Copyright ©1989 Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Printed in the United States of America

All Michigan State University Press books are produced on paper which meets the requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of paper for printed materials. ANSI 239.48–1984

Michigan State University Press
East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5202

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shelemay, Kay Kaufman

Music, ritual, and Falasha history / by Kay Kaufman Shelemay. p. cm.

Reprint. Originally published: East Lansing, Mich.: African Studies Center, Michigan State University. ©1986. (Ethiopian series: no. 17) Bibliography: p.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-87013-274-1 (alk. paper)

1. Falashas—Music—History and criticism. 2. Church music—Ethiopia. 3. Falashas—Rites and ceremonies. 4.

Falashas—History. I. Title.

ML3197. S47 1989

296.4’0963—dc19

89-3082

CIP

MN

Originally published in 1986 by the Committee on Northeast African Studies, African Studies Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 and made possible in part by a grant from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

ACLS Humanities E-Book edition 2016
© Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Some Rights Reserved

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ISBN 978-1-62820-128-4 (ebook)
HEB33111.0001.001

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The online edition of this work can be found at http://www.humanitiesebook.org.

To my parents, Raymond and Lillian Kaufman

Contents

List of Figures

List of Musical Examples

List of Tables

Acknowledgements

Introduction (1989)

Introduction (1986)

1.  Perspectives of Falasha History

2.  The Beta Israel Religious Tradition

3.  The Contexts of Liturgical Performance

4.  A Beta Israel View of the Liturgy

5.  Texts of the Beta Israel Liturgy

6.  Music of the Beta Israel Liturgy

7.  Rethinking Falasha History

Appendices

1.  Prayers of the Beta Israel Liturgy

2.  Excerpts from the Berhān Śaraqa Evening Ritual

3.  Biographies of Ethiopian Research Associates

Glossary

Select Bibliography

Index

Figures

1.  The Falasha Mesgeed

2.  The Ambober Prayerhouse

3.  Map of Ethiopia

Musical Examples

1. Falasha Zēmā and Demẓ

2. Comparison of Kaffettaňňā Zēmā Examples

3. Comparison of Qwāmi Zēmā Examples

4. Ethiopian Christian Ge‘ez Zēmā Portion

5. Ethiopian Christian Ezl Zēmā Portion

6. Ethiopian Christian Arārāy Zēmā Portion

7. Segmentation of an Ethiopian Christian Portion

8. Comparison of Arārāy ‘Model Melodies’ and Falasha Kaffetaňňā Excerpts

9. Comparison of a Falasha and Ethiopian Christian Melody

10. Vocal Slides (Rekrek) in Ethiopian Christian and Falasha Portions

11. Comparison of Ge‘ez ‘Model Melodies’ and Falasha Qwāmi Excerpts

Tables

1. Comparative Calendar

2. Transcript of an Interview

3. The Ethiopian Christian Office

4. Prayers of the Falasha Monastic Office

5. Day and Night Prayers (Leslau)

6. Prayers of the Falasha Monastic Office (Luzzatto)

7. Comparison of Prayers Collected

8. Order for Daily Prayers

9. Order for Sabbath Evening Prayers

10. Order for Sabbath Morning Prayers

11. Order for Annual Holiday Morning Prayers

12. Order for Seged Prayers

13. Order for Ethiopian Christian Wāzēmā

14. Order for Falasha Wāzēmā

15. Categories of Melody in Berhān Śaraqa Wāzēmā

16. Comparison of Text-Melody Relations in Falasha and Christian Wāzēmā

17. Summary of Examples in Appendix 1 by Zēmā

18. Performance Practice in the Berhān Śaraqa Wāzēmā

Acknowledgments

This book could not have been written without the cooperation and assistance of a number of people and institutions. In it I often cite the work of colleagues who study other aspects of Ethiopian cultural life. I hope they will expand upon and refine my statements as I frequently move beyond my area of expertise. Many have already provided such aid, although they are in no way responsible for how I have incorporated their advice or materials. For their helpful comments on drafts of this manuscript I thank Monica Devens, Getatchew Haile, Marilyn Heldman, Steven Kaplan, Otto Neugebauer, James Quirin, and Emery Van Donzel. The liturgical and musical portions of the manuscript were strengthened by suggestions from Lawrence Hoffman, Peter Jeffery, Jan La Rue, and Jean-Jacques Nattiez.

The most frustrating and tedious part of this project was the burden of transcribing the sung prayer texts: only the patient help of Abba Petros Gebre Selassie enabled me to complete those presented here. I gratefully acknowledge the many hours devoted to suggesting corrections for the texts and translations by Getatchew Haile, Olga Kapeliuk, and Monica Devens. The errors that remain are most certainly my own.

A number of individuals have offered support and insightful comments at various stages in this project. Wolf Leslau and Robert L. Hess have provided valuable advice and assistance over the years. William P. Malm, my dissertation chairman, and Judith Becker, Edward Chudacoff, and Roy A. Rappaport, members of the committee, made many suggestions in 1977 that proved useful in formulating this book. Edna Coffin arranged a special tutorial in Amharic at the University of Michigan and provided moral support at critical points. Woldeab Isaac and Gebre Yesus Wolde Mikael tutored me in Amharic at the University of Michigan and the Hebrew University, respectively. Daniel Sperber and Veronika Krempel made valuable suggestions concerning fieldwork in Ethiopia, and Marilyn Heldman shared many memorable moments in the field. Julian Kay was very helpful during and after my months in northern Ethiopia. Graenum Berger conscientiously kept me up to date with political activities on behalf of the Ethiopian Jews and provided some materials from his own library. The intellectual stimulation of David Burrows, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Johanna Spector, Carol Robertson, Ellen T. Harris and Hedy Bookin-Weiner have contributed in many less tangible, but equally important ways to this project.

Since 1972 I have often consulted the Faitlovitch collection of Falasha manuscripts, now housed at the Tel Aviv University Library, and have called upon the expertise of I. Grinfeld, the librarian in charge. From 1973 to 1975 I had access to the resources of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, then under the directorship of Richard Pankhurst.

Falasha liturgical music recorded by others has aided my study. Avigdor Herzog brought to my attention the earliest recording of a Falasha prayer, made by A. Z. Idelsohn in Jerusalem in 1911. Leo Levi lent a tape he made of Falasha prayers in Tigray Province during 1974, and Hillel Levine provided liturgical excerpts he recorded with an Ambober priest during a 1968 visit to Addis Ababa. Published recordings consulted are listed in the bibliography.

A Rackham Prize Grant from the University of Michigan helped defray costs of fieldwork in Ethiopia. The Columbia University Council for Research in the Humanities provided two summer grants, the first in 1978 to complete research on Ethiopian Christian liturgy, and the second in 1980 to carry out a final round of fieldwork with Falasha priests in Israel. An American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship in 1981-1982 provided an opportunity to expand comparative materials in the book. I am particularly grateful to the National Foundation for Jewish Culture for support at several critical stages of this project. Two NFJC pre-doctoral fellowships helped defray the costs of special studies in Israel and dissertation completion, and a generous subvention under the auspices of their Post-doctoral Publication Program underwrote the expense of preparing camera-ready copy for this book.

The Columbia University typing fund helped defray initial typing expenses, as did a grant from New York University for the final draft of the manuscript. The staff of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University, and editor Elizabeth Johnston provided guidance in the final stages before publication. The quality of the camera-ready copy owes much to the production skills of the Clawson Cannon family at Copymart Inc. and Christopher Van Valen. Ken J. Williams’ fine hand is seen in the musical examples.

All authors find it most difficult to thank those who shared the ups and downs of the research and writing process. I am grateful to my parents, Raymond and Lillian Kaufman, for their wholehearted support and active help at every juncture. My husband, Jack Shelemay, shared a changing Ethiopia. I appreciate the expertise and language skills he often lent to this project, as well as the warm and supportive environment in which I have lived and worked.

Ethiopian Christian clergy contributed to this study in ways I could not have anticipated in 1973. Alaqa Berhanu Makonnen worked with me daily in summer and fall 1975, sharing his extensive knowledge of Ethiopian Christian liturgy and music. In addition to the many hours he devoted to helping transcribe Falasha prayer texts, Abba Petros Gebre Selassie provided information about Ethiopian Christian monastic practice. Biographies of both men are found in Appendix 3.

Finally, this study could not have been completed without the cooperation of the Beta Israel community. Yona Bogale facilitated my initial contact with the Beta Israel of the Gondar region and provided information about changes in Beta Israel religious life during the twentieth century. Residents of Ambober, Tadda, and Wolleka too numerous to name opened their homes to me. I am very grateful to the priests of Ambober and nearby villages. Biographies of Adana Takuyo, Barkaw Yallew, Dawit Ya’eqob, Gete Asrass, Makonnen Teku, Berhan Baruk, and Wubshet Atagab are found in Appendix 3. I also appreciate the hospitality extended to me in Israel by Wubshet Atagab and his family, and by the late Berhan Baruk (Uri Ben Baruch).

INTRODUCTION (1989)

A second printing provides an unexpected opportunity to update the reader on the situation of the Beta Israel community as well as the rapidly changing state of research.

Since this book went to press in 1986, members of the Beta Israel community have continued to immigrate to Israel. The number of Ethiopian Jews in Israel was recently estimated at 15,105 (Israel State Controller’s Report, Volume 38, 1988). The status of the remainder of the community still in Ethiopia, perhaps as many as 10,000, remains a source of continuing humanitarian concern and political action.

Recent research in Israel has added a new chapter to our knowledge of the Ethiopian Jews during a period of intense culture change. Once a relatively arcane field of study, the well-publicized arrival and subsequent accessibility of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel has given rise to an increasingly crowded field of scholars and writers. The hundreds of resulting publications cannot be listed here. For the most recent overview of these publications, the interested reader can consult Steven Kaplan and Shoshana Ben-Dor’s Ethiopian Jewry. An Annotated Bibliography, released by Ben-Zvi Institute of Jerusalem in 1988.

At the time of its first publication, I debated whether to remove the name Falasha from the title of this book in light of its increasingly negative connotation and diminishing use among both members of the community and their supporters abroad. In retrospect, I feel the decision to retain the name Falasha was appropriate. This book represents one of the last ethnographic studies of traditional Falasha cultural and religious life carried out in Ethiopia. Therefore, the long-standing use of this name in that context by both members of the Beta Israel community and other Ethiopians should necessarily be reflected in its title.

My continuing research on Ethiopian Christian chant has fully supported the central hypothesis advanced here concerning the close historical relationship between Beta Israel and Ethiopian Christian liturgies. It has also contributed new insights, which will be detailed in a forthcoming publication (Kay K. Shelemay and Peter Jeffery, Oral and Written Transmission in Ethiopian Christian Chant, Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

Of the men who served as research associates for this book, Adana Takuyo and Barkaw Yallew have now joined Wubshet Atagab in Israel. During the summer of 1988, I was able to visit both Qes Adana and Qes Wubshet at their homes and to present them with copies of the book. Yona Bogale, leader of the Beta Israel community and scholar, died in Israel during 1987. He was both a personal friend and an extraordinary repository of knowledge about his community. I note his passing with great sadness. Gete Asrass, who provided important information about Beta Israel monastic practice, died in Israel in early 1989.

One of the main research associates for this book, the late Qes Berhan Baruk (Uri Ben Baruch), once said to me that in twenty-five years only I would remember the Beta Israel prayers. It is my hope that the prayer texts, translations, and musical transcriptions set forth in these pages will serve as a lasting resource for those in the Beta Israel community who may someday wish to explore, and remember, their Ethiopian heritage.

Kay Kaufman Shelemay
New York City
January 1989

INTRODUCTION

This study of the Ethiopian Falashas began like many before it, sparked by curiosity about Jewish elements in Falasha tradition. When I first read about the Falashas in 1970 I was surprised, given the widespread interest in their religious life, how little was known of their liturgy. I decided to study Falasha liturgical music and in 1977 completed a doctoral dissertation on the subject.[1]

Even a casual observer quickly becomes aware of controversies surrounding Falasha history and religion. In the beginning I tacitly accepted the theory that Falashas maintain a religious tradition obtained directly from foreign Jews some time before the Ethiopian court adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Yet, while I was in Ethiopia my perspective began to shift. I constantly encountered evidence of a close relationship between Falasha observance and a broader stream of religious tradition in Ethiopia. Research with Ethiopian church musicians in 1974-1975 revealed similarities between the Ethiopian Christian and Falasha musical systems. But only in 1978 did I fully appreciate the implications of those materials and begin to discuss Falasha liturgical music and its ritual context as part of an Ethiopian monastic tradition acknowledged by Falashas to have shaped their religious life. Thus as my perspective changed so did the shape of this study. What began as an inquiry into Falasha liturgical music evolved into a broader effort with music as only one part of a larger picture.

Existence of a monastic order among Falashas has generally been discussed as an anomalous part of their religious life, usually as an aspect of Christian heritage embedded in an otherwise Jewish milieu. However, the materials I gathered point to monasticism as the generating force in Falasha belief and liturgical practice. Falashas trace most aspects of their religious tradition to the influence of Ethiopian Christian monks said to have joined their community in the fifteenth century. In addition to the consensus of Falasha oral traditions concerning the role of Ethiopian Christian monks in their religious life, the music and texts of the contemporary Falasha liturgy contain overwhelming similarities to aspects of Ethiopian Christian practice either documented in the past or surviving today. Thus, what began as a study of music and ritual ends with implications for our view of Falasha liturgical history. The following chapters present the materials that give rise to this reinterpretation.

The book is structured to present the musical/liturgical materials first and then to discuss their import for historical studies at the end. Chapter 1 traces major theories concerning Falasha origins as well as the documented course of Falasha history and summarizes issues left unresolved. Chapter 2 surveys Falasha beliefs, customs, liturgical cycle, and literature, drawing on the literature and fieldwork data. Chapter 3 discusses the immediate physical and human context of liturgical performance, including the Falasha prayerhouse, ritual objects, and congregation. Falasha clerical structure, including monasticism, is detailed here. Chapter 4 presents the Falashas’ own perspective of their liturgy, with prayers classified according to indigenous criteria. Chapters 5 and 6 appraise Falasha liturgical texts and musical content, respectively, from an analytical and comparative perspective. The final chapter reviews the major points made earlier and explores the hypothesis that the Falasha liturgical tradition extant today is primarily descended from a Judaized monastic tradition known to have played an important role in Ethiopian religious history.

Throughout the book I try to relate the Falasha tradition to its Ethiopian context and to chart the relationship of Falasha customs to those of other peoples in Ethiopia. This approach contrasts that of most of the existing literature, which tends to emphasize the Judaic aspects of Falasha tradition with little reference to their Ethiopian heritage. A comparative approach becomes particularly important in Chapters 5 and 6, where texts and music of the Falasha liturgy are compared to those of the Ethiopian Christian tradition. Analyzing musical data in its cultural setting has always been a central tenet of ethnomusicological inquiry. A compelling rationale is stated by anthropologist Clifford Geertz, who writes that cultural forms and their creators “are brought into actual existence by the experience of living in the midst of certain sorts of things to look at, listen to, handle, think about, cope with, and react to…. Art and the equipment to grasp it are made in the same shop.”[2]

It is also not surprising that the materials gathered here can contribute to understanding the past. Rituals, like the art forms to which Geertz refers, are both reflections and repositories of a people’s sensibilities and history.[3] My approach to Falasha ritual content has drawn upon art historian Robert Goldwater’s suggestion that the arts are “primary documents” within cultures that both convey and embody meaning.[4] A central theme of this book is that by analyzing ritual content and contextualizing these “documents” in a broader cultural field we can gain insight into the history that gave them shape and meaning.

Historical studies have in fact occupied an important place in the development of ethnomusicology. Indeed, in a recent book ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl goes so far as to state that “the value and the contribution of ethnomusicology seem… to be essentially and very broadly historical.”[5] Historical studies in ethnomusicology range from speculation concerning the origins of music to study of musical processes over time.[6] Yet, although ethnomusicologists have completed documentary studies of music history in literate cultures, they have not often contributed to historical reconstruction concerning oral traditions in specific locales.[7] One critic faulted recent studies of music and history in Africa for not moving beyond accepted historical theory.[8] Despite this criticism, it seems clear that ethnomusicological data can help unravel the past.[9] The methods of this process have been described by Alan P. Merriam as “essentially additive” in that music and musical instruments are used as adjuncts to other kinds of information and suggest hypotheses that can be corroborated elsewhere.[10] The Falasha case study provides an example of such a research process, although it must be emphasized that the central hypothesis here emerges directly from the interaction of testimony about the history of music and liturgy with primary liturgical materials. At the same time, initial corroboration is provided that can be further checked against information from other domains.

Music in ritual complexes provides a particularly valuable yardstick by which to gauge testimony about music since rituals are usually transmitted intact over long periods. In the Falasha example a comparison with a second liturgical tradition, that of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is used to confirm Falasha testimony or to provide insight when it is unclear or unavailable.

The musical/liturgical documents and related testimony comprise different types of oral data. Since these materials often appear intertwined in the following pages, it is appropriate to separate and define them here. Jan Vansina has suggested that oral materials be classified according to their purpose, significance, form, and manner of transmission.[11] Using his categories we can summarize our data as follows: Formulas are stereotyped phrases used in various special circumstances. Included are names of prayers, sections of rituals, and entire liturgical orders, as well as titles of clergy and names of ritual objects. They are closely related to the second category of oral materials, from which they are often derived. Religious poetry is a stereotyped form of prayers, hymns, or dogmatic texts. They constitute a great part of our data and are drawn from Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgy. Two Falasha orders of service will command attention throughout this book: (1) the content of rituals maintained in the Falasha prayerhouse today and (2) prayers that were part of the Falasha monastic office, no longer performed in context but reconstructed by Falasha priests. These liturgical orders move beyond “religious poetry” since they incorporate melody, instrumental accompaniment, and a variety of movements. Tales are free prose texts of diverse narrative forms. They include testimony about Falasha and Ethiopian history, myths about the lives of Falasha holy men and saints, and personal stories about lives of the priests. Commentaries are brief pieces of information either supplementary to other sources or closely connected with a situation in which they are transmitted. Most Falasha and Christian commentaries are explanations of liturgical practice or performance elicited during interviews.

I do not suggest that all oral data have potential diachronic relevance, but criteria established by scholars working with oral history suggest that Falasha materials provide fertile ground for historical reconstruction. Ethiopia, geographically isolated and politically independent, meets Herskovits’ requirement of historical unity.[12] Vansina writes that oral traditions transmitted by specialists often dependably reveal how their content evolved.[13] In addition, Falasha oral traditions are frequently supported and elucidated by written Ethiopian sources. In recent years scholars have uncovered and published information that enables better evaluation of the relationship of Falasha tradition to Ethiopian precedents.

When I began fieldwork in August 1973, I rented a room in Gondar, the capital of Begemder and Semien Province. From there I visited Falasha villages in the area, working mainly in Ambober, about forty kilometers from Gondar and the center of an area populated by about 500 Falashas.[14]

Ambober was chosen as the primary research site for several reasons. As the informal “center” of Falasha life in the Gondar area, the village had a prayerhouse where rituals were performed regularly by four resident priests. Previous researchers had worked in Ambober, which provided additional data for contextual and comparative purposes. The year before my Ethiopian field trip, I had lived in Jerusalem, where I became friendly with the sons of two Ambober priests. They, and the leader of the Falasha community, Yona Bogale, smoothed my way by notifying the Ambober priests of my plans. The proximity of Ambober to Gondar was also important. I was able to make the trip in about half a day by taking a bus south along the main road to the village of Tadda and then riding a horse or walking over a rough path less than ten kilometers to Ambober. The distance was short enough for frequent returns to Gondar to recharge batteries and indulge in personal amenities unavailable in the village.

Founded when Falashas from outlying areas were uprooted during the Italian occupation in 1936, Ambober has mud-walled, thatched-roofed huts in hedge-rimmed compounds. A few houses have corrugated iron roofs, and the schoolhouse is stone. At the center of the village is the prayerhouse, the locus of Falasha religious life. The Ambober region was owned by absentee landlords to whom tenants paid taxes for use of the land until the Land Reform Proclamation of 1975.[15] Three-fourths of the households supplement their subsistence farming income by selling pottery and metal implements at markets in neighboring communities and in Gondar. [16] The men make tools such as hoes and pitchforks over fires fanned by leather bellows. The women make pottery in the warm, dry months of January and February.

Because of its proximity to Gondar, Ambober has been heavily influenced by Jewish visitors in recent decades. The presence of Falasha teachers of Hebrew language and liturgy trained in Israel, as well as non-Falasha teachers provided by the Ethiopian government, has resulted in unusually high literacy. Many children and young adults speak Hebrew, although most of the older people know only Amharic, the Ethiopian national language.

I stayed in Ambober for three or four days at a time, taping rituals at the prayerhouse and interviewing the priests. Since no house in the village was empty that fall, I camped in the schoolhouse. I visited priests living in Tadda and Wolleqa in day trips from Gondar.

English-speaking Falasha high school students often accompanied me and helped translate my questions and the priests’ responses. In Ambober, Falasha teachers sometimes helped with interviews. I primarily asked questions about liturgical cycle and content, guided by an informal questionnaire I had constructed before entering the field. I refined my questions and terminology after each interview. My Amharic and Ge‘ez skills were adequate to monitor closely translations of questions and replies. In addition, taping of interviews permitted review of these sessions in detail. I transcribed interviews in Gondar between field trips and later checked these tapes and translations with non-Falasha informants. I was able to return to the tapes whenever an aspect of the field notes or translation was ambiguous.

I was warmly received in Ambober and the other Falasha villages I visited. Particularly significant to this acceptance was my background as a Jewish American and my residency in Israel the year before; I was considered an “insider.” Everyone knew that I had come to study the prayers and their zēmā (music), and most went out of their way to facilitate my research and make my stay pleasant.

Although the question of whether a foreign woman could work successfully with a male religious hierarchy in rural Ethiopia was often raised before I entered the field, I encountered few problems related to my sex. Foreign women tend to be free of many constraints imposed on Ethiopian women in traditional society; in addition, the seemingly sophisticated recording equipment I carried apparently elevated my status. A female anthropologist who had lived in Ambober and other Falasha villages during the late 1960s warned that the priests would accept me only if I distanced myself from village women and from topics relative to their spheres of activity.[17] This alerted me to social constraints I might otherwise have breached. Except for brief conversations with the wife of one Ambober priest, my time was spent among the men. I was included in such male events as special drinking parties on Sabbath afternoons and was served with the men when eating in a private home. Village women and children touched women isolated in special huts during menstruation, but I was not allowed to approach. Although I had been advised to wear a skirt, Falasha men encouraged me to wear slacks and seemed more comfortable when I did so. My “marginal male” status was evidently not unique, since Marilyn Heldman, an art historian doing research in northern Ethiopia at the same time, had similar experiences.[18]

I had planned to spend the 1973-1974 dry season (September-May) in Falasha villages and then return the following fall to tape selected rituals a second time. My plans changed in late December, when I left the field to be married to Jack Shelemay of Addis Ababa. As a permanent resident of Ethiopia I anticipated a long-term opportunity to continue fieldwork and planned to resume my research with a visit to the villages during the Falasha Passover that spring. The Ethiopian revolution began in early 1974, making a return to the villages untenable. I continued research throughout 1974 and 1975 in Addis Ababa, analyzing Falasha liturgical materials and studying Ethiopian church music with Christian musicians. I returned to the United States in early 1976 but was able to revisit Ethiopia for six weeks in both 1977 and 1978. During the summers of 1975 and 1980 I conducted additional interviews with Falasha priests who had immigrated to Israel. In 1980 I used taped excerpts of rituals and interviews recorded in 1973 for “feedback” purposes.[19]

The range of subjects I am able to address has been determined by both my original research design and the constraints described above. My original fieldwork focused on music and its performance within the Falasha prayerhouse, to the exclusion of secular styles and music of less formal religious occasions. I would not take this same approach today, although given the unexpected and abrupt end to my village fieldwork it may have been fortuitous.

Cultural anthropologists may miss attention to the symbolic content of Falasha liturgy. From the beginning I was concerned with ritual structure or, to use anthropologist Roy Rappaport’s terms, the “surface” of ritual rather than its “depths.”[20] The task of penetrating the Falasha ritual surface and locating it in a broader liturgical context has barely begun. The symbolic dimensions of this tradition must for now remain in the background.

While researching and writing this book, I often considered the theoretical distinction between etic and emic levels of analysis. I use these terms in the general sense originally proposed by Kenneth L. Pike: “The etic viewpoint studies behavior as from outside of a particular system, and as an essential approach to an alien system. The emic viewpoint results from studying behavior as from inside the system.”[21] The latter has had a marked effect on ethnomusicology[22] and understanding Falasha folk classifications was a goal of my own project. Falasha perspectives directly shape the central hypothesis of this book. However, etic perspectives determined how I elicited Falasha taxonomies, and the resulting data in turn influenced my analytical procedures. Thus, interaction of the two illuminated and transformed my understanding of both Falasha folk taxonomies and cross-cultural method.[23] This relationship can be seen most clearly in my use of a comparative method in Chapters 5 and 6. However, I try at all times to acknowledge these different levels of analysis by distinguishing between my understanding of Falasha perspectives of their liturgical tradition, comparative data, and my own interpretations of the relationship between the two. Falasha and Christian informants are identified by name and date of interview. Information or opinions from other sources are documented, while unattributed observations are drawn from my field notes and continuing reactions to Falasha exegesis after the fieldwork.

The analysis of Falasha liturgical materials poses many methodological problems. Transcription and translation of Ge‘ez prayer texts have been the most formidable hurdles. Written orders of service are not extant (if they ever existed), nor were Falasha priests able to dictate substantial textual excerpts or entire rituals. Therefore, I have transcribed all texts directly from recordings of rituals or interviews, which was a multistage process. During 1974-1975 I worked daily with Tebebu Tseger, a student at the theological seminary in Addis Ababa fluent in Ge‘ez and English, to transcribe all Falasha rituals in full. Our procedures were straightforward and tedious: We audited tapes of the liturgy and transcribed as many texts as possible. During 1977-1982 Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, an Ethiopian priest and monk now living in the United States, helped me refine these texts and complete others, as well as review translations of interview tapes. Several linguists then read the texts and suggested corrections for apparent errors. The final part of the process was sensitive, especially when Falasha Ge‘ez usage was ambiguous or apparently deviated from modern standard usage. When corrections were suggested, I returned once more to the tapes. If the correction did not correspond to the audible ritual content, a “mistake” was allowed to stand. In many cases in which a grammatical form or vowel sound was ambiguous because of sung performance, I used the standard form.

Some Geez sections of the liturgy are obscured by group performance or background noise. Other sections are in an Agau dialect formerly spoken by Falashas but no longer understood by priests or congregants. Incomprehensible texts are marked –? – and Agau words –?A–. In addition, many syllables silent in speech are articulated in liturgical performance, often inconsistently. Transcriptions and translations are as accurate and complete as possible given these constraints, and I assume responsibility for any errors. I hope that scholars trained in linguistics and literary analysis will later refine these materials and explore them from a text-critical perspective. A particularly valuable contribution would be an edition correlating sung liturgical portions provided here with concordances in the literature. I have attempted to note the prominent biblical quotations, particularly psalms, as well as obvious quotations from the Ethiopic literature or liturgy, but these references are by no means exhaustive. (The transliteration system used throughout is found at the beginning of Appendix 1; however, popular spellings are given for contemporary place, tribal, and personal names.)

The presentation of musical materials raised other methodological issues. Falasha priests do not easily discuss pitch content of the liturgy, leaving the researcher without much guidance in this area. Heterophonic group performance, with background noises ranging from crying babies to chirping birds, complicated use of the stroboscope and other analytical devices. Standard western staff notation is used for transcription, with deviations from the western pitch system indicated according to the key found at the beginning of Appendix 1. All examples are transposed with final on A to facilitate comparison; the original pitch level is indicated in parentheses at the beginning of each example.

In transcribing music and text for purposes of analysis and the ethnomusicological record, one risks enshrining materials from a single liturgical cycle as models. Yet, the evidence indicates that these links are representative of the chain they form and that this glimpse of the Falasha liturgy gives insight into the essence of the tradition. Difficult choices arose in selecting materials to be presented here. The desire to offer the reader an opportunity to evaluate liturgical materials without editorial distortion while providing an overview of approximately fifty hours of ritual necessitated compromise. Thus, Appendix 1 contains excerpts of important Falasha prayers performed or identified by Falasha priests during interviews, while Appendix 2 contains a short ritual in full. Complete texts of the monastic and common liturgical prayers are presented whenever possible; incomplete transcriptions are discussed within Chapter 4. Texts and translations are not provided when a prayer derives from a common scriptural source, such as Appendix 1-11C and 1-11D, which are full renditions of Psalm 32 (33). Translations only are provided for spoken portions concluding the short evening ritual found in Appendix 2. Musical transcriptions always present a minimum of a complete musical unit, usually a strophe, and more, when relevant.

I hope this book will in some measure repay my debt to the Falashas of Ethiopia and Israel who, in sharing their culture’s present, provided a key to its past. Contemporary Falasha identification with Jews outside Ethiopia and recent immigration to Israel complicates discussions of Falasha history. Despite contact with western Jewry only since the nineteenth century, the Falashas have become enthusiastic members of the Jewish mainstream. Their immigration to Israel, at first slowed by debate about their religious status, was approved by rabbinical decree in 1973. Tensions in Ethiopia since the 1974 revolution precipitated Falasha commitment to emigrate, while severely limiting their opportunity to do so. Only the dramatic success of “Operation Moses” in late 1984 and early 1985 made possible large-scale immigration. Today, one finds a growing Falasha community assimilating successfully into Israeli society as have other groups before them.

A problem for all scholars writing about the Ethiopian Falashas today is what to call them. Although their traditional tribal name is Beta Israel (House of Israel), they are better known both in Ethiopia and abroad as Falashas. During my months in their villages, individuals referred to themselves as Falasha or occasionally, Israel. A strong preference in recent years, particularly among members of the community living in Israel, has been to be known as Ethiopian Jews. In the following pages I adopt a compromise, generally using the name Beta Israel when discussing traditional religion and culture, but utilizing Falasha in comparative references to the broader Ethiopian historical and religious context as well as the scholarly literature. References to Ethiopian Jews will be restricted to discussion of normative Jewish practices or to members of the community living in Israel.

I am concerned that the central hypothesis of this book and the conclusions drawn not be used to reopen painful discussions of Beta Israel religious identity. For several years I have debated the responsibilities of the researcher in offering interpretation. Although some scholars feel that data not significant to the participants are irrelevant, I subscribe to the view succinctly expressed by Victor Turner: “Once we have collected informants’ interpretations of a given symbol, our work of analysis has indeed just begun.”[24] Ironically, although new perspectives often develop from contradictions between native testimony and observable cultural phenomena, the opposite is true in this study. Beta Israel oral traditions about their liturgy and religious life agree in virtually all aspects with the musical/liturgical data studied here. However, there arises another problem: These data bring into focus a view at odds with contemporary Beta Israel perceptions of themselves. On a theoretical level I am comfortable with this discrepancy, but the political and emotional tensions are less easily resolved.

While I have concluded that locating Falasha tradition in its broad Ethiopian context contributes to a better understanding of this people long shrouded in mystery and controversy, I emphasize that this study looks to the past and has little relation to Beta Israel self-perception today. Studies of ethnicity have shown that many groups emphasize certain cultural features while ignoring or even denying others.[25] The Beta Israel provide a rich example of cultural selectivity. The last century of contact with Jews from abroad has transformed both their traditions and their self-image. In addition, as we examine Falashas in their Ethiopian context we must remember that when they emerged as an ethnic group long before the modern era, they fostered an identity with Judaic traditions as its hallmark. Their growing role as Ethiopian Jews in modern Israel is in a deep sense a redefinition of that older commitment.

Notes

1. “The Liturgical Music of the Falasha of Ethiopia,” Ph. D. diss., University of Michigan.

2. “Art as a Cultural System,” Modern Language Notes 91 (1976): 1497.

3. Ritual is here defined as the performance of more or less invariant sequences of formal acts and utterances not encoded by the performers and performed in specified contexts at specified times. See Roy A. Rappaport, “The Obvious Aspects of Ritual,” Ecology, Meaning, and Religion (Richmond, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 1979), pp. 173-222. Ritual will be used interchangeably with “liturgical order,” “liturgy,” and “service” to refer to the public acts of prayer by Falashas.

4. “Art History and Anthropology: Some Comparisons of Methodology,” in Anthony Forge, ed., Primitive Art and Society (New York: Oxford University Press for the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, 1973). p. 9.

5. The Study of Ethnomusicology: Twenty-nine Issues and Concepts (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983), p. 11.

6. Alan P. Merriam, “Use of Music in Reconstructing Culture History,” in Creighton Gabel and Norman Bennett, eds., Reconstructing African Culture History (Boston: Boston University Press, 1967), pp. 85-114; and Bruno Nettl, “Historical Aspects of Ethnomusicology,” American Anthropologist 60 (1958): 518-32. Nettl (p. 518) divides historical inquiry into studies of problems of origin and change.

7. Historical studies of Asian and Near Eastern musics include Henry G. Farmer, A History of Arabian Music (London: Luzac, 1929), and William P. Malm, Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1959). The study of history of oral traditions has usually been based on documentary evidence, as in Dena J. Epstein, “The Folk Banjo: A Documentary History,” Ethnomusicology 19 (1975): 347-72, and Portia Maultsby, “Music of Northern Independent Black Churches during the Ante-bellum Period,” Ethnomusicology 19 (1975): 401-20. Modern performance practice has recently been compared with that described in tenth-century Arab sources. See George Sawa, “The Survival of Some Aspects of Medieval Arabic Performance Practice,” Ethnomusicology 25 (1981): 73-86. Nettl writes that ethnomusicologists have been more concerned with “generalizations of conclusions to culture-wide and then universal processes.” (Ethnomusicology, p. 173.)

8. John D. Fage, “Music and History: A Historian’s View of the African Picture,” in Klaus P. Wachsmann, ed. Essays on Music and History in Africa (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1971), pp. 257-66.

9. Similar suggestions for moving beyond the “ethnographic present” have been made by art historians. See Roy Sieber, “Art and History in Ghana,” in Forge, ed., Primitive Art and Society, pp. 70-71.

10. “Use of Music,” p. 106

11. Oral Tradition: A Study in Historical Methodology, H. M. Wright, trans. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965), pp. 143-64

12. Melville J. Herskovits, Man and His Works (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952), p. 521. Herskovits writes that efforts at historical reconstruction are worthwhile provided that (1) the area selected for analysis be one whose historic unity can be assumed and (2) the probability, not the absolute fact, of historic developments be recognized as the aim

13. Oral Tradition, p. 34.

14. The province is officially known by the double name Begemder and Semien. The former is the traditional name for the Gondar area where most twentieth-century Falashas live. Semien is the mountainous northeastern region of the province that was inhabited, and at times ruled, by Falashas until the seventeenth century. Some Falasha villages are still found in the mountains. Other traditional Falasha areas in the province are Wagara, Seqelt, Qwara, and Armachaho. Some Falashas also lived in Tigray Province

15. Proclamation No. 31 of 1975, “A Proclamation to Provide for the Public Ownership of Rural Lands,” Negarit Gazeta (29 April 1975)

16. Fisseha Demoze Gebre Egzi, “A Regional Study of the Ambober-Seramle Region (A Falasha Region),” B.A. thesis, Department of Geography, Haile Selassie I University, Addis Ababa, 1970.

17. Veronika Krempel, private conversation, June 1973.

18. Marilyn Heldman, private conversation, June 1974

19. This technique comprised playing recordings of earlier interviews and liturgical portions to elicit specific information concerning these materials. This methodology was suggested by an earlier version of a paper by Ruth M. Stone and Verlon L. Stone, now published as “Event, Feedback, and Analysis: Research Media in the Study of Music,” Ethnomusicology 25 (1981): 215-26.

20. “Obvious Aspects of Ritual, “p. 175

21. Kenneth L. Pike, Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior, 2d rev. ed. (The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1967), p. 37

22. For example, see Steven Feld, Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982); and Hugo Zemp, “Are Are Classification of Musical Types and Instruments,” Ethnomusicology 22 (1978): 37-68

23. Clifford Geertz writes that “analysis penetrates into the very body of the object, that is, we begin with our own interpretations of what our informants are up to, and then systematize those.” “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretative Theory of Culture,” in The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays by Clifford Geertz (New York: Basic Books, 1973), p. 15. K. A. Gourlay similarly suggests that data exist as interpretation, rather than positing a dichotomy between objective data and the ethnomusicologist’s interpretation of them. “Towards a Reassessment of the Ethnomusicologist’s Role in Research,” Ethnomusicology 22 (1978): 1-36

24. “Symbols in Ndembu Ritual,” a chapter in The Forest of Symbols, paperback ed. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967), p. 47

25. Frederick Barth, ed., Ethnic Groups and Boundaries (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1969), p. 35.

1

PERSPECTIVES OF FALASHA HISTORY

Twentieth-century interest in the Falashas is but the latest chapter in a longstanding fascination with the history and traditions of the “Black Jews of Ethiopia.”[1] Despite their status as one of the “best covered stories in Jewish journalism,”[2] it is only very recently that scholars have begun to evaluate the Falashas in relation to Ethiopian society. They are frequently presented as cultural anomalies, as Jews suspended within a hostile culture with which they have little relationship, while they have perceived themselves as Beta Israel (House of Israel) within an Orthodox Christian milieu.[3] This study attempts to clarify these perspectives and to demonstrate that the Beta Israel not only are part of their Ethiopian environment but also were shaped by it.

Who are the Beta Israel and how did they acquire Jewish traditions? The perspective of the speaker determines the answer. Most Beta Israel recount an oral tradition tracing their origin to Menelik, the fabled son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This tradition derives from the Ethiopian national epic, the Kebra Nagast, thought to be a composite work which reached its final redaction in the fourteenth century.[4] The story of the visit of the Queen of Ethiopia to King Solomon, the subsequent birth of their son, and the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia is a central part of the narrative. The Kebra Nagast, often termed “the foremost creation of Ethiopian literature,”[5] therefore provides an origin myth for the heritage of the Ethiopian nation at large. Widely circulated in Ethiopian oral tradition and artistic production, its perpetuation among Falashas testifies to their adherence to a central aspect of Ethiopian cultural identity and collective history.[6]

Some observers have speculated that the Beta Israel may descend from Jews who traveled south from Egypt at the time of the biblical Exodus. Others have suggested that Jews may have fled Jerusalem and settled in Ethiopia after the destruction of either the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. or the Second Temple in the first century C. E. Most scholars have rejected these theories, although they tend to agree that the Beta Israel are indigenous Agau people who acquired Jewish beliefs and customs from an unidentified source.[7]

Some suggest that Egyptian Jews from a community in Elephantine in the fifth century B.C.E. were the source of Jewish beliefs.[8] This perspective is based on a description, found in Egyptian papyri of that period, of the destruction of an Egyptian holy place which may have been a Jewish temple. We have no record of the migration, but geographical proximity and the longstanding historical relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia have encouraged this speculation.[9]

South Arabian Jews are often mentioned as a possible source of Beta Israel beliefs and customs.[10] An exchange of peoples, language, and culture took place across the Red Sea, and during the early Common Era centuries Ethiopian rulers often controlled areas of South Arabia.[11] Yet, the one biological survey attempting to establish the South Arabian derivation of six Ethiopian ethnic groups, including the Falashas, proved inconclusive.[12] No specific record exists of South Arabian Jews in Ethiopia, with the exception of a fifteenth-century manuscript’s reference to a Jew who earlier emigrated from Aden and settled considerably southeast of Falasha areas.[13] Therefore, we again confront a theory for which “nearly all the proofs… are indirect rather than direct.”[14]

These diverse theories have influenced contemporary Beta Israel thought. A leader of the Beta Israel community fuses several accounts in his summary of their origins: “First Jews came from Egypt and settled in Qwara. The next migration was from Yemen to the Aksum area. Eventually the two groups merged in the Semien mountains.”[15]

Many scholars have realized that theories of Falasha origins must consider Jewish traditions shared by other Ethiopians. While advancing the notion that South Arabian sources brought Judaic beliefs and practices to pre-Christian Ethiopia, Edward Ullendorff writes: “The Falashas cannot be saddled with responsibility for the existence of any of the Hebraic-Jewish elements in Abyssinian Christianity…. They were in no way agents in bringing about the state of affairs which we may observe in Ethiopia today. On the contrary, together with their Christian fellow-Ethiopians (who in all important facets, are tarred with the same brush of an ancient but abiding Judaization), they are stubborn adherents to fossilized Hebrew-Jewish beliefs, practices, and customs.”[16] Ethiopian Christian observance of the Saturday Sabbath, male circumcision on the eighth day, and dietary laws provoked considerable inter-Christian criticism in the past.[17] In addition, the Qemant, who live near the Falashas in the Begemder region, maintain a syncretic tradition containing Judaic, Christian, and indigenous Agau elements.[18]

The survival of Jewish elements within Ethiopian Christianity has led many to suggest that the Jewish influence must have predated the Ethiopian court’s adoption of Christianity in the fourth century.[19] Yet others have questioned the likelihood of a Jewish influence on pre-Christian Ethiopia, especially from a South Arabian source. Maxime Rodinson points out that Judaism was not well established in South Arabia until around 375 C. E., leaving no time for a profound effect before Ethiopia adopted Christianity. Unable to trace Ethiopian contact with any Jewish source, he suggests that the church may have revived biblical traditions and itself been the agent of Judaic elements in Ethiopian culture.[20]

We therefore confront a variety of opinions concerning two related, but distinct historical questions. The first, the source of Jewish traditions in greater Ethiopian culture, cannot be directly addressed here. Although the Judaization of so many aspects of Ethiopian life attests to a pervasive Jewish influence from some quarter and has provided ample material for speculation, the details of its history await the uncovering of new sources by future researchers. The second question, the history of the Beta Israel tradition, can be approached without immediate reference to the first. By limiting our inquiry to the periods for which we have indigenous documentary sources, we can establish a fairly reliable framework for understanding Beta Israel history since the fourteenth century. These data, when viewed in combination with materials from the oral tradition, provide a remarkably consistent picture. [21]

Historians usually date the first mention of the Falashas in Ethiopian sources[22] to the royal chronicles of Amda Ṣeyon, who ruled from 1314 to 1344.[23] A description of the emperor’s military campaigns records that “he assembled other troops, called Damot, Saqalt, Gondar, Hadya, of horsemen and strong foot-soldiers, accustomed to battle and of matchless strength in war and combat; he sent them, with their commander Tsaga Krestos (Grace of Christ), to Begammeder, in order to carry the war into the land inhabited by the renegades who were formerly Christians and who have denied Christ, after the fashion of the Jews crucifiers of Semen, of Wagara, of Salamt, and of Sagade. This is why, in his zeal for the faith of Christ, he sent the troops in order to exterminate them.”[24]

This text does not refer to Falashas (or Beta Israel) directly, but to renegades said to be former Christians who are kama ayhud (like Jews). Similar references are also found in the chronicles of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob a century later.[25]

Since the areas mentioned in both chronicles are still traditional Falasha territories, it seems likely that some of the ayhud (Jews) were ancestors of people we today call Falashas. A recent study of Falasha history supports the connection: “The consistency, richness, and continuity of the historical traditions – in both written and oral sources – constitutes sufficient evidence to justify the association of all these different terms (Ayhud, Felasha, Kayla, Beta Israel, Israel) with the same group of people, at least since the fourteenth century.”[26] Although many writers assume that all ayhud are Falashas, Taddesse Tamrat comments on their unusual religious identity: “It is curious that the chroniclers of both Amdā-Ṣiyon and Zar’a-Ya’iqob considered the Falasha as Christian apostates…. The hagiographical traditions are, however, unanimous in attributing Jewish religious practices to them.”[27]

The Ethiopian chronicles and hagiographies are not necessarily contradictory if viewed in the context of medieval Ethiopian history. Several Ethiopian Christian monastic groups were involved throughout this period in serious doctrinal disputes. These monks insisted on celebrating Judaic traditions under attack by the Alexandrian bishop heading the church, who branded as heretics those who refused to accept reforms. [28] Some, such as the monk Ēwosṭātēwos, went into exile rather than forfeit observance of the Saturday Sabbath and other Jewish traditions. [29]

Members of these dissident groups almost certainly came into contact with ancestors of the Falashas. Gabra Iyesus, a disciple of Ēwosṭātēwos, proselytized near Lake Tana in the late fourteenth century among people called ayhud: “Even the sons of the Jews believed, received baptism, and entered into his teaching.”[30] A hagiography of the early fifteenth century records that a monk named Qozmos left his Christian monastery and joined people who were of “hāymanota ayhud” (Jewish religion) in the Semien Mountains, for whom he copied the Orit (Pentateuch) and acted as a military leader. [31] At some point during this period, the Falashas evidently adopted the monastic traditions which were to play a critical role in shaping their religious life.[32]

Early Ethiopian historical sources therefore reflect a complicated religious situation. People said to be former Christians who observed Jewish traditions lived in areas today populated by Falashas. [33] Monks who left the church in order to preserve Jewish traditions were said to have converted ayhud. The relatively late emergence of the name Falasha may derive from continued controversies during the reign of King Yisḥaq (1413-1430), who decreed: “He who is baptized in the Christian religion, may inherit the land of his father; otherwise, let him be a Fälasī.”[34] The people we today know as Falashas did indeed forfeit the right to own land at some point during the conflicts.

If we concur that ayhud refers to the Falashas, or their ancestors, we must explore the varied meanings of the term. In medieval Christian usage the epithet “Jew” can simply refer to a Christian who does not adhere to orthodox beliefs. [35] This usage is found in Ethiopian manuscripts such as the fifteenth-century Maṣḥafa Berhān, in which Christian monks who refuse to conform to orthodoxy are termed ayhud.[36] One scholar has also suggested that ayhud may have referred to rebels against the Christian state, not to a normative religious identity. [37] Yet, since many monks were also rebels, we may here find a congruence between religious and political connotations of the word. Ethiopian monasteries harbored many nobles who were forced to abandon the political arena. [38] In addition, social and political conditions during the early years of the Solomonic dynasty[39] contributed to the militancy and independence of monastic orders; many monks refused to submit to royal control.

Although the Ethiopian chronicles and hagiographies raise questions they do not answer, they refute the notion that the Falashas exist in a historical vacuum. Ancestors of the Falashas, political rebels, and Christian monks with Jewish traditions are all termed ayhud in various early sources. We will return to this issue and the events of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries later in the book.

The course of Falasha history is better documented as one moves forward in time. In general the fortunes of the Falashas fluctuated as they rebelled against successive emperors and then were subdued by another round of fighting. Although Falashas at first aided the Muslims during their mid-sixteenth-century invasion of Ethiopia, they later cooperated with the Portuguese to defeat the invaders in 1543.[40] When the Falashas again expanded southward, Emperor Minās, and then his son, Sarṣa Dengel, began campaigns against them. The latter triumphed around 1581.[41] According to Falasha oral traditions, when they lost battles to Sarṣa Dengel he burned their books and celebrated mass at their stronghold in the Semien Mountains. Taking a Falasha mistress, Sarṣa Dengel fathered a son, Yā’eqob, who served as regent around 1597. This liaison solidified Falasha positions in the Semiens until Yā’eqob was killed in battle by Susneyos, who ruled from 1607 to 1632.[42]

Susneyos’ reign marked the final period of Falasha independence. In 1614 the Falasha leader Gideon gave refuge to pretenders to the Ethiopian throne. Susneyos killed Gideon in 1624, destroyed Falasha villages, and ordered conversion or execution of the Falashas. Yet, Falasha oral traditions also record peaceful incorporation into Ethiopian society during this period despite obvious tensions between them and the emperor.[43] By the early seventeenth century the Falashas were defeated and ordered to abandon their religion. But attempts by Susneyos to forbid Saturday Sabbath observance also offended Ethiopian Christians and a general rebellion ensued. [44]

After their defeat by Susneyos the Falashas dispersed north of Lake Tana. Then, perhaps as a result of Emperor Yisḥaq’s decree, they lost rights to own land. Possibly as early as his reign Falashas began to acquire skills in metallurgy and masonry. [45] Since manual skills are thought to be derived from the devil, Falashas (and other landless tenants making a living from crafts) were regarded with suspicion and considered to be budā (evil-eye people). However, the Falashas’ increasing prominence as artisans caused the stigma to be attached more frequently to them.[46] Yet they also were considered holy people. Christians respected Falasha monks for their knowledge and often brought offerings to Falasha prayerhouses.[47]

The Falashas’ role in constructing the new capital at Gondar during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is recorded by travelers of the period.[48] By the eighteenth century many Falashas had contact with their neighbors and began using Amharic instead of their traditional Cushitic language.[49] Construction of Falasha villages at Tadda and Azezo date from land grants of this period, and some Falashas received titles for their military contributions.[50] Oral traditions recount their service to the court: “A Gondar king was said to have had five hundred Beta Israel (“kayla”) in his army when some rebels attacked on a Saturday, knowing this was their holyday. Disregarding the pleading of the king, they refused to fight and began praying instead. God rewarded their religious steadfastness by granting them a victory in battle.”[51] Although some Falashas intermarried while living near Gondar, there is strong evidence that they retained their religious values and institutions.[52]

By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the general political instability affected the Falashas. They became more dependent on crafts as construction declined, and they lost land as the power of the central government disintegrated. Their social status deteriorated as Ethiopians blamed the evil eye for contemporary problems. By the early nineteenth century Falashas were identified as an occupational caste.[53]

Around this time special missions to convert the Falashas were established by groups from England and Europe. Among the first missionaries were Samuel Gobat and Christian Kugler of the Church Missionary Society. Gobat, who proselytized among the Falashas in the early 1830s, wrote about his experience. [54] He and other missionaries left detailed accounts of Falasha traditions and religious customs which, although often disparaging, provide a valuable record. [55]

In 1860 the London Society for Promotion of Christianity amongst the Jews established stations in Ethiopia. [56] The missionaries were required by the emperor to baptize their converts into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a rule that limited their efficacy: “The Falasha missions were the only ones to meet head-on the difficulties inherent in the indirect approach. They made converts to what was essentially Protestantism, yet channeled their adherents into the Orthodox Church…. The London Society… was the only Reformation society successfully to establish itself. Its impact has been slight.”[57] The proselytizing sparked a religious revival among the Falashas,[58] and a religious dispute between them and the missionaries was mediated by Emperor Tēwodros in 1862. After this confrontation many Falashas attempted to reach Jerusalem because they believed the coming of the messiah was near. A three-year pilgrimage led them as far east as Aksum, where they gave up and returned home.[59]

The missionaries also encountered problems because of their disdain for Ethiopian Christianity. Flad wrote: “It cannot be denied, that, in a moral point of view the Abyssinian Christians are below the Falashas.”[60] Several missionaries, including Flad, were imprisoned when Henry Stern offended the emperor in 1863. They were finally liberated by Sir Robert Napier’s military expedition in 1868.[61]

Ethiopian attempts to incorporate the Falashas and other minorities into the Christian mainstream evidently met with more success. Although a united Christian empire was the goal of emperors since Amda Ṣeyon,[62] the process of Falasha assimilation into the Christian mainstream accelerated during the nineteenth century.[63] Many Falashas, disparaged as an occupational caste without land rights, were absorbed.

Although rumors about Jews in northeastern Africa had intrigued Europeans since medieval times,[64] the nineteenth-century reports of Christian missionary activity among Falashas caused alarm. In response the Alliance israélite universelle sponsored Joseph Halévy’s 1868 visit to Ethiopia:

The study of an almost unknown people is always worthy of interest, but the Alliance, whose object is particularly to elevate and to instruct their unfortunate coreligionists throughout the whole world, and whose efforts in this direction have been crowned by brilliant success – the Alliance have especial reasons to encourage a journey of this description. All previous attempts made by Jewish travellers to reach the Falashas having failed, complete ignorance existed with respect to them. It was only known through the researches of Christian travellers… that the Falashas belonged to the Mosaic faith.

I left Paris… with a lively desire of proceeding to the discovery of unknown coreligionists, and of rousing the sympathies of philanthropists on behalf of an unhappy population.[65]

Halévy’s journey was a mission “to purify the religious ideas of this sect.”[66] He was among the first to tell Falashas they shared beliefs with Jews and to encourage them to modify their traditions: “Their day’s work being over, they would beg of me to acquaint them with the customs and rites of European Jews. They were much surprised to learn that the laws of sacrifice and purification had fallen into disuse among the rest of the Jews of the world.”[67] Halévy was also the first to publish Beta Israel prayers in Hebrew translation,[68] but his greatest legacy was the lifelong devotion of his student, Jacques Faitlovitch, who visited Ethiopia during 1904-1905.

Faitlovitch was the first western Jew to have extended, positive contact with the Falasha community, exposing it to a broad range of Jewish traditions. In 1924 he started a school for Falasha children in Addis Ababa, which was forcibly closed during the Italian occupation in 1936. Thanks to Faitlovitch, young Falashas studied abroad, returning to assume leadership roles in both the Falasha community and the Ethiopian government.[69] Faitlovitch directed the attention of world Jewry to the Falashas. He interpreted their low social status as anti-Semitism and began a movement to have the Falashas recognized as Jews. Mythical elements in Faitlovitch’s writings contributed to the Falashas’ status as lost Jews:

As they lived for centuries apart from the rest of Jewry, separated completely from the outside world, they had to submit to inevitable intercourse with the natives of their new country…. By reason of the scarcity of Jewish women, these Jews being at first only wanderers and adventurers, were compelled to intermarry with the daughters of the land, whom they converted to Judaism. In addition, the heat of the burning Ethiopian sun darkened the skin of these immigrants…. Like all Jews, the Falashas have undergone centuries of misfortune and persecution…. Great was their resistance to the mighty attack of their enemies, and without assistance from their co-religionists they have kept the flag of Judaism flying in their country…. The Abyssinian government, driven by the fanaticism of the priests to the most abominable crimes, determined to destroy the Falashas on the plea that they were murderers of the gods. Wild barbaric leaders, bloodthirsty tigers set upon them, and after each battle the Falashas have had to pay a contribution to the divinity of their enemies.[70]

Faitlovitch did not return to Ethiopia after World War II, but organizations in Israel, Europe, and the United States continued his work. In 1954 the Jewish Agency Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora opened a school in Asmara for thirty-three Falashas, including seven priests. Later that year twelve Falashas were sent to study in Israel, as were fifteen more young people in 1957. By 1956 thirty-three village schools had been opened, although all except the one in Ambober closed occasionally for lack of funds. The Jewish Colonization Association in England and other groups provided supplementary support that enabled the schools to reopen.[71]

The activity of Faitlovitch and the presence of schools exposed Falashas to western Jewish traditions daily. An influx of Jewish tourists brought added pressure to normalize the Falasha liturgical calendar, religious traditions, and belief system.[72] By 1970, most Falashas wished to emigrate to Israel. The hardships experienced by many Ethiopians since the 1974 revolution provided added incentive for emigration.

An intensive campaign was mounted to secure Falasha rights to settle in Israel. In 1973 the chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel recognized the Falashas as Jews and endorsed their right to immigrate.[73] From that date, the slow rate of Falasha emigration generated increasing controversy. Both Falashas and their supporters publicized their difficulties during the revolution and demanded a more vigorous effort. The debate was aired publicly, generating a large literature.[74] Accusations that Falashas were victims of a “second Holocaust,”[75] persecuted in Ethiopia and neglected by Israel, were countered by arguments that they were no more endangered than other Ethiopians and that serious efforts were being made in their behalf.[76] Major Jewish organizations responded by enacting formal resolutions urging Israel to facilitate Falasha immigration.[77] The controversy over Falasha emigration from Ethiopia to Israel culminated during late 1984 and early 1985 with “Operation Moses”, an airlift which brought the majority of the community to Israel. The mass emigration, at first a secret operation, was widely publicized in the international press by early 1985.[78] Remaining constraints on Ethiopian Jewish religious status in Israel, such as a symbolic conversion ritual, were suspended after intense protests by members of the community, in summer 1985.[79]

We therefore find contemporary Beta Israel living in an environment vastly different from that of even a century ago, yet written and oral traditions enable us to trace their history fairly closely from the fourteenth century. These sources suggest that, despite vicissitudes, religious observance was carefully guarded and transmitted to subsequent generations. Indeed, the Beta Israel response to attempts to transform their religious life, at least until this century, was to reaffirm and revive traditional practices. Despite modification toward normative Jewish models, much of the Beta Israel tradition survives, particularly in many aspects of liturgical practice and in the memories of the clergy. It is to these aspects of Beta Israel cultural life that we can turn for insight and we begin by surveying what is known of the Beta Israel beliefs, customs, liturgical cycle, and literature.

Notes

1. Jacques Faitlovitch evidently first used this phrase in “The Black Jews of Abyssinia,” American Hebrew and Jewish Messenger, 1915.

2. Dvora Waysman and Malka Raymist, “The Falashas – a Jewish Tragedy,” Israel Today, 11 October 1979, p. 14.

3. Falasha is usually said to derive from the Ge‘ez root fallasa, meaning to emigrate and to wander. Augustus Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae (1865; reprint ed., Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1970), p. 1340. If the name originated in a fifteenth-century imperial decree forbidding land ownership to non-Christians, as hypothesized by one scholar (see below), it may also imply “tenant” or “visitor”. It may be germane that falāsi means proselyte and falāsyān, monk (ibid., p. 1342). Falashas also call themselves kayla, a Cushitic word of uncertain meaning.

4. See Carl Bezold, Kabra Nagast: Die Herrlichkeit der Könige (Munich: 1905); Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, Kebra Nagast, 2d ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 1932); and D.A. Hubbard, “The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast,” Ph. D. diss., University of Saint Andrews, 1956. Recent discussions of the cultural significance of this work are found in Donald N. Levine’s Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multi-ethnic Society (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974), pp. 92-112, and “Menelik and Oedipus: Further Observations on the Ethiopian National Epic,” in Harold Marcus, ed., Proceedings of the First United States Conference on Ethiopian Studies (East Lansing: African Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1976), pp. 11-24. A recent source suggesting an earlier dating for the Kebra Nagast is Irfan Shahid, “The Kebra Nagast in the Light of Recent Research,” Le muséon 89 (1976): 133-78. For a structural analysis of the epic see Meredith Spencer, “Structural Analysis and the Queen of Sheba,” in Robert L. Hess, ed., Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Ethiopian Studies (Chicago: Office of Publication Services, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, 1979), pp. 343-58.

5. Levine, Greater Ethiopia, p. 92.

6. Levine suggests that northern Tigray Province was the geographic source of the legend and that the tradition was later diffused by Ethiopian monks to other areas (ibid., pp. 110-11).

7. For discussions of theories of Falasha origins, see A. Z. Aešcoly, Sefer Hafalašim, 2d ed. (Jerusalem: Reuben Mass Press, 1973), pp. 4-7; Robert L. Hess, “Toward a History of the Falasha,” Daniel F. McCall et al. eds., Eastern African History (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969), pp. 110-11; and Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology, paperback ed. (New York: Schocken Books, 1969), pp. xlii-xliii.

8. J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1952), p. 19. For a summary of scholarly positions on the Elephantine theory, see Edward Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible (London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 1968), pp. 16- 17. For a recent revival of this issue see David Kessler, The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia (New York: Africana Publishing Co., 1982), pp. 42- 49.

9. Carlo Conti Rossini, Storia d’Etiopia (Bergamo: Istituto italiano d’arti grafiche, 1928), pp. 39-64, 66-69.

10. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xliii; and Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, Excursus on the Falashas, p. 117.

11. Conti Rossini, Storia d’Etiopia, pp. 91-131, 167-201.

12. Tel Hashomer Government Hospital, “A Survey of Some Genetical Characters in Ethiopian Tribes,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, n.s. 20 (1962): 167-208B.

13. Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270-1527 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 67, and “The Abbots of Däbrä-Hayq, 1248-1535,” Journal of Ethiopian Studies 8 (January 1970): 112-14. This Jewish immigrant, named Joseph, arrived in Ethiopia sometime during the rule of the Zagwe dynasty, which fell from power in the late thirteenth century. His descendants apparently converted to Christianity and held positions in the local political hierarchy. For a discussion of manuscripts presented to the monastery of Hayq by his descendant, Ras Amdu, see Getatchew Haile, “The Kalīlah Wa-Dimnah and the Mazmura Krestos,” in Hess, ed., Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference, pp. 373-86.

14. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xliii.

15. Interview with Yona Bogale, 8 March 1973. (Interviews hereafter will be cited by name and date only.)

16. Edward Ullendorff, “Hebraic-Jewish Elements in Abyssinian (Monophysite) Christianity,” Journal of Semitic Studies 1 (July 1956): 256.

17. Ibid. and Ernst Hammerschmidt, “Jewish Elements in the Cult of the Ethiopian Church,” Journal of Ethiopian Studies 3 (July 1965): 1-12.

18. Frederick C. Gamst, The Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1969). Qemant mythology maintains that all Agau peoples, including the Falashas, have common ancestors.

19. Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, p. 117. For an approach to this question using linguistic data see H. J. Polotsky, “Aramaic, Syriac, and Ge‘ez,” Journal of Semitic Studies 9 (1964): 1-10.

20. Maxime Rodinson, “Review of Edward Ullendorff’s The Ethiopians,” Bibliotheca Orientalis 21 (May-July 1964): 238-45, and “Sur la question de influences ‘juives’ en Ethiopie,” Journal of Semitic Studies 9 (1964): 11-19. Two other authors have also suggested the Ethiopian church as the primary agent of Jewish influences in Ethiopia. “Very little attention has so far been given the view that the most important conduit or channel of Hebraic-Jewish influences in Ethiopian culture was neither Biblical nor Rabbinic Judaism but Jewish Christianity…. There is no doubt that most of the practices of the Ethiopian Church are remarkably close to those of the early Jewish Christians, so that almost every aspect of the strong Hebraic-Jewish ingredient in Ethiopian Christianity can find its explanation on the basis of their influence.” Ephraim Isaac, “An Obscure Component in Ethiopian Church History,” Le muséon 82 (1972): 235-36. Getatchew Haile proposes a similar perspective in an unpublished article, “The Ethiopian Orthodox Church: What Her Faithful Say about Her History.”

21. Some writers have attempted to link with Falasha history traditions concerning one Queen Gudit, said to have overthrown Aksumite monarchs in the tenth century. Most scholars agree that the relationship of this queen to the Falashas is quite tenuous. For a fuller discussion of this issue see Taddesse Tamrat, “A Short Note on the Traditions of Pagan Resistance to the Ethiopian Church (14th and 15th Centuries),” Journal of Ethiopian Studies 10 (January 1972): 137-38; and Sergew Hable Sellassie, “The Problem of Gudit,” Journal of Ethiopian Studies 10 (January 1972): 113-24. These two sources, in addition to Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 111, agree that the relationship of Judith to the Falashas is unclear.

22. The oldest dates from the late thirteenth century; they include hagiographies, royal chronicles, and a few manuscripts of special character. See Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 1-5. (As in Ethiopian practice, Ethiopian authors’ first names will be used in shortened references.)

23. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 111.

24. M. Jules Perruchon, ed. and trans., “Histoire des guerres d’ ‘Amda Ṣyon, roi d’Éthiopie,” Journal asiatique (Paris), 9th ser. 14 (1889): 293, 339-40 (my English translation). The editor of an English edition of this chronicle titles this section “Troops sent against the Falasha,” although the name Falasha is not found in it. See G. W. B. Huntingford, ed. and trans., The Glorious Victories of ’Amda Ṣeyon, King of Ethiopia (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), pp. 61-62.

25. M. Jules Perruchon, ed. and trans., Les chroniques de Zara Yâ’eqôb et de Ba’eda Mâryâm (Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1893), pp. 96-97.

26. James Quirin, “The Beta Israel (Felasha) in Ethiopian History: Caste Formation and Culture Change, 1270-1868,” Ph. D. diss., University of Minnesota, 1977, pp. 34-35, n. 12.

27. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 192, n. 2.

28. Details of these heresies and their historical context are found in Chapter 7.

29. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 208-9.

30. Carlo Conti Rossini, “Note di agiografia etiopia: Gabra-Iyesus,” Rivista degli studi orientali 17 (1938): 446. (Conti Rossini translates ayhud as Falasha throughout the passage.) Gabra Iyesus accompanied Ēwosṭātēwos on a trip to the Middle East and Armenia, where Ēwosṭātēwos died around 1352. With other disciples Gabra Iyesus returned to Ethiopia, where they dispersed to found monasteries in outlying regions (Taddesse, Church and State, p. 199).

31. Carlo Conti Rossini, “Appunti di storia e letteratura falascia,” Rivista degli studi orientali 8 (1920): 571. For a further account of his activities, see Carlo Conti Rossini, “L’ agiografia etiopica e gli atti del santo Yâfqeranna-Egzi’,” Atti del Reale istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti 96 (1936/37): 419-20, and I. Wajnberg, Das Leben des H. L. Jāfqerana ’Egzi’, Orientalia Christiana Analecta, no. 106 (Rome: Pontificum Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1936), pp. 51-59.

32. Hess, “Toward a History,” pp. 112-13.

33. One source refers to these people as “ayhudawi dagemay” (new Jews). Wajnberg, Das Leben, pp. 52-53.

34. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 201, quoting “Tarīka-Nägäst,” paper manuscript, Däbrä Sigé, Ethiopia. In a recent article, Steven Kaplan questions this hypothesis and suggests that specific identification of ayhud with the Falashas appears only to have emerged in the sixteenth century. See “The Fälasha and the Stephanite: An Episode from Gädla Gäbrä Mäsih,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 48, Pt. 2 (1985): 278-282.

35. The Oxford English Dictionary (1961), s. v. “Jew.”

36. For example, see Carlo Conti Rossini, ed. and trans., Il libro della luce del negus Zar’a Yā’qob (Maṣḥafa Berhān), Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Aethiopici, (Louvain: Belgium, 1965), vol. 52, Book 6, p. 74. For a discussion of this and other such references in the manuscripts see Ephraim Isaac, A New Text-Critical Introduction to Maṣḥafa Berhān (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973), pp. 53-75, and Steven Kaplan, “The Fälasha and the Stephanite.”

37. Veronika Krempel, “Die soziale und wirtschaftliche Stellung der Falascha in der christlich-amharischen Gesellschaft von Nordwest-Äthiopien,” Ph. D. diss., Freien Universität, Berlin, 1972, pp. 255-56. A similar caution against interpreting references to ayhud as either normative Jews or Falashas is found in Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, p. 68. Ullendorff suggests that a sixteenth- century Arab was first to mention the Falashas as Jews: “The Semien Province was ruled by the Jews of Abyssinia who are called Falashas in their own language; they recognize one God only and nothing else in the way of faith: neither prophet or saint” (ibid., p. 28, quoting Shihāb ad-Dīn, Futūh al-Ḥabaša, ed. and trans. R. Basset, Historie de la conquête de l’Abyssinie [XVIe siècle] [Paris, 1897-1901], p. 342)

38. See Steven Kaplan, The Monastic Holy Man and the Christianization of Early Solomonic Ethiopia, Studien zur Kulturkunde 73 (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag), 1984, especially Chapter 2.

39. Ethiopian tradition, derived from the Kebra Nagast, traces imperial descent from King Solomon through Menelik. The ascension to the throne of Emperor Yekuno Amlāk in 1270 is said to mark the reestablishment of the Solomonic dynasty after the Zagwe period. See Edward Ullendorff, The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People, 3d ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 1973), pp. 62-63.

40. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 114. The Falashas evidently allied themselves with the faction most likely to support their independence; they supported the Muslim invasion of Imam Ahmed Ibrahim (“Grañ”) in the 1530s but in 1542 aided the Portuguese in their campaign on behalf of Emperor Galāwdēwos. The latter alliance resulted in renewed Falasha control of the Semien Mountains. See Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 68, 70-71, citing Charles F. Rey, The Romance of the Portuguese in Abyssinia (New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969), pp. 175-77, 186-87, and William E. Conzelman, ed. and trans., Chronique de Galawdewos (Claudius) roi d’Ethiopie (Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1895), p. 133.

41. Hess, “Toward a History,” pp. 114-17, citing Joseph Halévy, trans. and ed., La guerre de Sarsa-Dengel contre les Falachas: Extrait des annales de Sarsa- Dengel (Paris: 1907), pp. 39, 40-45, 51-52, 54.

42. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 74-75.

43. Ibid., p. 76.

44. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 117; and Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 75-76, citing F. M. Esteves Pereira, ed. and trans., Chronica de Susneyos, rei de Ethiopia, 2 vols. (Lisbon: Impressa nacional, 1892-1900), vol. 1, pp. 150-56, 280- 84.

45. Emperor Yisḥaq (1512-1530) established workshops to make swords and coats of mail where Falashas may have been trained. Quirin suggests Falashas may have learned masonry shortly afterward, since they were apparently builders during the mid-sixteenth-century reign of Galādēwos (“Beta Israel,” pp. 60-61, 68, 72).

46. See Ronald A. Reminick, “The Structure and Functions of Religious Belief among the Amhara of Ethiopia,” Proceedings of the First United States Conference on Ethiopian Studies (East Lansing: African Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1973), pp. 33-34, for oral traditions he gathered concerning budā people. Although artisans always had a low social status, attitudes against them evidently began to harden in the nineteenth century (Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 105).

47. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 120; and Joseph Halévy, “Travels in Abyssinia,” trans. James Picciotto, in A. Lowy, ed., Miscellany of Hebrew Literature (London: Wertheimer, Lea & Co., 1877), p. 48.

48. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 118, citing James Bruce, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, 2d ed. (Edinburgh: 1804) vol. 4: p. 121.

49. Robert L. Hess, Introduction to Henry A. Stern, Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia, 2d ed. (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1968), p. xxvii. For further information about the Cushitic language formerly spoken by the Falashas, see Joseph Halévy, Essai sur la langue agaou: Le dialecte des Falachas, Actes de la Société philologique, vol. 3, no. 4 (Paris: Maissoneuve & Cie, 1873), pp. 151-88.

50. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 168, 172.

51. Ibid., p. 178, quoting Antoine d’Abbadie, “Journal et mélanges,” France nouvelle acquisition 21300 (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale), p. 462.

52. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 178-79.

53. Ibid., pp. 192, 208-9. For further information about this period, see Mordechai Abir, Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes (New York: Praeger, 1968).

54. Journal of Three Years’ Residence in Abyssinia (New York: M. W. Dodd, 1847).

55. Two slightly later missionary sources are Johann M. Flad, The Falashas (Jews) of Abyssinia, trans. by S. P. Goodhart (London: William Macintosh, 1869), and Stern, Wanderings.

56. Hess, Introduction to Wanderings, p. xxi.

57. Donald Crummey, Priests and Politicians: Protestant and Catholic Missions in Orthodox Ethiopia, 1830-1868 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 146.

58. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 223-25; and Crummey, Priests and Politicians, pp. 130-31.

59. Wolf Leslau, “A Falasha Religious Dispute,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 16 (1947): 71-95. Although Flad dates the dispute to 1862 and Halévy to 1864, 1862 is certainly correct. The controversy involved Falasha protests over recent conversions by the missionaries. Also see ibid., excursus 2, pp. 88-89.

60. Flad, Falashas, p. 70.

61. Hess, Introduction to Wanderings, pp. xxiii-xxiv. Also see Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 123, for a summary of reasons the missionary attempt was a mixed success.

62. Christian Amharas dominated Ethiopian political and religious life from 1270 until the 1974 revolution. The process which came to be called Amharization in the twentieth century had been an important strategy for incorporating minority people into the Christian Amhara mainstream since the early Solomonic period. See Levine, Greater Ethiopia, pp. 72-75, 171-75. Also see Veronika Krempel, “Eine Berufskaste in Nordwest-Äthiopien – die Kayla (Falascha), Sociologus, n.s. 24 (1974): 37-56.

63. Hess, Introduction to Wanderings, p. xxvii. The current Falasha population is difficult to estimate. A private census carried out by Julian Kay in August 1976 yielded an estimated total of 28, 189.

64. See Robert L. Hess, “The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: A Twelfth- Century Jewish Description of North-East Africa,” Journal of African History 6 (1965): 15-24. Benjamin’s itinerary refers to “Jews who are not subject to the rule of others, and [who] have towns and fortresses on the tops of mountains.” However, Hess writes that there is little evidence connecting Falashas with the peoples described in the itinerary. He suggests these references are to the Beja, a people living south of the Falashas (ibid., pp. 16, 18). The most convincing early account of the Falashas, according to Hess, is that of Eli of Ferrara, who met a young Falasha in Jerusalem in 1438, (“Toward a History,” p. 109). For a summary of early references sometimes cited as relevant to Falasha history, see Salo Wittmayer Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, vol. 18 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983), pp. 364-389.

65. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 5.

66. Ibid., p. 51.

67. Ibid., pp. 46-47.

68. Joseph Halévy, Prières des Falashas (Paris: Joseph Baer & Cie, 1877).

69. See Hess, “Toward a History,” pp. 124-25, for details of these individuals. Faitlovitch wrote a report on his first trip, published as Notes d’un voyage chez les Falachas: Rapport présenté à M. le Baron de Rothschild (Paris: 1905). He published a book after his second visit in 1908-1909, Quer durch Abessinien: Meine zweite Reise zu den Falaschas (Berlin: Verlag von M. Poppelauer, 1910).

70. Faitlovitch, “Black Jews.”

71. Yona Bogale, “The Beta Israel (Falasha) Schools,” n. d. (Mimeographed). Also see Yona Bogale, “The Schools of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia,” Pe’amim 22 (1985): 89-92 (in Hebrew). During 1981-1982 Falasha schools near Gondar were closed by provincial officials.

72. Much of the impetus for these changes came from Yona Bogale, an Ethiopian Jew who returned to Ethiopia after studies abroad sponsored by Faitlovitch. Yona published a book in Amharic about Jewish observance for Falashas, Ya’esrā’ēl ba‘ālāt ḥegeggāt (Precepts of Jewish holidays) (Addis Ababa: 1960). Wolf Leslau discusses this book in “A Falasha Book of Jewish Festivals,” in For Max Weinreich on His Seventieth Birthday (The Hague: 1964), pp. 183-91. The book describes Jewish holidays and associated customs, as well as provides Hebrew terms transliterated into Amharic. Yona Bogale also published a Jewish calendar each year in Amharic under the auspices of the Jewish Agency Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora.

73. Rabbi Yosseff recognized “our brothers, the Felasheem, as was written in the books of the Law Givers, that they are Jews from the tribe of Dan – to come out of Ethiopia and make aliyah [“to come up” or “immigrate”] to the Land of Israel and be unified with the other Israeli tribes.” Ovadia Yoseff to Bernard Alpert, Committee for Ethiopian Jews, 7 November 1973, mimeographed.

74. Representative of this literature is Graenum Berger, “The Falashas – Outcasts of Israel,” Jewish Frontier, August-September 1980, pp. 17-19; Louis Rapaport, The Lost Jews (New York: Stein & Day, 1980); Yehuda Shapiro “We Are All Falashas,” Response (Summer 1979): 31-39; and Diane Winston, “The Falashas: History and Analysis of Policy towards a Beleaguered Community,” Perspectives (National Jewish Resource Center) (April 1980): 1-24. For a summary of the recognition process and the debate it spurred, see Kessler, The Falashas, pp. 147-69.

75. Grace N. Kraut, “Ethiopia’s Black Jews,” New York Times, 22 June 1979.

76. Michael Winn, “Falashas: Doomed to Extinction?,” National Jewish Monthly 95 (May 1981): 4ff.

77. Howard Lenhoff to membership, American Association for Ethiopian Jews, 10 September 1980, mimeographed.

78. For example, see “Sudan’s President Says All Refugees Are Free to Leave,” New York Times, 21 January 1985.

79. See “Jews of Ethiopia Protest in Israel, New York Times, 17 July 1985, and “Chief Rabbis in Israel Will Relent On Conversion Rite for Ethiopians”, New York Times, 24 July 1985.

2

THE BETA ISRAEL RELIGIOUS TRADITION

In the past the Beta Israel community actively observed a network of traditions considered essential to its religious life and special ethnic identity. Although many customs have been discarded, Beta Israel priests recall former practices in rich detail. Descriptions of customs recorded before the intense acculturation of the last thirty years supplement this information and enable us to evaluate contemporary testimony and practice. The following discussion uses these resources to provide an overview of the Beta Israel religious tradition in its Ethiopian context.

The Belief System

The Beta Israel believe in one God, affirming this faith within their prayers with statements like “There is no one except you, Lord” and “There is no other God.” Falashas pray to egzi’abḥēr, God of their cosmos, for deliverance from sin and for mercy; they praise him and offer thanksgiving to his name. Egzi’abḥēr is an anthropomorphic God who converses with Moses and the Sabbath Queen, sits on his throne surrounded by fire, and watches over the “House of Israel.”

The word egzi’abḥēr, also used by Ethiopian Christians, literally translates as Lord of Land.[1] The Beta Israel God is also called adonāy and elohē, Jewish names for the Supreme Being that are found in the Ge‘ez Orit (Pentateuch) shared by Falashas and Ethiopian Christians.[2] The Beta Israel also have two Agau names for God: Herzigā, is said to mean great king;[3] adarā, is found in Agau language sections of the Falasha liturgy and is shared with the Qemant.[4] An overlap of the Judeo-Christian God and gods of the indigenous Agau pantheon is indicated by the different origins of the names.

The Beta Israel recognize other superhuman beings and spirits. They believe angels and devils inhabit Heaven and Hell.[5] They particularly venerate Michael as the first among 900 archangels and commemorate him on the twelfth day of each month.[6] The Beta Israel believe in a messianic figure named Tēwodros (Theodore), whose rule will introduce a new era. Their nineteenth-century pilgrimage to Jerusalem during the reign of Emperor Tēwodros was attempted because they thought the new era had arrived.[7] The Beta Israel, and Ethiopian Christians, share the Jewish belief in Elijah’s immortality and his role in preparing for the Messiah’s coming.[8]

Perhaps most colorful is Beta Israel veneration of the Sabbath. As do Ethiopian Christians, Falashas personify the Sabbath as a female figure who intercedes between sinners and God. One observer records being told by a Falasha that “Mary is the mediator of the Christians, the Sabbath is ours.”[9]

Falashas share with other Ethiopians a number of spirit beliefs that fall outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. They wear amulets to protect themselves against malevolent spirits (sayṭān) which inhabit the countryside, waiting for passing victims.[10] I was warned that these lurk in shady places along local paths. It is also believed that a type of benevolent spirit (adbār) is found in hilly areas,[11] and Beta Israel rituals such as seged, observed on a mountaintop in an enclave of trees, may reflect these beliefs.

Zār spirits, thought to require special tributes to be pacified, are feared by most Ethiopians. The name is given both to spirits and to the rituals during which they are exorcised.[12] Widespread throughout Ethiopia, the Sudan, and much of the Moslem world, the zār cult may be of Ethiopian origin, spread to Islamic societies by Ethiopian slaves. The similarity of the word to the name of a Cushitic divinity, jar in Agau, is cited to support this theory.[13]

Although zār remains outside official belief systems of Christian, Moslem, Falasha, and autochthonous religions in Ethiopia, cult activities are practiced by members of all groups. The rituals vary in content and each ethnic group has its own zārs. The purpose of the rituals is to identify and exorcise the spirit that is “riding the person like a horse.”[14] Although most Ethiopians believe the argots used for these rituals to be special languages, one argot studied was a combination of words from Amharic and other Ethiopian languages.[15] Cult ceremonies include both newly composed songs and traditional battle songs (shillelā), the latter sung since the zār “doctor” is doing battle with the zār spirit.[16]

Although the Beta Israel still maintained zār cult observances in 1973, I was not allowed to witness them. However, Wolf Leslau’s description of a ceremony held in Ambober in 1947 confirms the similarity of Falasha practices to those of other Ethiopians.[17]

Just as the Beta Israel God has names from different streams of Ethiopian tradition, aspects of Judeo-Christian tradition may overlap with indigenous spirit beliefs in Beta Israel religion. For example, the Beta Israel belief in angels may be intertwined with associations from the zār cult: “An interesting expression in the argot is the one for ‘horse’ called mälak, lit. ‘angel.’ The ‘angel’ is probably substituted for the ‘zar.’ It is known that the person possessed by the zar is called yäzar färäs ‘the horse of the zar’; there is also a saying that ‘the zar resembles his horse.’ The ‘horse’ would therefore be identified with the zar, hence ‘angel’ in our argot, perhaps because of taboo. In this connection it is interesting to note the Ethiopian belief that a horse appearing in a dream stands for angel.”[18]

Other words common in Beta Israel prayers, such as qeddus (holy) may also carry meaning of Agau significance. The Qemant sky god is said to be contacted through intermediaries called qeddus, who are both dead human and angelic beings.[19]

Customs of the Life Cycle

Just as the diverse Beta Israel beliefs may not be as compartmentalized as they at first appear, customs of the Beta Israel life cycle reflect considerable syncretism.

Beta Israel commitment to preserve their identity within Ethiopian society necessitated standards of community purity. Social contact with their neighbors was limited, in part by forbidding ingestion of food prepared by outsiders. Falasha food prohibitions are more extensive than those of Ethiopian Christians and Moslems, who restrict only their meat consumption to animals slaughtered by coreligionists.[20] Beta Israel monks were particularly strict, refusing to eat food supplied by anyone from outside their order.[21]

In the past, Beta Israel who broke these taboos were ostracized and had to undergo a purification process, including a fast of one or more days and a ritual bath, before reentering the village.[22] Sometimes violators had to offer an animal sacrifice.[23]

Other traditions, such as abstention from pork, are shared with Ethiopian Moslems and Christians. The latter and the Falashas observe, as shall be detailed below, weekly, monthly, and annual fasts during which meat and milk products are forbidden. The major difference in Beta Israel dietary practice is in refusing to eat raw meat, consumed by other Ethiopians as a delicacy.

In addition to the isolation ensured by rigorous food regulations, Beta Israel observe laws of purity within their communities. Many compounds still contain small huts for female isolation. Women are confined during menstruation, forty days after the birth of a son, and eighty days after the birth of a daughter. This confinement is observed by other Agau peoples, including the Qemant.[24] Although Ethiopian Christians do not so isolate women during menstruation or after childbirth, they do baptize male and female infants forty and eighty days after birth, respectively.[25] Beta Israel perform a ceremony (arde’et: disciples) on the fortieth or eightieth day after birth that includes naming and immersing the child in water; observers have commented on the similarity to baptism.[26] The liturgical book used for the occasion, the Arde’et, is also found in a Christian version with no apparent liturgical function.[27]

Circumcision of male and female infants is practiced by most Ethiopians, although only Falashas and Christians circumcise male infants on the eighth day as in Jewish tradition.[28] Clitoridectomy no longer has a fixed date and has been suppressed in recent years.

Traditions surrounding death, including confession to a monk or priest,[29] a funeral, and a series of memorial services held at fixed intervals, are common to Falashas and Ethiopian Christians. Neither work for seven days after a relative’s death. They participate each day in special prayers for the dead (fetāt), as well as engage professional mourners to sing laments (laqso).[30] Beta Israel tazkār (commemoration ceremony) is held on the third, seventh, and lunar days, as well as one year after death.[31] Tazkār is not said for an uncircumcised, excommunicated, or adulterous person or for anyone who dies without confessing. [32]

The Beta Israel wedding used to be celebrated in a distinctive manner:

When a Falasha girl is nine years old and a Falasha boy is seventeen they are considered marriageable. The parents of a boy send one of their male relatives to a girl’s house…. If the girl’s father agrees, the go-between gives a thaler to conclude the agreement…. The betrothal period may last for two or three years.

The eve of the day on which the newly married woman is brought to the home of her future husband is called ensaslaye (a word of Agau origin) and is usually a Sunday or Monday. All the neighbors and relatives are invited to the future husband’s house, the priests beat the drum, recite prayers, and afterward tie a colored thread around the forehead of the bridegroom. The bridegroom and his attendants then go to the bride’s house for the night. The following noon the groom’s attendants and two relatives of the bride carry her into her husband’s house. If it is found that the girl has kept her virginity the people bless her and announce the fact to her parents with great joy. If her husband discovers that she lost her virginity before the marriage he removes the thread from his forehead, thereby informing his attendants of the situation. He then goes to the High Priest and swears that his wife had previously lost her virginity. The marriage is annulled, the woman is excluded from the Falasha community, and no Falasha is permitted to marry her.[33]

A description of Beta Israel weddings in northern Begemder and Tigray provinces closely corresponds to Leslau’s outline.[34] Weddings once lasted ten days, but eight have been more common in recent years. [35]

The most tenacious customs relate to the Beta Israel prayerhouse and liturgical cycle. As recently as Wolf Leslau’s 1947 visit, only pious Falashas were allowed to enter the prayerhouse: “When I asked to visit the interior of the synagogue of Atcharge I was not allowed to step upon the floor until a plank had been placed upon it. My young Falasha companions who had forsaken their native village to live in Gondar… were not allowed to enter the synagogue at all.”[36] During my field trip in 1973 I was allowed to enter Beta Israel prayerhouses in the Gondar area without any constraints. However, many Beta Israel still observe rules concerning personal cleanliness before entering, washing their clothing and bodies as well as cleaning their homes before a holiday or Sabbath.

Animal sacrifices used to be offered on the eve of fāsikā (Passover),[37] and smaller ones were made to commemorate such events as a priest’s initiation or a circumcision.[38] Priests blessed food offerings at the prayerhouse on Sabbath and other festivals in a ceremony called Jaendshera Maswaot (bread sacrifice).[39] Because of outside pressures and economic constraints, Beta Israel no longer offer animal sacrifices.

Twentieth-century Falashas have had increased contact with other Ethiopians and foreign visitors. The intensive Jewish influence of recent years has encouraged modification of Beta Israel customs. Practices compatible with modern Judaism are reoriented and emphasized; others are hidden or discontinued. For example, male circumcision is now practiced under the Hebrew name berit milah, while clitoridectomy is suppressed. Similar selectivity is exercised in adherence to the Beta Israel liturgical cycle.

The Liturgical Cycle

Beta Israel rituals with content appropriate to the occasion occur in a fixed annual cycle. Although the Alexandrian year is used for civil affairs, religious observances follow the lunar cycle. The religious calendar comprises twelve months containing alternately thirty and twenty-nine days. Epagomenal days are added every few years to adjust the cycle.

Beta Israel priests say their calendar is organized according to the Abu Shāker, a treatise concerning computation of feast days and chronological matters written around 1257 C.E.[40] This computus (hassāb) takes its name from its author, the theologian Abu Shāker of Cairo, and was translated into Ethiopic during the second half of the sixteenth century. In Amharic abu shāker has become synonymous with “calendar” and may refer to any computus treatise stemming from Arabic-Coptic sources of the tenth to thirteenth centuries. When asked about the Abu Shāker, one Beta Israel priest said that it was the “lunar calendar of the monks” but that today it is not used. [41] The Abu Shāker provides the basis for Ethiopian Christian liturgical computation as well, and Ethiopian Christian dabtarās (musicians) study it in their prescribed curriculum. [42]

The Abu Shāker may be a source for Jewish elements in the Beta Israel liturgical cycle, since it lists civil and lunar dates for Jewish feasts, including maṭqe’ (New Year), ṣoma ayhud or badr (Yom Kippur), maṣallat (Tabernacle), feśh (Passover), and ṣoma deẖnat (Fast of Salvation) or ṣoma astēr (Fast of Esther). Neugebauer suggests that these elements derive from the Alexandrian Jewish calendar.[43]

Although the Beta Israel today use Hebrew month names, they originally knew only the name Nisān and referred to other months by ordinal numbers. We find the month name Nisān as well as the concept of alternating full (30-day) and hollow (29-day) months in Ethiopian computus derived from the Book of Enoch. Month 1 in the Ethiopic Book of Enoch begins at the vernal equinox. However, Enoch month 1 can also be interpreted as occurring in the month Maskaram, the Ethiopian spring, because of the difference between the timing of the Hebrew and Ethiopian seasons (see Table 1). We find a similar ambiguity in the Beta Israel calendar, where the first month of the liturgical year occurs in the Ethiopian autumn, but the first day of the seventh month is celebrated as the New Year.[44]

The Beta Israel report twentieth-century changes in the liturgical calendar. Jacques Faitlovitch encouraged them to delete weekly fast days and to add post- biblical Jewish festivals.[45] Publication of a Jewish calendar with Hebrew month names transliterated into Amharic has codified these changes.[46]

TABLE 1. COMPARATIVE CALENDAR

Falasha Month (Hebrew Name)

Ethiopian (1966)

Gregorian (1973-1974)

7 (Tishri)

17 Maskaram

27 September

8 (Heshvan)

17 Ṭeqemt

27 October

9 (Kislev)

17 H̲edār

26 November

10 (Tebet)

17 Tāh̰śāś

26 December

11 (Shebat)

16 Ṭerr

24 January

12 (Adar)

16 Yakkātit

23 February

1 Nisan

15 Maggābit

24 March

2 (Iyar)

15 Miyāzyā

23 April

3 (Sivan)

14 Genbot

22 May

4 (Tammuz)

14 Sanē

21 June

5 (Ab)

13 Ḥamle

20 July

6 (Elul)

13 Naḥasē

19 August

1-5 P̣āgwmēn

NOTE: The comparative calendar is for the fieldwork year, 1973-1974. Falasha months are listed beginning with month 7 because of its observance as the New Year. The Hebrew names by which these months are now called are indicated in parentheses. The Ethiopian civil calendar (Alexandrian) and the Gregorian calendar dates corresponding to the first day of each Falasha lunar month are indicated.

In Beta Israel tradition there are annual, lunar, and weekly festivals (ba‘āl) and fast days (ṣom). All observances begin and end at sunset. We will survey surviving fasts and festivals, as well as those mentioned in the literature or remembered as part of traditional Beta Israel practice.

Annual Festivals and Fast Days

Berhān śaraqa/tazkāra abrahām. The festival berhān śaraqa (the light appeared) occurs on the first day of the seventh month. Earlier sources also record the name tazkāra abrahām (commemoration of Abraham), or just tazkār.[47] Both tazkāra abrahām and berhān śaraqa are found in Beta Israel liturgy and appear to be part of the original tradition. The festival is today listed in the Beta Israel calendar as re’esa awda amat (the head of the year), a translation of the Hebrew rosh hashanah. Although the biblical portion concerning Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac is read on the Jewish Rosh Hashanah, Beta Israel priests say that their observance of this day as the New Year is a contemporary addition.[48] Beta Israel priests interpret Berhān Śaraqa as the “day God created the world” and as the “day God sits in judgment upon his throne.”[49]

The Beta Israel used to blow a horn to commemorate the ram sacrificed in place of Isaac. They no longer make this traditional ram’s horn or observe the custom.[50]

Astasreyo. The fast astasreyo (to forgive) falls on the tenth day of the seventh month. This penitential observance parallels the Jewish Day of Atonement of the same date. The Beta Israel keep a vigil on Astasreyo beginning on the eve and extending through much of the following day. When asked why, one priest said: “It is a commandment from our fathers to pray all night. This is the way to gain entry into Heaven.”[51]

Some Astasreyo traditions cited in the literature are no longer observed, such as emen, scattering millet on stones as an act of repentance, or blessing food in the prayerhouse at the end of the fast.[52] One custom not mentioned in the literature is followed on Astasreyo afternoon: Midway through the ritual, members of the congregation jump up and down for several minutes, ululating and hissing. When the dust raised makes breathing difficult, the priests call for order and resume the service. They explain jumping as a ritual to purge the people of sins.

Today, Astasreyo is called by the Hebrew name yom kippur.

Ba‘āla maṣallat. The Feast of Tabernacles occurs from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day of the seventh month, as does the Jewish sukkot. Priests interviewed remember only that it is a “happy holiday,” although earlier researchers reported that it commemorates the sojourn of Israel in the wilderness following the exodus from Egypt.[53]

Despite traditions that no work be done throughout Ba‘āla Maṣallat, only the first and last days are now celebrated. The Beta Israel do not build booths to symbolize Israel’s sojourn in the desert, but they do spread fresh leaves on the floor of the prayerhouse for this and other holidays.

Seged. The Beta Israel observe the pilgrimage festival and partial fast called seged, derived from a verb meaning to bow or prostrate oneself,[54] on the twenty-ninth day of the eighth month. In the past the day was called mehellā, and the acts of bowing and supplication are still known by that name.[55]

A similar Ethiopian Christian practice, mehellā (day of entreaty) is celebrated on fixed dates ten times a year and on other special occasions as the need arises.[56] This ritual is almost certainly related to the Christian rogation ceremony, which is characterized by penitential prayers performed during processions held on both fixed and special occasions during the liturgical cycle.[57] Ethiopian Christian Mehellā is performed during the morning and afternoon at Tierce, Sext, and None and includes the chanting of psalms and canticles. Falasha Seged/Mehellā shares both the times of occurrence and liturgical portions with the Ethiopian Christian ba-guadalo mehellā ritual.[58]

The Beta Israel say Seged commemorates Ezra’s proclamations against the Babylonian wives (Ezra 10:10-12).[59] It also commemorates the new moon of the ninth month (H̲edār), which occurs the following day and is said to be the most important new moon of the year.[60] This lunar relationship is corroborated elsewhere in the liturgical cycle. The Beta Israel observe days each month as reminders of annual festivals and fasts. The twenty-ninth day of each month, called ṣoma malēyā, is celebrated as a reminder of the approaching new moon.[61] Apparently, Seged is the annual fast marking the most important new moon, and Ṣoma Malēyā is its lunar reminder.

The Seged ritual takes place on a hilltop outside the village. This location is called by several names, including ya’a’rego dabr (mountain for making [prayers] ascend) and, in Amharic, yalamana tarrara (mountain of supplication). The mountain is also compared to Mount Sinai,[62] underscored by the reading of the Decalogue during the ceremony. Beta Israel testimony that the area is a “clean place,” uncontaminated by waste matter or graves, may also relate the observance to adbār spirit worship.

Seged is also linked to Beta Israel monastic practice:

When the whole community gathers in these sacred places, the ceremony has solemn characteristics. One takes the Orit (the Bible) and other sacred books, and special chapters are read; the reading includes the Apocryphal Ezra. I do not know the chapter of Ezra, but they told me it begins like this …: “And they climbed the mountain every year in order to adore the King God; on the 9th hour at dusk during that month, the sons of Israel assembled and they covered themselves with sackcloth.” Sometimes they also offer sacrifices. They remain all day reading, praying, worshipping, and feasting. Such pilgrimages, unless made during times of public calamity, occur on specific occasions. These usually include the “three pilgrimage festivities,” “the fast of Ab,” and [the inauguration of] the month of H∂dar. By law, one must make the pilgrimage on eve of the new month. It seems to me that the sentence from Ezra quoted above, serves as a basis for this date of H∂dar. A Falasha translated for me… “the ninth month.” From Pessah to H∂dar, I believe that there are nine months.[63]

Another source describes Seged (calling it amata sauw) as a new-moon holiday after which monks withdraw for a period of isolation.[64] Abba Sabra, the said founder of Beta Israel monasticism, is supposed to have instituted a fast at the beginning of H̰edār.[65] From these descriptions it is apparent that Seged relates to the new moon, possibly held on the date derived from the Book of Ezra.[66] It also marked the beginning of a period of retreat for the Beta Israel monastic community.

The sharing of a penitential custom on this day further links the Falasha and Ethiopian Christian observance. The Beta Israel used to carry stones on their shoulders during the procession up the Seged mountain to place in a circle around the priests.[67] In Christian tradition a stone is carried on the head of each of the faithful during a procession around the church.[68] In both traditions this “act of submission” is accompanied by prayers sung by the priest.

Seged is the only Beta Israel pilgrimage extant. Early that day a priest slaughters oxen in the prayerhouse compound. Although the meat is roasted and later eaten to break the partial fast, there may once have been a ritual sacrifice. Priests ascend the hill at midmorning, singing as they walk. Diyāqon (deacons) follow, balancing copies of the Orit wrapped in sacred cloth on their heads. At the top of the mountain the priests stand within a small stone enclosure surrounded by trees; a gemjā (cloth) is draped on the rocks. Beta Israel congregants also ascend the mountain and surround the stone enclave. After the ritual the priests descend, singing while congregants blow small metal horns. As the priests approach the prayerhouse, one brings the nagārit (drum) and they sing and dance with the Orit uplifted.

Mā’rar. On the twelfth day of the ninth month mā’rar is celebrated as a reminder of the “real” harvest festival on the same day of the third month. The reason for two celebrations might be that the third-month observance is in opposition to the Ethiopian seasons, as discussed above. There is also a possibility that the second Mā’rar marks the grain harvest, since an Agau word meaning grain is one of the names for the festival.[69]

Ṣoma astēr. The Fast of Esther, occurring on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the ninth month, is one of two such fasts in the Beta Israel liturgical cycle. The “real” one falls on the eleventh to thirteenth days of the eleventh month; the duplication may be due to the seasonal shift or confusion between the Jewish month of Adar and the Ethiopian month of H̰edār, which is the ninth in the secular calendar.[70] The Beta Israel have the Book of Esther but did not celebrate Purim until the twentieth century. A Fast of Esther, also called ṣoma deh̰nat (fast of salvation), is found in Ethiopian Christian computus as well and commemorates “salvation from Haman through Esther.”[71]

Ṣoma fāsikā, fāsikā. The Fast of Passover precedes by one day the fāsikā celebration from the fifteenth to twenty-second day of the first month (Nisān). Fāsikā commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, as does the Jewish Passover. Although the Beta Israel eat a special unleavened bread called qiṭṭa during Passover week, they were unfamiliar with the seder ritual until this century. They used to sacrifice a lamb on the eve of the festival, a tradition dropped in recent years.

The term fāsikā, used by Falashas for their Passover observance, is the same used by Christian Ethiopians for Easter; in Ethiopian calendrical treatises Passover is termed feśḥ. Although both words derive from the Hebrew pesāch, Ethiopic computus texts use fāsikā exclusively to mean Easter Sunday. Fāsikā and Feśḥ are never permitted to coincide in Ethiopic computus.[72] However, one observer reported that the Falasha and the Ethiopian Christian Fāsikās were celebrated on the same day.[73]

The Beta Israel used the Abu Shāker to date their Fāsikā observance until the introduction of the Jewish calendar in the 1950s. As late as 1973 there was still controversy among Beta Israel living in the Semien Mountains concerning dating their Fāsikā differently from the Christian occasion.[74]

Ṣoma tomos. The Fast of Tomos occurs from the first to the tenth day of the fourth month. My research associates did not know the meaning of the day, nor were earlier researchers able to elicit its significance. Although the name of the fast appears to be related to Tammuz, the fourth month of the Hebrew calendar, Beta Israel did not use this month name until the twentieth century. However, the month name tamus is found in the Beta Israel Arde’et (Book of the Disciples). [75] Orthodox Jews observe the seventeenth day of Tammuz in memory of the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls; the Karaites fasted on the ninth of that month for the same reason. It is possible that the Beta Israel Ṣoma Tomos has a similar significance.[76]

Ṣoma ab. The Beta Israel observe the Fast of Ab from the first to seventeenth days of the fifth month. It mourns the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. In the past they climbed a mountain outside the village and prostrated themselves on these days; the ceremony may have been similar to Seged/Mehellā.[77] Prayers are still said to lament the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Beta Israel do not eat from sunrise to sunset or consume meat or milk products during the evening hours. One priest explains that the Beta Israel Fast of Ab is longer than the comparable Jewish observance because the Beta Israel are still mourning their own exile: “We have to fast sixteen days at the month of Ab as a remembrance since Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Since we came here we added seven days…. When we begin the ṣom there is a fast and prayers in the morning and evening at the prayerhouse. The people are sad. On the ninth day there is fasting, crying, and no work. We fast in the daytime, but we eat in the evening; that is, we fast from sunrise to sunset. However, the pregnant and sick are allowed to eat.”[78]

Zabarabu sanbat (yasanbat sanbat). According to earlier researchers, the annual observance of the Sabbath of Sabbaths is in the fifth month.[79] The term zabarabu is derived from the word meaning four or fourth, which may indicate its celebration on the fourth Sabbath of that month. In addition, every seventh Sabbath is celebrated as a day “of grace and mercy” on which Beta Israel priests can absolve themselves of sin. [80] According to Luzzatto, the seven Sabbaths were named Alef, Lamed, Ibarabo, Kamma-Yafager, Amlake-Amlake-Igayyis, Amlake-Amlake-Nazaranni, and Wabarako. [81] The annual “great Sabbath,” called Yobel (Jubilee), was celebrated every forty-nine weeks. Emphasis on the number seven in different multiples derives from the Book of Genesis and is deeply embedded in Jewish and Christian calendars. According to biblical tradition the Jubilee interval is forty-nine years. In Ethiopic computus two similar units are found: the Week of Ezra, of seven years, often simply called Week, and the Week of Enoch, lasting seven hundred years. In addition, the duration of the world and the date of the second coming of Christ are said to be 7,000 years. These intervals are mentioned in the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, as well as in the Book of Jubilees (Kufalē), both sources of Falasha religious practices.[82]

Although Yasanbat Sanbat has been omitted from the Falasha-Jewish calendar distributed in recent years, it is strictly observed every seven weeks. Priests congregate in one village on a rotating basis to hold a vigil. The mood is convivial, and the usual sanctity of the prayerhouse is broken in the early morning hours to drink beer. Prayers are said through much of the night and all Sabbath day until sunset. Dancing marks the end of the Sabbath afternoon liturgy.

Beta Israel priests attending one Yasanbat Sanbat gathering I witnessed emphasized the importance of the number seven in their religion, stressing that God rested on the seventh day and that the fields must lie fallow every seven years.[83] One priest said that the observance every seven weeks prepares for the annual holiday.[84] The Agau name for Yasanbat Sanbat is langāto (seven).[85]

Anākel astar’i. The fast called anākel astar’i (our atonement) is observed on the tenth day of the sixth month as a reminder of the Astasreyo fast one month later.

Asartu wasamantu. The eighteenth day of the sixth month commemorates the deaths of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In their memory also the Ethiopian Christians celebrate a day on 28 Neḥasē, the same date as the Falasha observance.[86]

Monthly Observances

Yač̣araqā ba‘āl. On the first day of each month is the Festival of the New Moon, usually called by its Amharic name, yač̣araqā ba‘āl (sarki in Agau).[87] The Beta Israel explain that this is a “happy day” with no other significance. Village households prepare beer and bread, which are blessed by a priest and then shared.

Falasha new-moon gatherings resemble the Ethiopian māh̰bar, a loosely organized group serving as a mutual aid society that meets monthly. The māh̰bar is thought to be a very old Ethiopian institution, perhaps related to “private communion” dating from the introduction of Christianity.[88] A description of an Ethiopian Christian māh̰bar gathering closely resembles the Falasha Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl celebration: “Each member has the duty and privilege of acting as host…. The host asks his confessor-priest to officiate during the religious part of the meeting. Part of the worship always includes ceremonial drinking from a special clay cup… which is dedicated to a saint or archangel, and from which the particular mähabbär takes its name…. The host has prepared a large… clay jar of barley beer, which is blessed by the officiating priest. There is also ceremonial breaking of the bread…. Drummers and chanters… are often hired, and the noisy entertainment is heard in a wide area.”[89]

Within Beta Israel tradition a new-moon celebration may have merged with the māh̰bar gathering. The nature of the māh̰bar makes such a combination possible: “One of the most noteworthy and socially significant aspects of the mähabbär association is the wide variety of functions for which it can be adapted, despite – or perhaps because of – its simple structure. This is in almost complete contradistinction to most other Amhara patterns, which usually evidence a complex hierarchical structure and very specifically regulated functions.”[90]

The Qemant also observe monthly māh̰bar gatherings, dedicated to their god Mezgana,[91] suggesting that an old Agau custom may underlie the māh̰bar tradition.

Asart, asrā hulat, ‘asrā ammest. Each month minor festivals that serve as reminders of major annual celebrations are held on the tenth, twelfth, and fifteenth days. Asart, on the tenth, commemorates Astasreyo; ‘asrā hulat, on the twelfth, commemorates Mā’rar; and ‘asrā ammest on the fifteenth, commemorates both Fāsikā and Ba‘āla Maṣallat.[92]

The monthly commemoration on the twelfth day is also said to be a feast in honor of the archangel Michael.[93] Although Christians also observe a feast in his honor on the twelfth day of the month, the Falashas consider Michael their special patron.[94]

Arfe asart (asefert). There is disagreement concerning the meaning and exact date of this lunar holiday. Luzzatto wrote that it was observed on the tenth day in honor of Jews who survived the destruction of the Temple, while Flad recorded an arv asart celebrated on the eighteenth day in memory of a great saint.[95] My research associates placed Arfe Asart on the thirtieth of each month and recalled an annual Arfe Asart in the tenth month. Although the Cushitic word arfe has not been translated by scholars, the Qemant word for moon and month is arfe.[96] Asart probably derives from the Ge‘ez ‘ten’, which lends support both to research associate’s testimony about an annual observance in the tenth month and to Luzzatto’s dating as the tenth of each month.

Many Beta Israel priests are not sure of the meaning of this day. However, one remembers Arfe Asart as yaẓaḥāy ba‘āl (the sun holiday) and says it is not of biblical origin:

Asart is a computing number. Since the Amhara’s Demetrius, Falashas computed the months.[97] In ancient times the Amhara people disturbed us and forced us to convert to their religion. The leader of the Falashas counted the suns and made this asart holiday. They counted the days of the sun until thirty days and this is the holiday of the Falashas. [98]

They started this holiday in order to contrast to the Christians. It is called yaẓaḥāy ba‘āl, the sun holiday. This holiday is not given from the Orit – it is not a law. It started not that long ago, after Gideon.[99] But at the time of Gideon our fathers kept it as a rule, especially since we had our own kings at that time, and priests.

After the days of Gideon, trouble came. They tried to baptize us and fighting began. During this time people scattered to many different places to escape the Christians. Therefore, when they scattered, the priests gave this law to the Falashas in order to make them different from the Christians. If people know this day, they are considered as Falashas. If not, they are considered Christians. It is a sign of the Falashas wherever they go. They must remember it. We should not tell Christians since this is a secret day. If we go to a place and ask the people what is asart and they know, they are Falashas.

On this day we don’t fast, we eat and drink. We don’t work. Once a year at the end of Tāh̰śāś [the tenth month] we say special prayers to remember this day. At that time Christians may come together with us, so we do a special prayer to separate us from the Christians. We do not have any other new holidays.[100]

Another priest concurs that Arfe Asart is a secret holiday, one introduced “in memory of our ancestors killed by the ‘goyim’.”[101]

Ṣoma amus. This weekly fast is said to occur on Thursday, but it has been deleted from the Falasha-Jewish calendar and is today observed only by the elderly. Wubshet Atagab remembers fasts on both Monday and Thursday: “The Monday fast is the tradition of our fathers. Thursday is a time of examining the soul. When the soul goes to Heaven, it intercedes with God on our behalf so that we go to gannat [Paradise].”[102]

Three fasts were observed in the nineteenth century: a Monday fast instituted by Abba Batri, a Thursday fast traced to Isaiah, and a Friday fast in honor of Moses. [103]

Sanbat. The weekly Sabbath is celebrated every Saturday. The Falashas, as do Ethiopian Christians, term the Sabbath sanbat qadāmit (first Sabbath)[104] and personify it as a female figure. Ethiopian Christians also have observed the Saturday Sabbath throughout their history, and attempts to shift the observance to Sunday during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries resulted in a conflict and schism resolved only through legitimation of both Sabbaths.[105]

The Beta Israel Sabbath is still strictly observed. Women prepare food and wash their clothing on Friday afternoon. Although no new fires are kindled after sundown, those burning are not extinguished. No work is allowed on the Sabbath, nor are Beta Israel permitted to cross rivers, a rule that effectively curtails travel.

Among the customs no longer observed is a communal meal once held in the prayerhouse at the conclusion of Sabbath worship.[106] An allusion to this ceremony is found in the homily at the end of the Sabbath morning ritual, which begins: “Now the masawā’ot (sacrifice) and honor to the Lord.”

Twentieth-Century Changes

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the Judaic elements originally present in the liturgical cycle from those recently incorporated to normalize contemporary religion. Questions about the dating of Fāsikā (Passover) and the significance of Berhān Śaraqa have been raised above.

Modern Beta Israel exegesis emphasizes the relationships of their holidays to contemporary Jewish practice. Postbiblical Jewish observances have been added in the last century, including Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Purim, the Omer, and the Fast of Gedalia. The new Beta Israel calendar omits traditional observances that have no Jewish equivalents. The weekly fasts, monthly commemorative holidays, Arfe Asart, Yasanbat Sanbat in its annual and seven-week occurrences, and Ṣoma Astēr have been deleted. Other changes to Judaize Falasha observances include listing Berhān Śaraqa/Tazkāra Abrahām as the New Year and shifting the dates of the Fasts of Tomos and Ab.

Distribution of the Falasha-Jewish calendar has served to codify twentieth- century changes in the Beta Israel liturgical cycle and related customs. Yet, as we have seen above, traditional Falasha computus is derived from the Abu Shāker, a source shared with Ethiopian Christians. We must look to other surviving written sources for further insight.

Beta Israel Literature

The Beta Israel written literature has been studied by a number of scholars.[107] Carlo Conti Rossini was one of the first to approach it from a critical perspective, suggesting that it was derived from Ethiopian Christian sources.[108] Strelcyn has endorsed these conclusions,[109] as has Leslau, with some qualification:

The Falashas are not acquainted with the Talmud or with any other Jewish literature except some apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. The Old Testament and above all the apocryphal Book of Jubilees are the sources of their religious laws and precepts. The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha were received by the Falashas from the Ethiopians. The other Falasha writings, too, even though they are unknown today to other Ethiopians, were apparently obtained from Ethiopic sources and indirectly from Greek, Coptic, Syriac, and Arabic material. The most original productions, perhaps, are the Commandments of the Sabbath, the Book of Abba Elijah, and the prayers.[110]

It is therefore generally agreed that the Falashas received the Orit, as well as apocryphal and pseudepigraphical texts, from Ethiopian Christian sources.[111] Portions of apocryphal texts such as the Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 Esdras are found in the Beta Israel liturgy. The Book of Jubilees sets forth aspects of Mosaic law, including prescriptions for feasts, Sabbath offerings, and circumcision; previous scholars have suggested that a close relationship exists between the Book of Jubilees and Beta Israel traditions.[112] The Book of Enoch, which contains apocalypses and some sections concerning computus, is venerated by the Beta Israel and is known to have influenced their literature.[113]

The classic period of Ge‘ez literary development and translation of the Old Testament from Septuagint Greek probably ended by the late seventh century.[114] However, much of Falasha literature apparently dates from a considerably later period. Leslau has suggested that several Falasha writings – including Commandments of the Sabbath, Death of Moses, and Testament of Abraham – cannot be earlier than the fourteenth century because of Arabic elements of approximately that date.[115] The Apocalypse of Gorgorios, another Falasha text of probable Christian origin, is thought by Leslau to have been received by Falashas from Ethiopian Christian monastic sources, perhaps as late as the fourteenth century.[116] Furthermore, although Leslau is unable to date another Falasha text, Abba Elijah, he suggests it is an original Falasha work written by a monk.[117]

Wurmbrand reaches similar conclusions concerning the provenance of the Death of Aaron, a text surviving only among Falashas. He writes that this work derives from a Syriac original, transmitted through Arabic to Christian Ethiopic literature and then to the Falashas. [118] Falasha versions of Christian texts thought to have been translated into Geez by the seventh century, such as the Book of Angels and the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Baruch (Fifth Baruch), cannot be dated with certainty. [119]

Beta Israel prayers found in manuscripts have received some scholarly attention. [120] The prayers translated in the Falasha Anthology are the same as those published in Ge‘ez with Hebrew translation by Joseph Halévy. The Halévy manuscript, entitled Maṣḥafa Sa’ātāt (Book of the Hours), opens with the phrase “praised be God who gave me the book of Abba Sāquayān; the only God will help me.”[121] Halévy identifies Abba Sāquayān as “the founder of Falasha monasticism.”[122] In these prayers one finds the names both of Beta Israel monks said to have lived in the fifteenth century (Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk) and of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob, who ruled from 1434 to 1468. Wurmbrand also discusses a manuscript, found in the Faitlovitch collection, attributed to Abba Sabra.[123]

Strong evidence linking much of Falasha literature to Ethiopian Christian sources, particularly of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, corresponds to what is known of Ethiopian literary history. The Christian Arabic literature of the Coptic church of Egypt dramatically affected Ethiopie literature from the early Solomonic period. In addition, Ēwosṭātēwosian monks who went into exile during the religious controversies of that time are thought to have contributed to Ethiopia’s literary renaissance: “During their sojourn in the Levant[124] they probably had much access to the literature of the early Christian Church, and they may have brought their own copies of religious books back with them. The traditions of great love for books which we have about the leading members of the movement probably arise from this. An active literary development appears to have taken place among them during this period, and not only did it strengthen their own position but also seems to have served in time as a decisive landmark in the cultural renaissance of the whole of the Ethiopian Church.”[125]

Our knowledge of Beta Israel literature can be expanded only through access to additional sources. The Beta Israel report that they used to hide their manuscripts to protect them: “Outsiders used to ask about the books and we used to hide them and say there are none. We were afraid they would be taken and burned. They are hidden somewhere, and lost.”[126] Evidently it was traditional to send manuscripts for safekeeping to Beta Israel monasteries in the Semien Mountains. A large library is rumored still to exist at the Beta Israel village of Menata, despite two damaging fires.[127]

More about the history and content of Beta Israel religious life is found in Beta Israel oral tradition, particularly concerning their monastic institution. We will survey these traditions through a discussion of the Beta Israel clergy and the environment in which they lived and worked.

Notes

1. Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, pp. 1191-92.

2. The Geez Pentateuch is thought to have been translated from the Greek between the fifth and seventh centuries. Enrico Cerulli, La letteratura etiopica, 3d ed. (Florence: G. C. Sansoni; Milan: Edizioni accademia, 1968), pp. 19-20. The term orit is also used more broadly to include all biblical books. See Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, pp. 36-62.

3. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

4. Gamst, Qemant, p. 34. The hagiography of Abba Takla-Hawaryat mentions a “Jew” who came to him and who evidently spoke this Agau language: “And when he read this (the Gospel), he marveled and said in his region’s tongue, ‘Yadera,’ which in translation is ‘Lord’.” Carlo Conti Rossini, ed. and trans., Acta Sancti Takla Hawaryat, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Aethiopici, o.s. 24 (Louvain, Belgium: 1910), p. 104 (English translation by Steven Kaplan, private correspondence, who brought this passage to my attention). See Steven Kaplan, “A Source for the History of the Bëtä Esra’ël (Fälasha) – from the ‘Life’ of Abunä Täklä Hawaryat” Pe’amim 15 (1983): 133-124 (in Hebrew).

5. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxv.

6. Philoxene Luzzatto, “Mémoire sur les juifs d’Abyssinie ou Falashas,” Archives Israélites 13 (1852): 221, 655. The feast of Michael the archangel is celebrated on the twelfth day of each month in the Ethiopian church. Aymro Wondmagegnehu and Joachim Motovu, eds., The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Addis Ababa: The Ethiopian Orthodox Mission, 1975), p. 85.

7. Falasha and Ethiopian Christian traditions about Messiah Tēwodros derive from the fifteenth-century work Fekkārē Iyasus (Explication of Jesus). This work, presenting predictions of the end of the world, has been edited by M. René Basset, Fekkaré-Iyasous, vol. 11 of Les apocryphes éthiopiens (1909); for the tradition concerning Tēwodros see especially pp. 9-12, 25-26. Luzzatto mentions that Falashas had this work in the nineteenth century, (“Mémoire” 13: 130).

8. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 218.

9. Ibid., p. 345 (my translation). For a discussion of the history of Ethiopian Sabbath observance, see Ernst Hammerschmidt, Stellung und Bedeutung des Sabbats in Äthiopien (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1963). Personification of the Sabbath in Beta Israel prayers for that day is discussed in Shelemay, “Music and Text of the Falasha Sabbath,” Orbis Musicae, Studies in the Arts 8 (Tel Aviv University), (1982-1983): 3-22.

10. Reminick, “Religious Belief,” p. 35.

11. The adbār spirit protects the community from disease, bad luck, and poverty. Offerings are often left at the bottom of tall trees which the adbār spirits are thought to inhabit (ibid., p. 33).

12. Ibid., pp. 30-33.

13. Encyclopedia of Islam (1908), s. v. “Zar.”

14. Simon D. Messing, “The Highland-Plateau Amhara of Ethiopia,” Ph. D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1957, p. 600.

15. Wolf Leslau, Ethiopian Argots (The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1964), pp. 7-13.

16. Messing, “Highland-Plateau Amhara,” p. 643.

17. Leslau, Ethiopian Argots, p. 33

18. Ibid., p. 39, n. 10.

19. Gamst, Qemant, p. 37.

20. The Beta Israel recited the following prayer when slaughtering animals: “In the name of the Lord of the world, Prince of Israel” (my translation). A. Z. Aešcoly, “Notices sur les Falacha ou juifs d’Abyssinie, d’après le journal de voyagé d’Antoine d’Abbadie,” Cahiers d’études africaines 2 (1961): 105.

21. Flad, Falashas, pp. 32, 35.

22. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xix. A more elaborate process was required if a stranger wished to join the Beta Israel community. The individual had to fast for seven days, eating only uncooked grain and water. At the end of the period he washed in the river and confessed to a priest. Yona Bogale, 21 November 1975.

23. Yona Bogale, 21 November 1975.

24. Gamst, Qemant, pp. 99-100.

25. Aymro, “Ethiopian Church,” p. 31.

26. Falashas said this ceremony was one of purification, not baptism (Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 469-70). After the period of isolation the mother bathes herself and her child in the river, dons new clothes, and brings a sin offering to the priest; the priest blesses her and sprinkles both with holy water (Flad, Falashas, pp. 27-28).

27. Max Wurmbrand, The Falasha Arde’et (Tel Aviv: 1964), p. 4. The first section of the Arde’et contains a narrative concerning the exodus from Egypt, revelation scenes, and prayers for deliverance. A second section contains the Prayer of Moses. The Christian Arde’et is divided into seven sections.

28. Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, p. 108. Falashas circumcised males on the seventh day and performed clitoridectomy on the eighth, according to Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 466-67. The Coptic church also required circumcision before baptism. See History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church, trans. and annotated by Antoine Khater and O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, Publications de la Société d’archéologie copte, vol. 4, part 2 (Cairo, 1974), p. 177.

29. In the close relationship established between an individual and a personal confessor, the Falasha rite of confession resembles Christian practice. In the latter case, “the believer chooses a confessor-priest who knows him personally…. He is called yanafs abbat the soul father…… When a man is about to die… he calls his Confessor and elders and declares his final wishes” (Aymro, “Ethiopian Church,” p. 105). The Maṣḥafa Berhān also dictates that each person see one confessor regularly and respect him (Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān, Book 1, pp. 49-50).

30. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973. Beta Israel monks performed fetāt for seven days in the prayerhouse after a death, and a laqso is sung every morning at the house of the deceased (Flad, Falashas, pp. 64-65).

31. Flad, Falashas, pp. 64-65. Individuals who carry the corpse fast for a week afterward, during which they sprinkle themselves with water on the third day and shave their heads on the seventh before returning to the village (Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xviii). In Ethiopian Christian practice a requiem mass is said on the third, seventh, twelfth, thirtieth, and fortieth days, as well as one year after death, in addition to tazkār (Aymro, Ethiopian Church, p. 49).

32. Aešcoly, “Notices,” p. 106.

33. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, pp. xvii-xviii. The word ensaslaye may be related to ensosellā, the name of a plant used to color the soles of the feet before marriage (Getatchew Haile, personal correspondence).

34. Michael Eshkol, “The Rules and Ceremony of Marriage,” oral history courtesy of Julian Kay, 1974 (typewritten).

35. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xvii.

36. Ibid., p. xxiii.

37. Ibid., p. xxvi. Sacrifices were performed on Fāsikā and Tazkāra Abrahām (Berhān Śaraqa), today celebrated as the Jewish New Year (Halévy, “Travels,” p. 225).

38. Flad mentions many sacrifices in Falashas, pp. 52-54. Also see Deborah Lifchitz, “Un sacrifice chez les Falachas, juifs d’Abyssinie,” La terre et la vie 9 (1939): 116-23.

39. Flad, Falashas, p. 45, that is ya’enjarā maswā’t.

40. Yona Bogale, 20 May 1975, who also knows that the Abu Shāker derives from an Arabic source. Flad also mentions that Falashas calculate their liturgical cycle by the Abu Shāker (Falashas, p. 47). For historical data concerning the Abu Shāker and Ethiopic computus see Otto Neugebauer, Ethiopic Astronomy and Computus (Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1979); pp. 15-16, 21-22. Dr. Neugebauer suggested in private conversation that the Abu Shāker codifies calendrical data in use well before the thirteenth century.

41. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

42. Bernard Velat, “Chantres, poètes, professeurs: Les dabtara éthiopiens,” Cahiers coptes (Cairo: Institut copte) no. 5, (1954): 21-29.

43. Neugebauer, Ethiopie Astronomy, p. 9.

44. Ibid., pp. 192-93, 205-8.

45. Yona Bogale, 20 November 1979. Faitlovitch particularly discouraged continuation of traditions associated with monasticism, “because it was not traditionally a part of Judaism” (ibid.).

46. Yona Bogale, Jewish Calendar. The Falasha-Jewish calendar was first published in 1952. Yona Bogale, 20 May 1975.

47. Flad, Falashas, p. 51; Halévy, “Travels,” p. 225; and Chaim Nahoum, “Mission chez les Falachas d’Abyssinie,” Bulletin de l’Alliance israélite universelle, 3d ser., no. 33 (1908): 100-37. There is evidently widespread confusion between the memorial service tazkār and the annual holiday Tazkāra Abrahām.

48. Despite this testimony, the first day of the first month is called matqe’ in a Beta Israel prayer for the Berhān Śaraqa liturgy. Thus Falashas evidently preserve the same term used for the Jewish New Year in the Abu Shāker. In an earlier article (“A Quarter-Century in the Life of a Falasha Prayer,” Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council 10 [1978]: 83-108) I was unaware of the traditional source for this word and suggested it was a modern interpolation. Berhān Śaraqa was evidently associated with the Jewish New Year before, a relationship reemphasized during the last century of western Jewish influence. See Neugebauer, Ethiopic Astronomy, pp. 28, 77, 131, for further discussion of Jewish elements in Ethiopic computus.

49. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973. The latter meaning appears to be transposed from the Day of Atonement, which occurs ten days later in Jewish tradition. However, the relationship of the day to biblical creation may be derived from the Ethiopie calendrical sources, where tales of the creation of the sun and moon are greatly embellished. Whether phrases such as “the first moon was shining in full brightness” relate to the Beta Israel holiday Berhān Śaraqa (the light appeared) remains a provocative question. Neugebauer, Ethiopie Astronomy, p. 77

50. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

51. Wubshet Atagab, 28 July 1980.

52. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxiv.

53. Ibid., p. xxxii.

54. Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 398.

55. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973. The hagiography of Abba Takla- Hawaryat uses that term when quoting an old man about to be baptized: “I have remained in the law of my fathers while eating, and on the day of our supplication [“mehellana”] I stood at a distance so that people would not know.” Conti Rossini, Acta Sancti Takla Hawaryat, p. 105 (English translation by Steven Kaplan).

56. Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie, 1966), pp. 577-82.

57. Enciclopedia cattolica (Florence: G. C. Sansoni, 1953), s. v. “rogazioni.”

58. The Christian Mehellā exists in full (ba-melu) and abridged (ba-guadalo) forms. The Falasha Seged/Mehellā apparently resembles the latter. See Shelemay, “Seged: A Falasha Pilgrimage Festival,” Musica Judaica 3 (1980-81): 42-62.

59. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973; and Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 21 November 1973.

60. Makonnen Teku, 28 November 1973.

61. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxiii.

62. Makonnen Teku, 28 November 1973: “We perform Seged to respect Sinai and the Orit as our fathers did.”

63. Wolf Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes of Falasha Monks and Holy Places,” in Salo Wittmayer Baron Jubilee Volume (Jerusalem: American Academy for Jewish Research, 1974), English section, 2: 635. Briefly converted to Christianity by Flad, Taamrat Emmanuel later studied in Europe under the sponsorship of Jacques Faitlovitch. Taamrat presented these notes to Wolf Leslau in hope of having them published.

64. Flad, Falashas, p. 51. Makonnen Teku said that prayers for yač̣araqā ba‘āl (new moon) are shared with amata sauw, 26 November 1973.

65. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 168.

66. Ezra’s public reading of the law took place on the New Year (the first day of the seventh month). The Falashas are familiar with these passages from 1 Esdras 8-9. Bruce M. Metzger, ed., The Apocrypha of the Old Testament (Revised Standard Version) (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977).

67. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxiv-xxxv. Today the stones remain in a permanent circle atop the mountain.

68. Velat, Me’erāf, p. 577.

69. Wolf Leslau, Coutumes et croyances des Falachas (juifs d’Abyssinie), Travaux et mémoires de l’Institut d’ethnologie, no. 61 (Paris: 1957), p. 82. In the Ethiopian church 12 h̰edār is celebrated as the day honoring archangel Michael (Velat, Me’erāf, p. 28).

70. Neugebauer points out that lunar and civil months are frequently given the same names in computus texts (Private correspondence, 12 April 1982).

71. Neugebauer, Ethiopic Astronomy, pp. 144-45.

72. Ibid., pp. 44, 133-35.

73. Krempel, “Stellung der Falascha,” pp. 199-200.

74. Yona Bogale, 20 May 1975.

75. Leslau, Coutumes, p. 75.

76. Ibid., p. 85.

77. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

78. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

79. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxi; and Wurmbrand, Arde’et, p. 1.

80. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 471-73.

81. Ibid., p. 471. No further explanation is given for these names. The Hebrew letter names of the first two Sabbaths may derive from the acrostic in Psalm 119 or Lamentations, found in the Sabbath of Sabbaths ritual. Ibarabo may be an awkward transcription of the holiday name zabarabu, although its placement on the third rather than the fourth Sabbath does not lend support to this interpretation. Getatchew Haile suggests that the word is actually ebārreko, from Psalm 33 (34):1. This is a likely alternative since the other names can be tied to psalm or canticle incipits: Kamma-Yafager (kama yāfaqer) from Psalm 41 (42): 1, Amlake-Amlake-Igayyis (amlākiya amlākiya egeyeś) from Psalm 62 (63): 1, Amlake-Amlake-Nazeranni (amlākiya amlākiya naṣṣeranni) from Psalm 21 (22):1, and Wabarako (yebārrekewwo) from the Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire.

82. Neugebauer, Ethiopic Astronomy, pp. 109-11, 211, 229.

83. Ten priests from Ambober and surrounding areas attended on 12-13 October 1973.

84. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

85. Leslau, Coutumes, p. 80.

86. Velat, Me’erāf, p. 41.

87. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxx.

88. Messing, “Highland-Plateau Amhara,” pp. 392-97.

89. Ibid., pp. 394-95.

90. Ibid., p. 397.

91. Gamst, Qemant, p. 86.

92. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxx.

93. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 653.

94. Flad, Falashas, p. 50.

95. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 653; and Flad, Falashas, p. 50.

96. Gamst, Qemant, p. 86.

97. Demetrius was the twelfth patriarch of Alexandria and is credited in many sources with the authorship of a computus written around 213-214 C.E. See Neugebauer, Ethiopic Astronomy, pp. 92-94. This testimony evidently links Falasha computus, through Ethiopian intermediaries, to the computus credited to Demetrius.

98. The term ẓaḥāy (sun) is used as an equivalent of zaman (time). Ibid., p. 174.

99. Since many Falasha rulers were named Gideon, it is difficult to date this reference. The comment that the holiday started “not long ago” suggests the priest may be referring to Gideon who lived during the reign of Emperor Susneyos (1607-1632). See Chapter 1, at note 43.

100. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

101. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975. The term “goyim” has been adopted by Ethiopian Jews living in Israel.

102. Ibid.

103. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 169. The Qemant observe holidays two Thursdays each month. One commemorates Mezgana, their god, and the other, Gebarhu, now considered to be an angel but formerly a minor diety (Gamst, Qemant, p. 86).

104. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 345. This terminology is used in Ge‘ez to distinguish the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths. See Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, p. 109.

105. See Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 196-220, and “Some Notes on the Fifteenth-Century Stephanite ‘Heresy’ in the Ethiopian Church,” Rassegna di studi ethiopici 22 (1966): 103-15.

106. This custom was called Makfalt or Jaendshera Maswaot (bread sacrifice). Flad, Falashas, p. 45.

107. The major sources for published Falasha literary works are A. Z. Aešcoly, Recueil de textes falachas, Travaux et mémoires de l’Institut d’ethnologie, no. 60 (Paris: 1951); Leslau, Falasha Anthology, Max Wurmbrand, The Death of Aaron (Tel Aviv: 1961); and Wurmbrand, Arde’et.

108. Conti Rossini, “Appunti.”

109. Stefan Strelcyn, “La littérature falacha; état de la question,” Studi e materiali di storia dell religioni 26 (1955): 106-13. Strelcyn also found that one prayer thought by Conti Rossini to be a Falasha original exists in a Christian version. See Stefan Strelcyn, “Sur une prière ‘falacha’ publieé par C. Conti Rossini dans les ‘Appunti di storia e letteratura falascia,” Rassegna di studi etiopici 8 (1949): 63-82.

110. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxviii. A preliminary investigation of what is thought to be a unique Falasha text for Yasanbat Sanbat (UCLA Library Special Collections) indicates that it contains Christological elements, such as reference to manfas qeddus (the Holy Spirit). Monica S. Devens, “Remarks on a Falasha Liturgical Text for Sanbata Sanbat,” in Sven Rubenson ed., Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Abeba, Uppsala, East Lansing: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, African Studies Center, 1984), pp. 121-123. In addition, although the Falasha Commandments of the Sabbath had been thought to be original, a Christian version of portions of the work exists in a homily of James of Sarug on the observance of Sunday (Dersāna sanbat). See Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, vol. 5 (Collegeville, Minn.: St. John’s University, 1981), 5th entry, pp. 12-13.

111. Even Aešcoly, who generally will admit no more than an “interrelationship between Falasha and Christian literature,” agrees on these points (Recueil, p. 5). Ethiopian sources also record that an Ethiopian Christian monk copied the Orit for the Falashas. See Chapter 1, note 31.

112. Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 5; and Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxviii.

113. James Bruce recorded that Falashas claimed the Book of Enoch to be the first book of scriptures they received (Travels 2: 409). That parallels Ethiopian Christian tradition: “Ethiopian conceptions of the chronological order of the Books of the Old Testament differ from those of the Jews insofar as Henoch is considered as the earliest recipient of revelation.” Friedrich Heyer, “The Teaching of Tergum in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,” in Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1969) 2: 145.

114. See note 2 above.

115. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, pp. 10, 92, 106.

116. This text is translated by Leslau in the Falasha Anthology, pp. 81-91. Although no Christian Ethiopic Apocalypse of Gorgorios has yet been found, a Christian origin is likely (ibid., pp. 80-81). Gorgorios is mentioned in an enumeration of the miracles of the Virgin Mary (ibid., p. 80). The Falasha Apocalypse of Gorgorios is closely related to the text edited by Marius Chaine, “Visio Mariae Virginis,” in Apocrypha de B. Maria Virgine, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Aethiopici, vol. 22 (1962 reprint), pp. 51- 80. Jean Doresse suggests that the story of Gorgorios originated in the Arabic- Christian literature and was translated into Ge‘ez but was later abandoned by the Ethiopian church, perhaps after the Zagwe dynasty fell. “Survivances d’écrits gnostiques dans la littérature gueze,” in Proceedings of the Third International Conference, 2: 213-14. Beta Israel oral traditions record that Gorgorios was either a man from Jerusalem who went into monastic isolation or the founder of monastic orders among the Beta Israel in the fourteenth century. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 77, quoting Conti Rossini, “Appunti,” p. 584, n. 1: and Carl Rathjens, Die Juden in Abessinien (Leipzig: M. W. Kaufmann, 1921), p. 82. Other sources, however, indicate he was a Persian hermit who lived in both Syria and Cyprus. See Doresse, “Survivances,” p. 214; Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān, book 2, p. 63, and E. A. Wallis Budge, The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church (III/IV) (Hildesheim/New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 1976 [reprint, originally published Cambridge University Press, 1928], p. 666). A similar text (partial) has been located by Getatchew Haile in a fifteenth-century Ethiopian manuscript EMML 3872, f. 112a-113b.

117. Falasha Anthology, pp. 41-42.

118. Wurmbrand, Death of Aaron, p. 3.

119. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, pp. 51-52, 64.

120. Major sources include Conti Rossini, “Appunti” Aešcoly, Recueil; Halévy, Prières; Leslau, Falasha Anthology; and Strelcyn, “Prière.”

121. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 182, n. 2. Neither Leslau nor Halévy discusses the introduction to this manuscript, which prescribes celibacy and mentions “the lamb above the house of the Lord,” a likely Christological reference (Halévy, Prières, pp. 1-3).

122. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 182, n. 2, quoting Halévy, Prières, p. 3.

123. Max Wurmbrand, “Fragments d’anciens écrits juifs dans la littérature falacha,” in Journal asiatique (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1954), pp. 83-100. Wurmbrand concludes that these prayers of “Jewish inspiration” were originally in Hebrew, with intermediary translation to Arabic, Syriac, or Greek. He also suggests that Abba Sabra added to an existing anthology rather than composing all the prayers.

124. Their itinerary included stops in Egypt, the Holy Land, Cyprus, and Armenia.

125. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 209-10.

126. Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

127. Yona Bogale, 21 November 1973.

3

THE CONTEXTS OF LITURGICAL PERFORMANCE

Beta Israel priests both transmit information about religious observance and perform the liturgy throughout each liturgical cycle. In this dual role they link the context of ritual – historical, calendrical, physical – with liturgical content. In the following pages we explore the human and physical setting in which Beta Israel ritual was transmitted historically and survives today.

The Prayerhouse

Both the name and structure of the Beta Israel prayerhouse have changed in this century. A Beta Israel priest recalls: “We called the prayerhouse masgid before. It means a place for reading the Orit and bowing. We go there to pray and bow.”[1] The word masgid derives from the Ge‘ez root sgd (to bow). [2] Everyone bows on entering the prayerhouse and during certain prayers; the Seged ritual incorporates frequent bowing throughout. Luzzatto wrote that Falashas prostrated themselves on the floor as a sign of respect for the Orit.[3] Prostration survives in Ethiopian Christian ritual as well: congregants bow on entering the church and at designated points in the liturgy. [4] Masgid is also the term in Ethiopia for the Moslem mosque.

One nineteenth-century source compares the Falasha structure to Ethiopian Christian architecture: “Their mesquids, like the Christian Churches, consist of three divisions, with an entrance towards the east.”[5] The threefold division of church architecture has been said to replicate the structure of the Jewish temple: “The outside ambulatory of the three concentric parts… is called k’∂ne maḥlet, i. e. the place where hymns are sung and… corresponds to the ḥāṣēr of the Tabernacle or the ’ulām of Solomon’s Temple. The next chamber is the k’∂dd∂st where communion is administered to the people; and the innermost part is the mäk’däs where the tabot rests and to which only the priests and the King have access…. This division into three chambers applies to all Abyssinian churches, even to the smallest of them.”[6]

Another description confirms the similarity between Falasha and Christian architecture and ritual functions: “In every Falasha village there is a Mesgeed. It is the place of assembly, of worship, and of sacrifice…. Every Mesgeed consists of the Kedusa Kedusan (Holy of Holies) and the Makdas, or Holy Place. Only the priests enter by the eastern door, and they alone are admitted into the Holy of Holies.”[7]

Falashas and Ethiopian Christians build masgids and churches at the highest spot in the village, according to biblical prescription.[8] Beta Israel priests say the prayerhouse should be surrounded by such trees as acacia, oleaster, and native juniper;[9] today the eucalyptus, introduced to Ethiopia during the last century, is often found around the prayerhouse. Several sources link sites where trees and other vegetation grow to ritual bowing. [10]

The consecration ceremony for the Falasha masgid once paralleled Ethiopian Christian practice, including a procession that traced the pattern of a cross:

When the ground is consecrated on which a Mesgeed is to be built, the following ceremony takes place. After the foundations for the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies are dug out, the high-priest of the province is sent for. The priests assemble together with the men of the village, and form in procession. One priest leads the way, carrying the Orit, and the rest following. They all walk around the spot appointed for the building, while the women, from a distance, send forth their cry of joy “Ill-ill-ill-ill,” etc. After they have walked once round the ground intended for building they cross it from east to west, and from south to north. The chief priest, together with the other priests, places himself in the spot appointed for the Holy of Holies, and after a short speech to those assembled, consecrates the place. As soon as this is done, masons are employed to lay four unhewn corner-stones for the Holy of Holies, which are blessed by the high-priest. When the building is completed, thank-offerings are brought, and a great festival is held by all the congregation.[11]

The most sacred objects, including the Orit, priestly vestments, books, and vessels used during the ritual, were kept in the closely guarded holy of holies. (See Figure 1.) Vessels for the ashes of a red heifer and holy water stood together in a corner of the holy of holies.[12] Evidently the Beta Israel practiced the tradition of mixing red heifer ashes with holy water, an elaboration of the passage in Numbers, chapter 19, through the nineteenth century.[13]

Entry into the Falasha masgid was traditionally tightly controlled: “The admission into these different courts is rigorously regulated by Levitical law, and the severest penalty would be inflicted on any one who should incautiously pollute the sacred edifice. In the rear of every place of worship is a small enclosure with a huge stone in the centre; and on this crude altar the victim is slaughtered, and all other sacrificial rites performed. This sanctum is as sacredly guarded from unlawful intrusion as the rest of the premises, and woe betide the stranger who, ignorant of Falasha customs, ventures too close to the forbidden precincts.”[14] Nor were all Beta Israel able to enter the prayerhouse. Prohibited were lepers, anyone with a year-old wound, anyone with black skin (indicating an adulterous birth), anyone who switched back and forth between Falasha and the Christian religion, girls raped and not pardoned by their parents, men bitten by a hyena, and anyone who had sexual intercourse on the Thursday or Friday before the Sabbath.[15]

The Ambober prayerhouse reflects twentieth-century architectural changes. (See Figure 2.) The stone building, decorated with a Star of David on the tin roof,[16] contains an undivided square room accommodating about sixty people. The west door is used by priests and congregants; the east door, once intended for monks, is now opened only to admit overflow crowds.

FIGURE 1
A FALASHA MESGEED

SOURCE: Johann M. Flad, The Falashas (Jews) of Abyssinia, trans, by S. P. Goodhart (London: William Macintosh, 1869).

FIGURE 2
THE AMBOBER PRAYERHOUSE

Inside the prayerhouse one finds traditional and new elements. Gemjā (cloth) is draped on the walls to cover the corners and provide an in-the-round effect. A batik of Jerusalem hangs on the wall next to the araft (priests’ bench). In the northeastern corner a small cabinet contains Hebrew prayer books and other Jewish ritual objects used for Hebrew prayer services. Sometimes tradition and innovation overlap: Priests now don Jewish prayer shawls for the Seged procession and ritual.

The cabinet also houses the Ge‘ez Orit, alongside a small Hebrew Torah donated by Jews from abroad. In the Falasha masgid, as in the Ethiopian church, the tābot (ark of the covenant) was a central part of worship and was kept in the holy of holies. Ethiopian Christians believe that the Ten Commandments are preserved at Aksum, brought to Ethiopia from Israel after Menelik’s visit to his father, King Solomon.[17] All Ethiopian churches have stone, marble, or wood replicas of the tablets, which, placed on the altar, serve as a table for the oblation. They are wrapped in sacred cloth and carried on the heads of deacons during processions. Beta Israel priests regard the entire Orit as the tābot, and their deacons carry it wrapped in sacred cloth on their heads during Falasha processionals.[18] In both Falasha and Ethiopian Christian tradition, jānṭelā (ritual umbrellas) used for processions are kept in the prayerhouse.

The musical instruments that accompany the liturgy are kept on the floor near the priests’ bench. Beta Israel priests say their use of drum (nagārit) and gong (qāč̣el) is inspired by psalms. One priest recalled an oral tradition about the instruments: “The priest Azariah arrived in Aksum and told Jews to use these instruments in order not to antagonize the Christians. He asked to live in Ethiopia at the same time the Ethiopian government granted asylum for fear of the Romans. The king gave them permission, and respected Israel as part of Ethiopian traditions, so he told them they had no fear of persecution. Azariah adopted the qāč̣el so that the melody does not get lost.”[19]

Beta Israel priests still make their own instruments, blessing all materials used. Cow, bull, or goat skins are laced to cover the shallow, wooden body of the nagārit, a double-headed kettledrum. In Beta Israel tradition the nagārit is played while standing, struck directly with the hands, whereas the Ethiopian Christian nagārit is usually played with a wooden stick for state occasions:

The name derives from the root “nagara,” which means “he spoke,” and in effect every proclamation, every public order is preceded by one or more drum-beats. For royal proclamations, which are read outside the palace gates, the negarit is beaten forty times…. In other circumstances the drum-beating takes place on the rug-strewn terrace where the sovereign is installed to dispense justice…. The rank of an official can be recognized by the form of the negarit,[20] but above all by the number of drummers who precede him. When the Emperor comes to the army he is preceded by 88 drums, carried by 44 mules…. The negarit is also beaten at the funerals of members of the imperial family, and in great ceremonies.[21]

Structurally identical, Falasha and Christian nagārits are similar to a variety of shallow kettledrums often played on backs of donkeys and camels throughout the Near East.[22] Although the nagārit primarily functioned as an “emblem of authority” in Ethiopia,[23] it is also used to announce prayers at Ethiopian monasteries and churches.[24]

Qāč̣el is defined as a “small bell.”[25] The word often applies to a metal or wooden bell worn by sheep or cattle.[26] However, a number of other Ethiopian idiophones are also termed qāč̣el, and an Ethiopian source states that the word signifies a “small hand rattle made of a thin strip of metal that is used both for secular and sacred music.”[27]

The Beta Israel qāč̣el is a flat circular hand-held metal gong struck in the center by a metal rod. One scholar identifies it as a “small dowel.”[28] The dawal, from the verb dawwala (to ring a bell),[29] consists of resonant slabs of stone or wood suspended outside Ethiopian churches and monasteries. These idiophones, struck with a stone to call the faithful to worship,[30] are the only gongs besides the Falasha qāč̣el found in Ethiopia. Falasha metalworkers may have used the stone dawal as a model for their metal qāč̣el: “Gongs, däwäl, traditionally were of phonolithic stone suspended in front of churches, used as church bells to call to services. They are beaten with another rock or batter of iron, either called ‘yädäwäl mämcha.’ The Falashas, being ironsmiths, possess a flat iron disc almost a foot in diameter, which they suspend from a string from a finger, and beat with an iron spike, achieving a distinct gong sound.”[31]

The Falasha qāč̣el and the Ethiopian dawal are almost certainly related to the semantron, a flat suspended stone or wooden instrument struck with a stick or hammer.[32] The semantron is an instrument of great antiquity, widely distributed in Asia and the Christian world, and most often used for signaling outside churches and monasteries.[33] A rich body of literature and iconography ties the semantron to the story of Noah, who is said to have gathered animals to the ark by beating the instrument.[34] Apart from the fascinating legends surrounding this instrument, its use can be traced at least to the middle of the fourth century in Syria.[35]

Beta Israel priests disagree about whether they ever used the sistrum. One remembers that Beta Israel metalworkers made the instrument for their own liturgical use, while a second insists it is a Christian instrument.[36] To complicate this question further, one observer reports that Beta Israel in some areas use a wooden clapper instead of the metal qāč̣el.[37]

Beta Israel priests also carve maqwāmiyā (prayer staff) to lean against while praying and to pound on the floor during liturgical dance. Ethiopian Christian musicians use the maqwāmiyā the same way.

Other special customs are observed in the Beta Israel prayerhouse. Although there is no “eternal light” as in Jewish tradition, a small oil lamp is lit and filled before each ritual. Incense is burned on special holidays.[38] Shoes are supposed to be removed before entering the prayerhouse. In addition to bowing during rituals, priests and congregants extend both hands, palms upward, in a gesture of supplication during many prayers. Priests say that Moses was supposed to have used a similar gesture when praying to God.[39]

The Clergy

Although the Beta Israel clergy today consists mainly of priests, in the past the clerical structure was identical to that of the Ethiopian church, with manakosāt or falāsyān (monks), kāhnāt (priests), dabtarāt (literally tabernacle, an unordained clergyman educated in ritual), and diyāqonāt (deacons).

The monks played a vital role in Beta Israel religious life. Since monastic training provided a good education and prestige, most Beta Israel priests studied with the monks. The high priest was chosen from among monks of an area. All Beta Israel confessed their sins to a monk once a year and before death.

Although no study exists of Beta Israel monasticism, nineteenth-century Christian missionaries provide useful information.[40] Halévy tried to visit a Falasha monastery in the 1860s but was prevented by fighting in the area. He wrote a description of Falasha monasticism from secondhand reports.[41] Wolf Leslau interviewed Falasha monks near Gondar in 1947 but was unable to elicit much information. Fortunately, Taamrat Emmanuel gave his notes on the subject to Leslau.[42] By 1973 no Beta Israel monks were alive in accessible areas. However, the priests’ recollections, combined with information from various sources, enable a fairly detailed discussion of Beta Israel monasticism.

Beta Israel priests credit their monastic order with shaping Beta Israel religious traditions, liturgical cycle, and liturgy. Oral traditions record that Beta Israel monks composed Beta Israel prayers, including the monastic office;[43] composed the music (zēmā) to which the prayers are chanted;[44] organized the religious laws and liturgical cycle;[45] wrote the Beta Israel literature;[46] constructed the Beta Israel masgid with a sacrificial altar;[47] and introduced the laws of purity and isolation.[48] Beta Israel oral traditions thus attribute almost all current religious practices to the influence and activity of the monks.[49] Sometimes they credit specific individuals, such as the monk Abba Sabra who is said to have founded the Beta Israel monastic order:

He was a native of Shoa. Some say that he was from Madrä Käbd, in the district where the famous convent of Z∂qwala is found [about 35 miles southeast of Addis Ababa]. Having committed an assassination, he led a life of penance. He went to Dämbya, and built a church in Dänqäz dedicated to a saint named S∂bra…. Abba S∂bra embraced the faith of the Israelites and converted to his faith Ṣäga Amlak, son of the king [Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob, 1434-1468]. For this reason, the king persecuted Abba S∂bra, who lived in solitary places in order to avoid the wrath of the king.

He taught the Orit in all the regions where he thought that the Falashas applied it incorrectly. But the principal work for which Abba S∂bra is remembered among the Falashas is the institution of the laws of purity, the attenkuň, of the Falashas, an expression which signifies “don’t touch me.”

He lived with Ṣäga Amlak in M∂draru Säqqält and in Huharwa in Ganfänqära.[50]

Beta Israel priests still regard Abba Sabra as a seminal figure: “Abba Sabra taught all the monks and since his time children have been taken to the monks to preserve the religion. Abba Sabra told them about their history, about the destruction of the Temple, and that they are keepers of the faith. He also wrote the prayers and the history.”[51] He is also credited with writing Baqadāmi gabra egzi’abḥēr (In the beginning God created), said to be a collection of prayers, and with instituting Seged.[52] Beta Israel priests also remember Ṣagga Amlāk, although some say that he was Abba Sabra’s son, not the son of the emperor.[53]

Traditions exist about other Beta Israel monks. Abba Saquyān is said to have written the sa’ātāt (horologion), as well as to have urged celibacy. [54] Abba Gorgorios is considered a “prophet” and is said to have written a small treatise on eschatology. [55] Abba Halen is considered the originator of Beta Israel prayerhouse architecture and is remembered in connection with several miracles associated with the masgid:[56] “A Falasha, instructed by God, discovered the altar where Abba Halen used to offer his sacrifices: it was a block of stone, that from nature itself had received its square form. It was also provided with two holes where the horns of the victim were placed, and also a receptacle for blood. Near the altar, it is said, one could see a hole excavated by nature, and over this was built the foundation of the masgid…. Among the miracles accomplished by Halen, the most amazing is the fire he summoned from the sky to burn the sacrifices.”[57]

As late as the nineteenth century the spiritual center of the Beta Israel was the monastery located in a cavern at Hoharewa, where Abba Sabra was said to have spent time studying religious law and healing people. In the 1860s about 200 monks lived at the cavern, which had become an important pilgrimage site. [58]

Although the Beta Israel credit Abba Sabra with founding their monastic institution, it is more likely that he reorganized an already established tradition. [59] We have seen in Chapter 1 that Ēwosṭātēwos’ disciple Gabra Iyesus was active among the Falashas in the fourteenth century, as was Qozmos at a slightly later date. Oral traditions consistently date Abba Sabra’s life to the reign of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob in the mid-fifteenth century, considerably later than the first documented Falasha monastic contact with Gabra Iyesus.

Falasha monasticism can be better understood when placed in the context of its Ethiopian Christian antecedents and the schism in the church during the fourteenth century. Only recently have scholars been able to begin to document the history of these conflicts.[60] Although we know that Ethiopian monasticism dates from the arrival of Syriac missionaries in the late fifth century,[61] little has yet been uncovered about Ethiopian monastic history before the period of the royal chronicles and hagiographies beginning in the early fourteenth century.[62] The Lives of St. Paul the Hermit and St. Anthony, as well as the Rules of Pachomius, were evidently translated from Greek to Ge‘ez at early dates and provided guidelines for monastic life.[63] The monks spread Christianity to the Ethiopian interior well before the thirteenth century and lived largely independent of church control.[64] However, the early Solomonic period saw a resurgence of monastic power under the guidance of such individuals as Takla Hāymānot in the south and Ēwosṭātēwos in the north.

Although Taamrat Emmanuel records that Abba Sabra was from Shawa Province, we have no other documentary evidence of southern monastic influence on the Falashas.[65] Many monks of northern Ethiopian heritage came to Falasha territory, including followers of Yafqeranna Egzi’, who established a community at Enfraz.[66] The gadl (acts; the standard title for a biography of a monk or saint) of Yafqeranna Egzi’ tells of his encounter with the monk Qozmos, who committed such heresies as refusing to eat the bread of the Eucharist before joining the Falashas. [67] However, the documented presence of Gabra Iyesus in Falasha areas suggests that the beliefs of the Ēwosṭātēwosian school are also relevant to our study.

Before leaving Ethiopia, Ēwosṭātēwos was charged with celebrating the Saturday Sabbath and other biblical traditions. He acknowledged the accusations, reciting the Ten Commandments and the apostolic canons in defense of his beliefs. Ēwosṭātēwos exiled himself from Ethiopia, visiting Egypt, the Holy Land, and Cyprus before dying in Armenia in 1352. When his disciples, including Gabra Iyesus, returned to Ethiopia, they reunited with those left behind and founded monasteries throughout northern Ethiopia.[68]

Ēwosṭātēwosian insistence on celebrating the Saturday Sabbath is of great interest since the observance is central to the Falasha tradition. We also know that the Ēwosṭātēwosians observed other biblical traditions relating to circumcision and marriage.[69] It is thought that Ēwosṭātēwos’ followers returned to Ethiopia with an even stronger commitment to the beliefs that had spurred their departure: “Éwosṭatéwos taught against the Alexandrian position on the Sabbath…, and he left the country in self-exile. When his disciples returned fourteen years later, they apparently came with even stronger views on the subject, and with new ideas of better organization…. The memory of the exile and the death of Éwosṭatéwos gave his followers a strong sense of unity, and they continued to defend his position on the Sabbath, for which they were excommunicated.”[70] The Maṣḥāfa Berhān discusses the Ēwosṭātēwosian position in some detail. Because of their Sabbath observance, they refused to enter the residence of the king or the metropolitan and were forbidden to receive holy orders. These monks were also termed ayhud.[71]

Despite their excommunication, Ēwosṭātēwosians were successful in establishing monasteries in frontier areas. Their power made Saturday Sabbath observance a critical issue for the rest of the fourteenth century. Attempting to bring the group back into the church in 1404, King Dāwit “permitted them to observe the Sabbath as they insisted, and decreed that they should not be persecuted for this any longer. They were now free to reoccupy their previous churches and monasteries, and to establish other communities wherever they could. But he maintained, at the same time, that both at the royal Court and in all non-Éwosṭathian churches the official Alexandrian position on the Sabbath should be observed, and the leadership of the Egyptian bishop should be strictly followed.”[72]

Dāwit’s decree strengthened the Ēwosṭātēwosian position. By the time Zar’ā Yā’eqob assumed the throne in 1434, Ēwosṭātēwosian power still exacerbated tensions between the Alexandrian and Ethiopian church. Zar’ā Yā’eqob, sympathetic to the monks because of his monastic training, authorized observance of both Sabbaths and brought the Ēwosṭātēwosians back into the church.[73]

The century during which the Falashas received monasticism was one of intense religious turmoil in Ethiopia. The fact that Falashas date Abba Sabra’s monastic activity to Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s period and share so many beliefs with the monks with whom they came in contact raises many questions. Taddesse Tamrat has suggested that Falasha “contact with the Ethiopian Church began to enrich their own religious legacy, and much of their literary and organizational borrowings may date from the mid-fourteenth century.”[74] The precise relationship between Falasha religion and Ethiopian Christian monasticism will be a question shadowing the following pages. Modern Beta Israel claim they converted Ethiopian Christian monks: “Abba Sabra came to the Falashas to convert them to Christianity – he had been the father confessor and teacher of Ṣagga Amlāk, the son of Zar’ā Yā’eqob. When he arrived to the Falashas, he was converted by them.”[75] Scholars have tended to accept this interpretation, approaching Beta Israel monasticism as a “Christianizing element” and “a unique characteristic of their Judaism.”[76] However, the documented strength of medieval Ethiopian monastic houses, as well as the tenacity of their beliefs and organizational structure, recommends reevaluation of this relationship. Their religious and institutional influence on the Falashas apparently extends beyond the “revitalization” of Beta Israel religion suggested in some sources.[77]

Available information portrays Beta Israel monks as an isolated and committed order. The most detailed descriptions are by the nineteenth-century Christian missionaries who, despite thinly veiled contempt, were interested in Falasha monasticism. Jewish observers spent considerable energy reconciling Falasha monastic practice with normative Judaism. Often, two sources combined illuminate a single subject. For example, Beta Israel monasticism was primarily cenobitic, although some monks lived as anchorites in isolated locales. Halévy presents one perspective of the men in Beta Israel monasteries:

I had the satisfaction of learning that this institution, however little consonant with the spirit of the Bible, had kept within the bounds of Judaism. The hermits were for the most part men who, having lost their loved wives, declined to marry again, and devoted themselves to a contemplative life…. These anchorites hold that Aaron, the High Priest, was the first Nazarite who lived in celibacy. If any one observed to them that Aaron was married and was the father of four sons, whose names are mentioned in the Pentateuch, they replied that this was true enough, but it had taken place before his consecration, after which event he retired from the world, and lived in meditation in the shadow of the tabernacle.[78]

In contrast, Flad writes that most of the monks were celibate for life. He briefly mentions that “there is yet another class of monks who hardly deserve the name. They are those who in their old age, and perhaps after several marriages, assume the monk’s cowl, in order to close their lives in a saintly and meritorious manner.”[79]

Flad also details selection and training of Beta Israel monks. Unlike the hereditary priesthood, any Beta Israel could become a monk. Parents often volunteered an eldest son for monastic life, although young men were free to join on their own. During a probation period of several years, the boys served the monks and learned the entire Psalter and prayers. They were free to leave the monastery before they took vows at eighteen or twenty. Induction of new monks was celebrated by a public gathering and feast.[80]

A monk’s life was severe, marked by frequent fasting and self-mortification. Flad implies that initiates were castrated,[81] while d’Abbadie wrote that the monks ingested certain herbs to become impotent.[82] Monks so strictly observed the laws of purity and isolation that even other Beta Israel were considered unclean and not allowed in the monastery. [83]

The monks pursued occupations that guaranteed the purity of their environment. In addition to service within the masgid,

they occupy themselves in husbandry, and keep cattle and bees; they also make wooden vessels and spoons for sale. When several live together, one of them undertakes the education of the boys – girls never receive any instruction. Their course of education consists only of learning to read the Ethiopian character and committing the Psalter to memory. Boys who intend to be monks, Kaahen, or Debtera, must learn the book “Sauasau”, a kind of Ethiopian grammar or dictionary, in order that on the Sabbath and feast-days they may be able to translate into Amharic for the people, those portions of the law which are always read in the Ethiopian tongue. [84]

Although the monks did not train women, there were nuns in Beta Israel tradition. These women led solitary lives, praying, fasting, and distributing alms to the poor. They were equally concerned about contamination and never entered an ordinary Beta Israel home. [85] Like their male counterparts, Falasha nuns performed miraculous acts: “Emma Endita… is from Armač̣∂ho, from the locality of Ǧagli Futa…. She led an ascetic life…. She was famous for her extraordinary beauty as well as for the extreme compassion that she had for beasts…. She had for a guardian a lion. One time when her lion had an ailment in his paw, she extracted a splinter and patiently cared for him, protecting her face often from the gushing pus…. They say that one time, God, in order to show her by a miraculous sign that she was among his favorites, sent down to her from the sky a horse’s hair of about forty cubits.”[86] The story of Emma Endita is typical of Ethiopian hagiographies dating from the medieval period in which communication with animals is a common motif.[87] Although the Beta Israel have no specific traditions about the history of women in their monastic orders, there were separate religious communities of women in diverse locales in Ethiopia, including a totally female one at Santa Kresto Samra on Lake Tana.[88] Gabra Iyesus established a monastery at Debsan in Enfraz where monks and nuns were under one jurisdiction in the same building; this organization subsequently disappeared completely. [89]

Miscellaneous information about Beta Israel monastic life is scattered through various sources. Places where famous monks lived and performed miracles became pilgrimage sites. [90] Beta Israel monks are said to have worn wide white trousers and shirts, covered by a shamma (shawl) bordered in red. [91] While Flad also reports that monks wore white caps covered by immense turbans, another source mentions that they wore qob (skullcaps) as did Christian monks. [92]

In summary, the picture emerges of a dedicated monastic order totally committed to the survival of its tradition. The Christian missionaries wrote of their frustration when trying to convert Beta Israel monks:

Impelled by a blind and implicit faith in the regenerator of their caste, these priests, after their initiation frequently pass months and years, like the Christian hermit in times of yore, in swampy marshes, stern wild, and poisonous jungles, where roots or dried peas, (which latter they carry with them,) are their only means of subsistence…. These hardships and dangers, one would think, were quite enough to deter anyone from so hazardous and difficult a novitiate; but such is the contagion of fanaticism, that not only will many patiently for years and years endure pains and privations, hunger and toil, but scores, in the wild frenzy of their disordered imagination, will, every year during the rainy season, seek peace for their troubled souls, by a voluntary grave, in deep and rapid streams which intersect the whole land…. These people so isolated from the rest of the world, and so unsocial in all their habits, presented most formidable obstacles to the success of missionary efforts. To despise and abhor every alien creed as worthless and false, has always been… an essential lesson enforced at the mesquid.[93]

Other divisions of the Beta Israel clergy have become almost as rare as the monks. In the past the Beta Israel dabtarā helped chant the prayers in a capacity similar to that of the unordained musicians of the same title in the Ethiopian church. Evidently, Falasha dabtarās sometimes studied at Christian schools affiliated with principal churches. [94] Like Ethiopian Christian dabtarās, these secular clergymen were writers of magical texts and amulets. Halévy, when leaving a Beta Israel village during his Ethiopian journey, was presented with an amulet by Beta Israel dabtarās concerned for his safety. His response to this Beta Israel custom was indicative of the pressures to come: “I refused it, and quoted to them the following biblical passage: ‘Behold, he slumbereth not and he sleepeth not – the Keeper of Israel,’ (Ps. cxxi. 4). Upon which they exclaimed: ‘You are right; he who fears God, need entertain no other fear’.”[95]

The ranks of Beta Israel diyāqon (deacons) have also thinned since no young Beta Israel are in training for priestly or monastic life. Young boys used to help care for the prayerhouse and ritual objects. During pilgrimages they would march with the tābot balanced on their heads. Today young boys without religious training serve as deacons for such events as the Seged pilgrimage.

Since the death of the last monk in the Gondar area, the distinction between monastic and priestly responsibilities has disappeared. Beta Israel priests (qēs) now assume all duties. They lead the prayers, hear confessions, and officiate at such rites of passage as circumcisions, weddings, and funerals. Priests must now interpret the Orit and its traditions to the people. During the fieldwork period, four priests lived in Ambober, although their number was often supplemented by priests from nearby villages. Their biographies (see Appendix 3) graphically illustrate the changing priestly role. All the priests were born in traditional Falasha areas, and many helped found Ambober in 1936. One came from Gojjam Province, remaining in the Ambober area only from 1972 to 1975. All were from families of priests and, with one exception, had studied with the monks of their areas. Three Ambober priests spent six months during 1955 in Asmara, Ethiopia, where a visiting rabbi tutored them in Hebrew and Jewish traditions. One proudly remembers this period as the most significant experience of his life. The Jewish influence of recent years has had a major effect on these men. One carefully tends a small collection of Hebrew books donated by Jews from abroad. The priests frequently recount stories of Jewish visitors, including Jacques Faitlovitch. Most worked as farmers in addition to their liturgical duties. Two priests who mastered enough Hebrew traveled to teach children in outlying villages.

These men joined the clergy as a result of family tradition and encouragement. They have transmitted to their sons a commitment to religious service, although it is now realized in a different context. Sons of two priests studied in Jewish schools in Europe. They later immigrated to Israel, where one has been ordained as the first Ethiopian Jewish rabbi. Sons of two other priests learned Hebrew and taught in Beta Israel villages; one led the Hebrew rituals in the Ambober prayerhouse. Since 1973 several of the priests who supplied information for this study have immigrated to Israel with their families.

The sons of the priests are concerned with their religious identity. They either live in Israel or seek to immigrate. Jewish educations provided by outsiders shaped the identities of young men who otherwise would have been part of the traditional religious hierarchy. The probability that transmission and performance of the Beta Israel liturgy will cease with the passing of the present generation disturbs many older members of the community. Hoping to preserve their tradition, all Beta Israel priests able to travel met in Ambober during October 1976, where they elected a high priest and set standards for inducting young boys into the priesthood. This unprecedented convocation was underwritten by funds from Jewish sources.

The Congregation

The Beta Israel congregation is also changing as stringent rules concerning admission to the prayerhouse are relaxed. While Leslau reports that only unmarried or postmenopausal women were permitted to enter,[96] earlier sources report that all females were allowed in certain sections: “In the Holy Place the women have their place on the south side; they may only enter by the southern door. The Debtera stand on the west side, the men and boys on the north.”[97] Today, all women enter the prayerhouse, usually clustering together in the northwest corner.

The modern Beta Israel congregation ranges from a few women and children who sleep in the prayerhouse the night before an early ritual to a capacity crowd. Numbers usually increase after dawn, especially on an important holiday. Congregational participation is limited to bowing and occasional responses, such as amēn or hāllēluyā, usually during the spoken prayers at the end of rituals. Beta Israel women ululate near the beginning of important prayers, which is said to signify “happiness” and is learned through observation.[98] When the congregation becomes too noisy or inattentive, the priests admonish the offenders.

Although the Ge‘ez liturgy is still performed in full by the priests, its context has changed. The priests are pressured to admit elements of Jewish liturgy into the Ge‘ez ritual. The result to date has been superficial changes, such as donning prayer shawls for the Seged pilgrimage or symbolically lifting a Hebrew Torah when the Ge‘ez Orit is read. The most striking liturgical alteration was the interpolation in 1973 of the Hebrew prayer ashre yoshue betecha near the end of the Astasreyo ritual.

Young Ethiopian Jews are reluctant to participate in Geez rituals. Many refuse to attend, entering the prayerhouse for Hebrew services only after the priests have completed their prayers. This rejection of traditional Beta Israel religion exemplifies the process of change.

Rituals are often analyzed as containing two classes of messages. Participants transmit indexical messages about their physical, social, or psychic status. Canonical messages are encoded in the ritual as invariant and symbolic content.[99] Theorists have postulated that the two are interdependent: Indexical messages depend on their association with the canonical, and the latter are without force or even sense unless supported by indexical messages.

For most of their history the Beta Israel have responded to challenges to their religious identity by withdrawing and subsequently reasserting their own identity. However, a new factor emerged when western Jews began to visit Beta Israel villages in the late nineteenth century. Visitors such as Halévy claimed to share canonical elements, as well as provide their own indexical messages concerning their mutual psychic and social status:[100] “Oh, my brethren…, I am not only a European; I am, like you, an Israelite…. You must know, my dear brethren, that I also am a Falasha! I worship no other God than the great Adonai, and I acknowledge no other law than the law of Sinai!”[101]

As the Beta Israel and western Jews increasingly perceived themselves as sharing a network of religious laws encoded in separate liturgical orders, pressure mounted on the Beta Israel. First, outsiders encouraged them to modify or discard traditions unfamiliar to modern Judaism. Second, individuals began to relate on a personal level to the Jewish world abroad and to establish their identities in this context. Thus canonical meaning was questioned and modified, and indexical messages shifted. Yet, while young Beta Israel have acquired both new perspectives and new liturgical orders, the priests still observe much of the old tradition. Through their performances and discussions of liturgical tradition we can begin to define the musical and textual content of the Ge‘ez liturgy.

Notes

1. Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

2. Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 398. The Amharic word for synagogue is mekwrāb, taken from Ge‘ez.

3. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 520.

4. Sergew Hable Selassie and Belaynesh Mikael, “Worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,” in The Church of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 1970), p. 69. It is customary to prostrate oneself when singing mesgād, liturgical forms for the Christian Office comprising fragments of scriptural verse (Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 54-55).

5. Stern, Wanderings, p. 188.

6. Ullendorff, “Hebraic-Jewish Elements,” pp. 235-36.

7. Flad, Falashas, pp. 42-43.

8. Ullendorff, “Hebraic-Jewish Elements,” p. 236.

9. For further details about the flora of the area, see Frederick J. Simoons, Northwest Ethiopia: Peoples and Economy (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1960), pp. 9-11, 212.

10. Adana Takuyo and Gete Asrass, 5 December 1973. There is also a tradition that whoever passes the forest surrounding a revered monk’s tomb must bow down. A man who cut down trees of this forest is said to have died for the transgression (Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 631-32).

11. Flad, Falashas, pp. 42-43.

12. Ibid:, p. 43. A second source also mentions the two earthenware pots containing ashes of a red heifer and holy water kept in the Falasha masgid. Hermann Norden, Africa’s Last Empire: Through Abysinnia to Lake Tana and the Country of the Falasha (London: H. F. P. G. Witherly, 1930), p. 195.

13. Jean Daniélou discusses this tradition as a prominent practice of Judeo- Christians. The Theology of Jewish Christianity, trans. John A. Baker (London: Dorton, Longman & Todd, 1964), pp. 100-101.

14. Stern, Wanderings, p. 188. None of the missionaries explain how they received such detailed descriptions of, or viewed, the interior of the prayerhouse. Only Stern mentions an incident when he nearly breached Falasha rules of purity: “It was… after several hours’ fatiguing march, we reached a Falasha village…. I went in quest of a cool and quiet shelter, when accidentally I espied in the midst of a secluded grassy spot a smooth block…. The thorny stockade easily yielded to the iron of my lance, and I was just about to enscounce myself behind the flattened stone when a chorus of angry voices… reminded me of my mistake, and urged me to beat a hasty retreat” (ibid., p. 189). However the missionaries got their information, agreement between their independent accounts provides no basis to question them.

15. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 230, quoting Antoine d’Abbadie, “Journal et mélanges,” France nouvelle acquisition 21300. Bibliothèque nationale. These restrictions have been relaxed in recent years. For policy toward foreign visitors see Chapter 2.

16. Some sources report that Falashas earlier placed a red earthenware pot on the pinnacle of the roof (Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, p. 20). Leslau looked for such decoration but found only broken bits of clay remaining on some huts (Falasha Anthology, pp. xxi-xxii). The Shield of David is preserved in Ethiopian Christian magical practice as well (Ullendorff, Ethiopia and The Bible, pp. 77-78).

17. Ullendorff, Ethiopia and The Bible, pp. 74-79, 131-45.

18. Ullendorff discusses tābot customs and their parallels to Jewish tradition in “Hebraic-Jewish Elements,” pp. 233-34, and Ethiopia and The Bible, pp. 82-87. Also see Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 520.

19. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980. Azariah, the son of the priest Zadok, was the companion sent to Ethiopia with Menelik by King Solomon. Azariah and his descendents are said to have “instructed all the people of Ethiopia in the law of Moses, and performed Divine worship according to the Jewish ritual” (Flad, Falashas, p. 73). Zadok is known to Ethiopians from the Kebra Nagast, where he is said to have instructed Menelik in the law. Some have suggested that Falashas maintain Zadokite traditions. Solomon Schechter, Fragments of a Zadokite Work, vol. 1 of Documents of Jewish Sectaries (Cambridge: the University Press, 1910), pp. xxv-xxvi; and Y. N. ibn Aharon Fortner, “In Search of the Most Ancient Falashas,” Israel Today, 28 January 1982, p. 18. However, Falasha familiarity with Zadok and Azariah almost certainly derives from Ethiopic sources. James Bruce also recorded that Falashas traced the introduction of the Orit in Ethiopia to Azariah (Travels 2: 399). References to a period “when the country was in fear of the Romans” may refer to the activity of the Roman church in Ethiopia during the rule of Sayfa Ar’ada (1344-1371) (Getatchew Haile, private correspondence.) It may also reflect oral traditions concerning the arrival of the Nine Saints in Ethiopia, recorded in an early fifteenth-century manuscript by Abbā Giyorgis of Šaǧla, Mäṣeḥāfa Mesṭir. The Nine Saints were said to be Romans who moved to Ethiopia with their kings, bishops, and books. See Getatchew Haile, The Different Collections of Nägś Hymns in Ethiopian Literature and Their Contributions, Oikonomia, Quellen Und Studien zur orthodoxen Theologie, Band 19 (Erlangen: 1983), p. 60.

20. Depending on the wealth or rank of the owner, a nagārit is made of wood, silver, or gold. C. Mondon-Vidailhet, “La musique éthiopienne,” in Encyclopédie de la musique et dictionnaire du Conservatoire (Paris: 1922), p. 3183.

21. Michael Powne, Ethiopian Music: An Introduction (London: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 14, quoting Mondon-Vidailhet, “Musique,” p. 3183.

22. Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1940), pp. 230, 251.

23. Mondon-Vidailhet, “Musique,” p. 3183.

24. The nagārit was played in front of churches to announce office and mass. (M. Villoteau, “Des instrumens mélodieux, des instrumens bruyans et des crotales des Éthiopiens, et particulièrement de ceux des Abyssiniens,” in Description de l’Egypte [Paris: Imprimerie imperiale, 1809], p. 1003) and Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 1978. The nagārit is also used to accompany the dance of the priests during communion (Aymro, Ethiopian Church, p. 149).

25. Wolf Leslau, Concise Amharic Dictionary (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1976), p. 84.

26. Powne, Ethiopian Music, pp. 22-23.

27. Tesfaye Lemma, Ethiopian Musical Instruments (Addis Ababa: 1975), p. 33.

28. Harold Courlander, “Notes from an Abyssinian Diary,” Musical Quarterly 30 (1944): 355.

29. Leslau, Amharic Dictionary, p. 199.

30. Powne, Ethiopian Music, p. 21.

31. Messing, “Highland-Plateau Amhara,” p. 531.

32. Von E. Bernoulli, “Der Archäologe Bianchini über Musikinstrumente in alten Volks-un Kultge-bräuchen,” Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft 1 (1924): 50; and Sachs, History of Musical Instruments, pp. 278-79. I thank Tilman Seebass for pointing out this relationship to me

33. See Curt Sachs, Geist und Werden der Musikinstrumente (Hilversum: Frits A. M. Knuf, 1965), p. 119; and Margaret A. Schatkin, “Idiophones of the Ancient World,” Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 21 (1978): 147-72.

34. Rainer Stichel, “Jüdische Tradition in christlicher Liturgie: Zur Geschichtes des Semantrons,” Cahiers archéologiques 21: 213. Stichel suggests that inclusion of the semantron origin myth in apocryphal texts surviving only in Ethiopic and Arabic may link the instrument with Jewish-Christian liturgical use, perhaps derived from a Syrian archetype (ibid., p. 225).

35. Ibid., p. 225.

36. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975; and Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980. Sistra once used in rituals have evidently been brought to Israel by Ethiopian Jews evacuated during Operation Moses (Andrew Ackerman, private conversation, 9 September 1985).

37. Krempel, “Stellung der Falascha,” p. 199.

38. Flad, Falashas, p. 44. Although the custom is no longer observed in Ambober, a photograph taken in the mid-1970s confirms that some Beta Israel in the Gondar region still burned incense (Julian Kay, private correspondence).

39. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973. This gesture is said to have been adopted from Jewish practice for the monastic office, where it is an important posture for prayer: “Although there are innumerable dispositions of the body, that which involves the stretching out of the hands and the uplifting of the eyes is to be preferred before all.” Paul F. Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1981), p. 65, quoting Origen, De Oratione 31: 2-3.

40. Especially Flad, Falashas, and Stern, Wanderings.

41. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 52

42. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes.” A recently completed study on Ethiopian monastic life in the Middle Ages discusses Beta Israel monasticism as well. See Steven B. Kaplan, The Monastic Holy Man and the Christianization of Early Solomonic Ethiopia (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1984), pp. 39-41, 65-66, 100-103, and 126-127.

43. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973; Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980; and Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 626, n. 18, p. 627, n. 20.

44. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980; and Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

45. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxv.

46. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980; and Halévy, “Travels,” p. 54.

47. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 627 and n. 22.

48. Ibid., p. 625.

49. Although the rite of confession is not explicitly attributed to the monks, it certainly derives from Ethiopian Christian monastic influence. See Chapter 2.

50. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 625-26. Taamrat Emmanuel could not locate or confirm the existence of a church named after Abba Sabra. Quirin also gathered oral traditions about Abba Sabra: “All Beta Israel sources are unanimous in attributing the actual working out of the institutions and practices of monasticism… to Abba Sabra…. He is given almost mythical, holy characteristics…. He is said to have established the laws for the Beta Israel, that is, the religious codes through which their monks and priests henceforth taught the people the correct way to live” (“Beta Israel,” p. 62).

51. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980.

52. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 625, n. 9.

53. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 54. Taamrat Emmanuel also commented on this confusion (Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 625, n. 11).

54. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 54. See Chapter 2 for discussion of the sa’ātāt first published by Halévy (Prières) and later by Leslau (Falasha Anthology).

55. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 54. Halévy questioned whether Gorgorios might not have been a Christian monk whom the Falashas, “in their ignorance, held to be a Jew” (ibid). For a discussion of Gorgorios’ identity, see Chapter 2, n. 116.

56. Abba Halen is known also as Abba Dabtara; Halévy identified these as names of two different monks, crediting Abba Dabtara with founding the masgid (during the reign of King Fasil, 1632-1667). Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 627, quoting Halévy, Travels, original ed., p. 203.

57. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 627-28.

58. Flad, Falashas, pp. 28, 52. Also see Shoshana Ben-Dor, “The Holy Places of Ethiopian Jewry,” Pe’amim (1985): 32-52.

59. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 113.

60. See Taddesse, “Stephanite Heresy” and “Pagan Resistance.” Sources relevant to this period are edited by Enrico Cerulli, Il libro etiopico dei miracoli di Maria (Rome: Dott. Giovanni Bardi, 1943). The recent work of Getatchew Haile at the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, has clarified the significance of many early manuscripts. See William F. Macomber and Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts. See also Getatchew Haile, “A Preliminary Investigation of the Ṭomarä T∂sb∂t of Emperor Zär’a Ya’∂qob of Ethiopia,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 43 (1980): 207-34; “A Study of the Issues Raised in Two Homilies of Emperor Zär’a Ya’∂qob of Ethiopia,” Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft 131 (1981): 85-113; and “The Letter of Archbishops Mika’el and Gäbr∂’el concerning the Observance of Saturday,” Journal of Semitic Studies 26 (Spring 1981): 73-78.

61. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 23. A general discussion of Ethiopian monasticism is found in Enrico Cerulli, “Il monachismo in Etiopia,” in Il monachesimo orientale, Orientalia Christiana Analecta, no. 153 (Rome: Pontificum Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1958), pp. 259-78.

62. Cerulli, La letteratura etiopica, pp. 30-31.

63. Ibid., pp. 23-26; and Cerulli, “Il monachismo,” pp. 263-64. R. Basset translated the Ethiopic version of the Rules of St. Pachomius in Les apocryphes éthiopiennes, 10 vols. (1895-1915). The Falashas evidently do not preserve these sources.

64. Cerulli, “Il monachismo,” pp. 264-65; and Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 25, 34-35.

65. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 624. Taamrat connects the Falasha monastic title eča with that of Takla Hāymānot and his successors, although Falashas say that it is a word in their Agau language (ibid, p. 632). All documentary sources indicate Falashas had contact with monks trained in northern monasteries.

66. Conti Rossini, “L’agiografia etiopica,” pp. 418-19. Yafqeranna Egzi’ himself is credited with introducing prostration during prayer, a tradition observed by Falashas and Ethiopian Christians (ibid., p. 419). His activities were centered at the island church Sana Qirqos on Lake Tana, from where he sent monks to outlying areas (ibid., p. 418; and Taddesse, Church and State, p. 191-93).

67. Wajnberg, Das Leben des H. L. Jāfqerana ‘Egzi’, pp. 51-59. See Chapter 1.

68. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 207.

69. Ibid., p. 209. The Saturday Sabbath is thought to be an old tradition widely followed in the Ethiopian church. Many communities besides the Ēwosṭātēwosians were persecuted for their refusal to stop observing it. For further discussions of this issue see Cerulli, “Il monachismo,” pp. 268-71 and Miracoli di Maria, pp. 94-122; Ephraim, Introduction to Maṣḥafa Berhān, pp. 66- 68; and Getatchew Haile, “The Cause of the ∃sṭifanosites: A Fundamentalist Sect in the Church of Ethiopia,” Paideuma 29 (1983): 93-119.

70. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 209. Monks from abroad, including Armenia, returned with Ēwosṭātēwos’ followers to Ethiopia.

71. Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān, Book 2, p. 82.

72. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 216-17.

73. Ibid., pp. 221-22, 230.

74. Ibid., p. 199.

75. Yona Bogale, 20 November 1979.

76. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 113.

77. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 65-66.

78. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 54.

79. Flad, Falashas, pp. 33-34.

80. Ibid., pp. 29-30.

81. Ibid., p. 30.

82. Aešcoly, “Notices,” p. 101.

83. Flad, Falashas, p. 30. According to Aešcoly, Falasha monks used to wash every hour. (Sefer Hafalašim, p. 16).

84. Flad, Falashas, p. 32.

85. Ibid., pp. 34-35.

86. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 632-33.

87. Kaplan, The Monastic Holy Man, pp. 87-89.

88. Cerulli, “Il monachismo,” pp. 262-63.

89. Ibid., p. 263.

90. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 636-37.

91. Flad, Falashas, p. 22.

92. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 14: 526.

93. Stern, Wanderings, pp. 195-97.

94. Flad, Falashas, p. 32.

95. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 47.

96. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, pp. xxii-xxiii.

97. Flad, Falashas, p. 44. Women must use only the south entrance also in Ethiopian Orthodox churches (Sergew and Belaynesh, “Worship,” p. 65). In the Ethiopian church the women’s entrance is toward the south, the men’s toward the north, and the priests’ toward the rising sun (Aymro, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, p. 46).

98. Wayzaro Yerom (wife of Wubshet Atagab), August 1975.

99. Roy A. Rappaport, “The Obvious Aspects of Ritual,” in Ecology, Meaning, and Religion (Richmond, Calif.: North Atlantic Books, 1979), p. 182.

100. Some of the Christian missionaries made similar claims. Stern told Falashas he was a “white Falasha” (he was actually a convert to Christianity from Judaism). However, his active proselytizing and open disrespect for Ethiopians antagonized Falashas and Ethiopian Christians alike (Hess, Introduction to Wanderings, pp. xxii-xxiii).

101. Halévy, “Travels,” p. 39.

4

A BETA ISRAEL VIEW OF THE LITURGY

When I began my study of the Beta Israel liturgy in 1973, I hoped to gather exegesis about its musical content. Yet, when I asked questions about specifics of musical organization and structure, Beta Israel priests responded primarily with information about general liturgical content. They discussed “musical data” with difficulty and after great probing (see Table 2).

Ethnomusicologists have become increasingly aware of the need to test the concept of music as a cross-cultural classificatory tool. [1] The very breadth of the Beta Israel concept required it to be studied in its liturgical setting. Falashas and Ethiopian Christians both term their sacred music zēmā, in opposition to zafan, secular music. Zēmā literally means music,[2] but it subsumes other aspects of ritual performance, incorporating melody, rhythm, instrumental accompaniment, and dance. Zēmā is also virtually inseparable from the qāločč (words) with which it is associated.[3] The union of zēmā and qāločč is reflected in the almost exclusively sung rendition of liturgical texts in the prayerhouse. Priests were usually unable to speak texts during interview sessions, and those that were spoken deviated considerably from sung versions. The complex relationship between music and text, and the broad significance of their union, was set forth when I asked a priest to “speak” a prayer instead of singing it. He answered: “It is better to the zēmā. The important thing is the zēmā. It is better with zēmā than with words alone. When I just speak the words it has no meaning, but when I do the zēmā, then it will benefit you.”[4]

TABLE 2. TRANSCRIPT OF AN INTERVIEW 5 December 1973

Gete Asrass. [Performs first prayer for Berhān Śaraqa morning ritual.]

Kay Shelemay. What kind of demẓ [sound, voice] is the first prayer?

GA. It is yaberhān śaraqa majammariyā [the beginning of Berhān Śaraqa]. After this prayer we can say a shorter zēmā [literally: music, song].

KS. Can you explain the difference between the zēmā of the first and second prayers? Is there some special reason the first one is at the beginning?

GA. We start first to bless God, then we sing kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt [all the angels proclaimed].

KS. Is there any other name for this second prayer and its demẓ other than yaberhǎn śaraqa ṣalot [prayer of Berhān Śaraqa]?

GA. It starts kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt. [Performs the beginning prayers for several annual rituals.] The words change, but the demẓ remains the same.

KS. Why is this demẓ so important? Can you explain why all the beginning prayers are the same?

GA. [Hesitates.] There are other demẓ as well. [Performs prayer for Fāsikā.]

KS. What makes this demẓ different from the one you just sang? I’d like to know your definition.

G A. [Summarizes Fāsikā prayer text in Amharic.]

Beta Israel student helping with translation. He is telling you the words, but he did not answer what you asked him.

Beta Israel priests learned liturgical music and text simultaneously by listening to prayerhouse rituals or by repeating prayers after a monk or priest. Barkaw Yallew repeated short sections three times, while Berhan Baruk sang along with his father or repeated sections two or three times, each time increasing their length.[5] Wubshet Atagab learned Ge‘ez grammar at school and then studied the prayers at night with his father.[6] Much of what he knows he just “picked up from listening,” but he remembers that the first prayer he learned was genayu la’egzi’abḥēr (see below, at note 63). Makonnen Teku learned prayers “by memory and then used them.”[7] Only Berhan Baruk mentioned studying prayer texts written in manuscripts, but he emphasized that “the sound is always from the priest.”[8] These priests no longer teach their tradition because “no one is studying, except perhaps in the far villages of the Semiens, since all the monks died.”[9] One priest learned tenets of religious practice in a public context: “My father was a priest, the head of the people, and when he went to the people I would go with him. My father lectured about religion. He would give speeches (Do this, don’t do that), and I would listen and pay attention.”[10] Beta Israel monks were particularly renowned for their ability to extemporize these lengthy religious discourses.[11]

We know that Beta Israel priests learned zēmā by direct observation of ritual. None mentioned learning from discussing zēmā or other aspects of musical practice. However, all are aware of rules for liturgical performance: “The prayers are the same, whether here or in other Falasha villages. The rules themselves do not vary, but if one priest’s knowledge is not complete, he may pass it on incorrectly.”[12] The “rules” are our subject here. While some are expressed, others can only be inferred from liturgical practice. Multiple and interlocking taxonomies exist in the minds of Beta Israel priests, who cannot always elaborate on them. The perspective that incorporates zēmā and qāločč as a single cognitive scheme is examined in the following pages. In Chapters 5 and 6 we will investigate qāločč and zēmā separately in a broader comparative framework to illuminate aspects of the tradition left unexplained by Beta Israel priests.

Classification of Liturgical Materials

Beta Israel priests classify liturgical content by occasion, either ba‘āl (holiday) or ṣom (fast). Some ba‘āl days are termed zeker (commemoration), when people celebrate, perform prayers, and drink beer.[13] Seged, Yasanbat Sanbat, Mā’rar, and Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl are included in the zeker-ba‘āl category, while fasts such as Astasreyo are categorized som.[14] Beta Israel priests emphasize that ṣalot (prayers[s]) are said on both ba‘āl and ṣom days. They identify prayers by occasion, for example, yaberhān śaraqa ṣalot (prayers for Berhān Śaraqa).

More specific liturgical categories surface during discussions. Annual holidays, including Berhān Śaraqa, Ba‘āla Maṣallat, Fāsikā, and Mā’rar, share liturgical orders and are termed ya’āmat ba‘āl (annual holidays) or kebra ba‘āl (in honor of holidays).[15] Prayers on these occasions are called ya’āmat ba‘āl ṣalot (annual holiday prayers), which are divided into an evening ritual (wāzēmā[16]) and morning prayers (sebḥata nagh: morning praise).[17] Prayers for fast days such as Astasreyo are called ṣom, while those for Seged are termed mehellā.[18]

All these categories correspond to Ethiopian Christian practice. Liturgical orders for all occasions in the annual church cycle consist of six basic forms set forth in a liturgical book called the Me’rāf. It provides texts for student priests and dabtarās and contains the common of the office for the liturgical year.[19] The Ethiopian Christian office is summarized in Table 3.

Falasha liturgy shares the names, significance, and time of occurrence with three of the six Christian offices (wāzēmā, sebḥata nagh, and mehellā). Although Falashas celebrate a fast one day before Passover, they do not celebrate Lent; however, they name the rituals of other fast days ṣom. Two Falasha priests discussed special prayers for Sunday morning, but they did not use the term mawaddes.[20] None of the priests indicated an awareness of the name or significance of keśtat za’aryām.

Beta Israel priests identify two types of prayers. Ṣalot is said on both ba‘āl and ṣom days and comprises the order of service for the contemporary liturgy; fetāt, a special prayer of petition and forgiveness from sin on behalf of the souls of the deceased, is said on commemoration days.[21] Beta Israel monks also said fetāts when new members of the monastic community were installed.[22]

TABLE 3. THE ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN OFFICE

Wāzēmā. Corresponds to the first vespers of the Latin rite. It is said to have received its name from Saint Yārēd, the legendary composer and organizer of Ethiopian Christian zēmā: On receiving musical inspiration from the Holy Spirit in the Garden of Eden, Yārēd exclaimed “Wayzēmā [What chant]!” The wāzēmā begins around sunset and occurs in two main forms, one for important holidays and Sunday, another for all days of the week. Although in theory the wāzēmā should be performed every evening during the year, in practice it is observed only for annual holidays and during the first week of Lent.

Mawaddes. Performed Sundays before sebḥata nagh and qeddāsē (mass). The name is derived from the verb waddasa (he praised).

Keśtat za’aryām. Performed thirty times a year for solemn days honoring the Holy Virgin and the saints. The name is said to mean revelation of the highest heaven.

Sebḥata nagh. Corresponds to matins and lauds of the Latin rite. It occurs in four forms: on Sunday morning, partly integrated with mawaddes; on certain annual holidays; during Lent; and daily.

Ṣom. This office for Lent draws on aspects of the preceding four offices while possessing some different characteristics.

Mehellā. This office for days of supplication occurs in complete and abridged forms. Mehellā is performed on fixed liturgical occasions as well as for special calamities, epidemics, wars, and so forth. As are the other offices, mehellā is attributed to Saint Yārēd.

SOURCE: After Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, Commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966) pp. 297, 338, 398, 432, 467, 577.

Prayers are usually referred to by their textual incipits. The most pervasive classification, apart from liturgical occasion, is by whether the prayers are offered during the day or at night.

The Day and Night Prayers

The Beta Israel definition of prayers by time of performance at first appears straightforward: “The prayer which is prayed at night is a night prayer. It is to announce to the people ‘Hear, Israel.’ The one which they do at dawn… is to thank God, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, who gave us Sabbath and gave law to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The name is simply night prayer and day prayer.”[23] However, another priest links day and night prayers to the Beta Israel monastic office: “Saying thanks seven times a day for God – this is the keeping of the time. This will make God keep us in the future and be good to our children. The ones who keep definite time can do it, the ones who keep alone [monks] but not the others…. Time means day. Today is one day. If it is night, we call it night, and if it is day, we call it day. There is day prayer and night prayer. The seven times a day praying enables a man to know what point it is in the calendar. I learned this from the monks. They taught us about the laws that were before, to sacrifice, and to keep the correct time.”[24]

Gete Asrass performed the prayers which begin each monastic sa’āt (hour) (see Table 4). They correspond to the “day and night prayers” identified by other priests. In addition, most of the prayers linked to the Beta Israel monastic office are found within the prayerhouse liturgy at the specified times of monastic performance. We must therefore explore the relationship between the Beta Israel monastic liturgy and the liturgical tradition maintained by Beta Israel priests in the contemporary prayerhouse.

The existence of a close relationship between monastic and prayerhouse liturgies is endorsed by earlier sources. Leslau, without mentioning a Falasha monastic office, published a list of prayers classified by time of day (see Table 5). Elicited from priests during 1947, it closely parallels the 1973 list (shown in Table 4). Leslau’s informants place the qeddus at a slightly different time, as well as including two prayers (ne’u nesged and aqwrer ma‘ātaka) not explicitly identified as monastic prayers in 1973. The genayu la’egzi’abḥēr, in 1973 said to begin the second monastic hour, is absent from Leslau’s materials. However, they are all found in the contemporary liturgy at approximately the indicated times. Leslau also includes the prayer wabezuh̰, which is not found in the reconstructed monastic office or liturgical recordings from 1973. However, Beta Israel priests questioned in 1980 identified the wabezuh̰a as a midnight prayer and performed it, substantiating Leslau’s data.[25]

TABLE 4. PRAYERS OF THE FALASHA MONASTIC OFFICE

Incipit

Time

1.

egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku

before dawn

2.

genayu la’egzi’abḥēr

before dawn

3.

emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy

at sunrise

4.

maḥaranna

daytime (unspecified)

5.

qeddus

daytime (unspecified)

6.

maḥāri, maḥāri

daytime (unspecified)

7.

yetbārak

sunset

SOURCE: Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

Luzzatto also listed Falasha prayers by time of performance, linking them to the Falasha monastic office (see Table 6). Despite the numerical discrepancy of Luzzatto’s nine monastic hours, there is close correspondence between his list and the two gathered a century or more later (see Table 7).

TABLE 5. DAY AND NIGHT PRAYERS (LESLAU)

Incipit

Time

Daytime prayers

1.

mesrāqa ṣaḥay

sunrise

2.

nĕ’u nĕsgĕd

forenoon

3.

maḥaranna

midday

4.

qeddus

afternoon

5.

maḥāri, maḥāri

before sunset

6.

yetbārak

sunset

Nighttime prayers

1.

’egzi’o ’aqwrer

bedtime

2.

wabezuh

midnight

3.

kalḥu

before dawn

4.

’egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku

dawn

SOURCE: Wolf Leslau, Falas ha Anthology (New York: Schocken Books, 1969) pp. 112-13.

Beta Israel priests confirm Gete Asrass’ testimony that Beta Israel monks prayed seven times a day: “In the early morning, there were yalēlit sa’ātāt [night hours]. The monks did the sa’ātāt [hours or office] – that was their function – at seddest sa’āt [the sixth hour, that is, noon], zaṭañ sa’āt [the ninth hour, that is, 3 p.m.], etc. They did seven sa’ātāt a day. We called the night prayers yalēlit sa’ātāt. We did not call the day prayers sa’ātāt, just salot [prayers] in the day.”[26] As did Luzzatto’s informants, some contemporary priests cite different numbers of prayers each day. Several who at first cited five added that there were other “night prayers.”[27] Priests remember that the monks prayed alone at night and during the early morning hours. However, they also stress that the prayers of the priests and monks are the same and that “once a priest is an old man, he also says the yalēlit sa’ātāt.”[28]

TABLE 6. PRAYERS OF THE FALASHA MONASTIC OFFICE (LUZZATTO)

Incipit

Time

1.

kalluhu

(kalḥu)

before dawn

2.

zarhaku

(ṣarāh̰ku)

at dawn

3.

imizie

(emye’ezē)

when the sun begins to be hot

4.

maharanna

(maḥaranna)

toward eleven o’clock in the morning

5.

qedus

(qeddus)

toward three o’clock in the afternoon

6.

mahari

(maḥāri)

at four o’clock in the afternoon

7.

ytibarek

(yetbārak)

at the beginning of darkness

8.

basalamka

(basalāmeka)

bedtime

9.

wabizuha

(wabezuh̰a)

midnight

SOURCE: Philoxene Luzzatto, “Mémoire sur les juifs d’Abyssinie ou Falashas,” Archives israélites 14 (1852): 526.

TABLE 7. COMPARISON OF PRAYERS COLLECTED

Incipit

Luzzatto

Leslau

Shelemay

egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku[a]

X

X

X

genayu la’egzi’abḥēr[a]

X

emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy[a]

X

X

imizie[b] (emye’ezē)

X

ne’u nesged[a]

X

maḥaranna[a]

X

X

X

qeddus[a]

X

X

X

maḥāri, maḥāri

X

X

X

yetbārak[a]

X

X

X

egzi’o aqwrer[a]

X

basalāmeka

X

wabezuh̰a[a]

X

X

kalḥu[a]

X

X

[a] Found within the prayerhouse liturgy.

[b] See A. Z. Aešcoly, Recueil de textes falachas, Travaux et mémoires de l’Institut d’ethnologie, no. 60 (Paris: 1951), p. 156, lines 5-6. The text emmeṣrāqa ẓaḥāy follows the phrase emye’ezē we’eska la’ālam ‘from this time forth and forever’, as in Ps. 112 (113):2.

Ethiopian Christian monastic tradition corroborates the sevenfold division of the Falasha office. Ethiopian Christian practice distinguishes between day and night hours, as well as mandating prayer seven times a day: “There are two types of Horologium, for day and night. … In big churches it is usual for monks, priests and deacons to conduct the Se’atat in the northern part of the ambulatory, while the Debteras are conducting a different service…. The faithful should pray seven times each day. First upon rising from bed in the morning and before beginning work. Secondly, at the third hour; thirdly, at the sixth hour; fourthly, at the ninth hour; fifthly, the evening prayer; sixthly, the prayer before sleep, and lastly, the midnight prayer.”[29]

By providing a typology of prayers used during the night and day, Beta Israel priests have outlined the important prayers of the liturgy in their usual times of occurrence. We therefore can identify a corpus of Beta Israel prayers for analysis. Those discussed below were identified by Beta Israel priests, interviewed in 1973 or earlier, by time of performance. Appendix 1 contains these prayers, including renditions gathered during interviews as well as liturgical performances. All available exegesis concerning these prayers, from research associates or the literature, is included in the discussion. Obvious scriptural sources and corollaries to similar prayers in either Jewish or Christian tradition will be cited.

The Day Prayers

Emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (from sunrise) performed at sunrise.[30] Although Gete Asrass discussed and performed this prayer during his reconstruction of the monastic office (App. 1-1A), no other Beta Israel priest volunteered it during the interviews in 1973. However, in 1980 both priests recognized recordings of Gete Asrass’ rendition and sang portions of the prayer.

The emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy is found in two contexts in the morning liturgy for annual holidays and fasts. The liturgical performance presented in Appendix 1-1B is considerably longer than the monastic example and presents a closed liturgical form. The text sem‘anna watra, the end of the prior portion, bridges the transition from accompanied to unaccompanied performance style. The second unaccompanied verse, sung by a soloist, introduces the incipit of Ps. 49 (50),[31] amlāka amālekt, followed by a brief interpolated text beginning with the words berhān śaraqa.[32] The rendition of Ps. 49 (50) then continues, beginning with the emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy text. Soloist and choir alternate, each “side” singing verses composed of five hemistichs.[33] The complete psalm is performed to the melody shown in Appendix 1-1B, with the chorus singing the final verse. The soloist then sings yetbārak IIa (App. 1-6D).[34] The chorus repeats the berhān śaraqa text, followed by the emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy hemistich from the psalm. The entire form is concluded with an Agau portion apparently incorporating the emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy hemistich and the Agau word adarā. After a pause the priests begin a new prayer, in a different performance style, accompanied by drum and gong.

Although Beta Israel priests provide no exegesis about this prayer, its structure, until the Agau portion, corresponds exactly to antiphon and psalm forms found in the Ethiopian Christian antiphonary Mawāse’t, while the text is found in the Ṣoma Deggwā.[35] The Mawāse’t contains antiphons used only on Sunday (mawaddes) and annual holiday mornings (keśtat za’aryām and sebḥata nagh). These are unnamed antiphons, in contrast to those in the more frequently used antiphonaries, the Deggwā and Ṣoma Deggwā. Since Mawāse’t antiphons are unnamed, they are preceded by the incipit of the psalm with which they are most commonly associated. The antiphon is also chanted following the final hemistich of the psalm. Both the structure of the emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy and its presence in an annual holiday morning ritual are identical to the form and function of Mawāse’t antiphons.[36]

A second emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy text occurs about forty-five minutes after the above prayer, this time within a multipart form accompanied by gong and drum. The text, as in the monastic version (App. 1-1A), is derived from Ps. 112 (113):3, with the addition of the phrase “Father, Father, bless us” at the end. However, the melodies of Appendix 1-1A and 1-1B are identical in contour. Thus, the monastic emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy can be directly linked to both liturgical portions.

Imizie (probably emye’ezē, from this time forth, Ps. 112 [113]:2), performed when the sun begins to get hot. Although this incipit is included in Luzzatto’s list of Falasha monastic prayers, no such text is found in the liturgical performances of 1973. One priest remembers that the imizie was “part of Dāwit [Psalms] and related to the reading of thirty psalms a day.”[37]

Ne’u nesged (come let us worship), performed in the forenoon.[38] Beta Israel priests remember this prayer as one to be performed before noon, which is its time of occurrence on Seged and Astasreyo. The prayer occurs earlier in the morning on Sanbat and Yasanbat Sanbat but at all times follows yetbārak IIIa or IIIb (App. 1-6E and 1-6F), the “Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire.”

The ne’u nesged was not performed during interview sessions, but the liturgical rendition for Sabbath is transcribed in Appendix 1-2A. This example shares melodic as well as textual content with the other liturgical renditions on Seged, Astasreyo, and Yasanbat Sanbat. At verse 19, the performance style changes from solo-chorus alternation to alternation of two choruses. At the text sem’anni, the two choruses begin a tripartite division of subsequent verses and then conclude the prayer with a chanted section in Agau. The text draws upon numerous scriptural portions, including Pss. 94-96, Pss. 101-102, and a verse of the Prayer of Manasseh, Canticle 11 of the Ethiopic Psalter. Ne’u nesged shares its melodic setting with emmeśrāqa Ẓaḥāy (see App. 1-1A, 1-1B).

Maḥaranna (have mercy upon us), performed at midday. In a notable departure from usual practice, Gete Asrass spoke this text. This prayer of petition and intercession does not seem to be drawn from a single scriptural source. The maḥaranna is found in the current liturgy as a discrete prayer on Sabbath eve, and long portions with the refrain maḥaranna also appear in daily, Sabbath, Astasreyo, Berhān Śaraqa, and Ba‘āla Maṣallat rituals. The maḥaranna text dictated by Gete Asrass is given in Appendix 1-3A. Appendix 1-3B, performed on Sabbath eve, contains the incipit adonāy. Appendix 1-3C, from Sabbath morning, is preceeded by a responsorial section of hāllēluyās, ending with a phrase that foreshadows the maḥaranna text. The liturgical example shares text with the spoken monastic maḥaranna. Although the Sabbath eve rendition is sung, the Sabbath morning version is performed responsorially on a monotone, which may account for Gete’s spoken rendition of the monastic example.

Qeddus (holy), performed in the afternoon when the sun is cooling off. Although the qeddus is said to be an afternoon prayer found at the beginning of the fifth monastic hour, it appears in every Beta Israel ritual in different forms and contexts. One priest explains that “there are many qeddus. One follows immediately after the yetbārak. The monks performed the qeddus in the night office at midnight.”[39]

The qeddus from the Beta Israel monastic office is presented in Appendix 1-4A, for Sanbat eve in Appendix 1-4B, and the version after the yetbārak in Appendix 2-4 and 2-5. The monastic qeddus shares the refrain wayemlā’ and other textual content with the Sanbat eve version, although their melodic settings differ. The qeddus for Berhān Śaraqa eve shares melodic content as well as partial text with the monastic prayer.

Beta Israel priests state that the qeddus text is drawn from the Book of Isaiah.[40] The qeddus is related to a category of prayers derived from the Jewish kedushah, which draws upon Isa. 6:3, Ezek. 3:12, and Ps. 146:10.[41] The kedushah not only survives as a statutory prayer in the synagogue liturgy but also was incorporated into the liturgy of the early church. The normative Jewish kedushah quotes the biblical text (“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Sabaot, full is the whole earth of His glory”), while the official Christian text incorporates the phrase “heaven and earth” and refers to God in the second person. The Beta Israel qeddus more closely resembles Christian models, with references to “heaven and earth” in the Sanbat version and simply “heaven” in the monastic prayer. The monastic qeddus also includes two phrases from the Ethiopian Anaphoras, one drawn from the beginning of the third paragraph of the Ethiopian Christian qeddus.[42] The qeddus for Sanbat and the office also refer to God in the second person. The qeddus following the yetbārak stands closest to Jewish models, with reference to “all the world” and address in the third person.[43]

Maḥāri, maḥāri (merciful one, merciful one), performed before sunset. This prayer (App. 1-5A), said to begin the sixth hour, is not found in complete form in the contemporary liturgy, although the refrain maḥāri is included in Berhān Śaraqa and Ba‘āla Maṣallat morning rituals. However, two priests confirmed the maḥāri as a separate prayer and performed versions that parallel the monastic example in textual and melodic content (App. 1-5B). Each also emphasized that they were singing a shortened form of a very long liturgical portion. The priests do not credit a scriptural source, but the text derives in part from Pss. 31 (32), 102 (103), and 144 (145). Appendix 1-5B contains a verse found in Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9:46 (“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”).

Yetbārak (blessed), performed at sunset. The yetbārak is said to begin the evening office every day at sunset (App. 1-6A). Although the daily evening office is no longer performed, the appearance of prayers with virtually identical textual and melodic content at the beginning of evening rituals for Sanbat (App. 1-6B), and Yasanbat Sanbat (as in App. 1-6B), supports this testimony. The Sabbath eve yetbārak contains additional names in the opening verses,[44] as well as a more richly ornamented musical setting.

Beta Israel priests are aware of the presence of different yetbāraks in the liturgy: “Sometimes it is at the beginning and sometimes it is at the end, but it is always performed on the eve.”[45] The several yetbāraks can be differentiated by textual content, liturgical function, and in most cases, melody.

The monastic example and liturgical evening yetbārak share text derived from the concluding lines of Ps. 71 (72) and the beginning portion of the “Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire,” addition to Daniel Chapter 3, apocryphal, as preserved in the Ethiopian Christian psalter. An example can be found at the beginning of the evening ritual for Berhān Śaraqa (App. 2-1, 2-2). This “family” of yetbāraks will be designated by “I” whatever their time of occurrence.

An abbreviated yetbārak (II) occurs before and after important prayers in many morning rituals (App. 1-6D). This text, which functions as a doxology, exists in a short and long form (IIa and IIb).[46] For example IIa appears three times in the Berhān Śaraqa morning ritual: After the “beginning prayer” (App. 1-15A), preceding genayu la’egzi’abḥēr (App. 1-11A, 1-11B), and following emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (App. 1-1B). IIb is also embedded near the beginning of renditions of the “Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire” (App. 1-6E), which may possibly be the source of the doxology since this canticle is found in every Beta Israel liturgical order taped in 1973. In each occurrence, IIa/b is set to the melody of the prayer with which it is associated.

The “Canticle of the Three Children” consists of two sections, the first beginning with the word yetbārak (verses 29-34) and the second starting with the word yebārrekewwo (at verse 35).[47] The first section is here labeled IIIa, the second IIIb. We find IIIa performed alone for daily rituals, while IIIa and the initial verse of IIIb are sung on Sabbath and annual holidays (App. 1-6E). Both IIIa and IIIb are performed in full on Seged and Yasanbat Sanbat (App. 1-6F). The text of yetbārak IIb usually occurs in the second verse of IIIa.

Beta Israel renditions of this canticle deviate from the standard Ge‘ez text.[48] IIIa and IIIb interpolate additional words and phrases and the order of IIIb is also irregular. Although the widespread use of the “Canticle of the Three Children” in the early office is acknowledged, as well as its continued important role in contemporary Christian worship, this apocryphal text was not accepted into Jewish canon or liturgy.[49]

The seemingly disparate forms and functions of the yetbārak are evidently united by their shared relationship to the “Canticle of the Three Children.” This relationship is underscored in the liturgy: The yetbārak which opens the Astasreyo day ritual (App. 1-6C) shares the textual content of yetbārak I while occupying the liturgical position and modified melodic setting of yetbārak III.

The Night Prayers

Aqwrer ma‘ātaka (soothe your anger), performed at bedtime. Gete Asrass did not name this prayer as part of the night office, but Leslau classifies it as an evening prayer. In the current liturgy this text follows yetbārak I in annual holiday evening and morning rituals (see App. 2-11 and 2-12). One priest stressed that aqwrer ma‘ātaka is part of a much longer prayer.[50] The text apparently paraphrases portions of Ps. 84 (85).

Basalāmeka (in your peace), performed when one sleeps. Priests remember that “monks and everybody else used this prayer” but disagree about whether it occurs only for the wāzēmā of fast days or also elsewhere in the liturgy.[51] A similar text occurs in evening rituals for annual holidays (App. 2-30), but it does not include the complete text as sung in an interview (App. 1-7A). The basalāmeka is evidently not related to texts invoking peace at the end of the daily morning ritual.

wabezuh̰a (and abundant), performed at midnight. Both Luzzatto and Leslau said this prayer was performed at midnight, but only the word wabezuh̰a is found in the Astasreyo vigil liturgy. When questioned in 1980, both priests remembered it as part of the night office. Berhan Baruk performed the prayer (App. 1-8A), identifying it as a “night zēmā” and “the invocation of the prophet Elijah who left the world to dissipate sins.”[52] The latter part of the prayer contains a long portion of Ps. 50 (51).

Kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt (all the angels proclaimed), performed before dawn. Both Luzzatto and Wubshet identify the kalḥu as part of the night office.[53] Found in morning rituals on weekdays, Sabbaths, and holidays, it is usually sung with drum and gong accompaniment. Daniélou has suggested that this prayer, which also occurs in Ethiopian Christian liturgy, is of Syriac Jewish-Christian origin.[54] Liturgical and interview versions share textual and melodic settings (App. 1-9A and 1-9B).

Egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku (Lord, I cried), performed before dawn. The incipit of the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku derives from Ps. 140 (141):1. Said to be the first prayer of the morning office, it is evidently but a small portion of a longer form (App. 1-10A): “It may take much time to do all the prayer. Unless I tell you the beginning… we can’t finish within a little time.”[55] Another priest remembers the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku as the first prayer for daily rituals for Sunday through Thursday.[56] The omission of the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku from the one Friday morning ritual taped supports this testimony, as does the prayer’s appearance at the beginning of a Falasha manuscript as the introductory prayer for Sunday and subsequent days of the week.[57]

Discussion of the liturgical appearances of this prayer is compounded by its varied textual content. These variations are acknowledged by priests who classify prayers beginning with the incipit egzi’o sem’anni(a) (Lord, hear me [us]) under the same rubric. One explains that “this prayer can have different words…. There are many egzi’o sem’anni.”[58] A second priest identifies the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku as a weekday prayer, with the egzi’o sem’anni to be performed on Sabbath and annual holidays.[59] Indeed, both texts occur on Sanbat morning, although the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku appears as only one verse in a series flanked by Agau portions at the end of esēbbeḥo la’egzi’abḥēr.

The egzi’o sem‘anna, however, is a lengthy prayer sharing much of the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku text (App. 1-10B). After seven verses, the refrain changes to egzi’o maḥaranna, although the melodic contour remains the same. At verse 10 soloist and chorus begin a faster alternation, with the exclamations hāllē and hāllēluyā interpolated in the text. This same version of the egzi’o sem‘anna is performed near the end of morning rituals for annual holidays and fasts.

We also find part of the egzi’o sem‘anna text at the end of the “beginning prayer” for both Berhān Śaraqa and Ba‘āla Maṣallat morning, preceding yetbārak IIa (App. 1-15A). Then follows yet another variant, beginning semā‘ egzi’o (hear, Lord), (App. 1-10C),[60] also performed on Ba‘āla Maṣallat eve by two soloists singing in such fast alternation that the overlap between them resembles a canon (App. 1-10D).

Although the priests do not discuss the scriptural sources, the monastic egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku draws upon Ps. 140 (141) and the Prayer of Habbakuk 1:1-2 in its opening phrases, as well as verses from Ps. 50 (51), Isaiah 38:17 and 44:22, and Ps. 31 (32): 5-6. The Sanbat morning version (App. 1-10B) draws on Genesis Chapter 5 as well as names of heaven used in Ethiopian Christian tradition.

One priest emphasized that the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku is particularly good “if it is in zēmā,”[61] although liturgical practice confirms testimony that the prayer is sung without instrumental accompaniment.[62]

Genayu la’egzi’abḥēr (give thanks to the Lord), performed before dawn. Said to be a prayer of thanksgiving derived from psalms,[63] the genayu la’egzi’abḥēr occurs in Beta Israel daily, Sabbath, and annual rituals in two basic forms. The daily, Sabbath, and ṣom versions (App. 1-11B) share texts with the monastic example (App. 1-11A), drawing on the refrain and content of Ps. 135 (136). The holiday genayu la’egzi’abḥēr derives from Ps. 32 (33), which is sung in full. On holidays, the prayer is preceded by yetbārak IIa, which occurs in part within the genayu text in the sa’ātāt and daily versions. The first two hemistichs of Ps. 32 (33) are attached to the end of the yetbārak and sung to its melody (App. 1-11C,1). The genayu la’egzi’abḥēr text, which is actually the third hemistich of the Ge‘ez psalm, then utilizes the same melody as the monastic and daily versions. The entire psalm is performed in groups of four hemistichs, with hāllē interpolated after each (App. 1-11C,2). The initial four verses of the psalm are repeated at the end, and then a lengthy text concerning the Exodus of Israel from Egypt is interpolated, apparently drawn partially from Ps. 105 (106) and Ps. 135 (136). The prayer concludes with notably shorter phrases with hāllē interpolated (App. 1-11C,3).

The fixed form of genayu la’egzi’abḥēr is underscored by the close correspondence between the Ambober holiday example and one taped in Tigray Province (App. 1-11D). On the basis of textual and melodic content, we can identify the Tigray example as a rendition of the genayu la’egzi’abḥēr for annual holiday rituals.

In summary, we can identify thirteen prayers classified according to their performance at specified times of the day and night. Eleven are identified by at least one source as deriving from the Beta Israel monastic office, and ten (seven of the monastic prayers) are also found in the contemporary Beta Israel liturgy.

Additional Prayers

While Beta Israel priests indicate that the above prayers are common to many rituals, they also discuss others appropriate to particular occasions. Although there is apparently no specific term for common prayers, special ones are termed tawesāka elāt (supplementary for the day).[64] We can expand our repertory by discussing all additional prayers performed by Beta Israel priests during interviews or mentioned by them and confirmed by their presence in liturgical orders.

Probably because of the neglect of daily rituals in contemporary Beta Israel life, few daily prayers besides those of the monastic office were performed during interviews. The adonāy (App. 1-12A) is said to be performed only at the end of Sunday morning rituals;[65] however, part of the text is performed on Sanbat morning. This same prayer, more richly ornamented, is heard on Leslau’s 1948 recording.[66] Another priest volunteered a Sunday morning prayer, egzi’o merḥanni (App. 1-12B).[67] One record has been released that contains a prayer identified as from daily rituals, but it was not performed or discussed by priests interviewed.[68]

Beta Israel priests discuss and perform several prayers from the Sabbath ritual. The initial prayer for Sabbath eve, adonāy (App. 1-3B) shares text with the maḥaranna. An adonāy for Saturday performed for Wolf Leslau[69] also begins a Sabbath ritual recorded in 1972.[70]

Several of the additional Sabbath prayers contain texts describing the personified Sabbath. The Sabbath evening prayer bārek sanbateya (App. 1-13A) draws in a general way on the Te’ezāza Sanbat for images of the Sabbath Queen as mediator between man and God, as well as for the refrain “I am alive.”[71] The similarity between the bārek sanbateya from Tigray Province (App. 1-13B) and the Ambober rendition supports Beta Israel statements that the liturgy is the same in different villages.

Waradat sanbat describes the descent of Sabbath from heaven to earth, where she is crowned by angels (App. 1-13C); this text draws occasionally upon Te’ezāza Sanbat.[72] Performed by a priest during interviews, it is also found within the Sabbath morning liturgy.[73] The liturgical rendition contains twenty-five verses, many of which are in Agau.

A third prayer derived in part from Te’ezāza Sanbat is watebēlo sanbat (App. 1-13D). Although no priests performed this Sabbath morning prayer during the 1973 interviews, Hillel Levine recorded a rendition sung by Barkaw Yallew in 1968. The liturgical version has twelve verses in which Sabbath implores God to forgive sinners.

Other prayers for Sanbat include amlākiya, amlākiya (App. 1-13E), which includes praise of God and numerous forefathers. The liturgical text contains a total of thirty-two verses, many in Agau.

Neguś anta (App. 1-13G) is the opening prayer for Sabbath morning. Excerpts of this prayer of praise and intercession were also performed during interviews by three priests.[74] The liturgical rendition has twenty verses, including a number in Agau, and is also performed on Yasanbat Sanbat, Seged, and Astasreyo. During an interview, two priests preceded their rendition of neguś anta with the text albo zayā’ammer mekru (no one knows his advice) (App. 1-13F).[75] A third also sang this text, identifying it as the first prayer for Sabbath morning.[76] The brief text before neguś anta may possibly be an antiphon that no longer occurs in the liturgy.

The priests characterize neguś anta as a prayer “for Adam and Eve” but do not identify a source for the text, which closely resembles a type of supplication widely used in Ethiopian Christian liturgy. Called egzi’abḥēr nageśa (the Lord has reigned) or nagś hymns, these prayers are said on saints’ days throughout the liturgical cycle; although recent scholarship suggests there are three distinct collections, the oldest dating to the period of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob, one collection is traditionally attributed to Saint Yārēd himself.[77] The Beta Israel text makes frequent references to “God, who rules” in addition to asking angels Michael and Gabriel to intercede in their behalf. It may be significant that the beginning of the annual cycle for Saints’ days is 12 H̰edār, the day Michael is commemorated.[78]

Two priests performed hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya (App. 1-13H) during interviews.[79] Their testimony that this prayer “begins the wāzēmā for Yasanbat Sanbat” is confirmed by liturgical practice. The text at first draws on Ps. 145 (146) and later paraphrases Deut. 6:4. For regular Sabbath morning rituals, a brief prayer drawing upon Ps. 145 (146):2-3 begins simply esēbbeḥo la’egzi’abḥer (App. 1-13I). It is followed by a bipartite prayer containing an additional phrase of Deut. 6:5 and the text semā‘ esrā’ēl as a refrain in the second section (App. 1-13J).

Since the passage from Deut. 6:4-5 constitutes the initial portion of the Jewish shema, we must investigate the possible relationship of the Beta Israel prayer to the Jewish creed. Beta Israel priests emphasize that the semā‘ esrā’ēl is a “night prayer” used only for the Sabbath of Sabbaths.[80] However, liturgical evidence indicates that the text is also used in a slightly different format on regular Sabbath mornings. The absence of this text from all other Beta Israel rituals suggests that it does not play a significant creedal role in the liturgy.

The Beta Israel semā‘ esrā’ēl text deviates from that in Deut. 6:4 (5) by including the word te’ezāza (commandment) and by substituting adonāy for egzi’abḥēr. Of subsequent portions of the Jewish creed, only Deut. 6:5 (6) is found in the Beta Israel Sanbat and Yasanbat Sanbat liturgies.

There does exist the possibility that the Beta Israel semā‘ esrā’ēl derives not directly from the Deuteronomy text, but from its quotation elsewhere in the Ethiopic scriptures or literature. A passage in Mark 12:29-30 contains only that portion of the Deuteronomy text found in the Beta Israel liturgy and literature,[81] and is additionally flanked by a verse reading “this is the first commandment.” The inclusion of the word te’ezāza within the Beta Israel liturgical text (see App. 1-13H/I) may reflect a telescoping of that New Testament portion. Part of this passage is also found within Maṣḥafa Berhān, a treatise generally thought to have been written during Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s period.[82] The presence of two other remarkable corollaries to Ethiopian Christian liturgy within this same prayer render a partial Christian source plausible.

Appendix 1-13H-I contains a verse which is repeated four times in the Ethiopian Christian qeddāsē (mass) following Communion.[83] In Ethiopian Christian liturgy, this verse is interpolated between portions of the Lord’s Prayer. The textual and melodic parallels between the Falasha and Christian verses can be seen by comparing Appendix 1-13H-I with Appendix 1-16A.

Secondly, the Falasha prayer is sung to a melody used in Ethiopian Christian liturgy, itself associated with a text referring to the River Jordan, the latter also found in the Falasha text.[84]

The Beta Israel prayers in Appendix 1-13H-I and 1-13J thus raise complicated text-critical issues. In light of the questions proposed above, it is interesting that others have gathered testimony from Beta Israel priests stating that prayers from the Jewish Ashkenazic rite, probably parts of the shema and Sabbath prayers, were introduced into the Beta Israel service by Faitlovitch and later reinforced by other visitors.[85] However, since a version of the semā‘ esrā’ēl text is present in Aešcoly’s translation of a manuscript that predates Faitlovitch’s first visit to Ethiopia, it appears that the semā‘ esrā’ēl text found in Appendix 1-13H-I was already in the liturgy.[86]

Lunar prayers. Although the lunar commemorative days are no longer observed by most Beta Israel, priests remember portions of prayers for these occasions. One performed the “beginning prayer” from the liturgy of Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl (new moon).[87] This prayer shares its melodic setting with opening prayers for annual holidays (App. 1-14A).[88] Another priest remembered that the yetbārak was sung for the New Moon observance but did not perform it.[89]

Berhan Baruk recalled that special prayers were sung for Asefert “to praise the Lord, the invincible and everlasting God.”[90] He performed one Asefert prayer (App. 1-14B).

Priests performed and discussed several prayers used for one or more annual holidays or fasts. The prayer sung most often by all priests during interviews is found bamajammariyā (at the beginning) of all annual holiday morning rituals (App. 1-15A). According to the priests, “when the holiday happens once a year, we do this prayer first.”[91]

This prayer is not known by textual incipit since the opening words change for each liturgical occasion. The priests are aware that “there are different words for each holiday.”[92] The beginning prayer and the emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy for Berhān Śaraqa share an antiphon (see above, note 32), which is clearly a “proper text” for that holiday. Comparison of the Berhān Śaraqa and Ba‘āla Maṣallat opening prayers indicates that their texts are identical from tafaśśeḥu ba’egzi’abḥēr (to be pleased with the Lord) (Ps. 80 [81]: 1-4) to the end, confirming the identity of the three opening verses as their respective antiphons. Additionally, two other verses of this prayer contain the texts of two antiphons found in the Ṣoma Deggwā (See App. 1-15A).

The na’a h̰abēya (App. 1-15B), recorded by Leslau, is said to be a prayer for the New Year.[93] Although it was not mentioned in interviews or performed in the 1973 liturgy, Barkaw Yallew recognized the Leslau rendition and confirmed its ascription to Berhān Śaraqa.[94]

This prayer is distinguished by a metrical character and formal symmetry, containing verses comprised of two hemistichs, each with twelve to fourteen syllables. Although Beta Israel priests are unaware of the connection, the na’a h̰abēya is related to the widely used “hymn to King David” recited in Ethiopian Christian practice as an introduction to the psalms.[95]

Hērzigā, a prayer with Agau text, was sung by two priests during interviews.[96] Another recognized recordings of hērzigā played during feedback interviews.[97] Performed both on annual holidays and on fast days, hērzigā opens the liturgy for the Astasreyo vigil. The same text is found in editions of Beta Israel prayers.[98] One priest tried to explain its meaning: “Hērzigā means great King, Lord – it is the name of God…. Adonāy, hērzigā, and adarā are all names of God, substitute names for God.”[99] Liturgical renditions of hērzigā for Astasreyo are divided into two sections, each sung antiphonally to a different melody (App. 1-15C,1,2). The first section has thirty-six verses, the second twenty.

Iyyarusalēm was performed by Berhan Baruk, who identified it as a “happy prayer” for Astasreyo (App. 1-15D).[100] The text draws on Ps. 136 (137): 1-4, Lamentations Chapter 1 and Hebrew letter names derived from Ps. 118 (119).

Although no Fāsikā rituals could be observed during the fall fieldwork in 1973, priests frequently commented that Fāsikā prayers are the same as those for Berhān Śaraqa and Ba‘āla Maṣallat. One additional prayer for Passover, wa’a‘ewāfa samāy (and birds of the sky) was performed during an interview (App. 1-15E).[101] The text draws on the Song of Moses in Exodus chapter 15. Leslau recorded this prayer in 1947.[102]

In addition to the beginning prayer for Seged, one priest performed a brief portion of one to be sung “when the tābot is first picked up and carried.”[103] The incipit, “Sabbath ascended from within her place,” is said to derive from a biblical passage read during that day. Although most of the text is in Agau, Makonnen Teku remembered that an Agau phrase beginning meloyele goti translates as “the Sabbath rises by the right hand of God.”[104]

Orders of Service

In addition to identifying common and additional prayers for a range of liturgical occasions, Beta Israel priests confirm that the “orders are always the same.”[105] “There are certain words for certain days. The order depends on which day it is.”[106] The priests recognize that there are orders of service, but they have difficulty outlining them; however, Beta Israel exegesis concerning individual prayers enables us to identify them.

Order for Daily Prayers

One priest was able to discuss the daily order of service in considerable detail: “We name the prayers according to the day, yasañño [of Monday], yamāksañño [of Tuesday], etc. For eḥud [Sunday], for example, we know how to begin it. Egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku is the first prayer – that is for every Sunday morning. It is followed by the egzi’o merḥānni, said only on Sunday morning. The genayu la’egzi’abḥēr is next. At the end of Sunday, we use a prayer not found on other days, adonāy. All the mornings are the same except Friday, when another prayer is substituted for the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku. Then it is followed by the genayu la’egzi’abḥēr. Sabbath has a different order.”[107]

An examination of the order of service for Friday morning performed by Barkaw Yallew confirms most of this testimony (see Table 8). The egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku is indeed absent, while a prayer drawing on Psalm 146 (147) opens the ritual. The genayu la’egzi’abḥēr follows. We find several portions not mentioned by the priest, including texts from Exodus chapter 15, Psalms 148 and 150, and a lengthy litany. The ritual ends with the qeddus and yetbārak, followed by brief spoken materials in Agau.

TABLE 8. ORDER FOR DAILY PRAYERS

Incipit or description

Appendix

texts of praise derived from Psalm 146 (2 min.)

-

genayu la’egzi’abḥēr

1-11B

texts derived in part from Exodus chapter 15 (11 min.)

-

texts of praise derived from Psalms 148 and 150 (12 min.)

-

litany, followed by maḥaranna refrain and intercessions (30 min.)

-

sem‘anna egzi’o

as in 1-10B

qeddus

as in 1-4B

yetbārak IIIa

as in 1-6E

NOTE: Timings (in parentheses) are rounded to the minute.

Order for Sabbath Prayers

Sabbath prayers consist of a ritual about a half-hour long on Friday eve at sunset and a longer morning service from about 3:45 to 7:15. Beta Israel testimony allows us to identify all liturgical portions for the eve except a concluding series of petitions, as well as much of the liturgical order for Sabbath morning (Tables 9 and 10).

TABLE 9. ORDER FOR SABBATH EVENING PRAYERS

Incipit or description

Appendix

adonāy (maḥaranna)

1-3B

yetbārak I

1-6B

bārek sanbateya

1-13A

qeddus

1-4B

texts of petition (5 min.)

-

Agau chanting, concluded with brief spoken homily

-

The Yasanbat Sanbat ritual, nearly fifteen hours long, contains lengthy portions that cannot be segmented without Beta Israel testimony. The vigil is closely related to that for Astasreyo, while the afternoon ritual parallels Seged (see below Table 12). The early morning ritual is the same as for an ordinary Sabbath, with modifications like the more elaborate rendition of hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya, discussed above.

TABLE 10. ORDER FOR SABBATH MORNING PRAYERS

Incipit or description

Appendix

neguś anta

1-13G

texts of praise (36 min.)

-

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt

as in 1-9A

texts of praise and petition (8 min.)

-

egzi’o sem‘anna

1-10B

amlākiya

1-13E

waradat sanbat

1-13C

watebēlo sanbat

1-13D

sem’anni egzi’o

as in 1-10B

sebḥat la’adonāy

as in 1-12A

sem’anni egzi’o

-

genayu la’egzi’abḥēr

as in 1-11B

texts of petition (3 min.)

-

yetbārak IIIa

1-6E

ne’u nesged

1-2A

esēbbeho la’egzi’abḥēr

1-13I

wayebē semā‘ esrā’ēl

1-13J

yetbārak I

as in 1-6B

spoken homily (2 min.)

-

closing formula

as in 2-142

Order for Annual Holiday Prayers

Since all annual holidays share an order of service, only that for Berhān Śaraqa is provided. The holiday liturgy includes a short service at sunset on the eve and an early morning ritual from 3:00 to 7:30. The evening ritual is presented in full in Appendix 2. We can also identify the majority of prayers in the morning ritual (Table 11).

Orders for Annual Fasts

The Astasreyo vigil presents the same barriers to segmentation as does the Yasanbat Sanbat ritual, with its enormous length and portions for which we lack exegesis. No wāzēmā ritual was performed before the vigil began around 10:00 on the eve of the fast. Prayers continued through the night until 9:00 a.m., except for a break from 2:30 until 4:00, when the priests napped, and during the morning hours while young men performed the Hebrew liturgy. Priests resumed the Ge‘ez liturgy from 1:00 p.m. until sunset.

The vigil begins with a short spoken prayer in Agau, followed by a rendition of hērzigā (App. 1-15C). A homily in Ge‘ez and Agau and a brief portion in Amharic follow. After a rendition of egzi’o semanna (as in App. 1-10B), several hours of unidentified materials are performed. These portions draw on innumerable scriptural sources and are performed antiphonally in sections ranging from a few to eighty verses in length.[108] Several long sections are characterized by texts sharing a common motif. One group of seventy-eight verses incorporates texts referring to the hands of God and man, a second describes the house or temple of the Lord, and a third, God’s power. The emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy and egzi’o sem‘anna are incorporated with other, unidentified prayers to conclude the vigil.

The afternoon Astasreyo ritual shares much of its order with Seged and also contains readings from the Book of Exodus, chapter 20. Prayers that would occur earlier in the day in other rituals, such as neguś anta, kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt, and genayu la’egzi’abḥēr, are performed on Astasreyo afternoon.[109] A Hebrew prayer is interpolated before the rendition of genayu la’egzi’abḥēr. Psalm 150 is read at the end of the ritual, the congregation is blessed in Ge‘ez and Agau, and the egzi’o sem‘anna concludes the order of service.

TABLE 11. ORDER FOR ANNUAL HOLIDAY MORNING PRAYERS

Incipit or description

Appendix

“beginning prayer”

1-15A

yetbārak IIa

as in 1-6D

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt

as in 1-9B

yetbārak I

as in 2-2

wanababo egzi’abḥēr

as in 2-24

yetbārak IIa

1-6D

genayu la’egzi’abḥēr

as in 1-11C

texts of praise

-

emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy

1-1B

yetbārak IIa

as in 1-6D

texts of praise and petition (54 min.)

-

yetbārak III

as in 1-6E

spoken homily

egzi’o sem‘anna

as in 1-10B

Beta Israel testimony allows us to summarize most of the order for the Seged (Table 12). This ritual shares many portions, including renditions of ne’u nesged and the complete yetbārak IIIa/b, with Yasanbat Sanbat day. In addition to the readings and homily in the middle of the ritual, a brief portion is spoken at the end after the egzi’o sem‘anna.

TABLE 12. ORDER FOR SEGED PRAYERS

Incipit or description

Appendix

wa’ā’eragu dabra

as in 1-14A,1-15A

yetbārak IIIa/b

1-6F

ne’u nesged

1-2A

esēbbeḥo la’egzi’abḥēr

as in 1-13I

hērzigā

as in 1-15C,2

text of petition (3 min.)

-

text of praise (6 min.)

-

readings from Exodus chapters 20 and 23 and Leviticus chapters 20 and 26

–

homily in Amharic

-

alternate reading and singing of Neh. 9:3-18

-

yetbārak I

as in 2-2 to 2-31

egzi’o sem‘anna

as in 1-10B

homily in Amharic and Agau

-

We thus find all rituals of the Beta Israel liturgical cycle linked by a common group of prayers, primarily those said to derive from the monastic office, while some rituals share additional portions. The annual holiday rituals share liturgical orders and can be classified as a distinct subgroup. Likewise, a close relationship exists between Sanbat, Yasanbat Sanbat, and Seged. The vigils for Astasreyo and Yasanbat Sanbat share texts and similar liturgical forms. Agau texts are also more frequent and longer in the two vigils.

By extending Beta Israel testimony about monastic prayers and their times of occurrence we can provide an overview of Beta Israel liturgical practice. Specific occasions in the cycle, such as Seged, may at first appear anomalous, but a survey of liturgical orders places them in the mainstream of Beta Israel liturgical practice.

These set liturgical orders provide evidence of a strong unifying force in Beta Israel religious life. The prayers contain a consistent ordering of images and concepts derived from the Orit and Dāwit, with particular emphasis on the apocryphal literature. A strong belief in one God is frequently expressed, couched in texts and forms familiar in both Jewish and Christian practice. Our next task is to seek models through which we can better understand the materials presented above, as well as begin to unravel portions unexplained by Beta Israel exegesis. In Chapter 5 we will use a comparative method to begin this process.

Notes

1. Carol Robertson-DeCarbo discusses this issue in “Tayil: Musical Communication and Social Organization among the Mapuche of Argentina,” Ph.D. diss., University of Indiana, 1975, p. 1.

2. Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 1062. In Amharic zēmā means to intone, chant (Leslau, Amharic Dictionary, p. 179).

3. The same is true of Ethiopian Christian zēmā, where the close text- melody relationships are formalized in a notation system. The melekket (signs) of the church notation are derived from the Ge‘ez alphabet and represent the text with which a melody is most commonly associated. These signs appear above new texts in liturgical manuscripts to indicate the melody to which those words should be sung.

4. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

5. Barkaw Yallew, 28 November 1973; and Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

6. Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1980. Wubshet describes night studies like those in which the Me’rāf, the common of the Christian office, is traditionally taught. According to Berhanu Makonnen, 12 September 1975: “The student has to learn it orally, so you study this book at night. The book is actually written for reference and you should not look at it. During the day one studies other books. Me’rāf is called yamāta temehert (night study).”

7. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

8. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

9. Dawit Ya’eqob, 29 September 1973.

10. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973.

11. Flad, Falas has, p. 29.

12. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

13. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

14. Adana Takuyo and Gete Asrass, 5 December 1973.

15. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973; Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1980.

16. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980. See the definition of wāzēmā, Table 3.

17. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975.

18. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

19. Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 47-53.

20. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975; and Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

21. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973; Wubshet Atagab, 28 July 1980; Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980. Fetāt is the funeral ritual performed in Ethiopian Christian tradition (Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 1367).

22. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973. Fetāt is also used for Ethiopian Christian monastic inductions, since on that day the monks “leave the world.” See Aymro and Joachim, Ethiopian Church, p. 26. Also see EMML 2093, Getatchew, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 6: 172-73, for an outline of monastic ritual containing prayers for the dead.

23. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

24. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973. Yona Bogale was present at this interview and confirmed the testimony.

25. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980; and Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

26. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980 and 5 August 1980.

27. Adana Takuyo, 29 September 1973; Barkaw Yallew, 27 September 1973; Dawit Ya’eqob, 20 September 1973.

28. Berhan Baruk, 20 and 29 July 1980 and 5 August 1980.

29. Sergew and Belaynesh, “Worship,” pp. 67, 69. In Ethiopian monastic practice prime is omitted. The office therefore comprises seven rather than eight hours as in the Latin tradition.

30. Each prayer is listed by incipit, translation, and time of performance.

31. The number in the Ge‘ez Psalter is given first, with the Jerusalem Bible equivalent in parentheses. Ge‘ez references are to Mazmura Dāwit (Addis Ababa: Artistic Press, c. 1960).

32. A Falasha prayer manuscript contains this text within a passage beginning with the incipit emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 220).

33. Priests refer to each part as “one side.” See Chapter 6, n. 44.

34. This prayer is discussed below under the yetbārak. The text here functions as a doxology at the end of the psalm.

35. Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 60-61. A discussion of Ethiopian Christian antiphons is found in Chapter 5. See Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, no. 128, where the emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy text opens a meqnāy for the third hour on the first Monday of Lent, and no. 422.

36. Identification of the berhān Śaraqa text as an antiphon is confirmed by its appearance as the initial text of the “beginning prayer” of the same ritual (App. 1-15A). Beta Israel priests emphasize that this prayer begins with different words but retains the same melody on each annual holiday. (See Shelemay, “Quarter-Century,” for exegesis concerning the “beginning prayer” and its many opening texts, although I was unaware of its similarity to Mawāse’t antiphons at that writing.) In addition, Psalm 49 (50) is chanted in full without an antiphon on the ṣom Astasreyo.

37. Wubshet Atagab, 5 August 1980.

38. An invitatory prayer of the Coptic monastic office begins with the same incipit. See EMML 2109, Getatchew, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 6: 200. A prayer with the same incipit dedicated to the Virgin Mary is found within the contemporary Ethiopian Christian sa’ātāt, pp. 171-172.

39. Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980.

40. Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 5 December 1973.

41. A. Z. Idelsohn, Jewish Liturgy in Its Historical Development (New York: Schocken Books, 1960), p. 94.

42. Marcos Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam Printing Press, 1954, pp. 127, 188. See Appendix 1-4A, notes 3 and 4.

43. Eric Werner, The Sacred Bridge: Liturgical Parallels in Synagogue and Early Church (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959), pp. 283-86. See this source for discussion of the complicated relationship between the Jewish kedushah and the Christian “thrice holy.”

44. See Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 200.

45. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

46. I have elsewhere discussed the similarity in function and textual content between yetbārak II and the Jewish kaddish, while pointing out that a similar text is found in the Ethiopian Christian monastic office: “A Comparative Study: Jewish Liturgical Forms in the Falasha Liturgy?” in Yuval, Studies of the Jewish Music Research Center (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, forthcoming).

47. References are to the Oxford Annotated Apocrypha, pp. 209-12. The prayer of Azariah, which comprises verses 1-22 of the interpolation to the Book of Daniel, is not sung in full in the Falasha liturgy, although it may well be the source of scattered texts.

48. As presented in Mazmura Dāwit, pp. 311-15. Phrases corresponding to this version are underlined in Appendix 1-6E. The text of Appendix 1-6F is not transcribed because of the difficulty in deciphering the choral rendition; it incorporates verses 35-68, as well as additional texts.

49. Anton Baumstark, Comparative Liturgy (London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., 1958), pp. 35-37, and Werner, Sacred Bridge, pp. 139-40.

50. Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980.

51. Berhan Baruk says (24 July 1980) that the basalāmeka occurs only on fast days; Wubshet Atagab (5 August 1980) claims it is more widely used.

52. Berhan Baruk, 20 and 29 July 1980.

53. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980.

54. Theology of Jewish Christianity, pp. 174, 178-79, 204. Per Beskow associates this text with Jewish Apocalypse and identifies the Ascension of Isaiah as the source of a topography of heaven divided into seven layers. Beskow, Rex Gloriae, trans. Eric J. Sharpe (Göteborg and Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1962), pp. 142-45.

55. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

56. Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1980. See quotation below at note 107.

57. MS 3117, Faitlovitch Collection, Tel Aviv University Library. Folios 1-2 contain almost the entire egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku text, but in different order than the liturgical version.

58. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

59. Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1973.

60. The complete phrase is: semā‘ egzi’o ra’ayo egzi’o wataśāhel egzi’o (Hear Lord, see it, Lord, and be gracious, Lord).

61. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

62. Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1980; Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

63. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

64. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973. The word derives from the root wasaka (he added) (Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 906).

65. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975.

66. Religious Music of the Falashas (Jews of Ethiopia), Ethnic Folkways FE 4442 (1959), side 2, band 2.

67. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973. This prayer was also mentioned by Wubshet Atagab in August 1975 as a Sunday morning prayer.

68. Jean Jenkins, Ethiopia, vol. 1, Music of the Central Highlands, Tangent Records TGM 101 (n.d.), side 1, band 4.

69. Religious Music of the Falashas, side 1, band 4. Hillel Levine recorded a rendition of the adonāy by Barkaw Yallew in 1968. Wubshet Atagab also performed this prayer on 18 August 1973. The liturgical version (App. 1-3B) closely parallels Barkaw’s and Wubshet’s renditions, but all three differ from the 1947 recording.

70. Lin Lerner (rec. and ed.), Ethiopia: The Falasha and the Adjuran Tribe, Ethnic Folkways FE 4355 (1975), side 2. This version corresponds to the 1968 and 1973 recordings.

71. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 25, translated from MS d’Abbadie (Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris). This phrase is not found in Halévy’s Te’ezāza Sanbat.

72. See Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, pp. 30, 35-36.

73. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

74. Wubshet Atagab, 18 August 1973; and Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 5 December 1973.

75. Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 5 December 1973.

76. Wubshet Atagab, 18 August 1973.

77. Velat, Me’erāf, p. 189. See also EMML 56, Macomber, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 1:58, and EMML 1081, Getatchew, ibid. 6: 150. Also see Getatchew Haile, The Different Collections of Nägś Hymns.

78. EMML 56, Macomber, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 1:58. In addition to references to Michael and Gabriel, nagś hymns frequently refer to peace.

79. Berhan Baruk, 30 November 1973; and Wubshet Atagab, 28 July 1980.

80. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

81. Portions found in the Falasha literature read: “semā‘ esrā’ēl egzi’abḥēr amlākeka egzi’abḥēr (ahādu) we’etu afqerro bakwellu lebbeka wabakwellu hellināka” (Hear Israel, the Lord is your God, the Lord is one; Love him with all your heart and with all your mind) (Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 242.); and “Hear Israel, the commandment of the Lord Adonay, our God, Adonay, one is his name alone) (Joseph Halévy, “Nouvelle prières des Falachas,” Revue sémitique [Paris] 10 [1911]): 97. The Ge‘ez version of Deut. 6:5 in both the Old and New Testament passages contains one phrase, wabakwellu hellināka (and with all your mind), not found in the Hebrew text; this phrase can be heard in the recordings of Yasanbat Sanbat (ex. 1-13H), but is not sung in Appendix 1-13J. The latter may reflect a text introduced in the twentieth century. See below, notes 85 and 86.

82. The passage reads: “And (such a person) is fulfilled the word of our Lord which he said in the Gospel of Matthew when a scribe of a (certain) city asked him saying (Mat. 22:36-40): “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, (with all your might), and with all your mind; this is the great and first commandment…” Conti Rossini, Maṣḥāfa Berhān, Book 1, p. 20, English translation, Ephraim Isaac, A New Text-Critical Introduction to Maṣḥāfa Berhān (Leiden: Brill, 1973), p. 96.

83. Maṣḥāfa Qeddāsē (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam Printing Press, 1942 E.C. [1950], p. 143, translated in Marcos Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam Printing Press, 1946 E.C. [1954], p. 71, nn. 131, 133, 135, 138. (“My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”).

84. See Chapter 6, Musical Example 9.

85. G. J. Abbink, The Falashas in Ethiopia and Israel: The Problem of Ethnic Assimilation (Nijmegen: Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, 1984), p. 246, also citing E. Leviatan, “The meeting of the Falashas with modern Judaism and its historical results in education, religion, and society” (unpublished paper in Hebrew, p. 43).

86. Aešcoly translated prayers from M107 of Fonds d’Abbadie, deposited at Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris. See C. Conti Rossini, “Notice sur les manuscrits éthiopiens de la Collection d’Abbadie, Journal Asiatique 1912-1915.

87. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

88. The New Moon beginning prayer evidently shares text with that of whatever important holiday occurs during the month. See Shelemay, “Quarter- Century,” where texts of Nisān Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl and Fāsikā beginning prayers are the same.

89. Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

90. Ibid.

91. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

92. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

93. Religious Music of the Falashas, side 1 band 2.

94. Barkaw Yallew, 28 November 1973.

95. See EMML 1390 (10), Getatchew, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 4:454. The incipit of the Ethiopic Mazmura Dengel (Psalter of the Virgin) parallels this Beta Israel text:”na’a h̰abēya dāwit neguśa esrā’ēl ba‘āla mazmur śannāy waṭe’uma qāl,” Sylvain Grébaut, Catalogue des manuscrits éthiopiens de la Collection Griaule (Paris: Institut d’ethnologie, 1938) 1:1. In the manuscript (éthiopien 305) portions of the Psalter of the Virgin are interpolated after each psalm or canticle. These texts are usually metered and four or five strophes long; the na’a h̰abēya, although containing four complete strophes, is flanked by a fade-in and fade-out that make it impossible to determine its total length. Additionally, a prayer in the Ethiopian Christian night office contains the same refrain, in feminine gender. The text invokes the Virgin, as well as patriarchs and prophets with whom she is to appear; verse 8 (of thirteen) names David, “the master of psalmody.” (Sa’ātāt, Zalēlit wazanagh [Addis Ababa: Tasfā Gabra Sellase Printing Press, 1955 E.C.], pp. 21-23).

96. Makonnen Teku, 28 November 1973; and Wubshet Atagab, 28 July 1980.

97. Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980.

98. Halévy, “Nouvelle Prières,” p. 103 and Prières, p. 98.

99. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

100. Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980.

101. Adana Takuyo, 5 December 1973.

102. Religious Music of the Falashas, side 1 band 1.

103. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

104. Ibid.

105. Gete Asrass, 21 November 1973.

106. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

107. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975 and 23 July 1980.

108. A section is here defined as a series of verses sharing melodic setting and performance style.

109. The late hour of the performance is almost certainly caused by the break for the Hebrew liturgy.

5

TEXTS OF THE BETA ISRAEL LITURGY

In the past, studies of Beta Israel prayer texts were largely limited to sources existing outside Ethiopia.[1] The first trained Semiticists to visit Falasha villages, such as Joseph Halévy in 1865, were restricted by their interests and available technology to examining written sources they were able to collect.[2] Wolf Leslau made audio recordings of six prayers in 1947, but the excerpts are too brief to provide more than fascinating historical referents.[3] Fortunately, by the early 1970s both access and technology for collecting Beta Israel prayers in their oral, liturgical context were available.

Although texts from liturgical performance are found scattered in many manuscripts, complete written orders of service paralleling liturgical orders have not come to light. Partial orders of service for daily and Sabbath prayers are contained in two sources,[4] and the Te’ezāza Sanbat provides some texts for the Sabbath liturgy.[5] On the basis of these materials we can posit a close relationship among Beta Israel literature, prayer texts in manuscripts, and the oral liturgical tradition. It seems appropriate to suggest an interaction between these materials rather than positing any one as an Urtext.[6] Those who have studied Falasha manuscripts comment on irregularities in orthography and grammar, as well as inconsistency in handling final vowels.[7] A dialectic between the oral and written traditions may well account for many of these. For example, vowels silent in speech are often sung in liturgical performance, perhaps contributing to scribal confusion. The monks and dabtarās who copied Beta Israel manuscripts transmitted the oral tradition as well and were almost certainly the conduits of texts from one domain of the Beta Israel tradition to another.

Some might question whether the differences in content and order between the oral liturgy and written sources imply a lack of fixity in the oral tradition. Increasingly since publication of Albert Lord’s The Singer of Tales, scholars have been aware that composition and performance in oral traditions can be a single process. Lord, departing from theories of Milman Parry, suggests that the Yugoslav epic is drawn from stocks of words (“formulae”) and melodic patterns, combined into a dynamic whole by the singer during performance.[8]

Despite the absence of written orders of service,[9] several factors discourage application of a “process model” in the study of Beta Israel tradition. First, we can persuasively demonstrate a fixed order of service in liturgical performance, as seen in Chapter 4. Second, performances of the same prayer in different rituals adhere to clearly defined textual and melodic content. The diminishing Ge‘ez competence of Beta Israel priests makes it unlikely that they manipulate formulae in the way epic singers are shown to do in Lord’s study. The evidence supports instead a model closer to rote memorization.

Beta Israel priests may be cued by subtle mnemonic devices in the liturgy. Although the priests are apparently unaware of it, prayer texts are often “foreshadowed” before their entry with a new melody. For example, in the Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual the text semeka egzi’o la’ālam first occurs in verse 8 (App. 2-2), then recurs in verse 14 (App. 2-3) with a new melody. Similarly, in verse 58 (App. 2-11) the aqwrer ma‘ātaka text enters with one melody but has a new melody in verse 62 (App. 2-12). Such foreshadowing is found throughout the liturgy. These textual cues do not destroy the textual or musical continuity.

Despite the occurrence of stereotyped phrases in Beta Israel liturgy which might be labeled “formulaic,” there is little evidence of improvisation or composition in the liturgical process.[10] In general, Beta Israel priests discuss the continuity of their tradition, the fixity of rules, and acquisition of liturgical orders from mentors. Only one priest disclosed creativity, distinguishing prayers his father taught him from others, which were “my own.”[11] He performed one “personal prayer” which he said could be appropriate for both annual holidays and ordinary days. However, when I asked if he ever “made up” new words for such prayers, he retorted: “How could the text be like this if it is not present in the Orit? Yes, the word are given from the Orit and Dāwit [Psalter]!”[12]

This suggests that a priest can formulate new prayers based on scriptural sources. The extent to which other Beta Israel priests use their creative abilities, and how widespread the tradition of “personal prayers,” cannot be ascertained. Ethiopian Christian dabtarās learn to improvise qenē (poetic compositions) which are sung within their liturgy; many of these verses refer to scriptural passages.[13] A similar practice may survive among Falasha priests – or one priest may simply be innovating beyond tradition.

Scriptural Sources of Beta Israel Prayers

Beta Israel liturgical prayer draws heavily on scriptural sources, as the priests acknowledge when they attribute prayer texts to the Orit and Dāwit. However, the dearth of complete scriptural passages in Beta Israel liturgy makes sources difficult to identify. The Beta Israel do not read an obligatory scriptural lesson except on Seged and Astasreyo, when the Decalogue (Exodus 20) is read in full.[14] The liturgy contains some complete psalms,[15] although selected and paraphrased verses constitute much of the textual materials.

Beta Israel liturgical orders evidently incorporated more complete psalms in the past. One priest remembers reading thirty a day between prayers.[16] Ethiopian Christian monks also read thirty psalms a day Monday through Friday, the biblical canticles of the Psalter on Saturday, and the Song of Songs, which is part of the Ethiopic Psalter, on Sunday.[17] Both Falasha and Christian traditions require that the entire Psalter be read when a member of the community dies.[18]

The absence of regular scriptural lessons in Falasha tradition is a striking departure from both Jewish and Christian practice:

Of the many varied elements common to Jewish and Christian worship, the oldest and most venerable is the principle and practice of scriptural lessons. While the practice prevails to this day in almost all Oriental religions, it seems probable that the public reading of sacred writings was once a unique feature of the ancient Jewish ritual.… There cannot be any doubt that in the ritual of the ancient Synagogue, which was more an institution of learning than of prayer, the regular and continuous lesson from Scripture played a most important part. … Down to the present time, the Jewish ritual has provided for the reading of scriptural lessons…. Christianity followed the Jewish example by instituting regular weekly (or in some Churches daily) lessons.[19]

Despite this strong precedent, there is little evidence that Beta Israel liturgy contained regular scriptural lessons in the past. Portions of the law were evidently read only after a communal meal at the conclusion of prayerhouse rituals.[20] Nineteenth-century Beta Israel worship primarily consisted of the “reciting of various prayers, and the singing of psalms and hymns, accompanied by music and dancing.”[21]

Beta Israel priests today are self-conscious about the absence of regular scriptural readings, which they have learned are part of normative Jewish practice. Indeed, young Ethiopian Jews now cantillate biblical portions during performance of the Hebrew liturgy on Saturday morning. One priest explained that scriptural portions are not read in Ge‘ez since “the book is already in the prayers.”[22]

Beta Israel priests and scholars familiar with the prayer texts have difficulty identifying scriptural sources because a single verse often contains phrases from several passages. Some texts are such rough paraphrases that they cannot be ascribed with any certainty to a single source.[23] Texts derived from quoting, fragmenting, and paraphrasing scriptural sources are usually termed “centonizations” and are common to Jewish and Christian liturgies.[24]

Despite the paucity of complete scriptural passages, Beta Israel prayers surveyed in Chapter 4 indicate an intimate knowledge of the forms and content of the Book of Psalms in particular. Individual prayers draw on refrain psalms (App. 1-11), acrostic psalms (App. 1-15D), and the hallelujah psalms (App. 1-13H/I). Portions of canticles,[25] as well as a few New Testament texts,[26] are also incorporated.

The dearth of full and bounded renditions of psalms or other scriptural portions complicates the process of segmenting Beta Israel rituals. Textual foreshadowing results in overlapping textual and musical boundaries (to be discussed in Chapter 6), further complicating attempts to divide the liturgy according to strictly formal criteria.

Beta Israel priests are able to discuss only the day and night prayers common to the office and prayerhouse liturgy and the additional prayers occurring near the beginning or end of rituals. Although a number of reasons have been cited as to why Beta Israel priests cannot segment their liturgy, none appears as compelling as the continuity ensured by a continuum of diverse scriptural verses welded together by a unified musical setting. Yet, despite their difficulty in discussing liturgical forms and orders, the many parallels with Ethiopian Christian practice suggest another avenue of approach – a comparative method.

The few comparative statements by scholars to date have located Falasha prayer in the most general confines of the Judeo-Christian tradition: “In general, Falasha prayer has preserved the character of biblical and pseudoepigraphic prayer. These two principal parts, the praise of God and supplication, are common with Jewish liturgy. The Falasha prayer has added more supplications on the subject of life in the hereafter and of the last judgment, which are not found in Jewish liturgy.”[27] These observations, based on study of Falasha prayers in manuscripts, are too general to contribute to an understanding of the extant liturgy. A useful comparison must juxtapose liturgical orders. Despite the Judaic character of their liturgical texts, Beta Israel priests do not trace their liturgy to a specific Jewish source or era. Apart from contact with Jews in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the only liturgical influence Beta Israel priests acknowledge, and historical sources confirm, is that of Ethiopian Christian monks in the medieval period. Careful transmission of a Ge‘ez liturgy by Beta Israel monks and priests testifies to this influence.

Falasha liturgical terminology is in large part shared with Ethiopian Christian tradition, and prayers said to be of monastic origin dominate the current Falasha liturgy. Examination of Falasha prayers in Chapter 4 revealed few Jewish liturgical elements not shared with Ethiopian Christian liturgy. Explicitly Christian materials, such as New Testament quotations and antiphons, can be found in Falasha liturgical prayer. The obvious area for a comparative study is therefore the Ethiopian Christian liturgy.

The method must be used with caution. Our intent is to compare materials from contemporary Falasha and Ethiopian Christian practice. Although many comparative studies have been carried out with the intent of tracing the origin and development of prayer texts,[28] it has been suggested that normative forms assume different shapes over time, particularly when transmitted orally in different regional traditions.[29] Therefore, the focus will be on shared formal elements and common scriptural usage to ascertain the relationship between Falasha liturgy and a broader stream of Ethiopian religious tradition. Chapter 7 will address the historical implications of this relationship.

Structure of Ethiopian Christian Liturgy

In the most detailed study of Ethiopian Christian liturgy completed to date, Bernard Velat discusses problems of segmentation.[30] He emphasizes that the Christian Ge‘ez liturgy does not contain psalms and canticles sung in full. Rather, sections of scripture combine in divisions as short as two verses, often set to different melodies. However, Ethiopian Christian clergy are conversant with the structure of their liturgy and can outline liturgical orders.[31] Segmentation is also indicated in Me’rāf manuscripts, which contain the ordinary of all rituals of the Ethiopian church. The sign (me), signifying me’rāf (chapter), indicates a division of chant as well as solo performance. In contrast, the sign (za), from the expression zah̰ebrat (in unison, ensemble), designates a portion to be sung by the entire choir. Thus oral exegesis and manuscript data combine to make segmentation of otherwise fused liturgical orders possible.

Velat uses these data to define the forms that constitute the orders of service and their functions in different rituals. The six Ethiopian Christian offices (Table 3) share the following elements:

1. A sung scriptural element comprising sections from the psalms and canticles of the Old and New Testament. These portions are the common of the office.

2. A proper element derived from the Deggwā or Ṣoma Deggwā, equivalent to antiphons in the Latin rite.

3. Relatively short poetic portions, qenē, interpolated in the fashion of antiphons

4. Spoken scriptural elements, including brief biblical readings, prayers, and invocations, at the end of the office.[32]

Each ritual contains a distinctive combination of these elements. The number of psalms varies. The shortest ritual, wāzēmā, draws on three important psalms and one canticle, while the longest contain portions from the entire Psalter and all canticles. Qenē is chanted only for important holidays during the wāzēmā and sebḥata nagh. Lessons and sacred prayers also depend on the occasion.

Liturgical Forms Common to All Rituals

The Me’rāf contains several forms, consisting of centonized scriptural texts, which are sung in all rituals. One, the meqnāy, includes centonized psalm texts, psalms troped with additional texts or hāllēluyā, and rough paraphrases of psalm verses. The meqnāy’s formal diversity led Velat to suggest that the form’s primary distinguishing characteristic is antiphonal performance by opposing choirs.[33] We find similar forms, drawn from psalms, sung in antiphonal style in Falasha liturgy. Falasha liturgical portions derived from psalms and canticles are also performed with hāllēluyā interpolated, such as yetbārak III (App. 1-6F) and genayu la’egzi’abḥēr (App. 1-11), especially on annual observances.

Among the different meqnāy types, the Christian mesgād, which is sung while prostrate,[34] has close parallels in Falasha liturgy. In addition to naming their prayerhouse masgid, Falashas bow while performing prayers such as ne’u nesged (App. 1-2A).

Another Ethiopian Christian form containing centonized scriptural verses is the mesbāk. (The name is derived from sabaka, to proclaim or announce the word of God.)[35] A mesbāk comprises several verses, often three, which relate to the liturgical occasion. Mesbāk collections exist for use at wāzēmā and mawaddes rituals and are traditionally chanted before the lesson.

In the Berhān Śaraqa wāzēmā the text naming the three patriarchs (vv. 84- 87) may be a mesbāk. Berhān Śaraqa is also known as tazkāra abrehām (commemoration of Abraham), and Falashas celebrate a memorial day for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on the eighteenth day of the preceding month. Ethiopian Christians also celebrate a Festival of Abraham, on 28 Naḥāse, and include in the day’s wāzēmā a mesbāk mentioning the three patriarchs by name.[36] The Falasha text in verses 84-87 (see App. 2-18) is distinguished by an unusual five-part division of the verse. The close correspondence among texts, liturgical occasions, and time of occurence in the two liturgies suggests a relationship between these portions.

A third form containing extracts from the Book of Psalms is called the mastagābe’, from astagabe’a (to gather together).[37] There are twelve mastagābe’ collections, two for each day of the week except Sunday. Psalm verses in some mastagābe’s may be selected in rough numerical order, the lower numbered psalms used for offices on Monday, higher numbered ones later in the week. Mastagābe’s range from as few as eighteen verses during the week to forty-five on the Sabbath, and some have monotone (recto tono) chants inserted between sung portions.[38] The mastagābe’ is a possible model for the alternation of spoken and sung passages performed on Seged.[39]

Antiphons and Qenē of the Liturgical Proper

The Me’rāf is always used in combination with the Deggwā, a collection of antiphons arranged by liturgical occasion and time. A few additional antiphons are found in the Mawāse’t, an antiphonary for important holidays.

Deggwā antiphons vary in format and length, the shortest containing three or four words, the longest about ten lines. Some are written in verse with end rhyme, similar to qenē.[40] Most draw on scriptural texts, particularly psalms, but they vary in their fidelity to scripture. Most Ethiopian Christian antiphons also do not emphasize doctrinal elements or mention the name of Christ but rather hint at their subject through use of the third person.[41]

Velat catalogs twenty-two categories of Deggwā antiphons according to different criteria.[42] Six are named after the psalm or canticle with which they are performed, while several get their names from the number of hemistichs per division of the psalm with which they are chanted. For example, antiphon śalast (third) precedes a psalm performed in divisions of three hemistichs each. One antiphon is named after the melodic category in which it is sung (ezl),[43] another after the office in which it is prominently used (wāzēmā), and five others take names of qenē.

Mawāse’t antiphons are distinguished by no special names but by the incipit of the psalm with which they are chanted.[44] In Chapter 4, part of the emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (App. 1-1B) was identified as an antiphon identical to those found in the Mawāse’t. The text berhān śaraqa laṣādqān can be positively identifed as an antiphon since it occurs at the beginning of the Berhān Śaraqa holiday morning ritual but is replaced on other annual holidays by other antiphons (see App. 1-15A). Mawāse’t antiphons are used almost exclusively for annual holidays in Ethiopian Christian practice.

Identification of qenē verses without indigenous exegesis is problematic since they are similar to both antiphon forms and the centonized psalms they accompany. This issue will be addressed below.

Spoken Scriptural Elements

Every Ethiopian Christian office concludes with a mixture of lectures, orations, and invocations. These portions are so important and well known that they were often omitted from manuscripts for the sake of economy.[45] These spoken elements comprise biblical passages (similar to lessons), often incorporating three passages from the New Testament. Portions of the Miracles of Mary were incorporated at the end of the office in the first half of the fifteenth century,[46] along with sections of the senkesār (synaxarion). Other prayers, including supplications (mastabqwe‘ and zayenaggeś), are used at the end of the office.[47]

All Falasha rituals end with a spoken section comprising prayers, homilies, supplications, and invocations. The similarity between the Falasha neguś anta (App. 1-13G) and the supplication zayenaggeś has been pointed out in Chapter 4.

Comparison of Falasha and Ethiopian Christian Wāzēmā

Similarities between Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgical forms are more easily evaluated when viewed within an order of service because scriptural portions required by the time and occasion determine which centonized psalm forms, antiphons, and qenē portions are used. For purposes of comparison, the wāzēmā for Berhān Śaraqa and the standard order for the annual holiday wāzēmā in Ethiopian Christian practice will be examined.

The wāzēmā has been selected because it is the shortest ritual in the two traditions equivalent in name, time of performance, and liturgical occasion. Also, since Berhān Śaraqa is an observance of clear Jewish significance, its relationship to the Ethiopian Christian wāzēmā can help determine the likelihood of a separate Jewish source for the Falasha observance. In their wāzēmā for Berhān Śaraqa, Falasha priests recognize two major sections: that beginning with the yetbārak (v. 2) and with wanababo egzi’abḥēr (v. 100).[48] When asked about the qeddus (beginning at v. 18) and aqwrer ma‘ātaka (v. 58), one priest responded, “They are both from the Orit. They follow immediately after the yetbārak. They are not really separate, they just are one with the yetbārak.”[49]

Both the yetbārak and wanababo are multipart forms containing texts differentiated by verse structure, refrains, or motifs. Reference to the texts of Berhān Śaraqa evening (App. 2) immediately demonstrates the problem of segmenting these materials by formal criteria alone.

The wanababo is followed by a spoken Ge‘ez prayer paraphrased largely from the liturgy just sung, as well as by supplications in Amharic. A unison rendition of the closing formula ends the ritual.

The content and order of the Ethiopian Christian wāzēmā for Sundays and festivals is summarized in Table 13. Three psalms and one canticle provide the principal scriptural elements of the wāzēmā: Psalms 23 (24), 92 (93), and 140 (141),[50] and Canticle 9, The Three Children in the Fire. Antiphons and qenē accompany each scriptural portion. This ritual contains a mesbāk and mastabqwe’s but no meqnāy. It also contains two passages from the kidān (literally, testament), which in its full form includes nine prayers preceded by the Trisagion. Another prayer is taken from the liṭon (supplications), a group of sacerdotal prayers associated with Psalm 123 (124) and sometimes classified with mastabqwe’s. Three supplications – for travelers, rain, and the king – are always found in the wāzēmā.[51]

The Christian holiday wāzēmā usually begins with recitation of the Trisagion of the kidān, followed by three series of (1) supplication, (2) psalm, and (3) qenē. Following the liṭon and scriptural lessons the canticle occurs. Afterward the mesbāk precedes the reading of the Gospel. The office ends with the antiphons śalast and salām, followed by prayers and invocations.[52]

The Falasha wāzēmā contains portions of all scriptural texts used in the Christian wāzēmā (see Table 14).[53] Ps. 23 (24): 8-9 is paraphrased at verses 74-77.[54] These verses seem to expand on Matt. 12:13, 18, paraphrased in verses 70- 74.[55] Ps. 92 (93):2-3 is paraphrased at verses 14-17, and Ps. 140 (141): 1-2 paraphrased in verses 82-83.

The Berhān Śaraqa wāzēmā includes portions of two other Christian wāzēmā psalms, 101 (102) and 84 (85). Ps. 101 (102):1, 19, 21, is quoted in verses 54-57, and Ps. 101 (102): 13-14 may contribute to verses 14-17. Ps. 84 (85):5-6 is the source of verses 58-69, and Ps. 84 (85):3 may be the source of verses 90-91. Finally, the incipit of the Canticle of the Three Children occurs in verses 8-9.

The Falasha wāzēmā thus contains portions of the same scriptural elements as the Christian wāzēmā. In the Falasha wāzēmā no scriptural portions are performed in full and several are roughly paraphrased. An exception may be the opening verses of the ritual (v. 2-7), which begin with the incipit yetbārak and precede the canticle incipit in verse 8. This portion has the same incipit, placement, and liturgical function as the antiphon yetbārak in Christian practice, although it does not share text with examples quoted by Velat.[56]

Several other texts in the Falasha wāzēmā parallel Ethiopian Christian antiphons. The aqwrer ma‘ātaka text occurs in a Ṣoma Deggwā antiphon for Lent vigils.[57] In Falasha liturgy this portionspans a melodic change (textual foreshadowing). This may therefore be an antiphon, set to a contrasting melody, sharing the text of the subsequent psalm portion.

TABLE 13. ORDER FOR ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN WÄZEMÄ (FOR SUNDAYS AND FESTIVALS)

Me’rāf

Deggwā

Qenē

1.

Recitation of the Our Father and the anqaṣa berhān (Gate of Light)

2.

kidān (Trisagion)

3.

–

wāzēmā

–

4.

mastabqwe’ (for travelers)

–

5.

Psalm 23 (24)

bah̰ammestu

6.

—

–

wāzēmā

7.

mastabqwe’ (for rain)

–

8.

Psalm 92 (93)

egzi’abhēr nagśa

9.

–

–

wāzēmā

10.

mastabqwe’ (for king)

–

11.

Psalm 140 (141)

bahammestu

12.

–

–

wāzēmā

13.

liston

14.

Holy Scriptures

15.

Canticle 9 (yetbārak)

yetbārak

16.

–

–

śellāsē, wāzēmā, or gubā’e qānā

17.

mesbāk (pre-Gospel)

18.

Gospel

19.

Kidān (of the evening, parts 7, 8, and 9)

20.

Psalm 101 (102)

śalast

21.

Psalm 84 (85)

salām

22.

Invocation, Prayer of Peace

23.

Prayer, “Have mercy upon us”

24.

first melṭān

25.

second melṭān

26.

Invocations

27.

Doxology

28.

Creed

29.

Our Father

SOURCE: Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, Commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966), p. 128.

TABLE 14. ORDER FOR FALASHA WĀZĒMĀ (FOR BERHĀN ŚARAQA)

Verses

Tentative Identification (and Source)

*

1-7

antiphon yetbārak

*

8-13

Dan. 3:29-30 (yetbārak)

*

14-17

Dan. 3:30 and Ps. 92 (93):2-3; or Ps. 101 (102): 13-14

*

18-31

Isa. 3:6; Trisagion?

32-39

Pr. of Man.: 1,2

40-51

qenē?; (v. 42-46) Apocalypse of Gorgorios, Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 82.

52-53

?

*

54-57

Ps. 101 (102):1, 19,21

*

58-69

Ps. 84 (85):5-6; antiphon for wāzēmā, Ṣoma Deggwā, p. 20?

70-77

Matt. 12:18; Ps. 23 (24):8-9

78-81

?

*

82-83

Ps. 140 (141):1 -2 or Ps. 101 (102):2

*

84-87

mesbāk for Festival of Abraham?

88-89

antiphon mazmur, Ṣoma Deggwā, p. 50?

90-91

Ps. 84 (85):3-4

92-93

antiphon salām, Ṣoma Deggwā, p. 153.

94-95

?

96-97

?

98-99

Agau text

100-103

Leviticus?

104-107

antiphon berhān śaraqa

108-111

?

112-113

Lev. 26:6

114-117

Leviticus?

118-119

Ps. 119 (120): 103?

120-121

?

122-124

Lev. 26:6

125-126

?

127

Agau

128-129

as in 92-93

130-135

Agau

136-138

?

139

?

140

spoken prayer, incorporating Agau and antiphon berhān śaraqa

*

141

Amharic supplications for congregation, rain, king spoken prayer, Agau and Ge‘ez

142

closing formula

* Portions shared with Ethiopian Christian wāzēmā.

Another Christian wāzāmā antiphon resembles Falasha verses 88-89,[58] while a third parallels a text used near the end of many Falasha prayers, seen in verses 92 and 128.[59] Finally, the berhān śaraqa laṣādqān text, already linked to Mawāse’t antiphons, appears in verses 104-7. It is found again at the beginning of a major prayer, this time preceded by an incipit drawn from Leviticus.

Although qenē portions are difficult to identify, the parallel structure, refrain, and end rhyme of verses 40-51 have the general characteristics of these poetic compositions. Lack of data makes it impossible to further link this or other portions with Ethiopian Christian qenē, although verses 42-46 are found in the Falasha literary work “Apocalypse of Gorgorios.”[60]

There are fewer similarities between the Christian sacerdotal prayers and portions of the Falasha wāzēmā. Although the complete preliminary prayer to the kidān, the Trisagion, is not found in Falasha liturgy, a rendition of the qeddus follows the yetbārak at verse 18. The Trisagion incipit, “Holy Lord, powerful Lord, living Lord,”[61] may be a source of verses 18-33, where the Lord is described as “holy and powerful” and existing for all time. The other portion of the kidān for the evening in the Christian wāzēmā does not appear in the Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual, nor does the evening liṭon.

As suggested above, verses 84-87 may be related to a mesbāk traditionally performed before the reading of the Gospel on the Festival of Abraham. The prayer “Have mercy upon us,” sung near the end of the Christian wāzēmā, also contains a verse appealing to God “for the sake of Abraham thy beloved and for the sake of Isaac thy servant and Israel thy holy one.”[62] The text in the Falasha wāzēmā is preceded by the supplication “Truly hear me” rather than “Have mercy upon us,” but the content and order are similar.

Finally, at the end of the Falasha ritual there are spoken supplications in Amharic on behalf of the rain and the king (see v. 141). These are two of the three mastabqwe’s of the Christian wāzēmā.

We thus find parallels in textual content and order of service between the Falasha and Ethiopian Christian wāzēmā. Both rituals have either the Trisagion or the qeddus at or near the beginning, although the yetbārak occurs considerably later in the Christian wāzēmā. However, in the Ethiopian Christian sa’ātāt zalēlit (night office) the yetbārak precedes the qeddus exactly as in the Falasha wāzēmā (see App. 1-16B and 1-16C). [63]

Although the same scriptural portions are found in the two liturgical orders, Psalms 23 (24), 92 (93), and 140 (141) do not follow the same sequence in each ritual. However, Psalms 101 (102) and 84 (85) occur adjacently and in the same sequence in each. The conclusion of each ritual contains a prayer for peace, supplications, and spoken invocations.

The Falasha wāzēmā omits the scriptural readings and Gospel portions of the Christian ritual, although it contains texts apparently drawn from the New Testament in verses 70-74. Explicitly Christological portions from the kidān and liṭon are also missing. The Falasha ritual contains a number of unidentified texts and occasional Agau verses.

A comprehensive comparative study of contemporary Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgy is a long-term project not within the provenance of this book. However, since we can define separate Falasha and Christian identities by ethnic, occupational, and settlement patterns from at least the fifteenth century, correspondences between the two rituals examined here, as well as other occasions such as Seged/Mehellā, assume great significance. Particularly provocative are the sharing of virtually all scriptural elements, while most overt Christian doctrinal references are absent in Falasha liturgy.

Future research with Ethiopian manuscripts may facilitate evaluation of the correspondence between early Ethiopian Christian and Falasha liturgical practice. Sources recently catalogued at the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library show promise for such studies.[64] Preliminary investigation indicates that Falasha liturgy contains passages of the fifteenth-century horologion by Giyorgis Saglāwi, which replaced the Coptic version in use until that time.[65] Texts similar to the Falasha yetbārak and qeddus are found in the Giyorgis sa’ātāt, as well as a long prayer with the genayu la’egzi’abḥēr refrain and passages identical to those recited during the Falasha Astasreyo vigil around midnight.[66]

Contemporary liturgical comparison and an early manuscript source thus closely relate the Falasha prayerhouse liturgy to that of the Ethiopian church and its monastic institutions. They are consistent with Beta Israel oral traditions that monks who joined their community in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries wrote their prayers and established Beta Israel liturgical tradition. Comparison of contemporary wāzēmā texts in the two traditions reveals remarkable parallelism in general formal organization and specific scriptural sources. The close relationship between text and music in both liturgies requires us next to look to the musical content for insight.

Notes

1. Most scholars drew upon collections in Europe that have been catalogued. See M. Chaine, Catalogue des manuscrits éthiopiens de la Collection Antoine d’Abbadie (Paris: 1912); Sylvain Grébaut, Catalogue des manuscrits éthiopiens de la Collection Griaule, 3 vols. (Paris: Institut d’ethnologie, 1938-44); Edward Ullendorff and S. Wright, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library (Cambridge: 1961); W. Wright, Catalogue of Ethiopic MSS in the British Museum (London: 1877); and H. Zotenberg, Catalogue des mss. éthiopiens de la Bibliothèque nationale (Paris: 1877). An unpublished typewritten catalog exists for the Faitlovitch manuscript collection, now housed at the Tel Aviv University library.

2. Halévy’s publications included Prières des Falashas, “Nouvelles prières,” and Te’ezāza Sanbat.

3. Religious Music of the Falashas.

4. Innumerable portions of the Aešcoly Recueil prayer texts are found in the liturgy. Manuscript 3117 of the Faitlovitch collection, said to contain daily prayers, indeed begins with the egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku. Manuscript 3120 of the same collection includes Sabbath prayers which parallel sections of the Sabbath morning ritual.

5. See Appendix 1-13A/B, 1-13C, and 1-13D.

6. Ruth Finnegan suggests that there is a continuum from oral to written rather than separate categories. Oral Poetry: Its Nature, Significance, and Social Context (Cambridge: the University Press, 1979), p. 272.

7. Aešcoly, Recueil p. 15. Other deviations from standard Ge‘ez morphology have recently been discussed by Devens, “Falasha Liturgical Text.”

8. Albert Lord, The Singer of Tales (New York: Atheneum, 1965), pp. 30-31.

9. Berhan Baruk (2 December 1973) mentioned learning prayer texts written in manuscripts and implied that written orders of service existed as late as the nineteenth century.

10. See Leo Treitler, “Homer and Gregory: The Transmission of Epic Poetry and Plainchant,” Musical Quarterly 60 (1974): 333-72. Treitler postulates that formulaic knowledge is a grasp of melodic types which enable performance (ibid., p. 353).

11. Berhan Baruk, 2 December 1973.

12. Ibid.

13. Two genres of poetic composition are taught at a special church school called the qenē bēt. The first, qenē (from qanaya, to sing liturgical songs), occurs in thirteen different forms and is interpolated between psalm verses in the form of an antiphon. The second malke‘ extols the virtues and physical characteristics of revered saints but is rarely performed liturgically. (Velat, Me’erāf, p. 61). An accomplished Christian dabtarā can improvise both genres. However, qenē and malke’ are not part of the liturgical common, and Christian priests insist that “there are no new prayers – it is a law not to have new prayers” (Berhanu Makonnen, 2 July 1980).

14. Seged readings also include texts from Exod. 23:2-17, 22-33; Lev. 20; and Neh. 9:13-18.

15. These include Psalms 32 (33) and 49 (50) on holiday mornings. Long portions of Psalms 148-50 are performed for daily morning rituals, while Psalms 146 (147) and 150 are included in Sabbath morning prayers. (Ge‘ez Psalm 147 begins at Jerusalem Bible Psalm 147:12.).

16. Wubshet Atagab, 5 August 1980.

17. Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, November 1980.

18. Ibid., and Wubshet Atagab, 3 August 1980. See Maṣḥafa Genzat (funeral ritual) (Addis Ababa: 1944 E.C.), facing p.1.

19. Werner, Sacred Bridge, pp. 50-52.

20. Flad, Falashas, p. 45.

21. Ibid., p. 44.

22. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

23. Aešcoly, Recueil, pp. 42-45.

24. Werner, Sacred Bridge, pp. 179-80.

25. In addition to the renditions of the Daniel canticle in all rituals, and the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) for daily and holiday morning rituals, portions of the Prayer of Habbakuk and the Hymn of Manasseh are found in the liturgy. Eric Werner points out that the Song of Moses is shared by normative Jewish and Christian liturgy but the Old Testament canticles except Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 were dropped from Jewish liturgy because of Christological interpretations. All the Old and New Testament canticles play an important role in the Christian office.

26. The maḥāri (App. 1-5B) contains a passage found in both Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9: 44-46, 48. The Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual contains a paraphrase of Matthew 12:18 and 13 at verse 70. Although the text at verse 34 is primarily drawn from the incipit of the Prayer of Manasseh, the exclamation “Abba” may derive from Mark 14:36. (Verse references are to the texts included in Appendix 2.)

27. Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 40 (my translation).

28. See Louis Finklestein, “The Development of the Amidah,” Jewish Quarterly Review 16 (1925-1926): 1-43, 127-70; and Werner, Sacred Bridge, p. xvii.

29. Joseph Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud (Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, 1977), p. 6.

30. Velat, Me’erāf, p. 94 and Bernard Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, Patrologia Orientalis, 32 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie, 1966). My own study of Ethiopian Christian liturgy and its musical content, researched in Ethiopia during 1973-1975 and afterward in the United States with Ethiopian research associates, is in process. Its completion must precede a thorough comparison of the Falasha and Ethiopian Christian musical traditions.

31. Velat worked closely with several Ethiopian Christian clergymen in Addis Ababa in 1951 and 1954-1955. See the account of his fieldwork in Me‘erāf, pp. 12-13. My Ethiopian Christian research associates were also able to discuss liturgical forms and orders in great detail.

32. Ibid., p. 44.

33. Ibid., p. 54.

34. Ibid., p. 55.

35. Ibid., p. 56.

36. Ibid., p. 313.

37. Dillmann, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 1171.

38. Berhanu Makonnen, 20 June 1975; Velat, Me’erāf, p. 220. Other renditions of psalms and canticles in the Ethiopian Christian tradition also combine sung and monotone recitation (ibid., p. 94).

39. Although the Falasha Seged passages contain texts from the Book of Nehemiah, the structure corresponds to that of the mastagābe’.

40. See note 13 above.

41. Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 50-51, 58-60, and Ṣoma Deggua, pp. x-xi.

42. Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, pp. xv-xviii.

43. The three categories of Ethiopian Christian zēmā are discussed in Chapter 6.

44. Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 60-61.

45. Ibid., pp. 68-72.

46. The Miracles of Mary, composed in France during the twelfth century, were translated into Ge‘ez from Arabic beginning in the reign of Emperor Dāwit (1382-1411) and were added to the ritual by Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob (1434-1468). See Enrico Cerulli, La letterature etiopica, pp. 81-82 and Il libro etiopico dei Miracoli di Maria e le sue fonti nelle letterature del medio evo latino, Studi orientali pubblicati a cura della scuola orientale r. Universita di Roma, vol. 1 (Rome: Dott. Giovanni Cardi, 1943).

47. Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 187-93.

48. Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980.

49. Ibid.

50. Psalm 140 (141) is common to all Christian rites during the evening (vespers) ritual (Gabriele Winkler, “Über die Kathedralvesper in den vershiedenen Riten des Ostens and Westens,” Archiv für Liturgie Wissenschaft 16 [1974]: 54). For additional points about the importance of Psalm 140 at vespers see Gabriele Winkler, “New Study of Early Developments of the Divine Office” (review of Bradshaw, Daily Prayer), Worship 56 (1982): 31.

51. Velat, Me’erāf pp. 162, 175, 297-337.

52. Ibid., p. 300.

53. Table 14 summarizes the content of the Falasha wāzēmā. Asterisks indicate portions shared with the Ethiopian Christian wāzēmā.

54. References are to the English translation of the Jerusalem Bible.

55. The intervening passage from Matt. 12:10-18 discusses legality of healing on the Sabbath.

56. Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, p. 2.

57. Ibid., p. 20.

58. Ibid., p. 50. The antiphon reads laka yedallu egzi’o sebḥat baṣeyon, while the Falasha text is yedallu laka sebḥat. This antiphon is a mazmur, usually chanted for Sunday wāzēmā. This verse also resembles the final verse of Ps. 92 (93), cited above.

59. Ibid., p. 153. The Christian antiphon for Sunday vespers reads esma za’enbalēka bā‘d amlāk albo zana’amer salāmka habana.

60. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 82.

61. Ibid., p. 170 (my translation).

62. Ibid., p. 314. This verse evidently derives from Dan. 3:35, the Canticle of the Three Children.

63. Identical texts are found in the horologion attributed to Giyorgis (see note 65 below). The Ethiopian Christian night office contains three different renditions of the qeddus, which parallels Falasha testimony of “many qeddus.”

64. See William F. Macomber and Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa, and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, 8 vols. (Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John’s University, 1975-1984).

65. Ibid. 1: 215, EMML Pr. 204. This manuscript is a copy of a fifteenth- century horologion attributed to Abba Giyorgis Saglāwi, who died around 1426. For further information on this monk and his literary output, see Getatchew Haile,”F∂kkare Haymanot,” and the description of EMML 1838 in A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 5: 339-41.

66. EMML 204, ff. 16-17 (Sa’ātāt, pp. 10-12); and EMML 204, f. 14.

6

MUSIC OF THE BETA ISRAEL LITURGY

Chapter 4 began to explore the complex relationship between zēmā (music) and qāločč (words) in Beta Israel ritual. Beta Israel priests answered questions about musical content in considerably less detail than they did those about the liturgical cycle or organization of prayers. For better evaluation of the information, the reasons must be probed.

Some ethnomusicologists suggest that musical knowledge is subliminal.[1] It is tempting to offer this explanation for Beta Israel tradition and to postulate that zēmā incorporates a complex of activities performed but not “speeched.”[2] However, the extensive exegesis provided by Ethiopian Christian dabtarās for their zēmā suggests that this is not the reason for Falasha reticence.

Musical vocabularies are often highly developed in living traditions since concepts are conveyed verbally to students.[3] When music is the object of critical attention, discussion, and analysis, theoretical concepts are often articulated. Finally, verbalization may be anticipated in a tradition of composition, so differences between theory and practice or between tradition and innovation can be explained. Beta Israel priests no longer discuss zēmā, teach it to students, or compose. They are probably therefore less able to “speech” music to an inquisitive fieldworker.

The demise of Beta Israel monks who played a critical role in perpetuating the liturgical tradition may further reduce the priests’ articulateness. Monks were responsible for the selection[4] and training of priests: “Monks in the old days taught others to protect and even fight for the perpetuation of religion. I studied with the monks – they taught me everything. Only recently they finished because no one wanted to be one anymore.”[5] Under certain circumstances Ethiopian Christian monks also play a pivotal role in performing and transmitting musical tradition. Christian zēmā is transmitted by dabtarās in most churches, but monks assume responsibility for the entire musical tradition in convents or monastic churches.[6] The Beta Israel priests may therefore be reticent because they have only recently assumed primary responsibility for the musical tradition.

Falasha Classification of Zēmā

Beta Israel priests recall that there are several types of zēmā, which all Beta Israel villages share. Despite their general awareness of an underlying musical structure, few remember specifics of its organization. When asked to identify the zēmā of a prayer he had just sung, one priest shook his head: “It is difficult.”[7]

Ambiguity between zēmā and a parameter called demẓ, derived from demẓa (to sound, to make a noise), complicates discussion. Beta Israel priests sometimes use these terms interchangeably. At other times demẓ is located as a concept within zēmā, referring to aspects of performance practice (notably vocal style), tempo, and text-melody relationships: “There are many demẓ in zēmā. There are different demẓ for ‘amat ba‘āl and weekdays. There is one demẓ for prayers accompanied by the qāč̣el and one for the voice alone. There are demẓ for day and night. Sometimes they resemble each other. On Yasanbat Sanbat there are different ones – there are a lot. The monks who were alone sometimes said different demẓ.”[8]

Once after considerable probing, two priests sang examples of four types of zēmā and one type of demẓ (see Musical Ex. 1).[9] This list allows us to begin to delineate demẓ and zēmā, as well as move toward a classification of Falasha liturgical melodies.

The first example (1-a) is termed kaffetaňňā (high, lofty, important, requiring considerable skill) demẓ. Priests associate it with annual holidays, which agrees with liturgical practice (see App. 1-11C and 1-11D). This melody consists primarily of an ascent to the fifth scale degree (E) above the “returning tone” (A)[10] and a descent back to A in disjunct motion omitting the third (C); A is then repeated at the end with the acclamation hāllē. The liturgical renditions, especially App. 1-11C, have a more ornamented contour, with frequent returns to E before descending to A. Several phrases, such as in 1-11C,2, pause on the second (B) and emphasize motion between B and D before returning to A.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 1. FALASHA ZĒMĀ AND DEMẒ

SOURCE: Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 4 December 1973.

The liturgical renditions contain several melodic characteristics not found in 1-a. The opening verses of Appendix 1-11C, its hāllē response, and several phrases of Appendix 1-11D contain descents to the E below A and ascent back to A through the raised sixth (F#). In addition, although the pitches C and G are generally omitted, there is an occasional C# in Appendix 1-11C,2 and G in Appendix 1-11C,3. Finally, while 1-a contains a primarily syllabic text setting with a few sustained rhythmic values, there is considerably more variation between portions of the liturgical prayer. Appendix 1-11D contains the syllabic setting of 1-a, while Appendix 1-11C contains additional melismas and rhythmic emphasis on pitches E, D, B, and A.

Examples 1-b_1 and b_2, both termed rajjim (high, tall, long) zēmā, share pitch content with example 1-a and its liturgical equivalents. The exception is a lowered second (Bb) in example 1-b_1 (see Musical Ex. 2). However, a second recording of 1-bi (see App. 1-13F) does not contain the lowered second, suggesting that the inflection of this pitch can vary without changing the zēmā category. Example 1-b_1 also contains melismas and more sustained pitches than 1-a and 1-c, respectively.

Example 1-c, although it is named zeqqetaňňā (low, humble, inferior) or aččir (short, brief, low) zēmā, is nearly identical to 1-a in pitch content, contour, text setting, and rhythm (see Musical Ex. 2). Furthermore, example 1-b_1 is said to precede 1-c in liturgical performance.

Thus, four examples share pitch content and some melodic contours but differ in rhythmic content and text setting. These differences, as well as the different names, can be clarified through reference to Ethiopian Christian practice.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 2. COMPARISON OF KAFFETAŇŇĀ ZĒMĀ EXAMPLES

In the church tradition demẓ refers to aspects of rhythm and text setting which can be applied to any zēmā. There are two types of demẓ – rajjim and ạ̣ir.[11] It seems to be the same in Falasha practice. If so, examples 1-b_1 and l-b_2 (rajjim) and example 1-c (ạ̣ir) are the two demẓ in which kaffetaňňā zēmā (not demẓ) appears. Additional Beta Israel testimony suggests this interpretation. The term ạ̣ir is used by Beta Israel priests to describe the narrow ambitus, short phrases, and primarily syllabic text setting of prayers such as herzigā (App. 1-15C,2).[12] Example 1-c, here named both zeqqetaňňā and ač̣č̣ir zēmā, shares a narrow ambitus and heavily syllabic text setting. In contrast, examples 1-b_1 and to a lesser extent, 1-b_2, contain more sustained pitches and melismas and are termed rajjim. In Christian practice also it is common to find subsequent portions of one prayer in both rajjim and aččir styles, as seen in Appendix 1-11C,1, 1-11C,2, and 1-11C,3 in Falasha liturgy.

Example 1-d is called both telleq (large, big, great) and qwāmi (permanent, steady, usual) zēmā. This melodic setting for Fāsikā morning is shared by opening prayers for all annual holidays (as in App. 1-15A) and the lunar Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl (App. 1-14A) (see Musical Ex. 3).[13] Qwāmi zēmā is distinguished by omission of the second scale degree (B) above the returning tone, with resulting emphasis on the interval between C and A. Melodic lines that descend below the returning tone usually move from G to E rather than to F# as in kaffetaňňā zēmā.

A third category of zēmā is termed laslāssā (soft, smooth, mellow). The pitch content of this prayer for Fāsikā overlaps with qwāmi and kaffetaňňā examples, containing both the second and third scale degrees, B and C, above the returning tone. However, the returning tone here consistently falls in the middle of the range as in a plagal mode, while motion in qwāmi and kaffetaňňā zēmā is often concentrated in the octave above or between returning tones. Example 1-e cannot be confirmed by comparison since we do not have liturgical tapes for Fāsikā and this prayer does not occur elsewhere in the liturgy.[14] Appendix 1-15C,2 contains a contour and ambitus similar to the laslāssā example in 1-e; however, its pitch content, with emphasis on B and D above the returning tone and F# and E below, is shared with kaffetaňňā examples as well.

Thus, three categories of zēmā are named,[15] two of which can be confirmed by liturgical recordings. Pitch content of kaffetaňňā and qwāmi zēmā can be clearly differentiated through paradigmatic comparison, as seen in Musical Examples 2 and 3. The parameters of laslāssā zēmā cannot be conclusively determined without additional data.

The separate identities of kaffetaňňa and qwāmi zēmā are further supported by investigating liturgical practice. Using the Berhān Śaraqa Wāzēmā as a sample, the liturgical melodies transcribed in Appendix 2 can be classified as either kaffetaňňā or qwāmi. (See Table 15.) The only questionable assignment on the basis of evidence from Musical examples 1-3 is that of Appendix 2-24, 25, and 26 as qwāmi; however, evidence below will confirm this.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 3. COMPARISON OF QWĀMI ZĒMĀ EXAMPLES

Understanding of the Beta Israel musical system can be extended only so far based on Beta Israel testimony. The commonality of the zēmā concept in Falasha and Ethiopian Christian practice suggests looking again to the church musical tradition for insight.

TABLE 15. CATEGORIES OF MELODY IN BERHĀN ŚARAQA WĀZĒMĀ

Portion

Kaffetaňňā Zēmā

Qwāmi Zēmā

1

Exs. 2-1 and 2-2

2

Exs. 2-3 and 2-4

3

Exs. 2-5 to 2-11

4

Exs. 2-12 to 2-19

5

Ex. 2-20

6

Exs. 2-21 and 2-22

7

Exs. 2-23 to 2-28

8

Exs. 2-29 to 2-31

9

Exs. 2-32 and 2-33

10

Ex. 2-34

Zēmā of the Ethiopian Christian Tradition

Discussion of Ethiopian Christian zēmā is also limited by the dearth of systematic analysis. The only study to date is that of Bernard Velat, who briefly investigated musical content as part of his exhaustive examination of the Me’rāf and Deggwā, and described his discussion as tentative.[16] Materials gathered during 1974-1975 will provide a deeper understanding of Christian zēmā, as well as a basis for more extensive comparative studies with Falasha musical materials, eventually.[17] Until then, enough data exist at least to begin instructive comparison.

A preliminary understanding can be gained from examining characteristic Ethiopian Christian examples[18] and information from the literature. Ethiopian Christian zēmā is credited to Saint Yārēd, dated by most sources to the reign of Emperor Gabra Masqal in the sixth century.[19] Yārēd is believed to have composed all liturgical melodies in the larger theoretical system of zāmā during moments of inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

Melodic content of Christian zēmā is divided into three categories called selt (mode, order). Each is defined according to musical, aesthetic, and functional principles and is said to symbolize one of the three aspects of the Holy Trinity.[20]

The first selt, ge’ez (severe, majestic, strong, and dry)[21] is used on fast days and other liturgical occasions; it is thought to represent “God, the Father.”[22] Ge‘ez selt can be sung in rajjim or ač̣č̣ir demẓ and is characterized by vocal slides called rekrek.[23] Example 4 demonstrates the pervasive use of vocal slides, particularly between adjacent pitches.

The name of the second selt, ezl, denotes “isolation or separation.”[24] One source attributes to ezl an effect “very different from the other two modes…. Ezl mode has a mild, depressing humble tune. … It is a pleasant melody. The soul is put in condition to consider God and His eternal attributes.”[25] Ezl is used for Good Friday, funerals, and important feast days[26] and is said to represent the Son in the Holy Trinity.

Velat describes ezl as “more melodious and conjunct” than ge’ez and suggests that it outlines a chromatic scale.[27] Although the ezl portion presented in Musical Example 5 does have a smaller ambitus and slightly more conjunct motion than the ge’ez portion in Musical Example 4, the latter, with constant alternation between adjacent pitches, contains much more half-step and microtonal motion.

The name of the third selt, arārāy, evidently derives from an onomatopoeic term for a cry.[28] Arārāy is called the daily zēmā because of its frequent use,[29] but it is also used for important annual holidays.[30] It is said to represent the Holy Spirit. Arārāy is described as a “light, pleasurable, strong selt” that should be sung in a high tessitura[31] (Musical Example 6).

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 4. ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN GE’EZ ZĒMĀ PORTION

SOURCE: Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 5. ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN EZL ZĒMĀ PORTION

SOURCE: Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

Although an understanding of the differences between the Ethiopian Christian melodic categories must await analysis of an exhaustive sample of portions in their liturgical context, Berhanu Makonnen’s three samples indicate representative differences in both pitch content and emphasis between the three. The ge’ez and arārāy portions both contain gapped scales, the ge’ez example lacking the second pitch above A and stressing the flexible third, while the arārāy portion emphasizes the second and fourth scale degrees and omits the third. However, the ge’ez and arārāy examples approach the fundamental A similarly from below, emphasizing motion from F# to A, usually omitting G. The ezl portion shares some characteristics of both ge’ez and arārāy, utilizing both the second and third above the returning tone, but omitting the prominent fourth scale degree of arārāy.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 6. ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN ARĀRĀY ZĒMĀ PORTION

SOURCE: Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

We can gain further insight by looking more closely at the structure of Ethiopian Christian zēmā. Melodies are conceived as comprising textual-melodic units named and represented by signs in the notational system. An Ethiopian Christian dabtarā can systematically segment his liturgy by naming (or singing) each textual-melodic segment.[32] Since each is catalogued by selt, he simultaneously identifies categories of melody and relates them to a larger liturgical order. At my request Berhanu Makonnen performed several portions of the Ethiopian Christian liturgy and then repeated each, broken down into its constituent parts. Musical Example 7 presents one of these portions, comparing the usual sung version with the melodic segments from which it is constructed. The melodic segments, placed immediately below the standard melody and numbered, are termed melekket (literally, signs) after the textual-melodic segments in the notational system (the signs and their textual associates are not provided here). This example is a mazmur (literally, song) performed near the beginning of the wāzēmā for the first Sunday of Maskaram, the start of the Ethiopian Christian liturgical year.[33] This example was selected in part because it demonstrates the manner in which melodies from ge’ez and arārāy selt are often juxtaposed within the same portion in Ethiopian Christian liturgy, with the ge’ez portion coming first. It also again demonstrates both ge’ez and arārāy melodies with the same pitch content discussed above.

Comparison of Falasha and Ethiopian Christian Zēmā

Examples of Falasha Kaffetaňňā zēmā and Christian arārāy examined above present striking parallels. Arārāy melodic segments 10, 12, 13, and 14 (Musical Ex. 7) share pitch content and contour with Kaffetaňňā segments 2 and 3 in Musical Example 2. There is also repetition on the returning tone at the end of phrases in both Falasha and Christian examples. Similar parallels are found between qwāmi zēmā segment 2 (Musical Ex. 3) and ge’ez segments 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (Musical Ex. 7).

Velat published transcriptions of Ethiopian Christian melodies which can be used to test and extend this comparison.[34] These include “model melodies” associated with certain antiphons of the Deggwā that are found throughout the entire Christian liturgical cycle with other texts. Arayām antiphons, as well as arbā’et and śalast antiphons, provide the majority of melodies used as contrafacts. Approximately half of the sixty-eight arārāy examples Velat provided are remarkably similar to melodies found in Falasha rituals; three such examples from the Berhān Śaraqa evening service are presented in Musical Example 8.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 7. SEGMENTATION OF AN ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN PORTION

SOURCE: Berhanu Makonnen, 10 June 1975.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 8. COMPARISON OF ARĀRĀY ‘MODEL MELODIES’ AND FALASHA KAFFETAŇŇĀ EXCERPTS

SOURCE: Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, Commun de l’Office divin éthopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966), pp. 633, 647, 652, and Falasha priests, 26 September 1973.

The most striking correspondence between Christian arārāy and Falasha Kaffetaňňā zēmā found to date is between the Falasha hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya melody (App. 1-13H/I) and Velat’s transcription 83, an arāyām antiphon.[35] Berhanu Makonnen also performed numerous contrafacts of this melody, including one associated with the text hāllēluyā, providing a third source for comparison.

Musical Example 9 compares Velat’s antiphon, Berhanu Makonnen’s rendition of the yetbārak for the wāzēmā of 8 H̰edār, and the Falasha hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya. All correspond in melodic contour and structural tones, while the two Christian examples also closely parallel each other in ornamentation. Most strikingly, the arayām antiphon with which this melody is associated in Christian practice carries the text Jordānos ([river] Jordan).[36] Two references to crossing the River Jordan are found in the Falasha prayer (App. 1-13H/I). The presence of the same melody and text in Falasha and Christian examples suggests either a shared source or direct contact. This melody is used also with other texts in Falasha liturgy, including ne’u nesged (App. 1-2A) and yetbārak III for Seged, Sanbat, and Yasanbat Sanbat (App. 1-6F). Both the Ethiopian Christian and Falasha yetbārak derive from the text of the Canticle of the Three Children. Thus this melody is used as a contrafact throughout common and proper portions of both Christian and Falasha liturgies, and at least twice with the same texts.

Terminological and functional similarities between Falasha kaffetaňňā zēmā and Christian arārāy selt underscore the musical parallels. Both are said to be high in range and are used for annual holidays. Arārāy is particularly prominent in the Christian holiday wāzēmā, as is kaffetaňňā in the corresponding Falasha ritual.

There are also similarities between Falasha qwāmi/telleq zēmā and Christian ge’ez selt. The description of ge’ez as “majestic and strong” closely resembles characterizations of qwāmi as “steady, big, and great.” Falasha qwāmi zēmā occurs on all liturgical occasions during both day and night prayers, as does ge’ez selt in Christian practice.

Other factors also suggest linking qwāmi zēmā with ge’ez selt. The alternation of Kaffetaňňā and qwāmi melodies in the Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual is reminiscent of ge’ez and arārāy alternation in Ethiopian Christian liturgy. Suggestive parallels in several Falasha melodies, such as the yetbārak for Sanbat eve (App. 1-6B), to the rekrek (vocal slide) technique characteristic of ge’ez selt are also found (see Musical Ex. 10). Rekrek occurs between two pitches in a vocal line, as well as at the end of phrases. Liturgical performances of the “beginning prayer” for all annual holidays are distinguished by a vocal slide at the end of phrases within a verse; this same prayer was performed as the original example of qwāmi zēmā.[37]

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 9. COMPARISON OF A FALASHA AND ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN MELODY

SOURCE: Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, Commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966); p. 640; Berhanu Makonnen, 2 July 1975; and Falashas priests, 12 Oet. 1973.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 10. VOCAL SLIDES (REKREK) IN ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIAN AND FALASHA PORTIONS

SOURCE: Berhanu Makonnen, 10 June 1975, and Falasha priests, 28 September 1973.

Examples of ge’ez selt in Velat’s collection indicate that the third and fifth pitches above the returning tone are emphasized and flexible in intonation. (See Musical Ex. 11) Berhān Śaraqa evening melodies with similar contours but variable inflection of the third scale degree can therefore probably be assigned to the qwāmi melodic category (App. 2-24, 2-25, 2-26).

Neither the identity nor the equivalence of the third Falasha zēmā, laslāssā, can be confirmed without additional liturgical examples for corroboration. However, similarities between Falasha and Ethiopian Christian terminology are again found. Falashas describe this third zēmā as “soft, mellow, and smooth,” while ezl, the third seit, is said to be “delicate, humble, and mild.”[38] In Christian liturgy ezl is used for Good Friday, Easter, funerals, and important fast days; it occurs less often than the other two selts in the liturgical cycle. Although it may be no more than coincidence that the Falasha laslāssā zēmā example derives from the Fāsikā liturgy, the Christian Fāsikā is one of the few days ezl selt is extensively used.

Similarities in terminology, melodic structure, and liturgical function can therefore be identified between Falasha categories of zēmā and Ethiopian Christian selt. This relationship can be further tested by analyzing the musical settings of specific liturgical texts.

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 11. COMPARISON OF GE’EZ ‘MODEL MELODIES’ AND FALASHA QWĀMI EXCERPTS.

SOURCE: Bernard Velat, Études sur le Me’erāf, Commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966), pp. 636, 629, and Falasha priests, 26 September 1973.

A Comparison of Text-Melody Relations

Because both Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgies have active contrafact traditions, it is impossible to trace a melody to an “original” textual associate without native testimony concerning this relationship. Beta Israel priests identify what appear to be three categories of zēmā (or selts) but name melodies by the incipits with which they are associated in different contexts. They provide no information concerning the original derivations of the melody. However, as seen above, Ethiopian Christian musicians name textual-melodic formulas and codify these relationships in a notational system consisting of text- derived alphabetic signs. In addition, textual portions proper to a time of day and occasion are traditionally sung in a particular selt in Christian practice. Falashas say that their zēmā also changes according to time of day and occasion but are unable to detail further this usage. Comparison of text-melody relations in the two traditions can therefore test the categories of zēmā equated above, as well as expose similarities and differences in the liturgies.

Again using the wāzēmā as a sample, melodies associated with the principal scriptural elements can be identified. Velat determined that arārāy predominated in the Sunday and festival wāzēmā and that Psalms 23 (24), 92 (93), and 140 (141), as well as associated antiphons and qenē, should be sung in this selt.[39] Berhanu Makonnen also emphasized the importance of arārāy for all but four wāzēmā rituals of the year.[40] Table 16 compares the mandated scriptural texts and the required selt for their performance in Christian wāzēmā with the actual melodic setting on Berhān Śaraqa evening. In every case there is correspondence among the scriptural portion, the required Christian zēmā, and the suggested Falasha equivalent. Psalm 84 (85), which is supposed to be in ge’ez selt, begins in qwāmi zēmā and then shifts to kaffetaňňā; a recurrence of part of this text in verse 90 also occurs in qwāmi zēmā. The canticle, which should be sung in ge’ez, indeed occurs in qwāmi zēmā in the Falasha wāzēmā.

Falasha and Christian zēmā thus appear to correspond in both musical identity and liturgical function in this sample. Although this information suggests that a change in zēmā in Falasha liturgy relates directly to textual usage, it does not clarify Falasha testimony linking zēmā usage to time of day. Despite Falasha admission that this issue is both complicated and ambiguous, examination of a larger sample provides some insight.

Correlation of Zēmā and Time of Day

Table 17 summarizes the musical examples of Appendix 1 by tentative zēmā classification, time of performance, and occasion. Because of the unverifiable nature of laslāssā pitch content, as well as its overlap with some qwāmi and Kaffetaňňā examples, the laslāssā figures must be regarded as extremely tentative. After eliminating five ambiguous melodies in the qwāmi and laslāssā categories, the sample totals forty melodies. Eighteen (45%) are in qwāmi zēmā, twenty-two (55%) in kaffetaňňā zēmā.

TABLE 16. COMPARISON OF TEXT-MELODY RELATIONS IN FALASHA AND CHRISTIAN WĀZĒMĀ

Scriptural Portion

Christian Zēmā[a]

Falasha Zēmā

Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire

ge’ez

qwāmi (App. 2-1)

Psalm 23 (24)

arārāy

kaffetaňňā (App. 2-14, 2-18)

Psalm 92 (93)

arārāy

kaffetaňňā (App. 2-3, 2-19)

Psalm 140 (141)

arārāy

kaffetaňňā (App. 2-17)

Psalm 84 (85)

ge’ez

qwāmi (App. 2-11) to kaffetaňňā (App. 2-12), qwāmi (App. 2-20)

[a] As specified in Bernard Velat, Études sur le commun de l’Office divin éthiopien, Patrologia Orientalis 33 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie., 1966), pp. 82-93.

Correlation of qwāmi and kaffetaňňā zēmā with different times of performance is strong, but by no means exclusive. Of the eighteen qwāmi examples, twelve (67%) are sung at night, four (22%) during the day, and two at uncertain time. Of the twenty-two kaffetaňňā prayers, thirteen (59%) are sung during the day, nine (41%) at night. These statistics indicate that kaffetaňňā zēmā is more often found in the daytime, while qwāmi melodies are present more in the night liturgy. These findings corroborate in a general sense Beta Israel statements that link certain (unspecified) zēmā with day or night while showing that these associations are not exclusive.

TABLE 17. SUMMARY OF EXAMPLES IN APPENDIX 1

Qwāmi Zēmā[a]

Kaffetaňňā Zēmā[a]

Laslāssā Zēmā[a]

App.[b] Time[c] Occasion[d]

App.[b] Time[c] Occasion[d]

App.[b] Time[c] Occasion[d]

1-3C

d Sanbat

1-1A

d sa’āt, i

1-12A*

d Sun., i

1-4A

d sa’āt, i

1-1Be

d Berhān Śaraqa

1-15C,2*

n Astasreyo

1-6A

n sa’āt, i

1-2 A

d Seged

1-15D*

– Astasreyo, i

1-6B

n Sanbat,

1-3B

d Sanbat

1-15E

– Fāsikā, i

Yasanbat Sanbat

1-4B

n Sanbat

1-6D

d Berhān Śaraqa

1-5A

d sa’āt, i

1-7A

n –, i

1-6C

d Astasreyo

1-9A

n i

1-6E

d Sanbat

1-9B

n Ba‘āla Maṣallat

1-6F

d Seged

1-10A

n sa’āt, i

1-8A

n –, i

1-10C

n Berhān Śaraqa

1-10B

n Sanbat

1-10D*

n Ba‘āla Maṣallat

1-11B

n daily

1-11A

n sa’āt, i

1-110,2,3

n Ba‘āla Maṣallat

1-13A

n Sanbat

1-12B

d daily (Sun.), i

1-13B

n Sanbat, i

1-13C

n Sanbat

1-13J

d Sanbat

1-13D

d Sanbat, i

1-14A

- Nisān Čaraqa Ba‘āl

1-13E

d Sanbat

1-14B

- Arfe Asart, i

1-13F

d Sanbat

1-15A

n Berhān Śaraqa

1-13G

n Sanbat, i

1-15B*

- Berhān Śaraqa, i

1-13H

n Yasanbat Sanbat

1-131

d Sanbat

1-15C,1

n Astasreyo

NOTE: Appendix 1-5B, 1-5C, and 1-11D have been omitted because they duplicate another example in their category.

a. Melodies are classified according to pitch content presented in Musical Examples 2 and 3.

b. Ambiguous appendix examples are marked with asterisks and are disregarded in the percentages provided in the text.

c. Time of performance is shown as day (d) or night (n). Prayers for morning rituals sung before dawn are classified as night prayers.

d. Sa’āt indicates one of the seven excerpts of the monastic office sung in 1973. An i indicates that an example derives from an interview instead of liturgical performance.

e. App. 1-1B is classified according to the category established at the beginning of the unaccompanied section of the transcription.

In general, there are both qwāmi and kaffetaňňā melodies distributed in liturgies for all occasions recorded in 1973. Of the seven monastic examples performed in 1973, four are in qwāmi zēmā, two are set to kaffetaňňā melodies, and one was spoken.

This sample’s emphasis on common liturgical prayers and its restriction to a part of the liturgical year prevent relating melodic usage further to individual occasions. However, surveys of the complete melodic content of both the Sabbath and Seged liturgies provide little evidence of exclusive melodic usage on these occasions.[41] Rather, they indicate that the same repertory of melodies, extended through contrafact techniques, pervade all liturgical orders.

Classification of the melodic content is not the final step in analyzing a Beta Israel ritual. While segmentation of Beta Israel liturgical texts is complicated by lack of clear boundaries between sections, analysis of the musical setting provides a different challenge: Segmentation exists on several levels according to different criteria. Although scholars have debated how to achieve segmentation,[42] here native exegesis establishes and defines the significant units for analysis. Beta Israel testimony has already defined the longer liturgical units, the prayers, and provided insight into melodic structure. It further suggests that performance practice, instrumental accompaniment, and liturgical dance must be considered to understand more completely Beta Israel musical and liturgical organization.

Performance Practice

Beta Israel priests speak easily about performance practice: “First we go on one side and then the other…. When one speaks first, the other responds. The first is the guide and the second is the follower.”[43] Both Falashas and Ethiopian Christians name the sides as yamān (right) and ṣagām (left).[44] Antiphony is particularly prominent in performance of the sa’ātāt in Ethiopian Christian monasteries.

Redundancy enables definition of the major antiphonal performance styles. In one style, two choirs, choir and soloist, or two soloists alternate, the second side almost always repeating the verse sung by the first. The second style comprises a tripartite division of each verse, with one side singing the beginning and end of the text and the second providing an intermediary phrase or response; the entire verse is then repeated with the second side singing first.

Both styles are found in Falasha rituals, and the shift between them provides a criterion for grouping verses. Table 18 summarizes changes in performance style in the Berhān Śaraqa wāzēmā. Thirteen sections are delineated, of which all but those beginning at verses 124, 136, 139, 140, and 142 contain paired repetitions of text chanted on both sides. Some of these thirteen divisions contain subsections in which the first side retains its lead position for two verses in a row. Concluding portions are sung in unison by both sides, as seen in 139 and 142. The varying length of verses sometimes results in a two-part division, as in verse 124, or extension to a five-part division, as in verse 84. In other rituals separate choruses perform these same styles. Although the Berhān Śaraqa ritual is accompanied by drum and gong except for portions 139 and 142, both performance styles occur unaccompanied on other occasions. Unison performance by both sides is never accompanied by drum and gong.

Instrumental Accompaniment

Beta Israel priests differentiate accompanied from unaccompanied zēmā but give no details of this aspect of performance practice.[45] The qāč̣el and nagārit play a repeated five-beat pattern, with beats 1, 3, and 4 articulated by the instruments. The Beta Israel evidently have no name for the rhythm besides zēmā and offer little exegesis about it. One priest commented that they use the qāč̣el so that the melody “does not get lost,”[46] which suggests some awareness of the pervasive effect of the ostinato on melodic structure and text setting. Declamation is particularly stylized: Syllables are uttered usually on the beats articulated by the instruments.

Most common prayers can be sung with or without accompaniment because musical instruments are not used on fast days or the Sabbath. Portions such as yetbārak II, which are sung in unison, are never accompanied. Prayers classified as rajjim demẓ, such as the beginning prayer for annual holiday mornings, may be accompanied by a few gong beats at phrase endings, but the ostinato rhythm is absent.

The nagārit and qāč̣el parts are largely invariable. The qāč̣el occasionally plays a lighter stroke on the fourth beat (See App. 2-5) or omits it entirely (App. 2-8). The few irregularities in rhythm usually stem from a passing distraction to the player, such as an annoying fly. Occasionally, an empty ostinato pattern (without vocal parts) marks the boundary between liturgical portions. In the Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual there are six junctures at which extra ostinato units are found. These additional patterns occur before verses 40, 70, 100, 116, 128, and 139, coinciding with changes in textual form or content, performance style, and melodic category.

Falasha instrumental traditions both parallel and contrast with Ethiopian Christian practice. The latter clergy associate the instruments used in Falasha liturgy with a call to prayer: “The wāzēmā announces the beginning of a holiday. … It means an introduction. When the people outside hear the drum and bell, they know the wāzēmā is beginning.”[47] The dawal, qāč̣el, and kabaro are specifically cited as instruments appropriate for the wāzēmā of annual holidays. The nagārit announces the office and mass.[48] Although according to tradition monks are not supposed to use instruments in the monastery, these constraints are frequently ignored.[49] Thus, Falasha instrumental traditions may derive from Ethiopian monastic practice.

The simplicity and redundancy of Falasha instrumental parts contrasts with the complexity of present Ethiopian Christian practice, yet shares underlying concepts. Christian dabtarās study instrumental techniques at a special school, the aqwāqwām bēt, and learn theoretical concepts and complex terminology related to instrumental usage.[50] Liturgical portions are classified as (1) unaccompanied (with maqwāmiyā), (2) accompanied by sistrum alone, (3) accompanied by kabaro and sistrum, or (4) accompanied by both instruments in a special double rhythm. These different accompaniments are termed wered and occur in cycles for holiday rituals. Individual rhythms are also named and are realized in specific motions by kabaro, sistrum, and prayer staff.

TABLE 18. PERFORMANCE PRACTICE IN THE BERHĀN ŚARAQA WĀZĒMĀ

Verse Number

Division

Subsection

Performance Style[a]

2

C

S

14

C-S-C

S-C-S

30

C

S

40

S

C

52

C

S

62

C-S-C

S-C-S

70

S-C-S

C-S-C

76

C-S-C

S-C-S

84

C-S-C-S-C

S-C-S-C-S

88

C-S-C

S-C-S

100

S

C

104

S-C-S

C-S-C

120

C

S

124

C-S

C-S

128

S-C-S

C-S-C

132

S

C

136

S-C-S-C

137

S-C-S

C-S-C

139

unison

140-141

spoken

142

unison

a. S = solo; C = chorus

According to Ethiopian Christian tradition, each portion should be performed five times: first, with only the motion of the makwāmiyā (prayer staff), next twice with the ṣanāṣel (sistrum), and finally, twice with both ṣanāṣel and kabaro. The rhythmic patterns are fixed and contain a set number of makwāmiyā, ṣanāṣel, or kabaro motions, determined by the type of demẓ (ač̣č̣ir or rejjim) as well as by the zēmā of a portion. Although most patterns contain two or four motions, a pause, such as in the four-motion saragallā (literally, coach or chariot) pattern, may provide a total value of five beats. The saragallā pattern is outlined below with ṣanāṣel motion indicated.

1

2

3

4

5

shoulder

forward

chest

pause

forward

The Beta Israel liturgy evidently utilizes only one rhythmic pattern comprised of three drum and gong beats punctuated by two pauses. Thus, there are clear similarities between Falasha and Ethiopian Christian rhythmic patterning and instrumental usage,[51] although Falasha terminology and performance are less elaborate.

Liturgical Dance

Beta Israel priests dance in rituals, especially at the end of vigils. The Beta Israel dance is traditionally said to “come from the life of Moses in the Orit. After Moses and the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they danced. It is a way of thanking God.”[52] The Beta Israel expression for dance, la’amlāka mesgānā (thanks to God), is said to derive from this tradition.[53]

Four types of formalized motions occur during Beta Israel rituals, only two of which (3,4) would traditionally be termed dance: (1) Bowing upon entry to the prayerhouse and at the beginning of many prayers; (2) jumping by congregation and priests at one juncture during the Astasreyo afternoon ritual; (3) swaying by priests as they lean against their prayer staffs during long hours of prayer; and (4) dancing by priests, generally in a circle, moving prayer staffs up and down, sometimes striking them upon the ground.

Beta Israel priests almost certainly acquire their knowledge of ritual dance through observation, as do church musicians in the somewhat more formal context of the aqwāqwām bēt: “A man who wants to learn… has to watch every time. He cannot be absent. He sees the men who know how and then he tries…”[54]

Beta Israel priests are not able to elucidate dance or to link it explicitly to other aspects of zēmā. Because of lack of testimony, videotapes of the rituals would be necessary to fully evaluate the role of formalized movement in defining or reinforcing other parameters of zēmā.

However, information from Ethiopian Christian liturgical dance once again sheds light on Falasha practice. In Christian tradition, swaying side to side with the prayer staff is called wezwāzē (rhythm).[55] Likewise, the motion of hitting the prayer staff once on the floor while dancing is termed korkēt by Christian musicians.[56] However, rather than dancing in a circle, Ethiopian Christian dabtarās stand in two lines facing each other, with a kabaro player at the end of each. Generally, twenty-four dancers participate, reflecting hāyā-aratt kahnāta samāy (twenty-four priests of heaven), after which Christian liturgical dance is named.[57] Dance motions, rhythmic patterns, and the rendering of zēmā and demẓ are therefore clearly interdependent in Ethiopian Christian tradition: “If there is rajjim demẓ, you move right and left, and up and down with the maqwāmiyā. The corresponding pattern in the ṣanāṣel is called maragd. For ač̣č̣ir demẓ, you lift the maqwāmiyā and push the bottom forward. All demẓ have specific motions and all movements are guided by the zēmā. We learn which patterns go with the other.[58]

Comparison of Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgical dance is compounded by existence of several different styles of various ages in the church tradition. Several famous styles are associated with the Gondar area; others are from other regions.[59] Oral traditions record relatively recent innovations in Ethiopian Christian liturgical dance. For example, one mid-nineteenth-century dabtarā is said to have been inspired by the movements of the reeds at Lake Tana in Begemder Province, and to have innovated the side-to-side swaying movement. Although the Gondar clergy rejected his innovations, the dabtarā’s son carried the style south to Dabra Tabor, from where it was dispersed.[60]

Summary

Although there may be hazards in interpreting one tradition in the light of another with more extensive exegesis, the remarkable parallels in Falasha and Ethiopian Christian musical concepts, terminology, and performance practice endorse the methodology. Falasha liturgy shares its enormous musicality with that of Ethiopian Christianity: In both traditions liturgical texts are almost exclusively sung. Survival of the zēmā concept in two traditions today considered separate attests to a close historical relationship as well.

Yet, although it shares an Ethiopian heritage in most aspects of its musical and textual content, the Beta Israel liturgy is a unified and independent stream of tradition. Thus, there are both similarities and differences, parallels and divergences. Reconciling these seeming paradoxes requires reviewing the broader liturgical evidence of which music is so important as part. This review can also be used in beginning to reconstruct how the Beta Israel liturgy assumed its present form.

Notes

1. Norma McLeod, “Some Techniques of Analysis for Non-Western Music,” Ph.D. diss., Northwestern University, 1966, p. 5.

2. Charles Seeger has suggested that “speech knowledge” of music is extrinsic to music making. “Speech, Music, and Speech about Music,” in Studies in Musicology, 1935-1975 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977), p. 16.

3. This is not always so. John Miller Chernoff learned Ghanaian drumming nonverbally: “My instruction was, so to speak, directly and physically musical: I imitated what my teachers played, and I attempted to follow them through their changes by responding to their gestures and bodily cues. I understood what to do before I learned how to think or talk about it…. In fact, whenever I found one of my teachers trying to explain what I had to do, I knew he was at the last resort of his teaching capabilities.” African Rhythm and African Sensibility (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 21.

4. Flad wrote that priests “are commissioned by the monks to observe the various ceremonies of religious worship,” (Falashas, p. 35).

5. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980.

6. Velat, “Dabtara éthiopiens,” p. 21.

7. Makonnen Teku, 28 November 1973.

8. Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

9. Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 4 December 1973.

10. Pitch content is abstracted as a scale built on a “returning tone.” In Ethiopian secular music the most important pitch of a tuning system or musical composition is termed malāsh from mallasa (to return); the malāsh and its octave equivalent are sounded more often than other pitches and are always repeated in ending formulas. See Ashenafi Kebede, “The Bowl-Lyre of Northeast Africa,”Ethnomusicology 21 (1977): 389-91. Although Falashas do not use the word malāsh in regard to their liturgical music, they share secular musical traditions with their neighbors; the concept evidently extends to their sacred music as well. All musical examples are transposed with “returning tone” on A to facilitate comparison. Since there are no names for pitches except the malāsh, other pitches will be numbered consecutively above or below the returning tone. Since Falashas do not elucidate pitch organization and measurement was not possible, pitches will be named by western equivalents modified by accidentals.

11. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975. (See below for a discussion of Ethiopian Christian zēmā.) Demẓ is also the name for the large end of the kabaro, the kettledrum used to accompany Ethiopian Christian rituals. The smaller end is called meqworqwor, from qwerqwer (to make a noise, buzz, rumble) (Berhanu Makonnen, 7 July 1975).

12. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973.

13. The wider ambitus and varied contour of the first phrase of example 1-d and Appendix 1-15A are found only in the initial verse of the “beginning prayer.” The narrow ambitus of Appendix 1-14A is typical of subsequent verses. See Shelemay, “Quarter-Century,” p. 92.

14. One example on Leslau’s record has a similar, although not identical, melody (Side 2, band 1). No other information is provided about this “prayer of absolution.”

15. The only other zēmā mentioned during interviews was that of the wabezuh̰a (App. 1-8A) (Berhan Baruk, 24 July 1980). This prayer has the pitch content of kaffetaňňā examples, with lowered or flexible second and fifth scale degrees. Although said to be “a night zēmā,” use of the melody on Seged afternoon controverts exclusive association with the night liturgy.

16. Me’erāf, p. 81.

17. I began this project with Ethiopian church musicians in Addis Ababa, studying music of the Me’rāf and Deggwā. During summer 1978 I continued work with Abba Petros Gebre Selassie in New York City on both the sa’ātāt (horologion) and qeddāsē (mass). I began analyzing these materials under an American Council of Learned Societies fellowship during 1981-1982.

18. Musical Examples 4, 5, and 6 were performed by Berhanu Makonnen on June 2, 1975 as representative of the three zēmā. Each melody, extensively used throughout the liturgy with different texts, is here performed as a hāllēluyā.

19. Getatchew Haile dates Gabra Masqal’s reign to the ninth century on the basis of recently uncovered calendrical information. “A New Look at Some Dates of Early Ethiopian History,” Le muséon 95 (1982): 318-19.

20. Abba Tito Lepisa, “The Three Modes and the Signs of the Songs in the Ethiopian Liturgy,” in Proceedings of the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1969), 2:166, quoting J. Baeteman, Dictionnaire amarigna-francais (Diredawa, Ethiopia: 1929), col. 247.

21. Abba Tito, “Three Modes,” p. 163.

22. Ibid., p. 166.

23. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975. Rekrek can occur between adjacent pitches or can link disjunct intervals. Berhanu used the expression rajjim demẓ and rajjim zēmā interchangeably.

24. Abba Tito, “Three Modes,” p. 164.

25. Ibid., p. 165.

26. Ibid., p. 164.

27. Me’erāf, p. 80.

28. Abba Tito, “Three Modes,” p. 165.

29. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

30. Abba Tito, “Three Modes,” p. 165.

31. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

32. Beta Israel priests learned their liturgy by singing phrases after their teachers. They do not elaborate on the process or say how long the segments were, but the similarity of this method to that of the church is clear.

33. Although Berhanu said that this mazmur is an antiphon sometimes used in place of qenē, Velat divides similar mazmur and antiphons with the text egzi’abḥēr nageśa into two separate categories (Berhanu Makonnen, 13 June 1975; Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, p. xvi.) Although this terminological problem cannot be resolved here, it is not significant for the point to be made, namely, that Beta Israel testimony also links the antiphon genre mazmur with the egzi’abḥēr nageśa text. Wubshet Atagab sang a liturgical portion he termed mazmura dāwit (Song of David) on 28 July 1980. This example, said to begin the wāzēmā for Yasanbat Sanbat, also contains the egzi’abḥēr nageśa text. The melody, not transcribed, follows that of App. 1-13F/G. Velat writes that the Christian mazmur is used on Sunday at mawaddes (ibid.). However, a standard edition of the Deggwā contains this mazmur at the beginning of the wāzēmā for the first Sunday of Johannes (1 Maskaram) per Berhanu Makonnen’s testimony. Maṣḥafa Deggwā (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam, 1959 E.C.).

34. The transcriptions were realized by Denise Jourdan from recordings made by Velat during 1951 in Addis Ababa. She transcribed 191 melodies, somewhat fewer than half of those recorded. Included are melodies of the most important antiphons (arbā’et, arayām, and śalast) in all three selts, as well as examples associated with major liturgical forms such as the mastabqwe’, or important rituals, such as mawaddes and mehellā. See Velat, Me’erāf, pp. 625-61. These antiphon melodies are also chanted by students as exercises.

35. Ibid., p. 640. Velat presents 60 arayām antiphons set to 57 different melodies, of which 26 are in arārāy. The antiphons vary in length, but only the incipits are presented.

36. Ibid.

37. This distinctive gesture at cadences occurs primarily in group performances of beginning prayers, not solo renditions. See Shelemay, “Quarter- Century,” pp. 88-89.

38. Abba Tito, “Three Modes,” pp. 164-65.

39. Velat, Me’erāf, p. 300.

40. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 September 1975.

41. See Shelemay, “Seged” and “Music and Text.”

42. See Nicolas Ruwet, “Méthodes d’analyse en musicologie,” in Langage, musique, poésie (Paris: Éditions du seuil, 1972), pp. 100-34; and Jean-Jacques Nattiez, “From Taxonomic Analysis to Stylistic Characterization: Debussy’s Syrinx,” in Actes du premier congrès international de sémiotique musicale (Pesaro, Italy: Centro d’iniziativa culturale, 1975), pp. 83-110.

43. Makonnen Teku, 26 November 1973; Gete Asrass, 5 December 1973.

44. Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980; and Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 22 November 1980.

45. An exception is designation of sem‘anna egzi’o as an unaccompanied prayer. (Wubshet Atagab, 23 July 1980; and Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980). Liturgical performance supports this testimony.

46. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

47. Berhanu Makonnen, 20 June 1975.

48. See Chapter 3, note 24.

49. Berhanu Makonnen, 9 June 1975.

50. Details of Ethiopian Christian rhythmic usage were outlined and demonstrated by Berhanu Makonnen 13 June and 1 October 1975.

51. Ethiopian Christians also prohibit instruments on fast days and Lent.

52. Adana Takuyo and Gete Asrass, 5 December 1973.

53. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975.

54. Berhanu Makonnen, 7 July 1975.

55. See Leslau, Amharic Dictionary, p. 461.

56. Possibly derived from kwarakkwama, to rap on the head with the knuckles (ibid., p. 158.)

57. Each group represents the twelve apostles, according to Berhanu Makonnen, 7 July 1975. However, it is more likely that they are derived from the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse, described in Rev. 4:4. I thank Peter Jeffery and Marilyn Heldman for this suggestion made independently in private correspondence.

58. Berhanu Makonnen, 13 June 1975.

59. Ibid.

60. Patterns of Progress, Music, Dance, and Drama in Ethiopia, bk. 9 (Addis Ababa: Ministry of Information, 1968), p. 40.

7

RETHINKING FALASHA HISTORY

The content of ritual texts and music has been evaluated from the Falasha perspective. When Falasha exegesis was sketchy, Ethiopian Christian traditions provided a comparative perspective. What do the results of these efforts mean for historical reconstruction?

Rituals were described at the beginning as repositories of cultural sensitivities and historical evidence. As “more or less invariant sequences of formal acts and utterances not encoded by the performer,”[1] ritual is a medium that transcends individuals and epochs. The Beta Israel liturgy in the twentieth century exemplifies the definition as it survives in a period of intense cultural change. The locus of this study, the village of Ambober, is at the center of an upheaval in Beta Israel culture and religion. All Ambober has assumed normative Jewish identity. Many, including the priests, have studied Hebrew. Yet the Ge‘ez liturgy continues with few new elements. The single Hebrew prayer taped in 1973 was performed by a young Ethiopian Jew trained in Israel, not a priest. How has the Beta Israel liturgy survived this period of intense change? What does its survival imply for liturgical data in studies of greater time depth?

Elements were identified in Chapters 4 through 6 that Beta Israel priests said constituted liturgical performance and, by extension, ritual structure. The priests identified the constituent parts of zēmā (melodic content, vocal style, instrumental accompaniment, performance styles, and dance) and the closely linked textual content, qāločč. Each element contributes to ritual form, as discussion of the Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual showed, but changes in each do not coincide. If the separate analyses of text, music, accompaniment, and performance styles for the ritual are considered together, one characteristic becomes clear: The Beta Israel liturgy cannot be segmented by any single parameter.[2] Rather, all interact continually, while internal changes in one do not necessarily – or usually – coincide with changes in another.

This suggests that the reason Beta Israel priests have difficulty discussing orders of service is that musical and textual boundaries overlap. A priest generally can name only the junctures defined by concurrent change in melody, text, performance practice, and instrumental parts. Priests identify two major liturgical sections for Berhān Śaraqa evening, one beginning at yetbārak (v. 2), the other at wanababo (v. 100). These sections begin at the only two points where boundaries in text, performance style, and ostinato coincide.[3] In lengthy rituals such as the Astasreyo vigil, sections continue for hours without such markers. Thus, priests can participate in liturgical performance but not offer exegesis to help segment these portions.

The overlapping of boundaries, and subsequent fusion of one portion to the next, must also be an important mechanism for maintaining the liturgy as an oral tradition. In particular, foreshadowing a text before its appearance with a new melody may serve to remind a priest of the next melodic change. Although some instances of textual foreshadowing have been tentatively classified as antiphons that share a text with portions they precede, they evidently function, and may always have served, to jog priests’ memories of the next section.

Fusion of liturgical boundaries has probably been critical to the survival of Beta Israel ritual. Apart from Beta Israel traditions suggesting continuity in their ritual life, explored below, the structure of their liturgy may have ensured continuity in both this century and the past. A direct link between concept and practice is approached here. The zēmā concept, which provides a theoretical model as well as performance guidelines, is a multifaceted conceptual scheme incorporating all liturgical activity. However, the multi-dimensionality of zēmā is also realized in ritual structure. Varying patterns of text, melody, instrumental parts, and performance practice interact but do not always coincide except at important structural points.

These data underscore the importance of musical materials to understanding ritual structure. Other studies have recognized the importance of music as a distinguishing mark of ritual, as well as a critical (but largely undefined) factor in the “religious experience.”[4] Here, music’s role as an essential part of ritual form can be emphasized. The constant presence of music in Beta Israel liturgy defines and ensures the sequence of events even as texts are no longer understood. Beta Israel ritual cannot be understood – or segmented – without a knowledge of zēmā and its integral involvement in all aspects of liturgical performance.

Time Depth and Accuracy of the Oral Tradition

The issue of continuity in the Beta Israel oral tradition can best be approached by starting with the present and working backward in time. The liturgy seems to have survived the turbulent quarter century between 1948 and 1973 largely intact. Recordings from 1947, 1968, and 1973 of a single prayer correspond remarkably, with only the subtlest changes in text setting and ornamentation.[5] This strongly suggests liturgical continuity while other aspects of Beta Israel religious practice and identity were being transformed.

Before the increased activity of foreign Jews among the Beta Israel in the 1950s, a period of relative continuity can be traced from the mid-nineteenth century. Beta Israel traditions in the late 1940s were, with some omissions, similar to the ones nineteenth-century visitors described.[6] Falashas had their own schools until 1888, which “helped keep alive Falasha traditions and to make meaningful the Ge‘ez prayers and scripture.”[7]

Beta Israel priests also testify to a period of continuity following a revival of religious practices in the mid-nineteenth century. According to oral traditions there had been a religious crisis in the early 1800s.[8] To combat it, Beta Israel monks began a revival in the 1840s. The chief monk of Qwara, viewed as a successor to Abba Sabra, “brought his people back to their religion” about 1845. Beta Israel monks in other areas also worked “to perpetuate their religious traditions and institutions deriving from the fifteenth century.”[9]

One priest discussed liturgical changes during the second half of the nineteenth century: “Before the time of [Emperor] Yoḥannes [1872-1889], Falashas were forced to leave places after a short period, so the prayers were short. They appealed to the Emperor, and as a result they stayed and increased the prayers…. During the time of Tēwodros [1855-1868] and Yoḥannes [1872-1889], prayers were added…. Although the monks and priests prayed the same, the monks were then hidden. The priests added prayers. They took them from manuscripts and from Dāwit. They used to read from books. They also added zēmā…. They did not change the order of the prayers. Rather, they took the order from manuscripts written on parchment.”[10]

According to oral histories, traditional practices were revived and underwent renascence based on written orders of service then extant. Sources from the 1860s contain names of Beta Israel monks and priests active at the time and indicate that virtually every village had clergy.[11] All the evidence points to a renewal of old Beta Israel traditions rather than introduction of new elements during this period.

The broader context of the nineteenth-century religious crisis also emphasizes the depth of the Falasha’s commitment to their traditions. Christian missionaries had just begun proselytizing in Falasha areas, and controversies resulted. Falasha converts to Christianity criticized Falasha religious practices and were excommunicated by Falasha monks. Disputes between Falashas and the missionaries became so heated that Emperor Tēwodros himself mediated in 1862.[12] The controversies sound remarkably like those that split the church in earlier centuries: “Though the dispute had begun as an argument among the Beta Israel, it had quickly broadened to a controversy between the Beta Israel and the Orthodox Church. As the Ethiopian Church was drawn in on the side of the missionaries and the converts, the specific issues were broadened from the sacrifices controversy[13] to include debate over the question of the Unity or Trinity of God. On this issue, both the Beta Israel and the Orthodox Church sought support for their beliefs in the Old Testament.”[14] Ironically, Falashas convinced Tēwodros that as followers of the Old Testament they were similar enough to Orthodox Ethiopians not to be forced to convert. A document of the period records that the emperor first ruled that all Falashas convert but later agreed not to compel anyone to accept the Orthodox faith.[15]

Although there are no detailed descriptions of Falasha liturgical practice from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, strong evidence again implies continuity with earlier traditions. Falasha testimony emphasizes that they lived in separate areas during these centuries and that Falashas who were involved in building the Gondar castles did not convert. An oral tradition recorded in the nineteenth century describes Falasha soldiers who earlier refused to fight on the Sabbath and were rewarded by God with a victory.[16] On the basis of this evidence Quirin concludes: “The maintenance of Beta Israel prayer houses, priests, and schools even in their enclaves closest to Gondar further suggests they maintained their religious values and institutions during the Gondar era.”[17]

There are reports of strong Falasha commitment to a separate religious identity even before political power was centralized in Gondar. Falasha resistance under Gideon dates to the seventeenth century. Oral traditions also suggest that Falashas maintained the “integrity and independence of their religious institutions and practices” while they were taking up new occupations in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.[18] Thus, strong commitment to their religious tradition can be traced from at least the late fifteenth century. Earlier oral traditions, such as those concerning the reign of Yisḥaq (1413-1430) imply a separate Falasha identity, although they do not address religious continuity: “According to a tradition transmitted through the ruling families of Wegera, the main issue was a competition for power between the Beta Israel ruler and his nephew whom the ruler tried to kill because of a prophecy that the nephew would be the next ruler. … A tradition transmitted through the monastic leadership asserted that the conflict was between the Beta Israel leader and his illegitimate son by a Christian woman.”[19]

Transmission of oral traditions by Falasha monks and the prominent role attributed to the monastic order from the fifteenth to the twentieth century underscore the monks’ function as agents of religious continuity. The high degree of specificity of the oral traditions also lends credence to their historical veracity. For example, Abba Sabra, the reputed fifteenth-century founder of Falasha monasticism, seems not to be a mythical figure: Oral traditions recount his place of birth and details of his residence among Falashas, consistently dating his life to the period of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob.[20] There is reportedly a gadl (acts; the standard title for a biography of a monk or saint) of Abba Sabra.[21] Perhaps it will someday be found. Taamrat Emmanuel comments on confusion about Abba Sabra’s name that may make a source about his life difficult to identify: “The name of this saint is little known among Christians. It is possible that the Falashas mispronounced it to me. It seems to me that I have heard, however, that years ago in the neighborhood of Dänqäz there was a church that had a similar name, Säbra or S∂bra. The majority of the Falashas and almost all of the Christians of Gondar, well informed as to the vicissitudes of the place, do not know of the construction of a church of Abba Sabra.”[22]

Leslau suggests that Sabra may derive from a Cushitic word no longer familiar to Amharic-speaking Falashas. Säbra or Säbriqu was another name for the traditional Falasha region of Armachaho.[23] Indeed, a Christian monk joining the Falasha monastic order might have been required to take a new name. Therefore, references to Abba Sabra (and his colleague Ṣaggā Amlāk) may exist in Christian sources under different names.

Abba Sabra is credited with introducing virtually all aspects of Falasha ritual and religious life. According to some traditions “the period in which he lived is pushed back to the alleged origins of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia, thus giving his memory the increased veneration of antiquity.”[24] These origins are variously said to be at the time of Menelik, after the prophet Jeremiah, or during the Aksumite expeditions to South Arabia.[25]

Other priests describe Abba Sabra’s period as relatively recent and credit introduction of Falasha traditions to Azariah, the priest said to have accompanied Menelik back to Ethiopia when he stole the tābot from Israel.[26] This tradition comes from the Kebra Nagast, which says that Azariah and other Jews from King Solomon’s court returned home with Menelik.[27] The Kebra Nagast may be reflected in other Falasha religious traditions as well: The queen evidently underwent a period of isolation after childbirth, the archangel Michael is said to have led the procession to bring Zion to Ethiopia, and the Ten Commandments and specifics of the Law are given in detail.[28]

Thus, oral traditions about Falasha religion before the monastic period are either vague or mirror the Kebra Nagast. The importance of monks in Falasha religious life raises questions about the dearth of oral traditions concerning events before their probable fourteenth or fifteenth-century entry into Beta Israel culture. Monks had pivotal roles outside religion, too: From about 1478 to 1632, they selected the candidate for the Falasha kingship in the Semien Mountains.[29] From Abba Sabra on, monks were almost solely responsible for the perpetuation of Falasha religious life and secular authority.

Evidence of Ethiopian Christian Influence

Preceding chapters have examined the liturgical ramifications of monastic influence. In interviews, Beta Israel priests performed prayers of their monastic office. Since many of these monastic prayers are found in the present Beta Israel liturgy at the stated time of monastic performance, current liturgical practice confirms testimony about the influence of Falasha monks. Moreover, the textual and musical content of the liturgy reveals Ethiopian Christian influence. Despite centuries of ethnic, occupational, and religious separation of Falashas and Orthodox Christians, terminology is shared and orders of service are common to both liturgies. Textual forms of Christian provenance – antiphons, intercessions – are present in Falasha liturgy. The musical content of Falasha ritual shares the broad concept of zēmā with Christian liturgy, as well as similar melodic structures, identical melodies, and parallel text-music associations. Therefore, the monastic provenance of Falasha prayers can be confirmed by their overwhelming parallelism to Ethiopian Christian liturgy. These elements fully support Falasha testimony that monks of Ethiopian Christian heritage composed their prayers and zēmā.

Demise of the Beta Israel monastic order probably precludes full documentation of the relationship between the monastic office and the extant prayerhouse liturgy. As shown in Chapter 4, the morning and evening prayers derived from Beta Israel monastic practice occur more prominently in contemporary liturgical orders, while day prayers and portions from the midnight hour are evidently omitted. It can only be hypothesized that correspondence between the Falasha office and prayerhouse liturgy derives from a historical relationship similar to the one between the cathedral office and private monastic devotion in the church.[30] The cathedral office was used for public worship and in early centuries acquired a hybrid character from the interaction of public and private monastic devotions. Falasha liturgical use of morning and evening monastic prayers is consistent with what is thought to have been typical of the cathedral office, since morning and evening were the primary times for congregational assembly: “The beginning and end of the day were ideally convenient times at which people might be free to come together for worship, and so practical considerations alone would have encouraged the choice of these hours for corporate celebration.”[31]

Recitation of Psalms 148-150 in the Falasha daily morning ritual also resembles what is known of the cathedral office. Although the practice of reciting these psalms has been commonly attributed to Jewish precedent, recent scholarship suggests that their usage in the church may not derive from a Jewish model:

It has come to be treated as an unquestioned fact that these psalms (148-150) have always formed the nucleus of the morning office in the cathedral tradition and were derived from usage of the synagogue. However, like many other “facts” this rests upon nothing stronger than constant repetition by successive scholars…. The evidence for the use of these psalms in the first-century synagogue liturgy is very flimsy indeed, and claims for their inclusion in the secular morning office in the East in the fourth century rely solely upon supposition. On the other hand, both Cassian and Chrysostom are witnesses to the fact that they formed the conclusion of the monastic night vigil in Syria and Palestine.[32]

Evidence of Ethiopian Christian influence on Falasha religion does not end with liturgical content. The Abu Shāker, a calendrical source transmitted to Falashas by Ethiopian Christians, itself contains Judaic and Christian elements. Most literary works surviving among Falashas are thought to have been obtained from Ethiopian Christian sources, and many are tentatively dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Life cycle traditions – funeral customs, māh̰bar gatherings – are shared with other Ethiopians, as is the zār cult.

Several other Falasha traditions must have been borrowed from the church. The communal meal taken in the Falasha prayerhouse after worship on the Sabbath and holidays is called bread sacrifice. This tradition is similar to the agape shared by early Christians:[33] “The Kaahen blesses the food brought into the Mesgeed, breaks the loaves in two, and takes out a round piece for himself, then helps himself to soup which he eats first of all. The remainder is equally divided between those present, whether rich or poor. This feast is called Makfalt or Jaendshera Maswaot (bread-sacrifice). Beer is afterwards drunk, and as very little moderation is observed, many become intoxicated…. When all are satisfied, if circumstances permit, a portion of the law is read, and the following prayer is offered by the priests and congregation.”[34]

Considerable evidence also suggests observance of a baptismal rite among Falashas. Flad sketched a Falasha masgid with earthen vessels containing ashes of a red heifer and holy water in the holy of holies.[35] The literature contains varied opinions on whether Falasha rituals on the fortieth day after a boy’s birth and the eightieth after a girl’s are equivalent to baptism. Flad’s description certainly suggests a baptismal rite: “The mother bathes herself and her child in the river, puts on clean apparel, and brings a sin-offering… consisting of a pair of doves, which have been snared by her husband…. After the offering the woman and her child receive the priest’s blessing, are sprinkled with holy water, and she is then for the first time permitted to return to her own house and family.”[36] Although this ceremony was traditionally known as Arde’et after the text read on that occasion, it has been reported that Beta Israel immigrants to Israel refer to the occasion as krestennā (baptism) or qeddesāt (sanctification).[37]

In sum, the Falasha liturgical tradition has strong parallels to Ethiopian Christianity, in particular its monastic institutions. These data confirm Falasha oral traditions that explicitly credit a range of liturgical innovations to the influence of Ethiopian Christian monks who joined with them in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In light of this evidence the possible course of Falasha history must be rethought.

A Comparative Perspective

Most writers have speculated that Falasha religion, and by extension liturgy, descends directly from Jewish sources. Yet, virtually all Jewish traditions in Falasha practice, other than those introduced in the last century, are also found in Ethiopian Christianity today or are reliably documented as part of past Ethiopian Christian worship. Circumcision, dietary laws, and Saturday Sabbath observance are known to have been practiced in the church from early dates. If Falasha religious identity and practice stems from a Jewish source, such evidence would be sought in the liturgy.

A survey of Falasha liturgy does not support its attribution to a normative Jewish source.[38] Major Jewish liturgical elements such as the cyclical reading of scriptures are absent, as are any but the most fragmentary resemblances to major statutory prayers.[39] The Falasha qeddus certainly derives from a category of prayers related to the Jewish kedushah, but the text more closely follows the Christian “thrice holy” than it does Jewish models. Although the yetbārak II resembles part of the text and liturgical function of the Jewish kaddish, much of this text is found in the horologion credited to Abba Giyorgis; other renditions of this prayer are embedded in, and may derive from, the beginning of the apocryphal Canticle of the Three Children in the Fire. Also, the qeddus and yetbārak are identified as prayers of the Falasha monastic office.

A portion of the Deut. 6 text that comprises the Jewish shema is found in the Sabbath and Sabbath of Sabbaths rituals. However, the Falasha text is incomplete and does not occur in other rituals. Furthermore, the prayer in which this portion is found has a close and multi-faceted relationship to Ethiopian Christian liturgy.[40]

Yet, although standard Jewish liturgical forms that would certainly have been known to Jews of either South Arabia or Egypt in the early Common Era centuries are absent, the liturgy contains strong statements of belief in one God. The albo bād amlāk (there is no other God) is a closing formula for many prayers. Each Falasha ritual ends with a reaffirmation of belief in one God. The presence of portions like the semā‘ esrā’ēl, although they do not parallel Jewish liturgical forms and function, suggest an explicit concern with Jewish beliefs.

A survey of Christian liturgical forms is more productive. Antiphons drawn from specific Ethiopian Christian sources, as well as intercessions in the name of qeddus (holy) Michael and Abba Salāmā are present.[41] Liturgical portions refer to “heavenly Zion,” which represents the Virgin Mary in Ethiopian Christian symbology.[42] Occasional quotations from or paraphrases of New Testament passages are also present. Falasha and Ethiopian Christian liturgies contain identical scriptural portions for several occasions, and Falasha liturgy contains texts found in the office of Abba Giyorgis. Yet despite heavy dependence on antiphonal forms common to Ethiopian Christian liturgy and canticles not accepted in Jewish canon, creedal portions of Christian liturgy are for the most part absent in Falasha rituals. Although the Falasha liturgy clearly draws on Ethiopian Christian models, the emphasis on monotheistic belief and the absence of Christological affirmation are striking.

It is possible that overt Christian references, and perhaps entire liturgical portions, have been deleted since the first nineteenth-century contacts with western Jews. Gobat reported that Christological elements were present in the early nineteenth century: “They read the Psalms, together with all these repetitions: In the name of the Father, the Son & c., which the Christians have ventured to subjoin to them, as well as the songs of Mary and Simeon, which the same hands have added; but the Oudasse Meriam of Ephraim they reject.”[43] Gobat also mentions the familiarity – and antipathy – of Falashas toward Christ, writing that a Falasha woman spoke “with bitterness against Christ” when giving an account of his birth.[44]

Although Falasha priests may have deleted some Christological references in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it seems likely that the liturgy has existed since the Middle Ages in something close to its present form. The direct parallels to extant Ethiopian Christian ritual after centuries of separation suggest old, common elements in the two traditions. The consistency with which monotheistic belief is affirmed in Falasha liturgy also provides evidence of a strong unifying force. Increasing knowledge of Ethiopian history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries may shed light on possible sources.

Sources of Falasha Liturgy

Chapter 1 sketched some references to ayhud (Jews) in medieval Ethiopian literary sources. A number of Ethiopians in conflict with the church during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were termed ayhud. Among them were the followers of Ēwosṭātēwos, the Stephanites, and heretics in the court of Zar’ā Yā’eqob such as Zamikā’ēl; the disputes concerned issues ranging from the observance of the Saturday Sabbath to the act of prostration.[45] Although some references to ayhud in the Ethiopian chronicles have been interpreted as referring to Falashas directly, such as those discussing rebels in Begemder during the reign of Emperor Amda Ṣeyon,[46] in many cases the connections are tenuous. The name “Falasha” itself appears sometimes to be used ambiguously, as for example, in one passage of the gadl of Abba Ezra, a disciple of Esṭifānos. During a trip to Egypt Abba Ezra encountered Abba Yona, among whose followers “there were Falashas who did not prostrate themselves before Mary or the Cross.”[47] A text from the gadl of Gabra Masih, another disciple of Esṭifānos, contains similar ambiguities.[48]

Ancestors of the Falashas were almost certainly caught in the web of controversies surrounding the Ethiopian church in the fourteenth century. Old religious practices such as Saturday Sabbath observance were threatened by a growing movement to normalize Ethiopian Christianity. The Miracles of St. Mary were translated from Coptic to Ge‘ez during the reign of Dāwit (1382-1411) and officially recognized during Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s reign.[49] Also, Ethiopians were alarmed by the impending end, around 1500 E.C., of the current calendrical cycle (the thirteenth qamar), which was thought to mark the end of the world. A thousand-year reign of either Christ or the Antichrist was thought to follow, and trepidation about the new era was widespread.[50]

All these factors contributed to the proliferation of heresies in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Groups which were officially excommunicated, such as the Ēwosṭātēwosians, set up a “meticulous organization” in complete defiance of the church.[51] The Ēwosṭātēwosians pursued a particularly innovative policy, establishing “rules of their own creation” and making initiates do penance for having belonged to other communities.[52] Given the documented resistance to official church policy by several groups during the period, the climate was ripe for organization of liturgical orders that espoused their views.

A “refutative” literature evidently did result from the religious controversies. For example, Zamikā’ēl is said to have written a dersān (treatise) that served as a horologion for his monastic community.[53] His followers also composed anaphoras: “They established a eucharistic anaphora, too, on their initiative, leaving aside the Anaphora of Our Lord, which was written in the Testament [of our Lord], and the Anaphora of the Apostles, which was written in the Synodicon.”[54] Such a sequence of events could have given rise to the Falasha liturgy, accounting for its similarity with Ethiopian Christian liturgy, as well as its divergencies.[55]

Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s reign apparently marked the culmination of activities of various sectarian movements. Since Falashas date the life of Abba Sabra to his reign, controversies of the mid-fifteenth century merit a closer look. Zar’ā Yā‘eqob brought the Ēwosṭātēwosians back into the church at the Council of Dabra Mitmaq in 1450.[56] However, his subsequent attempts to impose reforms were despotic and spurred reactions, even within his own court. These controversies were known as far away as Cairo, where the patriarch John (1428- 1453) excommunicated rebels who sought to depose the emperor.[57]

These controversies, and the reassertion of a strong stream of Jewish tradition, are reflected in the many polemics against ayhudāwi (the Jews) in the literature stemming from the Zar’ā Yā’eqob period. Documents recently uncovered suggest that pressure on the court during his reign was probably from dissidents within the church itself: “The pressure does not seem to have come from a Falasha territory which was too far from the central administration to be a threat to the religious reform of Emperor Zar’ä Ya’eqob. It may rather be possible to posit that Judaism was reinforced, if not introduced afresh, in Ethiopia by dissidents of the Christian Church.”[58]

One long passage in a work recently identified as Ṭomāra Tesbe’t (Epistle of Humanity), said to have been written by the emperor himself, describes a coup attempt during his rule. Isāyeyyās, who held a high post at court, was joined by several powerful members of his family in an attempt to overthrow Zar’ā Yā’eqob. Discussion against Isāyeyyās is replete with diatribes against ayhud in an effort to intimidate others attracted by the heresy: “But you, Christian, do not listen to the magician but go according to the teaching of this book; the book whose content is drawn from the eighty-one canonical scriptures, deals with the worship of God in a pure heart free of superstition and with a reproach to the magicians who are called Jews and idolators.”[59] The brother-in-law of Isāyeyyās was said to have abandoned his Christianity, denied Christ, and become a Jew. The emperor discovered the plot against him and removed Isāyeyyās from his post. The record concerning subsequent events is somewhat unclear, but it appears that one Zar’ā Abreham, identified by some as the emperor’s son, was rewarded with the office of the demoted Isāyeyyās. However, he is said to have been incriminated in his turn.[60]

A miracle story found in the Maṣḥafa Milād (Book of the Nativity), a manuscript thought to date from Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s reign, provides additional descriptions of heretical activities:

There was a certain country, a country of Christians. Her kings were Christians living together with metropolitans and bishops. Many priests, deacons, and monks lived in that country. Now, there arose a Jew from among the Christian clergy and learned the theology of the Jews. He then taught [it] to a small village and converted the people of that village. God smote that Christian who became a Jew. Since then that village has lived for many years with its people practicing Judaism.

Then a priest, who was also a monk, who had become a Jew in his heart, came to that village. He became at one with them and defiled churches with all filth. He lived blaspheming our Lord Jesus Christ and blaspheming our Lady Mary, too.[61]

The emperor’s army captured this “Jew who was a Christian before” and returned him to the ruler, who cut off his head. The miracle story proceeds to describe the dismembering of the heretic’s body into seven pieces and its cremation.[62] Getatchew Haile hypothesizes that the miracle story was about one of the three “heretics” who were close to the court of Zar’ā Yā’eqob: Zamikā’ēl, Gamāleyēl, and Aṣqa.[63]

It is also possible that the story recounts events that transpired before Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s rule, reviewing the brutal fate that befell heretics in order to discourage contemporary heresies. The description of the second priest or monk is similar to what is known of Qozmos, the “renegade” monk said to have joined the Falashas in the early fifteenth century, copied the Orit for them, and led attacks against churches in the area. Whatever the precise dating of the incidents described in the passage, its relationship to Falasha history is provocative. Getatchew Haile has tentatively suggested that the dabr (mountain) where this village was located resembles descriptions of the Falasha stronghold in the Semien Mountains: “Could it be that the Falasha community started with a small group of converts from Christianity to Judaism? The local sources firmly support such an assumption.”[64]

Ambiguous references to a traitor at court who may have been a son of Zar’ā Yā’eqob support oral traditions that a son of the emperor joined the Falashas.[65] One version of the story of Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk attributes a particularly important role to the latter in religious reforms: “Abba Sabra converted to Judaism Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s son, who then instituted monasteries and compiled prayers for the Falashas.”[66]

More details must await discovery of further sources. The parallels between Falasha oral traditions and information concerning Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s turbulent rule are probably not coincidental. If Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk joined the Falashas sometime in the mid-fifteenth century and revitalized a monastic tradition introduced earlier by Gabra Iyesus and others, Falasha traditions that they “converted” these two monks may be accurate to a certain extent. When an initiate arrived to join an Ēwosṭātēwosians community, he had to undergo a period of penance.[67] A rite of purification survives today among Falashas for those who breach the laws of isolation; Taamrat Emmanual describes monastic initiation according to the same process.[68] The “conversion process” surviving today is penitential:

[The convert] brings a bar of salt to the Falasha priest, and the priest gives him peas which will be his only nourishment for seven days, while his only drink will be water. The priest teaches him the Ten Commandments. On the evening of the seventh day the convert washes his body and clothes, shaves his head, and comes to the synagogue where the priest and older people are gathered. He carries with him seven rods as reminder of the seven days. He lies down flat on his face and the priest strikes him lightly, blesses him, casts the rods on the ground at his feet, and recites various prayers. The newly converted Falasha gets up and then prostrates himself again. The priest brings bread from his home and gives it to the people and the convert.[69]

Several other aspects of Falasha practice appear to date to the fifteenth century. First, the name of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob is found in Falasha prayers in manuscript.[70] Falashas are also aware of terminology associated with the church in the imperial camp (katama). The church where the tābot was kept in the emperor’s camp was called the dabtarā (tabernacle). Those who served there were sometimes called kāhnāta dabtarā daqiqa ṣeyon (the clergy of the tabernacle, the children of Zion).[71] When asked what a dabtarā is, one Falasha priest replied: “It means the place where the Orit is kept, and one who puts the Orit away is called dabtarā,”[72]

Falashas also thought the world would last 8,000 years, reflecting calendrical beliefs widely discussed particularly in the fifteenth century.[73] Zar’ā Yā’eqob went to great lengths to explain “how one of the new lives has to start with the end of 7,000 A.M. and how the reign of Our Lord and his righteous, the m∂saḥ bä- Däbrä Ṣ∂yon or ‘banquet at Mount Zion’ has to last 1,000 years.”[74] Those who refused to accept this teaching risked persecution. Falasha knowledge, and evident acceptance, of millenarianism indicates an awareness of issues that caused great alarm in the fifteenth century.

Literature attributed to Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s court, such as Maṣḥafa Berhān, describes customs similar to those of the Falashas.[75] The Maṣḥafa Berhān condemns those who hold vigils on the Sabbath or observe half a holiday.[76] The Falasha Yasanbat Sanbat vigil and the solemn mountaintop ritual on Seged followed by a feast and entertainment are markedly similar to both condemned practices.

As dissidents (and missionaries of the established church) spread to outlying areas, they evidently made concessions to local traditions in order to combat resistance to their mission, as well as to the linguistic and cultural diversity they encountered:[77] “In attempt to gain many ‘converts’… Church leaders began to make some concessions to the established pagan ways of the local people. At first, this spirit of concession seems to have affected the more external aspects of the liturgy; but over the years it began to trespass into the more substantive tenets of Christian worship and faith.”[78] The localized nature of the monasteries and the fact that the church was headed by an Egyptian bishop made it difficult to counter local variations.[79]

Agau people living in what are today Falasha areas were converted under similar conditions. Agau texts may therefore have entered the Ge‘ez liturgy during a period of liturgical accommodation. Halévy suggested that Agau verses in the Falasha liturgy appear not only to contain translation of the preceding Ge‘ez text but also to be independent liturgical sections.[80] Monks may have included Agau texts in the liturgy to clarify the procedures for congregants (and newly ordained priests) unfamiliar with Ge‘ez. These portions may also have maintained continuity with earlier rituals and lessened the resistance to new liturgical orders.[81]

The tangle of new liturgical orders stemming from the religious controversies of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries will probably never be unraveled. Heretical and sanctioned texts may have merged in the sixteenth century, blurring distinctions between official and dissident versions.[82] The invasion of Imam Ahmad Ibrahim (Grañ) in the sixteenth century devastated numerous Ethiopian churches and monasteries. Afterward, “what survived of the clergy may have come together, either forgetting their differences or unaware of their existence, to put together whatever was left of the literary heritage of the country and to stand together against a new challenge, the theological propaganda of the Portuguese.”[83] Oral traditions concerning Ethiopian Christian musical history support a theory of reformulation of the Christian liturgy after the Islamic invasion. Today, certain monasteries are renowned for specializing in various areas of liturgical chant. For example, monks of the monastery Bēta Lehēm, near Gondar, are celebrated for their expertise in Deggwā and Me’rāf.[84] Each monastery lays claim to expertise by virtue of being the only place a given tradition survived Grañ’s destruction.[85] A recension of the Ethiopian Christian notation system is dated to the sixteenth century,[86] which is supported by oral traditions that credit sixteenth-century dabtarās with “renewing” the notation system of Saint Yārēd.[87] Dance styles are dated relatively late and attributed to individual dabtarās and churches.[88]

Although some scholars have suggested that Judaic beliefs of the Falashas might have enriched church traditions during the Middle Ages, recent research establishes that Jewish beliefs that are today part of Falasha religion were apparently well known in the church before medieval Christian-Falasha interaction. Ethiopian monasticism leaned heavily on the Old Testament from the beginning.[89] It has also become increasingly clear that the medieval “heresies” were not new: “The fact that we have some information about the Stephanite and about a Sabellian and/or Nestorian heresy entertained … at the time of Zar’a Ya’∂qob should not give us the impression that only his period was marked by the presence of dissent from the Orthodox Faith. There is in fact not a single new heresy in the writings of Zar’a Ya’∂qob… that has not been mentioned before his time.”[90] Detailed descriptions of earlier heresies recorded in various sources might have provided inspiration for fifteenth-century figures such as Esṭifānos.[91] Scholars largely concur that the two Sabbaths was a subject of conflict centuries before Zar’ā Yā’eqob.[92]

Summary and Conclusion

The history of the Beta Israel has long been a source of controversy. Yet although “history is no more than a calculation of probabilities” and there is no such thing as “absolute historical truth,”[93] the content of the Beta Israel liturgy suggests a new perspective. The liturgical evidence, especially in light of Beta Israel oral traditions about the genesis of their religious life, persuasively points toward Ethiopian Christian monks, probably those of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as sources of the beliefs, traditions, and rituals that survive among the Beta Israel. At the same time, these materials provide little evidence that the Beta Israel preserve an archaic Jewish tradition obtained directly from an as yet unidentified Jewish source.

There is no doubt that the Beta Israel have maintained a distinctive and unified stream of tradition since at least the fourteenth century. What remains an open question is the nature of their religious tradition before that date. Indigenous documentation before the fourteenth century is sparse and the surviving evidence is ambiguous. On the one hand, the presence of Agau texts in the Beta Israel liturgy suggests that they observed traditions of Agau provenance and worshipped Agau deities before the monastic period; the absence of any oral or written traditions about the nature of Beta Israel belief and worship before the fourteenth century also tends to support this perspective. Conversely, one can point to references to Gabra Iyesus’ mission in the late fourteenth century among “sons of the Jews,”[94] as well as the general Ethiopian tradition that the country accepted Judaism before it adopted Christianity.[95] Thus although the picture from the fourteenth century forward places Beta Israel religion squarely within the framework of a broader Ethiopian Judeo-Christian tradition, events before that time remain elusive.

This study cannot contribute directly to our knowledge of the original source of Jewish elements in Ethiopian religions. It does strongly suggest, however, that it is the as yet unwritten history of early Christianity in Ethiopia that apparently holds the key to understanding religious syncretism in both Beta Israel and Ethiopian Christian traditions. The only firm records of Jews from abroad in the country are relatively late, and these individuals do not seem to have had an effect on either Ethiopian Christianity or Beta Israel religion.[96] The Judaization of Ethiopia is a fact, although the evidence presented in the preceding pages supports the perspective that the Beta Israel were not the agents of Jewish influence in Ethiopia,[97] nor, perhaps, even its direct heirs. Rather, hypotheses concerning activity during the early Christian period in Ethiopia and growing documentation of subsequent heresies are consistent with the liturgical and musical materials investigated here.[98]

It is probable that Jews from nearby regions had contact with Ethiopians and possible that a normative Jewish influence might at some time have reinforced Judaic elements in Ethiopian religious life. However, the absence of documentation even after extensive searches for evidence of these contacts is not encouraging. It remains the task of future scholars to unravel the original source(s) of Jewish elements in Ethiopian customs and liturgies.

Whatever our interpretations of historical sources and Beta Israel exegesis about their religious life and history, we cannot ignore that most important document, the Beta Israel liturgy. The formality and fixity of this liturgical order has ensured its survival and provided an opportunity to glimpse a rare, perhaps unique, outgrowth of the interaction of Jewish and Christian orbits. Much of Beta Israel ritual is no longer understood by the priests who transmit and perform it, and little is accessible to the Beta Israel congregants. Yet it has survived. No wonder the perspective it provides does not coincide with contemporary Beta Israel self-image: The ritual process is isolated from normal communication – liturgy is transmitted intact, without adapting to the reality of a given social situation. In the deepest sense rituals are documents of times past and ideas that may no longer hold a place in the world of those who transmit them. Rituals are a “misstatement of reality.”[99]

Beta Israel ritual will not survive much longer in the new world of the people who have transmitted it for centuries. We can rejoice with the Beta Israel as they embrace a Jewish identity after preserving the spirit of that commitment for centuries. We can also mourn the passing of a proud tradition, one that preserves a combination of beliefs for which there is no room in normative Jewish or Christian religious life. In seeking to understand who the Beta Israel were, it is to the music and texts of their prayers we must go first, and last. It is difficult to dispute what we find, since one cannot argue with a song.[100]

Notes

1. Rappaport, “Obvious Aspects of Ritual,” p. 175.

2. See the “Dagwood sandwich” model suggested by Mary Catherine Bateson, “Ritualization: A Study in Texture and Texture Change,” in Irving I. Zaretsky and Mark P. Leone, eds. Religious Movements in Contemporary America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974), p. 152.

3. Although the melody category (qwāmi zēmā) does not change at verse 100, the melodic contour does. At verse 139 there is a similar coincidence of boundary markers, there delineating the end of the sung, antiphonal materials. Unison chanting and spoken portions follow.

4. Maurice Bloch, “Symbols, Song, Dance, and Features of Articulation,”Archive of European Sociology 15 (1974): 56-57.

5. See Shelemay, “Quarter-Century.”

6. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xii. Where Leslau’s observations differed from earlier ones, he suggests that Falasha customs had fallen into “disuse.” Although many Falashas abandoned tradition to convert to Christianity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there is no evidence of change other than the Jewish customs Faitlovitch introduced. Berhan Baruk remembers (28 July 1980) that when Faitlovitch arrived, Falashas at first refused to let him see their manuscripts. Whether he was later allowed to change the prayers remains an open question. See Abbink, “The Falashas in Ethiopia and Israel,” p. 246.

7. Hess, “Toward a History,” p. 121.

8. This hiatus lasted twenty years, according to Leslau, “Religious Dispute,” pp. 80-81. Quirin’s informant reported that “our religion was lost for forty years,” (“Beta Israel,” pp. 219-20).

9. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 222.

10. Berhan Baruk, 20 July 1980.

11. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 222.

12. Ibid., pp. 223-24.

13. Falasha converts demanded that monks stop offering sacrifices unless they could prove the Old Testament ordained it (ibid.).

14. Ibid., p. 224.

15. Leslau, “Religious Dispute,” p. 83. The hearing was evidently held before Tēwodros.

16. See Chapter 1 at note 51.

17. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” pp. 178-79.

18. Ibid., p. 68.

19. Ibid., p. 82, n. 32.

20. Most traditions simply refer to Abba Sabra’s alliance with the son of Zar’ā Yā‘eqob, thereby dating his life to the mid-fifteenth century. Only one priest said that “Salāmā Sabra” came to the Semien Mountains earlier, during the reign of Emperor Yisḥaq (1413-30), because of persecution. Later Ṣaggā Amlāk escaped from his father, Zar’ā Yā’eqob, and sought refuge in the Falasha area of Seqelt (Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980).

James Quirin has suggested that Falasha oral traditions concerning Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk may be historically valid. “A Fifteenth Century Ethiopian Religious Conflict: Oral and Written Versions,” a paper presented to the Symposium on Oral Sources in Third World Studies, University of Santa Clara, 22 May 1982.

21. Leslau, Coutumes et croyances, p. 62. A Falasha manuscript in the Faitlovitch collection is attributed to Abba Sabra, but it is an anthology of lectures and prayers without biographical materials (Wurmbrand, “Fragments,” pp. 83-89). According to the unpublished catalogue of the Faitlovitch collection, manuscript 3119 contains a horologion credited to Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk. The same prayers are interspersed with portions of Te’ezāza Sanbat in manuscript 3123.

22. Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 625.

23. Ibid., pp. 625, n. 9, 631.

24. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 62.

25. Ibid., p. 85, n. 52. When asked about Falasha religious life before Abba Sabra, one priest replied: “Before, there were people who came after the destruction of the Temple. They came from Egypt. Abba Sabra renewed it. Before him all was unclear…. The prior king banished the practice of religion, but the people brought books with them from Egypt. When they came through Egypt, they were persecuted by Pharoah and downtrodden” (Wubshet Atagab, 17 July 1980). This oral tradition is of interest since it resembles the events surrounding the exile of Ēwosṭātēwos, albeit displaced to the time of the biblical Exodus. Ēwosṭātēwos did travel through Egypt, where he was accused at the patriarch’s court of refusing to communicate with his fellow Ethiopians and was persecuted. Followers of Ēwosṭātēwos are credited with spurring a literary revival with books acquired abroad during their exile (Taddesse, Church and State, p. 207). This oral tradition may also reflect those concerning the arrival of the Nine Saints to Ethiopia. See Chapter 3, n. 19.

26. Berhan Baruk, 29 July 1980.

27. Budge, Queen of Sheba, p. 62.

28. Ibid., pp. 38, 58-61, 77.

29. Quirin, “Beta Israel,” p. 68.

30. W. Jardin Grisbrooke, “The Formative Period – Cathedral and Monastic Offices,” in Cheslyn Jones, et al., eds. The Study of Liturgy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978), pp. 358-68. See Bradshaw, Daily Prayer, pp. 72-92, for a recent attempt to unravel this complicated issue. I thank Frank Harrison for suggesting I investigate the cathedral office.

31. Bradshaw, Daily Prayer, p. 73.

32. Ibid., p. 109. These psalms may not be the oldest part of the Jewish morning ritual either. See Leon J. Liebreich, “The Pesuke De-Zimra Benedictions,” Jewish Quarterly Review 41 (1950-51): 195-206, and “The Compilation of the Pesuke De-Zimra,” American Academy for Jewish Research, Proceedings 18 (1948-49): 259, 265-67.

33. D’Abbadie suggested in his journal that Falashas borrowed communion from the Christians but do not use the wine (Aešcoly, “Notices,” pp. 96-97, 105). The Falasha communal meal taken on the Sabbath in the masgid resembles the agape of the Therapeutae or Essenes (Conti Rossini, “Appunti,” p. 604).

34. Flad, Falashas, p. 45. Flad describes the prayer as a litany beginning “Forgive us, for all men are sinners; forgive us.”

35. Ibid. See Figure 1.

36. Ibid., pp. 27-28.

37. Abbink, “The Falashas in Ethiopia and Israel,” pp. 216-217.

38. Since Falasha worship appears to sustain and reflect tenets of early asceticism, some writers have suggested a relationship between the Falashas and the Essenes. “The Falasha belief in the coming Messiah, their eschatology, their vision of the Day of Judgment, their faith in reward and punishment, and the resurrection of the body – as well as their theology which is full of angelology and demonology and their asceticism, combined with their preoccupation with post-biblical works such as the Book of Enoch and Jubilees… justifies the categorization of their religion as ‘Essenic’ Judaism, rather than biblical Judaism, as many scholars have heretofore assumed.” Ephraim Isaac, “The Falasha: Black Jews of Ethiopia,” in Dillard University Scholar Statesman Lecture Series (1974), p. 8. Similarities between a verse in Aešcoly’s Recueil and lines from a hymn found in Qumran sources likewise have been used to link Falashas with Dead Sea sects by Rabbi Y. N. ibn Aharon Fortner (“Most Ancient Falashas,” p. 18). However, the presence of Qumran texts in Ethiopian Christian literature, the known conduit of Ge‘ez literature to the Falashas, appears to obviate a direct Falasha-Essene connection.

39. See Shelemay, “Jewish Liturgical Forms in the Falasha Liturgy?” for a fuller discussion. Aešcoly also implies that Falashas did not use Jewish liturgical models: “From the point of view of literary composition, Falasha prayer has in common with synagogal prayer the benediction formula at the beginning of prayers; but the benediction formula by which Jewish prayers are terminated, only important from the ritual point of view, is missing.” Recueil, p. 40 (my translation, Aešcoly’s emphasis).

40. See Chapter 4, notes 81-84.

41. The name of Abba Salāmā, found in the Friday morning ritual, probably refers either to Frumentius, the founder of Ethiopian Christianity, or to Salāmā II, the fourteenth-century Ethiopian patriarch who was famous for his literary output. On the former see EMML 1763 (21), Getatchew, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 5: 221; on the latter, EMML 1765 (139a, 169b), ibid., p. 233.

42. A notable example is found in the Friday morning ritual following a rendition of the Song of Moses. “Ṣiyon, a term figuratively applied to St. Mary, is also used in reference to the kingdom as a symbol of the special identity of Christian Ethiopia, surrounded by a hostile Muslim and pagan world in north-east Africa. It is used in much the same way as the biblical concept of Mount Zion, from which it is derived, and constitutes an integral part of the legend of the queen of Sheba.” Taddesse, Church and State, p. 249. Also see EMML 2044 (12), Getatchew, Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 6: 32.

43. Gobat, Journal, p. 468. The Weddāsē Māryām is a collection of hymns and laudations dedicated to the Virgin Mary, translated into Ge‘ez from Arabic (Cerulli, Miracoli de Maria, pp. 295-97). Parallels between the Falasha text na’ā h̰abēya (App. 1-15B) and the Mazmura Dengel (Psalter of the Virgin) were discussed in Chapter 4 at note 95.

44. Gobat, Journal, pp. 467, 330.

45. An early study of references to the different heretical movements in Maṣḥāfa Berhān is Augustus Dillman, Über die Regierung, insbesondere die Kirschenordnung des Königs Zar’a-Jacob (Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1884). For a summary of sources for and issues raised by the fifteenth-century Stephanite controversy see Cerulli, Miracoli di Maria, pp. 94-106; Taddesse, “Stephanite Heresy”; and Getatchew, “Cause of the ∃sṭifanosites.” Documents concerning Zamikā’ēl and his disciples are found in Cerulli, Miracoli di Maria, pp. 107-21.

46. See Chapter 1, note 24.

47. André Caquot, “Les actes d’Ezrā de Gunda-Gundē,” Annales d’Ethiopie 4 (1961): 97 (77r).

48. “Gadla Gabra Masih,” vols. 11-12, Fonds Conti Rossini 8. I thank Steven Kaplan for bringing this passage to my attention. Kaplan suggests this may be the first Ge‘ez identification of Falasha with ayhud. See “The Falasha and the Stephanite: an episode from Gädla Gäbrä Mäsih,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 48, Pt. 2 (1985): 278- 282. For further discussion of the term ayhud, also see Kaplan, “On the Ethiopian Judeo-Christian Context of the History of the Beta Israel,” Pe’amim 22 (1985): 19.

49. See Chapter 5, note 46.

50. Getatchew, “Some Dates,” p. 313-14.

51. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 212-13.

52. Ibid., p. 227.

53. Dillmann, Über die Regierung, p. 42; and Getatchew Haile, “Religious Controversies and the Growth of Ethiopic Literature in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” Oriens Christianus, 4th ser. 65 (1981): 128.

54. Getatchew, “Ethiopic Literature,” p. 128, quoting Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān.

55. It might be possible to study the different heresies current in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and draw up a list of theses or formulas by which particular works could be measured (Getatchew, “Ethiopic Literature,” p. 129, n. 94). Such a procedure might help define the relationship of the Falasha liturgy to heretical movements of that era. The process would be quite complicated since we have no copies of the liturgies by Zamikā’ēl and his followers. However, similarities between expressions attributed to Zamikā’ēl and portions of the established church’s liturgy, especially the Anaphora of John Son of Thunder, suggests that heretical writings may have been reabsorbed into the mainstream Ethiopian Christian liturgy (ibid., pp. 122-25).

56. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 229-30.

57. Ibid., pp. 240-42.

58. Getatchew Haile, “The End of a Deserter of the Established Church of Ethiopia,” a paper prepared for the Sixth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Tel Aviv, 1978, p. 3.

59. Getatchew, “Ṭomarä T∂sb∂’t,” p. 218. Equating a magician with a Jew and idolator derives from passages in the Sinodos and Didesqeleya (ibid., p. 213, n. 39).

60. Ibid., p. 223.

61. Getatchew, “End of a Deserter,” p. 13.

62. Ibid., p. 15.

63. Ibid., p. 4.

64. Ibid.

65. Quirin also makes this point. See note 20 above.

66. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxv.

67. Taddesse, Church and State, p. 212.

68. Leslau, “Taamarat Emmanuel’s Notes,” pp. 630-631.

69. Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. xxxvi.

70. Ibid., p. 183, n. 31. The names of Abba Sabra and Ṣaggā Amlāk are also found in prayers. See Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 200.

71. Getatchew, “Two Homilies,” p. 88, n. 18.

72. Wubshet Atagab, August 1975. In Falasha tradition the entire Orit is the tābot.

73. Luzzatto, “Mémoire” 13: 216.

74. Getatchew, “Some Dates,” p. 314.

75. Most scholars identify the Maṣḥafa Berhān as a work composed at the court of Zar’ā Yā’eqob. See Dillmann, Über die Regierung, and Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān. Ephraim suggests in his recent text-critical introduction that the manuscript is a composite work based on a pre-fifteenth-century homiletic of a Sabbath-venerating community revised during Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s reign (Introduction to Maṣḥafa Berhān, pp. 27, 52).

76. Conti Rossini, Maṣḥafa Berhān, Book 1, pp. 59-60. A vigil beginning after the evening office on Friday was known in fourth-century Jerusalem, as well as in Palestinian monasticism. It may be based on one observed the Friday evening before Lent (Bradshaw, Daily Prayer, pp. 88-89).

77. Taddesse, “Pagan Resistance,” p. 145.

78. Ibid., pp. 146-47.

79. Ibid.

80. Halévy, “Essai,” p. 163.

81. “The desperate attempt of the Ethiopian Church to accommodate its pagan environment left a legacy of complete religious confusion in the fifteenth century, and even the militancy of Emperor Zar’ā Yā’eqob (1434-1468) could never turn the tide. The majority of the priesthood never underwent a rigorous system of theological training. Capable of only a parrot-like repetition of biblical and liturgical formulae, the clergy could hardly provide sufficient guidance to the people in extricating themselves from the Kushitic religious milieu” (Taddesse, “Pagan Resistance,” pp. 147-48).

82. Getatchew, “Ethiopic Literature,” p. 134.

83. Ibid., p. 133.

84. Velat, “Dabtara éthiopiens,” p. 27. Berhanu Makonnen also attributed (17 June 1975) different vocal styles to Bēta Lehēm and two monasteries in Wollo Province.

85. Velat, “Dabtara éthiopiens,” p. 27.

86. Dillman, Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae, p. 1130.

87. Berhanu Makonnen, 2 June 1975.

88. Ethiopia, Ministry of Information, Music, Dance, and Drama in Ethiopia, p. 40.

89. Taddesse, Church and State, pp. 218-19.

90. Getatchew, “Two Homilies,” pp. 100-103.

91. Ibid., p. 102.

92. Hammerschmidt, Des Sabbats in Äthiopien, pp. 71-72; and Getatchew, “Letter,” p. 73; Getatchew, “Two Homilies,” p. 103.

93. Vansina, Oral Tradition, p. 185.

94. See Chapter 1, note 30.

95. Ullendorff, Ethiopia and the Bible, pp. 31-32.

96. The earliest, dated to the period of the Zagwe kings in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, records that a Jew named Joseph came from Aden to Amhara; however, his descendants became Christians. See Taddesse, “Abbots of Däbrä-Hayq,” pp. 113-14. A Jew named Abraham visited Emperor Susneyos in the third year of his reign. Leslau, “Religious Dispute,” p. 79. Leslau suggests he is probably the same person called Solomon of Vienna who had a religious dispute with a Portuguese Jesuit who lived in Ethiopia during Susneyos’ reign. There is no other information about his activity. Falashas who were interviewed did not mention either one.

97. See Chapter 1, note 16.

98. Recent research by Getatchew Haile in this area is particularly provocative. Texts recently edited and translated indicate that Emperor Gabra Masqal, usually dated to the sixth century, may have reigned as late as 884 E. C. (Getatchew, “Some Dates,” p. 319). Ethiopian tradition memorializes Gabra Masqal as the founder of coronation rites and builder of churches; Saint Yārēd supposedly made liturgical and musical innovations during his reign (ibid.). Getatchew writes that the people who later came to be known as Falashas may have gained an independent identity during this period: “It may also be during this period… that the monotheists or the judaized Christians left Aksum and migrated to S∂men, resisting Gabra Masqal’s revision of their “Christianity.” At that time, the religious leader of these monotheists might have been a certain Gedewon (Gideon). Yared was his student and the Falasha leaders used to call themselves Gedewon” (ibid.). Getatchew supports his theory of the “Gedewonites” by the tradition that one of the twelve “kings” who ruled with the legendary Menelik, Gedewon, controlled a large dominion including “Dambiya and the entire Begemder” (André Caquot, “Titre et fonctions des grands officiers venue de Jerusalem avec Menilik,” Annales d’Ethiopie 2 (1957): 191.

Getatchew further questions if the tribal name Beta Israel may relate to an older brother of Gabra Masqal known by that name: “The split of Aksum into the old and reformed religions might have been led by two political leaders contending for the throne…. The other name of Gabra Masqal is Constantine (Qwasṭānṭinos), the name of the Roman Emperor who is famous in local tradition for his role in the Council of the Three Hundred Orthodox Fathers of Nicea. The question should also be raised at this point why Yared, too, the student of Gedewon, left Aksum to go to S∂men. Did he join the Gedewonites or the Falashas?” (Getatchew, “Some Dates,” p. 320).

The Falashas are familiar with Yārēd but deny his role in their musical tradition and instead attribute their zēmā to Abba Sabra. However, Taamrat Emmanuel recorded a tradition about an ice-covered place in the Semien Mountains near Debel, called Abba Rid, where “the half-naked faithful adore and pray” (Leslau, “Taamrat Emmanuel’s Notes,” p. 637). Leslau also notes that Taamrat attempted to identify Abba Rid with Abba Yārēd but his comments were not clear (ibid., n. 70). Finally, a local tradition may also support a theory that Falashas descended from defectors of the Aksumite church during the rule of Gabra Masqal: “The note on their history, Bä-zaya t’äleläyä Fälaš, ‘At this point the Falasha were separated,’ may be a reference to the history of the refusal of a part of the Aksumites to accept Gabra Masqal’s type of Christianity….” (Getatchew, “Some Dates,”, pp. 319-320, quoting in part from Joseph Varenbergh, “Studien zur abessinischen Reichsordnung (Šer’ata Mangešt)”Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 30 (1915-1916): 11).

99. Bloch, “Symbols, Song, Dance,” p. 71.

100. Ibid.

Map of Ethiopia

Appendix 1

Prayers of the Beta Israel Liturgy

Key to Transliteration of Ge‘ez Texts

The following transliteration system is used:

ሀ = h

ሰ = s

ጸ = ṣ

አ = ‘a

ኀ = h̰

ሠ = ś

ፀ = ẓ

ዐ = ‘a

ሐ = ḥ

ሸ = sh

ጠ = ṭ

Only ዐ (’a) is indicated at the beginning of a word. The seven Ge‘ez vowels are rendered as follows:

በ = ba

ቢ = bi

ቤ = bē

ቦ = bo

ቡ = bu

ባ = bā

ብ = b or be

Although words are spelled according to the orthography in Augustus Dillmann’s Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae,1 transliteration is complicated by inconsistent pronunciation of final syllables. Texts are transliterated according to standard pronunciation, except for underlay within musical transcriptions, which follows sung pronunciation. The phrase and verse divisions within texts and translations follow those of sung performance.

Falasha syntax sometimes deviates from standard usage.2 Here, irregularities clearly audible are allowed to stand. Texts incomprehensible because of group performance or background noise are marked ‘?’. Words in an Agau dialect are marked ‘?A’. The name of God, egzi’abḥēr, is abbreviated ‘eg’”. Popular spellings are used for contemporary place, personal, and tribal names.

Although prominent quotations or paraphrases from Ge‘ez scriptures and literary sources are provided in footnotes, these references are not exhaustive. When possible, psalm verses are numbered according to the English translation in the Jerusalem Bible.

1. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1970 (reproduction of 1865 edition).

2. See Aešcoly’s discussion of this issue, Recueil de textes falachas, (Paris: Institut D’Ethnologie, 1951.)

Key to Symbols used in Musical Transcriptions

The vocal parts are transcribed in treble clef with ‘returning tone’ on ‘A’ to ensure a minimum of accidentals and to facilitate comparison; the original starting pitch is indicated in parentheses at the beginning of each example.

❜

phrase ending

heterophony

indefinite pitch, approximately where stem ends

slide

unpitched percussion, strong beat

♩

unpitched percussion, weak beat

↑

approximately quarter-tone higher than written

↓

approximately quarter-tone lower than written

→

acceleration

←

deceleration

C

chorus

S

solo

wide vibrato

~

microtonal ornament

actual starting pitch

Table of Contents

1-1

emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (From the rising of the sun)

1-1A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-1B

berhān śaraqa morning

1-2

ne’u nesged (Come let us worship)

1-2A

sanbat morning

1-3

maḥaranna (Have mercy upon us)

1-3A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-3B

sanbat eve

1-3C

sanbat morning

1-4

qeddus (Holy)

1-4A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-4B

sanbat eve

1-5

mahāri (O merciful one)

1-5A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-5B

Berhan Baruk, 7/24/80

1-6

yetbārak (Blessed)

1-6A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-6B

sanbat and yasanbat sanbat eve

1-6C

astasreyo day

1-6D

berhān śaraqa morning

1-6E

sanbat morning

1-6F

seged

1-7

basalāmeka (In your peace)

1-7A

Berhan Baruk, 8/5/80

1-8

wabezuh̰a (And abundant)

1-8A

Berhan Baruk, 7/29/80

1-9

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt (All the angels proclaimed)

1-9A

Gete Asrass, 12/5/73

1-9B

ba‘āla maṣallat morning

1-10

egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku (Lord, I cried out)

1-10A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-10B

sanbat morning

1-10C

berhān śaraqa morning

1-10D

ba‘āla maṣallat eve

1-11

(hāllēluyā) genayu la’eg” (Give thanks to the Lord)

1-11A

sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-11B

daily morning

1-11C

ba‘āla maṣallat morning

1-11D

holiday morning, Tigray Province

1-12

Daily prayers

1-12A

adonāy (Lord) Sunday morning, Wubshet Atagab, 8/75

1-12B

egzi’o merḥanni (Lord, guide me) Sunday morning, Berhan Baruk, 12/2/73

1-13

Sabbath and Sabbath of Sabbath prayers

1-13A/B

bārek sanbateya (Bless my Sabbath)

1-13C

waradat sanbat (Sabbath descended)

1-13D

watebēlo sanbat (And Sabbath said to him)

1-13E

amlākiya (My God)

1-13F/G

albo zayā’ammer/neguś anta (No one knows/You are King)

1-13H/I

hāllēluyā, tā’akkweto nafseya (Hallelujah, praise… my soul)

1-13J

wayebēsemā‘ esrā’ēl (And he said, hear Israel)

1-14

Lunar holiday prayers

1-14A

‘eqabu warh̰a nisān (Observe the month of Nisan), nisān č̣araqā ba‘āl, Makonnen Teku, 11/26/73

1-14B

qatāli (The killer), arfe asert, Berhan Baruk, 7/29/80

1-15

Annual holiday and fast prayers

1-15A

berhān śaraqa laṣādqān (Light appeared to the righteous), berhān śaraqa morning

1-15B

na’ā h̰abēya (Come to me), berhān śaraqa

1-15C

hērzigā (?), astasreyo eve

1-15D

iyyarusālēm (Jerusalem), astasreyo, Berhan Baruk, 12/2/73

1-15E

wa’a’ewāfa sāmāy (And birds of the sky), fāsikā, Gete Asrass, Adana Takuyo, 12/5/73

1-16

Ethiopian Christian prayers

1-16A

sebḥata eg” (Praise of the Lord), Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

1-16B

yetbārak (Blessed), Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

1-16C

qeddus (Holy), Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

1-1A emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (From the rising of the sun) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

emmeśrāqa Ẕaḥāy wa’eskana ‘ārab yet’akwat semu^1

From the rising of the sun to its setting, his name is praised.

wawesta ẓaḥāy śēma ṣelāloto

And within the sun he has set his tent,

wawe’etussa kama mar’āwi zayewaẓẓe emṣerḥu^2

And he is like the bridegroom coming out of his chamber.

1. Ps. 112 (113): 3 and Ps. 49 (50): 1; Joseph Halévy, Prières des Falashas (Paris: Joseph Baer & Cie, 1877), p. 6; A. Z. Aešcoly, Recueil de textes falachas, Travaux et mémoires de l’Institut d’ethnologie, no. 60 (Paris: 1951), p. 220; and Bernard Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, Patrologia Orientalis, vol. 32 (Paris: Firmin-Didot & Cie, 1966), no. 128, no. 422.

2. cf. Ps. 18 (19): 4-5.

1-1B emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy (From the rising of the sun) berhān śaraqa morning

sem’ānni watra bagizē ṣawwā’kuka

Hear me always when I call to you.

anta ḥawweṣ emsamāy emenna dellew māh̰edareka westa ṣerḥa maqdaseka

Visit from heaven, from your prepared dwelling place within your holy temple.

egzi’o awśe’anni baṣedqeka taśāhalanni

Lord, answer me in your righteousness, be compassionate to me. amlāka amālekt eg” nababa wasawwe’ā lamedr^1

God of gods, the Lord has spoken and called the earth.

berhān śaraqa laṣādqān baberhānomu laqeddusān

Light appeared to the righteous in the light of the holy ones.

śaraqa berhān bawesta ṣelmat ‘abiyy berhān ‘erufān feśśuḥān bamangeśta samāyāt

Light appeared within the darkness, great light to the rested and joyous in the kingdom of heaven.

neguśa ṣādqān eska la’ālam^2

King of the righteous forever,

emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy wa’eskana ‘ārab wa’emṣeyon śena sebḥatihu^3

From the rising of the sun to its setting, and from Zion the beauty of his praise,

egzi’abḥēresse gahāda yemaṣṣe’4

The Lord comes openly.

1. Ps. 49 (50): 1-2.

2. Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 220, partial.

3. Ps. 49 (50): 2; Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 220.

4. Ps. 49 (50): 3.

1-2A ne’u nesged (Come let us worship) sanbat morning

ne‘u nesged wanegnay lottu labāḥetitu^1

Come let us worship him and submit to him alone.

ne’u nesged neṣalli nezammer wanebārek la’abiyy lafaṭārē samāy wamedr

Come let us worship, pray, sing, and bless the great one, the creator of heaven and earth.

watāqaddem sagida lasebḥata le’ul

And you must worship first to the glory of the highest.

astafśśeḥanna egzi’o babēteka iyyarusālēm qeddest

Make us happy, Lord, in your house, the holy Jerusalem,

wanesged westa ṣerḥa maqdaseka

And let us worship in your holy temple,

wanegnay wanesged baburākē lebbeya

And let us submit and let us worship by the blessing of my heart.

segedu la’eg” ba’aṣada bēta maqdasu^2

Worship the Lord, in the compound of his Temple.

esagged wa’eganni labāḥetiteka enza ese’el meḥrata zi‘aka^3

I worship and submit to you alone, asking for your mercy.

gerumān malā’ekt yesarreru bate’ezāza qālu la’eg”

The awesome angels fly by the command of the word of God.

kwellu feṭrat yesaggedu wayeganneyu laka amān amān

All creation worships and submits to you, truly, truly.

tala’āla la’amlāka samāy wamedr

The God of heaven and earth is exulted.

sagada ṣallaya ganaya dāne’ēl gabreka la’abiyy faṭārē samāy wamedr

Your servant Daniel worshipped, prayed, submitted, to the great one, the creator of heaven and earth.

qāla eg”qāl neṣuḥ^4

The word of the Lord is a pure word.

qāla eg” kama berur ṣeruy^5

The word of the Lord is like pure silver.

qāla eg”yāṣanne’omu lah̰āyyālāt

The word of the Lord strengthens the strong ones.

eg” astadālawa manbaro basamāyāt^6

The Lord prepared his throne in heaven,

wasebḥateni manbareka zamale’elta ‘aryām māh̰edareka

And your throne is glory, above the highest heaven is your dwelling place.

yenabber eg” wayenaggeś la’ālama ‘ālam mekra ḥaddisa

The Lord will live and rule forever, a new advice.

eg” yebārrekomu laḥezbu basalām

The Lord blesses his people in peace.

bakwellu gizē gizē’iyyemēnnen eg” qāla ṣalotya

At all times, the Lord will not neglect the word of my prayer.

maḥarromu egzi’o bakwellu gizē gizē yet’ayyan mal’aka eg”7

Oh Lord, be merciful to them at all times, the angel of the Lord encamps around.

bakwellu gizē gizē itensetanni emqedma gaṣṣeka^8

At all times, destroy me not in front of your face.

maḥaranni lita lita ? ? ?

Have mercy upon me, upon me ? ? ?

Incomprehensible verse

albo bā‘d amlāk ? ? ?

There is no other God ? ? ?

sem’anni egzi’o ṣaloteya 9 ba’elata ṣawwā’kuka feṭuna sem’anni^10

Hear Lord, my prayer, on the day I call you, hear me quickly.

Agau verses

1. cf. Ps. 94 (95): 6.

2. cf. Ps. 95 (96): 9.

3. cf. Prayer of Manasseh: 14.

4. Ps. 11 (12): 7.

5. cf. Ps. 11 (12): 8.

6. Ps. 102 (103): 19.

7. cf. Ps. 33 (34): 7.

8. cf. Ps. 96 (97): 5.

9. Ps. 101 (102): 1.

10. cf. Ps. 101 (102): 3.

1-3A maḥaranna (Have mercy upon us) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

aḥadu semu qeddus aḥadu semu qeddus qeddus qeddus eg”

His one name is holy, his one name is holy, holy, holy Lord.

kebur kebur eg” maḥaranna maḥaranna egzi’o eg” maḥaranna

Honored, honored Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us.

amlāka abrehām maḥaranna amlāka yesḥaq maḥaranna amlāka yā’eqob, maḥaranna

God of Abraham, have mercy upon us, God of Isaac, have mercy upon us, God of Jacob, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy maḥaranna^1

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy emkwellu h̰aṭi’atena maḥaranna

Forgive us, Adonay, from all our sins, forgive us.

maḥaranna emkwellu abasā wagēgāyena maḥaranna

Forgive us for all our mistakes and transgressions, forgive us.

maḥaranna adonāy mesla abuna wa’emenna maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, with our father and mother, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy mesla mamhera śegāna wanafsena maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, with the teacher of our body and soul, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy ba’enta sanbateka maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, for the sake of your Sabbath, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy ba’enta ba‘ālātika

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, for the sake of your holidays, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy ba’enta oriteka

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, for the sake of your Orit.

maḥaranna adonāy ba’enta ḥegga amlekoteka maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, for the sake of the law of your worship, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy egzi’o basemeka adh̰enanna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, Lord, by your name save us.

maḥaranna adonāy adonāy baqāleka maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, Adonay, by your word, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy maḥaranna basalām zawatr maḥaranna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, have mercy upon us in eternal peace, have mercy upon us.

maḥaranna adonāy maḥaranna bemeḥrat bezuh̰ hawweṣanna

Have mercy upon us, Adonay, have mercy upon us, in abundant mercy visit us.

1. For this and subsequent eight verses, see Joseph Halévy, “Nouvelles Prières des Falachas,” Revue sémitique 19 (1911): p. 216. The manuscript version is in first person.

1-3B adonāy (Adonay)/ maḥaranna (Have mercy upon us) sanbat eve

adonāy ṭeqqa h̰ēr anta hāllēluyā ṭeqqa h̰ēr semeka amēn hāllēluyā

Adonay, truly you are kind, hallelujah, truly your name is kind, amen, hallelujah.

[Two verses in Agau]

adonāy manbaru ba’esāt kellul waqetur^1 hāllēluyā wamanṭolā’etu zaberhānāt qedma gaṣṣu lale’ul amēn hāllēluyā

Adonay, his throne is compassed and enclosed by fire, hallelujah, and his curtain of lights is in front of the face of the most high, amen, hallelujah.

adonāy qeddus yet’akwat semeka waye’ezēni yetia’āl zekreka hāllēluyā

Adonay, holy, may your name be praised and now may your memory be exalted, hallelujah.

adonāy abuyani basamāy maḥarro hālleluyā

Adonay upon my father in heaven have mercy, hallelujah.

adonāy emmeya basamāy maḥarrā hāllēluyā

Adonay, upon my mother in heaven have mercy, hallelujah.

adonāy mamhereyani basamāy maḥarro

Adonay, also have mercy upon my teacher in heaven.

adonāy abasāna maḥaranna abasāna maḥaranna

Adonay, forgive us for our iniquities, forgive us for our transgressions.

adonāy maḥāri lakwellu hāllē lakwellu ‘ālam

Adonay, merciful one to all, halle, to the whole world.

adonāy ba’enta sanbateka maḥaranna ba’enta ba’alātika kebur maḥaranna

Adonay, for the sake of your Sabbath, have mercy upon us, for the sake of your honorable holidays, have mercy upon us.

adonāy ba’enta oriteka maḥaranna ba’enta ḥegga amlekoteka maḥaranna

Adonay, for the sake of your Orit have mercy upon us, and for the sake of the law of your worship, have mercy upon us.

adonāy egzi’o basemeka maḥaranna adonāy baqāleka maḥaranna

Adonay, Lord, by your name have mercy upon us, Adonay, by your word, have mercy upon us.

adonāy basalām zawatr maḥaranna bameḥrat bezuh̰ maḥaranna

Adonay, in eternal peace have mercy upon us and in abundant mercy, have mercy upon us.

adonāy maḥāri sādeq maḥaranna maḥāri yawwāh maḥaranna

Adonay, O merciful and righteous one, have mercy upon us, O merciful and meek one, have mercy upon us.

adonāy mangeśtu za’iyyessa’ar wah̰āylu za’iyyedakkem

Adonay, his kingdom does not perish and his power does not weaken.

1. Maṣḥafa Qeddāsē (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam, 1942 E. C. (1950), p. 254. (Marcos Daoud, trans., The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam, 1946 E. C. [1954]), p. 127, paragraph 54: “His throne is encompassed by fire…. “)

1-3C maḥaranna (Have mercy upon us) sanbat morning

[maḥaranna egzi’o neḥna agbertika]

[Have mercy upon us, Lord, we are your servants.]

adeh̰nanna ar’eyanna ?A anta neguś za’enbala masfart

Save us and show us ?A you are King without limit,

waza’enbala ṭent ?A maḥaranna maḥaranna

And without beginning ?A have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

egzi’o eg “maḥaranna

Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us.

amlāka abawina maḥaranna

God of our fathers, have mercy upon us.

amlāka abrehām maḥaranna

God of Abraham, have mercy upon us.

amlāka yesḥaq maḥaranna

God of Isaac, have mercy upon us.

amlāka yā’eqob maḥaranna

God of Jacob, have mercy upon us.

amlāka muse wa’aron maḥaranna

God of Moses and Aaron, have mercy upon us.

neguśa esrā’ēl maḥaranna

King of Israel, have mercy upon us.

egzi’o eg” maḥaranna

Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us.

taśahāllo la’abuya maḥaranna

Be compassionate to my father, have mercy upon us.

amlāka abaweya maḥaranna

God of my fathers, have mercy upon us.

unintelligible verse

? wa’azmādeya, maḥaranna

? and my relatives, have mercy upon us.

mamhera śegāya wanafseya maḥaranna

Teacher of my flesh and my soul, have mercy upon us.

basamāy nafsena maḥaranna

Our soul is in heaven, have mercy upon us,

wabamedr śegāna maḥaranna

And our flesh is on earth, have mercy upon us.

egzi’o eg” maḥaranna

Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us.

ba’enta sanbateka qeddest maḥaranna

For the sake of your holy Sabbath, have mercy upon us.

ba’enta ba’alātika kebur maḥaranna

For the sake of your honored holidays, have mercy upon us.

ba’enta oriteka zaẓa’at maḥaranna

For the sake of your Book of Exodus, have mercy upon us.

ba’enta ḥegga amlekoteka maḥaranna

For the sake of the law of your worship, have mercy upon us.

qāleka neṣuḥ maḥaranna

Your word is pure, have mercy upon us.

semeka kebur maharanna

Your name is glorified, have mercy upon us.

semeka le’ul maḥaranna

Your name is elevated, have mercy upon us.

semeka ḥeyāw maḥaranna

Your name is alive, have mercy upon us.

egzi’o eg “maḥaranna

Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us.

egzi’o basemeka maḥaranna

Lord, by your name, have mercy upon us.

adonāy baqāleka maḥaranna

Adonay, by your word, have mercy upon us.

basalām zawatra maḥaranna

In eternal peace, have mercy upon us.

bameḥrat bezuh̰ maḥaranna

With abundant mercy, have mercy upon us.

maḥāri ṣādeq maḥaranna

O merciful and righteous one, have mercy upon us.

maḥāri yawwāh maḥaranna

O merciful and meek one, have mercy upon us.

1-4A qeddus (Holy) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

qeddus qeddus semeka anta wayemlā’ sebḥatika samāyāta^1

Holy, holy is your name, you, and let your praise fill the heavens.

qeddus qeddus wah̰ayyāl semeka anta wayemlā’ sebḥatika

Holy, holy and powerful is your name, you, and let your praise be full.

qeddus qeddus ṣerḥeka wamanker baṣedq wayemlā’

Holy, holy is your palace and wonderful in righteousness, and let it be full.

qeddus abbā abbā amān qeddus wayemlā’ sebḥatika

Holy Father, Father, truly holy, and let your praise be full.

qeddus ba’afuhomu za’iyyārammu wabalebbomu zayenabbu

Holy in their mouths which are not silent and in their hearts which speak.

amān qeddus wayemlā’ sebḥatika samāyāta

Truly holy and let your praise fill the heavens.

qeddus esma albo qeddus kama eg”

Holy, for there is none holy like the Lord,

wa’albo ṣādeq kama amlākena ḥeyāw wayemlā’ sebḥatika

And there is no righteous one like our living God, and let your praise be full.

qeddus esma tazakkara qālo qeddusa wayemlā’ sebḥatika samāyāta

Holy because he remembered his holy words and let your praise fill the heavens.

qeddus waqabā’kewwo qeb’a qeddusa esma edēya teradde’o wamazrā’teya tāṣanne’o wayemlā’ sebḥatika samāyāta

Holy and I anointed him with the holy ointment because my hand helps him and my arm strengthens him and let your praise fill the heavens.

qeddus wala’aron qeddus wa’eg” wayemlā’ sebḥatika

Holy and to Aaron, holy and to the Lord, and let your praise be full.

qeddus kama ṣellāt ba’aṣbā’tu amān qeddus wayemlā’ sebḥatika^2

Holy like the tablets of the covenant by his fìnger, truly holy, and let your praise be full.

h̰arya h̰arya manbaro ba’aryām wayemlā sebḥatika samāyāta

He chose, he chose his throne in the highest, and let your praise fill the heavens.

manbaru manbaru ba’esāt kellul waqetur wayemlā’ sebḥatika^3

His throne, his throne is compassed and enclosed by fire, and let your praise be full.

manbaru manbaru za’iyyānqalaqqel eska la’ālam

His throne, his throne, which is unshaken forever.

manbaru manbaru ba’esāt kebub māy ṭafara ṣerḥu śēma^4

His throne, his throne surrounded by fire and he put water at the firmament of his palace.

manbaru ṣenu‘ manbaru za’esāt waśelṭana qālu ta’aggāsi gerum

His throne is strong, his throne is of fire, and the power of his word is patient and wonderful.

1. For different versions of the qeddus, see Joseph Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat (Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1902), pp. 4, 5, 13 and Prières, pp. 13, 15.

2. Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, p. 2.

3. Maṣḥafa Qeddāsē, p. 254. (Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Churchy, p. 127, paragraph 54: “His throne is encompassed by fire and his abode is enveloped by water, and round the roof of his house hang drops of water which do not fall.”)

4. Maṣḥāfa Qeddāsē, p. 372 (Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, p. 188, paragraph 33: “Water is the roof of his house…” This phrase begins the third paragraph of the Ethiopian Christian qeddus starting p. 188, paragraph 29: “Holy, holy, holy, perfect Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are full of the holiness of thy glory.”

1-4B qeddus (Holy) sanbat eve

qeddus qeddus eg” ṣabā‘ot adonāy^1

Holy, holy Lord of hosts, Adonay,

qeddus mangeśtu zala’ālam wayemlā’

His eternal kingdom is holy, and let it be full.

qeddus nese’elakka zala’amlāka samāy wamedr wayemlā’

Holy, we ask you who is God of heaven and earth, and let it be full.

qeddus zatehubomu lamalā’ektika qedma śer’āteka yesēbbēḥuka wayemlā’

Holy, you who grants your angels, they praise you in front of your rule, and let it be full.

qeddus ? ? egzi’o berhana sebḥatika wayemlā’

Holy, ? ? Lord, the light of your praise, and let it be full.

qeddus ? ? ? ? ser’āt waṣedqeka wayemlā’

Holy, ? ? ? ? rule and your righteousness, and let it be full.

qeddus zaqaddaskanna bate’ezāza oriteka yet’akwat semeka waye’bay mangeśteka la’ālam wayemlā’

Holy, you who blessed us by the commandments of your Orit, let your name be praised, and let your kingdom be great forever, and let it be full.

qeddus aheyā sharāḥeyā alshādāy bamazgaba kwellu ‘ālam wayemlā’

Holy, Aheya, Sharaheya, Alshaday, in the treasury of the whole world, and let it be full.

qeddus zaśar’a la’abrehām wamaḥala layesḥaq sem’la’yā’eqob wala’esrā’ēl kidāno zala’ālam wayemlā’

Holy, who made law for Abraham and swore to Isaac, a testimony to Jacob, and for Israel his pact is forever, and let it be full.

qeddus amlāku ladāwit abuka samā’ku ṣalotaka ware’iku anbe’aka’o amlāk^2

Holy, God of David, your father, I heard your prayer and I saw your tear, O God.

qeddus ? ? ? ? albo bā‘d amlāk za’enbalēka albo kāle’ amlāk za’enbalēka

Holy, ? ? ? ? there is no God except you, there is no other God except you.

1. Isaiah 6:3.

2. cf. 2 Kings 20:5.

1-5A maḥāri (O merciful one) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

maḥāri anta adonāy bāḥetiteka ‘abiyy reḥuqa ma’āt wabezuh̰a meḥrat waṣādeq^1

You, Adonay, are merciful, you alone are great, slow to anger, full of mercy and righteousness.

maḥāri maḥāri emkwellu h̰aṭi’atena maḥaranna emkwellu abasā wagēgāyena maḥaranna

O merciful one, O merciful one, forgive all our sins, forgive all our iniquities and transgressions.

maḥāri? maḥāri? A albo bā‘d amlāk za’enbalēka

O merciful one? O merciful one ?A there is no God except you.

maḥaranna maḥāri maḥāri eg” waṣādeq

Have mercy upon us, O merciful one, O merciful one, Lord and righteous.

maḥāri maḥāri qadāmi h̰aṭṭ’ateya maḥaranni wadah̰āri abasāya itewēssek itāqem lā’elēya

O merciful one, O merciful one, first forgive my sin and last add not my iniquity and hold it not over me.

h̰aṭi’ateya nagarku wa’abasāya ih̰abāku 2

I confessed my sin and I did not hide my iniquity,

wa’anta h̰edeg ṣelhuto lalebbeya 3maḥaranni wabezuh̰a meḥrat waṣādeq

And you, forgive the deceit of my heart. Have mercy upon me, you who are full of mercy and righteousness.

1. cf. Ps. 102 (103): 8; Ps. 144 (145): 8. The refrain maḥāri reḥuqa ma’āt is found in Halévy, Prières, p. 217.

2. Ps. 31 (32): 5.

3. Ps. 31 (32): 6.

1-5B maḥāri (O merciful one) Berhan Baruk, 7/24/80

maḥāri maḥāri anta adonāy bāḥetiteka ‘abiyy reḥuqa ma’āt wabezuh̰a meḥrat waṣādeq^1

You, Adonay, are merciful, merciful, you alone are great, slow to anger, full of mercy and righteousness.

maḥāri maḥāri emkwellu h̰aṭi’atena maḥaranna emkwellu abasāna emkwellu gēgāyena

O merciful one, O merciful one, forgive all our sins, forgive all our iniquities and all our transgressions.

‘abiyy abasā abbasku seḥetku baqedmēka maḥaranna

I committed a great iniquity, I erred before you, have mercy upon us.

wabezuh̰a meḥrat maḥāri maḥāri sab’essa abbāsi maḥaranna

Abundant in mercy, O merciful one, O merciful one, as for man, he is a sinner, have mercy upon us.

wasab’essa kaḥādi wasab’essa? wasab’essa zammāwi wasab’essa?

As for man, he is a denier, as for man?, as for man, he is an adulterer, as for man?

antassa egzi’o maḥāri maḥaranna

As for you, O Lord, you are merciful, have mercy upon us.

maḥāri maḥāri h̰aba ‘eẓēhu za’iyyenawwem maḥaranna^2

O merciful one, O merciful one, where the worms do not sleep are, have mercy upon us.

wa’esātu za’iyyeṭaffe’3 kwenanē za’iyyah̰alleq

And the fire which is never extinguished and the judgement which is never ending.

kwenanē dayn ? ? ? A

Judgement of damnation ? ? ?A

ama yeṣe’eru kwellomu h̰at’an ba’enta h̰aṭi’ateya wah̰aṭi’atomu maḥaranna wabezuh̰ān

When all the sinners are tortured for my sin and their sin, have mercy upon us and many others.

1. cf. Ps. 102(103): 8, Ps. 144 (145): 8.

2. Isaiah 66:24, also Mark 9: 44, 46, 48. This phrase is also found in Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat pp. 5, 9, 26 and Prières, p. 48.

3. Ibid.

1-6A/B/C yetbārak I (Blessed) 6A sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73 6B sanbat eve (and yasanbat sanbat eve) 6C astasreyo day

yetbārak eg” amlāka esrā’ēl [abawina]*1

Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, of our fathers.

amlāka abrehām amlāka yesḥaq amlāka yā’eqob amlāka musē wa’aron amlāka dāwit wasalomon

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, God of Moses and Aaron, God of David and Solomon.

[amlāka al’azār wafineḥas amlāka ēli wakālēb amlāka iyyāsu wakālēb amlāka?]

[God of Eliezer and Phinehas, God of Eli and Caleb, God of Joshua and Caleb, God of?],

baśark banagh bakwellu gizē sebḥat la’eg”

At sunset, at dawn, at all times praise to the Lord.

zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera madmema bāḥetitu qeddus^2

Who performed great (things), miracles and wonders, he alone is holy.

wayetbārak eg” wayetqaddas wayetla’al wayet’aman wayet’akwat wayesabbāḥ adonāy

And blessed be the Lord, and may the Lord be sanctified, and extolled, and trusted, and praised, and glorified.

esma ‘abiyy sebḥatihu la’eg” qeddus h̰āyyāl waburuk

For the glory of the Lord is great, holy, powerful, and blessed,

la’ālam wala’ālama ‘ālam la’ālam layekun

Forever and ever and evermore, let it be forever,

wayemlā’ sebḥatihu la’eg”3

And let the praise of the Lord be full.

sebḥata saggāhu sebḥata ma’azāhu sebḥata barakatu

Praise of his grace, praise of his fragrance, praise of his blessing,

genayu zēnā ṣedqu watafaśśeḥu bameḥratu

Praise the news of his righteousness and rejoice by his mercy.

wayemlā’ sebḥatika samāy wamedra

Let your glory fill heaven and earth.

bawesta kwellu ‘ālama feṭrat layekun amān

In all the world of creation let there be peace.

sebḥatihu la’eg” yenagger afuya^4

My mouth speaks the praise of the Lord.

albo zayemasselakka egzi’o emenna amālekt adonāy

Among the Gods, Adonay, there is no one like you, Lord,

wa’albo zakama megbārika

And nor is there any work like yours.

kwellomu aḥezāb ella gabarka yeraṣe’u wayesgedu qedmēka wayesēbbeḥu lasemeka

All the nations whom you created shall come and worship before you and praise your name,

esma ‘abiyy anta eg” zategabber mankera ?A^5

For you are great, Lord, who does miraculous things ?A

*Bracketed portions performed only on sanbat and yasanbat sanbat

1. cf. Ps. 71(72): 18.

2. cf. Ps. 71(72): 18, also 135(136): 4.

3. cf. Ps. 71(72): 19.

4. Ps. 144 (145): 21. This line concludes the yetbārak for sanbat and yasanbat sanbat.

5. Ps. 85 (86): 7-10.

1-6A sa’ātāt Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

1-6B sanbat and yasanbat sanbat eve

1-6C astasreyo day

1-6D (buruk) yetbārak IIa and IIb* (Blessed) berhān śaraqa morning

buruk yetbārak eg” amlākena amlāka esrā’ēl

Blessed, blessed be the Lord our God, God of Israel,

zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera madmema bāḥetitu qeddus

Who performed great (things), miracles and wonders, he alone is holy.

wayetbārak wayetqaddas [wayetla’al wayet’aman wayet’akwat wayesabbāḥ adonāy]

And blessed be the Lord, and sanctified, [and extolled, and trusted, and praised, and glorified],

esma ‘abiyy sebḥatihu la’eg” qeddus h̰āyyāl waburuk

For the glory of the Lord is great, holy, powerful, and blessed,

[la’ālam] wala’ālama ‘ālam [la’ālam layekun]

[Forever], and ever and evermore, [let it be forever],

wayemlā sebḥatihu la’eg”

And let the praise of the Lord be full.

*Bracketed portions performed for IIb only.

1-6E yetbārak III a (Blessed) sanbat morning

yetbàrak eg” amlāka esrā’ēl amlāka abawina anta sebbuḥeni we’etu wale’uleni we’etu la’ālam (29)*

Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, you are God of our fathers. He is praised and extolled forever.

wayetbārak wayetqaddas wayetla’al wayet’aman wayet’akwat wayesabbāḥ adonāy esma ‘abiyy sebḥatihu la’eg” qeddus h̰āyyāl waburuk sebbuḥeni we’etu wale’uleni we’etu bakwellu la’ālam (30)

And blessed be the Lord, and sanctified, and extolled, and trusted, and praised, and glorified. For the glory of the Lord is great, holy, powerful, and blessed. He is praised and extolled forever.

buruk anta egzi’o baṣerḥa qeddesāta sebḥatika sebḥatihu la’amlāka samāy wamedr anta adonāy la’ālam sebbuḥ waburuk sebbuḥeni anta wa’ekkut anta la’ālam (31)

You are blessed, Lord, in the palace of the holiness of your glory, the glory of the God of heaven and earth. You, Adonay, are praised and blessed forever. You are praised and extolled forever.

buruk anta egzi’o zaterē’i qalāyāta nabiraka lā’ela kirubēl za’aryām manbareka le’ul sebbuheni anta wale’ul anta la’ālam (32)

You are blessed, Lord, who looks upon the depths, sitting upon cherubim, your lofty throne is in the highest. You are praised and extolled forever.

buruk anta egzi’o badiba manbara sebḥata mangeśteka mangeśtu za’iyyessa’ar wah̰āylu za’iyyedakkem ? ? wahabtu za’iyyah̰alleq̰ manbaru za’iyyānqalaqqel ? ? sebbuḥeni anta waburuk anta la’ālam (33)

You are blessed, Lord, upon the throne of the glory of your kingdom, he whose kingdom does not perish, whose power is not weakened ? ?, and whose wealth is not exhausted, and whose throne is not shaken ? ? You are praised and blessed forever.

buruk anta egzi’o bamale’elta samāyāt ? zayetla’āl zahallo wayehēllu amlāka abawina amlāka abrehām amlāka yesḥaq amlāka yā’eqob amlāka muse wa’aron esrā’ēl qedduseka? sebbuḥeni anta wakebur anta la’ālam (34)

You are blessed, Lord, in the highest heaven, ? he who is exalted, who is and will be. God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, God of Moses and Aaron, your holy Israel?. You are praised and honored forever.

antassa egzi’o la’ālam zatasa’ala

But you are Lord forever, who is to be asked.

yebārrekewwo eska la’ālam ? ? eg” ? ? ? ? hāllēluyā ? ? eg” la’amlāka h̰āyyālān neguśa sebḥat neguśena sebbuḥeni we’etu basalāmeka aw’elanna wabameḥretu yāwe’elanna egzi’eya egzi’eya (66)

They bless him forever ? ? the Lord ? ? ? ? hallelujah ? ? Lord, the God of the powerful, King of praise, our King, he is praised. Keep us through the day in your peace and may he keep us through the day in his mercy, my Lord, my Lord.

Yebārrekewwo ? ? bamā’ekala nabalbāla esāt hāllēluyā? egzi’ena eg” la’amlāka h̰āyyālān laneguśa sebḥat neguśena sebbuḥeni we’etu abuyani egzi’eya mamhera śegāya wanafseyani, egzi’eya ezi’eya

They bless him ? ? in the middle of the fire’s flame, hallelujah? Our Lord, the Lord, the God of the powerful, King of praise, our King, he is praised, my father, my Lord, teacher of my flesh and my soul, my Lord, my Lord.

bakwellu gizē wazalfani bakwellu gizēyerē’eyanni esma anta mal’aka eg” mesla anānyā waāzāryā wamisā’ēl (66)1

At all times and always at all times he shepherds me, for you are the angel of the Lord with Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael.

* Numbers indicate the verse of the Canticle of the Three Children from which the portion derives. Underlined text follows the standard Ge‘ez version.

1. References to Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael are often found in the Falasha literature, as in Aešcoly, Recueil, pp. 191, 198, and Halévy, Prières, p. 48.

1-6F seged

1-7A basalāmeka (In your peace) Berhan Baruk 8/5/80

basalāmeka aw’elanna basalāmeka aw’elanna

Keep us through the day in your peace, keep us through the day in your peace.

za’albo h̰aṭi’at ah̰edranna ? ? ?

Keep us through the night without sin ? ? ?

za’albo margam aw’elanna za’albo ? ?

Keep us through the day without malediction, without ? ?

aw’elanna wa’aḥyewanna aw’elanna wa’aḥyewanna

Keep us through the day and make us live, keep us through the day and make us live.

ba’enta semeka maḥaranna waba’enta qāleka aḥyewanna

For the sake of your name, have mercy upon us, and for the sake of your word, make us live.

sem‘anna egzi’o ṣalotana sem‘anna egzi’o se’latana

Hear us, Lord, our prayer, hear us, Lord, our supplication.

1-8A wabezuh̰a (And abundant) Berhan Baruk, 7/29/80

wabezuh̰a meḥrat wabezuh̰a śāhl wabezuh̰a te‘egest wabezuh̰a baśāheleka taśāhālanna

And abundant mercy, and abundant compassion, and abundant patience, and your abundant compassion, be compassionate to us.

wabezuh̰a bate’egeśet’ka ta’aggaśanna

And in your abundant patience, be patient with us.

wabezuh̰a kebr waśāhla

And abundant honor and compassion,

wabezuh̰a ṣaggā wamogas

And abundant grace and majesty,

wabezuh̰a lagabārē śāhl adonāy

And abundant to the performer of compassion, Adonay,

wabezuh̰a la‘aqqābē kidāna meh̰ratu zala’ālam

And abundant to the keeper of his pact of mercy forever.

maḥdri adonāy amlāk maḥari adonāy waneguśa nagaśt baḥetitu

O merciful one, Adonay, God, O merciful one, Adonay and king of kings, he alone.

negus maḥāri adonāy ? ? ?

Adonay is a merciful king ? ? ?

adonāy ṣabā‘ot maḥāri adonāy adonāy amlāka amālekt waneguśa nagaśt maḥāri adonāy^1

Adonay of hosts, merciful Adonay, Adonay, God of gods, and king of kings, merciful Adonay.

liqa liqāwent makwannena makwānent maḥāri adonāy

Elder of the elders, judge of the judges, merciful Adonay.

masefena masāfent maḥāri adonāy

Prince of princes, merciful Adonay.

maḥāri semeka zala‘ālam waḥeyāw semeka semeka zala‘ālam

O merciful one, your name endures forever and your name is alive, your name endures forever.

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna waye’zēni aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna

Soothe your anger from upon us and now soothe your anger from upon us.

awred sāhlaka wameh̰rataka emlā’elēnna

Bring down your compassion and mercy upon us.

bārek arḥeq maqsaftaka wama‘ātaka emenēna

Bless and remove your smite and your anger from upon us.

amṣe’ manfasa salāmeka lā’elēnna

Bring the spirit of your peace upon us.

aqum aqum kidānaka lā’elēnna

Establish, establish your pact upon us,

emdeh̰ra qasamku śāhla wameh̰rata

After I tasted compassion and mercy.

ba’aytē we’etu zatekāt śāhleka egzi’o zamaḥalka ladāwit gabreka zabaṣedq

Where is your ancient compassion, Lord, that you swore to David your servant in righteousness?

aqrabka baśāhl waśāhlessa iyyekalle’ emh̰abēka

You brought closer in compassion and compassion is not withheld from you.

śāhlu la’eg” babbagizēhu buruk buruk

The compassion of the Lord is in his time, blessed, blessed.

enza bezuh śāhelka sem’anni zaba’amān madh̰āniya

As your compassion is abundant, hear me, you who are truly my saviour.

śāhleka waṣedqeka zalfa yerkabanni

Your compassion and your righteousness will find me always.

zataśāhakomu ladaqiqa agbertika

You who were compassionate to the children of your servant,

zataśāhalkomu ladaqiqa qetulānika

You who were compassionate to the children of your martyrs,

taśāhalanni egzi’o bakama ‘ebaya śāhleka^2

Be compassionate to me, Lord, according to the greatness of your compassion.

wabakama ‘ebaya bezuh̰a meh̰rateka egzi’o damses h̰aṭi’ateya

And according to the abundance of your great mercy, Lord, erase my sin.

h̰eẓebanni wa’anṣehanni emhaṭi’ateya em’abasāyani anṣeḥanni*

Wash me and cleanse me from my sin, cleanse me from my iniquity,

esma laleya a’ammer gēgāyeya laka labāḥetiteka

Because I myself acknowledge my transgression against you alone.

abbasku gabarku maḥaranni

I sinned, I did, have mercy upon me.

wa’ekkuyanni baqedmēka gabarku tenazzeh̰anni ba’azzāb* wa’enaṣṣeh

And I did evil before you. Purge me with hyssop and I will be clean.

tah̰aẓẓebanni embarad wa’eṣa’addu*

Wash me and I will be purer than the snow.

1. Halévy, “Nouvelle Prières,” p. 101.

2. This and remaining text from Ps. 50(51): 2-5, 9-10. Starred verses found in preparatory service to Ethiopian anaphora, Maṣḥafa Qeddāsē, p. 33, (Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, p. 15, n. 61).

1-9A/B kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt (All the angels proclaimed) 1-9A Gete Asrass, 12/5/73 1-9B ba‘āla maṣallat morning

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt wayeblu qeddus eg” ṣābā’ot^1

All the angels proclaimed and said, holy Lord of hosts.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt bakāle’ samāy qeddus eg” ṣābā’ot

All the angels in the second heaven proclaimed, holy Lord of hosts.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt bakāle’ samāy ekkut eg” ekkut ba’akkwatētu

All the angels in the second heaven proclaimed, the Lord is praised, praised, in his praise.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt baśāles samāy gerum eg” bagermā sebḥatihu

All the angels in the third heaven proclaimed, awesome is the Lord, in the splendor of his glory.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt barābe’ samāy masta’agges eg” zabeka h̰āyl^2

All the angels in the fourth heaven proclaimed, the Lord is patient, you in whom there is power.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt bah̰āmes samāy qeddus qeddus eg” waḥeyāw adonāy

All the angels in the fifth heaven proclaimed, holy, holy is the Lord, and Adonay is alive.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt basādes samāy manbareka esāt kellul hāllēluyā

All the angels in the sixth heaven proclaimed, your throne is compassed by fire, hallelujah.

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekta aryām basābe’ samāy ba’aḥadu qāl nesēbbeḥakka wana’akkwetakka

All the angels of the highest in the seventh heaven proclaimed in one voice, we glorify you and we praise you.

anta tāḥayyu kwellu zanafs amān laka yesaggedu kwellu malā’ekta samāyāt

You make everything that has life live, truly all the angels of heaven worship you.

1. Isaiah 6:3.

2. Halévy, Prières, p. 14. The manuscript and sung versions are partially parallel only for verses concerning the fourth to seventh heavens.

1-9A Gete Asrass, 12/5/73

1-9B ba‘āia maṣallat morning

1-10A egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku (Lord, I cried out) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku h̰abēka sem’anni^1 se’elateya ṣawwā’ku h̰aba amlākiya sem’anni

Lord, I cried out to you, hear my supplication, I called to my God, hear me.

ṣarāh̰ku h̰abēka sem’anni wa’adh̰enanni bagizē ṣawwā’kuka bagizē ṣallaykuka

I cried out to you, hear me and save me when I call to you, when I pray to you.

anta ḥawweṣ emsamāy emenna dellew māh̰edareka sem’anni qāleya

You visit from heaven, from your prepared dwelling place, hear my voice.

egzi’o samā’ku demẓaka wafarāhku re’iku gebraka wa’ankarku^2

Lord, I heard your voice and was frightened, I saw your work and wondered.

bamā’ekala kel’ē ensesā re’ikuka^2

I saw you between two animals.

egzi’o amlākena anta samā’komu sem‘anna

Lord, you are our God, you heard them, hear us.

egzi’o amlākena anta egzi’o taśāhālkomu taśāhalanna

Lord, you are our God, Lord, you were compassionate to them, be compassionate to us.

egzi’o amlāk h̰āyyāl sem’anni egzi’o ṣaloteya

Lord, powerful God, hear my prayer, Lord.

wasem’anni anta amlāku layā’eqob gabreka

And listen to me, you, the God of Jacob your servant.

egzi’o damses kama dammanā lah̰aṭi’ateya^3

Lord, erase my sin like a cloud.

maḥāri? damses kama dammanā kama qobār lah̰aṭāwe’eya

O merciful one, ? erase my sins like a cloud, like mist.

h̰aṭi’ateya nagarku wa’abasāya ih̰āba’ku^4

I confessed my sin and I did not hide my iniquity.

wa’anta h̰edeg h̰edeg ṣelḥuta ekkayu lalebbeya maḥaranna^4

And you forgive, forgive the evil, the deceit of my heart, have mercy upon us.

qadāmi h̰aṭi’ateya seray lita abbā abbā wadah̰āri abasāya wagēgāyeya

Forgive first my sin, Father, Father, and last my iniquity and transgression.

itewēssek ite’qab lā’elēya

Add not and hold not against me.

wagadafku deh̰rēya kwello h̰aṭi’ateya

And I cast behind me all my sins,

maḥāri wagadafku deh̰rēya kwello h̰aṭi’ata abasā wagēgāyeya^5

O merciful one, and I cast behind me all sin, iniquity, and my transgressions.

1. Ps. 140 (141): 1.

2. Prayer of Habbakuk: 1-2; in the Ethiopic Psalter, cf. Habbakuk: 3, 2.

3. Isaiah 44: 21-22.

4. Ps. 31 (32): 5, cf. 6.

5. cf. Isaiah 38: 17.

1-10B/C/D egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku/sem‘anna (Lord, I cried out/hear us) 10B sanbat morning 10C berhān śaraqa morning 10D ba‘āia maṣallat eve

egzi’o sem‘anna sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna amlākena^1

Lord, hear us, hear us, Lord, hear us, our God,

bagizē ṣawwā’kuka bagizē ṣallaykuka bagizē aweyawkuka

When I call to you, when I pray to you, when I complain to you.

anta ḥawweṣ emsamāy emēnna dellew māh̰edareka emenna ṣerḥa maqdaseka egzi’o sem‘anna

Visit from heaven, from your prepared dwelling place, from your holy temple, Lord, hear us.

egzi’o sem‘anna sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna amlākena

Lord, hear us, hear us, Lord, hear us, our God.

wayebē lāmēḥ la’abuhu lawaldu mātusālā wa’abbā abbuya aytē

And Lamech said to his father, to his son, Methuselah, and father, my father,

hallawka amlāka hēnok amlāka yārēd amlāka qāynān amlāka malāle’ēl^2

Where are you, God of Henoch, God of Yared, God of Cainan, God of Mahalaleel?

śāles gizē bamarir qāl bamarir qāl sem‘anna

Three times in a bitter voice, in a bitter voice, hear us.

egzi’o sem‘anna sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna amlākena

Lord, hear us, hear us, Lord, hear us, our God.

wayebē waṣallaya musē badabra sinā bamā’ekala esāt basebḥatāt^3 sebḥat la’eg” iyyor māh̰edaru

And Moses said and prayed on Mount Sinai in the middle of the fire in glories, glory to God whose dwelling place is Iyyor.

Sāmēr maqdasu basebḥatāt sebḥat la’eg”

Samer is his temple in glories, glory to the Lord.

arbe’a ma’ālta wa’arbe’a lēlita eklani ibal’a wamāyani isatya^4

Forty days and forty nights he did not eat food nor drink water.

way’ezēni egzi’o eg” aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna

And now, Lord, Lord, soothe your anger from upon us.

awred śāhlaka wamehrataka lā’elēna ?A ?A

Bring down your compassion and your mercy upon us ?A ?A

sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna amlākena

Lord hear us, Lord hear us, our God hear us.

wayebē waṣallaya dāwit gabreka ṣalota bāḥetāwi soba yetēkkez wayeke’u anebe’o qedma eg”se’lato

And David your servant said and prayed, the prayer of the anchorite, at that time afflicted and shedding his tears, his request before the Lord.

sem’anni egzi’o ṣaloteya wase’lateya

Hear Lord, my prayer and my request,

wayebṣāḥ qedmēka ga’āreya iva ite miṭ gaṣṣaka emennēya bā’elāta mendābēya aṣeme’

And let my cry reach you and hide not your face from me in the day when I am in trouble.

eznaka h̰abeya ama ’elata ṣawwā’ku semaka feṭuna sem’anni^5

Incline your ear to me in the day when I call your name, hear me speedily.

egzi’o sem‘anna sem‘anna egzi’o sem‘anna

Lord, hear us, hear us Lord, hear us.

wayebē waṣallaya salomon babēta maqdas

And Solomon said and prayed in the Temple.

anta semā‘ emsamāy emenna dellew māh̰edareka

You hear from heaven, from your prepared dwelling place.

anta sema’ emsamāy emenna ṣerḥa maqdaseka

You hear from heaven, from your holy Temple,

kāḥdessa zakeḥednāka amlekotessa za’iḥadagnāka

That we denied you again, but that we did not stop worshipping you.

wasab’essa feṭur neṣuḥ iyyetrakkab

But as far as the man is concerned, a pure creature is not found.

egzi’o za’enbalēka bā‘da ina’ammer

Oh Lord, we know not anyone but you.

albo bā‘d amlāk za’enbalēka

There is no other God but you.

albo kahāli amlāk ināmallek ?A

There is no other powerful God we do not worship ?A

egzi’o sem‘anna amlākena

Lord, hear us, our God.

wayebē waṣallaya ēliyās? badabra qarmēlos^6

And Elijah said and prayed? on Mount Carmel.

egz’io zahallo wayhēllu egzi’o amlāka abawina egzi’o amlāka abrehām egzi’o amlāka yesḥaq egzi’o amlāka yā’eqob egzi’o amlāka musē wala’aron

Lord who was and will be. Lord, God of our fathers, Lord, God of Abraham, Lord, God of Isaac, Lord, God of Jacob, Lord, God of Moses and Aaron,

esrā’ēl qeddusāt kahnāt wanabiyāt qadāmit wadaḥarit ?A

(Of) Israel, holy priests and prophets, the first and the last ?A

abbā abbā h̰āylomu wasen’ baheywatomu la esrā’ēl kamāhomu sem‘anna

Father, Father, their power and their strength is in the life of Israel, hear us like them.

1. Ps. 140 (141):1

2. The names are evidently derived from Genesis 5.

3. Exodus 24:17-18.

4. Exodus 34:28.

5. cf. Ps. 101 (102):1-3.

6. cf. 1 Kings 18:19, 36.

1-10B sanbat morning

1-10C berhān śaraqa morning

1-10D ba‘āla maṣallat eve

1-11A (hāllēluyā) genayu la’eg” (Give thanks to the Lord) sa’ātāt, Gete Asrass, 11/21/73

hāllēluyā genayu la’eg” esma h̰ēr es ma la’ālam meḥratu^1

Hallelujah, give thanks to the Lord for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

genayu la’amlākena ḥawweṣ emsamāy hāllēluyā genayu la’eg” esma h̰er

Give thanks to our God, visit from heaven, hallelujah, give thanks to the Lord for he is kind.

zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera wamadmema bāḥetitu qeddus^2

Who performed great (things), and miracles and wonders, he alone is holy.

wayetbārak wayetqaddas esma ‘abiyy sebḥatihu la eg” qeddus h̰āyyāl waburuk

And may he be blessed and sanctified, for the glory of the Lord is great holy, powerful, and blessed.

genayu la’amlāka amālekt amlākena^3 amānu neguśa nagaśt neguśena

Give thanks to the God of Gods, our God, truly the king of kings, our king.

sadādē ṣelmat westa makānu zayāmaṣṣe’ berhān bagizēhu

Driver of darkness to its place, who brings light in its time.

berhānu za’iyyeṭaffe’ eska la’ālam buruk esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu

Whose light is never extinguished, blessed, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

hāllēluyā genayu la’eg”

Hallelujah, give thanks to the Lord.

1. Ps. 135 (136): 1.

2. cf. Ps. 135 (135): 4.

3. cf. Ps. 135 (136): 2.

1-11B (hāllēluyā) genayu la’eg” (Give thanks to the Lord) daily morning ritual

hāllēluyā genayu la’eg” esma h̰ēr kebur neguś anta adonāy esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu^1

Hallelujah, give thanks to the Lord, for you are a kind and glorified king, Adonay, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

genayu la’amlāka amālekt^2 amlākena neguśa nagaśt neguśena faṭārina gabārina ‘aqqābina nolāwina radā’ina fesseḥa zi’ana

Give thanks to God of gods, our God is king of kings, he is our king, our creator, our maker, our guardian, our shepherd, our helper, our joy.

sadādē ṣelmat bafaqādu zayāmaṣṣe’ berhān bagizēhu? adonāy

Driver of darkness by his will, who brings light in its time, ? Adonay.

berhānu za’iyyeṭaffe’ eska la’ālam buruk esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu

Whose light is not extinguished forever, blessed, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

hāllēluyā we’etu amlākiya esēbbeḥo yessēbbāḥ semu amlāka abuya watra eska la’ālam wa’eqēddeso

Hallelujah, he is my God, I praise him, his name is praised. God of my father, always, forever and I will sanctify him.

genayu la’eg” amānu, neguśa nagaśtena neguśena faṭārina gabārina ‘aqqābina nolāwina radā’ina

Give thanks to the Lord, truly he is our king of kings, our king, our creator, our maker, our guardian, our shepherd, our helper.

abbā lanadāyān abbā lameskinān lafarāḥeyān lamazammerānā semeka esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu

Father to the poor, father to the miserable, to the fearful, to the singers of your name, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera wamadmema bāḥetitu qeddus^3 wayetqaddas? A adonāy esma h̰er esma la’ālam meḥratu

Who performed great (things), and miracles and wonders, he alone is holy and may he be sanctified ?A Adonay, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

hāllēluyā we’etu amlākiya esēbbeho yessēbbāḥ semu amlāka abuya watra eska la’ālam wa’eqēddeso

Hallelujah, he is my God, I praise him, his name is praised. God of my fathers, always, forever, and I will sanctify him.

zagabra samāya samāyāt esma h̰ēra ṣādqān baṭebabu ba’a’emerotu baṣen’a h̰āylu bagerum qālu

Who made the heaven of heavens, for he is the best of the righteous in his wisdom, in his knowledge, in the strength of his power, in his awesome word.

gerum amlekotu za’iyessa’ar mangeśtu? qeddus albo zakamāhu waza’enbalēhu adonāy zayesēbbeḥewwo zayebārrekewwo kwellu malā’ekta samāyāt

Awesome is the worship of him, whose kingdom does not perish, ? holy. There is none like him and without him. Adonay, whom all the angels of heaven praise and bless.

bāḥetiteka kebur nesēbbeḥakka wana’akkwetakka wanāle’elakka laka ṣerāḥeya

You alone are honored, we glorify you and praise you and extoll you, my call is for you.

sebḥata mangeśteka esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu

Praise of your kingdom, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

1. Ps. 135 (136): 1.

2. cf. Ps. 135 (136): 2.

3. cf. Ps. 135 (136): 4.

11-C, 1 ba‘āla maṣallat morning

11-C, 2 ba‘āla maṣallat morning

11-C, 3 ba‘āla maṣallat morning

1-11D holiday morning, Tigray Province

1-12A adonāy (Lord) Sunday morning, Wubshet Atagab, 8/75

adonāy amlāka esrā’ēl amlākena adonāy aḥadu

Adonay, God of Israel, is our God, Adonay is one.

adonāy wanegusa esrā’ēl watra neguśena neguśa nagaśt anta

Adonay, and king of Israel is always our king, you are king of kings.

adonāy anta faṭārē samāy wamedr wakwello faṭārina faṭāri wakwannāni anta

Adonay, you are creator of heaven and earth and of everything, our creator, you are the creator and the judge.

adonāy faṭarkanni wagabarkanni iters’anni iteqwaṭṭe’anni iteh̰edganni amlākiya anta faṭāri?

Adonay, you created me and made me. Forget me not, be not wrathful with me. Forsake me not, you are my God, creator?

adonāy zabasamāyāt manbareka manbareka le’ul

Adonay, whose throne is in heaven, your throne is on high.

adonāy zamale’elta aryām māh̰edareka māh̰edareka neṣuḥ

Adonay, whose dwelling place is above the highest heaven, your dwelling place is pure.

adonāy māh̰edara sebhat maqdaseka maqdaseka kebur

Adonay, your Temple is the dwelling place of praise, your Temple is glorified.

adonāy sebḥat yeblu lamangeśteka hāllēluyā

Adonay, they say praise to your kingdom, hallelujah. adonāy akkwatēt yeblu lasebḥatika soba ṣallayu egzi’o

Adonay, they say thanksgiving to your glory when they prayed, O Lord.

adonāy nafāsāteni yet’ēzzazuka^1 dammanāteni yetla’akuka

Adonay, even winds obey you, also the clouds serve you.

adonāy baqāleka adonāy weddāsēhomu lamalā’ektika ?A

Adonay, by your word, Adonay, is the praise of your angels ?A

adonāy zemmārēhomu laṣādqānika ṣādqān ?A

Adonay, the songs of your saints, saints, ?A

adonāy kwellu feṭrat yesēbbeḥu kwellu tagbāreka yālē’eluka ?A

Adonay, all creatures praise, all your work magnify you ?A

adonāy semā‘ qālu lagabreka ?A

Adonay, hear the word of your servant ?A

adonāy aṣme’eznaka h̰abēya wasem’anni qāleya ?A

Adonay, listen to me and hear my voice ?A

adonāy zahallo wayehēllu semeka ?A

Adonay, who is and who will be, your name ?A

adonāy zahalloka anta basamāy ?A

Adonay, you who are in heaven ?A

adonāy wadibēkani za’iyyenaggeś ?A

Adonay, and no one can rule over you ?A

adonāy wakiyākani za’iyyesayyem ?A

Adonay, and no one can appoint you ?A

adonāy za’iyyethēssaw kwellu qāleka waza’iyyessa’ar kwellu mangeśteka

Adonay, none of whose words are denied and none of whose kingdom perishes.

1. Matthew 8:27, Mark 4:41.

1-12 B egzi’o merḥanni (Lord, guide me) Sunday morning, Berhan Baruk, 12/2/73

egzi’o merḥanni merḥanni egzio baṣedqeka^1

Lord, guide me, guide me, Lord, in your righteousness.

egzi’o ar’eyanna salāmā laseyon

Lord, show us the peace of Zion.

abbā ar’eyanna dāh̰nāhā la’iyyarusālēm

Father, show us the safety of Jerusalem.

egzi’o kama waltā abbā ? kallelkana^2

Lord, as a shield, Father, ? you guard us.

abbā wabaṣelālota abbā kenafika kedenanna 3westa medra resteka

And by the shadow of your wings, Father, your wings cover us in the land of your inheritance.

hāllē genayu la’adonāy esma h̰ēr semu neguś adonāy esma h̰ēr esma la’ālam meḥratu

Halle, give thanks to Adonay, for his name is kind. Adonay is king, for he is kind, for his mercy endures forever.

1. cf. Ps. 5 : 8

2. cf. Ps. 5 : 12.

3. cf. Ps. 16 (17): 8.

1-13A/B bārek sanbateya (Bless my Sabbath) 13A sanbat eve 13B sanbat eve (Tigray Province)

bārek sanbateya ḥeyāwa yebē eg”

Bless my living Sabbath, said the Lord.

bārek sanbateya ‘erafteya waqeddesteya waburekteya wamāḥeyewteya

Bless my Sabbath, my rest and my holy one and my blessed one, my life-giver.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”1

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek akberu sanbatāteya wamalā’ekteya wa’akberewwomu laqeddusāneya

Bless, honor my sabbaths, and my angels and honor my holy ones.

waye’ezēni kunu farāhē lafarāheyāna eg” albo zayegērrem ? balā‘elēna

And now, be afraid of the ones who are afraid of the Lord, no one is frightening? to us.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek ana wahabkukemu sanbatāt malā’ekt wamesla ‘erafteya waṣawwe’u semeya qeddus ba‘ālāta sanbat

Bless, I gave you sabbaths, angels, and with my rest and call my holy name on the Sabbath day.

ye‘qabu kwellomu ella ta’ammanu watawakkalu kiyāya basanbateya

Let those who trust and believe in me keep my Sabbath.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek ? lasanbat sanbāteya mā’ekalēya wama’ekalekemu wa’antemussa kamaze tekunu

Bless, ? the Sabbath. My Sabbath (will be) between me and you and as for you, you shall be like this,

qeddusān ‘erufān neṣuḥān esrā’ēl la’ālam

Holy, peaceful, pure Israel forever.

ḥeyaw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek ḥeggeya lamusē ḥegga torā

Bless, my law of Moses is the law of Torah.

? ḥegg badabra sinā bamā’ekala sab’ gizē ṣa’āt ba’aṣebā’etu qeddus eg”2

? (wrote) law at Mount Sinai in the middle of the people at the time of the Exodus by his finger, the Lord is holy.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek wanāhu te’ezāza sanbat ṣaḥafku laka ba’edēya bagizē babbakufālē orit bamawā’elihu lasab’ salām salām

Bless, and behold, I wrote for you the Commandments of the Sabbath with my hand according to the time and the Jubilee of the Orit, according to the time for man, peace, peace.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek ‘eqab te’ezāzeya waḥeggeya waśer’āteya wakunanē zi’aya gebarrā ba‘āleya

Bless, keep my commandment and my law and my rule and my judgement, make her my holiday.

ana zawahabkewwo lamusē qul’ēya gabreya badabra sinā bamā’ekala esāt

I am the one who gave to Moses, my servant (and) slave on Mount Sinai in the middle of the fire.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek kama yegaberu ? śer’āteya śer’āt zala‘ālam litani waladaqiqa esrā’ēl te’emertu watewkeltu zala‘ālam

Bless, in order that they will make ? my rule, eternal rule, for me and for the children of Israel. It is the sign and the trust forever,

zawahaba eg “lamusē nabiyy badabra sinā bamā’ekala esāt

which the Lord gave to Moses the prophet on Mount Sinai in the middle of the fire.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek nagarā lazātti ? ? kiyāhā ?

Bless, the affair of this ? ? itself ?

we’etu lakwellu re’esa māh̰ebara ? daqiqa esrā’ēl

He is head of all the congregation ? of the children of Israel.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek we’etu bawesta kwellu māh̰edarikemu baheyya qeddus ‘elata sanbateya

Bless, he is in all your dwelling places here, the day of my Sabbath is holy.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

bārek wa’ellassa zah̰adaga waza’arkwasa qeddus bā’alāta sanbata

Bless, and as for him who neglects and defiles the holy Sabbath day,

mota layemut yebē eg”

Let him die a death, said the Lord.

bārek wa’ellassa za’aqabā za’akbarā amlakā lasanbat eg”

Bless, and as for him who kept, honored, (and) worshipped the Sabbath (of)the Lord.

ḥeyāw ana yebē eg”

I am alive, said the Lord.

1. The phrase “He is living” is found in Leslau, Falasha Anthology, Yale Judaica Series, vol. 6. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951); New York: Schocken Books, 1969), p. 25. (This portion of the Te’ezāza Sanbat text was translated from MS d’Abbadie, 107, Bibliothéque Nationale, and is not found in the parallel section of Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, p.21.) Much of the prayer reflects general content, but not exact wording of Te’ezāza Sanbat.

2. Probably derived from Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, p. 28.

1-13A sanbat eve

1-13B sanbat eve (Tigray Province)

1-13C waradat sanbat (Sabbath descended) sanbat morning

waradat sanbat em’aryām 1

Sabbath descended from the highest heaven.

waradat sanbat emdiba aryām

Sabbath descended from above the highest heaven.

waradat sanbat la’iyyarusālēm

Sabbath descended to Jerusalem.

1. The intial verses of the text paraphrases portions of Te’ezāza Sanbat. See Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, pp. 30,35,36; (Leslau, Falasha Anthology, p. 36: “And the Sabbath descended from the highest heaven to the earth in the midst of Jerusalem.”)

1-13D watebēlo sanbat (And Sabbath said to him) sanbat morning

watebēlo sanbat la’egzi’ sanbat ‘eraft waqeddest waburekt wamāḥeyawit la’eg” h̰abanni lita emkwello bafaqāda agberta zi’aya^1

And Sabbath said to the Lord, the Sabbath is rest and holy and blessed, and life-giver to the Lord; give to me from all by the will of my servants.

egzi’ egzi’eya ah̰āzē kwellu ‘ālam

O Lord, my Lord, master of the whole world.

egzi’ egzi’eya faṭārē kwellu feṭrata ‘ālam

O Lord, my Lord, creator of all the creatures of the world.

egzi’ egzi’eya fawwāsē kwellu ḥemumān

O Lord, my Lord, healer of all the sick.

egzi’ egzi’eya bālāḥe kwellu mendubān

O Lord, my Lord, saviour of all those in peril.

egzi’ egzi’eya nāzāzi lakwellu tekkuzān

O Lord, my Lord, comforter of all those who are sad.

egzi’ egzi’eya qaddāsē kwellu rekusān

O Lord, my Lord, sanctifier of all those who are impure.

egzi’ egzi’eya sem’ānni laqāleya

O Lord, my Lord, hear my voice.

egzi’ egzi’eya oho balanni se’lateya

O Lord, my Lord, say yes to my request.

egzi’ egzi’eya itezker h̰aṭi’ atomu la’agbertika

O Lord, my Lord, remember not the sins of your servants.

1. This prayer paraphrases and elaborates upon the dialogues between the Sabbath and God in Te’ezāza Sanbat. See Halévy, Te’ezāza Sanbat, p. 19, and possibly, p. 29.

1-13E amlākiya (My God) sanbat morning

amlākiya amlākiya 1 yetbārak eg” amlāk esrā’ēl amlākena

My God, my God, blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, our God.

amlākiya amlākiya lakwellu manfas egzi’omu lakwellu zaśegā^2

My God, my God, of all spirit and Lord of all flesh.

amlākiya amlākiya ?A

My God, my God ?A

amlākiya amlākiya amlāka abrehām ?A

My God, my God, God of Abraham ?A amlākiya amlākiya amlāka yā’eqob fequra eg”

My God, my God, God of Jacob, beloved of the Lord

amlākiya amlākiya ?A

My God, my God, ?A

amlākiya amlākiya amlāka musē wa’aron

My God, my God, God of Moses and Aaron

amlākiya amlākiya ?A

My God, my God, ?A

amlākiya amlākiya amlāka yā’eqob wakālēb

My God, my God, God of Jacob and Caleb.

amlākiya amlākiya ?A

My God, my God, ?A

amlākiya amlākiya amlāku ladāwit wa ?

My God, my God, God of David and ?

1. Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 256. Only the refrain is found in the manuscript version.

2. Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 152.

1-13F/G albo zayā’ammer (No one knows)/neguś anta (You are king) 13F sanbat morning, Wubshet Atagab, 8/8/73 13G sanbat morning

[albo zayā’ammer mekru

No one knows his advice

Agau verse]1

neguś anta bāḥetiteka emqedma ‘ālam

You alone are king before the world.

zasafanka anta bāḥetiteka emqedma ‘ālam

You alone are the one who reigned before the world.

egzi’abhēressa neguś we’etu

God is king.

egzi’abhēressa h̰āyyāl we’etu emqedma ‘ālam

God is powerful before the world.

Agau verse

?A wagizēkani ?A wakiyākani ?A hallo

?A and your time ?A and yourself ?A is

amlākiya ? A

My God, ? A

anta zatenaggeś neguś bāḥetiteka

You are the one who reigns alone.

Agau verse

nagāśē kwellu zatenaggeś

King of all, who reigns.

Agau verse

? anta tenaggeś

? you reign

tenaggeś lā’ela ṣādqān basalām

You reign over the righteous in peace.

yenaggeś qeddus yenaggeś la’ālama ‘ālam

The holy one reigns, he reigns forever and ever.

sa’al lana mikā’ēl astamher lana gabre’ēl^2

Supplicate for us, Michael, intercede for us, Gabriel.

? A qeddus mikā’ēl

? A holy Michael

qadāmāwi we’etu maḥāri reḥuqa ma’āt qeddus mikā’ēl

He is the first, O merciful one, far from anger, holy Michael.

Agau verse

mikā’ēl ? A

Michael ? A

babbasimatomu mal’ak mikā’ēl

By their divisions, angel Michael

Agau verse

1. Bracketed portion is no longer included in the liturgy.

2. This prayer contains several important characteristics of nags hymns found in Ethiopian Christian liturgy. For example, see EMML 3190 (2), where a hymn for the Archangel Michael has the incipit sa’al lana … (Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 8:145)

1-13F Wubshet Atagab, 8/8/73

1-13G sanbat morning

1-13H/I hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya (Hallelujah, praise my… soul) 13H yasanbat sanbat^1 13I sanbat morning

hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya la’eg” esēbbeḥo la’egzi’abḥēr baḥeywateya [wa’ezēmmer la’amlākiya ba’amtān halloku]2

Hallelujah, praise the Lord, my soul. While I live, I will glorify the Lord and I will sing to my God while I have my being.

bārekewwo la’adonāy kwellekemu malā’ektihu bārekewwo la’adonāy kwellekemu ‘elata ferḥewwo

Bless Adonay, all of you his angels, bless Adonay, all of you (every) day who fear him.

eganni laka egzi’o bakwellu lebbeya amlākiya ‘ayna kwellu nafs yessēfo kiyāka^3

I submit to you, Lord, with all my heart, my God; the eye of all souls hopes for you.

sebḥata adonāy yenagger afuya kwellu zaśegā yebarek lasemu qeddus^4

My mouth shall speak the praise of Adonay. Let all flesh bless his holy name.

kwellu zaśegā yebarek lasemu qeddus lasemu ḥeyāw

Let all flesh bless his holy and living name.

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza adonāy adonāy amlākena adonāy aḥādu^5

Hear Israel, the commandments of Adonay, Adonay is our God, Adonay is one.

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza adonāy adonāy faṭārina gabārina ‘aqqābina nolāwina radā’ina anta la’ālam adonāy aḥādu

Hear Israel, the commandments of Adonay, Adonay is our creator, our maker, our guardian, our shepherd, our helper, you are one forever, Adonay.

*3

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza adonāy ēlohēna ēlohē abrehām ēlohē yesḥaq ēlohē yā’eqob esrā’ēl qeddusān adonāy aḥādu

Hear Israel, the commandments of Adonay. Our God, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, the holy ones (of) Israel, Adonay is one.

**5

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza adonāy zakkarna tefeśśeḥtana waḥaśśētana adonāy aḥādu

Hear, Israel, the commandments of Adonay. We remembered our happiness and joy, Adonay is one.

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza adonāy mannu ya’arreg lana bawesta samāy wamannu ya’addewana bamā’edota yordānos

Hear, Israel, the commandments of Adonay, who will ascend for us to heaven, and who will make us cross to the other side of the Jordan.

wasamā’nāhā wagabarnāhā wa’aqabnāhā esma nāhu ṭeqqa qāl

And we heard it and we observed it and we guarded it because, behold, truly is the word,

westa haqwekani westa lebbekani westa egarikani westa edawikani In your waist also, in your heart also, in your feet also, in your hands also.

kamāhu kama tegbarrā lazātti śer’āt

Likewise that you may observe this rule.

nāhu sēmku qedma a’eyyentika mot waḥeywat wamargam^6

Behold, I put in front of your eyes death and life and malediction.

h̰eray laka adonāy aḥādu semu labāḥetitu

Choose for you, Adonay is one, his name is his alone.

*7

semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza eg”? ? nāhu ta’addew zanta yordānos [anta] ? wasabe’eka

Hear, Israel, the commandments of the Lord,? ? behold, [you] and your men shall cross the Jordan.

wa’emze sēsayakka mannā wasēsaya adonāy kamazayesēssi ab waldo adonāy aḥādu semu labāḥetitu

And then he fed you with manna, Adonay fed (you) as a father feeds his son. Adonay is one, his name is his alone.

1. The text was transcribed primarily from a solo performance by Berhan Baruk (12/2/73), because of the difficulty of deciphering the group rendition from yasanbat sanbat. However, several differences are audible. The refrain in the liturgical performance throughout was performed: semā‘ esrā’ēl te’ezāza eg” adonāy aḥādu semu labāḥetitu. The liturgical version has additional (incomprehensible) verses at the points marked with asterisks. (*3 = 3 additional verses). During interpolation **, the text from Example 1-13J is included within a long chanted passage, with the addition of the phrase wabakwellu hellinaka (and with all your mind). Bracketed text is found only in 1-13I.

2. This prayer is found in Halévy, “Nouvelles Prières,” pp. 97-99, with minor variations in content and order. Also see Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, no. 122, for the incipit.

3. Ps. 8 (9): 1, 144 (145):15.

4. Ps. 144 (145):21 and Maṣḥafa Qeddāsē, p. 143 (Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, p. 71).

5. See Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 242.

6. cf. Jeremiah 21:8.

1-13H yasanbat sanbat

1-13I sanbat morning

1-13J wayebē semā‘ esrā’ēl (And he said, Hear Israel) sanbat morning

wayebē semā‘ esrā’ēl eg” 1 [? incomprehensible chanting]

And he said, Hear Israel, the Lord [? incomprehensible chanting]

wa’afqerro la’eg” amlākeka bakwellu lebbeka wabakwellu nafseka wabakwellu h̰ayleka^2

And love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,

wayemlā’ westa lebbeka And let it fill your heart.

1. Almost certainly Deut. 6:4 (6:5 in Ge‘ez Orit, published as Beluy Kidān. Asmara: E.C. 1955.)

2. Deut. 6:5(6). Also, Aešcoly Recueil, p. 242, and Halévy, “Nouvelles Prières,” pp. 97-98.

1-14A ‘eqabu warh̰a nisān (Observe the month of Nisan) nisān čaraqā ba‘āl, Makonnen Teku, 11/26/73

‘eqabu warh̰a nisān

Observe the month of Nisan.

‘eqabu warh̰a nisān waṣā’kemu emmedra gebs

Observe the month of Nisan in which you came out from the land of Egypt.

1-14B qatāli (The killer) arfe asert, Berhan Baruk, 7/29/80

qatāli qatāli ahsārē giguyān qatāli za’iyyemawwet

The killer, the killer, destroyer of the transgressors, the killer who is immortal.

tazakkaranna baḥemāmena hāllēluyā

Remember us in our sickness, hallelujah.

tazakkaranna re’i h̰asārena hāllēluyā

Remember us, see our deprivation, hallelujah.

adh̰enanna em’eda ẓarena hāllē

Save us from the hand of our enemy, halle.

adh̰enanna em’eda ekkuyān hāllē^1

Save us from the hand of the evil one, halle.

genayu la’amlāka samāy hāllē

Give thanks to the God of heaven, halle

esma la’ālam ‘abiyy meḥratu hāllē.

For his great mercy endures forever, halle.

1. cf. Ps. 139 (140): 1.

1-15A berhān śaraqa laṣādqān (Light appeared to the righteous) berhān śaraqa morning

berhān śaraqa laṣādqān

Light appeared to the righteous.

berhān śaraqa laṣādqān baberhānomu laqeddusān

Light appeared to the righteous in the light of the holy ones.

śaraqa berhān larāt’ān bawesta selmat^1

Light appeared to the righteous within the darkness.

‘abiyy berhān laṣādqān ‘erufān lafeśśuḥān bamangeśta samāyāt

Great light to the righteous, the rested, and the joyous in the kingdom of heaven.

walabaska berhāna adonāy kama lebs^2

And you wore the light, Adonay, as a garment.

tafaśśeḥu ba’eg” zarad’anna wayabbebu la’amlāka yā’eqob^3

Rejoice in the Lord who helped us and give thanks to the God of Jacob.

neśe’u mazmura wahabu kabaro mazmur ḥawāz zamesla masenqo

Raise a song, (and) sound the kabaro, the sweet song with the masenqo.

nefehu qarna ba‘ālāta śarq ba’emmret ‘elat ba‘ālena^4

Blow the horn at the new moon, at the day of our feast.

esma śer’ātu la’esrā’ēl we’etu abiyy śer’ātu la’esrā’ēl

For this is the rule of Israel, the great rule of Israel.

esma śer’ātu la’esrā’ēl we’etu wafetḥu la’amlāka yā’eqob

For this is the rule of Israel, and the ordinance of the God of Jacob.

esēbbeḥakka bakwellu bakwellu gizē wabakwellu mawā’ela ḥeyewateya ansa kiyāka tawakkalku

I will praise you in all, at all times, and in all the days of my life, I myself trust in you.

ansa babezha meḥrateka egzi’o ebawwe’ bētaka wa’esagged westa ṣerḥa maqdaseka baferhāteka egzi’o merḥānni baṣedqeka^5

I myself, with your great mercy, Lord, I enter into your house, and I worship in your holy temple in fear of you. Lord, lead me in your righteousness,

wasem’anni anta emenna dellew māhedareka

And you hear me, from your prepared dwelling place.

amān wasem’anni anta emenna ṣerḥa maqdaseka

Truly you hear me, from your holy temple.

1. Ps. 111 (112):4. Portions of the verses 1-3 of this prayer are found in Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 220.

2. Ps. 103(104):2.

3. Ps. 80(81):1-4

4. Ps. 8(81):4 and Ṣoma Deggwā, Ammestu Sawātewa Zēmāwocc (Addis Ababa: Berhanenna Selam, c. 1968), p. 82.

5. Ps. 5(6):8-9 and Velat, Ṣoma Deggua, n. 1008. This antiphon occurs at the beginning of sebḥāta nagh, the same time and occasion on which it is found in Falasha ritual. Occuring in only one of the eight sources consulted by Velat for his edition, this antiphon is not found in the published Ṣoma Deggwä text in Ammestu Sawātewa Zēmāwocc.

1-15B na‘ā h̰abēya (Come to me) berhān śaraqa

na’ā h̰abēya na’ā h̰abēya na’ā h̰abēya^1

Come to me, come to me, come to me,

dāwit neguśa esrā’ēl na’ā h̰abēya (4)*

David, King of Israel, come to me.

dāwit neguśa ba‘āla mazmur na’ā h̰abēya (4)

David, king of the author of the Psalms, come to me.

dāwit neguśa ba‘āla masenqo na’ā h̰abēya na’ā dāwit (3)

David, King of the player of the masenqo, come to me, come David.

wateqattel agānenta na’ā dāwit (3) watāqarreb malā’ekta na’ā dāwit (4)

And you will kill the devils, come David and bring closer the angels, come David.

zaṣan’a beka iyyeth̰affar na’ā….

He who trusts in you is never ashamed, come….

1. A similar “hymn to King David” is used as an introduction to the psalms in Ethiopian Christian liturgy. See Getatchew Haile, A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts 4:454.

*Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of repetitions of refrain na’ā h̰abēya or na’ā dāwit.

1-15C hērzigā ( ? ) astasreyo eve

hērzigā^1 hērzigā hērzigā yamān adarā hērzigā

? ? ? on the right adarā, ?

esma anta neguś hērzigā

For you are King, ?

za’ābṣeḥanna eska yom eska zātti ‘elat hērzigā

Who brought us to today, to this day, ?

za’iterasse’anna eska yom eska zātti ‘elat

Who did not forget us to today, to this day.

Agau verses.

1. Manuscripts spell this Agau word both hērzigā and ḥērzigā. Halévy transcribes the word hērzi gāya, which he translates as “Praise the Lord.” Essai Sur la Langue Agaou: Le dialecte des falachas, Actes de la Société philologique, vol. 3, no. 4 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Cie, 1873), p. 181. One Falasha priest offered the meaning “great king” or “Lord” (Makonnen Teku, 26/11/73). Since the literal translation is in question, none is provided here.

1-15C,1 hērzigā

1-15C,2 hērzigā

1-15D iyyarusālēm (Jerusalem) astasreyo, Berhan Baruk, 1/22/73

iyyarusālēm tezēnnewanna iyyarusālēm

Jerusalem proclaims to us, Jerusalem,

fennāwihā iyyarusālēm kwiḥātihā iyyarusālēm

Her ways, Jerusalem, her willows, Jerusalem.

zēnewu lana zēnā salām zēnewu lana zēnā salām

Tell us the news of peace, tell us the news of peace.

alēf ‘effo nebratā bāḥetita^1

Alef, how is her lonely life?

Bēt bekāya bakayat

Bet, weeping she wept.

Gāmēl felsata yehudā

Gamel, the exile of Judah.

dālēṭ fennāwihā laṣeyon

Dalet, the ways of Zion.

ḥēt abasā abbasat

Het, she committed a sin.

qof ṣawwā’ku semaka

Qof, I called your name.

rēs re’i egzi’o ḥemāmena^2

Res, see, Lord, our sickness.

rēs re’i egzi’o h̰esamana

Res, see, Lord, our insult.

sān malā’ekt sadaduni

San, the angels expelled me.

tāw lateqrab se’lateya h̰abēka

Taw, may my request come to you.

alēf effo māsana warq waberur

Alef, how was gold and silver tarnished?

westa aflāga bābilon heyya nabarna wabakayena sobā tazakkarnāhā laṣeyon^3

By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down there, and we wept when we remembered Zion.

westa kwiḥātihā saqalna ‘enzirātina

Among the willows we hung our lyres.

esma baheyya tas’eluna ella ẓēwawuna nagara māh̰elēt

For there those who took us captives asked us for a song,

wa’ellahli yewasseduna yebeluna h̰eleyu lana emmāh̰aleyihā laṣeyon

And those who led us, into captivity asked us, saying, “Sing us songs of Zion.”

1. Verses alēf- qof are based on Lamentations 1-12. All are found in Aešcoly, Recueil, p. 238.

2. Verses rēs – taw draw on Ps. 118(119).

3. Ps. 136(137):1-4.

1-15E wa’a’ewāfa samāy (And birds of the sky) fāsikā, Gete Asrass and Adana Takuyo, 1/25/73

wa’a‘ewāfa samāy wa‘aśāta bāḥr

And birds of the sky and fish of the sea,

waye’ezēni h̰aba westa fenota bāḥr wawe’etu babāḥru śārara

And now in the way of the sea, and he laid a foundation in the sea.

zayahawweko lamā’ebala bāḥr zayerēsseyā labāḥr yabsa

He who agitates the waves, who makes the sea into dry land,

zayāstagābbe’ā kama ḥeggā lamāya bāḥr^1

He who gathers the water of the sea according to its law,

wakwellu h̰āylu lafar’on bakama maṣ’a westa bāḥr

And all the power of Pharoah as he came within the sea.

nesēbbeḥo la’eg” sebbuḥa zatasabbeḥa^2

We praise the Lord, praised, that is to be praised.

farasa wazayeẓẓē’ano warawa westa bāḥr

The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

1. cf. Exodus 15:8.

2. cf. Exodus 15:1.

1-16A sebḥata eg” (Praise of the Lord) Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

sebḥata eg” yenagger afuya wakwellu zaśegā yebarrek lasemu qeddus la’ālam walai’ālam ‘ālam^1

My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

1. Ps. 144 (145): 21 and Maṣḥāfa Qeddāsē, p. 143 (Marcos Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, p. 71).

1-16B yetbārak (Blessed) Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

yetbārak eg” amlāka esrā’ēl zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera bāḥetitu^1

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who performed great (things) and miracles alone.

wayetbārak sema sebḥatihu qeddus

And blessed be the name of his holy praise,

wayemlā’ sebḥatihu kwello medra layekun layekun

And let his praise fill all the earth, let it be, let it be.

1. cf. Ps. 71 (71): 18-19 and Sa’ātāt, Zalēlit wazanagh, (Addis Ababa: Tasefa Gabra Selassie Press, 1955 E.C.), p. 7.

1-16C qeddus (Holy) Abba Petros Gebre Selassie, 3/31/82

qeddus qeddus eg” ṣabā‘ot feṣṣum melu‘ samāyāta wamedra qeddesāta sebḥatika^1

Holy, holy, perfect Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are full of the holiness of your praise.

qeddus qeddus qeddus eg” za’emqedma ‘ālam hallo wayehēllu eska la‘ālam

Holy, holy, holy, Lord who existed since before the world and will exist forever.

1. Sa’ātāt, Zalēlit wazanagh, pp. 7-8. For other qeddus texts, see Sa’ātāt, pp. 24, 128. For the appearance of this text in at least four of the fourteen Ethiopian Anaphoras, see Daoud, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, pp. 91, 174, 188, 222.

Appendix 2

Excerpts from the Berhān Śaraqa Evening Ritual

Table of Contents

Appendix Number

Verse Number*

2-1

2

2-2

8

2-3

14

2-4

18

2-5

28

2-6

30

2-7

34

2-8

40

2-9

52

2-10

54

2-11

58

2-12

62

2-13

68

2-14

70

2-15

76

2-16

78

2-17

82

2-18

84

2-19

88

2-20

90

2-21

92

2-22

94

2-23

96

2-24

100

2-25

104

2-26

108

2-27

112

2-28

116

2-29

120

2-30

124

2-31

128

2-32

132

2-33

136

2-34

138

* Corresponding to text of Berhān Śaraqa evening ritual.

Berhān Śaraqa Evening Service

Verse

Performers

Text and Translation

2*

C

yetbārak eg” “amlāka esrā’ēl^1

Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel,

zagabra ‘abiyya wamankera bāḥetitu qeddus

Who performed great (things), and miracles, he alone is holy.

3

S

(repeat)

4

C

buruk yetbārak eg” amlāka esrā’ēl

Blessed, blessed be the Lord, God of Israel,

za’abṣehanna eska yom eska zātti’elat

Who brought us to today, to this day.

5

S

(repeat)

6

C

buruk yetbārak eg” amlāka esrā’ēl

Blessed, blessed be the Lord, God of Israel,

za’irasā’kanna eska yom eska zātti ‘elat

Who did not forget us to today, to this day.

7

S

(repeat)

8

C

buruk yetbārak eg” amlāka abāwina

Blessed, blessed be the Lord, God of our fathers,

ekkwut adonāy wasebbuḥ semeka egzi’o la’ālam

Laudatory, Adonay, and praised is your name, Lord, forever.

9

S

(repeat)

10

C

buruk yetbārak eg” amān amlāka esrā’ēl

Blessed, blessed be the Lord, truly God of Israel,

* A first, solo verse was not recorded because of the necessity to shift positions at the beginning of the ritual.

1. See Table 14 for listing of textual references.

Verse

Performers

Text and Translation

amlāka lakwellu zamanfas egzi’ lakwellu zaśegā

God of all spirit and Lord of all flesh.

11

S

(repeat)

12

C

wayemlā’ sema sebḥatihu la’eg”

And let the name of the praise of the Lord be full,

walakwellu medr wakwellu ‘ālam la’ālam layekun

In all the earth and all the world forever, let it be.

13

S

(repeat)

14

C-S-C

semeka egzi’o la’ālam

Your name, Lord, is forever.

manbareka egzi’o eska la‘ālam

Your throne, Lord, is forever.

15

S-C-S

(repeat)

16

C-S-C

semeka egzi’o la‘ālam

Your name, Lord, is forever.

dellew manbareka eska la‘ālam

Your throne is prepared forever.

17

S-C-S

(repeat)

18

C-S-C

bāḥetitu qeddus qeddus bāḥetitu amān qeddus

He alone is holy, holy, truly he alone is holy.

19

S-C-S

(repeat)

20

C-S-C

amān qeddus eg” ṣabā‘ot

Truly holy is the Lord of hosts.

21

S-C-S

(repeat)

22

C-S-C

qeddus h̰āyyāl eg” ṣabā‘ot

Holy, powerful is the Lord of hosts.

23

S-C-S

(repeat)

24

C-S-C

qeddus qeddus eg” ṣabā‘ot

Holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

25

S-C-S

(repeat)

26

C-S-C

qeddus yekun eg” ṣabā‘ot

Let the Lord of hosts be holy.

27

S-C-S

(repeat)

28

C-S-C

qeddus qeddus egzi’ zahāllo wayehēllu hāllēluyā

Holy, holy is the Lord, who was and will be, hallelujah.

29

S-C-S

(repeat)

30

C

adonāy qeddus zalakwellu ‘ālam

Adonay is holy to all the world.

31

S

(repeat)

32

C

qeddus ? ah̰āzē kwellu ‘ālam

Holy is ? master of the whole world.

33

S

(repeat)

34

C

abbā ah̰āzē ah̰āzē kwellu ‘ālam

Father, master, master of the whole world.

35

S

(repeat)

36

C

(repeat)

37

S

(repeat)

38

C

faṭārē samāyāt ah̰āzē kwellu ‘ālam

Creator of the heavens, master of the whole world.

39

S

(repeat)

40

S

anta we’etu zahāllo wayehēllu

You are he who was and will be.

41

C

(repeat)

42

S

esma anta we’etu mogasomu laṣādqān

For you are the grace of the righteous.

43

C

(repeat)

44

S

esma anta we’etu aklilomu laneṣuḥān

For you are the crown of the pure.

45

C

(repeat)

46

S

esma anta we’etu ‘ebayomu laqebuṣān

For you are the greatness of the hopeless.

47

C

(repeat)

48

S

esma anta we’etu waṣen‘omu ladekumān

For you are the strength of the weak.

49

C

(repeat)

50

S

esma anta we’etu amlāk ḥeyāw ?

For you are the living God ?

51

C

(repeat)

52

C

zamale’elta aryām zatenabber

You who live in the highest heaven.

53

S

(repeat)

54

C

wasem‘anna anta ṣalotana lanadāyān

And you hear us, our prayer of the poor.

55

S

(repeat)

56

C

anta sem‘anna ga‘ārana lamuquḥān

You hear us, our wailing of the prisoners.

57

S

(repeat)

58

C

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emla’elēna

Soothe your anger from upon us.

59

S

(repeat)

60

C

way’ezēni aqwrer zātta ma‘ātaka emlā‘elēna

And now soothe that anger of yours from upon us.

61

S

(repeat)

62

C-S-C

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna

Soothe your anger from us.

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emlā‘elēna Soothe your anger from upon us.

63

S-C-S

(repeat)

64

C-S-C

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna

Soothe your anger from us.

arḥeq maqsaftaka emlā‘elēna

Remove your smite from upon us.

65

S-C-S

(repeat)

66

C-S-C

aqwrer ma‘ātaka emenēna

Soothe your anger from us.

aqum kidānaka la‘ālam

Establish your pact forever.

67

S-C-S

(repeat)

68

C-S-C

bakama maḥāri ma‘ātaka aqwrer ma‘ātaka

As you are merciful, your anger, soothe your anger.

69

S-C-S

bakama maḥāri kanka aqwrer ma‘ātaka

As you are merciful, soothe your anger.

70

S-C-S

anta anta ḥerayyo lagabreka waṣan‘at edēka

You, you chose your servant and your hand is strong.

wale‘ul wale‘ul mazrā’teka

And your arm is elevated, elevated.

71

C-S-C

(repeat)

72

S-C-S

? ?

73

C-S-C

? ?

74

S-C-S

h̰ayla mazrā‘tu ṣenu‘ ṭeqqa

The power of his arm is very strong.

h̰ayla yamānu ṣenu‘ ?

The power of his right arm is strong ?

75

C-S-C

(repeat)

76

C-S-C

zayetla’al h̰ayleka bakama tebē enza tebē

You whose power is elevated, as you said, while you said.

77

S-C-S

(repeat)

78

C-S-C

zawe’etu semeka zala‘ālam

You whose name is forever,

maḥāri kun zala‘ālam

Be merciful forever.

79

S-C-S

(repeat)

80

C-S-C

zawe’etu semeka adonāy

You whose name is Adonay,

amān wasemekani ?

Truly and your name is ?

81

S-C-S

(repeat)

82

C-S-C

amān wasem’anni egzi’o eg” maḥāri wamastaśāhl

Truly and hear me, Lord, Lord, O merciful and compassionate one.

83

S-C-S

(repeat)

84

C-S-C-S-C

tazakkar abrehāmhā tazakkar yesḥaqhā tazakkar yā‘eqobhā

Remember Abraham, remember Isaac, remember Jacob.

85

S-C-S-C-S

(repeat)

86

C-S-C-S-C

amlāka abrehāmhā, amlāka yesḥaqhā, amlāka yā‘eqobhā

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.

87

S-C-S-C-S

(repeat)

88

C-S-C

yedallu laka sebḥāt waykun laka segdat

Praise is fitting for you and let there be worship to you.

89

S-C-S

(repeat)

90

C-S-C

wasaraya eg” zanta ekkita

And the Lord forgave this evil,

wah̰adaga eg” maqsafta ma’ātu

And the Lord forsook the smite of his anger.

91

S-C-S

(repeat)

92

C-S-C

ellu sab’ zagabra egzi’

These are the men whom the Lord created.

93

S-C-S

ellussa kāhnātika egzi’o

These are your priests, Lord,

ellussa ella yāsammeruka

These are those who please you.

94

C-S-C

astadālawna sebḥāta lasema zi‘aka amān qeddas

We prepared praise to your truly holy name.

95

S-C-S

astadālawna śāhla lasema zi‘aka amān qeddus

We prepared compassion to your truly holy name.

96

C-S-C

zi‘aka egzi’o hellāwē wah̰āyl

Yours is existence and power, Lord.

zi‘aka egzi’o ella ḥāwwaṣkanna

Yours are we whom you visited, Lord.

97

S-C-S

(repeat)

98

C-S-C

Agau verse

99

S-C-S

(repeat)

100

S

wanababo eg” lamusē

And the Lord spoke to Moses,

101

C

(repeat)

102

S

h̰eẓebbomu ladaqiqa esrā’ēl

Wash the children of Israel.

103

C

negerromu ladaqiqa esrā’ēl

Tell the children of Israel,

104

S-C-S

berhān śaraqa laṣādqān

Light appeared to the righteous,

105

C-S-C

(repeat)

106

S-C-S

baberhānomu laqeddusān

By the light of the holy.

107

C-S-C

(repeat)

108

S-C-S

? berhān

? light

109

C-S-C

?

110

S-C-S

? eg” ? la’amlākena

? Lord ? to our God

111

C-S-C

(repeat)

112

S-C-S

wa’ābṣāḥkanna heyya yekunna amēn basalām

And you brought us there. Let it be for us, amen, in peace.

113

C-S-C

(repeat)

114

S-C-S

ḥegg zala‘ālam yekunkemu

A law forever let it be to you.

115

C-S-C

(repeat)

116

S-C-S

ḥegg zala‘ālam yekunkemu zala‘ālam bamawwā’elikemu

A law forever let it be to you, forever in your days.

117

C-S-C

(repeat)

118

S-C-S

wasem‘anna qāla qeddusa wasem‘anna qāla ṭe’uma

And hear us, the holy word, and hear us, the sweet word.

119

C-S-C

(repeat)

120

C

wayekun zala‘ālam śer’āto ?

And let his rule be forever ?

121

S

(repeat)

122

C

ah̰deranna westa hagarena basalām

Make us dwell within our land in peace.

123

S

(repeat)

124

C-S

basalāmeka kallalkanna basalāmeka ah̰deranna

In your peace you sheltered us, make us dwell within your peace.

125

S-C

bameḥrateka egzi’o ḥāwweṣanna

In your mercy, Lord, visit us.

126

C-S

ar’eyanna habanna berhāna sebḥātika

Show us, give us the light of your praise.

127

C-S

Agau verse

128

S-C-S

albo bā‘d amlāk

There is no other God.

129

C-S-C

(repeat)

130

S-C-S

Agau verse

131

C-S-C

(repeat)

132

S

hērzigā

?

133

C

(repeat)

134

S

Agau verse

135

C

(repeat)

136

S-C-S-C

ṣādeq esma ṣādeq yemlā’

Righteous, because the righteous will fill.

137

S-C-S

esma ṣādeq eg” ‘abiyy waneṣuḥ labēt esrā’ēl

For the Lord is righteous, great, and pure to the House of Israel.

138

C-S-C

(repeat)

139

unison

ṣādeq eg”

Righteous Lord

(chanted)

incomprehensible chanting, some Agau verses

140

Gete Asrass

(Translation of spoken Ge‘ez)

Righteous and pure to your household, righteous Lord.

The glory of his name is never ending.

Who brought us to this hour, to this day.

You did not forget us to this hour and day.

Who saw goodness and who will uncover evil.

(Agau text)

And you left behind us a portion of all things. Amen.

Light appeared to the righteous in the light of the holy ones.

Light appeared to the righteous within the darkness.

Great light to the righteous and the joyous in the kingdom of heaven.

141

Gete Asrass

(Translation of spoken Amharic)

This important holiday is the head of the year.

May God in his mercy let us celebrate next year. Amen.

May God preserve everyone from young to old. Amen.

May he make the merciful rain and the sustenance to be blessed. Amen.

May the Lord not take away the sustenance and king. Amen.

May he not remove the altar from his sanctuary and the king from his throne.

Amen. (Agau text)

Let us dwell in our country in peace.

Amen. (Agau text)

There is no other God forever except you.

142

unison

basamāyeni balā‘elu wabamedreni batāḥetu

(chanted)

In heaven above and on earth below,

emqedmēkani wa’emdeh̰rēkani albo bā‘d amlāk

Before you and after you, there is no other God.

2-1

2-2

2-3

2-4

2-5

2-6

2-7

2-8

2-9

2-10

2-11

2-12

2-13

2-14

2-15

2-16

2-17

2-18

2-19

2-20

2-21

2-22

2-23

2-24

2-25

2-26

2-27

2-28

2-29

2-30

2-31

2-32

2-33

2-34

Appendix 3

Biographies of Ethiopian Research Associates

Appendix 3

Biographies of Ethiopian Research Associates

The men who so generously provided the primary information on which this study is based take great pride in their knowledge of their liturgical traditions. Since anonymity was not requested or desired, I consider it appropriate in this study to credit statements about Falasha and Ethiopian Christian practice to the men who made them. Just as the fieldworker’s perspective is part of the equation, so is the research associate’s. Knowledge of the individuals on whose testimony I have based this book is particularly important given their small number.

Seven Beta Israel priests provided testimony about their religious practice as well as participated in rituals I taped. Yona Bogale, although not a member of the clergy, has been active as a leader of the Beta Israel community and is widely knowledgeable about history and liturgical practice.

Two Ethiopian Christian clergymen with whom I worked in projects I thought to be independent of the Falasha study in the end contributed greatly to my understanding of Beta Israel liturgy and its musical content. For that reason, biographies of Abba Petros Gebre Selassie and Alaqa Berhanu Makonnen are included.

Adana Takuyo

Qes Adana, a man in his fifties, was born in Seqelt and studied with monks as a child. Since coming to Ambober at the time of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, he worked as a farmer. He studied Hebrew briefly in 1955 when an Israeli rabbi taught in Asmara. Qes Adana and his wife have eleven children; their eldest son, Josef, immigrated to Israel, where he was ordained the first Ethiopian Jewish rabbi. The Adana family was reunited in Israel in 1985.

Berhan Baruk

Qes Berhan described his childhood: “I was born in Seqelt and at the age of eleven started my education. My father was a priest, and I studied with him. There was also a school where I studied Ge‘ez, Orit, Dāwit, and many other books. My father was the head of the people, and when he went to the people I would go with him… When I was a young man my father quarreled with the Christian people, and because of this quarrel he took me to Wolleka.” Qes Berhan remembered in detail the encounter between his father and Jacques Faitlovitch:

My father’s brother, Dabtarā Daniel, went away with Halame Joseph [Joseph Halévy] to Jerusalem. After they taught Dabtarā Daniel, they ordered him to come home. But he only reached Egypt and he died there…. Later Dr. Faitlovitch came to Ethiopia with a picture and told us how he died. At that time there was no car, and he traveled by horse, suffering a lot. It took six months for him to reach us from Asmara. … He brought the picture and showed it to my father, who said it was of his brother, Dabtarā Daniel.

At that time I was young and I too saw the picture. Dr. Faitlovitch said to me, “Who are you?” “I am Berhan Baruk,” I answered. “Then,” he said, “Dabtarā Baruch is your name.”

After they met, my father asked Dr. Faitlovitch about many things, especially the life of his brother. He became friends with Dr. Faitlovitch and introduced him to the Falashas. My father invited people from different villages to come together.

Qes Berhan’s memory is elaborated by a passage in Joseph Halévy’s travel diary (“Travels,” pp. 74-75):

When the time for my departure came, the whole community assembled on the platform near the synagogue…. A young Falasha, named Daniel, who was a native of Balagueb, in Dembia, and a near kinsman of Abba Jeremiah, manifested his desire to follow me to France. I told him I could not take him without the consent of his parents and of the community. This consent had already been obtained, for in bidding me farewell the priests and elders presented the young man to me, begging me to take him to Europe, that he might be instructed in languages and sciences, and be enabled, on his return among them, to acquaint them accurately with what he had seen and learnt. …. The lad was intelligent, and appeared very willing and ready to receive the benefits of education…. The study of the Hebrew language was the main attraction for him.

In 1977 Qes Berhan and his family moved to an industrial center near the sea in Israel. Qes Berhan, who preferred to be called Uri Ben Baruch, the chief rabbi of the Falashas, died in 1984. He was respected by his fellow priests for his knowledge about Beta Israel history as well as for his fine singing voice.

Barkaw Yallew

Qes Barkaw was in his mid-fifties in 1973 and is a relative of Qes Adana. He recalls studying with priests and monks from age six to twelve. At the time of the Italian occupation he moved to Azezo, a town on the main road south of Gondar. After the war he came to Ambober. Qes Barkaw also studied Hebrew in Asmara and speaks it more fluently than his fellow priests. Occasionally he taught Hebrew to Beta Israel children of nearby villages, but mainly he worked as a farmer. Qes Barkaw’s eldest son also immigrated to Israel.

Dawit Ya’eqob

The most reticent of the Ambober-Seramle priests, Dawit Ya’eqob was in his sixties in 1973. Qes Dawit says he came from a family of priests and describes what priestly life used to be like: “Before, the priests taught and studied. They were given the firstborn of animals, the first harvest, etc., by the people. After the occupation, taxes went up and the Falashas lost land, so the priests also had to work.”

Qes Dawit does not know Hebrew, but his son Joseph studied in Israel and returned to teach at the Ambober school.

Gete Asrass

Alaqa Gete, in his seventies in 1973, was also born in Seqelt. “I studied with the monks and priests. I studied Ge‘ez very well with the monks, and now I am the master of Ge‘ez. … I became chief priest and came to Wagara and Dembiya.” Besides his priestly duties, Alaqa Gete worked as a teacher and merchant. He takes pride in telling that he became “head of the merchants.”

Alaqa Gete came to Ambober in 1936. He, too, learned to read Hebrew in Asmara in 1955, and the experience had a lasting effect:

After we went to Asmara, I was put in charge of the books. Every book which was sent to us was put under my control. There were all kinds of books, alphabets, Hebrew books, picture books, prayer books. All these were under my control. Now we have a lot of books at the synagogue. While I was keeper of the books, we heard that there was not enough money for our salaries. When we heard about this problem, we dropped our jobs for a long time. But today our school is under me and I am the director.

The other history of my life is not good, although I have farmland and servants to farm it. The main thing is that I grew up in Seqelt and studied with the priests and was chosen by Rav Schmuel to go to Asmara…. That is the main thing.

Alaqa Gete leads performances of the liturgy in the prayerhouse, and all the priests agree that he is the most knowledgeable in liturgical performance because of his expertise in Ge‘ez.

Makonnen Teku

Nearly ninety years of age in 1973, Makonnen Teku lived in Tadda, a small village on the main road at the beginning of the rough track leading to Ambober. Qes Makonnen came to the area in 1972 from a village in Gojjam Province. He is descended from a prominent family, and both his father and brother were priests. He studied with a monk name Abba Mundem in Gojjam, learned Dāwit from his father, and acquired the liturgy by listening in the prayerhouse.

Qes Makonnen says he left Gojjam because few Falashas remain there, most having assimilated into Christian society. After four of his five children converted to Christianity, he came to Tadda with his one remaining Falasha daughter. During my stay Qes Makonnen was working as a weaver, although he said that for most of his life he had simply been a priest. In 1975 Qes Makonnen returned to Gojjam.

Wubshet Atagab

Qes Wubshet was born in Seqelt, where he studied Ge‘ez during the day at school. At night he studied the prayers and remembers learning genayu la’egzi’abḥēr first. His father was a priest and the head of the community, and he learned a lot by listening. He studied with monks of his area, whom he remembers fondly: “The monks in the old days, they taught us everything. Only recently they finished since no one wants to be one anymore.”

Qes Wubshet and his wife, Wazaro Yorum, moved to Israel in 1973 to join their son Samuel and his family. They live in a new-immigrant housing project in a small town between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Qes Wubshet is concerned about the future of Beta Israel traditions. He is very supportive of a project to write down the prayers in order to preserve them. He is disturbed that young people are mainly interested in trades and by the lack of respect for the Sabbath in Israel. He complains that young women do not dress modestly enough. Qes Wubshet prays each week in Ge‘ez at a local community center. He still does not speak Hebrew.

Yona Bogale

Yona Bogale’s education abroad in the 1920s was sponsored by Jacques Faitlovitch. He spent two years in Palestine, four in Germany, one in Switzerland, and one in France. After returning to Addis Ababa around 1930, he taught in the Faitlovitch school there. During the Italian occupation he went into hiding and worked as a farmer in Wolleka. After the war Yona Bogale worked for the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for twelve years and then for the Jewish Agency.

Yona Bogale is fluent in Hebrew, English, and German in addition to his native Amharic. He is a scholar who has compiled an Amharic-Hebrew dictionary. He left Ethiopia in late 1979 and now lives in Israel.

Yona Bogale feels that Ethiopian Jews today in Israel must pray in Hebrew and that the Ge‘ez liturgy is no longer appropriate for those seeking to be part of the modern Jewish world. He suggests that Hebrew prayer texts be set to traditional Falasha melodies.

Abba Petros Gebre Selassie

Abba Petros Gebre Selassie was born in 1931 in Eritrea to a family of priests. As a child he overheard an older brother studying with their father, a traditional scholar who knew Tigrinya, Amharic, and Ge‘ez. As a boy Abba Petros spent nine years at the monastery Dabra Bizen in Eritrea, as well as shorter periods at Dabra Abbay in Tigray Province.

Abba Petros received a degree in theology at the Coptic Theological University College, Cairo, in 1960, after which he spent three years at the Office of the Ethiopian Archbishop in Jerusalem. He remained in Jerusalem until 1967, earning an M.A. in Old Testament and Islamic studies at the Hebrew University. Returning to Addis Ababa, he served as faculty member and dean at the Theological College of the Haile Selassie I University in the late 1960s. During 1970-1971 Abba Petros was a teaching fellow in Islamic studies at Harvard University. Again returning to Ethiopia, he held a position from 1971 to 1976 at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and also served as the dean of the Emmanuel Church in Addis Ababa.

Since 1977 Abba Petros has lived in the United States, where he pursued advanced studies at New York University and Princeton Theological Seminary. He recently taught Arabic at the Franciscan monastery in Washington, D.C.

Abba Petros served as an Ethiopian delegate to numerous international church meetings. He speaks Amharic, Arabic, Ge‘ez, Hebrew, and Tigrinya and reads Coptic, Greek, and Italian. Abba Petros is both a priest and a monk.

Alaqa Berhanu Makonnen

Alaqa Berhanu is both a priest and a leader of dabtarās. He was born in Gojjam Province, the son of a priest, and began his ecclesiastical studies at age ten. After studying Ṣoma Deggwā and qenē in Gojjam, he spent twelve years at Bēta Lēhem monastery near Dabra Tabor, where he learned Zemārē, Aqwāqwām, and Mawāse’t. In all, his education spanned thirty-one years and brought him diplomas in Ṣoma Deggwā, Deggwā, Qenē, Zemārē, Mawāse’t, Aqwāqwām, and Ḥaddis Kidān. Alaqa Berhanu teaches in the Theological College in Addis Ababa and supervises all musical activities for the Office of the Patriarch in Addis Ababa.

Glossary

Abba: lit., father; monastic title

Abba Sabra: fifteenth-century founder of Falasha monasticism

Abu Shāker: calendrical source of Falashas and Ethiopian Christians

ač̣č̣ir demẓ: lit., short voice

adbār: spirits inhabiting a given locality, especially mountains

adarā: alternate name of Qemant sky god

adonāy: alternate name of Falasha God

araft: priests’ bench

arārāy. one category of Ethiopian Christian zēmā

Arde’et: Book of the Disciples

ayhud: lit., Jew

ba‘āl: holiday

Berhān Śaraqa: holiday on first day of seventh month

Beta Israel (Bēta Esrā’ēl): House of Israel; preferred Falasha tribal name

badā: evil-eye person

dabtarā: nonordained clergy and musicians

dawal: resonant slabs of stone or wood

Dāwit: Psalter

Deggwā: Ethiopian Christian antiphonary

demẓ: lit., sound, voice

diyāqon: assistant to priests (lit., deacon)

Egzi’abḥēr: God

Ēwosṭātēwos: fourteenth-century monastic leader who died in exile

ezl: one category of Ethiopian Christian zēmā

Fāsikā: Passover and Easter

fetāt: prayer of petition

gadl: lit., acts; biography of monk or saint

Ge‘ez: ancient Ethiopie, liturgical language of Ethiopian Christians and Falashas; one category of Ethiopian Christian zēmā

gemjā: ritual cloth

hassāb: computus

jānṭelā: ritual umbrella

kabaro: Ethiopian Christian ritual kettledrum

kaffetaňňā zēmā: one category of Falasha zēmā

kāhen (kāhnāt): priest (priests)

Kebra Nagast: The Glory of the Kings; Ethiopian national epic

Kufalē: Book of Jubilees

laslāssā zēmā: one category of Falasha zēmā

māh̰bar: association for mutual aid

malāk: angel; argot term for zār

masgid: Falasha prayerhouse; mosque

Maṣḥāfa Berhān: Book of Light

maqwāmiyā: prayer staff

Mawāse‘t: Ethiopian Christian antiphonary for holidays and funerals

mehellā: day of entreaty; alternate name for Seged

melekket: lit., signs; Ethiopian Christian musical notation

Me’rāf: lit., chapter; manuscript containing liturgical orders and chants for church year

mezgāna: Qemant sky god

nagārit: Falasha ritual kettledrum

Orit: Ge‘ez translation of Bible

qāč̣el: Falasha ritual gong

qeddāsē: Ethiopian Christian Mass

qeddus: lit., holy; Qemant culture heroes and minor deities

Qemant: Judaized Agau tribe living near the Falashas

qenē: short poetic liturgical portions

qēs: priest

qiṭṭā: bread for Passover

qwāmi zēmā: one category of Falasha zēmā (alternate name for telleq zēmā)

rajjim demẓ: lit., long voice

rekrek: vocal slides

sa’āt (sa’ātāt): hour (hours); monastic office; horologion

Saggā Amlāk: disciple of Abba Sabra; reputed son of Zar’ā Yā’eqob

ṣalot: prayer of praise

ṣanāṣel: sistrum

Sanbat: Sabbath

sayṭān: spirits (devils) in countryside

selt: mode, order

shillelā: traditional battle song

ṣom: fast day

Ṣoma Deggwā: Ethiopian Christian antiphonary for fast days

tābot: ark of the covenant

tazkār: memorial service

Tazkāra Abrahām: alternate name for Berhān Śaraqa

Te’ezāza Sanbat Commandments of the Sabbath

telleq kāhen: high priest

telleq zēmā: one category of Falasha zēmā; alternate name for qwāmi zēmā

wāzēmā: evening ritual; vespers

Yārēd: saint credited with composition of Christian zēmā

Yasanbat Sanbat: Sabbath of Sabbaths

zafan: Ethiopian (secular) music

zār: spirits; ritual in which they are exorcised

Zar’ā Yā’eqob: Ethiopian emperor, 1434-68

zēmā: Ethiopian (liturgical) music

Selected Bibliography

Selected Bibliography

Primary Sources

MANUSCRIPT AND AUDIOTAPE COLLECTIONS

Berhan Baruk and Wubshet Atagab. Interviews with author. Israel, July-August 1980. Tapes 1-5. Personal collection of Kay Kaufman Shelemay.

Berhanu Makonnen. Interviews with author. Addis Ababa, June-October 1975. Tapes 1-40. Personal collection of Kay Kaufman Shelemay.

Ethiopian Christian liturgical music. Tapes 34-35. Collection of Kay Kaufman [Shelemay]. Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Falasha liturgical music and interviews. Tapes 1-31, 33. Collection of Kay Kaufman [Shelemay]. Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Falasha manuscripts. Nos. 3117, 3120. Faitlovitch collection. Tel Aviv University Library.

Maṣḥāfa Sa’ātāt. Ethiopian Microfilm Manuscript Library Pr. No. 204. Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.

Petros Gebre Selassie. Interviews with author. New York, June-December 1978. Tapes 1-18. Personal collection of Kay Kaufman Shelemay.

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______, trans. Kebra Nagast: The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son, Menylek, by Carl Bezold. 2d ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1932.

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Discography

Jenkins, Jean. Music of the Central Highlands. Vol. 1 of Ethiopia. Tangent Records TGM 101.

Lerner, Lin. Ethiopia: The Falasha and the Adjuran Tribe. Ethnic Folkways FE 4355. 1975.

Leslau, Wolf. Religious Music of the Falashas (Jews of Ethiopia). Ethnic Folkways FE 4442. 1959.

Index

Index

Ab, Fast of. See Ṣoma Ab

Abraham:

Festival of, 146

Testament of, 58

Abu Shāker, 45, 51, 57, 63, 204–205

ač̣č̣ir demẓ, 163, 164, 166, 169, 188–189. See also zēmā

Adam (and Eve), 118

adarā, 40, 60, 110, 121. See also Agau

adbār, 40, 61

Addis Ababa, 25, 79, 192

additional prayers, 117–122. See also prayers

adonāy:

name of God, 40, 121

prayer, 111, 117–118, 123, 134, 244

Agau:

beliefs, 31, 40–41, 54

divinities, 40, 110, 121, 215

in liturgy, 111, 115, 118, 121–122, 124, 126, 151, 153, 213, 215, 223

language, 35, 40, 50, 53, 60, 96, 128

peoples, 18

ritual, 213

traditions, 42

See also adarā, herzigā, kayla, Qemant

Ahmad Ibrahim Imam (Grañ), 34, 213–214

Aksum (Aksumite), 18, 24, 31, 76, 202, 224–225

albo bā‘d amlāk, 39, 151, 206–207

albo zayā’ammer mekru, 118, 294–295. See also neguś anta

Alexandrian:

bishop, 82

calendar, 44–47

position on Sabbath, 83

aliyah, Falasha. See Israel

Alliance israélite universelle, 25

‘amat ba‘āl. See annual holidays

amata sauw, 49, 65. See Seged

Ambober, 5–7, 26, 41, 87–88, 117, 118, 197

Amda Ṣeyon, Emperor, 20, 24, 208

Amhara, 36, 54–55

Amharic, 6, 37, 41, 45, 53, 85, 128, 151, 152

Amharization, 36

amlākiya amlākiya, 118, 125, 292–293

Anākel Astar’i, 53

analysis, approaches to, 8–9

Anaphoras, 112, 209, 222. See also qeddāsē

angels, 40, 41. See also Michael, Gabriel

annual holidays, 114, 115, 116, 117, 120–122, 126, 127, 128–129

145, 162, 164, 166, 171, 176, 185. See also Berhān Śarāqa, Ba‘āla Maṣallat, Fāsikā, Mā’rar

antiphons, 110, 118, 121, 132, 145, 146–147, 149, 151, 152, 158–159, 174, 175, 180, 193–194, 198, 203, 207. See also arayām, arbā‘et, Deggwā, ezl, Mawas’et, salām, salast, Ṣoma Deggwā

aqwāqwām bēt, 185, 189

aqwrer ma‘ātaka, 105–107, 114, 140, 148, 149, 320–321, 333–334

Arabic, 58, 69, 70, 94

arārāy (zēmā), 169, 171–177, 180–181, 194

arāyām, 174–175, 194

arbā’et, 174, 194

Arde’et, 42, 51, 205

Arfe Asart, 54–55, 120

argot, 41

Armachaho, 14, 202

Asart, 54

Asartu Wasamantu, 53

Asefert. See Arfe Asart

Aṣqa, 211

Asrā Ammest, 54

‘Asrā Hulat, 54

Astasreyo, 47–48, 53, 89, 102, 111, 114, 115, 118, 121–122, 124, 126, 129, 141, 153, 188, 198

Atonement, Day of, 47, 64. See also Astasreyo, Yom Kippur

ayhud, 20–22, 33, 82, 208–210, 221

Azariah:

prayer of, 133

priest, 76, 92–93, 202

ba‘āl, 47, 102

Ba‘āla Maṣallat, 48, 102, 111, 112, 116, 121, 122

baptism, 42, 61–62, 205. See also Arde’et

bārek sanbateya, 118, 124, 287–290

Barkaw Yallew, 101, 118, 121, 123, 349

Baruch, Apocalypse of, 58

basalāmeka, 108, 114–115, 133, 264–265

Batri, Abba, 55

Begemder and Semien Province, 5, 14, 19, 20, 43, 189, 208, 224. See

also Ambober, Gondar, Semien Mountains

beginning prayer, 100, 113, 116, 120–121, 127, 132, 166, 178, 185, 192, 194, 199. See also Berhän Śaraqa

beliefs, 39–41

Benjamin of Tudela, 36

Berhan Baruk, 101, 120, 348–349

Berhān Śaraqa:

holiday, 47, 56, 63, 64, 100, 102, 111, 112, 113, 116, 121, 122, 126, 140, 146, 147, 148–153, 166–168, 178, 184, 314–344

prayer text, 110, 132, 147, 152, 302–303. See also, wāzēmā

Berhanu Makonnen, 353

berit milah, 44

Beta Israel:

definition of, 17, 225

use of name, 11

Bible, quotation of, 9–10

Book of Angels, 58

bowing, 48, 71–72, 145–146, 188. See also, prostration

bread sacrifice, 44, 56, 67, 205, 219

Bruce, James, 92–93

budā, 23, 35

calendar:

Ethiopian, 208

Falasha – Jewish, 37, 45, 52, 55, 56–57

Falasha liturgical, 44–57, 65, 104, 212.

See also Abu Shāker

canticles, 143, 144, 147, 148–150, 180, 207. See also, Habbakuk, Manasseh, Moses, Three Children in the Fire

cantillation, 142

celibacy, 69, 84

centonization, 142, 145–146, 148. See also, mastagābe, mesbāk, mesgād, meqnāy

Chanukah, 56.

choir, 144, 145

Christ, 20, 147, 207, 208, 210

Christian. See Ethiopian Christian

Christological, 69, 153, 207

chronicles, Ethiopian, 20, 22, 32

Church Missionary Society, 24

circumcision, 42, 44, 62, 82, 87, 206

clergy. See dabtarā, deacon, monk, priest

clitoridectomy, 42, 44, 62

Commandments of the Sabbath. See Te’ezāza Sanbat

communal meal, 142. See also bread sacrifice

communion, 53, 72, 93, 219

comparison:

of Falashas and Ethiopian Christians, 145–154, 173–180, 203–208

method, 2–3, 4, 8, 143–144

composition, musical, 140–141

confession, 42–43, 53, 62, 83, 87, 95

congregation, 47, 88–90, 204, 213

Conti Rossini, Carlo, 57

contrafact, 175, 179, 183

conversion:

Beta Israel ritual for, 61, 211–212

in Israel, 27

Coptic:

church, 58, 62

literature, 208

office, 132, 153

crafts, 6, 23. See also masonry, metallurgy

cross, 72

Cushitic. See Agau

customs:

life cycle, 41–44, 217

penitential, 50

dabtarā:

Falasha, 79, 86–87, 88, 102, 109, 140, 156, 161, 162, 212

Ethiopian Christian, 45, 87, 102, 173, 185–186, 189, 214

Dabtara, Abba, 95–96

daily prayers, 111, 114, 115, 116, 117, 122–124, 139, 162, 169, 204

dance, liturgical, 47–48, 53, 93, 183, 188–190, 198, 214

Daniel canticle. See Three Children in the Fire

Daniélou, Jean, 115

David, Shield of, 73, 92

David, hymn to, 121

dawal, 77–78, 185. See also instruments, musical

Dāwit, 111, 129, 141, 200. See also psalms

Dāwit, Emperor, 82–83, 208

Dawit Ya’eqob, 349–350

deacon, 50, 76, 87

Death of Aaron, 58

Death of Moses, 58

Decalogue, 49, 141

Deggwā, 110, 145, 146–147, 169, 174, 192, 193, 214

Demetrius, Patriarch, 54, 67

demẓ, 100, 162–165, 185, 188–189, 192. See also zēmā

devils, 40. See also saytān

dietary laws, 42, 206. See also food prohibitions

diyāqon. See deacon

drum, 110, 115, 184–185, 188. See also nagārit

Easter, 178. See also Fāsikā

Egypt, 48, 58, 70, 82, 218–219

Egyptian:

bishops, 83, 213

Jews, 18

Egzi’abḥēr, 39

egzi’o merḥarnni, 117, 122, 286

egzi’abḥēr nageśa, 119, 134, 150, 193, 304–305

egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku, 105–107, 115–116, 122–123, 133, 155, 270–272. See also egzi’o ṣem‘anna

egzi’o sem‘anna, 115–116, 125, 126, 127, 128, 272–277. See also egzi’o

ṣarāh̰ku

Elephantine theory, 18, 30

Eli of Ferrara, 36

Elijah, Abba, 58

Elijah, Prophet, 40, 115

elohē, 40

emen, 47

emmeśraqa ẓaḥāy, 105–108, 109–110, 111, 113, 121, 126, 127, 131, 132, 147, 235–238

Endita, Emma, 85

Enfraz, 81, 86

Enoch:

Book of, 45, 52, 57, 68, 220

week of, 52

ensaslaye, 43, 63

esēbbeḥo la’egzi’abḥēr, 116, 119, 125, 128, 298

Essenes, 219–220

Esther, Fast of, 45, 50. See also Ṣoma Aster

Esṭifānos, 208, 214. See also Stephanites

Ethiopian Christian:

architecture, 71–72, 76

calendar, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 63, 64

controversies, 21–22, 81–83, 200–201, 208–215, 222

dabtarā, 45, 87, 102, 173, 185, 189, 214

dance, 188–190

holidays, 48, 51, 53, 54, 60

influence on Beta Israel, summary, 203–206

instruments, 77, 185, 188–189, 195

literature, 57–59, 62, 116, 136, 159

liturgy, 62, 102–103, 109, 112, 114, 115, 119, 120, 121, 131, 136, 141, 144–150, 152–153, 156, 159

monasticism, 1–2, 21–22, 77, 81–83, 85–86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 131, 141, 143, 162, 185, 213–215, 223

notation, 130

performance practice, 184

traditions, 19, 39–41, 42, 50, 53, 56, 57, 60, 62, 71, 76, 116, 205

zēmā, 99, 164–166, 168–180

Ethiopian Jews, 11–12, 142. See also, Israel

ethnicity, 12, 39

ethnomusicology, 3, 8, 10

Ēwosṭātēwos (Ēwosṭātēwosians), 21, 32, 58, 81–83, 97, 208–209, 211, 219

ezl:

antiphon, 147

zēmā, 169, 171, 178

Ezra:

Book of, 48–49, 65

Week of, 52

Ezra, Abba, 208. See also Stephanites

Faitloviteh, Jacques, 25–27, 37, 45, 63, 65, 88, 120, 217

manuscript collection, 155, 218

Falasha:

definition of, 29

use of name, 11, 17, 21, 33, 208

Falasha Anthology, 58

Fāsikā, 51, 56, 63, 100, 102, 122, 166, 178

Fasil, Emperor, 96

fast days, 49, 52, 55–56, 102, 114, 116, 121, 126–129, 133, 178, 195.

See also ṣom

Fekkārē Iyasus, 60

fetāt, 43, 62, 102, 131

fieldwork, 5–8, 15, 161–162

Flad, Johannes, 24, 54, 63, 84, 86, 205. See also missionaries

Food prohibitions, 42. See also dietary laws

foreshadowing, textual, 140, 143, 198

formulas, 140, 156, 222

benediction, 220

closing, 207

Frumentius, Bishop, 220

funeral, 42–43, 87, 131, 141, 169, 178, 205. See also tazkār

Gabra Iyesus, Abba, 21, 32, 81–82, 85, 211, 215

Gabra Masqal, Emperor, 169, 192, 224–225

Gabra Masih, Abba, 208

Gabriel, Archangel, 119

gadl:

of Abba Sabra, 202

of Gabra Masih, 208

of Yafqeranna Egzi’, 81–82

Galāwdēwos, Emperor, 34

Gamāleyēl, 211

Gedalia, Fast of, 56

Ge‘ez:

competence, 6, 9, 140

language, 140, 155

in literature, 57–60, 81, 208

in liturgy, 9–10, 114, 142–143

zēmā, 169, 170–174, 175, 180

Geertz, Clifford, 3, 15

gemjā, 50

genāyu la’egzi’abḥēr, 101, 105, 108, 113, 116–117, 122–123, 125, 126, 127, 145, 153, 277–284

Genesis, Book of, 52, 116

Gete Asrass, 100, 106, 109, 111, 114, 350

Gideon, 22, 55, 67, 201, 224–225

Giyorgis Saglāwi, Abba, 153, 159, 206–207

Gobat, Samuel, 24, 207

God:

names of, See adarā, adonāy, elohē, egzi’abḥēr

belief in, 39–40, 206–207

Goldwater, Robert, 3

Gondar, 5, 14, 20, 23, 37, 44, 79, 94, 189, 201–202, 214

gong, 110, 115, 184–185, 188. See also dawal, qāč̣el

Gorgorios:

Abba, 58, 80, 95

Apocalypse of, 58, 69, 151–152

Gospel, 149, 152, 153

Gourlay, K. A., 15

Grañ. See Ahmad Ibrahim, Imam

Greek, 81

Gudit, Queen, 31–32

Habbakuk, Prayer of, 116

hagiographies, 20, 22, 32

Halen, Abba, 80, 95

Halévy, Joseph, 25, 58, 79, 84, 87, 89, 95, 139, 213

hāllē, 116, 117, 164

hāllēluyā, 111, 116, 145, 176, 192

hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya, 119–120, 124, 175–177, 296–298

heaven, 40, 47, 55, 116

Hebrew, 6, 25, 45, 48, 51, 70, 76, 87, 88, 142, 197

prayer, 89, 126, 137, 197. See also kaddish, kedushah, shema

H̰edār, 48–49, 50, 65, 119

Heldman, Marilyn, 7

Herskovits, Melville, 5, 14

hell, 40

herzigā, 40, 121

prayer, 121–122, 126, 128, 165, 306–307. See also Agau divinities

historical studies:

in ethnomusicology, 3, 13–14

of Falasha, 1–2, 17–38

reconstruction, 3–4, 144, 197–225

homily, 124, 125, 127, 128, 148

horologion, 109, 209, 218. See also sa’ātāt

hymns, 142

imizie, 108, 111

immigration, Ethiopian Jewish. See Israel

incense, burning of, 78, 94

instruments, musical, 76–78, 116, 183, 184–185, 188–189, 198

horn:

metal, 50

ram’s, 47

See also dawal, drum, gong, kabaro, maqwāmiyā, nagārit, qāč̣el, ṣanāṣel

intercessions, 118–119, 203, 207. See also egzi’abḥēr nageśa

Isāyeyyās, 210

isolation, laws of, 42, 79, 84–85, 203, 212

Israel:

Ethiopian Jewish immigration to, 26–27, 37, 88, 205

fieldwork in, 7, 12

Ethiopian Jewish recognition in, 11, 27

Italian occupation, 5

iyyarusalēm, 122, 307–308

jaendshera maswaot. See bread sacrifice

jānṭelā, 76

Jeremiah, 202

Jerusalem, 5, 18, 36, 51–52, 69, 76, 223

attempted pilgrimage to, 24

Jew, 60, 222, 224. See also ayhud

Jewish Agency, 26, 37

Jewish Christian (Judeo-Christian), 31, 91, 94, 115, 143, 215

Jewish elements:

in calendar, 45, 148

in architecture, 72

in prayer, 119–120, 132, 143, 156, 204, 206–207

Jewish influence:

foreign, 1, 2, 6, 37, 44, 45, 51, 56–57, 64, 76, 87–88, 89–90, 119–120, 142, 143, 148, 197, 199, 206–207, 215–216, 217

internal, 209–211, 214

of identity, 89–90, 197

of liturgy, 109, 112, 114, 119–120, 126, 132, 141, 143–144

on Ethiopian Christianity, 19, 94

Jews:

Beta Israel contact with, 12, 24–47

recognition as, see Israel

Ethiopian, 11

European, 25

foreign, 1, 11

in Zar’ā Yā’eqob’s court, 209–211, 214. See also ayhud

John, Patriarch, 209

Jordānos (Jordan), 120, 176

Jubilees, Book of. See Kufālē

Judith. See Gudit.

kabaro, 185, 188–189, 192

kaddish, 132, 206

kaffetaňňā (zēmā), 162–166, 168, 173–177, 180–183, 192

kāhnāt. See priests

kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt, 100, 106–108, 115, 125, 126, 127, 268–270

Karaites, 51

Kayla, 20, 23, 29. See also Agau

Kebra Nagast, 17–18, 29–30, 34, 92, 202–203

kedushah,112, 132, 206

keśtat za’aryām, 102–103, 110

kidān, 149–150, 152

Kufālē, 52, 57, 220

Kugler, Christian, 24

laments, 43. See also laqso

Land Reform Proclamation, 6

laqso, 43, 62

laslāssā (zēmā), 166, 178, 180, 182

Lent, 103, 149, 195

Leslau, Wolf, 41, 44, 57, 65, 79, 92, 104–106, 108, 114, 115, 139, 202, 217, 224

litany, 123–124

literature:

Beta Israel, 57–59, 62, 67–68, 79, 80, 204–205

Ethiopian Christian, 57–59, 62, 116, 209

liṭon, 149, 150, 152

London Society for Promotion of Christianity, 24

Lord, Albert, 140

Lord’s Prayer, 120

lunar prayers, 120

Luzzatto, Philoxene, 54, 60, 71, 105–108, 111, 115

Mā’rar, 50, 102

maḥaranna, 105–107, 111–112, 118, 241–247

maḥāri, maḥāri, 105–107, 112–113, 157, 251–254

māh̰bar, 53–54, 205

Makonnen Teku, 101, 122, 350–351

malāsh, 191. See also returning tone

malke’, 156

manakosāt. See monasticism

Manasseh, Prayer of, 57, 111, 151, 156. See also canticles

manuscripts, 139–140, 153, 155, 200, 218

maqwāmiyā, 78, 185, 188–189

marriage. See wedding

Mary:

Miracles of, 147, 158, 208, 221. See also Weddāsē Māryām

Virgin, 40, 132, 136, 207, 208

masgid, 71–76, 79, 80, 85, 91, 145, 152, 205, 219

Maṣḥāfa Berhārt, 21, 62, 82, 120, 213, 221, 223

Maṣḥāfa Milād, 210–211

masonry, 23, 34

mass, 93, 120, 185. See also qeddāsē

mastabqwe’, 147, 149, 150, 152, 194

mastagābe’, 146, 157

mawaddes, 102–103, 146, 193, 194

Mawāse’t, 110, 132, 146–147, 152

mazmur, 151, 159, 173, 193–194

Mazmura Dengel, 136, 221

Me’rāf, 102–103, 130, 144–146, 169, 192, 214

mehella, 48–50, 64, 65, 102–103, 153, 194. See also Seged

melekket, 130, 173, 179, 214

melodic category, 147. See selt

Menata, 59

Menelik, 17, 34, 76, 92, 202, 224

meqnāy, 132, 145, 149

Merriam, Alan, 3

mesbāk, 146, 149, 152

mesgād, 145

metallurgy, 6, 23, 77–78

methodology, 2–12

Mezgana, 54, 67

Michael, archangel, 40, 54, 60, 65, 119, 203, 207

millenarianism, 208, 212

Minās, Emperor, 22

missionaries, 23–24, 36, 79, 83, 86, 91–92, 98, 200, 213. See also Flad, Stern, Kugler

monasticism:

Ethiopian Christian, 1–2, 21–22, 77, 81–83, 85–86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 131, 141, 143, 162, 185, 213–215, 223

Beta Israel, 1–2, 21, 23, 42, 45, 49, 58, 62, 63, 69, 76, 79–86, 91, 95, 96, 97, 102, 104, 114, 140, 143, 162, 185, 191, 199–203, 215. See also Ēwosṭātēwos, Ezra, Gabra Iyesus, Gabra Masih, Giyorgis, Gorgorios, Halen, sa’ātāt, Sabra, Ṣagga Amlāk, Salāmā, Saquyān, Yona

Moses, 56, 78, 188

Prayer (Song) of, 62, 122, 156, 220

Moslem:

beliefs, 40–41, 42

invasion, 22, 34. See also Ahmed Ibrahim

mosque, 71

music, 1–4, 10, 99–101, 113, 120, 142, 143, 157, 161–195, 197–199. See also zēmā

na’a h̰abēya, 121, 136, 221, 304–305

nagārit, 76–77, 93, 184–185

nagś hymns. See egzi’abḥēr nageśa

neguś anta, 118–119, 125, 126, 148, 294–295

Nettl, Bruno, 3, 13

ne’u nesged, 105–106, 108, 111, 125, 127, 128, 146, 176, 239–241

new moon, 48, 53–54, 136. See also Yač̣araqā ba‘āl

New Testament, 119, 135, 143, 144, 145, 147, 149, 153, 158, 207

New Year, 45, 47, 56, 65, 121. See Berhān Śaraqa

Nine Saints, 93

Nisān, 45, 51

notation, 214. See also melekket

nuns, 85–86. See also monasticism

occupations, 6, 201. See also masonry, metallurgy

office, cathedral, 204. See also sa’ātāt

office, monastic. See sa’ātāt

Old Testament, 119, 135, 145, 156, 200–201, 217. See also Orit

Omer, 56

opening prayer. See beginning prayer

Operation Moses, 11, 27

oral traditions:

classification of, 4–5

Beta Israel, 12, 20, 22, 79–81, 95, 101, 154, 161–167

Ethiopian Christian, 18, 35, 144, 189, 214

studies of, 3, 139–140, 155, 198–203, 205–206

orders of service, 4, 122–129, 140–141, 144, 152–153, 157, 203–204

Orit, 21, 40, 49–50, 55, 57, 65, 68, 71, 72, 73, 76, 80, 87, 89, 129, 141, 148, 188, 211, 212, 222. See also tābot, Old Testament

Pachomius, Rules of, 81, 96

Passover, 45, 49. See also Fāsikā

performance practice, 101, 111, 140, 144, 145, 162, 183–184, 186–187, 197–198, 199

Petros Gebre Selassie, Abba, 9, 352–353

Pike, Kenneth L., 8

pilgrimage, 49–50, 81, 86, 87

pitch content, 10, 191–192

Portuguese, 34, 214

prayerhouse, 2, 5, 44, 48, 52, 71–76, 78, 80, 88, 99, 104, 145–146, 188, 201, 203. See also masgid

Prayers, 57, 99–129, 189, 220. See also adonāy, albo bā‘damlāk, amlākiya amlākiya, aqwrer ma‘ātaka, bārek sanbateya, basalāmeka, beginning prayer, egzi’o merḥarnni, egzi’abḥēr nageśa, egzi’o sem‘anna, egzi’o ṣarāh̰ku, emmeśrāqa ẓaḥāy, esēbbeḥo la’ egzi’abḥēr, genayu la’egzi’abḥēr, hāllēluyā tā’akkweto nafseya, hērzigā, imizie, iyyarusālem, kalḥu kwellu malā’ekt, maḥaranna, maḥāri maḥāri, na’a h̰abēya, neguś anta, ne’u nesged, qeddus, semā‘ esrā’ēl, wa’a’ewāfa samāy, wanababo egzi’abḥēr, waradat sanbat, wabezuh̰a, watebēlo sanbāt, yetbārak

prayer staff, 188–189. See also maqwāmiyā

prayer texts, transcriptions of, 9–10

priests, 71, 78–79, 84, 87–88, 140, 162, 197–198, 200, 201

biographies, 87–88, 347–352

selection and training, 101, 193

prostration, 91, 97, 145, 208. See also bowing

Psalms, 141–143, 144, 146, 204, 207. See also Dāwit

Purim, 50, 56

purity, laws of, 42, 44, 79, 80, 84–85, 91, 97. See also isolation, laws of

qāč̣el, 76–78, 162, 184–185. See also gong

qāločč, 99, 161, 198

qeddāsē, 120, 185, 192

qeddus:

Beta Israel, 41, 104, 105–108, 112, 123, 124, 148, 152, 153, 159, 206, 207, 247–251

Ethiopian Christian, 112, 159

Qemant, 19, 31, 40–41, 42, 54, 67

qenē, 141, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 156, 180

qēs. See priest

qiṭṭa, 51

Qozmos, 21, 81–82, 211

Quirin, James, 95, 218

Qumran, 220

gwāmi (zēmā), 163, 166–168, 173, 175–176, 178–183, 217

Qwara, 14, 18, 199

rajjim (demẓ), 163–166, 169, 185, 188–189

Rappaport, Roy, 8

recognition of Ethiopian Jews. See Israel

recto tono chants, 146, 157

rekrek, 169, 178, 193

returning tone, 164, 191–192

revolution, Ethiopian, 7, 27

rhythm, 184–185, 188–189, 195

ritual, theory concerning, 3, 8, 13, 89–90, 183, 197–199, 216

Rodinson, Maxime, 19

rogation ceremony, 48

Rosh Hashanah, 47

sa’ātāt:

Beta Israel, 4, 58, 80, 104–117, 143, 183, 203–206

cathedral office, 204

Ethiopian Christian, 48, 132, 136, 153, 157, 184, 185, 192

of Zamikā’ēl, 209. See also Coptic office

Sabbath. See Sanbat

Sabbath of Sabbaths. See Yasanbat Sanbat

Sabbath, Saturday. See Sanbat

Sabra, Abba, 49, 58, 70, 79–80, 81, 83, 95, 199, 202–203, 209, 211, 218, 222, 225

sacrifice, 42, 44, 50, 56, 63, 73, 74, 79, 80–81, 104, 200

laws of, 25, 73, 217

Ṣaggā Amlāk, 58, 80, 83, 202, 211, 218, 222

salām, 149, 150

Salāmā, Abba, 207, 220

śalast, 147, 149, 150, 175, 194

ṣalot, 101–102. See prayers

Salvation, Fast of, 45

ṣanāṣel, 188–189

Sanbat, 23, 40, 44, 52–53, 56, 61, 67, 73, 82–83, 85, 97, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118–120, 124–125, 129, 139, 146, 155, 176, 182, 183, 201, 206, 213, 214, 219

personification of, 39, 40, 61, 118, 122. See also Yasanbat

Sanbat

Sarṣa Dengel, Emperor, 22

Sāquyān, Abba, 58, 80

Sayfa Ar’ada, Emperor, 93

sayṭān, 40

Schools:

Falasha, 199, 201

Faitlovitch, 25, 37

Jewish Agency, 26

Jewish Colonization Association, 26

seder, 51

sebḥata nagh, 102–103, 110, 145

Seged, 48–50, 51, 65, 71, 76, 80, 87, 89, 102, 111, 114, 118, 122, 124, 126, 128, 129, 141, 146, 153, 157, 176, 183, 192, 213

selt, 147, 169, 173, 178, 179, 180

semā’esrā’ēl, 119–120, 125, 134–135, 207, 296–300

sem‘anna egzi’o, 115–116, 123, 125, 194, 270–277

semantron, 78, 94. See also qāč̣el

Semien Mountains, 22, 33, 34, 51, 59, 101, 203, 211, 218, 224

senkesār, 147

Seqelt, 14, 218

Sheba, Queen of, 17

shema, 119–120, 134–135, 206

Shemini Atzeret, 56

shillelā, 41

Simchat Torah, 56

Sinai, Mount, 49, 65, 89

Singer of Tales, 140

sistrum, 78, 94, 185. See also ṣanāṣel

Ṣiyon. See Zion

slaughtering, 61

Solomon, King, 17, 34, 76

Solomonic:

dynasty, 17, 22, 34

period, 36, 81

ṣom, 47, 48–52, 102–103, 116

Ṣoma Ab, 49, 51–52, 56

Ṣoma Amus, 55

Ṣoma Aster, 45, 50

Ṣoma Deggwā, 110, 121, 145, 149, 151, 193

Ṣoma Fāsikā, 51, 102

Ṣoma Maleya, 48

Ṣoma Tomos, 51

South Arabia, 18–19, 206

spirits, 40–41. See also adbār, sayṭān, zār

spoken elements (in ritual), 145, 146, 147–48, 150–151, 153

Stephanites, 208, 214, 221. See also Esṭifānos

Stern, Henry, 24, 91, 98

Strelcyn, Stefan, 57

Sukkot, 48. See also Ba‘āla Maṣallat

Sunday, 102–103, 115, 117, 122–123, 134, 146, 159, 180, 193

supplications, 143, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152. See also mastabqwe‘

Susneyos, Emperor, 22, 224

synagogue, 91, 204

Syria, 69, 78, 94, 204

Syriac, 81, 115

Taamrat Emmanuel, 65, 79, 81, 95, 202, 225

Tabernacles, 45, 48. See also Ba‘āla Maṣallat

tābot, 72, 76, 87, 122, 202, 212, 222. See also Orit

Tadda, 6

Taddesse Tamrat, 20, 83

Takla Hāymānot, 81, 96

Tana, Lake, 23, 85, 97, 189

tawesāka ‘elāt, 117–122. See also prayers

tazkār, 42–43, 47, 62, 64

Tazkāra Abraham, 47, 64, 146. See also Berhān Śaraqa

Te’ezāza Sanbat, 57, 58, 68, 118, 139, 218

telleq (zēmā), 163, 166, 176. See also qwāmi zēmā

Tēwodros:

Emperor, 24, 200–201

Messiah, 40, 60

text, prayer, 2, 99–101, 139–159. See also qāločč

textual foreshadowing, 140, 143, 152

Therapeutae, 219

Three Children in the Fire, Canticle, 57, 111, 113–114, 148–149, 159, 176, 180, 181, 206

Tigray, 14, 30, 43, 117–118

Ṭomāra Tesbe’t, 210

Tomos, Fast of, 51, 56

transcription:

of text, 9–10

of music, 10, 173, 194

trees, worship near, 40, 61, 72, 91

Trisagion, 149, 152, 153, 206

Turner, Victor, 11

Ullendorff, Edward, 19

ululation, 89

Vansina, Jan, 4–5

Velat, Bernard, 144, 145, 168, 173, 175

vespers, 103, 158, 159. See also wāzēmā

vigil, 52, 126, 153, 198, 204, 213, 223

wa’ā’eragu dabra, 128

wa’a’wāfa samāy, 122, 308–309

wabezuh̰a, 105, 106, 107, 108, 115, 192

Wagara, 14, 20, 201

wanababo egzi’abḥēr, 127, 148, 198, 323, 339–340

waradat sanbat, 118, 125, 290–291

watebēlo sanbat, 118, 125, 291–292

wāzēmā, 102–103, 113, 114, 119, 126, 145, 146, 147, 148–153

Beta Israel, 148–149, 151–153, 175, 180–181, 184, 185–187

Ethiopian Christian, 148–150, 151–153, 159, 173, 176, 180–181

Weddāsē Māryām, 207, 221

wedding, 43–44, 82

wered, 185

wezwāzē, 189. See also rhythm

women:

in field, 7

in monastic orders, 85–86

in ritual, 72–73, 88–89, 98

Wubshet Atagab, 101, 130, 193, 351

Wurmbrand, Max, 58, 70

Yač̣araqā Ba‘āl, 53–54, 65, 102, 120, 166

Yafqeranna Egzi’, 81–82, 97

Yārēd, Saint, 103, 119, 169, 214, 224–225

Yasanbat Sanbat, 52–53, 66, 68, 102, 111, 113, 114, 118, 119, 124–125, 126, 128, 129, 162, 176, 193, 206, 213

Yekuno Amlāk, Emperor, 34

Yemen, 18

yetbārak, 105–106, 107, 110, 112, 113–114, 116, 120, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 131, 132, 145, 148–152, 176, 178, 185, 198, 206

Yisḥaq, Emperor, 21, 23, 34, 201, 218

Yoḥannes, Emperor, 200

Yom Kippur, 45, 48

Yona, Abba, 208

Yona Bogale, 5, 37, 131, 351–352

Zabarabu Sanbat. See Yasanbat Sanbat

Zadok, 92

zafan, 99

Zagwe dynasty, 30, 34, 69, 224

Zamikā’ēl, 208, 209, 211, 222

zār, 40–41, 205

Zar’ā Yā’eqob, Emperor, 20, 58, 80, 81, 83, 119, 120, 202, 208–214, 218, 223

zayenaggeś, 147–148. See also egzi’abḥēr nageśa, neguś anta

zeker, 102

zēmā, 6, 79, 99–101, 115, 116, 130, 140, 161–195, 198–199, 200, 203, 214. See also arārāy, demẓ, ezl, ge’ez, kaffetaňňā, laslāssā, qwāmi, selt

zeqqetaňňā (demẓ), 163, 164, 166. See also aččir demẓ

Zion, 203, 207, 212, 220–221