Philosophical treatise by the Ethiopian philosophers Zera Yacob and Walda Heywat
For the Egyptian activist and writer, see Sherif Hatata.
Hatata (/hɑːˈtɑːtə/; Ge'ez: ሐተታ ḥätäta "inquiry") is a Ge'ez term describing an investigation/inquiry. The hatatas are two 17th century ethical and rational philosophical treatises from present-day Ethiopia: One hatata is written by the Abyssinian philosopher Zara Yaqob (Zär'a Ya'eqob/Zera Yacob, in his text also named Wärqe, 1600–1693), supposedly in 1668. The other hatata is written by his patron's son, Walda Heywat (Wäldä Hewat) some years later, in 1693 or later. Especially Zera Yacob's inquiry has been compared by scholars to Descartes'.[1] But while Zera Yacob was critical towards all religions, including his "own" Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Descartes followed a more traditional religious perspective: "A major philosophical difference is that the Catholic Descartes explicitly denounced ‘infidels’ and atheists, whom he called 'more arrogant than learned' in his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)."[2]
In late 2023, De Gruyter published the first English translation outside of Ethiopia, "The Hatata Inquiries: Two Texts of Seventeenth-Century African Philosophy from Ethiopia about Reason, the Creator, and Our Ethical Responsibilities". The translation is a team-work by the leading Ge'ez scholars Ralph Lee (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies/SOAS), Mehari Worku (Catholic University of America, years of training from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), Jeremy R. Brown (Hill Museum of Manuscripts), and Wendy L. Belcher (Professor, Princeton University). In the Introduction, Belcher writes: "Despite their importance, the texts lacked rigorous, accurate, and fluid translations into English, ones that took advantage of recent scholarship on the texts and their digitization. Our book now provides that as well as information useful for different audiences. Undergraduates and the public now have many footnotes that explain the texts’ cultural and religious context. Scholars now have a more comprehensive translation, one that uses the two editions of the one text. They also have a sophisticated scholarly apparatus that explains philological issues and notes the texts’ many intertexts. Finally, we corrected some errors in earlier editions and translations, including that of one author's birth and residence. As a result, we have put the study of these texts on firmer footing."[3]
^"Zara Yacob". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^"Yacob and Amo: Africa's precursors to Locke, Hume and Kant – Dag Herbjørnsrud | Aeon Essays". Aeon. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^Belcher, Wendy Laura (20 November 2023), "Introduction to the Hatata Inquiries", Introduction to the Hatata Inquiries, De Gruyter, p. 1, doi:10.1515/9783110781922-001/html, ISBN 978-3-11-078192-2, retrieved 28 December 2023
Hatata (/hɑːˈtɑːtə/; Ge'ez: ሐተታ ḥätäta "inquiry") is a Ge'ez term describing an investigation/inquiry. The hatatas are two 17th century ethical and rational...
Sharif Hatata (Arabic: شريف حتاتة; 13 September 1923 – 22 May 2017) was an Egyptian doctor, author and communist activist. Hatata was born in Egypt on...
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such as Zera Yacob (1599–1692) and his student Walda Heywat, who wrote Hatata (Inquiry) in 1667 as an argument for the existence of God. Ethiopian literature...
Magdy Hatata (born 1941) is an Egyptian military officer who held various positions during the Presidency of Hosni Mubarak. Hatata was born in 1941. He...
"Preface". In Lee, Ralph; Worku, Mehari; Belcher, Wendy Laura (eds.). The Hatata Inquiries. De Gruyter. pp. IX–XIV. doi:10.1515/9783110781922-203. ISBN 978-3-11-078192-2...
(1599–1692) is the most important exponent of this renaissance. His treatise Hatata (1667) is a work often included in the narrow canon of universal philosophy...
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in literature – John Milton's Paradise Lost, China Illustrata (Kircher), Hatata (Zera Yacob) 1668 in literature – Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's...
Yaqob is known for his treatise on religion, morality, and reason, known as Hatata. Gondarine art drew on the Byzantine world’s religious motifs, with elements...
al-Sibai Abdel Moneim Ahmed Ghallush Ali Hefzy Youssef Sabry Abu Talib Magdy Hatata Osama El-Gendi Muhammad Samir Abdel Aziz Abu al-Majd Haroun Abdel Fattah...
idiot ocha, moshatha, shaggz up country, rural home/area liet, noma, niku hatata, wa gwan in a mess, trouble Conte Tough person Oposh, momo, fatso, bazu...
Yacob, known for his treatise on religion, morality, and reason, known as Hatata and Walda Heywat became prominent at this time. "Gonder". Encyclopedia Britannica...
such as Zera Yacob (1599–1692) and his student Walda Heywat, who wrote Hatata (Inquiry) in 1667 as an argument of existence of God. Ethiopian literature...
plane. Pope and Rantung descended by parachute and landed on the edge of Hatata Island located west of Ambon. They were located by local residents who were...
Galal Sharawi (born 1946), retired senior Egyptian Air Force officer Magdy Hatata (born 1941), retired Egyptian military officer Magdy Ishak (born 1947 in...
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