Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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FROM GISH TO GIYON: WHAT IS IN THE NAMES OF THE ABBAY? [Abstract ID: 1211-01]

MULUSEW Asratie, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

In addition to its long journey through wide lands, the Nile is also a river with many names. The names Abbay (with the modifiers Gish, gilgil / bikolo, Ch’is, wӓtӓt etc.) (Oestigaard & Gedef Abawa 2013 / Kidaneweld Kifle 1948 E.C.), Nile (with modifiers nӓč’ “white” and t’ɨk’ur “black/blue”), Ar/Aur, Al-Nil, Bahr Al-Nil, Nahr Al-Nil (Enyclopedia Britannica online), Giyon (Gen. 2:13), Shihor (Chron. 13:5), Hapi, Piyaro/Fiyaro (Ibrahim Damtew 2016) all refer to the same river. Some of the names are still in use, while others are found only in documents. Moreover, some of the names are also used as names of institutions and of persons. This study examines the etymology of the words used to name the river and tries to investigate what concepts are denoted by these names and why. Secondly, the study tries to analyze the areal distribution of use of the names of Abbay in naming institutions so as to understand how the people living near the course of the river interact with it.