Axum

We were sitting on the terrace garden of our hotel a hot sumptuous meal of injera and chicken stew, the night was cold. There were no guests around at the time so the staff was down to minimum. Tesfa, my Ethiopian friend and I were deep in conversation when the night was interrupted by several low hoots that ended in high pitched crescendos; the distinct call of the Hyena. Immediately the dogs from the village to the right on the far side of the valley went into a barking frenzy. ‘Hyenas’ I said and Tesfa nodded, ‘pretty early for such a close call’. I walked silently to the edge by the railing…. two large mongooses were up on their hind quarters peering out into the night. My approach startled them further and they dashed off into the undergrowth. The incident was a classic example of the close proximity people share with wildlife in Africa and the flip side of what I had experienced that very morning.

Standing guard by the mighty Stele that was surrounded by a mini field of lesser stelae was the frail but proud figure of Atu Brhane, an old loyalist of the late Emperor Haile Selassie. In his hands was an aging automatic and he was wearing a badge on his chest which read- the Legion of Jesus. It was exciting just to be there in the presence of this paradox; an ancient symbol of power and a waning warrior of a fallen king. The litany that sounded loud from the cathedral of Haile Selassie which lay just behind me signaled the final act of worship before the faithful dispersed to break their fast.

Carried by the thrill of being part of this pageantry I decided to enter the tomb of the ‘False Door’ which is actually that of King Remhai, an Axumite. I have entered the tombs of Ramses and even Tut Ankhamun, but here I had the strangest feeling, the hair on the nape of my neck bristled. The stone sarcophagus lay intact but that was all that remained of the plundered tomb; it had been stripped of all its finery by ancient grave robbers.

At the foot of the standing Stele I met Martin Hofinger. An Austrian, Martin used up his last two years’ holidays, two months a year, traveling from South Africa up to Ethiopia. Experience writ on the furrowed face, his travels have been both interesting and wonderful, he told me. ‘Africa is a fascinating continent and Ethiopia so mysterious it eased the enormous effort riding alone across the country’.

Queen of Sheba

The women wailed before Solomon, each claming the baby was hers. The great king drew his sword to divide the child between the two. It was then that the true mother cried out ‘My lord, give my child to her’. And so once again the great king meted out his perfect judgment. Throughout my stay in Ethiopia every custom or memory seems to trace its origin to the Jewish King Solomon. Indeed the royal households were considered Solomonic, because Menelik I the first emperor of Ethiopia was the Son of Solomon and Sheba, the most beautiful woman in the world. In the midst of the undulating green fields with a rocky hill to one end, stood the ruins of the palace of this famed Queen of yore. Entering the main palace, I savoured very precious moments in the presence of the spirit of ancient royalty. A step into the great hall of meeting- the murmur of invisible court nobles grew louder in anticipation of her imminent presence. I couldn’t contain my excitement for we had now moved into the royal bakery; there on the far side was the 3000 year old brick oven and at other end, the bread stores! One last doorway and there on the floor were the remnants of the royal shower. Images of grace, beauty in female form, pampered with perfume and flowers by several doting handmaids….her shape revealed beneath a shawl of the finest muslin, naked, proud and royal.

Down the lat few stairs out of the complex, I walked in a trance-like state.

Ethiopia is old; old beyond all imaginings. As Abyssinia, its culture and traditions date back over 3,000 years. And far earlier than that lived ‘Lucy’ or Dinkenesh, meaning thou art wonderful, as she is known to the Ethiopians-the oldest hominid, (3.5 million years old) whose remains were found in a corner of this country of mystery and contrasts.

The Ark of the Covenant

Behind the cathedral of Haile Selassie stand two structures of import to the Ethiopian Nation; one centuries old, the other as recent as 1940.

We make our way though the cathedral grounds amidst the faithful streaming out, still some bowed down to kiss the ground in reverence, yet others rolled in sacrificial penance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The holiness of Axum maybe legendary but to actually stand upon the soil and witness such acts of devotion ties your stomach in knots. Few places can transport you back in time as the Axum Zion Monastery. Only the Nike shoes of a Dutch tourist keeps one well grounded in the present time zone.

One cannot come to terms with the fact that this is still a well utilized edifice of prayer and worship. As silently as possible I float past the chanting monks into the place of prayer and the red curtains of the holy of holies, barefoot and meek. The soft sunlight that drifts in from the timeless wooden doors seems like rays from heaven resting upon the heads of pious priests. As quietly as I entered, I leave.

Theodoras, my guide points me to the newer structure built by Queen Eteqe Menen, wife of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, to house the Ark of the Covenant, which was hitherto in the Zion Monastery. We could not even come close to this, the holiest shrine in all of Ethiopia. There in the Sanctum Sanctorum is believed to lie the original Ark of the Convenant- a decorated container that holds the stone tablets that God wrote the 10 commandments and other laws on and gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. The container itself is a seat of sacrifice upon which the Jewish priests would make blood sacrifices on behalf of Jewish individuals. Upon each side of the seat is a Cherub facing down at the sacrificial blood. Below the sacrificial seat is where the tablets are kept. The belief is that when the seat had no blood the cherubs could see the law i.e the iniquity of man, but after a sacrifice the cherubs saw the innocent blood instead.

A number of scholars debate whether this is the original and wonder how it landed up in Ethiopia from Israel, where it was lost in one of the wars that destroyed the temple. No one can dare venture into the premises let alone work on authenticating the age of what lies inside and so the mystery only gets more fascinating.

Every Orthodox Church, cathedral or monastery in Ethiopia is constructed to conform to the basic principles of the structure of the ancient Jewish temple of Jerusalem. Whatever the outer shape, the inner components incorporate the Holy of Holies, an area where only the Priest can enter. Then the general area of prayer, remember the men and women sit separately. Then there is the area where the holy instruments for the singing of psalms and hymns take place, finally an outer are for reading of the great book and general prayer.

“Your land is my land and your God, my God”
Only these words of devotion from Ruth the Moabite as she followed her Jewish mother-in-law into the land of Israel after the death of her husband can compare with the piety and devotion of this people; who, since the days of the Great Queen, have held steadfast to everything ‘Israel’.

Shalom sweet people, shalom