Orthodox Christianity and Islam, the two main religions in
Ethiopia, have coexisted since Mohammed's time.
The first believers in Islam were converted while the Prophet Mohammed was
alive and the first mosque was built in the eighth century. However, culturally
the Orthodox Church has dominated the political, social, and cultural life in
the highlands, as it has been the official religion of the imperial court and
hence also of the feudal establishment until Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974.
Since then religion and state have been separated.
The Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was established at the beginning of the fourth
century, making it one of the oldest established churches. The coming of Islam
into the Middle East and North Africa only
three centuries later isolated it from the rest of Christendom. The Ethiopian
highlands at that time were primarily Christian in the north-east, Judaic in the
north-west and mostly animist in the south.
The
Church also believes the Christian parts of the country had been Judaic before
they were converted. This combination of facts perhaps explains the strong
Judaic elements in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Most notable among these are
food restrictions, including the way animals are killed, consistent with the
rules set out in the Old Testament - but not the prohibition of mixing milk and
meat. Another similarity is the strict observance of naming (christening)
eighty days after birth for girls and forty days for boys.
The most striking feature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with its root in
Judaism is the presence of a replica of the Ark of the Covenant in the 'holy of
holies' of each church, called the tabot, which only priests are allowed to see
and handle.
The most colourful pageant in the year is when churches parade their tabots to a
nearby body of water. This is Timkat (Epiphany), the commemoration of Christ's
baptism, which falls on the nineteenth of January. The tabot is taken out in the
afternoon on the eve of Epiphany and stays overnight with the priests and
faithful congregation. The following morning the water is blessed and splashed
on everyone in a ceremony where the faithful renew their vows to the Church. If
the body of water is large enough, some people will immerse themselves. Women
who have been unable to have children participate in the ritual for fertility.
After this ceremony, the tabot is paraded back to its church accompanied by much
singing and dancing.
Timkat
is but one of many religious festivals observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. Another prominent one is Fasika (Easter), which follows a fast of
fifty-five days. During this time, no animal product is eaten. The faithful do
not eat anything at all until the daily service is finished at around three
o'clock in the afternoon. From Thursday evening before Good Friday, nothing is
eaten until the Easter service ends at three o'clock in the morning on Easter
Sunday, when animal products can once again be taken.
Buhe, which falls on 12 July in northeastern Ethiopia and 21 August in other
parts of the country, commemorates the flogging of the disciples. Traditionally
boys make long whips and crack them as loud and as often as they like. This goes
on for about a week. A special holiday for young girls, who get together in
their best clothes to dance and sing, is Filseta, which celebrates the
Ascension of Mary. It falls in the middle of the rainy season on 24 August.
Ethiopian New Year's Day is called Kidus Yohannes or Enkutatash, and is
celebrated on 11 September. It is primarily secular and a time for people to put
on new clothes if they can and visit friends and relatives.
Another major religious celebration is Meskal, said to be in memory of the
Finding of the True Cross by the Empress Eleni. This is as colourful an occasion
as Timkat. However, instead of water, the focus of celebration is a bonfire
topped with an image of a cross, to which flowers are tied. Priests in full
regalia bless the bonfire before it is lit. This festival coincides with the
mass blooming of the golden yellow 'meskal daisies', called adey abeba in
Amharic.
Christmas,
called Lidet, is not the primary religious and secular festival that it has
become in Western countries. Falling on 7 January, it is celebrated seriously by
a church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one
church to another. Traditionally, young men played a game similar to hockey,
called genna, on this day, and now Christmas has also come to be known by that
name.
One indication of the influence of the Church in everyday life is the fact that
the thirteen major saints' days in each month are named by their saint, while
others are referred to by date. Each church ·is dedicated to one saint, and on
that saint's day once (and sometimes twice) a year the tabot is paraded in front
of the congregation by taking it around the church three times. It is also a
special feast day for the friends and relatives from far and near will come to
join in.
Many Orthodox Christians have religious associations dedicated to a particular
saint whose members meet once a month on that saint's day, with rotating venues.
Visiting a church
Priests
are always happy to welcome visitors to their church to attend a service or at
other times, if they are available to open the building. They are usually very
pleased and proud to put on their vestments and bring out any special treasures
for visitors to view and take photographs. However, most priests do not speak
English and it is advisable to take a guide with you.
Each church has three or four entrances: that to the east leads to the holy of
holies and is only and for priest that to the south is only for women and that
to the north only for men. A western entrance can be used by both men and women,
but once inside, men go to the left (north) and women to the right (south).
Outside of service hours, visitors can use any of the entrances except the
eastern one, and they do not have to segregate by sex.
Visitors are
advised to observe the following practices when visiting a church:
-
Only priests are allowed anywhere near the holy of holies where the tabat is kept. One should never smoke anywhere near a church.
-
Shoes must be removed before one enters the building.
-
If you wish to attend a service, you are expected not to eat beforehand.
-
Both men and women are expected to wear clothing that covers their body completely, and it is preferred if women cover their heads.
-
Outside the main tourist centres, churches do not charge an entrance fee, but a donation to the church is much appreciated.
Islam
Ethiopia has long enjoyed the most intimate
relations with Islam. Some of the earliest disciples of the Prophet Mohammed,
when persecuted in Arabia, found refuge at Axum,
which was then ruled by King Armah. When one of the refugees,
Umm Habibah,
was to marry Mohammed, Armah sent her a golden dowry. The Prophet later prayed
for the Axumite king's soul and instructed his followers to 'leave the
Abyssinians in peace', thus exempting them from a 'holy war'. Many words in
Ge'ez, the classical language of the Ethiopians, are to be found in the Holy
Qur'an. The first muezzin calling the faithful to prayer in the Prophet's time
was an Ethiopian named Bilal, as his compatriots recall with pride to this day.
Ethiopia
has an extensive and very active Muslim population, who have played an important
role in Ethiopian life, particularly in the field of commerce, for over a
millennium. The majority of Muslims inhabit the eastern, southern and western
lowlands, but there are also many followers of Islam in
Addis Ababa and in all Ethiopian towns - even in the
so-called Christian highlands. Mosques, however, were for the most part
constructed only within the last century or so; they are now found throughout
the length and breadth of the country.
Ethiopia's earliest and most holy Muslim
centre, according to tradition, is at Nagash, north of Wukro in Tigray, where
there is a fine mosque of considerable antiquity.
Perhaps the most
important Islamic centre since medieval times, however, has been the famous
walled city of Harar. One of the principal holy cities of Islam, it has long
been renowned for its religious learning, as well as for its mosques, many
Muslim shrines, and tombs of several holy Muslim leaders of the past.
An important
centre of Muslim pilgrimage today is the town of Shek Husen in Bale region. The
faithful flock there twice a year from all over
Ethiopia, as well as from neighbouring
countries.
