Some Aspects of Social Organization and Indigenous Resource Management Practices in Awi Zone, Amhara National Regional State (ANRS), Northwest Ethiopia

The people of Awi have succeeded in preserving their age-old traditions that are handed down from generation to generation. Traditional social organizations and labor exchanging forms, aimed at mutual aid and close cooperation either in pleasure or grief are among the many traditions. In Awi farm land and soil fertility management systems employ three major types of strategies in order to manage the organic matter and chemical fertility of the cultivated soils: Mixed cropping rotational cropping and indigenous organic practices. Irrigation is the artificial application of water to soil for the purpose of crop production. The major purpose of this paper is, therefore, to bring out the traditional social organizations and labor exchanging forms that have been practiced in Awi. It also attempts to assess and analyze the indigenous soil fertility management systems as well as the indigenous managements of river waters for irrigation. In the course of the study, I have depended mainly on primary and secondary sources, as well as oral informants, and archival materials. For archives, I have used Debre Markos University Archive Center, Addis Ababa National Archives and Library Agency, Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Addis Ababa University and Awi Zone Agriculture Office. Indeed, gathering oral information from knowledgeable individuals through interviews was another important source data for the research. The interview was effectively addressed by qualitative approach through purposive sampling method. In the interview semi structured interview questions were designed for acquiring valuable information about the study. The age and the ability to remember the past events and the level of participation in the local affairs were given emphasis for the selection of informants. The data which I collected from oral sources were crosschecked with archival and secondary sources before interpretation. Thus, the consideration of the land tenure system and the social structure as well as taxation system in Agaw Meder (presently Awi Zone) helps to study and investigate not only the study area but also to comprehend other areas regarding the issue.


III.Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study have emanated from the significance of the topic selected. Its general objective is to assess the traditional social organizations and the indigenous resource management systems history that have been practiced in Awi since the earliest times. The study has also the following specific objectives. It is intended to: a) Bring out some of the traditional social organizations and labor exchanging forms that have been practiced in Awi. b) Investigate and analyze the cropping patterns as well as the indigenous soil fertility management systems. c) Identify the strengths and limitations of the indigenous soil fertility management systems d) Explore the indigenous water resource management IV. Significance of the study As it is mentioned earlier, although the people of Awi have contributed much economically, socially and politically for the development of the country, their history connected with the traditional social organizations and the indigenous resource management practices has not thoroughly been studied. Therefore, this study hopes to fill some of the gap in the socio-economic history of the Awi. It may help to the peasants of Awi to be aware of the limitations in utilizing indigenous soil fertility practices. It also serves as a springboard for other researchers to conduct deep study on the related topics.

V. Methodology
The study is based on primary and secondary sources, as well as on qualitative data from key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Primarily, an intensive reading of secondary sources has been made in order to establish a general frame work. Then, thirty two farmers and seven governmental officials were interviewed by using structured questionnaires. Discussions were also held with nine groups of elders selected from villages located in Banja, Ankesha, Fagita. Lekoma, Dangla, and Zigem wärädas. Each one of these groups comprised of five to seven elders and overall more than 42 elders were involved in the discussions. Therefore, much of the field work consists of extended interviews with key peasant informants and discussions with groups of elders.

Chapter Two Review of Related Literature
Until recently Ethiopian history was mostly the history of the state. Almost it was mainly state centered and institutional in character. It tended to extol the centralizing and unitary role of Ethiopian monarchs (C. Clapham, 2000:38). Furthermore, the historical studies of Ethiopia mostly tend to focus on events at or near the center of the political power (A. Triulzi, 2002:277). Thus, the study of several ethnic groups and communities, who have economically, socially and politically contributed a lot to the development of the country, has been neglected. This in turn has constituted one of the major gaps in our knowledge of Ethiopian History Among the many peoples of Ethiopia that played a great role in the socio-economic and political development of the country but who has not comprehensive and satisfactory scholarly written materials are the Awi. In fact, few scholars have attempted to provide some historical and linguistic studies about them.
George A. Lipscky (1967)  On the traditional belief of the Agaws [Awi] J. Bruce (1790) and Torrey Fuller (1970) have contributed much. Generally speaking, although few Ethiopian scholars and foreign travelers provided some works, most of them are fragmented and others are dealing with the Agaws relations with the Aksumite kingdom and with the efforts of the Gondarine kings to incorporate into the overall administrative structure of the Ethiopian Christian Kingdom and the development that followed.
More than others, however, it is Taddesse Tamrat who has made a great effort to interpret and reconstruct the history of Awi from the 6 th to the 17 th centuries. In his classic work, Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270-1527, Taddesse convincingly argues that the Agaws [Awi] were one of the principal founders and major pillars of Ethiopian civilization from antiquity to medieval times Then, in his later studies, he focused more exclusively on the Agaws [Awi] of Gojam in which he showed the repeated efforts of the Gondarine kings to incorporate as well as evangelize them.
Therefore, despite their history attached with the rapid growth of their involvement in the political life of the country, no scholarly significant and comprehensive historical study has been made on, above all, the traditional social organizations and indigenous resource management practices that have been practiced in Awi. In this paper my intention is to focus on some aspects of traditional organizations and traditional labor exchanging forms. An attempt is also made to assess and analyze the indigenous resource management practices that are connected mainly with soil fertility and utilization of river water for irrigation.

Chapter Three Some Aspects of Social Organizations
Like their ancestors, the people of Awi are settled agriculturalists and cattle raisers. To this effect, in Awi both livestock and crop production constitute integral component of the farming system. Although they are surrounded in the west and south west by the ethnic groups of Gumz and Shinasha, respectively, and in the South by the Oromo of East Wollega and in the North and North East and East by the Amhara, they still preserve their culture, language and social customs. In this chapter an attempt has been made to investigate and analyze some aspects of traditional social organizations and labor exchanging forms that have been practiced in Awi.

Division of Labor and House Hold Decision Making.
In the tradition of the Awi, women are not only wives, mothers and housewives, but also land owners, farmers and decision makers. They have actively been involved in agriculture, trade, production of cloth, as well as carrying of both fire wood and water. The preparation and selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are women's' concern.
In Awi women own resources jointly with men, and decisions in using resources are usually made at the household level. The cognate or bilateral descent system of the Awi is reflected in women's' participation equally with men in the production process and utilizing of resources. Thus, women (wives') in Awi have greater in puts in decisions affecting the family. These inputs frequently involve decisions regarding cultivation, land use and cropping plans. In making resource management decisions, the amount of power in which a wife or husbands has, however, depended on the extent of individual's labor contribution for a specific item of production. For instance, women (wives) have equal power in discussing and deciding with men (husbands) as to what portion of the produced grain should be stored and what portion should be taken to market for sale, because both have participated equally in the production process of grain. Whereas, the income earned from the sale of araqe and tella would be women's', because it is their concern. 9 milk In spite of this, however, there is certain gender based activities /tasks/. Domestic activities, especially household chores, are predominantly the sphere of women. These include the care of children and their socialization, preparing food, cleaning house, fetching water, getting milk, production of household utensils and spinning cotton thread to produce traditional cloth, like gabi, Kuta, In addition to this, cultivation of home stead farm is mainly women's concern. Activities like ploughing, sowing, hewing wood, are performed by men. In Awi, men, particularly elders are spending their spare time (especially on Sabbath) in attending debates and settling disputes." 10

Traditional Labor Exchanging forms
In Awi there are different types of traditional labor exchanging forms, i.e, in group or individual forms. In spite of a slight difference in the names these labor exchanging forms are in fact common in many parts of rural Ethiopia. In the Awi tradition, although mutual aid and co-operation are expected to be forth coming from relatives of one's mother or father especially in times of emergency like death, illness, or shortage of labor during constructing a house or harvesting or in times of wedding, labor exchanging trend depending on village or parish is also common. In this section, I have given much of the focus for the two prominent labor exchanging forms: Wubiri and Wonfel. 11

Wubiri
Wubiri is analogous with the labor exchanging form of the Amhara peasants, Debo. The concept of Wubiri is originated from the idea of reciprocity, i.e, practice of making mutual concessions and it is associated more with social and mutual co-operation. Wubiri is formed by a group of peasants, depending either on village or parish. In certain activities which need more and more man power, like harvesting grain or threshing corn, wubiri members would appear in order to work together on each other's farm plot. Wubiri has also been applied when household requires additional labor while constructing a house or preparing a wedding ceremony, and festivities. In addition to this, if one has a feast-day or a special event ceremony that comes annually, Wubiri members would be summoned to help and perform different tasks connected with the festivity. 12

Wonfel
Wonfel is another traditional labor or farm implements exchanging form .Unlike Wubiri, Wonfel is an understanding made, in many cases, between two or three peasants to assist each other in labor. In addition to exchanging of labor, Wonfel is associated with exchanging of farm implements necessary for ploughing or harvesting grain.. For instance, in time of ploughing if one of the Wonfel members suffered from having a single ox or horse, the other member (s) would give his ox or horse. Similarly, if one suffered from shortage of sickle in time of harvesting grain, other members would afford their sickles. 13

Chapter Four Indigenous Resource Management Practices in Awi
The term resource management employed in this chapter refers to the indigenous management of farm land, and soil fertility as well as the utilization of water resources for irrigation

Land Use and Indigenous Soil Fertility Management
In this sub-section the paper primarily treats the cropping patterns of the Awi peasants. An attempt has also been made to assess and analyze the indigenous soil fertility management systems with their strengths and limitations. Indigenous management of river water for irrigation is also discussed in brief.

Cropping patterns of the Awi peasants
According to the basis of the Zonal Agriculture and Rural Development Office suggestion, in all ecological zones of the Awi zone mixed farming has been an age-old practice, and relying up on the climatic condition, the Awi peasants produce a large variety of agricultural products, like cereal crops, oil seeds, pulses, vegetables and fruits. Of the cereal crops, ţéff (Eragrostis ţéff) is the leading crop that grows abundantly in Awi Zone.
Depending on the type of the soil, the peasants of Awi grow at least three major verities of tef: nech ţéff (white) which refers to its color; debo ţéff (which is not completely white or red): Qey ţéff (Red tef). Barley (Sorghum bicolor) is another major dega zone-crop that grows in Awi zone relying up on its color, quality, duration of the growing period, and yielding capacity, in Awi barley has different names.
 Dubar: high yielding barley but grows late  Semereta: an early maturing variety and white in color.  Mesno: another early maturing variety  Nech gebs: refers to white colored barley and its cost is relatively expensive.  Sendemena: resembles nech gebs( lit, white barley ) in color. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the hard seed of food plants that grows in Awi zone abundantly. Maize is also common crop that grows particularly in Azena, Dengla, Jawi, Ankesha and Guangua wärädas. In addition to cereal crops, the Awi peasants have been growing oil seeds, pulses, vegetables and fruits. 14

Indigenous Soil Fertility Management Practices
In Awi the traditional soil fertility management system employs three major types of strategies in order to manage the organic matter and chemical fertility of cultivated soils. Mixed farming and rotational cropping practices are primarily employed to raise the nutrient contents, while organic manure is added to improve both the physical and chemical fertility of the soils.

Mixed Cropping
Mixed cropping is one of the traditional fertility management systems which have been practiced by the peasants of Awi. During a one month field work, the researcher has observed when two kinds of crops are sowed or grown together on the same farm land: linseed with gibto, niger seed with gibto, barley with niger seed, maize with potato, and all are inter-cropped in one farmland. According to elders from Awi, maize and barley are sowed on the same farm land with a little time gap. They also asserted that gibto is often used as catalyst field peas when it is intercropped with niger seed, barley and linseed. 15

Rotational Cropping
Rotational cropping is a system by which nitrogen restoration is attained by alternating different types of crops on the same cultivated field (Forcella and Burnside, 1994). The practice is particularly effective in maintaining the nitrogen status of the soils where leguminous plants are included in the rotation. Leguminous are very effective in restoring nitrogen because of the activity of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobium) in the root modules. 16 According to my informants, ţéff fields are often replaced by early sowing of barley. Barley is sown in early April and harvested in early July, followed by ţéff harvest at the beginning of December; thus, sowing ţéff proceeding by barley is the most common crop rotation. Regarding the reason, informants said that, whenever field has been preceded by barley, the soil fertility would not be wasted. It is also reported that sowing barely on ţéff fields would develop a resistance to weeds. Similarly, finger millet was succeeded by niger seed and barley. Traditionally, rotational cropping on the walka soils of some areas; farmers are involved in cultivating horse beans, maize and barley in a sequence. Some variants of crop rotation replace wheat for maize, and ţéff for wheat and barley, especially on the walka soils. 16

Indigenous Organic Manu ring Practices: Organic Manuring Using Dung
Using organic manure (figh) is another indigenous soil fertility management system and it has been practiced by the peasants of Awi since the earliest times. Organic manure (Figh) is added to improve both the physical and chemical fertility of the soil, because it contains not only organic matter but also large amount of nitrogenous compounds incorporate through the urine." 17 Peasants are very well aware of the differences in the effectiveness of the various types of the livestock manure as fertilizer. Regarding the difference, peasants from Ankesha, Guagusa and Banja wärädas claim that cattle dung is more useful than that of horses, sheep and goats. Peasants of Guangua and Dangla wärädas, on the other hand, suggest that sheep and goats dung provide the best manure when compared to cattle, horses and donkeys and according to them it is because of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content of their dung. From the general point of view, the findings indicate that the manure of oxen and cows is applied to the main crop lands, like ţéff, barley and wheat, whereas the manure of horses, donkeys, sheep, goats and household rubbish is used for the home stead garden. 18

A. Strengths of the Traditional Soil Fertility Management Practices
One of the features of the traditional soil fertility management practices that the peasants found attractive is their compatibility with their indigenous knowledge and farming systems. The practice of rotational cropping and preparation and use of organic manure does not depend on imported knowledge and managerial skills since these methods are familiar to the local farmers and thus, can be easily implemented by the farmers themselves. Furthermore the practices do not demand import of materials as they depend only on locally available resources. It must be noted that farmers are most likely to adopt and practice techniques that are of low /least/ cost, easy to implement and compatible with their management systems. Crop rotation also has a number of benefits to the farmers for not only improving the soil fertility but also for controlling the spread of weeds and disease causing organisms.

B. Problems of the Indigenous Soil fertility Management Practices
The traditional soil fertility management practices are not without limitations. According to my informants firstly, the rotational cropping system is becoming more difficult because of the increasing small size of land holdings. The farmer has to produce enough of the main staple food on the small area of land he owns and cannot afford to frequently cultivate the leguminous crops that were traditionally included in the rotational cropping. Secondly, it has also become very difficult for many of the farmers to obtain enough stable yard manure, the most important raw material for both fresh and composted figh. This is primarily because farmer's burn dried cattle dung as a source of fuel instead of using it as organic fertilizers, due to the severe shortage of fuel wood. The other reason for the shortage of manure is the very limited number of cattle owned by most farmers. In relation to this issue, my informants from Ankesha and Banja wärädas said that, 'in fact, where population density is low and areas where pasture and wood is large, farmers are able to keep large number of livestock which in turn provide sufficient cattle dung." They further said that, currently, the reduced pasture combined with the severe shortage of wood has made the system untenable. Finally, they pathetically point out that application of composted figh is currently possible for a few better farmers who own several head of cattle. 19

Water Resources Utilization for Irrigation
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to soil for the purpose of crop production. Irrigation water is supplied to supplement the water available from rainfall and the contribution to soil moisture from ground water. As it is well known, in many areas of the world the amount and timing of rain fall are not adequate to meet the moisture requirement of crops, thus irrigation is a good alternate and essential to raise crops necessary to meet the needs of food.
Irrigation is an age-old activity, as old as civilization. The increasing need for crop production for the growing population is causing the rapid expansion of irrigation. According to A.M. Michael in the comprehensive strategy needed for the conservation and development of water resources, several factors are to be kept in view. These include the availability of water, its location, distribution and variation in its occurrences, climatic conditions, nature of the soil, competing demands and socio-economic condition. In dealing with each of these, every effort must be made to make the use of water, so as to make possible a high level of continuous production. 20

Utilization of River Water Resources for Irrigation in Awi
In Awi zone, with the exception of few arid wärädas, irrigation is an age-old practice. The dependence of Awi's agriculture on irrigation has been recognized since the earliest times. According to the Awi elders, peasants of the Awi have been used to irrigate their crops with river waters since they settled in the present area and this trend has gradually been extended during the later periods.
Although irrigation is an age-old practice in almost all wärädas of the Awi zone, the five wärädas that account a very vast area in irrigation system are Ankesha, Guangua, Fagita-Lekoma, Guwagusa and Dangla respectively.
According to the 2012 report of the Awi zone Agriculture and Rural Development Office, the major Rivers  21 When one observes the report mentioned above, the irrigated areas were increased from year to year in a steadily manner, This is, in fact, not the effort of the farmers' themselves only, but it is also the role of the Zonal Administration, the Zonal Agriculture and Rural Development office and the wärädas Agriculture and Rural Development offices together with the Zonal and wäräda irrigation department members. All have played significant role in creating/developing/ awareness among the community; in conducting regular meetings with farmers within the irrigation block in order to discuss issues related to the operation and maintenance of the entire irrigation system; in promoting the use of water saving technologies in order to improve the overall water use efficiency and in facilitating the planning and implementation of irrigation extension activities, including training and demonstration.
Moreover, the role of water users' associations leaders (Ye Wuha Abat) literally "father of water" in preparing water distribution plan schedule for irrigation block, in coordinating and supervising the distribution and use of irrigation water and supervising and preparing a plan for the improvement of the canal and drainage system and in mediating and resolving any water-related disputes between farmers within the irrigation block is undeniable. By and large since the year 1999E.C in Awi Zone there is a steady and progressive development in irrigation. 22 In fact, the regional government of the Amhara National Regions State (ANRS) has recognized irrigation as a vital component for the improvement of food security in the Amhara region. However, according to the report stated in the annual magazine of the Amhara Irrigation Development and management Bureau, entitled "Sustainable Water Harvesting and Institutional Strengthening in Amhara Project", the performance of the existing irrigation schemes is below expectation. According to the report, this is because of the following reasons: i) Law participation of farmers in planning, designing and construction process. ii) Water shortage due to over topping caused by the poor physical conditions of the existing irrigation infrastructure iii) Inadequate maintenance of irrigation infrastructures and the water users' lack of funds for the proper management of irrigation systems. iv) Insufficient technical capacity of water users to operate and maintain their irrigation systems due to lack of training and regular technical support from the concerned government agencies. v) Poor transfer of appropriate irrigation technologies aimed at improved use efficiency. Nevertheless, to overcome these problems the Amhara Regional State Sustainable Water Harvesting… project is making every effort. The project co-ordinations have expressed the need to develop a cohesive strategy to improve Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) aimed at improving the performance of small-scale irrigation schemes in the Amhara region. Furthermore, based on the review of the existing strategies and practices in ANRS, as well as the experiences with the implementation of projects based on farmers' participation in the development of management of irrigation systems in various countries in Africa and elsewhere, Sustainable Water Harvesting and Institutional Strengthening in Amhara ( SWHISA) project has developed a step by step approach for the participatory development and management of irrigation system in the Amhara region. 23

Conclusion and Recommendation
Ethiopia is a culturally multi-furious and a 'poly' ethnic country. One of the several ethnic groups of the country, who formerly occupied large part of Gojjam region but presently confined themselves in the area what is today Awi zone are the Awis.
Awi Zone has remarkable physical features, characterized mainly by extensive plateaus, massive mountains, broken land and river gorges. The people, on the other hand, are settled agriculturalists and cattle raisers. They are also one of the Ethiopian ethnic groups who have preserved their own culture and identity.
In the tradition of the Awi, women are not only wives, mothers,…but also decision makers in resource management equally with men. In spite of such practices that reflect their equality, there are also certain activities that need the involvement of each sex.
The close co-operation that has been practiced either during feast or grief or during harvesting or threshing is one of the traditions. Together with this, what is interesting is the existence of traditional labor exchanging forms. Indeed, both traditions are associated with moral, social and economic co-operation.
The indigenous soil fertility management systems practiced by the peasants of the Awi are encouraging and acceptable by the people, because the expense is relatively low. Furthermore, crop rotation and organic manure provide the farmers with multiple benefits. They improve not only the chemical fertility but also the soil organic matter and its physical condition. Nevertheless, to meet the demand for great amount of production using only organic manure without artificial fertilizers would be impossible. To satisfy the demand for large quantity of production effectively, the most appropriate fertility management strategy is integrating both modern and traditional management practices (Collision, 1980: 381-389).
In Awi irrigation is one of age-old activities. Nevertheless, until recently, in most parts of the area the method of utilizing water resources for irrigation is traditional. Side by side, practicing scientific management of irrigation is also important, because on the one hand it provides the best insurance against weather-induced fluctuations in production and, on the other hand, it is the best way in which farmers can make their agriculture more profitable. Together with this, conjunctive use of canal water and ground water, particularly in the lower reach of the command area, where supply of canal water may be less reliable is very important. This is because of that during the non-rainy months, the Rivers flow can dwindle to a fraction of flood and some streams can dry Journal of Culture, Society and Development www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8400 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.56, 2020 43 up altogether. To sum up, the traditional social organizations and the indigenous resource management systems that have been practiced in the Awi zone have strong impression on the people of the regional state in general and on the immediate neighboring society in particular. Furthermore, establishing good relationships among the peasants of all wärädas of the Awi Zone has its own effect in sharing experiences.