Awra Amba, a utopia between myth and reality Robert Joumard To cite this version: Robert Joumard. Awra Amba, a utopia between myth and reality. [Research Report] University Gustave Eiffel. 2021, pp.162. hal-03199059v2 HAL Id: hal-03199059 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03199059v2 Submitted on 5 May 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Robert JOUMARD Awra Amba, a utopia between myth and reality May 2021 Awra Amba, a utopia between myth and reality Robert Joumard is emeritus senior scientist, University Gustave Eiffel, France. Contact: [email protected] Summary This is mainly a review of the 30 available research works on the Ethiopian utopian community of Awra Amba, complemented by the analysis of information provided by the community itself. It al- lows us to present the seeds and then the tormented historical evolution of this community founded in 1972 by a small group of illiterate peasants around one of them. Then, we present the main fea- tures of its culture, its values, the mechanisms implemented in order to respect them and the degree to which these values are respected: its well known gender equality, solidarity, golden rule (honesty, refusal of addictions, mutual respect, children’s rights), democracy, and eventually the value of work. Then we debate the highly controversial issue of religion in Awra Amba. Finally, we present other characteristics of its social organisation: training and education, marriage, funerals, conflict manage- ment, economy, before dealing with the external relations with neighbouring communities, authorities and media, as well as foreigners. In conclusion, we assess the myth and reality of this uto- pian experience. Résumé Awra Amba, une utopie entre mythe et réalité Cette étude est essentiellement une synthèse des 30 travaux de recherche disponibles sur la commu- nauté utopique d’Awra Amba en Éthiopie, complétée par l’analyse de données issues de la communauté elle-même. Cela permet de présenter les racines puis l'évolution historique tourmentée de cette communauté créée en 1972 par un petit groupe de paysans analphabètes autour de l'un des leurs. Nous présentons ensuite les principaux traits de sa culture, ses valeurs, les mécanismes mis en œuvre pour les respecter et le degré de respect de ces valeurs : l’égalité des sexes qui a fait sa renom- mée, la solidarité, la règle d’or (honnêteté, refus des addictions, respect mutuel, droits des enfants), la démocratie, et enfin la valeur travail. Nous traitons par la suite du thème très controversé du rapport d’Awra Amba à la religion. Dans un troisième temps, nous présentons d’autres caractéristiques de son organisation sociale : formation et éducation, mariage, funérailles, gestion des conflits, écono- mie, avant de traiter des relations de la communauté avec ses voisins, la presse et les autorités, et enfin l’étranger. En conclusion, nous évaluons les parts de mythe et de réalité de cette expérience utopique. Acknowledgements We thank the Awra Amba community for answering many among our questions, photographers al- lowing us friendly to reproduce their works, and Françoise Pastor, Claudine Crespo, Jean-Luc Picard-Bachelerie, Dominique Martin and Émilie Gabardo for their contribution. Photo of the title page: F. Pastor. 2 / 162 Content Executive summary...........................................................................................................................5 Synthèse.............................................................................................................................................7 Introduction..........................................................................................................................................9 1. Method.............................................................................................................................................11 2. Geographical location and history................................................................................................15 2.1. Geographical location...............................................................................................................15 2.2. At the origin of Awra Amba, protesters....................................................................................21 2.3. Very difficult beginnings of the community.............................................................................27 2.4. Recognition and success...........................................................................................................31 2.5. Community population.............................................................................................................33 3. Ideology and culture.......................................................................................................................37 3.1. Gender equality.........................................................................................................................40 3.1.1. Situation in Ethiopia and elsewhere..................................................................................40 3.1.2. Gender equality in Awra Amba.........................................................................................44 3.2. Solidarity...................................................................................................................................51 3.3. Golden rule...............................................................................................................................55 3.4. Democracy................................................................................................................................58 3.4.1. Ethiopian political culture.................................................................................................58 3.4.2. The Awra Amba cooperative.............................................................................................58 3.4.3. The community as a central body.....................................................................................59 3.4.4. Voluntary departures and exclusions................................................................................63 3.4.5. Transparency and freedom of speech................................................................................65 3.4.6. Potential concentration of power......................................................................................67 3.5. Work value................................................................................................................................70 3.6. Relationship to religion.............................................................................................................72 3.6.1. Weight of religion in Ethiopia...........................................................................................72 3.6.2. The "religion" of Awra Amba............................................................................................74 3.6.3. Is the "religion" of Awra Amba a religion?.......................................................................75 4. Social organisation.........................................................................................................................79 4.1. Education..................................................................................................................................79 4.1.1. Situation in Ethiopia.........................................................................................................79 4.1.2. Education in Awra Amba..................................................................................................80 4.1.3. Educational attainment of the population.........................................................................87 4.1.4. Health status of the population..........................................................................................88 4.2. Marriage and divorce................................................................................................................90 4.3. Funerals.....................................................................................................................................92 4.4. Conflict management................................................................................................................94 4.5. Community economy................................................................................................................98 4.5.1. Economic structures..........................................................................................................99 4.5.2. Economic flows...............................................................................................................100 4.5.3. Economic activities.........................................................................................................103 3 / 162 Awra Amba, a utopia between myth and reality 4.5.4. Incomes...........................................................................................................................108