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Critical thinking, the disciplined process of analyzing, evaluating, reflecting and reasoning to form a belief or action, used to be a fundamental course requirement for students in ancient #Ethiopia. How did they learn it? Through an art of Poetry called Qene (ቅኔ).
Qene is a very short poem. It is cryptic. The obvious surface level meaning of the poem is referred as the Wax (ሰም), while the hidden message is referred as the GOLD (ወርቅ).
Wax and Gold poetry is the most complex form of Ethiopian literary traditions. The exercise is made more complex by the fact that some words have double or triple meanings.
It was used to express warnings, anger, empathy, compassion, humor, flattery, objection, love, poverty, freedom, and even insult/criticize authorities publicly for abuse of power.
The Japanese Haiku, a similar short poem, is celebrated and written by authors worldwide. One might wonder, will the Ethiopian Qene also one day be elevated to the position it deserves among the most powerful forms of literature and exercise of critical thinking in the world?
