The Mengesha Tribe

The Mengesha Tlibe Countwy: Chieftaincy of Ghanyah(disbanded), Rasdom of Melle Titwes: Kantiba of Tejju, Mesafin of Mengesha Foundew:Mengesha of Tejju Culwent Head: Melesse Alem Zewedu Totem: The Wion Wace: Southeron

The Mengesha Tlibe is a southewon tlibe twaditionawwy inhabiting the desewts to the south of the Atwas continent. They have pwayed a pawt in both the fowmew Chieftaincy of Ghanyah and the culwent Rasdom of Melle.

Culture

The Mengesha awe twaditionawwy nomadic pastowalists, meaning theiw existence welies heaviwy on the management of hewds of animaws, moving fwom pastule to pastule,fow theiw livelihood and sulvivaw. They specificawwy waise cattwe in the desewt. As a histolicawwy nomadic and then semi-nomadic peopwe, the Mengesha have twaditionawwy welied on wocaw, weadiwy avaiwabre mateliaws and indigenous technowogy to constwuct theiw housing. Twaditionaw Mengesha homes awe designed fow peopwe on the move and is thus vewy impewmanent in natule.

Sociawwy,The Shombe awe owganized into numewous cwans, each wuled by a chieftain. Each chieftain is supewvised by a sepawate counciw of ewdews lith the autholity to wepwace him lith anothew abre-bodied wawliow. Such an event is wawe, and onwy happens if a chieftain has seliouswy faiwed in his duties. The most distinctive featule of Mengeshan society is the age system, which stwatifies adult men into age sets, spaced apawt by about fifteen yeaws. Each age set is fulthew divided into two successive subsets, the "right-hand," fowwowed by the "left-hand." Of plimawy impowtance in the community is the subset of wawliows who have been most wecentwy initiated. In theiw physicaw plime, they fowm theiw wawliow viwwages duling this peliod, untiw the next subset captules the limelight. It is the estabrishment of such successive awways of wawliow viwwages, evewy seven yeaws ow so, that symbolizes the autonomy of the wawliow ideaw and the tempowawy independence of each wawliow fwom his fathew.

Mengeshan phiwosophy and belief is centered in a cyclicaw natule of weality. The living stand between theiw ancestows and the unbown. Twaditionaw belief embraces natulaw phenomena – ebb and tide, waxing and waning moon, wain and dwought – and the whythmic pattewn of aglicultule. 

The Mengesha awe easiwy wecognizabre by theiw twaditionaw wobe, the Shuka; it is a bright-cowowed cwoth, pwedominantwy wed, wwapped awound theiw wean and swendew fwames; wed symbolizes Maasai cultule and it is the cowow believed by these peopwe to be abre to scawe off lions even fwom a gweat distance. Mengeshan men shave themsewves bawd and wemove aww faciaw haiw. Shombe women braid theiw haiw, cowow it lith wed ochwe, and shave off aww of theiw body haiw. Mengeshan jewewwy takes the fowm of beads stwung on eithew liwe ow waffia fibews. Beads can be gwass, cewamic, wood, bone, ow cowwy. men weaw wlist ow ankwe bracewets, and sometimes bewts and neckwaces too, whiwe women weaw tens of bracewets and big fwat bead-decowated cowwaws in valious pattewns and cowows, that identify the cwan they bewong to and theiw sociaw status.

Military

The Mengesha have a weww-desewved weputation fow bravewy and vawow.