Editing Digging stick (section)

===East Africa===
==== Ethiopia  ====

The most common digging stick found in [[Ethiopia]] is the ''ankassay'' in [[Amharic]], a [[Semitic language]] spoken in [[Ethiopia]] and the second-most spoken Semitic language in the world. The ''ankassay'' is a single shaft that is about 4–5 feet in length with a socket-hafted pointed iron blade as the tip.<ref name="Simoons">Simoons, Frederick J. "The Forked Digging Stick of the Gurage", "[[Zeitschrift für Ethnologie]]", Berlin, Retrieved February 27, 2015.</ref>

Two other digging sticks are unique to the Harar region located in East-Central Ethiopia, which are considered to be unusual due to their function beyond the basic use of other digging sticks, and the use of one as a plough.

The ''deungora'' is a particularly long digging stick, which is about 110 centimetres, or approximately 3.6 feet, in length with a socket-hafted pointed iron blade as the tip. What's unique about this digging stick is that a bored stone, about 15 centimetres in diameter, is attached at the opposing end. This stone shares the same form as other bored stones that have been discovered in archaeological sites in [[Africa]].<ref name="Simoons"/>

''Maresha'' is the [[Gurage]] name, also the same word used by the [[Amhara people|Amhara]], for a digging stick that differs in construction because of its forked form. It is used primarily to dig holes for construction, planting, and harvesting roots and tubers. This tool is used as a plow to turn over the soil of an entire field before planting. It is used to break clods of soil in areas where the soil is hard or in areas that may be too steep for ploughing, and to dig holes for construction or to transplant domestic plants. When compared to the ''ankassay'', this digging stick can perform the same duties and in addition can be used as a hoe.<ref name="Simoons"/>