Preparation: A Part of the Family!

Epiphany, called Timket in Amharic, is a very big Orthodox holiday in Ethiopia.  It is in honor of the baptism of Jesus, and it is greatly celebrated.  In Mezezo, on Tuesday night the celebration began as the Orthodox Priests walked from the church to a river (about half a mile total), carrying the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, which is adorned in elegant cloth.  Other than Timket, the Tabot rarely leaves the church and so it is a very special procession and event.  The Priests walked the entire distance from the church to the river on 3 carpets; each was rolled out and the Priests walked to the end, and then it was rolled and brought to the front, quite an impressive assembly line! The same thing was done the next afternoon when the priests proceeded back to the church. At the river there was chanting and drumming, and the priests stayed there overnight.  Several hundred of the Mezezo community members, including me, participated in the procession.

Dressed in white for the occasion!

Rolling the carpet for the procession!

The procession

People dress all in white for this beautiful celebration, wearing cultural clothing, and carrying candles as they walk and chant.  I arrived in Ethiopia last year one week before Timket, and experienced Timket in Addis while dealing with culture shock and adjusting to being away from family, and so it was neat to experience it again one year later, now that I have a better understanding of both the culture and the language and am settled in Ethiopia and consider it my second home.

Wednesday was not only Timket holiday, but also the two-year mark after my compound Dad’s wife passed away.  Funeral ceremonies are an important part of Ethiopian culture, and two years after someone passes away is one of the several times after someone passes away that there is a large gathering of family and friends. Meat stews called “wot” and the national food injera were prepared, along with homemade beer, bread, and coffee.

My work space!

Let me back up and say that I am so continually grateful for and blessed by the people I am surrounded with in Ethiopia.  They are always helping and assisting me in every way; inviting me for meals, surprising me with fresh injera at my door, making sure I have water stored in my room in my jerry can, etc..  It was so wonderful to be able to help in even the smallest of ways this time around.  The preparations began Tuesday, as alongside several other women I cut onions for about an hour and a half.  The amount of onions in total that were cut by all the women filled the bucket that I “shower” in, and then some (CRAZY!).

Along with my landlord’s children (who are similar in age to me) who came to Mezezo for the occasion, I helped with various tasks for both the holiday and the funeral gathering.  The quantity of food was incredible; for some perspective, two pots of “wot” aka stew were made. Each pot is about 2 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, and full to the brim!!! It was all prepared over wood fires! More than 200 injera were made, and two massive barrels of homemade beer were prepared. 

One of the MASSIVE pots, this one is half full of onions!

The women that I worked with had a great system down; our duties in order, were as follows:

• ·      Notice when someone arrives and bring them a mug and fill it with tela (homemade local beer)
• ·      Bring that guest a plate and a tray of injera, and then come back with two pots of the different types of “wot” and serve them
• ·      A few minutes later bring more injera to the guest and insist they add more, and then do the same with the wot
• ·      Continually refill their tela
• ·      When the guest finishes eating, take their plate, and return with soap and a bucket and pitcher and pour the water for them so they can wash their hands
• ·      Repeat 100+ times as guests come, keeping in mind it gets tricky because it is like singing a “round” (think Row, Row, Row Your Boat), because guests arrive at different times and so we had to be very perceptive and aware!
• ·      Outside, two women were washing plates and cups, since there were only about 50 of each, and so this was a continual job

Throughout the night more than 100 people came and ate dinner and drank local beer, and then it was all repeated the next day as people came for breakfast and for dinner. I once again had the opportunity to help out and be a “waitress,” in addition to roasting, grinding, and making coffee for the neighbors.   

It was such a special day and one that I won’t forget, and one thing that my compound Dad said that I will always remember, as I was helping peel potatoes with other women, is “Lije balemuya nat,” which means my daughter is professional! He considers me his daughter and I can’t tell you how much it means to me that I was able to be a part of this very important day.  I truly feel that I am a part of his family and I love them dearly.  I have always felt so welcome here in Ethiopia and in Mezezo, but I can now truly say I am part of a family here.

Part of the beautiful celebration, with a foggy backdrop!