 2.17 Habessinia or Abassia, Presbyteri Johannis Regio. (“Habessinia” or “Abassia,” the Land of Prester John.) Created by Hiob Ludolf, 1683 ......................................57 2.18 Detail of figure 2.17. ................................................................................................57 2.19 Detail of Africæ Nova Descriptio (Africa Newly Described), created by Willem Blaeu, 1630...............................................................................................................58 2.20 Detail of Africæ, map of Africa created by John Speed, London, 1626 ..................58 2.21 Guinea, created by Willem Blau, Amsterdam, 1635 ...............................................59 2.22 Detail of figure 2.21. ................................................................................................59 2.23 Æthiopia Inferior vel Exterior (“Lower or Outer” Æthiopia), made by Jan Jansson after an earlier map by Jan Blau (1642)......................................................60 2.24 Detail of