IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 1621: Temporalities and Power in Precolonial Africa, II: Ethiopian Lens
Thursday 9 July 2026, 11:15-12:45
| Organisers: | Nagmeldin Karamalla-Gaiballa, Wydział Kultur Azji i Afryki, Uniwersytet Warszawski Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł, Katedra Języków i Kultur Afryki, Uniwersytet Warszawski |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Nagmeldin Karamalla-Gaiballa, Wydział Kultur Azji i Afryki, Uniwersytet Warszawski |
| Paper 1621-a | Legitimacy and Time: The Solomonic Dynasty, the Kebra Nagast, and Ethiopian Historical Consciousness (Language: English) Index terms: Local History, Mentalities, Political Thought |
| Paper 1621-b | Cyclical Temporal Rhythm of Ethiopian Farmers (Language: English) Index terms: Anthropology, Daily Life, Language and Literature - Semitic |
| Abstract | This session complements the first part of Temporalities and Power in Precolonial Africa concentrating on Ethiopian example. It examines the intersections of sacred narrative, temporal imagination, and political authority in the Ethiopian context. Central to the discussion are the ways in which ideas of chosenness, grounded in scriptural traditions (Kebra Nagast) and dynastic claims, have shaped Ethiopia’s spiritual vision and political legitimacy across centuries. Alongside this, attention is given to the cyclical temporal rhythms embedded in agrarian life and the calendrical system, where agricultural cycles, religious observance, and communal cohesion are intertwined in a distinctive conception of time. Finally, the session considers how dynastic perceptions of continuity and legitimacy were articulated through temporal frameworks, revealing how sacred history, cyclical patterns, and political order were woven together. Together, these perspectives illuminate the enduring interplay of text, time, and power in Ethiopia, highlighting how religious imagination, ecological cycles, and dynastic authority converged to shape a unique historical consciousness and cultural identity. |