Slavery Beyond History: Contemporary Concepts of Slavery and Slave Redemption in Ganta (Gamo) of Southern Ethiopia

Slavery was officially abolished in Ethiopia by Emperor Haile Sellassie in 1942. Despite the abolitionary law slaves and their descendants have continually been marginalized in the country (especially in the peripheral parts of southwestern Ethiopia) from the time the law passed until today. In the Gamo community of southern Ethiopia, descendants of former slaves carry the identity of their ancestors and as the result they are often harshly excluded. Today, not only are they considered impure, but their perceived impurity is believed to be contagious; communicable to non-slave descendants during rites of passage. In order to escape the severe discrimination, slave descendants change their identity by redeeming themselves through indigenous ritual mechanism called wozzo ritual. However, the wozzo ritual builds the economy of former slave masters and ritual experts while leaving redeemed slave descendants economically damaged. This study is both diachronic and synchronic; it looks at the history of slavery, contemporary perspectives and practices of slavery and slave redemption in Ganta (Gamo) society of southern Ethiopia.