By the early March, in 1896 an estimated 120,000 Ethiopian warriors from all around the country amassed to Adwa Northern Ethiopia, following Emperor Menelik II’s declaration to all Ethiopians to show solidarity to defiantly stand up against the Italian colonial aggressors of highly fortified about 14,923 troops.
By their utmost commitment to their country and indefatigable patriotism, everyone from young to old assaulted and fought heroically and successfully against the steady encroachment of the Italy over Ethiopian territory.
The victory of Adwa emblems a shining light and has become a great example to all Africans to declare their freedom and independency from colonialism and slavery.
February is dedicated to black history month and tomorrow March 2 marks the 124th commemoration of the victory of Adwa, while an art revolution is one the rise in Ethiopia. Different artful events such as live paintings, contemporary art scenes, photo exhibitions, music and poetic nights are among the events symposiums, workshops dedicated to the allegory of the victory of Adwa.
Sintayehu Teferi or as his friends calls him Santa is among the emerging contemporary painting artists famous for his pan African paintings. His live paintings has got arousing reactions from leaders and delegates on the recent 33rd African Union Summit which was themed ‘Silencing the Guns’.
His paintings which carried messages of ‘Peace for Africa’, ‘Love for Africa’, kill the gun’ ‘Medemer for unity’ African identity, proud identity’, has earned him attention along with the portrayal leading fathers of pan Africanist ideology Haile Selassie I, Marcus Garvey, Thomas Sankara, Julius Nyrare, Kuame Nukurmah, among others.
On one of his painting Sintyehu represented ‘Unity’ through a shining Lamb with joining hands which portrayed a unitary message ‘let’s unite, let’s give a light’.
Sintayehu earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Addis Ababa University and his bachelor of Art of fine arts and design also from AAU. He is currently 2nd year Maters student on African studies at the AAU.
‘’As artists are voices of the people most of my works are representation of my surroundings and I paint what I practically live and observe.’’
“I manifest what I observe through three P’s.’’ he said. For Sintayehu the three P’s are Painting, Photography and Poetry. ‘’as a visual artist I live by these three P’s and through them I express humanity, identity, art, history, liberty, folklore and so on’’
“For me sometimes visual art speaks louder than poems and songs or books,’’ he added
Sinatayehu has also participated in various exhibitions for Adwa with his exclusive paintings of the Battle of Adwa which mostly tells heroism, freedom, Ethiopianism, afro centrism and black history.
“Adwa provided practical expression to Ethiopianism, Self-worth, dignity, unity, resistance, confidence, self-reliance and freedom from colonialism through unity.’’
His painting entitled ‘The tale of black man victory on the modern day arena’ tells a story of Patriots who fought with their grace and stamina and managed to and inherent independent country, using inks engraved in canvas.
Another masterpiece of Adwa painting showcases a wounded patriot as a lion in resemblance of all the patriots who torched the light of victory risking their lives.
On his another painting ‘Back Identity’ he used brown colour as soil of Africa and the blood in it to express the scars of colonization which he think still persists on the now African generation.
‘’Africans should unite as humans, and not given into the tribal divide and rule tactics colonialists left behind, which still persist as a vile ethnicism.’’ He said.
‘’African people are now divided in ethnicity and tribalism which is the aftermath result of colonization,’’ he added.
‘’Adwa is a rapture, a sheer sense of liberty to all black mankind but yet, the scars of colonization have foot marks on some African countries’’.
On his message while marking the victory of Adwa, Sintayehu calls all Ethiopians and Africans to wake up, wise up and unite for pan-Africanism to work together for decolonization of the mind.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday edition March 1/2020
BY FASICA BERHANE
