Hatata (/hɑːˈtɑːtə/; Ge'ez: ሐተታ ḥätäta "inquiry") is a Ge'ez term describing an investigation/inquiry. The hatatas are two 17th century ethical and rational philosophical treatises from present-day Ethiopia: One hatata is written by the Abyssinian philosopher Zara Yaqob (Zär'a Ya'eqob/Zera Yacob, in his text also named Wärqe, 1600–1693), supposedly in 1668. The other hatata is written by his patron's son, Walda Heywat (Wäldä Hewat) some years later, in 1693 or later. Especially Zera Yacob's inquiry has been compared by scholars to Descartes'.[1] But while Zera Yacob was critical towards all religions, including his "own" Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Descartes followed a more traditional religious perspective: "A major philosophical difference is that the Catholic Descartes explicitly denounced ‘infidels’ and atheists, whom he called 'more arrogant than learned' in his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)."[2]
In late 2023, De Gruyter published the first English translation outside of Ethiopia, "The Hatata Inquiries: Two Texts of Seventeenth-Century African Philosophy from Ethiopia about Reason, the Creator, and Our Ethical Responsibilities". The translation is a team-work by the leading Ge'ez scholars Ralph Lee (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies/SOAS), Mehari Worku (Catholic University of America, years of training from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), Jeremy R. Brown (Hill Museum of Manuscripts), and Wendy L. Belcher (Professor, Princeton University). In the Introduction, Belcher writes: "Despite their importance, the texts lacked rigorous, accurate, and fluid translations into English, ones that took advantage of recent scholarship on the texts and their digitization. Our book now provides that as well as information useful for different audiences. Undergraduates and the public now have many footnotes that explain the texts’ cultural and religious context. Scholars now have a more comprehensive translation, one that uses the two editions of the one text. They also have a sophisticated scholarly apparatus that explains philological issues and notes the texts’ many intertexts. Finally, we corrected some errors in earlier editions and translations, including that of one author's birth and residence. As a result, we have put the study of these texts on firmer footing."[3]