Getatchew Haile
Haile reading Ge'ez manuscripts in 2012
Born(1931-04-19)April 19, 1931
Shenkora, Shewa province, Ethiopian Empire
DiedJune 11, 2021(2021-06-11) (aged 90)
Mount Sinai Morningside, New York, U.S.
Nationality
Alma mater
Occupation
Years active1957–2021
Notable workActa Aethiopica (1980–89)

Getatchew Haile (Amharic: ጌታቸው ኀይሌ, romanized: Gētachew Ḫäyilē; April 19, 1931 – June 10, 2021)[1] was an Ethiopian-American philologist widely considered the foremost scholar of the Ge'ez language[2] and one of its most prolific (he published more than 150 books and articles).[3] He was acknowledged for his contributions to the field with a MacArthur Fellows Program "genius" award[4][5] and the Edward Ullendorff Medal from the Council of the British Academy.[6] He was the first Ethiopian and the first African to win the award.[7][8][9]

Early life

Haile was born in the rural village of Tute in Shenkora (part of the province of Shoa in the Ethiopian Empire).[10] As a boy, he attended an Ethiopian Orthodox Church school, where he learned Ge'ez liturgical language and "devoted his energies to reading and understanding the texts."[11]

From 1945 to 1951, he attended Trinity School in Addis Ababa. Haile moved to Cairo in 1952, and lived there through most of the 1950s, graduating from the Coptic Theological College, Cairo, Egypt with a B.D. in 1957, and from the American University in Cairo, with a B.A. in 1957. He then moved to West Germany in 1957, where he received a Ph.D. from the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen in Semitic Philology in 1962. The title of his dissertation was Das Verbalsystem im Äthiopischen: Ein morphologischer Vergleich mit den orientalischen semitischen Sprachen.[11] Haile married Misrak Amare on July 12, 1964, in Sidamo.[12]

During the Ethiopian Revolution in 1974, Haile, a believer in constitutional monarchy under the Solomonic dynasty, became a member of the transitional Ethiopian Parliament from Shoa province. Due to his vocal criticism of both dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Marxist-Leninist and Soviet-backed Derg military dictatorship,[11] the Ethiopian Army came to Haile's home at the beginning of the Red Terror in 1975. According to the Ethiopian Government, Haile was involved in a shootout while resisting arrest, but was eventually wounded and captured. According to Getachew Haile, on the other hand, he was the victim of a premeditated and unprovoked assassination attempt by a Derg death squad. After the BBC World Service and Voice of America publicized him as a prisoner of conscience worldwide, the Ethiopian government released him.[13] Through the intervention of friends, Haile was allowed to travel to London for medical treatment. He was left as a paraplegic due to bullet damage to his spinal cord, and needed to use a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.[14]

Academic career

Haile was associate professor in the Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature, Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University), from 1962 to 1969, and 1971 to 1974, where he taught Amharic Grammar, Amharic Literature, Ge'ez Grammar, Ge'ez Literature, Arabic Grammar, and Semitic Linguistics.[15] He was appointed head of the department in 1965.

After arriving in the U.S. in 1976, Haile joined Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He eventually became a Regents Professor Emeritus of Medieval Studies and Curator Emeritus of the Ethiopian Study Center at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.[16][5] At HMML, he prepared catalogues of more than six thousand Ethiopian manuscripts and trained Ethiopic manuscript cataloguers in paleography, dating, and other skills.[17][18][19][20][21]

He was on the advisory board of a number of journals, including Comité de lecture of Analecta Bollandiana (Journal of Christian Hagiography), Ethiopian Journal of Education, Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Northeast African Studies, Ethiopian Register (1994–2001), and Acta Aethiopica (1980–89).[22][23]

In addition to his writings and translations of a variety of works on Ethiopia and the Orthodox church, he produced two two-volume books on the history and beliefs of Abba Estifanos of Gwendagwende, one in 2006[24] and the other in 2011.[25] His first translation, into Amharic, was of Mark Twain's short story Extracts from Adam's Diary in 1965.[11]

The languages in which he worked were Amharic, Ge'ez, Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, German, and Coptic.[11]

Reputation

Haile's work has frequently been described as foundational to the field of Ethiopian studies and has won many awards.[26][27]

Edward Ullendorff, professor of Semitic studies at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, described Haile's work as "highly significant" due to his "profoundly erudite" knowledge of Ethiopic language and literature.[7][11] On another occasion, Ullendorff wrote that Haile's work represented the "most meticulous and original study of Ethiopic literature" ever done, and "on a scale and depth never before attempted."[28] He added, "no other person before Getatchew Haile has ever been able to survey so much of Ethiopic literary creation and thus to gain so sovereign a command of this genre", which made a contribution not only to Ethiopian studies but also the study of Christian oriental writing more generally.[28]

The Ethiopian poet Amha Asfaw wrote a poem in Amharic for him in 1999.[11]

Personal life

Haile and his wife, Misrak Amare, had four children, adopted two more, and had many grandchildren. Among his children are the material science professor Sossina M. Haile and the author Rebecca G. Haile.[29]

Haile served as a confidante of the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the 1960s, as well as the Church's representative to the World Council of Churches.[29]

Haile never returned to Ethiopia after leaving in 1975.[12] He remained critical of the successive Ethiopian governments: in 2005, Ethiopian authorities charged him in absentia with treason for his comments.[13]

Haile and his wife moved to New York City in 2016. He died at Mount Sinai Morningside hospital on June 10, 2021, at the age of 90.[12] President Sahle-Work Zewde expressed her condolences to Haile's family in a press release.[30]

Lectures

Haile gave a video lecture on the Täˀammərä Maryam, the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories, on May 23, 2020. Alessandro Bausi (professor, University of Hamburg), Kay Shelemay (professor, Harvard University), Elias Wondimu (CEO of Tsehai Publishers), and Habtamu Tegegne (professor, Rutgers University) spoke about Getatchew Haile's contributions.[31]

In 2018, he gave an Amharic-language interview for EBS TV at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.[32] He also gave a video lecture at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in April 2020.[33]

Honors and distinctions

Books

References

  1. ^ Congress, The Library of. "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". id.loc.gov. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Galawdewos (October 13, 2015). The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros: A Seventeenth-Century African Biography of an Ethiopian Woman. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400874149.
  3. ^ Bausi, Alessandro, and Thomas Rave. "A Selected Bibliography of the Publications of Getatchew Haile." In Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History: Festschrift for Getatchew Haile, edited by Adam Carter McCollum. Aethiopistische Forschungen 83, 609-19. Wiesbaden, London: Harrassowitz Verlag; Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. University of London, 2017.
  4. ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 1988.
  5. ^ a b c MacArthur Fellows: The First 25 Years, 1981-2005. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. 2005.
  6. ^ Delamarter, Steve; Haile, Getatchew (January 31, 2013). Catalogue of the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project: Codices 106-200 and Magic Scrolls 135-284. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9780227173848.
  7. ^ a b Ullendorff, Edward (1996). "Review of A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville. Vol. X. Project Numbers 4001-5000". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 59 (1): 205–206. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 619459.
  8. ^ "MacArthur Foundation Awards Black Genius". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (24): 49–51. 1999. doi:10.2307/2999069. ISSN 1077-3711. JSTOR 2999069.
  9. ^ "African-American Recipients of MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grants," 1981-1996". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (13): 51. 1996. ISSN 1077-3711. JSTOR 2963164.
  10. ^ Haile, Getatchew (2016). ʼAndāftā lāwgāčehu (in Amharic). Collegeville, Minnesota: Getatchew Haile. ISBN 978-0-9706663-4-5. OCLC 682146136.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i McCollum, Adam Carter (2017). Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History: Festschrift for Getatchew Haile, Presented by His Friends and Colleagues. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-10848-5.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Obituary: Prof. Getatchew Haile (1931-2021)". Tadias Magazine. June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Bowen, Amy (April 8, 2007). "Joy amid struggle – The Getatchew Haile story". St. Cloud Times – via EthiopianReview.com.
  14. ^ "Columba Stewart and Getatchew Haile – Preserving Words and Worlds". The On Being Project. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Haile, Rebecca G. (May 1, 2007). Held at a Distance: My Rediscovery of Ethiopia. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9780897336598.
  16. ^ Haile, Getatchew; Terefe, Melaku (2011). Catalog of the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9780227173503.
  17. ^ a b Getatchew Haile (1985). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. VIII: Project Numbers 3001-3500. Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
  18. ^ a b Getatchew Haile (1981). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. V: Project Numbers 1501-2000.
  19. ^ a b Getatchew Haile (1983). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. VII: Project Numbers 2501-3000. William F. Macomber. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
  20. ^ Getatchew Haile (1993). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. X: Project Numbers 4001–5000. Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
  21. ^ a b Getatchew Haile (1982). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. VI: Project Numbers 2001–2500. William F. Macomber. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
  22. ^ "Bikila Award: Events". bikilaaward.org. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Ethiopianists – Wendy Laura Belcher". wendybelcher.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  24. ^ The Geʻez Acts of Abba Esṭifanos of Gwendagwende. Getatchew Haile. Lovanii [Louvain, Belgium]: Peeters. 2006. ISBN 90-429-1740-7. OCLC 84611961.((cite book)): CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. ^ A history of the first Esṭifanosite monks. Getatchew Haile. Louvain. 2011. ISBN 978-90-429-2512-0. OCLC 759000813.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  26. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1992). "Beauty of the creation (śәnä Fәṭrät). By Getatchew Haile and Misrak Amare. (Journal of Semitic Studies Monograph 16.) pp. x, 87 Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1991". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 253–255. doi:10.1017/S1356186300002443. ISSN 1356-1863. S2CID 162743774.
  27. ^ Irvine, A. K. (1986). "Stanislav Segert and Andrās J. E. Bodrogligeti (ed.): Ethiopian studies: dedicated to Wolf Leslau on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday November 14th, 1981 by friends and colleagues. xii, 582 pp. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983. DM 198". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 49 (1): 219–220. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00042713. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 161072186.
  28. ^ a b Ullendorf, Edward. "Foreward." In Beauty of the Creation ሥነ፡ ፍጥረት (Śǝnä Fǝṭrät), edited by Getatchew Haile and Misrak Amare, ix–x. Manchester: University of Manchester, 1991.
  29. ^ a b Haile, Rebecca G. (May 1, 2007). Held at a Distance: My Rediscovery of Ethiopia. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-0-89733-556-0.
  30. ^ "President expresses condolences over death of veteran Scholar Prof Getachew Haile". Welcome to Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  31. ^ "Remarks by Prof. Getatchew Haile on the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary". betamasaheft.eu. May 23, 2020.
  32. ^ Reyot - Interview with Professor Getachew Haile Part 1, archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved June 18, 2021
  33. ^ Getatchew Haile, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved June 18, 2021
  34. ^ ethioexploreradmin. "Prof. Getachew Haile to Receive Abebe Bikila's Life Time Achievement Award on September 22, 2018 in Toronto – EthioExplorer.com". Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  35. ^ McCollum, Adam Carter, ed. Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History Festschrift for Getatchew Haile Presented by his Friends and Colleagues. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  36. ^ "Edward Ullendorff Medal | British Academy". British Academy. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  37. ^ "Tribute to the late Prof. Getachew Haile". Ethiopian Tribune. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  38. ^ A., Balashova, Galina (2016). "Rebecca Haile – a New Star in the Ethiopian Literary Firmament". Studies of the Department of African Languages and Cultures (50): 149–158. ISSN 0860-4649.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Zar'a Yā'eqob, Emperor of Ethiopia (2013). The homily of Zärʼa Yaʻe̳qob's Mäṣḥafä Be̳rhan on the rite of baptism and religious instruction. Getatchew Haile. Lovanii. ISBN 978-90-429-2752-0. OCLC 853452562.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  40. ^ Getatchew Haile (2013). Voices from Däbrä Zämäddo : acts of Abba Bärtälomewos and Abba Yohannes : 45 miracles of Mary. Wiesbaden, Germany. ISBN 978-3-447-19290-3. OCLC 889301454.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  41. ^ Getatchew Haile (2008). ʼAndāftā lāwgāčehu. Koléǧvil, Minisotā: Getatchew Haile. ISBN 978-0-9706663-4-5. OCLC 682146136.
  42. ^ Getatchew Haile; ጌታቸው ኃይሌ (2004). Daqiqa ʼEsṭifānos : "Ba-ḥeg ʼAmlak". Koléǧvil, Minisotā [Minnesota]. ISBN 0-9706663-2-2. OCLC 60712518.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  43. ^ Getatchew Haile; ጌታቸው ኃይሌ (2002). YaʼAbā Bāḥrey dersatoč ʼOromočen kamimalakatu léloč sanadoč gārā. activeth century Bāḥrey, activeth century ባሕርይ. Koléǧvil (Minisotā) [Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota]. ISBN 0-9706663-1-4. OCLC 60741817.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  44. ^ Getatchew Haile (2000). Bāḥra ḥasāb : yazaman qwaṭarā qersāčen katārik māstāwašā gārā (1st ed.). Koléǧvil, Minisotā: G. Haile. ISBN 0-9706663-0-6. OCLC 52508602.
  45. ^ Getatchew Haile (1993). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. X: Project Numbers 4001–5000. Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.
  46. ^ a b c Haile, Getatchew (2010). "Ethiopia" (PDF). In Patte, Daniel (ed.). The Cambridge dictionary of Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-00792-4. OCLC 707078776.
  47. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1992). "Review of Beauty of the Creation (Śənä Fəṭrät)". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 253–255. doi:10.1017/S1356186300002443. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25182514. S2CID 162743774.
  48. ^ Irvine, A. K. (June 1985). "Getatchew Haile: The different collections of nägś hymns in Ethiopic literature and their contributions. (Oikonomia. Quellen und Studien zur Orthodoxen Theologie, Bd. 19.) [viii], [104] PP. Erlangen: Lehrstuhl für Geschichte und Theologie des christlichen Ostens, 1983". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 48 (2): 364. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00033632. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 177283389.
  49. ^ Getatchew Haile (1979). A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. IV: Project Numbers 1101–1500. Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. Collegeville (Minn.): Hill Monastic Manuscript Library.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Getatchew Haile.
Authority control databases
Categories