Ethiopian Literary Heritage
In Ethiopia, there was formed its own original religious literature in the language of Ge'ez. This literature can be divided into the Apocrypha, prayers and hymns. Most of the prayers addressed to Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity and the Virgin whom the Ethiopians called the «twice Virgin Mary» in their own way. Some hymns were dedicated to local saints, such as, for example, Takla Haimanot. Chants for church services and celebrations are called Digua. The history of their creation is unknown for certain, but the tradition attributes them to the legendary musician Saint Yared who earned for it the nickname "Melodist". He is also credited with inventing Ethiopia's system of musical notation, which are still used today to conduct the liturgy and to perform the chants of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Musical symbols were written between the lines, over the text (V.M. Platonov, A.A. Tkachenko. Ethiopian Hymnography (a section in the article «Hymnography» // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Vol. 11 Georgy–Gomar. Moscow, 2006). Prayers are often accompanied by multicoloured miniature illumination.
A small book containing the «Sword of the Holy Trinity» and «Miracles of the Holy Trinity», is a fine example of a traditional Ethiopian book and a clever piece of work of a talented artist who added skillful miniatures to the manuscript.
Protective Amulets and Folk Beliefs
Protective amulets in the form of small rolls or, sometimes, pleats, containing spells written on them inside, reflect the local Ethiopian folklore and folk beliefs.
Such amulets are called "magic rolls". The rolls are decorated, mainly, by elements of traditional Christian art. Their design include winged figures of angels and crosses alternated with magic images and lines of magic letters (modified characters of the Ethiopian syllable alphabet). Decoration is often added just to embellish a roll's appearance and rarely illustrate texts inscribed in it.
Ethiopian amulets are closely related to traditional medicine. People believed that any illness was caused by demons that took possession of a patient's body. That is why, amulets contained prayers against that or other evil spirit, and, sometimes, extracts from the Scriptures, decorated with miniatures. The amulet was not meant to be read. It was hung on the neck, on the wall in home, or was sewn into clothing for protection. Texts and miniatures of the scrolls may seem naive, if not to take into account the fact that in Ethiopia there was no any health care system before the end of the 19th century, when the Russian mission organized the first permanent hospital in Ethiopia. Prior to that, the entire population, including the nobles and the Emperor himself, in case of illness or accident, resorted to the help of folk medicine which was connected with magic.
The scrolls have always been personal, they contain owner's name, given to him/her at his/her baptism. The name was usually carefully kept secret from others. People believed that if the name became known, the person was in danger, as he/she became vulnerable to the influence of evil spirits and witches.
The charms designed for men and women include different texts. Femal scrolls contain, inter alia, the legend of Saint Sisinios and a baby-stealing female demon named Werzelya, one of the most common themes in the Ethiopian magic literature. The tale of St. Sisinios' struggle against the witch Werzelya, in a different variant than the life story of this saint, came to Ethiopia through the Coptic Church, along with the text Synaxarion. This legend is widely used in folk beliefs and customs of the Ethiopian Christians.
Qene
Qene — compositions in rhymed prose, is, perhaps, the only original genre of Ethiopian literature in the Ge'ez language. Qene was a significant part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgy. Its main purpose was improvising hymns in church during the liturgy. In Ethiopia, higher church education includes the school of qene. It is designed to train students in the art of fluent qene composition.
Qene has a strict meter and a single rhyme. According the Ethiopian tradition, this meants that the same sounds in the final syllabograms of lines should be identical. One of the characteristics of this poetic works is that a verse has two levels of meaning: a literal sense ("wax" ) and an underlying meaning ("gold"). The ability of the author was to witty hide the latter of them in the text.
Over time, qene have gone outside the church and has become popular among the people. In the repertoire of street singers, qene compositions are satirical and often abound in daring jokes. Once composed and sung, qene could not be repeated and reused on another occasion even by its author. Qene verses were rarely recorded, mainly for the training of students. For example, the end of the Psalms contains two religious qene poems. Selected qene compositions, especially those in which this or that high-ranking figure was mentioned, could got into the royal chronicles. The modern Ethiopian poetry in Amharic is the direct heir of qene. During the past half-century, it are considered as a separate literary genre and has become very popular in the country.
Ethio-Arabic Glossary
Glossaries include both lists of words, usually, in the Ge'ez language, devided into categories, and certain grammatical forms, sometimes with Amharic translation.
Especially noteworthy is the Ethiopian-Arabic Glossary, at the beginning of which the scribe states that this grammatical and lexical work was compiled in 7322 from the creation of the world (in 1830 from the birth of Christ) for the personal use of Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria (Peter VII; 1809-1852). Its distinguishing feature is that it is written on Arabic paper, not on parchment.
In addition, the fields contain regular translations of relevant terms and concepts into Arabic, while translations from Ge'ez into Amharic were much more common: they were used for educational purposes.
Apparently, this glossary was a kind of a textbook used to learn the language of the liturgy and books by a Coptic Church dignitary who was to be appointed Metropolitan of Ethiopia.
Modern map of the Horn of Africa.
Historical map of Ethiopia from Joan Blaeu's atlas. Æthiopia superior vel interior, vulgo Abissinorum sive Prebiter Ioannis Imperium // Africa, quæ est Geographiæ Blavianæ pars tertia, liber unus. Amstelædami: Labor et Sumptibus Ioannis Blaeu, 1662. Между с. 85 and 86.
Ill. 3. Dorn 612. Fol. 25.
Four Gospels. 1426.
A sample of the Ethiopian writing.
Ill. 4. Dorn 612.
Fols. 24v-25. Four Gospels. 1426. The manuscript belonged to the library of the Abyssinian monastery in Jerusalem. In 1820, it was transferred to Georgy Avalov through Metropolitan of Petra Michael from Jerusalem Patriarch's library (as an inscription on Fol. 163v in the Georgian language evidenced)
Traditional ornaments on fields and between columns of text resemble Coptic illuminated crosses borrowed from the Greco-Byzantine tradition.
Ill. 5. Dorn 612. Fols. 124v-125. Four Gospels. 1426. Miniature depicts Apostle John.
Ill. 6. Dorn 609. Fols. 128v-129.
Psalms with supplements (antiphons and the book of prayer). 15th cent. From the collection of P. Dubrovsky.
Ill. 7. Dorn 609. Fols. 197v-198.
Psalter with supplements (antiphons and the book of prayer). 15th cent.
In the last pages, after the main text, there are written various prayers and two religious qune verses in sloppy handwriting.
Ill. 8. Eaf. n. s. 3. Fols. 2v-3.
Psalter with miniature head pieces. 18th-19th cents.
From the collection of C. Tischendorf.
Ill. 9. Eaf. n. s. 19.
Psalter. 18th cent.
Purchased from B.P. Lukyanov.
Binding of wooden boards, enclosed in a cover of the cotton fabric. A double leather case-bag was used for storage. A strip of cloth was sewn to the lower end of the spine to protect the book edge.
Ill. 10. Eaf. n. s. 19. Fol. 5v-6.
Psalter. 18th cent.
11th Psalm and the beginning of the 12th Psalm.
Miniature head piece is made at a later time.
Ill. 11. Eaf. n. s. 13 Fol. 21v-22.
Psalter. 18th-19th cents.
From the collection of Chief of Jerusalem Mission Bishop Porfiry Uspensky.
Psalms 31 and 32. A number of a psalm, the second line of each psalm and the word "Lord" is written in red ink.
Ill. 12. Eaf. n. s. 16.
Fol. 1. Psalter. 18th cent. Contains Psalms 1-103.
Part of the collection of Chief of Jerusalem Mission Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) in 1899
Initial parchment sheets were replaced by paper.
The first page is decorated with decals.
Ill. 13. Eaf. n. s. 16. Fol. 3v-4.
Psalter. 18th cent. Contains Psalms 1-103.
On the left side of a double-page spread is a new sheet of paper, on the right is the original parchment.
Ill. 14. Eaf. n. s. 1. Fol. 41v-42.
Psalter with supplements («Praise and Tenderness» to the Mother of God, the Exaltation to Saint George the Great Martyr). 18th cent.
From the collection of C. Tischendorf.
Psalms 41-43. Miniature ornamental head piece containing anthropomorphic elements.
Ill. 15. Эф. н. с. 1. Fol. 89v-90.
Psalter with supplements («Praise and Tenderness» to the Mother of God, the Exaltation to Saint George the Great Martyr). 18th cent.
End of the Psalms and the beginning of the «Songs of the Prophets». Between the lines - the traditional system of musical signs (for the performance of hymns during the service).
Ill. 16. SPbDA B III/9. Fol. 1v-2.
Psalter. 18th-19th cents.
From the collection accumulated by Bishop of Staritsa Alexandr (Golovin) in Abyssinia
where he was in the Red Cross group.
On the left side is a miniature of St. George on horseback, killing the dragon.
On the right side is an image of the Virgin Mary with Child, traditional for the Ethiopian iconography.
The book was shown at "Abyssinian Sanitary and Ethnographic Exhibition" of the Red Cross in St. Petersburg in 1897
Ill. 17. Dorn 610. Fol. 36v-37.
Miscellany. Contains the Song of Solomon, Psalm 118, Praise to Virgin (not completely) and so on. 15th cent. From the collection of P. Dubrovsky.
The beginning of the «Praise to Virgin» (for Sunday) with several religious additions (prayers) in the margin.
Ill. 18. Eaf. n. s. 22.
Four Gospels. 1895. Presentation copy. Commisioned by Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II to
give as a gift to Nicholas II by the Ethiopian embassy.
The manuscript is enclosed in a sack made of silk in colours of the rainbow outside.
Ill. 19. Eaf. n. s. 22. Bag-Case.
Four Gospels. 1895. The manuscript is enclosed in a traditional double bag-case of red leather with embossing,
used to wear the book over the shoulder or to hung on the wall inside the house or in the church library.
(thr Ethiopias normally keep books in this way).
Ill. 20. Eaf. n. s. 22. Fol. 4v-5.
Four Gospels. 1895. The manuscript is made out of fine white parchment and decorated with multicoloured head pieces,
in the best traditions of Ethiopian book art.
Ill. 21. Eaf. n. s. 22.
Four Gospels. 1895. An impression of the seal Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II.
Ill. 22. Eaf. n. s. 22
Four Gospels. 1895. Double-page.
Ill. 23. SPbDA B III/13. Fol. 3v-4.
Gospel of John. 19th cent. From the collection accumulated by Bishop of Staritsa Alexandr (Golovin) in Abyssinia
where he was in the Red Cross group. An unpainted miniature before the beginning of the text depicts the Apostle John writing the Holy Gospel.
Ill. 24 SPbDA B II/39. Fol. 8v-9.
Gospel of John, divided into days of the week with supplements (Liturgy of the Virgin, Wonders of the Virgin and so on.). 19th cent., Harar. The manuscript was given to Archimandrite Efrem as a gift in 1895, the first Russian priest in Abyssinia, and was donated by him to the library of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1905. An ornamental head-piece decorates the first lines of the gospel. In the fields, days of the week are written in red, in which the relevant passages of the text are supposed to be read.
Ill. 25 SPbDA B II/39. Сумка.
Gospel of John, divided into days of the week with supplements (Liturgy of the Virgin, Wonders of the Virgin and so on.). 19th cent., Harar. The Gospel is kept in a traditional double case-bag with a belt. The binding is made of embossed red leather.
Ill. 26 Dorn 613 Fol. 1.
Gospel of Johnа. 15th cent. From the collection of P. Dubrovsky. Before the beginning of the text, there is a multicoloured head piece. A coloured picture of Apostle John (traditionally placed in front of the respective Gospel) is cut off.
Ill. 27 SPbDA B III/16. Fol. 4v-5.
Four Gospels. 18th cent. From the collection accumulated by Bishop of Staritsa Alexandr (Golovin) in Abyssinia
where he was in the Red Cross group. On the right sheet is a miniature showing John the Baptist with the lamb. On the left folio is the beginning of the «Prayer of Peter, Supreme Apostle of Him…». It was exhibited at the "Abyssinian sanitary and ethnographic exhibition" of the Red Cross in St. Petersburg in 1897«Молитва Петра, верховного Apostleов Его…».
Ill. 28 SPbDA B III/16.
Fol. 2v-3
Four Gospels. 18th cent. The first four pages carry beautiful miniatures in full sheet. The miniatures are not fully painted. On the left side is a miniature depicting the Archangel with a sword. On the right is the Virgin Mary with Child.
Ill. 29 SPbDA B III/6. Binding.
Hymns to St. Takla Haimanot and Savior. 18th cent. From the collection accumulated by Bishop of Staritsa Alexandr (Golovin) in Abyssinia
where he was in the Red Cross group.
Traditional Abyssinian binding is made of embossed brown leather.
Ill. 30 SPbDA – B III/12.
Fol. 21v-22. The music liturgical book contains verses from the Psalms. 18th-19th cents.
From the collection accumulated by Bishop of Staritsa Alexandr (Golovin) in Abyssinia
where he was in the Red Cross group. A multicoloured head piece is at the bottom of the page (text delimiter). Between the lines is the traditional system of notation (for the performance of hymns during the service).
Ill. 31 Eaf. n. s. 25. Fol. 86v-87.
Miracles of the Holy Trinity. 19th cent. The manuscript was acquired by the Library in 2006. It contains multicoloured miniature head pieces.
Ill. 32 Eaf. n. s. 25. Fol. 105v-106.
Miracles of the Holy Trinity. 19th cent. The manuscript contains multicoloured miniature head pieces.
Ill. SPbDA, B III/19.
Parchment scroll (the most common type of Ethiopian protective amulets). 19th cent.
Ill. 34 СПбДА, Б III/19.
Parchment scroll. 19th cent.
At the top of the scroll there is an Ethiopian trditional multicoloured cross. During the Muslim invasions of the 14th and 15th centuries, Ethiopians began to hide their affiliation with Christianity. Consequently, crosses were modified beyond recognition.
Ill. 35 Eaf. n. s. 29.
Protective amulets in the form of small pleats (one of the varieties of amulets). Late 19th – early 20 cents.
It contains magic prayers and miniature head pieces.
Ill. 36 Eaf. n. s. 28.
Parchment scroll (the most common form of protective amulets in Ethiopia). Late 19th – early 20th cents.
Contains prayers and the legend of St. Sisinios' struggle against the witch Werzelya.
The scroll includes three miniatures. The second is "Grid to Catch the Devil." According to traditional beliefs, after looking at this picture, the demon possessing the person, will enter the "grid" and will not be able to get out of it.
Ill. 37 Eaf. n. s. 28.
Magic scroll. Late 19th – early 20th cents.
Contains prayers and the legend of St. Sisinios' struggle against the witch Werzelya.
The final miniature shows an angel with a sword, killing the demon.
Ill. 38 Eaf. n. s. 11. Fol. 39v-40.
Ethio-Arabic Glossary. 1830
This grammatical and lexical work was made for the personal use of Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria (Peter VII; 1809-1852).
In Ethiopia, there was formed its own original religious literature in the language of Ge'ez. This literature can be divided into the Apocrypha, prayers and hymns. Most of the prayers addressed to Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity and the Virgin whom the Ethiopians called the «twice Virgin Mary» in their own way. Some hymns were dedicated to local saints, such as, for example, Takla Haimanot. Chants for church services and celebrations are called Digua. The history of their creation is unknown for certain, but the tradition attributes them to the legendary musician Saint Yared who earned for it the nickname "Melodist". He is also credited with inventing Ethiopia's system of musical notation, which are still used today to conduct the liturgy and to perform the chants of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Musical symbols were written between the lines, over the text (V.M. Platonov, A.A. Tkachenko. Ethiopian Hymnography (a section in the article «Hymnography» // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Vol. 11 Georgy–Gomar. Moscow, 2006). Prayers are often accompanied by multicoloured miniature illumination.
A small book containing the «Sword of the Holy Trinity» and «Miracles of the Holy Trinity», is a fine example of a traditional Ethiopian book and a clever piece of work of a talented artist who added skillful miniatures to the manuscript.
Over time, qene have gone outside the church and has become popular among the people. In the repertoire of street singers, qene compositions are satirical and often abound in daring jokes. Once composed and sung, qene could not be repeated and reused on another occasion even by its author. Qene verses were rarely recorded, mainly for the training of students. For example, the end of the Psalms contains two religious qene poems. Selected qene compositions, especially those in which this or that high-ranking figure was mentioned, could got into the royal chronicles. The modern Ethiopian poetry in Amharic is the direct heir of qene. During the past half-century, it are considered as a separate literary genre and has become very popular in the country.
Especially noteworthy is the Ethiopian-Arabic Glossary, at the beginning of which the scribe states that this grammatical and lexical work was compiled in 7322 from the creation of the world (in 1830 from the birth of Christ) for the personal use of Peter, Patriarch of Alexandria (Peter VII; 1809-1852). Its distinguishing feature is that it is written on Arabic paper, not on parchment.