1890 – 2004
An Environmental-Historical Study Based on the Reconstruction of Historical photographs
The Blin between periphery and international politics in the 19th century
Wolbert G.C. Smidt
Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea. African Studies Review, Apr 2003
by Woldemikael, Tekle M
BIBLIOTHECA ABESSINICA STUDIES CONCERNING THE
LANGUAGES, LITERATURE AND HISTORY OF ABYSSINIA Edited by Dr. E. LITTMANN
Multilingualism and Nation Building: Language and Education in Eritrea
Political History of Eritrea before colonisation (1865-1885)
Wolbert Smidt: The example of the Blin people -
Richard Sundstrom the Swedish missionary has collected about a thousand pages in Tigre on the different tribes and clans in Eritrea. Some writings are in Swedish and fewer in English. A few are written in Tigrina. He has categorized them, some in small books and mostly in sheets written in pencil with different handwritings. They are for example history and stories of - the Blin, the two Mensa, Betjuk, Ad Temariam, Ad Tekles, Ad Sheikh,Hedarib, Belew, and the Turkish times. There are various poems and Fekera to Dej Hailu, Ras Welde Mikel and other Kebessa notables.
Richard Sundstrom was born in 1869 in Sweden. He lived in Geleb near Keren 1898- 1913 collecting the writings being a missionary there.
He lived in Keren and was employed by the Italian government as the town doctor until he died there in June 1919 Aida Kidane
Prepared by Alessandro Dinucci and Zeremariam
Triple Take:
Sharon Rose, University of California, San Diego
A History and an Assessment
Paul D. Fallon University of Mary Washington
15(2): 103–142 (2006)
Re-reading the Short and Long-Rigged History of Eritrea 1941–1952: Back to the Future? Nordic Journal of African Studies
(December 1966 – December 2005)
Marie-Cloude SIMEONE-SENELLE Director of Research
Photo by: niltiac51's.
The people and the language
The Tigre-speaking people live in the northern corner of Eritrea, in a triangle with the Red Sea coast on one side, the Barka River on another, and the southern side being more or less a line between Massawa and Agordat. This triangle extends into the Sudan towards Suakin. The language has also spread amongst the Bani Amir, a nomadic Beja tribe living in the same area between the Barka River and the Gash River and over the border into Sudan. It is also the chief second language of Nara tribe, who live north and east of Barentu. Tigre is also spoken around Tessenei and Kesela and will doubtless have been carried into other nearby areas by the Eritrean refugees. All Bilen also speak Tigre as well as their own Agau language. In the sixties there may be at least 900,000 people that speak Tigre.
It is not clear when anybody came to realize that the Tigre language had come to differ from its parent language of Geez, or from its sister language Tigrinya. Language changes take place more rapidly under conditions of social change, such as conquest, slavery, migration, trade cultural penetration. Anything that mixes people mixes language also.
Judged by these standards it would seem that the Tigre-speaking tribes of northern Eritrea must have had a rather stable existence for some 2,000 years or more. The language seems to be more Semitic, with interesting developments of structure that have not been so fully worked out even in Arabic, for instance. Having learned to read Tigre in the Geez script, it is not big effort to read Geez with understanding. Tigre speakers told me that on occasions they, even though Muslims, have attended Orthodox Christian ceremonies, such as funerals, when the Geez Scriptures or prayers have been read they have been able to understand quite a lot of it. read more
TV Feature Movie Series “Bet Mienarish"
From first frame to last, it has a shimmering beauty, shifting easily between rich colour and luminous Barka river landscape that makes you feel proud, but its power goes deeper than that. Read more
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Peoples and Cultures
Tigre, Tigray, Tigrinya -- Ethnicites, Languages and Politics
Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins
Sources of information on the peoples of the horn of Africa are sometimes confusing because of conflicting terminology. Names of peoples and languages differ due to different names used in the Amharic or Tigrinya languages and how these are transliterated into English.....Read more
The tribes of Sahel, and others Aida Kidane
This region was the stronghold of Eritrean struggle, good hiding place with its huge mountains and valleys. It has been a stronghold for many others much earlier, notably the 44 monasteries in the mountain peaks of third century, of Bet Ma’ala. It was the travelers route of ancient time, as Queen Makeda. More...
THAT IS TOLD ABOUT THE STARS.
The stars wander and migrate and change their places, and sometimes one or the other even falls upon the earth. . Read more...
Photo by: niltiac51's
A Book Review By Saleh Gadi
AT BALQAT.
and translation By Richard Sundström.
Dear readers,
Many of you have brought it to our attention that our website needed updating. Besides of updating the old website awkir.com, we have been working on a new Tigre site in Geez which is modaina.com It's completely redesigned now, and we hope you'll take a look.
On the other hand, we need your help to preserve and make known the legacy of our past. Without your support, irreplaceable documents, photographs, and spoken words of our Tigre people will be lost and forgotten. Your contribution will help: Expand our oral histories, support preservation of historical records, enrich our visual archives, create more on-line exhibits, and make that information available on this free, public access. All contributions are gratefully accepted: historical documents, photos, folktales etc...
Thanks, awkir.com
azema Hnatu seraia
ella Adna egel lesne modaia
yomma enahamella lafina
shannam awkir atensuna
