Scattered And Seemingly Random Acts Of Preserving Photography In Ethiopia
This article aims to organize and formally present attempts — both current and past — at preserving history of photography in Ethiopia.
There isn’t much difference between preserving photography in Ethiopia and preserving history as photography in Ethiopia is wound tightly to the history of the country. The difference between the two terms lies in the fact that the history of Ethiopia is preserved i.e. collected and placed at accessible places such as museums and libraries so that anyone interested can use them while photography, although one of many tools in the preservation of history, doesn’t have its history preserved. The history of photography in Ethiopia is a long one, but not well-documented. To write this article, I began looking for any written document indicative of what the history of photography in Ethiopia looked like. The only credible source, besides those contributed by participants of CPE Workshop #1, is a series of articles written by Dr. Richard Pankhurst on a range of subjects relating to the history of Ethiopia out of which I found what seems like a well documented case of the history of photography in Ethiopia. These articles by Dr. Richard Pankhurst are quite possibly the only source that discusses the history of photography in Ethiopia. Dr. Richard Pankhurst’s credibility compensates for the lack of quantity of sources regarding the topic.
It has never been the case that there is a lack of history, it is the documentation and the accessibility of the history that is a hurdle when studying the history of photography in Ethiopia. This article aims to organize attempts at preserving history of photography in Ethiopia by referring the articles by Dr. Richard Pankhurst to present the history of photography till 19th century Ethiopia. The article also discusses the current attempts at preserving photography in Ethiopia either through the use of photography as a tool used in preserving the history of Ethiopia or through the direct documentation of accounts in the history of photography in Ethiopia.
The research done by the workshop participants during CPE Workshop #1 was an attempt at contributing to the history of photography in Ethiopia. An interview with Aida Muluneh was my contribution. Henok Berhanu wrote on the legendary Ethiopian tourism photographer Habteselassie Tafesse. Meseret Argaw wrote on Michael Tsegaye.
In order to formally learn the history of photography in Ethiopia, one must be able to access primary and secondary data sources. Labeling sources as primary and/or secondary requires one to have one central place to gather everything and study them for exactly what they are. The central place not only serves as a key place in finding the data but also as a place to preserve it. A sort of museum if you may. I made my website because I don’t want to have my work scattered online and offline. The making of my website is an act of preservation.
Firsts
According to The Advent of the Camera, a series of articles by Dr. Richard Pankhurst covering the early history of photography in Ethiopia, optical science began making an impact when a Scottish traveler by the name of James Bruce made use of a camera obscura in his attempts to sketch Ethiopia. Unfortunately, he left no recordings of the city in which he stayed, Gondar, a then important town in the country. A true rise in the use of photographic tools was during the reign of Emperor Tewodros. “This period, which witnessed increasing contacts between Ethiopia and Europe, coincided with significant progress in the photographic field, and in particular the increasing international popularisation of the camera.”
Contemporaries
Analog Ethiopia
Although not in direct relation to the article’s topic, it is worth mentioning as Analog Ethiopia is a growing community of film photographers in Ethiopia. Through spreading knowledge of film photography, a method that is being rapidly replaced by digital, to a growing number of photographers, Analog Ethiopia preserves film photography.
Vintage Addis Ababa
Launched in July 2017, Vintage Addis Ababa is a documentary and fine art project that crowdsources old photographs from the public to tell stories of everyday people in the past. As an attempt — a successful one too, as a book was launched on November 17, 2018 — in preserving history of Ethiopia through photography because — the photos are about everyday people living their everyday lives, a viewer is given fragments of different realities of everyday life in Ethiopia through photography and a brief text describing the photo. This gives the viewer “greater autonomy in constructing his/her own picture of the olden days” as it removes a sort of dictation given by other history books as they derive their conclusions from various sources. The dictation springs from the existence of these conclusions which manifest themselves in the literature as certainity. Vintage Addis Ababa, however, is simply a provider. One can extrapolate a variety of conclusions regarding a broader subject through reading the photographs like my attempt here. — it shows the distribution, spread, rate of adaptation, and overall state of photography and its tools throughout the country.
Historical photos from the Horn of Africa
Another attempt at preserving history through photography is a closed group on Facebook, Historical photos from the Horn of Africa. It is a group whereby members upload old photos relating to the horn of Africa. Just like Vintage Addis Ababa, this group is a place where photos are posted together with a brief description.
An Intimate Account
Addis Aemero’s documentation of her grandfather — a photographer born in Tata Michael (ጣታ ሚካኤል) a village in Lasta — whose photography studio is in Weldiya is a way of preserving history of photography in Ethiopia from a perspective that departs from what Dr. Richard Pankhurst has done as it is quite far from the mainstream, and is intimate. Furthermore, because Ato Sefiw Tebeje’s studio is in Weldiya, Addis’ documentation gives a unique look at the distribution, spread and rate of adaptation of photography and its tools through parts of Ethiopia other than Addis Ababa.
Through her photographic work, Addis has reconnected with her grandfather while simultaneously contributing to the preservation of history of photography in Ethiopia.
It is a win-win. History is preserved through photography. In the process photographic history is being made.
It is certain that a need for a whole document regarding photography in Ethiopia will emerge. This article can be taken as a small effort at that. A larger, more collaborative attempt must be undertaken in order to have a documentation that is rich in content and above all, truth.