01274nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001653002200042653001500064653001900079653001500098653001200113653001300125653001100138653001300149653001200162100001400174245004500188856009000233300001000323490000700333050001600340520067600356       2010                            d10aTwentieth-century10aTraditions10aSocial history10aMendicancy10aleprosy10aLalibela10aHamina10aEthiopia10aCharity1 aKebede MT00aOrigins and transformation of the Hamina  uhttp://jambo.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_suppl/abstracts/pdf/ASM_s41/6.mesele.pdf  a63-790 v41  aMESELE 20103 aThe Hamina are a group of people who are practicing song-mendicancy in order
to ward off debilitating physical impacts of leprosy coming down from a legendary leper
ancestor. Leprosy is an age-old scourge of humanity with an unrestrained power of shaping
human identities including identities in Ethiopia. Its age-old prevalence, mysterious pathology
and dreadful physical impacts helped leprosy to secure a special place in the Ethiopian traditions
throughout history. This paper intends to examine the social history of the Hamina with
parallel evaluations of medical, social, economic, political and cultural changes that occurred
in twentieth-century Ethiopia.