BY MULUGETA GUDETA
By declaring the Ethiopian annual celebration of Timket or the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan river hundreds of years ago, a world cultural heritage, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has turned what used to be a national holiday into an internationally recognized one.
The significance of Timket to the international community is based on the fact that it is a unique piece of intangible cultural heritage that is found nowhere else but in Ethiopia.
Of course the baptism of Jesus Christ is observed in all countries where there are Christian communities with various rituals. But in Ethiopia, the holiday is a big occasion for Christians to show their reverence to Christ and their ages-old commitment to their faith which is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
When we say that Ethiopia is the Land of Origins we refer not only to the fact that the country is home to the first Homo Sapiens, the predecessors of the Homo Erectus but also a land where many cultures and traditions originated and are kept alive to this day. Subsequently, the Ethiopian people defended their faith against foreign invaders intent on destroying it and domestic forces that tried to impose alien beliefs on them by forcing them to abandon the faiths of their forefathers and ancestors.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) which is the institutional expression of Ethiopian Christians has played and continues to play a central role in the spiritual life of tens of millions of Christians in virtually all walks of life. Of course, Ethiopia is not an exclusively Christian nation.
There are also other religious denominators such as Islam and other Christian currents with millions of followers but the Orthodox church occupies a unique place because it is the first Christian institution that was established around the IV but also because it played a central role in the economic, political and social lives of the nation because it has long been the official religion of the state and the monarchies that succeeded one another over many centuries down to the modern days when the monarchy declared it its official faith. The EOC was even called the “third estate” after the monarchies and the armies that supported the aristocratic systems.
During all those centuries, the Orthodox church continued to be the spiritual nerve centre of the nation that played a cohesive role and contributed to the process of emergence of a united Ethiopian polity as we know it now.
Kings and emperors came and went in the long historic existence of the Ethiopian state. Secular institutions were built and then destroyed but the EOC and/or orthodox Christianity has survived the storms and stresses of history.
As early as in the last part of the 20st century, when communism was declared the official state ideology and religion was banished as “the opium of the people”, the church proved resilient and survived the years of terror and repression when the faithful were persecuted by the so-called communist-inspired dictatorial state.
In the latter part of the 20th century, the EOC was shunned as the harbinger of economic and social backwardness by the so-called modernizing elites who tried and failed to uproot the faith and replace it by alien ideology coming from eastern or western countries.
This has also failed to materialize and the orthodox faith once again proved its survival capacity because it is deeply embedded with the daily lives of tens of millions of Ethiopians who defended their faith against many odds and reached the 21st century even stronger than in the past.
Ethiopia has now reached a historic stage whereby the orthodox faith is no more the dominant faith but equal opportunity partner with all the faith in the country.
The row between and among religious denominations is slowly being replaced by mutual respect and mutual understanding. Religion is becoming less a bone of political contention but a unifying factor against forces that are working for the fragmentation and weakening of the spirit of the nation that kept its people united for many centuries.
Even in the most difficult moments of history, religions are playing a kind of spiritual palliatives and hope in the lives of millions of people who are victimized by the erroneous policies of extremists political and religious forces that are trying to impose their brands of faith or try to advance their political agendas by covering them with religious garbs or all colors and shapes.
When UNESCO decided to make Timket a world cultural heritage, it recognizes the depth and reach of the phenomenon as something uniquely glorious that the Ethiopian people have produced in the course of their long history.
Timket is something that exists only in Ethiopia and displays the complexity of the religious minds that created it from the African soil with a uniquely Ethiopian and African characteristics.
Timket is also highly appealing to the people of the world everywhere and that is why it is celebrated, studied and practiced by people around the world. That is also why hundreds if not thousands of tourists are flocking to Ethiopia, the birthplace of “man and his spirit” in order to be part of the national epiphany and the grandeur of the holiday.
In normal times, that is well before the onset of the corona virus pandemic, the Ethiopian month of Tir (January) usually ushers in a season of religious or more exactly orthodox Christian celebrations of Timket or holy baptism. According to the Bible, the ceremony has its origins in Jesus Christ’s baptism in the hands of John the Baptist in a symbolic gesture to wash away the world’s sins.
At a more the secular level, this month also witnessed a massive inflow of tourists from all over the world, some of them travelling as far as Lalibela in the north to Addis Ababa which is usually the epicenter the religious celebrations.
Addis Ababa’s ceremonies are notable for their attraction of Christians from all over the country, despite their differences came together to celebrate a common cultural heritage. The Ethiopian tourism establishment has been fighting to get Timket on the calendar of the world’s spiritual heritages. The annual demera (the holy bonfire) celebration has already become a world heritage because of its uniqueness, its deep spiritual significance for Christians of the world.
This would be the height of the tourist season when thousands of foreigners visited the country in attendance of the baptism celebrations across the nation, both in the holy sites as well as here in Addis Ababa. Janmeda as the place of the mass baptism is known here in Addis Ababa, would be crowded with the faithful, young as well as old, women, children and the elderly. A huge gathering
Ethiopia is considered by many as a land of faith, spirituality and its people chosen by God to a righteous existence here on earth as well as in the hereafter. This is not only true to Orthodox or other Christian denominations.
This also applies to the Islamic faithful whose rites and rituals have become part and parcel of ancient Ethiopian lore. When the faithful say that Ethiopia is “stretching her hands towards God”, they express their deep feeling that Ethiopia and its people are closer to the Creator than any people on earth. This does not however mean that Ethiopia is superior to other countries. The Jews have also similar faith as expressed in their concept of the “chosen people” a faith based on Biblical stories.
Timket baptism, or the symbolism of dipping into the holy water or being sprayed with it, is a unique Christian orthodox tradition dating back to the advent of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity in the IV century. For more than 1600 years, Ethiopian Christians have been observing this immortal occasion that has deeply marked or shaped the spirituality and moral standards of Ethiopian society. Besides its deeply religious significance, Timket has also a more secular face and manifestation depending on the particular social and geographic settings.
Timket is particularly attractive to young people who use the occasion to display not only their religious fervor but also an ideal opportunity to make their presence felt during the days when the Tabot (or a replica of the arch of the covenant) leaves the church and travels to Jameda where all the 44 different tabots come together for a collective baptism ceremony where thousands of the faithful dip into the pool of water after the end of the special mass, after the patriarch of the orthodox church blesses the holy water and sprays the followers with a plastic spray that is considered a special favor.
There is a great deal of happiness and laughter as some youngsters even resort to secular songs and dances in order to capture the attention of members of the opposite sex who are usually well-dressed and wear face makeup for the occasion. The luckier ones find their future partners in the happy chaos of the celebrations.
In fact Timket is a a special occasion for girls in particular to present themselves in special dresses prepared for the occasion. There is even a saying that encourages dressing well for the occasion. It goes like, Letmiket yalhone kemis yibetates (A dress that that is not worn on Timket day , should be torn into shreds ).
Timket is also an occasion for romantic advances as young girls and boys meet in a mysterious ritual called ‘throwing of the lemon” which consists of boys throwing lemons at the girls of their preference thereby expressing their romantic advances that are sometimes returned with favorable response by the damsel chosen to be hit with a lemon.
Many girls and boys are said to have found their sweethearts during those occasion and became lifelong lovers who found families and bore children thanks to their meetings at Janmeda and the lemon throwing ritual.
Janmeda becomes an ocean of people, sounds, and colors, as hundreds of thousands of people gather, some of them performing the ritual dipping in the pool of holy water prepared for the occasion.
The sounds of prayers, music, hand clapping and the drumbeats mix and give rise to a spiritual elevation and worshipping of Jesus Christ who showed the path of redemption through baptism.
The trip back from Janmeda to the respective church starts next day and culminates in a special ceremony of prayers and blessings. Then the faithful disperse and go to their respective homes whishing one another a happy Timket holiday, good health and another return to the same place next year. The second phase of the celebrations take place at homes with a special feast, a great deal of eating and drinking and religious music. The few dedicated foreign tourists who made it to Janmeda this year despite the pandemic go back to their hotels hoping that next year will be different and better.
The Ethiopian Herald January 21/2021
