Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Transport
E5
Ethnological Museum
(Algeria St; adult/student Birr50/30; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat & Sun)
Set
within Haile Selassie's former palace and surrounded by the beautiful gardens and foun-
tains of Addis Ababa University's main campus is the enthralling Ethnological Museum.
Even if you're not normally a museum fan, this one is worth a bit of your time - it's easily
one of the finest museums in Africa.
The show starts before you even get inside: look for the intriguing set of stairs
spiralling precariously skyward near the palace's main entrance. Each step was placed by
the Italians as a symbol of Fascist domination, one for every year Mussolini held power
(starting from his march to Rome in 1922). A small Lion of Judah (the symbol of Ethiopi-
an monarchy) sits victoriously atop the final step, like a jubilant punctuation mark at the
end of a painfully long sentence.
Within the entrance hall you'll find a small exhibition dedicated to the history of the
palace, and the doorway to the Institute of Language Studies library (
Click here
)
.
This contemporary museum truly comes into its own on the 1st floor, where superb
artefacts and handicrafts from Ethiopia's peoples are distinctively displayed. Instead of
following the typical static and geographical layout that most museums fall into, these dis-
plays are based upon the life cycle. First comes Childhood, with birth, games, rites of pas-
sage and traditional tales. We particularly enjoyed the 'Yem Tale', a story of selfishness,
dead leopards and sore tails! Adulthood probes into beliefs, nomadism, traditional medi-
cine, war, pilgrimages, hunting, body culture and handicrafts. The last topic is Death and
Beyond, with burial structures, stelae and tombs. The exhibition gives a great insight into
Ethiopia's many rich cultures.
Other rooms on this floor show the preserved bedroom, bathroom and exorbitant chan-
ging room of Emperor Haile Selassie, complete with a bullet hole in his mirror courtesy of
the 1960 coup d'état.
The 2nd floor plays home to two drastically different, but equally delightful displays.
The vibrant hall focuses on religious art, with an exceptional series of diptychs, triptychs,
icons, crosses and magic scrolls. Magic scrolls, like the Roman lead scrolls, were used to
cast curses on people or to appeal to the gods for divine assistance. The collection of icons
MUSEUM
