ETHIOPIAN MANUSCRIPTS AND ARCHIVES: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
Abstract
Ethiopia is categorized among the countries which developed an ancient civilization in the world. It has rare, valuableparchment manuscripts written in its own Ethiopic language called Ge’ez. Investigations started in the 20th century with the establishment of modern government institutions and the coming of the printing press and we found an enormous amount of paper archives.For a long period, the Ethiopian Orthodox churches, monasteries and Mosques were usedas a peculiar repository centerfor these valuable manuscripts. Yet, these valuable manuscripts and archives in Ethiopia were and are still deteriorating and being destroyed. The initiative to establish a central repository at the top of Mount Maqdalagoes back to the reign of Emperor Tewodros II (r.1855-1868). Following this, different efforts were made by successive regimes to collect and preserve the country's historical manuscripts and archives. This paper will highlight the historical development of archive institutions in Ethiopia; identify the challenges of manuscripts and archives management in Ethiopia and it will propose possible recommendations. In order to prepare this paper the researcher examined different literatures on the topic and conducted serious field observations, interviews and field surveys.
