The name Abyssinia, or better pronounced Habessinia, derived from the Arabic word Habesch, which signifies mixture or confusion, and was given to this country by the Arabs on account of the mixed character of the people. There were several instances in the history when Ethiopia's prominence reached its pinnacle: Ethiopia inspired the world as one of the pioneers of early civilization, not to mention its reputation as the cradle of humanity. It has seen both fortune and adverse. There were also times when its eminence hit rock bottom; when Ethiopia unwillingly developed ill repute as well as sympathy among countries for being a land of despondency and famines. However, one can say confidently that Ethiopia has travelled the distance from the glorious ancient civilization to the present, still travelling with extra vigor.The past millennium saw Ethiopia prosper as well as decline both politically and economically. The new Ethiopian millennium that started on 12 September 2007 gives great hopes and promises and, a chance to introspect its past as an incentive to energize and move forward. The diverse issues that this book addresses will be useful to any person who would like to know something more about Ethiopia. These chapters would be a help to people of different category, like psychologists, educators, historians, sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and others who are interested in knowing something about Ethiopia a little deeper, as well as any simple visitor to the country. Another great beneficiary of this book would be the Ethiopian policy makers and practitioners of public health as well as social scientists. The increasing numbers of professionals concerned with cultural psychology should find this book helpful in understanding the basic cultural, religious and educational issues which are unique to Ethiopian context. It would serve very well as a supplemental text in many areas within psychology, in social science theory and methodology, cultural studies, social policy, and philosophy.
About the Author: Dr Janetius is an Indian Psychologist and an ardent qualitative researcher graduated from De La Salle University, Philippines. His doctoral research was on 'The emerging worldview and health practices of Cordillera indigenous people in the Philippines'. He was a teaching faculty of Psychology, University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Currently he is the Director of Centre for Counselling and Guidance, Sree Saraswathi Thyagaraja College, Pollachi, India; also heads a newly formed Psychology Department.