Abstract:
Narratives are shaped not in a vacuum but in a very complex sociopolitical environment
where at least part of these sociopolitical issues are entertained in line with the context of the
time. The Amharic novel, since its introduction as a genre, similarly has played a significant
role in reflecting social, political, and other crosscutting issues that happened in Ethiopia
across periods. Though there are studies conducted on elements of the political or social
discourses of different political regimes as reflected in Amharic novels, those studies do not
emphasize on major sociopolitical discourses which are evident in post-1991 Ethiopia. For
this reason, the major sociopolitical discourses which take center stage in scholarly writings,
the media space, and the general public were first identified. This study was thus intended to
explore how these major sociopolitical discourses are reflected in selected Amharic novels.
Critical discourse analysis and postmodern theory were employed as theoretical frameworks
for the analysis. Hence, the discourse of ethnocentrism, Ethiopianism and party politics in
Yismake’s Dertogada and Kïbur Dïngay; politicized historical discourse in Tesfaye’s
Yäburïqa Zïmta; the discourse of gender in Mihret’s Yätäqoläfäbät Qulf, and the discourse of
normative worldviews in Dawit’s Alämänor are the major sociopolitical issues discussed in
this study.
The major sociopolitical discourses of the post-1991 political period, as the study showed,
are entertained in different ways in the selected novels; some are deconstructed (criticized),
and others are either upheld (maintained) or (r)econstruced in line with certain perspectives.
To this end, the introduction of ethnocentric thought during the EPRDF period is portrayed in
Dertogada and Kïbur Dïngay as a fertile and legitimate ground for the proliferation of tribal
ideology at the expense of pan-Ethiopian ideology. While the ethnocentrism that is evident in
the contemporary political system is severely criticized, Ethiopian nationalism is upheld
and/(re)constructed in the two novels. The contested historical discourses related to Amhara
and Oromo are presented in line with the thoughts of ethnonational elites in Yäburïqa Zïmta.
By adding ethnic sensitive flavor to stories in the novel, the two ethnic groups (Amhara and
Oromo) are portrayed “antagonistic” to each other, and this is realized by discursive
construction and negative characterization of näfïtäñahood. Gendered ideologies that
perceive women as subordinate to men in various social settings (in marital life and in the
community) are evident in Yätäqoläfäbät Qulf. Most importantly, it portrays women in their
marital relations as soft, tolerant and submissive to their abusive husbands, which in turn
contributes for the maintenance of gendered ideology in the social system. Some normative
worldviews of the Ethiopian society that seem apparently real and natural are criticized in the
novel, Alämänor. The novel, in this regard, is devoted to prove how people’s intuitive
knowledge on “truth” is mistaken, and condemns some social norms that make people
behave and act against their inner selves.
Keywords/phrases: Amhara, Amharic novels, Ethiopian nationalism, ethnocentrism,
gendered ideology, major sociopolitical discourses, narratives, normative worldviews,