Fasil Ghebbi in Gonder, Ethiopia by SarahTz, Creative Commons
Religion: Christianity was introduced into Ethiopia in the 4th century. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest organized christian bodies in the world. It played a dominant role in the culture and politics of Ethiopia. The ruling elite class has used christianity as their religious choice. Primarily in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia, but it’s influence was felt everywhere. The next prominent religion was Islam which was introduced in the 7th century. Islam was an important religion in the eastern lowlands, but there were concentrated pockets throughout Ethiopia. Traditionally, the status of Islam has been far from the status of christianity. A small portion of Ethiopians were animists who worshipped a variety of African deities. Mostly located in the western lowlands of Ethiopia. Judaism has long been practiced in the city of Gonder.
Language: There were about ninety different languages being spoken in Ethiopia during this time period. Most people spoke Afro-Asiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches. The two main languages of the time were Oromo of the Cushitic branch and Amharic of the Semitic branch. Amharic at the time was the language of primary school instruction. Amharic was also the recognized language of the government.
Typical serving of Wat, by Richard, Creative Commons
Food: The Ethiopian cuisine consisted of a variety of vegetables and meats. The food is often prepared as a wat or thick stew. The wat is placed upon injera, a large flat bread. Instead of utensils the injera is used to scoop the food, the injera is always eaten with the right hand as well. Pork was extremely uncommon to have in any Ethiopian dishes since most people adhered to Islam or the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, or Judaism, which all prohibited the eating of pork.
Music: The popular music of Ethiopia during this time would have been anything involving brass bands. These bands were introduced during the reign of Haile Selassie around 1924. By the end of World War II, large orchestras accompanied singers for performances. The most popular orchestras at the time were the Police Band, Army Band, and Imperial Bodyguard Band.
Egypt
Citadel of Saladin, Cairo, Dan, Creative Commons
Religion: About 90% of Egypt’s population was muslim, with a sunni majority. While the remaining 10% practiced Coptic Christianity.
Language: Arabic came to egypt around the 7th century. Egyptian Arabic was the main language used at this time and today Egyptian Arabic is one of the most spoken dialects of Arabic due to the popularity of Egyptian cinema. In the lower Nile Valley there were speakers of the Nubian languages, especially Nobiin. North of Cairo there were many speakers of the Domari language.
Ful medames -Egyptian Cuisine, Abdullah Geelah, Creative commons
Food: Egyptian cuisine makes use of legumes, vegetables and fruits since the Nile provides a large quantity of crops with high quality taste. Egypt has some unique traditional dishes such as Ful medames, Kushari, and Molokhai.
Egyptian food Koshary, Dina Said, creative commons
Lebanese Mulukhiyi with chicken, Deed89, creative commons
A typical Arabic ensemble compromising the Oud, qanun, violin, ney and cello. MA.HW, creative commons
Music: Egyptian music began to be recorded in the 1910’s. During this period the Ottoman empire had rule over Egypt. The Ottomans encouraged the arts and for minority groups to start participating in creating music. Even with the fall of the empire Egypt’s traditional music scene was thriving, with the music capital located in Cairo. During this time instruments such as the oud, qanun, and ney were commonly used. Since the end of World War I the middle east’s biggest musical stars have been from Egypt. Famous musicians like Sayed Mikkawi and Mahmud Osman created the Egyptian music scene we see today.