Living Culture in Sub-Saharan
Africa
by Terry Crawford
retirement age by six months. She and my dad had
planned to really step up their travels the next year. That
got me thinking. "Why wait to travel?" And, since I'm a
single professional woman, I don't have the obligations
that my parents had. So I began to travel.
coincide with school holidays. One of my favorite destinations has been Ethiopia. I was drawn to it by watching a special by
Henry gates about Africa.
Ethiopia has such an ancient history and culture. That intrigued me because the general traveling public views Africa as a
place to go to see wild animals and nothing more. So I made my plans, traveling as always, as a solo Black female.
Generally I find that tours don't appeal to me. Riding in a bus with a bunch of White senior citizens would definitely get on
my nerves. By traveling solo, you do what you want to and at the pace you want to. Besides, I go to places like Thailand
and Turkey and my friends and family have no interest in those places. At any rate, I arrived in the capital, Addis Ababa,
without hotel reservations. However, I found a small tourist booth and the man there found a cab for me and directed me to
a very nice hotel. "Something proper for a lady alone," he said.
Just a side note about money: I suggest that you carry American Dollars or Euros. Credit cards are only accepted at
Ethiopian Airlines and major western hotels. There are no bank machines.
room cost $12 USD. I only stayed one night because at six the next morning, I had a flight from Addis to Lalibela. The
village of Lalibela is named after a famous Ethiopian king. This is the sight of one of his grandest endeavors, thirteen rock
hewn churches. Ethiopia is the second oldest Christian nation in the world. King Lalibela had the churches literally hand
carved from the cliffs and dug out of the earth in the thirteenth century.
The next day I arrived at the national hotel, Hotel Roha. There, the manager recommended a guide, Mogis Abebe, to escort
me around. This is a must because the church complex is connected by passageways and tunnels and you simply can't
navigate them yourself. In addition, a good guide can give you some local history and show you some things you'd never
experience on your own. For example, a stalwart of Ethiopian life is the tej bar. Like the English pub, it's the neighborhood
gathering place for the men. However, because I was a foreigner and with Mogis, the men welcomed me. They were full of
questions about America and shared their knowledge of Ethiopian history with me.
Ethiopia was an ancient trading partner with Egypt, supplying most of Egypt's gold. Ahmeric, the local language is one of the
few, if not the only, African language with a history of writing. It's one of the most difficult languages to learn but you will find
the signs written in English as well as in the Ahmeric alphabet. Also, from grade school on, Ethiopians are taught the English
language and you will find many, many fluent speakers. Everyone seemed to know a bit of English.
are still used for worship today, Mogis took me to the
mountains to see an ancient monastery. Built of mud brick,
it was constructed in the clef of a mountain. It contained
ancient paintings in the unique Ethiopian painting style. I was
able to overhear a service in progress from the outside and
the music was haunting and as beautiful as any chanting I
have heard in the catholic tradition.
On saturday, Mogis took me to the local outdoor market.
People travel for a day or two by donkey to get there. It
was especially busy this Saturday as people were preparing
for Timkat (more about that later)
I bought a few processional crosses hand carved out of
silver. The biggest of these was about 14" long and cost me
$20. It also had a painting of Jesus concealed in a secret
compartment.
because the power went out in the village while I was there. While the hotel had its own
generator, the computers for Ethiopia Air were out. But, as happened time and time again, someone came to
my rescue. The hotel manager was a very influential man in the village and was able to "encourage" the airline manager in the
village to call and personally verify my return flight with officials in Addis itself.
A word to the wise, confirm your return flight immediately upon arrival at your destination, particularly for local flights.
When I returned to Addis, I went straight back to the Hotel Awaris. The manager there was a lovely man from Nigeria. We
discussed my plans and when he found out that I was going to the market the next day, he insisted on sending the assistant
manager with me. Again, this was the "best way for a proper lady."
The Addis market is the biggest marketplace in eastern Africa. I was glad for the native guide. Bruk took me to the dress
stalls and bargained for me. I however, turned out to be the better bargainer though. As a man, Bruk didn't have a real sense
of what women's clothing should cost. It was fun playing "good cop-bad cop" and I got some great deals. I went to the
historical museum on my own. I had to go there to have my crosses authenticated. It's against the law to take Ethiopian
antiquities out of the country. So much has been stolen, including the famous stele in Rome!
In addition to that task, I saw items like Haile Sallasi's enormous throne, processional crosses made of pure gold, more
Ethiopian paintings and a reproduction of the bones of Lucy. Mankind is thought to have originated in eastern Africa and
Lucy is our oldest "ancestor" at 3 million.
celebration Christ's baptism. The previous
night, every Christian church had taken their
personal tabot out of the holies of holies
(sacred area). It is paraded in front of the
people covered in a rich brocade cloth.
The priests also wear robes of brocade and
process under giant brocade umbrellas.
The umbrellas represent the heavens. The
people sing and dance and camp out all
night. On Timkat, there is another major
procession as the Tabot is returned. The
crowds are also baptized either by full
immersion or by sprinkling with holy water.
Then there is more dancing and a great
feast.
of Sheba, an Ethiopian, and King Solomon had an affair when she visited him. Their son, upon maturity, came to visit his
father. At that time, the young prince was entrusted with the Ark which was in danger and which he bought back to Ethiopia.
It is said that the original Ark is located in a small town called Axum. This is also where you will find the great Steles. Many
are larger than those in Egypt.
To celebrate Timkat, Bruk and I went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. A meat and vegetable stew is piled high in the
center of the national flat bread. It is served communally, with the diners tearing off a piece of injera bread and scooping up
the meat and vegetables. No utensils are used. There was also traditional dancing. This is very different from the western
African style. Ethiopians primarily use their shoulders when they dance. In fact, there's almost no use of the hips at all.
The next day, it was time to leave. I had made several very special friends and it was hard to say good bye. I also think that
because I was a Black woman traveling alone, the Ethiopians I met had been very protective of me. Every place I went,
people had gone out of their way to help. Even when I had forgotten to confirm my return flight in Lalibela, someone had
offered to let me stay in their home since all the hotels were going to be full for Timkat.
As African Americans, many of us only consider Western Africa as a destination because of the history of slavery. But
because all humankind evolved in Eastern Africa, travelers of any color are returning home when they go to Ethiopia! I wish
all African-American travelers would go and see for themselves that there is a living culture in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is as
old and as great as Egypt!