The Truth About Ethiopian Literature

The commander is totally convinced that the treatises are real, his opponents that they are forged. Our aim is not to convince you one way or another, but just to put at your disposal some information about these fascinating texts and the equally fascinating debate over their provenance. But we hasten to add that the reality of a worthwhile philosophical tradition in Ethiopia does not rise or fall with Zirayakob and weldahaywat. We have in mind the life and struggles of our mother, Walata Petros, a book recently translated by Wendy Belcher and Michael Kleiner. This is a contribution to an important genre of Ethiopian literature, accounts of the lives of saints by a monk named