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Abstract
The theme of this thesis focuses on the reconstruction of a history of the Dizi people in the
~eriod between 1898 and 1991. The Dizi inhabits the south-west Ethiopia ofMaji plateau. Until
1898, they were organized in to social hierarchies but decenteralized chiefdoms. The 1898
marked the end of their autonomy following their incorporation to the Ethiopian central state.
Irrimediately, the- Dizi were included to the Ethiopian socio-economic system. This continued
until the occupation of the area by Italians in1937. The period ofltalian rule was brutal although
initialfy .. acted as redeemers of the Dizi from the evils of gabbar and slavery system. The post-
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liberation period (1941-1974) was followed by political and economic reforms. During this
period the ethnic crisis in the Maji area was less prevalent and the Dizi began to. feel that they
belon,to the'Ethiopian state. The influx of northern settlers in the 1950s was stepped the local
trade and the Dizi's external relations. The new regime that came after the 1974 Revolution
installed a socialist state and waged an attack on the socio-cultural practices of the Dizi local
chiefs. Inter and intra-ethnic tensions in combination with the external developments like the
Sudanese c!vil war, and the agro-pastoralists new phase of raiding expedition for cattle and wet
pasture aggravated the ethnic crisis in Maji in the post-revolution period. |
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