| Falashas is historically living in northern Ethiopia.Their original religion was more Judaized than the Ethiopian Orthodoxy.They have been religiously transformed since the 20 th century.They are African aborigines,but eventually immigrated to Israel from the end of the 20 th century to the beginning of the 21 st century.The research content of this paper is the identity change of this ethnic group.The ethnic group has undergone two identity changes in history,the first being from Ayhud,the Ethiopian “Jewish” to Falasha,and the second being from Falasha to Ethiopian Jews.This paper begins with the interpretation of Ethiopian religious culture,indicating that Jewish elements are infiltrated in Ethiopia’s native culture.It is the common cultural heritage of Ethiopian Orthodox and "Jewish".At the same time,their historical narrative is used to call Orthodox "Israel" and call the pagans "Jews".Therefore,the "Jews" refer to many different pagan groups in the context of ancient Ethiopia,which is different from the meaning of Jews in our current general sense.The "Jews" in the history of Ethiopia became the material of the Farahs to build their own history,helping the Farahs to form and strengthen their identity.The "Jews" in the history of Ethiopia became the spiritual martyrs of Falashas,and Ayhue was the ancestor of the Farahsha blood.The word "Ayhud" first appeared in the 14 th century to represent pagans and could be seen as another name for the bad "Jewish." In ancient times,the Ethiopian government and religion were united,and Ayhud became the object of the Ethiopian rulers.Ayhud around Lake Tana was deprived of land during the reign of Emperor Yeshaq,thus beginning their identity transformation.At first,the economic feature of “landless people” was used to identify Falashas.However,Falashas around Lake Tana quickly contacted many monks who had differences with the Orthodox Church.With the help of the latter,Falashas formed their own religious system.This not only enriches their identity,but also distinguishes them from other Ayhud.Falasha literature has also helped to establish their identity.The connotation of identity was later developed.During the period of resistance from 1468 to 1632,the early days of identity formation and development,they were pagans and enemies of the emperor;during the Gondar period from 1632 to 1769,they linked the identity During the period,Falashas also got rid of the label of marginalized groups;during the Era of the Princes or Judges between 1769 and 1855,the situation of Falashas fell,And the religious culture as an identity binder was almost destroyed.The priestly class initiated a religious revival in the mid-19 th century,and the identity of Falasha was re-established.Unlike Ayhud’s transformation to Falasha,Falasha’s transformation into Ethiopian Jews is primarily a result of external forces.The identity of the Ethiopian Jews is the Jews living in or from Ethiopia.The "Jews" here are the Jews we refer to in the general sense.Beginning in the second half of the 18 th century,Western explorers discovered Falashas,followed by the arrival of Western missionaries who opened the door to Falashas to the outside world.During this period,the identity of Ethiopian Jews was imposed on Falashas by outsiders,and the core of Falasha did not change.Until the arrival of Jacques Faitlovitch,he opened schools,developed Falasha education,distributed Jewish-related literature,and became a middleman between Western Jewish society and Falashas.Without fully understanding the true history of Falasha,Faitlovitch believed that Falasha is Jewish descendants and devoted his life to transforming Falasha,hoping that the latter would be accepted by Western Jewish society.Faitlovitch basically completed his mission to transform the identity of Falasha.Through the influence of World War II,the Jewish world also unexpectedly recognized the Ethiopian Jews,and after the founding of Israel,the Israeli government undertook the work of Faitlovitch and promoted the return of Ethiopian Jews to the promised land. |
