Tehuti News

    Email: sankofa.c@gmail.com or cc11213@aol.com, Ph. (718)756-8904

Highlights from Ethiopia 2008

Volume 2, Issue 1 -  January 2008

   St.George's rock-hewn Church, Lalibela

  Ivor being blessed by Ethiopian priest, Lalibela

     Clinton & Yousif with Chief Priest, Lalibela

   Ethiopian sister performing coffee ceremony

  Castle compound of King Fasilidas, Gondar

       Reba at Tekenu (monolith), Axum

       Queen Makeda's palace remains, Axum

 Tissisat Falls, Bahir Dar

St. Mary of Zion Church, edifice that houses the Ark of the Covenant, Axum

By Reba Ashton Crawford

Salemta! (Greetings).  For the past few winters, we have been traveling down the eastern corridor of the African continent.  We had a number of requests to return to Ethiopia, so this year we did just that.  Our educational tour to Ethiopia, led by Dr. Clinton Crawford, gave us some wonderful experiences and awesome memories.

We timed our journey to coincide with the traditional Ethiopian Christmas which begins during the first week of January.  The principal religion of northern Ethiopia is Coptic Christianity and our first observation was the emphasis on a non-Western, non-commercial form of celebration.  Pilgrims walked for miles (some even started out a month in advance) to Lalibela to worship at the magnificent rock-hewn churches and monasteries.  As we made our way through the multitude of worshipers, we were graciously accommodated, as it seemed our Ethiopian brothers and sisters realized that we, too, were on a pilgrimage. 

My personal favorite is the church of St. George, the huge monastery cut from a single rock in the shape of a cross.  We also visited another smaller rock-cut monastery where we heard great singing and drumming as well as witness the miracle of the holy water that drops down from an invisible origin into rock-hewn “bowls”…really.  People collect the water from the bowls to bless and heal themselves. Yousif, our local guide, personally knew many of the chief priests, as his grandfather was a well-known priest in Ethiopia and he, himself, began his career studying for the priesthood.

We also enjoyed an Ethiopian coffee ceremony.  It is part of a long standing tradition for Ethiopians to welcome guests with a ceremony of this nature.  In a local round, thatch-roof structure, we watched as one of the sisters prepared the coffee beans in a traditional roasting pot, ground them (by hand), steeped them, and then served the coffee from a beautiful traditional clay coffeepot.  Note:  This brew is not for the faint of heart, as it quite strong.  The flavor is both intense and delicious. It is also served along with bowls of popcorn. 

Gondar is another very special place.  People usually associate castles with medieval Europe; however, Gondar is home to a compound of grand castles built in the 17^th century by King Fasilidas, his son and grandson.  The castles had all the amenities required by monarchs of the day.  Nearby is the site of the much anticipated Timket festival.  Celebrated annually, the Timket commemorates the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River.  Believers from far and wide come to be submerged in the sacred pool that has been blessed by the priests.

One cannot visit Gondar without seeing the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie.  Rome has the Sistine Chapel, but Gondar has Debre Berhan Selassie adorned with painted Black angels on the ceiling and beautiful frescoes along the walls that serve as “snapshots” of Ethiopia’s religious history.   It is truly a site to see.

The ancient city of Axum was once Ethiopia’s capital and is considered the birthplace of Ethiopian civilization.  It is home to the tekenus (obelisks) in a large compound of stelae.  It is said that the tekenus served as landmarks for royal burial sites.  The carvings are reputed to be the vertical representation of the royal palaces, as they depict doors, windows and celestial symbols.  During our visit, we saw the beginning of the reinstallation of one tekenu taken by the Italians during their invasion of Ethiopia during the early 20^th century.  After much negotiation, Italy finally returned the great monument.

We also had the pleasure of visiting the palace remains of the legendary Makeda, the Queen of Sheba.  We have seen recent attempts by historians to write Queen Makeda out of Ethiopian history, but her connection to Ethiopia is hard to dispute when one is standing in her Axumite palace.  History tells us that Queen Makeda developed a relationship with King Solomon of Jerusalem which resulted in the birth of their son, Menelik.  At age 22 Menelik went to visit his father and brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Ethiopia.  St. Mary of Zion Church, the edifice where the Ark of the Covenant is said to be housed is a highly restricted area, thus visitors are not allowed inside.

In Bahir Dar we took a short boat ride across Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, to make the trek to the spectacular Tissisat Falls, the water that smokes.  Everyone was totally awestruck.  Some of us ventured down so close to the falls that we almost needed rain coats.  A nice touch was added when some of the local brothers and sisters accompanied us while singing traditional folksongs and playing their instruments.  This was nature at its best…an unforgettable experience.

We also decided to experience a little Ethiopian night life.  Some of us enjoyed the local beer and danced along with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters as they played traditional music and had us join them in doing the “shoulder dance” unique to Ethiopia.  We all had such a great time.

Upon our return to Addis Ababa, the capital city, we visited the National Museum to see the remains of our great ancestor, Dinknesh (a.k.a “Lucy”) whose DNA courses through our veins to this day.   We saw some of the garments and artifacts that belonged to Ethiopian royalty, including Emperor Haile Selassie. We also drove around Mount Entoto to get a stupendous view of the city.  Our day ended with some great shopping, but the evening was filled with more music, dancing and a wonderful array of traditional Ethiopian cuisine. 

Words are simply too inadequate to share our entire experience and our experiences were too immeasurable to be chronicled here. We shared school supplies, toys, and first-aid supplies with Ethiopian school children; we had wonderful onsite explanations of the sites we visited; we enjoyed great food, great entertainment, and an awesome sense of history. 

It is unfortunate that the image many people have of Ethiopia is one of extreme suffering. While we are aware that there are many places in the world that experience economic challenges (including developed nations), our experience in Ethiopia was full of awe and wonder. It is immensely rich both historically and culturally.  The Ethiopian people are remarkable examples of people of great faith in the Creator.  We were truly inspired.  Every person of African ancestry should try to visit Ethiopia at least once in his or her lifetime.

I must also say that almost everywhere we went in Ethiopia, our brothers and sisters expressed their support for brother Barack Obama.  It seems that people around the world are rooting for him and that is encouraging.

For more information about our next tour to Ethiopia, please call us at (718)756-8904 or email us at sankofa.c@gmail.com.

Photo credits:  Reba & Clinton Crawford