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PREMIERE PARTIE : DOSSIER THEMATIQUE
1. Archaeology

Notes on the survey of Islamic Archaeological sites in South-Eastern Wallo (Ethiopia)*

Notes sur des prospections archéologiques sur des sites islamiques du Sud-Est du Wallo (Éthiopie)
تعاليق عن المسوحات الأثرية للمواقع الإسلامية في جنوب شرق ولو (إثيوبيا)
Deresse Ayenachew et Assrat Assefa
p. 65-82

Résumés

Cet article est un compte rendu d’un séjour de prospections archéologiques sur les sites islamiques du sud-est du Wallo, en Éthiopie, réalisé en juillet-août 2012. La zone prospectée se trouve au nord de la région d’Ifāt où une équipe franco-éthiopienne a identifié entre 2006 et 2010 plusieurs sites urbains islamiques, ruines datant des 14e et 15e siècles. Plus précisément, la zone étudiée était, pendant des siècles, au croisement des routes commerciales de longue distance dans la partie Sud du Nord de l’Éthiopie, et située aux alentours du centre de commerce et du centre d’éducation islamique de Dawway. Les prospections ont permis d’identifier six mosquées anciennes, certaines pouvant être rapprochées architecturalement des sites médiévaux d’Ifāt, d’autres étant des traces de la réislamisation de la région aux 18e et 19e siècles. Ces mosquées de styles différents, ainsi que les deux sites funéraires visités, invitent à poursuivre les recherches historiques et archéologiques sur les cultures islamiques de cette région, ce qui devrait fournir des éléments importants sur les implantations musulmanes médiévales, ainsi que sur sa réislamisation au cours des périodes plus récentes.

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  • * * This paper is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC (...)
  • 1 Part of the study area includes the Argobba district in South-Wallo and the Oromo Zone since 1996 b (...)
  • 2 The authors would like to thank Amélie Chekroun and Simon Dorso for their precious help in finalizi (...)

1The Ifāt archeological research program (2006-2010) has formulated a new hypothesis on the penetration of Islam in Ethiopia in favor of the northern route (Fauvelle-Aymar & Hirsch, 2010). In the Ifāt region, east of Dabra Berhān, on the eastern escarpment of the central Ethiopian high plateau, the program has identified several ruined Islamic urban sites, including Gozé, Faqi Dabbis, Norā, Asbari, Messāl and Beri-Awfāt (Fauvelle-Aymar et al., 2006; Poissonnier et al., 2011; Fauvelle, Hirsch & Chekroun, 2017). Radiocarbon dating and funerary inscriptions, as well as other archaeological material, have made it possible to date the main occupation phase of these sites to the 14th and 15th centuries, the flourishing period of the Awfāt Sultanate (late 13th century - early 15th century) (see Chekroun & Hirsch, 2020a). The theory of a northern route for Islamization is strengthened by new research on Muslim archaeological sites in northern Ethiopia, especially by findings in eastern Tigray, in Kwiha and near Arra where many Arabic funerary inscriptions predate the 13th century (Loiseau, 2020; Loiseau et al., 2022; Dorso & Lagaron, 2023). Thus, the Northern penetration route from the Dahlak islands descended along the eastern escarpment into the interior of Ethiopia and extended to the southern and eastern parts of the country. In these regions, small Muslim polities were already well established in the early 12th century (Chekroun et al., forthcoming). Timothy Insoll’s archaeological investigation in Harlaa also indicates that the expansion of Islam in the interior of eastern Ethiopia intensified in the 12th century (Insoll, 2021). Along the north-south axis, where the sites of South Tigrāy and Ifāt are located, sources from the 15th and 16th centuries mention important medieval markets, held by Muslims, such as Gendabelo (cf. Chekroun, Ahmed & Hirsch, 2023). However, these long-distance trade centers were probably disturbed during the Imam Aḥmad wars in the 1530’s and the pastoral Oromo migration and settlement that followed in the second half of the 16th century (cf. Chekroun & Hirsch, 2020b). After the Ifāt archaeological research program phased out in 2010, a research team was organized to complete the northern route hypothesis and investigate Muslim historical places in the eastern Wallo region (today part of the Oromo Zone1), immediately north of the Ifāt region. This field work took place in July-August 2012.2

  • 3 Dawway was bordered by the Awash River to the east, Reqqé to the west, Garfā to the north and the B (...)

2In his book Islam in nineteenth century Wällo, Hussein Ahmed argues that before the restoration of the Christian “Neo-solomonic” dynasty in the 19th century in Wallo, Islam was consolidated and Muslim chiefdoms emerged in different places like Warra-Himano, Warra-Ilu or Warra-Bābbo, commonly known as the “Mohamedich dynasty” (Hussein, 2001: 143). He explains that the rise of the “Neo-Solomonic” dynasty undermined the process of political and cultural integration of these Muslim polities which finally submitted to the Christian kingdom in the second half of the 19th century. Besides, the long distance trade route revived through the ports of Zaylaʿ, Tajoura and Barbarā promoted trade centers in eastern Wallo: the trade markets of Gaddo and Doddota became the internal hubs of the northern caravan routes. These sites consist in a number of commercial centers, residences of merchant families, custom posts as well as centers of Islamic learning. Hussein Ahmed points out Dawway3 as a collective name for an agglomeration of local markets and caravan trading centers. It was a crossroad between several routes coming from central Wallo, southern Tigrāy and northeastern Shawā, and those leading to the coast (Ibid.). Mohammed Seid in his MA thesis on the biography of Muftī Dāwūd explains that Dawway was the home of diverse ethnic origins: Argobba, Oromo, Afar and Amhara (Mohammed, 2008).

  • 4 Nowadays, the name Madiné and Fursé also used as names for Argobba areas in the study area.

3The district of Dawway was an important regional terminus for the slave trade and for the caravans coming from the north, as well as from Awsa and Tajura (Abir, 1968: 60). The geographical proximity of Dawway to the coast was of crucial importance for the development and expansion of the caravan trade and it was a vital link in the external trade between the coast and the central Ethiopian highlands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus, the development of trade and of a commercial route across this region prepared the ground for the establishment of small trading settlements, which also served as centers for the diffusion of Islam after the 16th century (Trimingham, 1952: 138). The activities of Muslim residents in such centers had impacts on the local population. Hussein Ahmed noted the presence of a small number of immigrant Arabs, mostly from Aden, who lived in a place east of Madiné, called Fursé4 and were largely engaged in the transport of salt and other merchandise from Tajura using their camels (Hussein, 2001: 152). Traders therefore seem to have contributed to the preservation and perpetuation of traditional Islamic education at the local level. The Dawway trade route center played a major role in the re-Islamization process of south-east Wallo. Indigenous and immigrant traders, local ‘ulamā’, religious local scholars and teachers largely contributed to the process through financial support, preaching activities as well as through Islamic teaching.

4The local tradition associates the area with the home of northern Argobba people prior to the 16th century and attributes the Islamization process to this period. According to the oral tradition, the Argobba people are regarded as the founding and ruling family of the powerful sultanate of Awfāt (Tesfaye, 2000). However, one must keep in mind that today, oral information is politically motivated to support the creation of a unique Argobba identity in the Oromo zone. As noted by Hussein Ahmed, the principal mode of Islamization was through the conversion of clan groups by the Argobba. However, the Oromo ‘ulamā’ of Dawway were themselves responsible for the Islamization of some of the neighboring Afar nomadic groups of the lowlands in the 17th century (Hussein, 2001: 143-144). Local memories describe how the Argobba spread to different places and established villages. They migrated in two main directions. To the north starting from Ifāt, they established the villages of Gozé, Ṭālhā and Shonke and many others in northern Shawā and southern Wallo. They established the Argobba area known as Argobba-Serche and Argobba-Wanta in north Wallo mainly in the 19th century. In north Shawā along the trade routes, they established villages in Aleyyu Amba, Barahat, Mənjar, Bulga, Afar and as far as Harar (Hussein, 2001: 148; see also Ahmed Hassan Omer, 2020).

5Based on traditions among the Argobba people in Ifāt, Chernet Tilahun attributes the ruins to small groups of Arab settlers who came to this part of Ethiopia because of early Muslim conflicts in Arabia (Chernet, 1990: 313). The region has long been inhabited by Muslims. Based on the new administrative division, the people are now spread over the Amhara, Afar, Oromo and Harari regions. In the Amhara region, the Argobba live in the South-Wallo zone, in Feṭeqoma, Ararāntchro, Shomiye, Madiné and Afaso. In the Oromo zone, they live in the villages of Shonke, Ṭālhā, Jile and Timugā, Arṭumā, Isye Golā, Tchafā Golā and Dawway. Our work is specifically concerned with the south-east part of Wallo, and the surroundings of Dawway, which was commercially the most important area in the region in the 19th century (Hussein, 2001: 139-157).

Fig. 1 – Map of the sites visited in 2012

Fig. 1 – Map of the sites visited in 2012

© D. Ayenachew, S. Dorso, 2022

The Mosques in South-East Wallo

The Mosque of Doddota

  • 5 Informant: Shaykh Mohammed Ayu (a farmer, 64 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Doddota) and (...)

6Doddota is a village found roughly 40 km east of the town of Kemisse in the Dawway Harewa district, Madiné Kunāu kebele. The mosque was built on the hilltop at an altitude of 1609 meters (N. 10°44.576’ – E 040°02.756’). The oral tradition explains that it was founded by Sheikh Yusuf Abba Assiya, of Argobba origin, around 1176 A.H. (1762-63 A.D.).5 Many religious books (Quran, Tafsir, Ḥadīth) are kept in this mosque. Informants explain that one of the oldest books may be about 180 years old and that the founder Sheikh Yusuf Abba Assiya may have participated in the writing of religious books. The settlement is now completely abandoned. Nowadays, the Muslim community, even if they claim to be of Argobba origin, does not speak the Argobba language; they speak Affaan Oromo. The current community lives at some short distance from the hill where the mosque is located. They go to the mosque for religious gatherings i.e., ṣalāt (prayers) and other festivities. Well preserved, the mosque provides valuable information on the building technique of the area at the time. According to the elders, the mosque is over 260 years old, and they report that prayers are held there at least twice a year. Urgent prayer might be called when natural disasters like drought or plague happen in the surroundings.

7The roof of the mosque is flat and rectangular. The outer flat rooftop is divided into eight rectangular parts (see fig. 2 top). The local elders mention that three holes provide light through the roof into the interior of the mosque. The rectangular walls of the mosque are built with massive stones mortared with a mixture of mud and straw some 2.55 m thick. Although local tradition explains that the founder built the mosque alone, it is difficult to believe that those large and heavy stones were carried by a single person. According to the same tradition, it took 18 years to the founder to build the mosque with the spiritual support of God. The heavy roof is supported by four thick wooden planks laid out horizontally and held by 27 pillars (see Fig. 2 middle). The average thickness of the pillars is 0.77 m, and their average length is 2.28 m, they stand about 1.80-2.00 m apart. At the top end of the pillars the wooden pieces holding together the horizontal beams and the pillars are decorated. Local elders expanded on the purpose of the mosque’s two rooms. The largest room (11.90 m x 9.50 m) is for men and the smallest one (4.78 m x 8.70 m) for women. Both rooms are under the same roof and are connected by a single door. The miḥrāb occupies a central position on the northern interior façade of the qibla wall. It measures 1.9 m in height and 2.35 m in width. The mosque has two outer doors. The main door is located on the southern wall and measures 1.70 m in length and 1.10 m in width (see Fig. 2 bottom). The other door, to the west, measures 2.40 m in width and 1.70 m in length. Four tombs are found to the west of the building within the mosque’s enclosure.

Fig. 2 – Doddota mosque

Fig. 2 – Doddota mosque

Top. View of the roof; Middle. Interior pillars; Bottom. South door

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

The mosque of Gaddo

  • 6 Informant: Sheikh Aḥmad b. Hussain (Religious leader of the mosque, 71 years old, interview of July (...)

8The mosque was built on the top of a hill at an altitude of 1732 meters, a few kilometers south-east of the village of Gora: N. 010°39.549’ – E. 040001.369’ (see Fig. 1). It is in ruins. Local elders report that 35 years ago, the mosque was destroyed twice by the neighboring community.6 According to the religious leader of the mosque, Sheikh Aḥmad b. Hussain, it was founded by Muftī Dāwūd in 1121 A.H./1709-1710 AD. Sheikh Aḥmad claims to have the personal diary of Muftī Dāwūd, which contains a lot of information about his contribution and some major events of the re-Islamization of the area. He acquired his Islamic education in Islamic learning centers in the area. He then traveled to Arabia and Yemen to further his Islamic education. Nowadays, prayers are made in his memory in the mosque.

9The mosque currently looks like an ordinary house built of piles of stone held together by a mixture of mud and straw. The workmanship is not good quality. The stones, themselves of poor quality, appear to have been quarried in the area. The flat and rectangular roof is now completely covered with a large black hard plastic after its destruction by the community. The interior part of the roof shows a traditional type of structural combination with vertical posts supporting the entire ceiling framework (see Fig. 3). The heavy stone roof is supported by six horizontally arranged slabs, each approximately 7.10 meters long. There are about twenty-one thick and round pillars supporting the roof. The pillars have an average length of 2.35 meters and thickness of 0.65-0.68 cm. The miḥrāb occupies a central position on the northern interior façade of the wall. The side width just below the roof is 2.35 meters. The mosque has two windows facing each other on the east and west sides for aeration. They measure approximately 0.63 cm in width and 0.35 cm in height.

Fig. 3 – Interior roof of the Gaddo mosque

Fig. 3 – Interior roof of the Gaddo mosque

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

The Muftī Mosque

10Sanbate is a small Sunday market town located on the main road to Kamisse. It is a capital of the Jile-Təmuga district in the Oromo Zone. The Muftī mosque is located about 32 km east of the town of Sanbate and is accessible on foot through a difficult track (altitude 1347 m; N. 10°09.388’ – E. 040°06.591’; see Fig. 1). The place where the mosque stands leads down to the Afar plains. Although the inhabitants of this area are Muslim Oromo semi-sedentary farmers, they occasionally share the pastures in the area with the Afar community. The community used the place to host a religious festival once a year as well as some special religious gatherings.

11The mosque is completely ruined with only parts of the walls outcropping. The height of the mosque is 2.30 meters from the ground and its walls are 8.70 cm in width. One window is well discernible (40 cm x 35 cm). The miḥrāb (1.25 m x 0.75 cm) stands in the middle of the northern interior façade of the qibla wall. A long rectangular stone serves as a lintel for the miḥrāb (see Fig. 4 bottom). It measures 0.92 cm in length, 12 cm in width and is 15 cm thick. Although it is now demolished, comparisons with local contemporary mosques suggest that the roof of the building was probably flat and made of stones and sand. Ancient cemeteries and ruins of village houses are visible around the mosque, covered by bushes, as evidence that the area was once inhabited and extensively farmed. The top of the hill on which the mosque was built is vast and enclosed by a stone fence.

Fig. 4 – Muftī Mosque

Fig. 4 – Muftī Mosque

Top: General view. Bottom: Miḥrāb

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

  • 7 Informant: Ato Aḥmad Tayar (a farmer, 71 years old, interview of July-August 2012, at Sanbate)

12Local elders say that the construction style and its material are similar to that of the mosque of Faqi Dabbis, which is located about 30 km east of the town of Sanbate.7 Actually, the miḥrāb of the Muftī Mosque (see Fig. 4 bottom) shows more similarities with the mosque of Nora than with that of Faqi Dabbis (see Poissonnier et al., 2011: 118; Fauvelle-Aymar et al., 2006: 175). In view of the similarities of these architectural elements (wall patterns, shape of the mihrab), it is very likely that this site was associated with the neighboring sites of Ifāt, which are well dated to the 14th and 15th centuries (see Fauvelle, Hirsch, Chekroun, 2017). The monumental remains of the mosque, as well as the traces of dwellings and the cemetery that surround it also support this association with Ifāt and the medieval sites identified within the framework of the Nora-Ifat archeological research project. This site therefore deserves special attention in future archaeological research on medieval Islamic sites in the region.

The mosque of Jéʾértu

  • 8 Informant: Sheikh Muḥammad Mujab (a member of a local religious committee, 40 years old, interview (...)

13The mosque is in the Amhara region, Oromo zone, Bati district, Chelleleqā kebele (see Fig. 1). It is built on an isolated hilltop at an altitude of 1282 meters (N. 11000.075’ – E. 40003.675’). According to local tradition, Yusuf Abba Asia, the legendary spiritual father of the area, founded this mosque as one of the ninety-nine mosques he founded between his birthplace, Dawway, Eastern Ethiopia and Somalia.8 The mosque of Jéʾértu (ጄኤርቱ) has an impressive architectural appearance. Its walls are built with well-dressed ashlar stones. Its miḥrāb (see Fig. 5 bottom) has very close parallels with that of Faqi Dabbis (Poissonnier et al., 2011: 118). Like the Muftī Mosque, this mosque contains many elements linking it to the nearby medieval sites of Ifāt and should be integrated into the corpus of medieval Islamic sites in the region, and possibly to the Awfāt Sultanate of the 14th and 15th centuries (see Fauvelle, Hirsch, Chekroun, 2017).

Fig. 5 – The Jéʾértu Mosque

Fig. 5 – The Jéʾértu Mosque

Top: General view. Middle: Front side. Bottom: Miḥrāb

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

14The mosque measures 13,12 meters in length and 11 meters in width. Its roof is flat and rectangular. It is consolidated with a mix of beaten earth and lime. This technique is obviously designed to drain the rainwater toward a sort of gutter along each side of the roof. The roof is supported by seven thick wooden planks laid out horizontally. There are thirty-seven thick and round pillars supporting the roof. Long and well-arranged slabs of stones were used to reinforce and to direct the geometrical position of the walls. These slabs are about 1.40 meter long and 25 cm wide on average. The main gate measures 1.55 m in width and is 1.65 meter long, with a thickness of 1.20 meters. Inside, a small square niche stands beside the window, which may have been used as a shelf for Qurans or homemade items. The top of the miḥrāb is a single curved slab measuring 55 cm in length and 60 cm in width (Fig. 5 bottom). The neighboring community held religious gatherings in the mosque at least twice a year.

The mosque of Gadal Ambā/Gabelā Guye

  • 9 Informant: Ato Aḥmad Nuru (called Ahmed Shonke by the locals, a respected religious man, Cultural a (...)

15The mosque is in the Argobba special district of the South Wallo zone, specifically on a site called Hasseni kebele. Local elders report that this old mosque was also founded by Sheikh Yusuf Abba Assiya, as the mosque of Jéʾértu. The mosque is built in the traditional style of the houses of the Argobba community, particularly that of the Shonke village near the town of Kamisse.9 The impressive nature of the mosque starts with the place on which the mosque was built. It stands on a high hilltop overlooking the entire landscape. Informants say that the mosque is more than 923-years-old. It is rectangular in shape with two ordinary entrances.

16This skillfully built mosque measures 9.8 meters in length, 3.07 meters in height and 7.5 meters in width. The outer wall of the mosque was built with assembled basalt stones. Those long and well-dressed slabs were used to reinforce and to direct the geometrical position of the wall. There is no sign of plaster on the wall of the building. The roof is flat and rectangular covered by beaten earth, sand and lime and covered with interleaved stone plates. The roof is supported by thick wooden planks laid out horizontally and supported by thick and round pillars. The technique is obviously designed to drain the rainwater. Inside, there are impressive religious Islamic books, written in Arabic alphabet in the Argobbigna language. Nowadays, the mosque is exposed to natural and manmade physical damage. The rainwater leaks through the roof into the wall of the mosque and threatens the historical artefacts it contains. According to informants, this situation results from damage to the roof and the original rain draining system. Another problem appeared when the community tried to rebuild some internal pillars and parts of the walls using local material like mud and plain wood, which significantly modified the original structure of the building.

The mosque of Fūra

  • 10 Informant: Sheikh Yusuf Abdusomed (a farmer, locally respected religious man, 60 years old, intervi (...)

17The ruined mosque is in the Argobba special district of the South Wallo zone in a place called Amoye Serti kebele, Fūra Gora (Fūra hill). It was built on a hilltop and its workmanship is not high quality. Only parts of its walls are still standing. Local elders believe it is more than 300 years old. The roof is completely damaged. The elders give various reasons for the damage of this historical mosque, such as the war between king Yohannes IV (r. 1872-1889) and Sheikh Talḥa Jaffar.10 When the king tried to impose conversion to Christianity, Talḥa Jaffar and his followers refused and fought to defend their religion (Islam). During the war, the mosque suffered destruction. Sheikh Talḥa was the most famous cleric and militant leader in the region of Wallo in the 1880s. Local elders mention that in the past, the mosque of Fūra was used for several religious activities like religious gatherings and holidays. Nowadays, the surrounding community hosts religious prayers there once a year. They say that they regard the mosque as one of their historic Islamic heritage centers, but no action is taken so far for the conservation and preservation of the site. Unfortunately, we could not take a photograph of this mosque.

Muslim Graves and Mausoleum

Burial place of Qomboro

  • 11 Informant: Ato Ahmed Ibn Salih (interview of July-August 2012, Senqqle).

18The village of Qomboro is located some 15 km east of Kara Qore, a small town on an elevated site, some 20 km from Sanbate (see Fig. 1). The altitude of Kara Qore is about 1850 m. The local people say that the village’s exact name is Qomboro Washa Mujahid. The cemetery of Qomboro is locally recorded as an Islamic heritage site in Oromo zone, Artuma Fursi district, Merema Giele kebele. The burial place covers about 132 square meters and is protected by the local authority. The cemetery of Qomboro contains well-preserved Arabic inscriptions but most of them are unreadable (Fig. 6 bottom). Two of the tombs are surrounded by large grey blocks that look like marble, measure 2.20 meters, 1.35 meters and 2 meters, and appear to have been brought from elsewhere. The other tombs are ordinary (Fig. 6 top). As the tombs are on a lower, sediment filled area, it is difficult to count them all. The local elders say that there is a total of 44 tombs including two of women.11 Local people report that the place was dug by Abo Hajiye, a man who lived in Dawway, after he dreamt of a cemetery buried underground. According to local traditions, the tombs date back to the Prophet Muḥammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina and are those of the ṣaḥābah (companion of prophet Muḥammad), who sought refuge in Ethiopia (cf. Chekroun & Hirsch, 2020a). It is said that they preached Islam in this area and were killed by local people. Another version recounts that these men were the ṣaḥābah of Ethiopian followers of Prophet Muḥammad, who were killed by non-Muslim people. Nowadays, the surrounding community holds religious festivities at this place twice a year during mawlid (the birthday of the Prophet) and prayers. The cemetery of Qomboro needs further archaeological investigation.

Fig. 6 – Qomboro cemetery

Fig. 6 – Qomboro cemetery

Top: General view. Bottom: Arabic Inscription

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

Mausoleum of Gaddo

19At the south-eastern foot of the hill where the Gaddo mosque stands, there is a separate place with a Muslim graveyard. It is a cave hosting well-constructed tombs made of stone and mud. The building has its own entrance. It is rectangular in shape; there are about nine graves inside. Elders explained that the burial place contains the grave of Muftī Dāwūd, the founder of Gaddo mosque, and his family, among whom were religious teachers and local administration leaders. The list of the buried ‘ulamā’ includes Muftī Dāwūd, Sheikh Nuru Mengede, Hajjī Mustofa Muftī, Hajjī Shakhu Sheikhy Afefi, Haje Kebir Aḥmad, Sheikh Dāwūd Shakhu, Sheikh Muḥammad Haje Shakhu, Sheikh Aḥmad Hajjī Shakhu, and the only woman buried here is Hejira Hajjī Mustafā.

Fig. 7 – The Gaddo mausoleum

Fig. 7 – The Gaddo mausoleum

Top: General view. Bottom: Interior

© D. Ayenachew, 2012

Conclusion

20This archaeological survey revealed 2 types of Muslim heritage sites in the studied areas: mosques and burial places. It shows the revival of Islamic learning centers following the reopening of the trade routes towards the northern and eastern ports of Massawa, Arkiko and Zaylaʿ. Oral tradition attributes the opening of the Islamic learning center in the late first half of the 18th century to Muftī Dāwūd, along with the establishment of the caravan trade center of Doddota in the district of Dawway. The monuments clearly present peculiar architectural structures similar to those usually seen in mosques predating and postdating the 16th century. A common feature of the monuments in the research area is their rectangular design with short roofs and ceilings supported by wooden pillars. The mosque of Doddota has three entrances to the east, south and north. Small prayer rooms also stand near the mosque. It seems to have been inspired by the Ethiopian monastic culture, with small prayer rooms for monks surrounding the churches. The Jéʾértu mosque displays a more elegant architecture with well-cut stones. Its walls are plastered with mud mortar. The Qomboro cemetery remains enigmatic, and the graphic symbols depicted on the basalt gravestones are not decipherable. Finally, it seems that the surveyed mosques were probably rebuilt on pre-16th century medieval remains (before for the wars of Imam Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm). Hopefully, future archaeological excavations will uncover new findings to strengthen this archaeological survey.

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Notes

* * This paper is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant agreement No. 72620)

1 Part of the study area includes the Argobba district in South-Wallo and the Oromo Zone since 1996 based on the new self-administration ethnic policies of the government. The inhabitants are Oromo language speakers though the population is made up of two major ethnic identities, the Oromo and the Argobba. The latter spoke a Semitic language but the Oromo language prevailed in the middle of 16th century.

2 The authors would like to thank Amélie Chekroun and Simon Dorso for their precious help in finalizing this article.

3 Dawway was bordered by the Awash River to the east, Reqqé to the west, Garfā to the north and the Brokannā River to the south. The name is derived from that of a river, which originates in the vicinity of Kamisse and flows into the Awash, although during the hot season it dries up near Artumma, east of Tchaffa Robit.

4 Nowadays, the name Madiné and Fursé also used as names for Argobba areas in the study area.

5 Informant: Shaykh Mohammed Ayu (a farmer, 64 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Doddota) and Ato Jamal Serage (a farmer, locally respected religious man, 45 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Doddota).

6 Informant: Sheikh Aḥmad b. Hussain (Religious leader of the mosque, 71 years old, interview of July-August, 2012, Dawway, Gaddo).

7 Informant: Ato Aḥmad Tayar (a farmer, 71 years old, interview of July-August 2012, at Sanbate)

8 Informant: Sheikh Muḥammad Mujab (a member of a local religious committee, 40 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Argobba Wareda, Senqqle).

9 Informant: Ato Aḥmad Nuru (called Ahmed Shonke by the locals, a respected religious man, Cultural and Tourism office of the woreda, 30 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Senqqle).

10 Informant: Sheikh Yusuf Abdusomed (a farmer, locally respected religious man, 60 years old, interview of July-August 2012, Argobba woreda, Senqqle).

11 Informant: Ato Ahmed Ibn Salih (interview of July-August 2012, Senqqle).

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Table des illustrations

Titre Fig. 1 – Map of the sites visited in 2012
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, S. Dorso, 2022
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 591k
Titre Fig. 2 – Doddota mosque
Légende Top. View of the roof; Middle. Interior pillars; Bottom. South door
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 716k
Titre Fig. 3 – Interior roof of the Gaddo mosque
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 380k
Titre Fig. 4 – Muftī Mosque
Légende Top: General view. Bottom: Miḥrāb
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 943k
Titre Fig. 5 – The Jéʾértu Mosque
Légende Top: General view. Middle: Front side. Bottom: Miḥrāb
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 850k
Titre Fig. 6 – Qomboro cemetery
Légende Top: General view. Bottom: Arabic Inscription
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 491k
Titre Fig. 7 – The Gaddo mausoleum
Légende Top: General view. Bottom: Interior
Crédits © D. Ayenachew, 2012
URL http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/docannexe/image/19271/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 435k
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Pour citer cet article

Référence papier

Deresse Ayenachew et Assrat Assefa, « Notes on the survey of Islamic Archaeological sites in South-Eastern Wallo (Ethiopia) »Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, 153 | 2023, 65-82.

Référence électronique

Deresse Ayenachew et Assrat Assefa, « Notes on the survey of Islamic Archaeological sites in South-Eastern Wallo (Ethiopia) »Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée [En ligne], 153 | 2023, mis en ligne le 07 juillet 2023, consulté le 29 septembre 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/remmm/19271 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/remmm.19271

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Auteurs

Deresse Ayenachew

Aix-Marseille Univ, Cnrs, Iremam, Aix-en Provence, France ; Deresse06[at]gmail.com

Assrat Assefa

Ministry of Culture, Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH), Addis Abeba, Ethiopie

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Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

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