"Falasha" Religion: Ancient Judaism or Evolving Ethiopian Tradition?
This article considers recent research on the religion of the Beta Israel (Falasha), and in particular Kay Kaufman Shelemay's "Music, Ritual," and "Falasha History." Most scholars have, on the basis of an artificially static and ahistorical picture of the Beta Israel religio...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1988
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
Year: 1988, Volume: 79, Issue: 1, Pages: 49-65 |
| Review of: | Music, ritual, and Falasha history (East Lansing, Mich : African Studies Center, Michigan State Univ., 1986) (Kaplan, Steven)
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| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article considers recent research on the religion of the Beta Israel (Falasha), and in particular Kay Kaufman Shelemay's "Music, Ritual," and "Falasha History." Most scholars have, on the basis of an artificially static and ahistorical picture of the Beta Israel religion, depicted it as a form of ancient Judaism. In contrast, Shelemay contends that the Beta Israel's religious tradition developed around the fourteenth or fifteenth century and draws heavily on Christian Ethiopian sources. While generally favorable to her views, this article attempts to demonstrate that the development of Beta Israel religion was a more gradual process than she claims and continued into even later periods. Evidence to support this theory is drawn from oral traditions and Beta Israel literature. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1454417 |
