LAND DISPUTES Berweeen VILLAGES in the HIGHLAND of ERITREA: the CASE of GUAQUAT and GEDDELE VILLAGES

LAND DISPUTES BErWEEEN VILLAGES IN THE HIGHLAND OF ERITREA: THE CASE OF GUAQUAT AND GEDDELE VILLAGES .. ~ Y . t,l • 1.;-, I "" HABTEAB w. GHEBREAB August 2004 . ~ '. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master in social science in the Faculty of Human Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. Declaration I, Habteab Werede, declare that this thesis is my own work. Any work done by other persons has been properly acknowledged. This thesis has been submitted in the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Human Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. Abstract This thesis is an examination into the problem of land disputes between villages in the highland (kebessa) area of Eritrea. Through a case study ofthe dispute between the villages of Guaquat and Goddele, which are located in the district of Mereta Keih, Southern Zone, this study explores the causes, nature and consequences of land disputes and the mechanisms by which they are settled. It interprets the land dispute by placing it within its historical, social, and political contexts and in the land tenure systems in the area, establishing the complex nature of the case study in particular and land disputes in the highland in general. In this area of the country, where the society is made up of settled peasant cultivators, the village is the basic land owning-community in which land is communally owned. For almost all of rural Eritreans land remains the sole means of subsistence, hence the means of life. Yet, over the decades, because of high population density land resource became extremely scarce. As a result land became a source of competition and struggle for existence. It is a kind of property that must be jealously defended. While scarcity of land is the underlying cause of land disputes, other immediate causal factors have been identified, which result from tenural arrangements, unclear boundaries between villages, trespassing, etc. The disputes manifest themselves through endless litigation processes and with clashes between disputant villages. The long-established permanent village settlements, which go back for centuries, created a strong and inextricable link between land and communities. Land is, thus, a source of dignity and identity. Over the years this strong link between land and society intensified people's attachment to land, which in tum resulted in the development of significant social and cultural value to land. All these factors added fuel to the struggle for the vital resource of land. The study also shows that the new land proclamation, which puts land in the hands of the state, cannot eliminate land disputes between communities to the extent is expected, but, rather adds another dimension to the problem of land disputes. : l 'I Acknowledgement I would like to express my greatest appreciation to my supervisor Professor Gerhard Mare for his genuine and constructive guidance. His interest in my research topic added force to my enthusiasm in doing this work. I am grateful to have been supervised by him. Many people have participated in this study through interviews and material provision. My particular thanks go to the people of Mereta Keih. I am especially beholden to the people of Guaquat and Geddele villages without whose support this research could not have been written. I am grateful to all individuals, government officials and comrades who volunteered to interviews and who provided me with important materials and information. Special thanks to the Human Resources Development Project, University ofAsmara, for offering me this scholarship for study abroad. My gratitude also goes to my sisters and brothers who have encouraged me throughout my academic life. I. , ' 11 Table of content Page Abstract Acknowledgement 11 CH APTER ONE 1 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Objectives of the study 5 1.3 The case study 5 1.4 Ethical considerations 6 1.5 Structure of the dissertation 7 1.6 Limitations ofthe Study 8 CHAPTE R TWO 10 2. Research Methods and Methodology 10 2.1 Introduction ~ 10 2.2 Methodology versus method 10 2.3 Nature of the study and methodological justification 11 2.4 Ethnography as a method ofsocial inquiry 13 2.5 Research strategies 15 2.6 Interviews 22 2.6.1 Interview techniques and processes 24 CH APTER THREE 28 3.Ethnographic Setting 28 3.1 Geograp hical location ofthe villages 28 3.2 The people 30 3.3.1 The origin and kinship relationship ofthe people 30 3.3.2 The villages as communities 34 3.3.3 The livelihood of the people 36 CH APTER FOUR 39 4. Historical Development of Land Te nure Systems in Keb essa Eritrea 39 4.1 Introduction · 39 4.2 What is land? .40 4.3 Indigenous land tenure systems · .42 4.3.1 Family ownership ofland 44 4.3.1.1 Family ownership of land in Mereta Keih 47 4.3.2. Church land 49 4.3.3 The diessa/ shehna land tenure system and its origin 51 4.3.3.1 The process of land distribution and rights in the diessa system 53 4.3.3.2 The origin ofthe shehnal diessa land system 59 4.4 The attitude ofthe people towards their land 64 4.5 Intrusions and reform acts on customary land tenure systems 67 4.5.1 Land under foreign rule 67 4.5.2 The state land proclamation 72 CH APTER FIVE 77 5. Land Disputes 77 5.1 Theoretical framework 78 5.1.1 Conflict 78 5.2 Land conflicts 81 iii 5.3 Land disputes in historical perspective 89 5.4 Causes and nature ofland disputes 96 CHAPTER SIX 105 6. The Land Dispute Between Guaquat and Geddele Villages 105 6.1 Introduction 105 6.2 General background 106 6.2.1 The controversies ofthe land ofthe seven Mereta 106 .6.2.2 The land of Saint Georgis Church 113 6.3 Cause ofthe dispute 114 6.4 The incident ofAugust 1975 121 6.5 The consequence ofthe dispute 124 CHAPTER SEYEN 127 7. Resolution of The Dispute ; 127 7.1 Traditional1and conflict management.. 127 7.2 The Reconc iliation of 1998 134 7.3 Comparative Assessment 140 CHAPTER EIGHT : 147 8. Conclusion and Recommendations 147 8.1 Conclusion 147 8.2 Recommenda tions : 153 Bibliography 155 Appendix Glossary Maps VI CHAPTER ONE 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction This research study takes up the problem of land disputes between villages in the highland (kebessa) area of Eritrea. In this area of the country, land disputes between villages have been a serious problem for the rural community throughout the last century. Some of these long lasting disputes led to violence and armed clashes, which took lives. Many properties were destroyed. People of villages that engaged in such disputes were under continuous threat of disturbance. These sites of conflict remained unresolved for many years. Indeed, some disputes remained unresolved for more than a century. The land dispute case studied in this paper, between the villages ofGuaquat and Geddele, lasted for more than half a century. Such incidents of land conflicts in the highland have their roots in the history ofthe land, the people and the way they organize themselves, and the way they control and manage their land and other resources they are endowed with. In the context ofthe rural agrarian society, land is the most important asset. It can be said that almost all socio-economic and political aspects of Eritrean rural society are determined by, or somehow related to land possession. Kinship is .a critical factor in determining individual or group land inheritance, possession and entitlement. In this area, the most important, effectively organized social unit is the village community where clearly defined communal territory of land is the crucial organizing factor for this agrarian and considerably egalitarian society. Within this context various customary land tenure systems were developed over time. These institutionalized landholding systems have regulated land allocation in the different parts of the highlands. While these tenure systems have played a significant role in equitable distribution of land among members of a community and maintaining social stability, they could not, however, keep the society free from conflict as population pressure increased and land resources became scarce. Throughout the history of the country, there were many interventions and land reform acts to these customary land tenure systems by different colonial regimes, and now by the Eritrean government. In this study it will be argued, , ,.. however, that the contribution of these acts for more equitable allocation and effective use of land by the rural poor communities was small. Rather, their negative implications towards creating ambiguity of ownership and contributing to land shortage, hence to land disputes, were more significant. The rural population of Eritrea makes up about 80% of the total population of the country. The area of greatest population densit y is the highland plateau. If we add estimates of the populations of the highland awrajas (provinces), namely Hamasien, Seraye and Akeleguzay, we arrive at a figure of around 1,259,000 for the population ofthe highlands as a whole. Over the last century there has been a tremendous increase in population numbers. The population density in Eritrea increased from 1.5 to 21.7 persons per sq krn in nine decades, i.e. from 1893 up to 1984 (Wudassie Yohannes ,1991: 3). This leads not only to land scarcity but also to over-cultivation and overgrazing, hence land degradation, which implies low productivity. We can easily imagine how serious the problem is when we consider the fact that this population is predominantly made up of peasant cultivators. Thus, the scarcity of land, this sole economic means for the majority of the rural communities, coupled with increasing population growth rate, led to incessant struggle and competition over land.

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