Discovering Eritrea’s Past

Select Documents from the Works of the Pioneers

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This book is an introduction to the historiography of Eritrea which was initiated by Werner Munzinger and Leo Reinisch, two explorers from central Europe, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Five select documents in translation are presented to show how they approached the linguistic, legal, historical and cultural studies of the country. Their scientific publications testify to the richness of the society’s tradition, the favourable climate, the multiple languages, the multifarious ethnic groups, the friendly inhabitants and the easily accessible geographical location. Subsequently numerous other European researchers followed their lead, whose contributions together with the national documents from church archives and notables’ chronicles became part of the development of Eritrean historiography.

Dieses Buch enthält folgende Abhandlungen:

Werner Munzinger

The Anseba Valley, home of many peoples
Geographic profile of Halhal and Marea by Werner Munzinger
This article (part 1 of 2) by Werner Munzinger originally appeared in print in the scientific journal: Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Erdkunde – Neue Folge. Vol. 12, Berlin, 1862. pp. 162–173.

On the customs and the law of the Bogos by Werner Munzinger
With a map of the northern borderlands of Abyssinia and a preface by J. M. Ziegler

History & Tradition of Bet-Takue
The text of this section which was originally entitled “.Über die Beit Takue” is taken from Werner Munzinger’s book, Ostafrikanische Studien,
Schaffhausen, 1864, repr. Basel, 1883, pp. 195–209.

History and Tradition of Bet-Marea by Werner Munzinger
The text of this section which was originally headed “Reise in’s Land der Marea” [= “Expedition to the country of the Marea”] is taken from Werner Munzinger’s book, Ostafrikanische Studien,
Schaffhausen, 1864, repr. Basel, 1883, pp. 222–249.

2. Leo Reinisch

Origin and sett lement of Bet-Tarqe
Historical traditions of the Bogos by Leo Reinisch
This text, originally entitled „Geschichtliche Ueberliferungen [sic.] der Bogos“, is taken from Leo Reinisch, Die Bilin-Sprache I-III. I: Texte der Bilin-Sprache. Leipzig, 1883, pp. 1–66.