Under the direction of Éloi Ficquet, Ahmed Hassen Omer and Thomas

Osmond

Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement. Volume

2
Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian
Studies

Manjo and Kafecho: Enemies or Brothers? Cultural

Depiction of Intergroup Relations in Southern
Ethiopia
Federica De Sisto

Publisher: Centre français des études éthiopiennes, Tsehai Publishers, Addis Ababa University
Published on OpenEdition Books: 22 juin 2023
Series: Corne de l’Afrique contemporaine / Contemporary Horn of Africa
Digital ISBN: 978-2-11-172314-6

https://books.openedition.org

Digital reference
De Sisto, Federica. “Manjo and Kafecho: Enemies or Brothers? Cultural Depiction of Intergroup
Relations in Southern Ethiopia”. Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement. Volume 2, edited by Éloi
Ficquet et al., Centre français des études éthiopiennes, Tsehai Publishers, Addis Ababa University,
2016, https://doi.org/10.4000/books.cfee.1819.

This text was automatically generated on 20 avril 2024.

The PDF format is issued under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Partage dans les Mêmes
Conditions 4.0 International - CC BY-SA 4.0 license unless otherwise stated.
 Manjo and Kafecho: Enemies or Brothers? Cultural
Depiction of Intergroup Relations in Southern Ethiopia

Federica De Sisto

Throughout Ethiopia there are numbers of marginalized minority groups who are
defined by occupation or notional occupation (e.g. smiths, potters, tanners and weavers).
The dominant farming population articulates the exclusion of these groups of
craftworkers by giving them different labels and treating their occupation as polluted
and polluting.
While there is no shortage of scholarly theorizing about these discriminated groups
there is a surprising dearth of rigorous ethnographic data about the way their
subordination is culturally carried out. The assumption that their discrimination is
merely lack of economic development and fair distribution of political power, and
therefore can be solved by economic packages and political reforms, is one sided. Such
an analysis fails to understand the complex social formation, attachments, interaction,
and structure found in traditional societies in the same way that it fails to understand
the power of oral tradition in the process of inclusion/exclusion from citizenship.
This paper will investigate the dual role of local discursive practices in branding
policies of exclusions as legitimate but also in bridging intergroup tensions, through the
ethnographic case study of the occupational group of the Manjo living in Southern
Ethiopia.
The Manjo are a small discriminated group who are dispersed across the wider
geographical areas in the Kaffa zone. They live among the cultivating majority Kafecho.
The oral narrative of Kaffa, through negative narratives, myths, rituals and stereotypes,
shapes the individual and group identity of the people and contributes in feeding
intergroup prejudices and negative images of each other. Enemy images based on
destructive narratives distort individuals’ and groups’ thinking by influencing negatively
cognitive processes such as attention, memory and attribution. Despite the
preponderant presence of these destructive cultural elements, still there is space for
interaction among the two groups. This same culture can in fact, also be considered the
most powerful connector among local capacities for peace. It contains the seed of peace
in the form of presently less explored constructive narratives and rituals. Digging into
personal stories and oral traditions, positive cultural components have indeed been
found. These elements could contribute to bringing about the shift from divisions to
commonalities and to reorient the mutual perceptions from negative to positive.

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Producing an ethnography of narratives from below, this paper, based on my PhD

research, aims at contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics of exclusions
and discursive practices of occupational groups but also to opening up creative
possibilities for inter-group dialogue.

The Kaffa Zone

This paper is the result of ten-month fieldwork in the Kaffa zone of Southern Ethiopia
in 2008.1 Kaffa, where this research has been conducted, is one of the 13 zones of the
Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS), often referred
to as the Southern Regions. With 56 ethnic groups, the region is home to the most
diverse and inter-mixed of Ethiopia’s ethnic populations. In addition to a mixture of
relatively ‘local’ or ‘indigenous’ ethnic groups, the area has a significant population of
more recent immigrants.
Kaffa’s administrative centre is Bonga, a multiethnic town of about ten thousand
inhabitants. According to the 2007 census, Kaffa has a population of 858,600 people.2
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Kaffa are the Kafecho. Other groups in the area
are the Dawro (who have established themselves among mideastern areas of Kaffa), the
Nao (a semi-nomadic group living in the Southern Kaffa), the Chara (who live north of
the Omo River, in eastern Kaffa) and the Meen (who live in Southern Kaffa). Kaffa is
also home to a more recent wave of immigrants, such as Amhara, Oromo, and Tigray,
brought in the zone at the time of the resettlement programme of the Derg regime
(PETROS 2003 and 2001).3 Kaffi-noono, the Kafecho language, is the most widely spoken
language of Kaffa (CERULLI 1951).

1
The research findings presented in the paper are part of my PhD project entitled: ‘Striking a balance
between local capacities for peace and external intervention in conflict: The case of the Manjo in Southern
Ethiopia’. Data were collected from March to December 2008 in the Kaffa zone through the employment
of an ethnographic approach. The ethnographic approach was based on participants observation and semi-
structured interviews. A total of 63 interviews were held. The following criteria were elaborated for the
definition of the sample: Small size, to acquire more detailed information; Variety of views, informants
should be from different social groups; Representatives of the social setting (e.g. prominent members of
Church and traditional institutions, as well as youth); Representatives of the various formal and non-formal
institutions shaping the local context; Gender sensitivity. In addition, the definition of the sample was
based on two key ideas: The sample should include informants from the Manjo as well as from the
dominant Kafecho group; The sample should be stratified in order to record differences in views and social
status within each group. As the sample should be rich in information, informants who were better at
expressing themselves, reflecting and articulating their knowledge were selected (JOHNSON and
CHRISTENSEN, 2008). This argument affected the balance of the well-being and gender criteria as
information in the end, was mainly collected where it was the most comprehensible for the research. Letters
of the alphabet (e.g. A, B, C) are used throughout the dissertation to identify participants and prevent any
connection between quotes and participants. The letters in use do not correspond to the initial of
participants. This research approach was integrated with a secondary literature review and field notes. The
use of field notes, containing descriptions and ideas that exceeded the initial scope, helped corroborate or
contradict the outcomes of interviews and participant observation and broaden the original lists of
questions.
2
Data provided by the Kaffa zone Information and Culture department.
3
In the mid-1980s this military government embarked on forced resettlement and villagisation as part of a
national programme to combat drought and famine (CLAPHAM 1988). Resettlement involved the

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According to research conducted before the Derg era, Kaffa society had a social
hierarchy similar to the caste system (KOCHITO 1979; LEVINE 1974). At the top of the
hierarchy were the Kafecho, followed by groups defined and discriminated in terms of
their occupation such as blacksmiths (Kemmo), weavers (Shamano), tanner-potters
(Manno) and hunters (Manjo). The Manjo in particular are considered as the most
discriminated people of Kaffa.

The Manjo
The Manjo, also known as Manja or Menja, live as a marginalized group of former
hunters within the Kafecho farming group in the Kaffa zone. They are also found in the
neighbouring zones of Sheka, Bench Maji, Dawro, Konta special woreda of SNNPRS,
and according to Yoshida (2009) also in some parts of Oromia and Gambela regional
states. Tekle (2005) notes that no effort has been made to conduct their population
census. Even the national census programme that is conducted within every decade does
not provide an accurate estimate. The only source of data/information is an unorganized
counting found at the kebele level for estimation (TEKLE 2005). The difficulties in
assessing these data are due to the fact that in the governmental records the Manjo are
not listed as a distinctive ethnic group, but as caste within the Kafecho. According to a
recent study by Yoshida (2009), their number in Kaffa varies from 10,000 to 12,000
people. By percentage this amounts to 1.1%- 1.4% of the total population of Kaffa zone.
This figure contrasts with the 2007 estimate provided by the Kaffa zone council,
according to which the Manjo and the rest of the occupational minorities are believed
to account for 5-10% and 1% respectively of the total population of Kaffa.
Despite the fact that the Manjo are not officially recognised as a distinctive ethnic
group, but rather referred to as a caste within the Kafecho, in everyday life they are
treated as a separate group; terms ‘Kafecho’ and ‘Manjo’ are mostly used dichotomously.
Judging by their physical appearance, the Manjo are described as significantly
different from the Kafecho: low in height, with strongly curled hair, with low and wide
noses, prominent lips, and very dark skin colour (YOSHIDA 2008). On a psychological
level they are considered by the large majority of the people of Kaffa as inferior to the
Kafecho and in some cases even not human at all.
The two main reasons given for the Manjo ‘sub-humanity’ are:
- Eating habits. The alleged eating-habit of the Manjo is the most central aspect
upon which their discrimination is based. The Manjo is a group of former hunters who
used to live in the forest mainly on hunted meat, notably porcupine, Colobus monkey
and wild pig.4 They are also believed to eat the meat of unslaughtered animals. In Kaffa
zone, and Ethiopia in general, people who eat or touch certain meat or the dead bodies

relocation on a permanent basis of people from the north drought-prone areas to the green south and
southwestern part of the country (OFCANSKY and LAVERLE 1991).
4
The name ‘Colobus’ derives from the Greek word for ‘mutilated,’ because unlike other monkeys, Colobus
monkeys do not have thumbs. They have black fur, long white mantle, whiskers and beard around the face
and a bushy white tail (AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION 2009).

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of unclean animals are to be regarded as unclean themselves and banned from society.
Overall, the Manjo’s social position is severely constrained by the imposed tradition of
deeply dividing stratification based on birth-ascribed occupational status conceptions of
pollution and purity.
- Behaviour. The Manjo are believed to dislike education and to prefer their children
to work at a very early age instead of sending them to school (GUANCHE 2007). Yoshida
(2008) notes that this group is also seen as pagan and polygamist, extravagant, with a
low sense of morality. The other widely diffused accusation is their unhygienic character:
the Manjo are accused of not washing their body and to give off an unpleasant smell,
sometime caused by skin diseases (YOSHIDA 2009). Additionally, some Kafecho also
mention that the Manjo have a limited intellectual capacity that does not enable them
to surmount full administrative and political competency (TEKLE 2005).

Changes in Manjo lifestyle

In recent years, the Manjo diet has changed drastically. Conversion to Christianity, rapid
deforestation,5 the dwindling of wild animals, and the official banning of hunting by the
government are all factors that contributed to a change in their lifestyle (YOSHIDA 2008;
PETROS 2003). The increased contact with non-Kaffa people may also have played a role
in it by exposing the Manjo to more equal patterns of intergroup relations. Nowadays,
even if some Manjo still carry out hunting, they must travel a long distance to find areas
with abundant populations to hunt big games (YOSHIDA 2008). Members of this group
mostly buy meat at local markets (TEKLE 2005). Today the poorest among the Manjo
survive collecting firewood and burning charcoal for sale. The large majority combines
these activities with farming, although agriculture and animal husbandry are still done
on a small scale compared to Kafecho farmers. Apiculture is another source of cash
income and the Manjo are well known for being skilled and knowledgeable in this field
(VAN HALTEREN 1996). However, despite changes in lifestyle, the unjust and prejudicial
treatment to which the Manjo are subjected is still manifested in many aspects of
community life.
The following paragraphs constitute an attempt to comprehend the triggers of the
discrimination of the Manjo through an exploration of the role of cultural elements in
perpetrating policies of exclusion. The potential of the same cogs of local culture in
lessening the discrimination will also be explored.

Negative elements in the culture

Negative present and past narratives told across time and generations are believed to
constitute the main justification upon which the discrimination of the Manjo has been

5
The economy of Kaffa is nowadays driven mostly by tea and coffee production. Land is being rapidly
depleted as a result of clearing for agricultural expansion by local farmers and large scale for coffee and tea
plantations. Access to the forest has therefore become contentious (TEKLE 2005).

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based. Prejudices against the group are in fact perpetrated through the use of destructive
myths, stories, rituals and metaphors.
Creation myths: grounding the discrimination
Myths are stories shared by a group that are a part of that group’s cultural identity
(MALINOWSKI 1926). In the Kaffa society these ancient stories play a key role in shaping
the social identity of the people and are considered by all community members, including
younger generations, as the ground upon which the discrimination of the Manjo lies.
The redundancy of variants of creation myths told by elderly people implies a strong
wish to use them as an ideological justification for the low status of the Manjo.
Among the Kafecho tradition of the Manjo origin and identity, one of the most
widely spread is the one told me by an elderly Kafecho.
“An unmarried girl secretly had sexual intercourse with a dog. When she became
pregnant was banned from the village from her parents. Eventually she gave birth
to a baby boy by a riverside. Upon maturing, her son hunted wild pigs, monkeys
and baboons in the forest and with their meats fed himself and his mother. After
some time, they left the valley and went to live in a village. The boy did not change
his eating habits; he kept hunting and eating the meats of wild animals. The
people saw it and did not like his behaviour. They told him and his mother to
stay away from their houses and chased them into the forest, where they lived for
the rest of their life. This is how the Manjo were created” (W. Personal interview.
July 24, 2008).

Common is also the myth of the Manjo’s banishment to the forest as a result of their
greed. There are many versions of this myth, the most popular being the one recalled
by a Manjo elder during an eddir6 meeting:
“The first king was Manjo. The Manjo king had ninety-nine wives.
He was a good king, honest, compassionate and respected by his people.
One day he saw the beautiful wife of his servant and wanted to make her
his hundredth wife. To do that, he killed his servant and for this reason
was cursed by God and chased to the forest where he hunted and ate
monkeys and wild pigs to survive. Consequently his status was lowered by
God and the Manjo became the lowest clan in Kaffa” (Field notes.
September 16, 2008).

6
The eddir is a funeral association. It ensures a payout in cash and in kind at the time of a funeral for a
deceased member of the family and of the group (DERCON, BOLD, DE WEERDT and PANKHURST 2004).
This traditional funeral association is strictly organized with leaders democratically elected. The eddir
members live in a geographically defined area, and every month or every two weeks contribute a certain
amount of money to offset the expenses of burial cost (VAN HALTEREN 1996). The eddir is also called a
self-help association, because its function often exceeds burials. It is consulted through its leaders to solve
disputes. The disputants refer the matter of dispute to the eddir leaders, the leaders will enquire into it,
and later discuss with the whole eddir or some delegates, and will pass judgement.

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Another variant of the creation myth was offered by a Kafecho Alamo:7

“Two brothers (in some versions seven), were travelling along the Baro River.
They became very hungry as they ran out of food. One of the brothers then went
to the forest and ate bad things during the trip, such as monkeys and worms. The
other one waited to get to the closest village before eating. Since then, the first
brother has been ostracised” (X. Personal Interview. June 13, 2008).

Two variants of the creation myth provide a different explanation of the

discrimination. A Kafecho interviewed, recounted the peaceful and smooth transfer of
power from Manjo to Kafecho clans. In this variant is stressed the fact that the Kafecho
never fought for the position of supremacy but it was given to them.
“When human beings were created, there were three groups in Kaffa: the Matto,
the Minjo and the Manjo. The Manjo were the strongest group and cruelly ruled
Kaffa. Full of themselves, they decided to build a state for themselves and left the
area. At that time, the other two clans, the Minjo and the Matto, intermarried
and gave birth to a new strong and numerous clan from which we [the Kafecho]
descend. The new people neglected the Manjo for revenge against the treatment
they ancestors were given by this clan. Starting from that time, the Manjo are not
welcome to our house. The reason is found on the life they conducted when they
left the area. They became different from all the other groups as they ate wild
animals and from that time do not care about their personal hygiene” (Y. Personal
Interview. November 18, 2008).

In a second variant the Manjo, original inhabitants of Kaffa, are believed to have been
the first rulers of the area prior to the coming of immigrant clans. It is often assumed
that after their defeat and consequent submission to the immigrants who had relatively
better technology and stronger political structure, this group might have been drawn in
the forest and started eating and hunting wild animals in order to survive. Historians
like Huntingford (1955) consider this last version close to what actually happened.
Language and attitudes reflect the negative myths and reinforce stereotypes.

7
From unknown time the vast majority of people of Kaffa believe in the possession spirit known as eko which
comes to a person after his/her father’s death. Once the person is chosen by an eko, he/she becomes an
alamo (one who can communicate with ancestral spirits) and the spirit will appear through the person until
death. In ordinary life, before a spirit possesses the alamos, they lead a life like anyone else in the
community. But when possessed they become a changed personality and do not exercise their own actions
anymore but those of the spirit (PETROS 2003). People would consult the alamo for many reasons, usually
related to marriage arrangements, health and general well-being. This possession cult of eko has a strong
connection with food taboos and the discrimination of the Manjo (PETROS, 2003; VAN HALTEREN 1996).
The alamo, for instance, is expected to observe various food restrictions: refrain from eating sheep, chicken
and cabbages and from eating in the presence of other people, exceptions are however made for fellow
alamos. Alamos are always against the Manjo because of the alleged eating habits of the latter, and the Manjo
consider the alamo a major factor in perpetuating segregation and discriminatory practices against them.
No Manjo for instance can enter the house of a Kafecho alamo, they have to sit outside the fence during
consultation. Furthermore, one way of bringing the wrath of eko upon a person, is to allow Manjo into
their house or to eat with them. The alamo makes sure that any violation of this role would be punished.
At present the behaviour of the alamo has not changed when compared with the past (YOSHIDA 2009).

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Destructive stories
LeBaron (2003) argues that storytelling is an ancient universal activity that conveys the
cultural logic of participants in a way that much communication about conflict may not.
According to the words and images evocated, feelings could be redirected towards
peaceful ends or could foment the mutual negative image of actors in conflict.
Only a few negative stories were collected from the Kafecho side regarding the Manjo
and all related to superstition or episodes of violence. Contact with a Manjo was
primarily associated with contraction of diseases and bad luck. The stories also related
to the alleged aggressive attitude of the Manjo. The Manjo, on their side, had their own
stories to tell and all related to the discriminating treatment received from the Kafecho.
Their stories recalled scenes from marketplaces, where their products are sold at a price
lower than Kafecho’s. Other episodes were from the after-church ceremony where at
times the Manjo are forbidden to eat and drink with the Kafecho. Also stories from
schools were told, where apparently Manjo children are bullied by non-Manjo children
and teachers.
Negative rituals
In a classic definition, Turner (1969) describes rituals as the social phenomenon of
shared experiences entrenched in human interaction and cultural performances.
Generally speaking, a ritual is an action that has symbolic meaning (GUSFIELD and
MICHALOWICZ, 1984). For centuries, people have used ritual communication when
words alone were not sufficient. Rituals provide containers for feelings and answer the
need to get together on special occasions (e.g. marriages, funerals, ordinations). LeBaron
(2003) maintains that rituals are able to liberate participants from everyday patterns of
interaction and for this reason they could be symbolic tools for conflict transformation.
She states that when a ritual happens, identity and cultural meanings are addressed and
can also be shaped. In Kaffa, rituals cover a prime role in the practice of discriminating
the Manjo. The field-work found the same rituals that were identified by other scholars
(e.g. PETROS 2003). It has been found that during weddings and funerals, which are
two of the most common and important rituals in the life of the two groups, the
discrimination of the Manjo is clearly manifested. The Manjo are not allowed to marry
the Kafecho and when they can participate in wedding feasts they normally have to keep
far from the other guests and usually eat from broken pottery. At funerals, the Manjo
are not permitted to carry the coffin when a Kafecho dies. In everyday life the Manjo are
not permitted to shake hands with the Kafecho and during meals or during the
traditional coffee ceremony special utensils are used for them.
Reinforcing discrimination through verbal expressions and metaphors
The Kafecho generally use derogatory terms and metaphors 8 to depict their superiority
to the Manjo. These short paragraph highlights the point. A well-off Manjo recounted

8
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a metaphor as follows: “A figure of speech in which a name or
descriptive word or phrase is transferred to an object or action different from, but analogous to, that to

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that when a Manjo meets a Kafecho in the street he/she has to greet the Kafecho with
the expression ‘showoch qebon’ meaning ‘may I lie on the ground for you’. While many
Kafecho denied this story, or referred to it as something that happened in the past but
not nowadays, both Manjo and Kafecho confirm the perceived sub-humanity of the first.
In the area, the Kafecho are still known as donjo (master) or asho (human being) in
contraposition to the Manjo gonde-yaro (people of the bad clan), who are considered as
subhuman and at the same level as animals.
Espressions like ‘stinker like a Manjo’, ‘black as a Manjo’, or ‘donkey like a Manjo’
are also offenses used by the Kafecho to insult people who respectively lack personal
hygiene, are dark-skinned or who are believed to be stupid. For a disorganized and short
lasting dance some Kafecho used the expression ‘like the dance of Manjo’.
The Manjo also use derogatory terms and negative metaphors to refer to the Kafecho.
The dominant group is associated with foreign investors coming to Kaffa to exploit its
resources. As foreign (from outside Kaffa and from outside Ethiopia) businessmen start
extensive tea and coffee plantation in the area allegedly taking land away from the Kaffa
people with support of the government, in the same way the Manjo say that a long time
ago their land was stolen from them by the Kafecho.

Bridging conflict through the search for commonalities in local culture

Despite the presence of cultural elements fomenting mutual hatred and resentment, the
same culture of Kaffa also contains the seed of peace in the form of presently less
explored constructive narratives and rituals.
Positive myths
Unpacking the assumptions embedded within myths is a powerful way to re-imagine
history (LEBARON, 2003). At the same time bringing to the surface positive myths so
far hidden can bring a major contribution to the process of envisioning a new future for
the Manjo-Kafecho relation.
Some positive myths were found during interviews with elders from both groups.
These myths mostly refer to the time when Kaffa was ruled by a king and the Manjo
served as gatekeepers of the kingdom, and guards of the supernaturally frightening royal
grave sites. A Kafecho told the following myth:
“The king wanted to test the honesty of the Manjo guarding the gates of the
kingdom so he travelled to the area undercover. The Manjo detected his presence
by the smell brought to them by the wind. They were particularly concerned about
his health and their care about him was tangible by the words used to refer to the
king. The king, having heard their conversation, went close to them and said:
‘May your tribe reproduce because you are honest and are worthy of my trust”’ (Z.
Personal Interview. October 14, 2008).

which it is literally applicable; an instance of this, a metaphorical expression”. Metaphors are literal images
that structure human thought processes (HAYAKAWA 1978).

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Another Kafecho recounted this other myth:

“There was only one group in the Kaffa kingdom who was allowed to guard the
graves of the kings in the forest. This group was the Manjo. They had supernatural
power and freely moved inside the forest in harmony with nature and spirits. All
the other inhabitants of the kingdom were not allow approaching the royal graves
and were also not brave enough to dare trespassing the cultivated land to enter
into the forest” (K. Personal Interview. July 3, 2008).

A Manjo mentioned one more myth:

“The Manjo provided the king with all sorts of goods found in the hazardous and
unsafe forest. They were well considered by the king despite their low status.
Their bravery was particularly appreciated for their skilful techniques to kill
elephants for their tusks. All what they got from the forest was brought to the
king, they never took advantage for themselves” (C. Personal interview. November
16, 2008).

Overall, the Manjo are depicted as brave, loyal, trustworthy, generous and somehow
feared because of their connection with the supernatural.
Constructive stories
While destructive stories perpetuate a negative image of each other, constructive stories
nourish positive feelings of mutual tolerance and brotherhood. Listening to positive
stories helps in the process of opening up possibilities for bridging conflict.
Most of the constructive stories collected during field-work emphasise the honesty
and trustworthiness of the Manjo. Like the one below recalled by a Kafecho.
“One day I sold three cows in the market for a very good price. On the way home
I had a bad feeling and looked into my pockets to be sure to have with me the
money earned. With my great disappointment I realized that the cash wasn’t
there. I was desperate and started crying. Then a Manjo came out of the blue and
gave me the money I had lost. He said that he was sitting outside his house when
he saw me passing by and something falling off my pockets. After I walked away
he went to see what it was and seeing the money run after me to bring them back”
(J. Personal Interview. October 20, 2008).

The Manjo’s hard-working attitude, physical strength and loyalty were also among
the most cited qualities attributed to this group by the Kafecho.
“There was a time during the harvest when I barely could sleep. The
crop was so abundant that I had to ask for help. None of my Kafecho
neighbours came to help me. They were jealous of my good luck. The
Manjo instead did not hesitate to come in my succour. They are hard-
working and loyal” (L. Personal Interview. July 12, 2008).
The group is also known for being good at keeping secrets.

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Positive stories were also collected from the Manjo’s side. These stories show the
human side of the Kafecho:
“It is not true that the Manjo and the Kafecho cannot be friends. I tell you a
secret: I do have a Kafecho friend. She invites me to her place for coffee sometime
and we talk about our sons and our lives. I tell her my worries and she tells me
hers, we share tears of happiness and tears of sadness” (B. Personal Interview.
October 5, 2008).
“Once I was coming home after a bad day at school. I am normally a happy person
and people who know me noticed my awful mood. A Kafecho whom I knew by
face was concerned about me and asked what happened. I did not reply, I just said
I did not have a good day. Then he tried hard to get me back into a good mood.
He made jokes and strange faces. I laughed” (T. Personal Interview. September
26, 2008).
On the whole, this small sample of stories shows the existence of a world of
interconnectedness that can create the basis of a new shared story that honours
important elements and values of each set of cultural understanding (e.g. empathy,
friendship, loyalty, honesty).
Positive rituals
During field-work four positive rituals were identified. One had to do with breastfeeding
practice. Kafecho children are breastfed often by Manjo women whose milk, among
other qualities, is believed to bring health, physical strength and a long-life to the new
born. The breast milk of a Manjo woman is also considered as curative for a disease
called aadii (probably caused by malnutrition).
The second ritual is related to greetings. Meeting a Manjo as the first person in the
morning is notably a sign of good luck for the day, while meeting a Manno is believed
to be a sign of bad luck.
Furthermore, when there is a sacrifice to the nature spirit, the Manjo would be called
upon to clear up the path into the forest and chop wood.
Taking part in the life of the Manjo and the Kafecho I came across another ritual.
During harvest time, the Manjo and the Kafecho have a farming support system calls
dabo. In this way they help each other collecting the crop. During dabo, Kafecho farmers
sing a song entitled “Kafecho-none”, that can be translated into English as “we are the
people of Kaffa”. The same song is sung also by the Manjo in the same occasion although
not together with the Kafecho. Symbolically and literally in the words of the song, the
message was sung:
We are wonderful people
Who can fight the hyenas, and kill elephants with our spears
We have the ability to plough the fields until the seeds turn into fruits
We struggle with hyenas until they die
With their tails we sweep the floor
With their row meat we feed our boys
We are the people of Kaffa

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Wonderful men

This song which linked music with history, identity, and landscape has potential to
provide the positive, beautiful and unifying image that community members in Kaffa
need to hold on to. It calls upon a collective social identity that unites the two groups
into one. Through it, the Kafecho and the Manjo may acquire a sense of ‘regional’
identity, as it made the listeners recall common origins of the people of Kaffa. Hunting
and farming, the two most antagonistic activities in Kaffa, are converted through the
words of the song, from conflicting into complementing. The people of Kaffa, the Manjo
and the Kafecho are described as able to hunt wild animals like hyenas but also to
cultivate the land successfully. Apparently, the unique features of each group’s identity
disappears to the benefit of a higher identity represented by being the proud inhabitants
of the same land.
A beloved piece of music, then, becomes a window onto a worldview because it
connects people to places, time, history, and identity. It speaks to people’s souls while
exciting their senses as well. This improvised ritual, together with the other elements
discussed so far, could also contribute in the shift from conflicting to mutual inclusive
identities.

Conclusion
To understand the life of people who are in this process of interaction it is essential to
comprehend what influences their ideas, their individual and group identity and
subsequently their actions (KOROSTELINA 2007). The exploration and understanding of
the local culture and its destructive elements that sustain the discrimination of the
Manjo, becomes a compulsory step to take in the process of enhancing understanding
of the local reality and dynamics and trying to tackle the cultural dimension of violence.
At the same time, the search for constructive cultural elements shared by both groups
will enhance efforts to recognize the value and peculiarity of each identity and culture
but also to contemplate the concept of a new shared ‘We-ness’.

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