The Ambivalent Legacy of Adwa: Cultivating Patriotic Solidarity & Cultural Diversity Alemayehu Fentaw There are few countries in Africa that are as enriched and burdened by the past as Ethiopia. 1 The Ambivalent Legacy of Adwa: Patriotic Solidarity & Cultural Diversity The legacy that the victory at Adwa left to the diverse cultural communities of Ethiopia is ambivalent. To the dismay of the diverse peoples of Ethiopia, who had fought back colonial rule successfully, successive rulers sought to create a modern, unitary state on the basis of a pan- EthiopiaŶ ŶatioŶal Đultuƌe, ďeŶt oŶ the suďoƌdiŶatioŶ of all of the ĐouŶtƌLJs Đultuƌal communities to the language and religion of the particular culture privileged by the state. Adwa did not only engender national pride for the diverse cultural communities of Ethiopia qua Ethiopians, but also engendered resentments against a dominant cultural community that seemed responsible for their unrequited dreams and humiliations qua cultural communities aspiring for full and equal recognition, which has been a subject of gross neglect by historians of modern Ethiopia, including professional, academic historiographers down to our time. Bahru )eǁde, foƌ edžaŵple, ǁƌites IŶ teƌŵs of ŶatioŶal psLJĐhologLJ, hoǁeǀeƌ, the Adǁa Vi ctory has continued to instill in successive generations of Ethiopians a deep sense of national pride and spiƌited ŶatioŶal iŶdepeŶdeŶĐe. But this is only part of the story. Commenting on the interpretive subjectivity and consequent ambivalent legacy of Adwa, Andreas Eshete writes, EǀeŶ eǀeŶts aŶd sLJŵďols ĐoŵŵaŶdiŶg ǁide ĐolleĐtiǀe pƌide aƌe Ŷot eƋuallLJ oƌ siŵilaƌlLJ pƌized by all peoples of Ethiopia. Victory at Adwa earned international recognition and prestige for MeŶiliks Ethiopia, aŶ aĐĐoŵplishŵeŶt aďout which conquered peoples of imperial Ethiopia, iŶĐludiŶg those that fought ǀaliaŶtlLJ at Adǁa, aƌe ďouŶd to ďe aŵďiǀaleŶt. 2