Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to Haile Selassie funded writers whose compositions and poetic laudatory songs were
written to praise the ruler's qualities and munificence.
KEBRA NEGAST
Written during the 14th century by author(s) unknown, the Kebra Negast (Glory of Kings) is considered
Ethiopia's great national epic. Like the Quran to Muslims or the Torah to Jews, it's a repository of Ethiopian na-
tional, religious and cultural sentiment.
It's notoriously shrouded in mystery, perhaps deliberately so. Some controversially suggest it may even repres-
ent a massive propaganda stunt to legitimise the rule of the so-called 'Solomonic kings', who came to power in
the 13th century and who, the topic claims, were direct descendants of the kings of Israel.
Its most important legend is that of Solomon and Sheba (see the boxed text,
Click here
) and it's in the Kebra
Negast that (aside from one or two slightly earlier and rather hazy references) we first really hear mention of the
Ark of the Covenant being in Ethiopia. This last part is interesting because if Menelik I really had brought the Ark
from Jerusalem some 2000 years before it seems strange that it wasn't mentioned before.
Under the Derg, both writing and writers were suppressed. Be'alu Girma is a well-
known example of one of the many artists who disappeared during their reign.
Poetry
Written in Amharic as well as other Ethiopian languages, poetry, along with dance and
music, is used on many religious and social occasions, such as weddings or funerals.
Rhymed verse is almost always chanted or sung in consonance with the rhythm of music.
Poetry places great stress on meaning, metaphor and allusion. In Ge'ez poetry, the reli-
gious allusions demand an in-depth knowledge of Ethiopian religious legends and the
Bible.
Folk Literature
Perhaps the source of the greatest originality and creativity is the vast folk literature of
Ethiopia, most of it in oral form and existing in all languages and dialects. It encompasses
everything from proverbs, tales and riddles to magic spells and prophetic statements. For a
country in which most of the population have always been (and continue to be) illiterate,
folk literature has been the method by which the nation's history has been passed down
from one generation to the next. As a local expression goes, 'Every time an old person
passes away, it's as if a whole library were lost'.
