BY NAOL GIRMA
Hospitality is among virtues Ethiopia prides of. Its hospitality is manifested in many ways but serving coffee with colorful cermony is an opener creating a postive vibe to the guest. Being the cradle land and leading producer of quality of coffee, Ethiopia has built a unique tradition on how coffee should be prepared, served and used among communities.
It is not an exaggeration to say coffee is an essential component of Ethiopian culture and society. This socializing agent is at the core of Ethiopian day today life creating opportunity to get together and discuss to one’s hearts content. It is even conversation starter for people who don’t know eachother. Being invited for coffee in Ethiopian culture is considered as a good gesture of friendship, respect and great hospitality.
Coffee might be a common drink across the world and which is consumed casually. Here the way it is prepared, organized and served makes it different. It creates a welcoming spirit. It is an Ethiopian way of saying “feel at home”. Coffee gathers people around ‘Rekobot’ the coffee plate. The lawn, the traditionally dressed and cheerful coffee maid and the ‘barchume’ the seat make Ethiopian coffee drinking peculiar.
It has been a time since Ethiopia reckoned the potentail of this invaluable asset and began promoting it. Coffee and its ceremony has been utilized for asserting its cordiality, richness and beauty. Coffee was a tourism brand. Now, it is being harnessed for diplomacy. Ethiopian foreign policy confers attention on soft tools of Cultural and economic diplomacy. It recognizes art, culture and other forms of soft diplomacy instrumental in realizing goals of diplomacy.
Accordingly, a traditional coffee ceremony is among the first things diplomats, heads of states and other dignatries are invited to whenever they visit Ethiopia. They attend these cermonies and have informal but effective ways to amend, forge and strengthen relation. Or protocols aside it helps discuss pertinent issues. For Ethiopia, it is tantamount to “killing two birds with a stone”. On one side Ethiopia can have rewarding discussions with the guest and on the otherside it promotes its heritage and treasure starting from its gates. The ceremony is also beneficial to guests as it affords them enabling and comfortable atmosphere to talk to their hearts’ content on their issues and let them know about Ethiopia easily.
Often Coffee ceremonies are held right on the landing of guests or at the break times of bilateral meetings, global summits or agreement ceremonies. It proves warm, friendly and joyful moment for diplomats, business people and leaders. Recently, Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met and discussed a wide -range of matters while enjoying excellent cup of coffee. Presumably, taking a warm sip of coffee could help discussants to have better conversations. Research has proven that just holding a hot drink can make one perceive others as amiable and be friendlier.
Several dignateries, notable people and other guests have attended these coffee ceremonies. There is no gainsaying coffee ceremony influenced guests to have good impression about the country. The responses that are gathered in different occassions show that guests have positive outlook about these ceremonies. They spoke positive about the country, the taste of Ethiopia’s quality coffee and the unique and beautiful coffee ceremony. Most importantly, it has created a window of unbearucratic, open and cozy way of dealing their diplomatic issues with their counterparts.
Coffee is Ethiopia’s foreign currency garner and leading export item. It can also show the glimpse of Ethiopia’s tourism potential. Using coffee as tourism brand and recently as soft diplomacy tool is deserving.But a lot could be done taking the ceremony even outside Ethiopia’s perimeter. The tea ceremony of Japan, Indonesia’s cuisine, India’s respectful salutaion, yoga, and other similar assests have been effectively used for diplomacy. Their sucess have resulted in the opening of programs and instituions of cultural diplomacy. Therefore, Ethiopia’s coffee can even be harnessed in more ways than this.
The role of coffee in Ethiopia society is beyond being the source of economy. Its immense cultural and social significance for Ethiopians is yet to be studied and utilized. Coffee accentuates religious celebrations too. It also serves as a key element in sacred performances and rituals of indigenous religions. In Oromo traditional belief systems, coffee is assigned a ceremonial role and its consumption as part of a ritual meal is thought to bring blessings through invocations and prayers. In parts of Wollo (northern Ethiopia), coffee is thought to have spiritual powers to safeguard the household, and is thus venerated. It is said that a women’s ritual known as Atété makes use of coffee as a symbol of penance for offenses committed. Possession cults known collectively as zar also use coffee in various capacities to rid afflicted persons of unwanted spirits, or to stimulate recitations and prayers.
Beyond the religious context, the modern coffee ceremony, which borrows some practices from these antecedents, is an integral part of Ethiopian culture. Preparation is usually done by a woman who sits on a stool before a small charcoal brazier, slowly pouring a handful of washed coffee beans on an open pan. The heady aroma of browning beans is mixed in with perfumed frankincense smoke and the smell of fresh cut grass and flowers strewn around the coffee brazier. The woman often makes her round with roasted coffee in the pan, the better to give her guests a closer whiff of the beans, before they are manually ground with pestle and mortar. The coffee is then brewed with water in a clay pots( jabana) and served in small cups without handles. The coffee may be drunk with or without milk, sugar, and in some regions salt or butter.
Traditionally, coffee is boiled three times (abol, tona, barakaa) and guests are expected to drink a minimum of a cup of each session. These terms, as well as the name of the coffee pot, indicate strong links to Arabic practices.The coffee ceremony is one around which neighbors and friends gather to exchange news and advice. Women may choose to continue their work, spinning or basket weaving in the company of friends over coffee. Consumed in this way, the socio-cultural significance of coffee cannot easily be quantified as it serves immense purpose in human relations.
Ethiopia and Brazil are two of the only producing countries with a strong coffee-drinking culture. Although difficult to measure, local consumption accounts for around 40 percent of the trade and may well have mitigated complete collapse of its trade in times of global crisis. Towards the end of barakaa, an elder may rise to offer blessings and prayer: “May your family thrive and your house be blissful; May your children grow well and may the Lord grant you the grace/blessing He has bestowed upon coffee.”
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 24 MARCH 2023
