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Tej Consumption and Production in the Commensal Politics and Political Economy of States in Northern Highland Ethiopia

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Abstract

Control over the production and consumption of tej (honeywine) and the honey to produce it, was part of the political economy of the Abyssinian kingdom/Ethiopian empire (1270-1974 CE) and possibly earlier polities in the northern Ethiopian highlands. Unlike other Indigenous and imported alcohol, tej became diacritica used to constitute social inequality by creating exclusive consumption-communities based on social rank and class. Those with imperial permission consumed tej with specific drinking vessels, which added to the drama of ranked performance in politically charged feasts. Honey for elite tej production was demanded as tax and tribute by the state from every land holder, and while honey was widely available, commoners were forbidden to make and drink tej. The study concludes that exclusive rights over the use of honey for making and drinking tej, an abundant resource in the northern highlands, was a more effective political strategy in legitimating state power and authority than the consumption of rare exotica, including imported alcohol, that was irrelevant to most peoples’ lives. The study contributes to recent archaeological literature that focuses on how power and authority were locally legitimated within the political praxis of precolonial African states. The long-term political importance of honey and tej in northern Ethiopia, continues to shape the value of these products in contemporary commensal politics and in the political economy.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to the generosity of farmers and administrators who permitted and participated in this research in Gulo Makeda Woreda and in the kushets of Adi Ahoune, Adi Ouli, Sobea, Segelat, Kila’at; in Yeha Woreda in the kushets of Gendebta, Adinfas, Adi Keshi; and in Saesi Tsaedaemba Woreda in the kushets of Adi Ayfela, Adi Geba, Angohl, Aba Makreita, Hadush Adi, and Adi Mariam. Thanks to Michael Sowbeka, Zelealem Tesfay G/Tsedik, Mulubrhan G/Sellassie, Degol Fissahaye, Daniel G/Kidane, Goitum Fitsom, Atakilte G/Tsedik, and ARCCH field inspector Degene Dandena Gulti. We thank Dr. Temesgen Burka (Addis Ababa U.), Dr. Catherine D’Andrea (Simon Fraser University), and Getachew Nigus (U. Calgary). I also thank anonymous viewers for their helpful comments that greatly contributed to the final draft. Project funding was provided by SSHRC grants 410-96-1520 and 410-2002-0846 (A.C. D’Andrea, PI; D.Lyons CA), Wenner-Gren Foundation Post-Doctoral Research Grants (7934, 8449) (Lyons PI), National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration Grant (9065-12) (Lyons PI) and University of Calgary Research Grant 2007 (LyonsPI). Ethics certificates for this research were approved by U. Calgary and Simon Fraser University. Fieldwork was generously permitted and supported by the Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) in Addis Ababa, National Regional State of Tigrai Tourism Bureau in Mekelle, Woreda and Tabia offices in Eastern and Central Tigray and local Kushet administrators.

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    Diane Lyons

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Lyons, D. Tej Consumption and Production in the Commensal Politics and Political Economy of States in Northern Highland Ethiopia. Int J Histor Archaeol 26, 259–290 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00597-5

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