Joireman Awraja Courts, Ethiopia and Eritrea, 1947-1974

This data set consists of archival records collected from three awraja courts in Ethiopia and Eritrea in order to better understand the country's tenure system as well as the position and intentions of the Ethiopian imperial government. The sub-provinces that were chosen were Tegulet and Bulga in Shoa, Sidama in Sidamo, and Hamasien in Eritrea. The court records were found in Debre Berhan, Yirgalem, and Asmara, respectively. The sites were chosen because they represent three distinct patterns of land tenure in the Horn of Africa, in areas that were all under the aegis of the Ethiopian state during the period of this study. Pre-revolutionary data were selected because with the revolution came the Nationalization of Lands Proclamation, which inter alia put a stop to land litigation. The Proclamation also prevented any new court cases over land from being instigated. The unit of observation is court records for individual cases. Demographic variables in this study include the race, ethnic group, and gender of individuals.