ADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Culture and Tourism said it is working to inscribe Ethiopian girls’ festival, which is called Ashenda/ Shadeye/Ashendiye/ Solel in different parts of Amhara and Tigray states, on UNESCO’s list of World Intangible Heritages.
Tariku Negash, Communication and Public Relations Expert at the Ministry told The Ethiopian Herald that various activities have been undertaken to inscribe the most widely celebrated girls’ festival in the northern part of the country.
The Ministry has sent the necessary visual and other documents about the celebration of the festival to UNESCO, according to its criteria, Tariku said. The festival which is celebrated for a week starting from August 16 marks the ending of two-week-long fasting known as Filseta in commemoration of the Dormition and Assumption of Saint Mary.
Girls wear colorful dresses and use different hairstyle while dancing in a circle which is called Ashendeye. Asheneda means the tall grass estimated around 80 to 90 cm that girls’ wear around their waists during the holiday. In the tradition of this religious festival, blades of grass are strewn on the floors of homes and shops as a kind of welcome mat.
The Ethiopian Herald, August 22/2019
BY TSEGAYE TILAHUN
