Dickinson College Dickinson Scholar Faculty and Staff Publications By Year Faculty and Staff Publications 1-2012 The Intimate Violence of Political and Economic Change in Southern Ethiopia James G. Ellison Dickinson College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Ellison, James. "The Intimate Violence of Political and Economic Change in Southern Ethiopia." Comparative Studies in Society and History 54, no. 1 (2013): 35-64. This article is brought to you for free and open access by Dickinson Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Comparative Studies in Society and History 2012;54(1):35–64. 0010-4175/12 $15.00 # Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 2012 doi:10.1017/S0010417511000582 The Intimate Violence of Political and Economic Change in Southern Ethiopia JAMES ELLISON Dickinson College [Konso people] produced cotton from their fields. They produced cotton cloth, but they sold it in … other areas. [And] they wore leather skirts…. I procured cotton clothes and ordered [three] women to wear them. We went together to the market and we had a picture taken there. I then made a proclamation, ordering women not to use leather skirts anymore. I wanted to show them that in physical appearance we are the same, and in all things we are the same. They are my people. They are my countrymen. But because of their style of dress, they are distinct from me. I wanted to show them that I am better than them only because of my clothes.… I tried to abolish [harmful customs].