By- Tsegaye Melak
War and organized violence has always been the constant theme of human kind beginning from the dawn of existence. Due to our age of civilization and modernity many assume the devastating effect of war is not as damaging as earlier centuries which are believed to barbaric in nature. But contrary to popular belief, war and its crushing outcomes has drastically escalated in the modern age. The recent full blown war between Russia and Ukraine is a case in point, thousands dead, many more fled to neighboring countries and infrastructures severely damaged, when one thought human kind has learned its lessons from previous mistakes and outgrown the primal urge of dealing with problems with brute force, we are once again deep involved in war and organized violence.
Sociology as a subject matter has tried to study war through three theoretical ideals, namely Functionalist perspective, conflict theory and symbolic interactionalist theory. Ethiopia as in any modern nation has passed through wars both civil and colonial. That cycle of war has devastated the country in recent years when war broke out between TPLF and Allied Ethiopian forces back in November 2020, this article will try to discuss how symbols, rituals and perceived collective memories impacted the war through the lens of symbolic interactionism.
According to the famed sociologist Herbert Spencer symbolic interactionism is a theory that centers on the associations between people in a society. He explained that communication and the transaction of meaning through signs, symbols, rituals and collective memories, is the means through which people understand their social worlds. Before and during the war between the two warring parties (TPLF and allied Ethiopian forces), different symbols, signs and objects were used by their respective Medias, political leaders and activists to sell/promote the idea of patriotism, nationalism and create a sense of solidarity to garner support for the war.
When it comes to symbols the regional flag of Tigray regional state played a major role to install a sense of togetherness and cause among the Tigrayan combatants. It is widely believed that to die for the regional emblem is a source of pride and will not be considered as a vain death. The emblem represents the future, full of freedom and prosperity and that is to be achieved through bitter struggle and eradicating the enemy once and for all. This helped the regional government to recruit the youth in mass.
The notion of Arms Bearing is common among the Amharas, it is a sense of pride and sign of perceived ideal masculinity trait. It epitomizes the bravery and warrior spirt of their forefathers, due to this fact an adult Amhara man is obliged to own a firearm, when the war broke out, different media outlets were broadcasting songs, plays and poems that glorify the past victories and the arms bearing nature of the people, many men flocked to the battle front in the spirit of their forefathers and their tightly held belief of continuity of the nation.
The other driving factors of the war are rituals and collective memories. Prior to the war, “Yekatit 11” is believed to be the day the tigrayan struggle started in the deserts of Dedebit. It is annually celebrated with extravagant festivities. That day and the subsequent victories afterwards are seen as collective sacrifice that ties that generation to the existing one and is believed to be by many as a sacred communion between the martyrs and the recent combatants. This sense of exceptionalism was another big factor in attracting young recruits for the war.
By eulogizing about past heroes and glories, the other side was also successful in securing an unwavering support for the war. By evoking how enemies from within and abroad who were hell bent on destroying the country were defeated, they tried to form a bond between the past heroes and the combatants. They assured them and the public that the enemy is determined to dismantle our country so like their predecessors they must defend the country at any costs. Just like the tigrayans they succeeded in relating the living with the dead.
Many more accounts played an active role in the proceedings of the war; this is just a small glance at the issue from one perspective. Further studies should be done to better understand and find a lasting solution to this devastating war.
