Konso - History and Cultural Relations

Konso traditions suggest a complex pattern of migration into their present territory over the last thousand years, but the predominant cultural influence has been that of the Borana. Close similarities also exist with the neighboring Gauwada, G idole, and Burji. The Konso were conquered by the army of Emperor Menelik II in 1897, and since that time have been subject to the Ethiopian state. No attempt was made to convert them to Coptic Christianity, however, and government authority has been limited to collecting taxes, preventing warfare, and the introduction of Ethiopian courts of law and police. The inclusion of the Konso within the Ethiopian state encouraged the growth of trade and the use of money, but markets are an ancient feature of Konso society, and they have long been familiar with salt-bar currency and the Maria Theresa dollar. Salt was the most significant import in precolonial times; it was exchanged for coffee and craft products. The Norwegian Lutheran Mission arrived in 1954 and established a school and clinic; a government school was also established a few years later. Until about the mid-1960s, road communications were poor, and the Konso were consequently isolated from social developments in other parts of Ethiopia. Major roadworks were undertaken in the mid-1980s.