Lalibela, a small town in northern Ethiopia, home to 11 spectacular churches that were carved both inside and out from
a single rock some 900 years ago.
Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages, even today it is believed that Lalibela pilgrims share the same blessings as pilgrims to Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem theme is important. The rock churches, although connected to one another by maze-like tunnels, are physically separated by a small river which the Ethiopians named the Jordan.
1. blessings 15:12
2. offerings 04:23
film _ vimeo.com/55371955
recorded by Jacob Kirkegaard in Taitu Hotel Addis Ababa, Ethiopia june 2012 produced by Vincent Moon & Jacob Kirkegaard
Orchestra Ethiopia was an Ethiopian performing group formed in 1963 by the Egyptian-born American composer and ethnomusicologist Halim El-Dabh (born 1921). The group, which was founded in Addis Ababa, comprised up to 30 traditional instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers from many different Ethiopian regions and ethnic groups (including Amhara, Tigray-Tigrinia, Oromo, Welayta, and Gimira). It was the first ensemble of its type, as these diverse instruments and ethnic groups previously had never played together. For a time, due to El-Dabh's efforts, the Orchestra was in residence at the Creative Arts Centre of Haile Selassie I University (now Addis Ababa University).
Orchestra Ethiopia – The Blue Nile Group [full album]
Its main instruments included krar (medium lyre), masenqo (one-string fiddle), begena (large lyre), washint (end-blown flute with finger holes), embilta (end-blown flute without finger holes), malakat (straight trumpet), kabaro (drum), and other percussion instruments. On occasion, it also used the tom, an mbira-like instrument.
Many of Orchestra Ethiopia's performances were theatrical in nature, such as the drama The Potter, which was arranged by El-Dabh.
Following El-Dabh's departure from Ethiopia in 1964, subsequent directors included John G. Coe, an American Peace Corps volunteer (1964-1966); and Tesfaye Lemma (1966-1975), both of whom composed and arranged for the group. During Lemma's tenure as director, in 1968, another American Peace Corps volunteer, the Harvard-educated Charles Sutton, Jr., was assigned by the Peace Corps to assist the Orchestra as Administrator, a position in which he continued until 1970. Sutton had arrived in Ethiopia in 1966 and, immediately attracted to Ethiopia's traditional music, actually mastered the masenqo, studying with Orchestra member Getamesay Abebe. He began performing with the Orchestra in March 1967 (playing masenqo and singing in Amharic), at Lemma's invitation. The group performed frequently in hotels and at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, and appeared on national radio (including Radio Voice of the Gospel) and television. The group also had an audience with Emperor Haile Selassie I.
In the spring of 1969, due to the efforts of Sutton and the Peace Corps, Orchestra Ethiopia toured the Midwest and East Coast of the United States, under the name "The Blue Nile Group". The group performed in twenty cities, including Manhattans Town Hall and The Ed Sullivan Show (in early March).
The group released two LP recordings, both entitled Orchestra Ethiopia. The first, subtitled "The Blue Nile Group", was released on Tempo Records c. 1969; and the second was released on Blue Nile Records, in 1973 or 1974. The Orchestra was also featured in a National Geographic documentary film entitled Ethiopia: The Hidden Empire (1970). By 1975, due to the upheavals caused by the Derg revolution, the group finally disbanded, although many of its musicians continued to perform with other groups, and as soloists. The group's washint player, Melaku Gelaw, lives and continues to perform and record in Washington, D.C.; Tesfaye Lemma, now retired, lives in Washington, D.C. Masenqo player Getamesay Abebe and drummer, vocalist, and star dancer Zerihun Bekkele, both retired, continue to live in Ethiopia. Washint player Yohannes Afework, who had replaced Gelaw, lives in Addis Ababa and is retired from the Mazegajabet (Municipality) Orchestra. Coe, the former Executive Director of the Wyoming Arts Council, is now retired and living in Wyoming; and Sutton performs today as a jazz pianist in Connecticut (and continues to play masenqo for special occasions). Several other of the Orchestra's members have died in Ethiopia.
A selection of the Orchestra's archival recordings transferred from reel to reel audiotape to audio CDs by the Ethiopian-American engineer Andrew Laurence was released in Europe in late 2007, and was released in the United States in February 2008, as the 23rd volume in Buda Musique's Ethiopiques CD series, with the liner notes having been prepared by Sutton and Lemma.
In 2007, a recording entitled Zoro Gettem (Reunion) was released on the Nahom Records label; the CD, recorded in Washington, D.C. in September 2006, features four of the Orchestra's former members (Charles Sutton, Getamesay Abbebe, Melaku Gelaw, and Tesfaye Lemma) performing repertoire they had performed together in the late 1960s.
Between 2003 and 2006, Bastien Lagatta, musician and ethnomusicologist, undertook musical researches among the agro-pastoral societies of the Omo valley, thanks to the support of the CNRS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UNESCO. For months, he has shared the everyday life of the semi-nomads tribes Nyangatom, Mursi and Bodi, and has taken up the study of their musical repertories. The trek, of several hundred kilometres along the Omo river, in such an amazing natural environment, led him to the heart of Humanity with its peculiar mores, customs and habits.
Greatly endearing, these men and women live in a world whose balance is precarious. These recordings reveal the importance of this patrimonial, cultural and artistic heritage.
Benjamin Goldenstein & Patrick Frémeaux
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 01 - Introduction: Troupeaux De Zébus Aux Paturages (1:01)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 02 - Loniyang: Monodie (2:36)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 03 - Loutouleniyang: Monodie (1:49)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 04 - Lopelouk, Suivi De Lobokhiniyang (6:11)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 05 - Lokengkori (1:48)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 06 - Chants Des Vieux Bergers De La Génération Des Élephants (3:35)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 07 - Loumougoulmoye: Chant Collectif Mixte (3:07)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 08 - Chant De Travail: Duo Féminin (2:53)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 09 - Niameley Ye Loporiang (4:40)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 10 - Rienga Rienga Loporiang (6:08)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 11 - Aleke Lokholoya (4:50)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 12 - Flûte Mursi Morou (1:50)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 13 - Oletchay (1:04)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 14 - Naboula Nadongulu (1:44)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 15 - Nangwayna Kara (1:25)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 16 - Badio Laute (1:45)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 17 - Kalalalibosso (1:13)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 18 - Flûtes Morou (2:26)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 19 - Kaenaniye (1:01)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 20 - Komdaye (1:01)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 21 - Ayolo Deguelaye (1:08)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 22 - Noukouregnanineye (1:11)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 23 - ADJenoloynetch (0:35)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 24 - Flûtes Morou (1:02)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 25 - Ambiance De Fête Au Village De Gui Ha (1:14)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 26 - Trompe Trounotey (1:22)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 27 - Danse Et Chant Collectif Mixte Pour Les Troupeaux (1:27)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 28 - Duo Vocal Féminin (5:02)
The Warrior-Shepherds From The Omo Valley - Ethiopia - 29 - Epilogue: À Ce Voyage Musical… (1:05)
This album features the religious music of Ethiopian Jews, known as Falashas. While most Falashas--and Ethiopians in general--speak Amharic, the tracks on this album are in Geez.
There is no evidence the Falashas have ever spoken Hebrew. Liner notes include photographs as well as a brief history and description of the Falasha culture.
Falasha - Exile of the Black Jews Beta Israel
Origins & History Of The Tribe of Falasha
Falashas, native Jewish sect of Ethiopia.The origin of the Falashas is unknown. One Falasha tradition claims to trace their ancestry to Menelik, son of King Solomon of Israel and the queen of Sheba. Some scholars place the date of their origin before the 2nd century BC, largely because the Falashas are unfamiliar with either the Babylonian or Palestinian Talmud.
The Bible of the Falashas is written in an archaic Semitic dialect, known as Ge'ez, and the Hebrew Scriptures are unknown to them. The name Falasha is Amharic for "exiles" or "landless ones"; the Falashas themselves refer to their sect as Beta Esrael ("House of Israel").
The religion of the Falashas is a modified form of Mosaic Judaism unaffected generally by postbiblical developments.
The Falashas retain animal sacrifice. They celebrate scriptural and nonscriptural feast days, although the latter are not the same as those celebrated by other Jewish groups.
One of the Falasha nonscriptural feast days, for example, is the Commemoration of Abraham.
The Sabbath regulations of the Falashas are stringent.They observe biblical dietary laws, but not the postbiblical rabbinic regulations concerning distinctions between meat and dairy foods.
Marriage outside the religious community is forbidden.
Monogamy is practiced, marriage at a very early age is rare, and high moral standards are maintained.
The center of Falasha religious life is the masjid, or synagogue. The chief functionary in each village is the high priest, who is assisted by lower priests. Falasha monks live alone or in monasteries, isolated from other Falashas. Rabbis do not exist among the Falashas.
The Falashas live either in separate villages or in separate quarters in Christian or Muslim towns, in the region north of Lake Tana. They are skilled in agriculture, masonry, pottery, ironworking, and weaving.
Under Haile Selassie I, a few Falashas rose to positions of prominence in education and government, but reports of persecution followed the emperor's ouster in 1974.
More than 12,000 Falashas were airlifted to Israel in late 1984 and early 1985, when the Ethiopian government halted the program.
The airlift resumed in 1989, and about 3500 Falashas emigrated to Israel in 1990. Nearly all of the more than 14,000 Falashas remaining in Ethiopia were evacuated by the Israeli government in May 1991.
The Falashas themselves say that they are direct descendants from the family of Abraham, the first Jew. Terah, Abraham's father,came from the land of Ur of the Chaldees which was located in the southern part of the Euphrates.
The Chaldees were one of many Kushite tribes of the region and Kushite means Black according to the Bibical dictionary. The Kushites were descended from Kush a son of Ham.
Godfrey higgins,an English expert on antiquities stated in his book :
"The Chaldees were originally Negroes"
Falasha (or Beta Israel), a Jewish Hamitic people of Ethiopia who claim descent from Menelik I, the son of the queen of Sheba and King Solomon; have no knowledge of Talmud but use a Bible and a prayer book written in Ge'ez, the ancient Ethiopian language.
They follow Jewish traditions including circumcision, observing the Sabbath, attending synagogue, and following certain dietary and purity laws.
Recognized in 1975 by the Chief Rabbinate as Jews and allowed to settle in Israel.
In 1984-85 thousands of Falashas resettled to Israel from refugee camps in Sudan as part of the Israeli government's "Operation Moses" and the U.S. government's "Operation Sheba."
Falasha, also spelled Felasha, an Ethiopian of Jewish faith. The Falasha call themselves House of Israel (Beta Israel) and claim descent from Menilek I, traditionally the son of the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) and King Solomon. Their ancestors, however, were probably local Agau (Agaw, Agew) peoples in Ethiopia who were converted by Jews living in southern Arabia in the centuries before and after the start of the Christian Era. The Falasha remained faithful to Judaism after the conversion of the powerful Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum to Christianity in the 4th century ce, and thereafter the Falasha were persecuted and forced to retreat to the area around Lake Tana, in northern Ethiopia. Despite Ethiopian Christian attempts to exterminate them in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Falasha partly retained their independence until the 17th century, when the emperor Susenyos utterly crushed them and confiscated their lands. Their conditions improved in the late 19th and 20th centuries, at which time tens of thousands of Falasha lived in the region north of Lake Tana. Falasha men are traditionally ironsmiths, weavers, and farmers. Falasha women are known for their pottery.
The Falasha have a Bible and a prayer book written in Geʿez, an ancient Ethiopian language. They have no Talmudic laws, but their preservation of and adherence to Jewish traditions is undeniable. They observe the Sabbath, practice circumcision, have synagogue services led by priests (kohanim) of the village, follow certain dietary laws of Judaism, observe many laws of ritual uncleanness, offer sacrifices on Nisan 14 in the Jewish religious year, and observe some of the major Jewish festivals.
From 1980 to 1992 some 45,000 Falasha fled drought- and war-stricken Ethiopia and emigrated to Israel. The number of Falasha remaining in Ethiopia was uncertain, but estimates ranged to only a few thousand (see Researcher’s Note: Falasha migration to Israel, 1980–92). The ongoing absorption of the Falasha community into Israeli society was a source of controversy and ethnic tension in subsequent years.
Falasha! The Saga of Ethiopian Jewry Part 2
Unspecified - Prayer for Passover 01464A1 (1:36)
Unspecified - Prayer for New Year 0146A2 (1:20)
Unspecified - Prayer for Passover 01464B1 (1:46)
Unspecified - Prayer "Adonai" for Saturday 0146B2 (2:24)
Unspecified - Prayer of Absolution 01465A1 (3:03)
Unspecified - Prayer "Adonai" for Weekdays 01465A2 (2:25)
