BY KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
Spiritual or some worldly but eventwise songs take the center stage whenever holydays approach. Cultural songs have the potential to create encouraging atmoshpere to celebrants. They describe the preparation the typical dressings, the foods, and even the significance of celebrating the holyday. Almost all ceremonies have their unique music people relate or think of whenever the holyday approach. The late Tadesse Alemu is famous for his very discriptive, beautiful and effectively synchronised songs.
Happy holydays for us all (2x)
It is our culture to wish this one another
Let’s be happy
Let’s get relaxed
Let’s get enjoyed
O the holyday has come for us
In the eve of the holyday
When the air in town filled with energy
When the day leaves for the evening
The moon that day lookalike the sun
The liturgy, the cultural dance
The eve passed with memories
In the day of the holyday
When it is dawning sky
It is then starts the actual celebration
The house decorated with green grass
When families and relatives meet
When we choose from the buffet of meat
There is blessing when we shared the food together
Tadesse blended culture and religion effectively in his “Misha Misho” or “ Ye Tensaye Zefen.”
It is seen in Gologotha
It is seen in Keranyo
The resurrection of the lord,
Savior of world
In the day of Fasika, pass over
Be happy
Be happy
He rose up from the dead
Jesus Christ conquered death
…..
O Misha Misho
O Misha Misho
A roaster leg broken
Madam, stand up
Make yourself busy
For the sake of the Good Friday
Madam please give from flour
Slice some from yesterday’s bread
Madam please give from the loaf of bread
Madam please give me from mush
Madam please give me from the spicy
(rough translation)
Buffet of foods, different local and modren beverages and decoration of a house are common in Ethiopian houses and these are reflected back in cultural music videos. Greetings, cheering and dancing are among scences in the video. It is customery for Ethiopians to eat in a same tray circling around the table and they exchange curtesy and affection showing bites of food to eachother, from elders to young people, a husband to wife, a mother to children the exchange of bites of food is common.
Ladies look glamorous with snow white cloth and with colorful embrodiery. Men also wear white cloth leading the celebration. Eskesita which is in Ethiopia’s mainstream cultual dance also gives such unique mood to the holyday celebration. I believe Ethiopian holydays kept nation’s valuable treasure; wisdom, ways and history. They are manifestations of us as people. Colorful traditional clothes adapted from each culture or with religious symbolism. In this time, we eat as we used to eat; delicious meal with a shared plate in circle. The clothing, all the ceremony and assortments are unique and eye catching. Acts of charity, togetherness and tolerance are important aspects of celebrations.
During holydays people gather together. Even people who live far away make it to their hometown. They show their affection to one another. I remember my childhood friends who are muslims and how we share eachothers celebration. Holydays are seasons of beauty. Houses will be refubrished as much as the owner can or at least they will be cleaned. Different kinds of food dishes will be prepared. There is exchange of happy holyday messages. There is exchange of invitations. And, music and spiritual songs brings the atmosphere begining from the eves of the holyday.
The church ceremony where church goers flock together with white silk dress is impressive to watch. The church service is also unque as it is attended by many people especially in the time where the holyday approaches. The same is true to moseque scene where muslims made their prayers. During the holyday and in the eve of holydays, prayers and Salah will be seen out in street attended by large number of the believers.
It is customary to witness a bustling market in the eves of religious holydays. Celebrants buy various items necessary for the celebration. Chicken, Goat, Sheep or Bull. Other groceries or drinks will be bought. Or, they will buy clothes; cultural dressings. In the houses of the muslims there might be sweets in addition to buying animals to be slaughtered. The commotion is a scene of attraction for tourists. It is a display of life for artists. Several artists have drawn inspiration for their artists work; be it is music, painting or movies.
Holyday is a time when people get small break from day to day life and give time to people around them. It is a time of interaction with neighbors and a relative who lives afar. Hospitality and charity to the poor gets high as people will be generally happy and committed to live up to respective religous commands. Therefore, anyone could be part of the celebration.
It is customary people from different religion or other background exchange a happy holyday messages. And in fact people of different religion can celebrate each others holyday together. Holydays in Ethiopia aren’t just happy moments. These are moments we cherish our culture and get prouder as people. They are also confirmation for wellbeing of people and the nation. Tigist Bekele song’s about holyday roughly translated below show how significant holdays are in Ethiopian households.
“When the holyday comes every year
We are joyfull and get prouder
When live in our country
Our lives are full
When Joy, happines prevail in this land
In our beloved land, our country
The local has unique taste
It has unique mystery
Through and during these auspice times, elders attempt to postpone heritages to posterity. People show their love to eachother. As people get together, they also check on lives of each other. How is life treating them? Whether they got married, gave birth upto affairs of their country. This togetherness and the beauty of the ceremony lives unforgettable memories in the minds of celebrants.
As artists produce nostalgic songs conveying important messages such as plight of migration, the good old days andsignifincane of love and peace in our lives, they find holydays to have this values all together. They use them as the tone, mood and settings of artistic productions. Kuku Sebsibe’s song “Yebereha Hager” is set to holyday time but represent nostalgic feelings of Ethiopian diaspora and describes the suffering of Ethiopian refugees.
I am migrant of the desert country
Who doesn’t get sleep till I get back to my country
It is only when I get back I would get relief
When the summer is out and the winter comes
I would miss Addis Ababa,
It isn’t life to live out of one’s country
It is a success and blessing to celebrate holydays and for it Ethiopians bless God. “ Eknuan adereseh/ adereshe” a common phrase that to heard during holyday times. Rughly translating Eknuan adereseh, it means glory to God who made you alive to see this day. The late Manalebush Debo’s song is the reflection of this.
For a man God gave him health
For a man God gave him age
Holyday is joy
Holyday is a blessing
Happy the holyday has come
It is a Glory to God
The beautiful ceremony and its significance in the life of ordinary Ethiopains compelled artists to give special attention to holydays. Other forms of art such as painiting made successful attempts to preserve and promote this unique heritage. Legendry Maitre Artist World Laureate Afewerk’s “Meskel flower” and “Demera” are among notable works capturing holyday moods of Ethiopia.
The holydays have also inspired fashion. Designers are adapting beautiful cultural dress to this time. People with different cultural dressings have continued to make holydays ever beautiful and colorful.
So long as holydays blend religion and culture with beautiful outcome, art would be there to reflect back with emotional power, intensity and ideas. Ethiopian Artists will continue to get inspiration from such rich religious and cultural heirtages. And, as Art is a way of expression, artists will further preserve, promote and help beautify our way of life.
The Ethiopian Herald April 16/2023
