Dawit Worku, Kidane: The Ethics of Zärᵓa Yaᶜәqob: [Review]

According to the thesis put forth by Dawit Worku Kidane, the 17thcentury gave birth to a unique Ethiopian text, the specific characteristics of which led several scholars to suggest that the original author was outside the Horn of Africa‘s Christian literary tradition. The work Kidane refers to is the Ḥatäta (Philosophical Inquiry) by Zärᵓa Yaᶜəqob (1599–1692), a short text challenging several fundamental dogmas of local Christianity, defending a view of faith centered on reason. A personal reflection unparalleled in Ethiopian literary history, it rigorously questions the legitimacy of religious practices, such as fasting and monasticism, as well as social practices, such as polygamy, slavery, and women’s subordination to men.