Meskel Celebration

Meskel Celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa.

This is from Wikipedia : Meskel (Ge'ez: መሰቀል), in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or September 28 in leap years). "Meskel" (or "Meskal" or "Mesqel", there are various ways to transliterate from Ge'ez to Latin script) is Ge'ez for "cross".

The festival is known as Feast of the exaltation of the holy cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. The churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate the feast on September 14.

The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding frankincense to it the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried.

This Demera-procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself, according to local traditions. The firewood is decorated with daisies prior to the celebration. Afterwards, charcoal from the remains of the fire is collected and used by the faithful to mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross (compare Ash Wednesday). Edward Ullendorff records a number of beliefs of the meaning of Demera, with some believing that it "marks the ultimate act in the cancellation of sins, while others hold that the direction of the smoke and the final collapse of the heap indicate the course of future events -- just as the cloud of smoke the Lord over the Tabernacle offered guidance to the children of Israel (Exod. 40:34-38)."

One explanation for the high rank this festival has in the church calendar is that it's believed that a part of the true Cross has been brought to Ethiopia from Egypt. It is said to be kept at Amba Geshen, which itself has a cross shape.

According to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the discovery of the True Cross is traditionally believed to be in March, but Meskel was moved to September to avoid holding a festival during Lent, and because the church commemorating the True Cross in Jerusalem was dedicated during September. Ullendorff speculates that Meskel replaced an older festival, with pagan and Hebraic associations, which he believes received its Christian sanction around the reign of Emperor Amda Seyon in the fourteenth century. "The most ancient meaning of these feasts -- as was also the case in Israel -- was no doubt seasonal: the month of Maskaram marked the end of the rains, the resumption of work, and the reopening of communications."

Ethiopia - Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela

12th Century Rock-hewn Church of Lalibela Bete Giorgis

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are exceptionally fine examples of a long-established Ethiopian building tradition. Monolithic churches are to be found all over the north and the centre of the country. Some of the oldest of such churches are to be found in Tigray, where some are believed to date from around the 6th or 7th centuries. King Lalibela is believed to have commissioned these structures with the purpose of creating a holy and symbolic place which considerably influenced Ethiopian religious beliefs.

The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilgrimage and devotion.

Lalibela is a small town at an altitude of almost 2,800 m in the Ethiopian highlands. It is surrounded by a rocky, dry area. Here in the 13th century devout Christians began hewing out the red volcanic rock to create 13 churches. Four of them were finished as completely free-standing structures, attached to their mother rock only at their bases. The remaining nine range from semi-detached to ones whose facades are the only features that have been 'liberated' from the rock.

The Jerusalem theme is important. The rock churches, although connected to one another by maze-like tunnels, are physically separated by a small river which the Ethiopians named the Jordan. Churches on one side of the Jordan represent the earthly Jerusalem; whereas those on the other side represent the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of jewels and golden sidewalks alluded to in the Bible.

It was King Lalibela who commissioned the structures, but scholars disagree as to his motivation. According to a legendary account, King Lalibela was born in Roha. His name means 'the bee recognizes its sovereignty'. God ordered him to build 10 monolithic churches, and gave him detailed instructions as to their construction and even their colours. When his brother Harbay abdicated, the time had come for Lalibela to fulfil this command. Construction work began and is said to have been carried out with remarkable speed, which is scarcely surprising, for, according to legend, angels joined the labourers by day and at night did double the amount of work which the men had done during the hours of daylight.

Like more episodes in the long history of this country, there are many legends about this king. One is that Lalibela was poisoned by his brother and fell into a three-day coma in which he was taken to Heaven and given a vision of rock-hewn cities. Another legend says that he went into exile to Jerusalem and vowed that when he returned he would create a New Jerusalem. Others attribute the building of the churches to Templars from Europe.

The names of the churches evoke hints of Hebrew, a language related to the Hamo-Semitic dialect still used in Ethiopian church liturgies: Beta Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Beta Qedus Mikael (House of St Michael) and Beta Amanuel (House of Emmanuel) are all reminiscent of the Hebrew beth (house). In one of the churches there is a pillar covered with cotton. A monk had a dream in which he saw Christ kissing it; according to the monks, the past, the present and the future are carved into it. The churches are connected to each other by small passages and tunnels. (Source)

Ethiopia - Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town

Harrar Ber

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

The origins of Harar are obscure, and the main source of information is oral tradition. There is a myth, according to which, in July 1256, there arrived from the Arab Peninsula 405 sheikhs who chose this site to found the city. Some sources indicate that Harar came into being around the 10th century or even earlier. Islam was introduced to Ethiopia in the 9th century. Three mosques of Harar have been dated to the 10th century (Aw Mansur and Garad Muhammad Abogh in Jugol, and Aw Machad Mosque outside). Between 1277 and 1285, a neighboring lord created a coalition of five Muslim principalities. From that time on, the trade was in the hands of the Muslims, and Harar became a principal trading post.

In the 16th century, Harar was established in its present urban form and from 1520 to 1568 it was the capital of the Harari Kingdom. From the second half of the 16th century until the 19th century, Harar was noted as a centre of trade and Islamic learning in the Horn of Africa. In the 17th century it became an independent emirate. Nevertheless, this was also a period of decline, and the population fell from some 50,000 to ca. 12,000.

Due to its fame, Harar attracted the interest of the Egyptians, who occupied it from 1875 to 1885. Following this, in 1887, Harar was conquered by Menelik, the king of Asmaadin and later Emperor of Ethiopia. At this time, the Great Mosque at Faras Magala was destroyed and replaced by an octagonal Orthodox church. Menelik also opened the sixth gate and cut through a new street in the east-west direction. At the end of the 19th century, there was immigration of Indian merchants, who introduced the Indian house type and the combined version.

From 1938 to 1942, Ethiopia was occupied by the Italians. In the subsequent period, due to various problems, Ethiopia and with it also Harar have been subject to famine, civil war, and economic decline, including for example land reform, which in reality decreased productivity of agriculture. After the end of the dictatorship in 1991, there was a slight improvement until the war with Eritrea. At the moment, Harar Jugol needs to rebuild its economy on the basis of sustainable development. (Source)

Surma Girl

Surma Girl Bench Magi Zone

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

NOTE : The picture was censored by me since this blog is also viewed by children.

Surema Girl

Surema Girl
Southern Ethiopia

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

NOTE : The picture was censored by me since this blog is also viewed by children.

Surma Girl

Surma Girl Bench Magi Zone

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

NOTE : The picture was censored by me since this blog is also viewed by children.

Surema Girl

Surema (or Surma) Girl
Southern Ethiopia

Sent by Daniel, a TravBuddy friend from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

NOTE : The picture was censored by me since this blog is also viewed by children.

This is from Wikipedia : Surma is the Ethiopian government's collective name for the Suri, the Mursi and the Me'en with a total population of 186,875. All three groups speak languages of the southeast branch of the Surmic language cluster. Some have used the terms "Suri" and "Surma" interchangeably, or for contradictory purposes, so readers should note carefully what group an author is referring to.

Suri or Shuri is the name of a sedentary pastoral people and its Nilo-Saharan language in the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR) in Ethiopia, to the Sudan border, and across the border in Sudan. Some are located west of Mizan Teferi. Population: 20,622 (1998 est.).

Mursi or Murzu is the name of a closely related sedentary pastoral people whose language (Mursi) is over 80% cognate with Suri. They are located next to the Suri in the center of the SNNPR and the lowlands southwest of Jinka in the Debub Omo Zone. The Mursi do not regard themselves as Surma, despite the cultural and linguistic similarities. Population: 7,500 of whom 92.25% live in the SNNPR (2007 census).

Me'en is the name of a closely related sedentary pastoral people whose language (Me'en) is over 80% cognate with Mursi. They are located in and around Bachuma, and in lowlands to the south, near the Omo River. Population: 151,489 of whom 98.9% live in the SNNPR (2007 census).