BY MULUGETA GUDETA
Every people of a nation have what we call a national character which is defined as, “shared beliefs or perceptions of personality characteristics common to members of a particular nation held by the members of the nation or by any other groups of people.” Like any people in the world, Ethiopians too have their own national character. Ethiopians are largely known as being kind, humble, reserved, hard working and hospitable to name but a few aspects of their national character. The national character is a broad and amorphous approach to defining the national character of people in any country.
If we go by the above definition for instance, Africans in general are known to be resilient, hard working, optimistic and spiritual people. Americans may be seen as being fun loving, carefree, generous, energetic and law-abiding. The French may be considered romantic, hedonistic or pleasure-seeking, fashionable, artistic, cultured and even philosophical. The Chinese national character or the people may be considered revolutionary, hard working, creative, patient, optimistic and cooperative…etc. It all depends on how you look at these people and the manifestations of their national characters. National character is formed through long centuries of living together as people of a certain nation and forming common habits, ways of life or perceptions of the external world.
Within the national character, in a particular, society or community display specific or particular behaviors and modes of interaction with one another. They cultivate certain patterns of behavior that determine their reactions in specific situations or environments. Ethiopians for instance are consider reserved or keeping a silent comportment in certain situations which is considered by tradition as being the right way to show respect to others. On the contrary selfishness is regarded by society as being the opposite of Christian values that encourage community. Showing love in public towards the opposite sex may seen as a sign of bad upbringing. A girl is expected not to express her love for the opposite sex until the latter makes the first advance. Modesty or humility is encouraged as a sign of good upbringing and so on. There are good personal qualities as there are bad ones that are considered unbefitting of decent human behavior within society. Human character may be both innate as well as acquired from society. Environment plays a role in shaping human behavior as do genes. People generally display a common appreciation of good behavior or character but they sharply differ when it comes to controversial attitudes in society.
One example may be the attitude that prevents people from doing what they think or thinking what is right for fear of what other people might think about them. This is what we call “yilugnta”, (the feeling of what would people say), a widespread behavior common among people everywhere in this country and considered both good and bad depending on the circumstances and perceptions.
“Yilugnta” is an Amharic term that portrays a specific psychological attitude or a state of mind that often prevents people from doing what they want or refrain from saying what they think. “Yilugnta” literally means “What would others say if I do this or that or say this or that? Through time this particular condition has entered what Swiss psychologist Carl Yung would call, “the collective unconscious” which is defined as “a term introduced to represent a form of the unconscious (that part of the mind containing memories and impulses of which the individual is not aware) common to mankind as a whole and originating in inherited structure of the brain.”
According to Jung’s definition, “the unconscious includes individuals’ personal unconscious and that which they have inherited from their ancestors (the collective unconscious)”. He classified people into introverted and extroverted ones depending on whether they are open to the outside world or inward looking or “inward feeling”.
What we call “yilugnta” is in a way a typically introverted behavior because it is inward looking and not extroverted or outward looking. Extroverted people feel and do what they think is right and do not care what other people might say or think about it. They are not worried by external reaction as long as they satisfy their inner cravings or their needs for action or expression.
People may feel “yilugnta” for big as well as small reasons like when people worry about what their friends, families or neighbors would say if they do something considered bad behavior by society although it may not be so in reality. Many people for instance refrain from going to night clubs after a certain age fearing criticism by their peers who think that night clubs are reserved only for youngsters while in reality there is nothing bad about people of any age to go to night clubs as long as they enjoy going there seeking relaxation through music or dance. “What others would say if they see me dancing at a night club at my age?” is the typical feeling of “yilugnta” long-entrenched in our social attitude or culture.
Many families might go bankrupt during holidays after inviting people to their homes for dinner that they could not afford on ordinary days simply because they think they should prepare a costly dinner like their neighbors next door did. “What would they say if I invite them to a miserable dinner consisting of ordinary food and drink?” or “What would they think about me if I do not invite them at all while I was enjoying their foods and drinks last evening?” The answer to these questions is clear. They may say you might not have enough money or that you may be a miser; but they are not going to hate you because of that. The act of inviting them to dinner even if it consists of cheaper food and drink, is in itself a display of love and respect and the spirit of sharing which are signs of good behavior or more valuable than the foods and drinks.
There may be many introverted people in our society who could otherwise be talented but refrain from displaying their talents simply because they worry about being exposed to other people’s criticism. “What would others say if they find out that I am clever or better educated?” There may be both positive and negative reactions to a person displaying their talent. There will be people who appreciate or reject it as a sign of arrogance or self-esteem, which is not bad as such. This is something normal. Yet introverted people worry too much about what other people think and choose to hide from public display of how smart they are which is bad for them. This kind of introversion may lead to pointless anxiety that keep people locked in their private universe.
There is also a positive side to “yilugnta” which consists of looking at oneself critically in certain situations. If a wealthy person refrains from conspicuous consumption and public display of riches on the ground what people would say in a community where many people go to bed every night with empty stomachs. if this person worries about what others people around him would say about his opulent life in the midst of misery and tries to help some of the disadvantaged members of society, well this may be considered a good kind of “yilugnta”. Being insensitive to the needs of other less privilege people around us is considered more than rudeness. It is sometimes rightly regarded as a sign of cruelty.
“Yilugnta” can therefore be of a positive or negative kind depending on the situations. As a society we are often advised to consider the positive manifestations of “yilugnta” and avoid the negative ones. it is a matter of balancing the good and the bad features and creating harmony among people. Both introverted and extroverted.
There are many positive things that we can learn from other cultures that promote courage and boldness in expressing our needs or rightfully defending our interests. Westerners are considered bold and outspoken as far as their personal interests are concerned. They know when to say no to something that infringes upon their personal interests and speak out their minds when they need to. This is in sharp contrast to our “yilugnta” culture that forces us to abandon our interests for the sake of no one else but the fear of what others would say if we behave in a bold or outspoken manner to defend our interests.
The positive features of the Ethiopian national character far outweigh the negative ones but we are still a lot of work to do to get rid of our deeply entrenched fear of what other people would say about us if we act or think in a certain way. It may be high time to damp this notorious culture of “yilugnta” once and for all and adopt bolder attitudes when it comes to expressing ourselves or defending our personal interests.
The Ethiopian Herald June 29/2023
