Adwa: An African Victory (1999)

The story of the 1896 battle of Adwa is being told by Ethiopian-born director Haile Gerima. He explores European colonialism from an African perspective and the significance of the legendary battle that defeated the Italian expansionist movement and kept Ethiopia the one and only African country that was not occupied by a European colonial power in the last 200 years.

His argument is quite ambitious and perhaps not entirely justified throughout the movie: the battle of Adwa is a symbol of African liberation for Africans of all nations. It is a source of motivation that has inspired other African liberators in their quest of freeing Africa from colonialism. On one hand, it is true that the fact that Ethiopia has been the only internationally recognized sovereign African could have been a reason for admiration and hope on behalf of various African elites. But actually making the argument that the victory from Adwa was an African victory, profoundly embedded in the political culture of the African people can be fairly misleading: most African liberation fighters were driven by the local specificities and the local hardships. If they found hope and faith in a successful independence story, that might have been Ghana, the first Sub-Saharan country that became independent in 1957, and not Ethiopia. That being said, the documentary is worth watching because it presents how a historical event has been filtrated through the public consciousness of the Ethiopian people. Haile Gerima brings together Ethiopians from very different backgrounds and allows them to tell the story of the battle from their own perspective.

It is obvious that the astounding victory of Emperor Menelik and Empress Taitu to defend their nation against the far better-equipped invading Italian army has served as a source of inspiration for millions of Ethiopians along the years. Grandfathers, fathers, teachers, brothers have instilled in the new generations the passion and the national pride that was sourced in this amazing victory. In fact, the director confesses early on that he came back to Ethiopia to understand, discover and see with his own eyes whether the Battle from Adwa was indeed an amazing victory or simply a myth. He achieves his goal by talking to Ethiopian historians, teachers, professors, singers, artists, old people, children, and random people he meets along the way. He also looks at documents, paintings, engravings, and testimonies that are also shown and explored in this documentary.

The battle of Adwa occurred in 1896, at a time when European powers were advancing in all directions on the African continent, taking over the land and the people either peacefully or by force. As one historian mentions in the documentary, Italians saw Ethiopia as their birthright and consequently desired to take over it. Emperor Menelik II was able to unify all the local factions and bring together an impressive army of about 150,000 soldiers outnumbering the Italians 10 to 1 or even 15 to one. He did that while astutely deceiving European powers by convincing them that he was simply following their directions. After the Italians lost the fights, they left thousands of riffles and means of transportation behind and fled the country.

Why watch the movie?

The documentary is an interesting sociological exercise that is focused on the politics of experience. It shows how very different people think of a particular historical event, what meaning they gain out of that, and how that experience is translated into their every day life. Needless to say, the victory, while significant, has had hardly any consequence on people’s lives. The documentary is worth watching if you have an interest in Ethiopian history or African history in general. It is also an interesting documentary from a visual point of view as it creates a very appealing product by using very limited historical data.

This documentary is rated 8 / 10