Concepts of Time in Ethiopian Culture A Cyclical-Linear Perspective

  ABSTRACT : It is generally accepted that early civilizations–especially those steeped in religion–viewed time as a cyclical event. John S. Mbiti in his book, African Religions and philosophy (1969) felt that Africans understood or perceived time as a solely cyclical event. Revolving around the harvest and recurring religious events, early populations, he posited, would never achieve modern-society status, forever stuck in a revolving door of time. Also the Ethiopian resercher Mesay Kebede (2013) accepted this idea. Considering its 4th century adoption of Christianity. Ethiopia is no exception. Yet, due to the introduction of Western values during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie in the 20th century, the perception of time as not only a cyclical, but also as a linear event, began seeping into the consciousness of the society. Yet, in Ethiopia, evidence for both cyclical and linear time concepts were clear, despite its agrarian roots and history steeped in religion.