A horse name is a secondary noble title or a popular name for members of Ethiopian royalty; in some cases the "horse names" are the only name known for a ruler. They take the form of "father of X", where "X" is the name of the person's warhorse. According to Mahtama Sellase "They were given to a man for âÂÂhis good administration, judgment and council in times of peace and his bravery and strategy in times of warâ The first named horse in the region's history was that of Amda Seyon I in his royal chronicle "The Glorious Victories." This would set the groundwork for the Horse name in Pre-Modern Ethiopia
Some known horse names of Ethiopian nobility include:
Bibliography
- Girma, Hewan. "Amharic Names, Naming Ceremonies and Memory." In Naming Africans: On the Epistemic Value of Names, pp. 37-59. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2023.
- Mehari, Krista. 2007. Throne names, pen names, horse names, and field names: A look at the significance of name change in the Ethiopian political sphere. http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1190&context=isp_collection&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Djournal%2520of%2520ethiopian%2520studies%2520%2522horse%2520names%2522%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CCEQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcollections.sit.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1190%2526context%253Disp_collection%26ei%3DGqdHT--kMeOn4gSk37jYDg%26usg%3DAFQjCNHod3f27w58U8Bwq5ugxzXGz0Cc_g#search=%22journal%20ethiopian%20studies%20horse%20names%22
- Pankhurst, Richard. 1989. The Early History of Ethiopian Horse-Names. Paideuma 35, pp. 197âÂÂ206.
- Mahatama-Sellasie Walda-Masqal. 1969. A Study of the Ethiopian Culture of Horse Names. Journal of Ethiopian Studies Vol. 7, No. 2, pp
Notes
References