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TABOT CHRISTIANITY: ETHNICITY, REGIONALISM AND ORTHODOX DENOMINATIONALISM [Abstract ID: 0505-04]
Amhara and Tigrey regions have a history of being religiously entwined, and while historically the political landscape has changed over time, the Orthodox Church as a contemporary organisation continues this brotherhood. Today, as will be described in the paper, any ethnic politicising, unity politics, or ecclesiastical infighting, has no place in the lives of ordinary laity. The Church is not the site of dissention but rises above, with its ideology of transcendence, and instead can be seen to be an institution that fosters sociability, and is a wellspring of hope and love. By contrast, in what ways ethnic federalism impacts respective neighbours to consider each to his own, concerns majority and minorities alike. Minority rights in Amhara Region have become a flashpoint for now. Majority rights also, while not sharing the same agenda, are in the minds of many. Taking a step back, we shall consider that these historical regions, have been home to the Orthodox Church and so share a commonality. They constitute the historical heartland of a denominationalism. This view can be challenged by the independence of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and other schisms; however, overall, the Orthodox system of liturgical synchrony and geographical conformity, means that it is an abiding source of stability. It is this, that connects the regional and the parochial, and is of concern to the researcher. This paper will offer insight into Tabot Christianity, as a totemic institution. In an anthropological dimension, the bastion of majority culture is also a local force of primordial sentiment. Based on sustained research, and fresh field work to be undertaken in 2018, Marcus will attempt to bring together the cultural hegemony and sociological importance of the Church. Given that there are many ethnic identities in Amhara Region and not just one: the Church offers a singularity, and is to be described in the paper as a haven of cosmological ideation and liturgical regularity. While, in the past, Amhara identity has been identified with either a vilified historical imperialism, or a national identity that has been under threat from ethnic federalism; on the ground observation will reveal how people are cleaving to an orthodox identity that is popular and not overly political, because it is concerned with the fundamentals of life and death, and the instrumentalism of piety. The researcher posits that It is desirable or popularly politicised with regard to ethnic tension and identity politics. Indeed, as this author suggested a decade ago in the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, people turn away from ethnic politics towards the haven of religious experience. This paper will locate the mood and describe ethnographically, the instrumentalism of the Church; so as to argue that this offers an alternative to the politics of ethnic resentment.