Zera Yakob's philosophy

Abstract

There is a need to read Zera Yakob's philosophy by relating it to a contextualized interpretationof how he came to write this philosophy. There is a need to produce plausible references andaccounts to demonstrate he wrote the Hateta. He wrote at a time when the EthiopianOrthodox faith was being assaulted by Portugese Jesuits. Philosophers such as ClaudeSummner, Charles Vernharn and others claim that his philosophy is on a par, if not even betterin many ways to the work of the so‐ called European philosophers. The claim that that the workwas actually written by Italian Jesuit D'Urbino rather than Zera Yakob appears to be afabricated account. What is important is not to be distracted by these claims, but move on toexplore the subtelty of Zera Yakob's original philosophy by re‐ reading the Hateta with theperspective of how new philosophical methodologies and insights are included or revealed init or can be extrapolated from it. Ethiopian philosophers must deeply get immersed inexcavating the originality of Ethiopian philosophy, that some philosophers claim is so deep thatEthiopia is indeed the originator of the philosophy of harmony that will save the world.