Novel
Araya
Not translated into English
Germachew Tekle Hawaryat · 1949
Synopsis
A young peasant, Araya goes to study in Europe and, once his studies are over, hesitates for a long time between staying there and going home. Back in Ethiopia, he discovers that the traditions and received ideas of his compatriots, even among the leaders, block the road to progress. Unable to convince a reluctant administration, he sets about modernising farming on his own land, when the Italian invasion calls him to battle and suspends his plans, the future of his son and that of Sirgute, the woman he loves.
Context
The novel appeared in 1941 of the Ethiopian calendar, that is, in 1948 or 1949, seven years after the emperor's return. Its subtitle presents it as a historical fiction, and it is one in two senses: it recounts the reforms of the thirties and their interruption by the war, and it does so from the point of view of a man educated abroad, as the author was. The book stages the conflict of generations and that of tradition and modernity, which other Amharic novelists would take up after him.
Who it is for
A novel in Amharic, never translated into French. A Norwegian version appeared in 2016 under the title Pioneren Araya (“Araya the Pioneer”), the only known translation into a European language.
Prizes and reception
Britannica counts it among the most popular novels of Ethiopia, and among the first Amharic novels published after the liberation.