Saturday, October 8, 2011

Facts about Ethiopia You may or may not know

1. Cradle of Human beings:Ethiopia is the land of the origin of the first human species, that is justified with discover of Lucy, “Lucy” was found in 1974 by an American Paleo Anthropologist and they have been listening to the music called “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds” from where she got her name. Lucy aged 3.2 million years and its scientific name is Australopithecus Afarensis.
scientists working in Ethiopia have discovered a skeleton of a three – years old girl “ Selam”  who lived 3.3 million years ago, that is 150,000 years before Lucy . It is found in Dikaka area, in North Eastern Ethiopia. Dikika Research Project Paleoantropolgical Research Team Leader, Dr. Zeresenay Alemsegd of the Max Plank Institute in Leipzig, Germany said that “The Skeleton is the earliest and most complete ever found”. Out of the 14th human and pre-human fossils that have so far been uncovered around the world, 10 are from Ethiopia, this underscores that Ethiopia is the origin of Human kind.

2. Ethiopian Calendar
Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month  of five days and six days during the leap year. The Ethiopian Calendar is almost eight years behind the Gregorian calendar.

3. Ethiopian Alphabet and Numbers
Ethiopia is the only African country with its own Alphabet Letters and numbers that traces its origin back to Sabean. The Ethiopian Alphabet consists of 33 letters each with 7 characters.

4. Birth Place of Coffee
Ethiopians have a very beautiful traditional coffee ceremony, its unimaginable for most Ethiopians to start a new day with out several cups of coffee. Coffee is the best drink an Ethiopian family offers to honor guests, as coffee ceremony is the best occasion for a get-together with neighbors and friends. Ethiopian coffee ceremony might have been created with the discovery of coffee itself in its south western heartland, in particular place called “Kaffa” from which, many experts of the uniquely fragrant and relaxing bean believe, the firm coffee has originated and joined the international lexicon. Coffee, café, etc

5. Often women feed the men with their fingers as a mark of love and devotion to them.

6. Traditionally, parents and children do not share a last name. Most kids take their father’s first name as their last name.

7. Did you know that a large portion of the Ethiopian population claims descent from King Solomon of Jerusalem and Makeda, the queen of Sheba?