Neftenya

A neftenya (Amharic: ነፍጠኛ, lit. 'rifle bearer') was the name given to Emperor Menelik II's warriors, who were primarily of Shewan Amhara origin, that expanded into and colonized large tracts of what is today southern Ethiopia during Menelik II's expansions. In its literal meaning, neftenya, referred to riflemen in the Imperial Ethiopian Army^[1] who were known to have settled in Ethiopia's peripheral regions, including parts of present-day Oromia Region, the SNNPR Region, Gambela Region and the Benishangul-Gumuz Region from the late 19th century onwards.^[2] The origin of this term lies from the fact that these soldiers, i.e. "neftenya", were granted land on these newly conquered territories, including the services of the indigenous people on these lands, as rewards for their services.^[3]

The Shewan conquerors that were described as neftenya were originally a group of aristocratic rulers of the Kingdom of Shewa who were high ranking members of Menelik II's Royal Court and their soldiers.^[4][5][6] While upper class Amhara who came to the south as conquerors originated from all parts of the northern highlands, all came as vassals of the specifically Shewan state.^[3]

A system of imperial conquest effectively based on settler colonialism, involving the deployment of armed settlers in newly created military colonies, was widespread throughout the southern and western territories that came under Menelik's dominion.^[7] Under the 'Neftenya-Gabbar scheme' the Ethiopian Empire had developed a relatively effective system of occupation and pacification. Soldier-settlers and their families moved into fortified villages known as katamas in strategic regions to secure the southern expansion. These armed neftenya settlers and their families were known as the and peasant farmers who were assigned to them the gabbar.^[8] The Neftenya were assigned gabbar from the locally conquered population, who effectively worked in serfdom for the conquerors.^[9] The majority of the neftenya were Amhara from Shewa. The neftenya-gabbar relationship was a 'feudal-like patron client relationship' between the northern settlers and southern locals. As land was taken, the northern administrators became the owners and possessed the right to dispose of land as they pleased.^[10]

While the majority of the Neftenya were Shewan Amhara^[10] they were not the only ones that were part of the Neftenya ruling class, which also consisted of others who assimilated into Amhara identity as a class based system in order to enforce ruling power over other Ethiopians, often by extreme cruelty and violence. Amhara sub-groups claim that it only consisted of Amhara people.^[11] Since local people, whatever their origins, were also able to assimilate into the Neftenya class, by virtue of marriage, or adopting the religion, language and cultural traits of the Amhara,^[3] it also included Tigrayans, Oromos, and Gurages,^[2] a majority of which came from the Kingdom of Shewa. Shimelis Abdisa used the Amharic word neftenya ("riflemen" in English) to refer to the ruling class established in the wake of Emperor Menelik II's conquest in southern Ethiopia in the late 19th century. Abdisa's use of the term neftenya prompted backlash given that it is often used to refer to members of Emperor Menelik II's army after the TPLF came to power in 1991,^[2][4][5][6] but Abdisa inaccurately identified the term with all populations of Amharas rather than the multi-ethnic aristocratic class of the Ethiopian Empire which the term originally stood for.^[11][5]

As a result of neftenyas settling in the southern regions, other ethnic groups assimilated by into royal court culture^[12] by adopting the Amharic language, Orthodox Christianity, and other aristocratic cultural traits found in royal court culture. Both peasant Amhara culture and Ethiopian Empire royal court culture have heavily influenced each other;^[12] this Ethiopian royal court culture (that influenced and was influenced by Amhara culture^[12]) dominated throughout the eras of military and monarchic rule^[12] although Siegfried Pausewang concluded in 2005 that "the term Amhara relates in contemporary Ethiopia to two different and distinct social groups. The ethnic group of the Amhara, mostly a peasant population, is different from a mixed group of urban people coming from different ethnic background, who have adopted Amharic as a common language and identify themselves as Ethiopians".^[12] Later on the term started to be applied to Amhara civilians as an ethnic slur,^[13][14][15] even though the Shewan Neftenya leadership was multi-ethnic in nature and the very existence of a distinct and ethnically conscious Amhara ethnic group in that time period has been contested as an anachronism.^[16][17]

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, Amharas were the dominant politico-military influence on central and southern Ethiopia, and later on conquering portions of north-central Ethiopia (including Gondar, Amhara Region and Raya Azebo, Tigray Region - for a short period of time) during the Imperial period of Tewodros II, Menelik II, and Haile Selassie.^[18][19][20]

In the 19th Century, the Shewans (included several sub-groups of Shewan Amhara and Shewan Oromo people) held prominent roles in the consolidation of the Ethiopian Empire under the rule of the Kingdom of Shewa as members of Menelik II's Royal Court.^[21][22][23]

Both the imperial and the Derg government relocated numerous Amharas into southern Ethiopia where they served in government administration, courts, church and even in school, where Oromo texts were eliminated and replaced by Amharic.^[24][25][26] The Abyssinian elites perceived the Oromo identity and languages as an obstacle to the expansion of Ethiopian national identity.^[27] Under the Haile Selassie Regime Oromo was banned from education, and use in administration.^[28][29][30] In 1967, the regime of Haile Selassie I outlawed the Mecha and Tuluma Self-Help Association and later instigated a wave of mass arrests and killings of its members and leaders.^[31][32] Prominent military officer and leader of the association, Colonel General Tadesse Birru, was also arrested.^[31][33] This reaction by the regime had been caused by the popularity of the organization among the Oromos and its links to the Bale Oromo resistance movement.^[34] By 1980, the original 120 members of the Derg had been whittled down to only 38. All members but three were ethnic Amhara and were predominantly from settler colonialist neftenya origins. Many member of the ruling elite were deeply opposed to the idea of loosening control on the rebellious southern regions conquered under Menelik II.^[35]