Trickster Tales, Memory and Secrecy among Ethiopians in the US

by: Daniel Bekele

The seemingly contradictory concepts of anarchy and peace describe best the remarkably stable and at the same time the extremely secretive and fractious life style of Ethiopians and Ethiopian communities in the US. The conflicting desires of many Ethiopians--their longing to be immersed in their community life and their active dodging and evasion of duties and responsibilities to realize this ideal--doesn't come as news to most of you. And in our heart of hearts, many of us have always wondered about the reason for this unproductive anarchy and the still silence that surrounds it. I will not pretend to fully answer this question. But I will do my best in the following lines to give you a general sense of why we Ethiopians are so secretive, and encourage you to question with me whether the peaceful anarchism that is uniquely ours has anything to do with tales of Sinzero, TenkoleNaw Kebede, and the Clever Monkey whose clever exploits we have heard and puzzled over.

For some of you who still remember some of the Ethiopian trickster tales, I am sure that you will see sense in these arguments. And those of you who don't, well, journey with me for a ride to the sources of some of the fears that keep Ethiopians in the US very secretive and unable to trust each other. The notion that I will develop here is very simple: The prevailing deep suspicion among Ethiopians and their unnecessary Mistirs or secrets which they guard closely is simply the consequence of their fears not to be outsmarted by another clever one, let's say, for example, another Tenkolegnaw Kebede, one of their favorite characters of their childhood stories.

Some writers analyzed Ethiopian folktales to capture the interpersonal relationship of Ethiopians. David Korten and Reidkluf Molvaer, for instance, studied these tales in considerable depth and have shown that the Ethiopian stories portray effort to succeed as unattractive and even dangerous, compared with being 'clever' and deceitful. The authors also claim that compared to American folktales, few Ethiopian stories even deal with positive consequences of a good work; instead many Ethiopian stories emphasize success through eliminating or discrediting others. Doesn't that sound like our own actual beliefs?

I used to feel that relating tales to real life was a big stretch, but these days I am convinced otherwise. Tales can be real depictions of our everyday interrelationships, desires and conflicts. And the sheer number and the popularity of trickster stories in our society may represent our society's desires to pass a set of experiences that it deems useful onto the next generation. For example, harsh exploitation has always been a reality in Ethiopia and the opportunities to overcome miseries very limited. Belief in the zero sum game, the notion that "one cannot succeed unless another one fails" looms large among many of us. I suspect that many of the tales reflect these Dostoyevskian choices Ethiopians have to make to succeed in their social context. It may also be true that these stories reflect what some writers have described as the strong sense of individualism of Ethiopians and what Allan Hobben, in a different context, has described as the prevalence in Ethiopian society of a Hobbesian kind of worldview of 'war of all against all'.

Nonetheless, the accuracy of these social facts is not what is important. What is important, I believe, is the degree to which these stories give the reader, or more precisely the listener as is usually the case in Ethiopia, a fantasy on how to succeed. In other words, it is not the plots but the perceptions and attitudes that are conveyed in such tales that are important. As we all acknowledge, our perceptions and attitudes of others shape our relations with them. In so doing, the tales of our childhood are the best embodiment of what we praise-e.g. secrecy, outsmarting otherness, to be always on guard, not trusting- and of what we ridicule-e.g. honesty as foolishness, trusting as dangerous. On this point, Molvaer identifies key characteristics of Ethiopian trickster tales that is worth citing:

For both the doubter and the serious reader who want to dig further into such stories, I suggest Molvaer's book. But here are three examples from the same volume to illustrate the argument and drive the point home:

One day a monkey was passing near a farm where peas and beans were growing. The monkey was very hungry and started to eat, sitting in the middle of the crop. There the monkey was happily eating without giving the owner of the field a thought.

But suddenly the farmer appeared and saw the monkey, and he decided to catch it, which he did.

Since the farmer did not have a sick to beat the monkey with, and he tied it to a tree and went in search of a big stick.

Now a hungry hyena came out of the forest and saw the monkey. He wanted to eat it as he was very hungry, but first he asked, "Why are you tied to a tree?"

The monkey replied, "The farmer who owns this farm has been bringing me many kinds of delicious food, but I became surfeited and refused to eat any more. This angered him, and he tied me to his tree."

The hyena thought that he could get better food than eating the monkey and said, "Why don't you tie me to the tree, and I will eat the food instead of you?"

The monkey agreed to do this, and when it was freed, it tied the hyena to the tree, and then it climbed a tree to be able to see what would happen.

When the farmer came with his stick, he became even more angry when he realized that the monkey had escaped, and he started to beat the hyena. The hyena began to cry at the top if his voice, "I'll eat your food! 'I'll eat your food!"

But this mad the farmer even more angry, and he beat the hyena to death.

The monkey in the tree was smiling to itself because of the foolishness of the hyena.

Once upon a time there was a woman who was living alone in the forest. One day she went out searching for firewood, when suddenly a leopard came rushing towards her crying, "Save me from the hunters who are after me!" She put him in her sack, and when the hunters appeared, they asked her if she had seen the leopard. "No", she said, "he has not come this way," and so they went looking for the leopard in other parts of the forest.

The woman carried the leopard inside the sack for some distance in the opposite direction of where the hunters had gone. Then the leopard thanked her for saving his life and asked her to be let out of the sack. The woman let him out, and then she continued searching for firewood, while the leopard was following behind her.

After some time, the leopard got impatient and said to the woman, "I have been with you for much of the day. Please bring me some food, or I shall have to eat you."

The woman could not find food anywhere, so in the end she took the leopard to the court of the animals to hear their opinion and be sentenced. As all the animals feared the leopard, they agreed that he had the right to eat the old woman. Only the monkey had not given an opinion.

"Show me how you carried the leopard", said the monkey. The old woman put the leopard inside the sack and tied it well.

"If you want to save your life, hot the sack with a stick", said the monkey. And the old woman hit the sack with a stick till the leopard died.

Once upon a time there were a husband and his wife. One day the husband wanted to test his wife, and he asked her, "Do you love me?" She said, "Of course I love you. I never knew or wanted another man except you."

But the husband doubted her words and wanted to find out for himself if she spoke the truth. He then told her that he was leaving on a journey and would not return till two days later.

Then he left, but instead of going far, he hid himself during the day, and at night he disguised himself so that no one would recognize him and returned to his house. Then he knocked at the door and asked if he could spend the night here. The wife invited him in and said that could stay till the next morning; but she did not know that it was her husband.

She prepared good food and drink for him, and they ate together. After he had eaten some, he said, "Leave the rest of the food for your husband when he comes." But she said, "Why should I? Let him eat his own flesh!"

Then the husband lost his patience and told her who he was. He caught her by the neck and threw her out. Thus he divorced her.

Molvaer notes as the moral for this story: Wives need to be tested before they can be trusted. Mostly they are considered untrustworthy. (Source: Molvaer, 1995 pp. 171-205)

Early learning can be a yoke. When one is born and raised in a society that values such 'cleverness' and mistrust of almost everything under God, these attitudes may limit his/her future direction and options. Much to their credit, Ethiopians in the US do not have hostile interactions with any ethnic group. In fact, and I write this line without any exaggeration, wherever they are, Ethiopians are famous for their politeness while interacting with others. It is also rare to see an Ethiopian in the US accused of any crime or violent act, unless of course he/she is a victim of such deeds. In a country where striving for 15-minutes-of-fame is relentless, Ethiopians in the US also rarely appear in the dominant media. However, unlike many other immigrant groups, they also have little or no significant influence on the political, academic and cultural life of the country. With the exception perhaps of Washington DC, where they show a strong presence with their bars, restaurants and stores, let's admit it, Ethiopians form an invisible community in the US. However, this relative tranquility is a misnomer.

Beneath this superficial peace, life within Ethiopian communities is an adventure in troubled waters. To the outsider, Ethiopian communities appear quiet. Close observers, however, note vibrant political and social activities that are usually infested with backroom deals and intrigues rarely apparent to non-Ethiopians. The fast-paced rumors about miqeNnet (spite), the endless stories of failures because of well-intended actions, and the hamEt (backbiting) that run fluidly at the speed of light across gender and age groups also add to the defensive postures of many Ethiopians. They have also resulted in the lack of open expressions of true feelings, and the mastery at hiding desires and emotions. Thanks to our compulsive fear of other peoples' intent, we also waste valuable time and mental energy with our never-ending analysis of motives for every single thought and action. Here among us, the culture of Chiqchiq, nitrik and niz'niz (circular, meaningless and trivial arguments and disputes) reach their zenith. And our admirable verbal skills, which we could have used for the good of us all, have been used for divisive purposes. We are also neither clear nor straightforward, but purposefully vague on themes that relate to our obligations.

As a result and in spite of our common culture, language and future destiny, a typical Ethiopian in the US is still unable to maintain long-term close ties with his peers. The typical Ethiopian not only does not trust his so-called politicians and community leaders but also his neighbors, members of his parish, colleagues, friends, siblings, family members and even spouses. Such observations leave one wondering whether Ethiopians in the US can ever get organized. A typical Ethiopian immigrant, after almost three decades of immigration experience, is still a lonely creature in the midst of his own group who neither trusts nor shares his ideas and feelings with anyone. Our life in the US is indeed anarchy, par excellence. Why?

Secrecy is the root cause for many of our social malaise here in the US. Running from poverty, war and authoritarian traditions, some of us believed in a new beginning in our new home, O beautiful America, where the official dominant ideology is: your talents, hard work and good fortune determine your success and failure. To our surprise, we have come face to face with the other unofficial reality of this land: Unless you are an organized force, it is difficult to succeed in the scramble for the wealth of this abundant country. We are now forced to swallow the first fact of modernization: there is no inherent contradiction between personal ambition and helping others. The values of mistrust and secrecy and the memory of the trickster tales may have been useful in the past, but they have now caught up with us to threaten our new hope.

We have also come to observe that, in the complicated game of adapting to a new culture as immigrants, many communities have unleashed their talents and energized their common interest to tap and exploit the abundant resources of this country, to help each other and assist their poor home country of origin. While striving for such noble goals, such communities have also left their cultural accents and footprints on the face of this land.

We are not new to this fact. We have discussed endlessly the cases of Americans of Jewish faith and Haitian Americans whenever and wherever we have found the occasion to do so, while waiting for a patron in our cabs and parking lots, in our school yards at break time, while relaxing in our bars, and even after our church services. We have, however, failed miserably to imitate any of the so-called model immigrant groups. Instead, we opted for an ideology of pretense -- what is known in this country as 'individualistic and independent achievement'. Our fear of each other and our excessive 'love' for secrecy have take a toll on our ability to exchange ideas, thus limiting our power to develop a sense of community. The fact that our political, community organizations and even churches split faster than an amoeba cell is no longer a secret and has saddened us all. Our track record in the US working as a community and helping each other is poor.

For example, the majority of Ethiopians still toil in the boring and low-paying service jobs. Of course, there are some Ethiopians who have already joined the mainstream American middle class by holding professional and high-paying jobs and/or maintaining careers in academic or scientific enterprises. But if we leave aside these few individuals who were already exposed to higher education and those who were enrolled in excellent private schools before coming to the US, the number of Ethiopians who are successful in the US is actually insignificant. Worse still, despite their admirable hard work, the number of Ethiopians who are unable to make ends meet without public assistance is on the increase. True, that may be just like everyone else in the US since it is now a difficult time. But what have the successful few, and the Ethiopian community and political leaders, done or suggested to assist these challenged multitudes? Nothing. At least, I have not come across any.

Moreover, Ethiopians in the US have not yet proposed any significant ideas nor initiated any substantial projects to alleviate the problems of their home country. The last critique perhaps needs a caveat. The inspiring work of Dagmawi has heralded the coming of age of Ethiopian community activism, an activism that was held hostage for quite a long time by the various left-wing sectarianisms that encouraged neither trust nor openness in our community. For example, it is even alleged that one of such leftist organization with a large mass following in Ethiopia had published in the 70's what it called a manual for revolutionaries in which it openly claimed that a revolutionary may have to lie and trick to spread the aims of the revolution. We do not need to dig further to assess the failure of our politicos as moral authorities. Like many of us, they were prisoners of the trickster and secretive values.

The boom in Ethiopian activists' websites since Dagmawi, the revival of our local community radio stations, the nascent activities of organizations that focus on community development (like the Ethiopian Development Association), the energetic work of young Ethiopian students' associations and their exemplary polite but firm stand and solidarity with their peers in Ethiopia last spring, may further weaken the overwhelming criticism that Ethiopians have a marginal role in the development of their home-country.

But it is still too early to claim that Ethiopians in the US play an important role in Ethiopia. With so many political and community organizations that clash incessantly --openly or behind the curtain, as they usually do -- we are still vulnerable to the possibility of falling back on our old styles of disorder. The increasing dependency on local and federal government funding for every community action has further invigorated the mistrust of some Ethiopians who suggest -- and sometimes rightfully so -- that community leaders are mainly interested in fattening their wallets. The reawakening of community activities within the last three years since Dagmawi jumped on the Net is indeed a source of hope. But I am afraid that we are less unified in the real world than we appear on the cyber one.

So, let me reiterate the question that obsesses us: who is the culprit for the failures of Ethiopians to trust each other and share their experiences to work together? I would argue, it is our old fears of and/or desire to imitate the cleverness and exploits of the characters of our tales and the debilitating secretiveness that always accompanies them, which have left us powerless to achieve our goals in the US. Please don't misunderstand me. It would be unfortunate if we got rid of our time-honored institutions and values just because we have come to America. It is also true that it is because of these values that some Ethiopians were able to shun the gaze of the abiyot Tebakis (revolutionary guards) in difficult times. Many of us have also leaned on these same values to outmaneuver the border guards and the asylum officers at the gate of the West who, with their perverted categories of economic and political refugees, tried to keep us at a distance. But the burning question is: haven't these values of secretiveness and mistrust outlived their usefulness?

Forget sidet le were yimechal. I believe that immigration is also an excellent opportunity for examining old values and hopefully correcting those that are not helpful. Leaving our old home is not a one-time event; rather, it is an endless march that forces us to redefine our identities at every bump and bridge we cross. We change some of our values while we consolidate others. Unless we are ready for such psychological shifts, the change of country would be just travel in space. It would be a simple change of longitudes and latitudes. Is such 'travel' without a changing of values possible? I doubt it.

Despite some admirable efforts that are still in their infancy, I am convinced that most Ethiopians in the US still inhabit their old universe and values of the past. This is unfortunate because some of these values, especially those of secrecy and mistrust, have left many of us unable to be successful, whatever this 'success' may be. Moreover, it is not uncommon to see some from those among us who have 'made it' in America struggle with guilt because they believe they have earned their success by withholding secrets and information from special ones, and by turning their back on their communities. In short, because of lack of openness and trust, we are unable to attain peace of mind at both ends of the success continuum.

Of course, we may still be too small and too young as a community to change some of the racist and biased practices that sometimes relegate us to 'stereotypical minority status' in our new home. But we should also realize that we are powerful enough to look critically at those traditional values that hamper our progress in our new home. I am convinced that the misfortunes in our American adventure are the consequences of the collision of our old values, as exemplified in our trickster tales, with the values of a modern society. And you, my friend...what say you?