Migration to Shashemene Migration to Shashemene Ethnicity, in Gunilla Bjertn Scandinavian Institute of African Studies Uppsala 1985 MIGRATION TO SHASHEMENE. ETHNICITY, GENDER AND OCCUPATION IN URBAN ETHIOPIA Doctoral Dissertation Copyright Gunilla Bjeren 1985 Cover photo and all photos except on page iii by Bo-Erik Gyberg Maps and photo on page iii by Sture BalgArd ISBN 91-7106-245-9 Stockholm: Minab/Gotab 1985 Con tents Page ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE 1. INTRODUCTION The Problem The problem in general.The problem in particular. The problem in this book. The Study Aim of the study. Why an exploratory study? Exploring the literature 1. Exploring the field 1. Exploring the field in archives. Exploring the field 2. Exploring the data. Interpreting the results. Concepts Organization of This Book Additional Literature 2. MIGRATION TO SHASHEMENE: THE TOTAL PICTURE The Material The Road to Shashemene Birth-places. Last place of residence before arriving in Shashemene Urban Experience Before Coming to Shashemene Reasons for Moving to Shashemene Independent and dependent migrants. Reasons given for coming to Shashemene. The Road from Shashemene Summary and Discussion 3. BACKGROUND Urbanization in Ethiopia A brief review of the history of towns in Ethiopia.Characteristics of the urban system in the 1970s. Regional Background Ethnic map of the central region of southern Ethiopia. The central region of southern Ethiopia after the Amhara conquest. The two decades prior to the Ethiopian revolution in 1974. 4. SHASHEMENE IN THE 1970's The Rural Surroundings The Town The population of Shashemene. Summary 5. THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE OF AFRICAN TOWNS Formal and Informal Economy Ethnicity in African Urban Areas The ethnic division of labour in town 6. THE OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE OF SHASHEMENE The Occupational Structure of Shashemene The economic ranking of occupations. Frequency of occupations. Characteristics of occupations. Summary 7. CHANNELS TO OPPORTUNITIES IN SHASHEMENE The Prestige of Occupations The Ethnic Occupational Structure The four largest ethnic groups. The smaller ethnic groups. Ethnic Stratification in Southern Ethiopia: The Literature Gender and Opportunities in Shashemene Strategic use of men: Prostitution. Strategic use of men: Marriage. Male dependence on women. Gender and ethnic stratification. Education and the Opportunity Structure Conclusion 8. COMPARISON: MIGRATION TO SHASHEMENE and Ethnicity Migration Patterns of the Different Ethnic Groups Types of migration career. Distance and last place of residence. Reasons for coming to Shashemene. Conclusions The Character of the Different Ethnic Groups in Town Sex and age composition. Household size and composition. Civil status. Religion Literacy. Conclusions Discussion: Mechanisms Behind Migration to Shashemene 9. COMPARISON: MIGRATION TO SHASHEMENE, OCCUPATION AND GENDER Migration Patterns of Different Occupational Groups Frequency of Occupations in the 1973 Sample Characteristics of occupations. Gender and Migration Conclusions: Migration, Occupation and Gender 10. URBAN MIGRATION IN ETHIOPIA: INTERPRETATION OF INDIVIDUAL STUDIES Migration to Shashemene: Interpretation 1 Studies of Migration to Other Ethiopian Towns Migration to Shashemene: Interpretation 2 The context of urban migration in central southern Ethiopia. Urban ethnic stratification and migration. Urban migration and ethnic categories in town. The urban migration process. 11. URBAN MIGRATION IN ETHIOPIA: THEORETICAL SUGGESTIONS The Generation of Urban Migration Why do people move? A Theoretical Model for the Causes of Urban Migration in Ethiopia Mobility in the "core niches" of urban Ethiopia. Mobility in the "ancillary niches" of the urban system. Urban migration in southern Ethiopia and the decision to move. APPENDIX 1. Urban Migration in Southern Ethiopia after 1974. APPENDIX 2. Summary of an Evaluation of the Social Survey method in the Collection of Data from Shashemene Finding the Respondents Summary of Results Variables related to time. Variable related to social category. Discussion APPENDIX 3. The Questionnaire from the 1973 Survey of Households, in Amharic and English GLOSSARY REFERENCES Illustrations Page Maps 1. Provinces and provincial capitals of Ethiopia in 1973. 2. Awrajas surrounding Shashemene. 3. Towns in central southern Ethiopia. 4. Central southern region of Ethiopia, towns outside the region mentioned in the text and the national net of main highways. 5. The expansion of the Ethiopian Empire during the reign of Menelik 11. 6. Geographical distribution of dominant languages in Ethiopia. 7. Shashemene in 1973. Photos 1. Shashemene 1973: View towards the daily market 2. Permanent shops and one of many kiosks along the main highway in Shashemene, 1973. 3. Shoe maker - one of the least rewarding crafts. 4. The river was used for everything. Daily labourers pushing water barrels up the river bank 5. Traders in textile were highly ranked both socially and economically 6. Women in the weekly market trading in vegetables 7. Women in the weekly market trading in maize and salt 8. Beggars were given the lowest rank both socially and economically 9. Many Amhara farmers had been soldiers or were the children of soldiers. The soldiers in town commanded immediate respect 10. Boy shining shoes. The work of the young was rated very low. 11. Town road in Shashemene. Herding cattle and sheep of the townspeople was one way of a living. 210 12. Pot making was in the same category of little regarded crafts as weaving. It was one of few occu- pations practised by both women and men. 218 13. Visitors to the weekly market in Shashemene. 238 14. Dog with closed door. 257 Preface The study reported in this book was begun as a doctoral re- search project in sociology, and has been completed as such. However, while preparing for fieldwork I turned to social an- thropology for further support. Social anthropology has contin- ued to be my main source of inspiration throughout the subse- quent period of analysis and writing. At this point, I find it impossible to tell which elements of the Shashemene study owe most to which discipline. Moreover, I consider that question to be of little importance. I hope, however, that both more orthodox sociologists and social an- thropologists will find something to recognize and something to discover in the exploration of migration to Shashemene. Work on the Shashemene study has spanned a long period of time. The only person who has accompanied its entire journey is professor Carl-Gunnar Janson of the Department of Sociology at the University of Stockholm. I am grateful to professor Janson for the confidence he has shown in me from the inception of the study to its completion, and for his patience. The book has been written between 1982 and 1985, with a few interruptions. My dear friend, docent Gudrun Dahl at the De- partment of Social Anthropology, acted as an additional su- pervisor during the writing of the book. She has read all ver- sions of all chapters and commented on them with speed and in- sight. Professor Bruce Kapferer, who was a visiting professor at the Department of Social Anthropology during the first half of 1985, helped me to finish this study by reading the entire manuscript and discussing its main points. Eva Evers Rosander, Eva Poluha and Ulf Bjorklund have read and commented on individual chapters. In addition, I want to thank the entire Department of So- cial Anthropology, to which I have been attached for the last ten years, for providing a congenial environment for the writ- ing of this book. Arne Tostensson, Research Fellow at Chr. Michelsen Insti- tute, Bergen, has read the manuscript for the Scandinavian Africa Institute and provided valuable comments. MS Margaret Cornell has edited the English in the book. Bo-Erik Gyberg visited Shashemene in 1973 and has taken all photos except the one of Ato Wendemu. Fieldwork took place from February 1972 to May 1973. Many institutions and individuals in Ethiopia helped to make it pos- sible. The study was sponsored by the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at the (then) Haile Selassie I University, which is now Addis Abeba University. The Central Statistical Office of the Ethiopian Government granted access to the primary material from the First and Second Rounds of Urban Surveys in Shashemene. The Regional Office of the Malaria Eradication Ser- vice at Awasa made their maps of Shashemene available to me. The school directors in Shashemene allowed me to address the teachers and encouraged them to take part in the project as in- terviewers. In Shashemene, Ato Abebe Mitiku worked diligently to find the respondents from the 1965 Urban Survey. The twelve teachers who performed the interviews became quite involved in the study as time went on and their suggestions improved this work. Ato Wendemu Beharu, to whom the book is dedicated, showed me that at least some Amhara soldiers still are capable of the courage, cunning and faith attributed to their kind. In Awasa, MS Helen Inkpen and Marie Lahore made it possible for me to complete fieldwork despite the calamities that in- evitably occurred. In Addis Ababa, invaluable help and advice were given, as always, by my longtime friends Kassate Hailu, Alemu Geleta and Pia Kazerta. Siv and Berhe Tewolde Berhan, Bengt and Chris- tianne Hojer, Ingrid Lofstrom, Arne CarlsgHrdh and many others provided safety valves by sharing the "trials and tribulations" of the study and showing a great deal of patience and interest. Thank you all! From the time when the study first suggested itself until I temporarily left it in 1976, Sture BalgHrd took part through many discussions and with practical help and suggestions. He has also drawn the maps in the book and taken the photo of Ato Wendemu. Lennart BalgHrd constructed an ingenious instrument for counting the holes in the optical coincidence cards that I used to store and cross-tabulate the data. Osvaldo Maldonado, my husband, provided the discipline and support necessary for reviving this study and gave me the time and peace to complete it. Our young children, Maya and Simon, have grown up with the book as part of their daily lives and accepted it.