This is the greatest festival of the year, falling on 19 January, just two weeks after the Ethiopian Christmas. It is actually a three-day affair, beginning on the Eve of Timkat with dramatic and colorful processions. The following morning, the great day itself, Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist is commemorated. The third day is devoted to the Feast of St. Michael, the archangel, one of the Ethiopia's most popular saints.
Since October and the end of the rains, the country has been drying up steadily. The sun blazes down from a clear blue sky and the Festival of Timkat always takes place in glorious weather.
Enormous effort is put into the occasion. Tej and tella (Ethiopian mead and beer) are brewed, special bread is baked, and the fat-tailed African sheep are fattened for slaughter. Gifts are prepared for the children and new clothes purchased or old mended and laundered.
Everyone--men, women, and children--appears resplendent for the three-day celebration. Dressed in the dazzling white of the traditional dress, the locals provide a dramatic contrast to the jewel colors of the ceremonial velvets and satins of the priests' robes and sequined velvet umbrellas.
On the eve of the 18 January, Ketera, the priests remove the tabots from each church and bless the water of the pool or river where the next day' celebration will take place. It is the tabot (symbolizing the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments) rather than the church building which is consecrated, and it is accorded extreme reverence. Not to be desecrated by the gaze of the layman, the engraved wooden or stone slab is carried under layers of rich cloth.
In Addis Ababa, many churches bring their tabots to Jan Meda (the horse racing course of imperial day) accompanied by priests bearing prayer sticks and sistra, the ringing of bells and blowing of trumpets, and swinging bronze censors from which wisps of incense smoke escape into the evening air. The tabots rest in their special tent in the meadow, each hoisting a proud banner depicting the church's saint in front.
The priests pray throughout the long cold night and mass is performed around 2:00 a.m. Huge crowds of people camp out, eating and drinking by the light of flickering fires and torches. Towards dawn the patriarch dip a golden cross and extinguish a burning consecrated candle in the alter. Then he sprinkles water on the assembled congregation in commemoration of Christ's baptism. Many of the more fervent leap fully dressed into the water to renew their vows.
Following the baptism the tabots start back to their respective churches, while feasting, singing and dancing continue at Jan Meda. The procession winds through town again as the horsemen cavort alongside, their mount handsomely decorated with red tassels, embroidered saddle cloths, and silver bridles. The elders march solemnly, accompanied by singing, leaping priest and young men, while the beating of staffs and prayer sticks recalls the ancient rites of the Old Testament.
Maskal is second in importance only to Timkat and has been celebrated in the country for over 1,600 years. The word actually means "cross" and the feast commemorates the discovery of the Cross--upon which Jesus was crucified--by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The original event took place on 19 March, AD 326, but the feast is now celebrated on 27 September.
Many of the rites observed throughout the festival are said to be directly connected to the legend of Empress Helena. On the eve of Maskal tall ranches are tied together and yellow daisies, popularly called maskal flowers, are placed at the top. During the night these ranches are gathered together in front of the compound gates and ignited. This symbolizes the actions of the Empress who, when no one would show her the Holy Sepulcher, lit incense and prayed for help. Where the smoke drifted she dug and found three crosses. To one of the them, the True Cross, many miracles were attributed.
Maskal also signifies the physical presence of the True Cross at the remote mountain monastery of Gishen Mariam located in the Welo region. In this monastery is a massive volume called the Tefut, written during the reign of Zera Yacob (1434-1468), which records the story of how a fragment of the Cross was acquired.
In the Middle Ages, it relates, the Christian monarchs of Ethiopia were called upon to protect the Coptic minorities and wage punitive war against their persecutors. Their reward was usually gold, but instead the Emperor Dawit asked for a fragment of the True Cross from the Patriarch of Alexandria. He received it at Maskal.
During this time of year flowers bloom on mountain and plain and the meadows are yellow with the brilliant Maskal daisy. Dancing, feasting, merrymaking, bonfires, and even gun salutes mark the occasion. The festival begins by planting a green tree on Maskal Eve in town squares and village marketplaces. Everyone bring a pole topped with maskal daisies to form the towering pyramid that will soon be a beacon of flame. Torches of eucalyptus twigs called chibo are used to light the bundle of branches called demera.
In Addis Ababa celebrations start in the early afternoon, when a huge procession bearing flaming torches approaches Maskal Square from various directions. The marcher include priests in their brightly hued vestments, students, brass bands, contingents of the armed forces, and bedecked floats carrying huge lit crosses. They circle the demera and fling their torches upon it, while singing a special Maskal song. Thousands gather at the square to join in and welcome the season of flowers and golden sunshine called Tseday.
As evening darkens the flames glow brighter. It is not until dawn that the burning pyramid consumes itself and the big tree at the center finally falls. During the celebrations each house is stocked with tella, the local beer, and strangers are made welcome.
The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the end of the big rains. The sun comes out to shine all day long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the Maskal daisies burst out in all their splendor. Ethiopian children--clad in brand-new clothes--dance through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each household.
September 11 is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When they famous Queen of Sheva returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.
The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colorful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of spring-time and renewed life. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated-in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.
Almost every Christian in Ethiopia has a patron saint, and one of the most popular is Gabriel, the archangel who protects homes and churches. His reputation as a miracle worker is well respected and he is believed to grant a higher percentage of requests than other saints. The 19th day of every Ethiopian month is devoted to St. Gabriel, but in particular two main dates see colorful celebrations-26 July and 28 December. The festivities on 28th culminate in a huge pilgrimage to his church at Kullubi. The church was built in the archangel's honor after Ethiopian leader Ras Makonnen returned from a battle allegedly won with Gabriel's help.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church approves of pilgrimages; together with fasting they are considered beneficial to the soul. On 28 December each year, St. Gabriel's feast is celebrated throughout Ethiopia and people travel hundreds of kilometers to his nearest church to tell him their wishes.
The church at Kullubi, set in terraced cultivation of coffee and chat typical of Garerge Region, is 68 kilometers from Dire Dawa. Pilgrims walk from there to the church to make or fulfill a vow, to ask their favors, or in many cases to give thanks and gifts for favors granted. Some carry heavy rocks on their backs, particularly for the last few kilometers up the hill at the church. Some bring babies, born by Gabriel's intervention, to the font for baptism. During the three-day celebration about a thousand babies are christened-most of them named Gabriel.
Vast crowds of people congregate on Kullubi hill round the church. Thousands of tents are erected and people of all ages, sexes, classes-and even religions-gather together. They come by bus, truck, car, on mule, or barefoot from Dire Dawa: 100,000 altogether. The majority are dresses in the bright white cotton of the national dress, intermingled with regional costumes, especially the brilliant reds, oranges, and purples of nearby Harar.
The smoke from a thousand campfires and the aromatic smell of cooking food floats into the air, while music from hundreds of portable radios rises among the laughter and shouts of the throng. Huge pots of tella and tej (local beer and mead) stand ready for pouring, and beer, peanuts and sweets can be purchased from itinerant vendors.
High mass is said in the church, but the vast majority of worshippers crowded outside only hear it through speakers. Their vows reach the saint's ears just the same. Huge quantities of gifts are collected, deposited in the church, then later distributed to the poor.
This is a wonderful opportunity to observe a vast cross-section of Ethiopia's cultures. But remember for those wishing to visit the celebration, transportation must be arranged two or three months in advance. During the festival seats on buses, trains, and planes are fully booked, and it takes eight days on foot from Addis Ababa.
High atop Zuquala (a volcano rising 600 meters from the plain 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa) sits the monastery founded by Gebre Menfes Kiddus, a saint who at only three days old spoke thrice saying "Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Legend also claims that when his mother tried to breast feed him on Wednesday, one of Ethiopia's Christian fast days, he said, "What, on a Wednesday?" It is reported that he never took food or drink, and for this reason found it impossible to die. Thus he was taken to heaven alive and only one of his ribs remains entombed in Zuquala.
Gebre Menfes Kiddus established a small community (which still exists) on the rim of the great crater above the blue lake that fills it. There he made friends with the lions and leopards and, one supposes, the beautiful black and white Abyssinian colobus monkeys that inhabit the forest.
His festival is held each year on the mountain and also at a small church in a grove of junipers below Debre Berhan. Usually large crowds attend and, leaving their clothes on the bank, many leap into the water with delight and abandon. Suddenly a procession of gorgeously robed priests carrying ceremonial umbrellas appears through the trees to pray, bless the people, and hand round one of the great processional crosses to be kissed. Halfway up the slope the church ceremony is heralded by the steady boom of the great drums and the tabot (representing the Ark of the Covenant) is displayed in its colorful covering son the head of a priest. The women ululate while the crowd claps and the debteras (church scholars) dance to the drum and sistra.
The same procedure is followed on Zuquala, but visitors wishing to attend the ceremony may have to make the long steep climb on foot. The volcano road, although repaired periodically, is often impassable to vehicles, which must be left at the village.
Buhe, an old custom similar to the Western Halloween in practice, falls on Nehasse 13 (21 August). As the rains are still streaming down at the time, the celebration is undertaken not by sensible adults or good little girls, but by rough and rude small boys. The clergy refer to it as Debre Tabor.
Buhe may mean "bread" or "dough," and on the eve of this feast the bread dough is set in each home for baking the following day. When night falls, between 10 to 40 boys, all following their chosen leader (awraj), jump up and down and sing repetitive, often ribald songs at doorways until some of the dough is handed round.
The prettiest part of the festival is on the eve,
when hundreds of chibos (bunches of dried twigs) are lit
outside each dwelling and everyone, including women and little
girls, gather round the flickering fires. The habit of lighting
torches is sometimes said to originate from the story of the Lost
Children who wandered away and were found by torch-light and given
bread to eat.
This article was reprinted from Selamta
Magazine with exclusive permission of Ethiopian Airlines.