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Publication
Origins and transformation of the Hamina
Abstract
The 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.
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Type
Journal Article