Dr. Dominy's and Gillian Moritz's Presentation at the Eritrean Community Center in Oakland: A Summary

On June 12th 2010, Dr. Nathaniel Dominy of UC Santa Cruz and his colleague, first year Ph.D student, Gillian Mortiz of UC Santa Cruz, presented the findings of their research to the Eritrean community in Oakland. It must be recalled that they first announced their findings to the world at the 61st ARCE (The American Research Center in Egypt) annual meeting which was held in Oakland from April 23-25, 2010.






Dr. Nathaniel Dominy at the Eritrean Community Center in Oakland, CA.



The Eritrean Community Center in Oakland, CA.



The title of their presentation was entitled, “Baboons, stable isotopes and the location of Punt”. Dr. Dominy started his lecture by stating that Egyptologists have been looking for the “Land of Punt” for over 100 years. He presented detailed theories that had surfaced over the aforementioned period. According to Dr. Dominy the locations varied from Sinai, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Uganda to Mozambique. The theories of the location varied because

* Ancient Egyptian records indicated that the land of Punt was located to the east of Egypt and to the south of Nubia.

* Egyptologists have been using biological, botanical, linguistic, and archaeological and other
evidence to come up with their respective theories.

What makes Dr. Dominy and his colleagues’ results different from the previous theories is that:

* His team is made up of scientists of various disciplines. (Dr.Dominy studies primates, Gillian
is one of the few people in the field to capitalize on new techniques to study oxygen isotopes and Dr.Salima Ikram is a specialist in animal mummification).

* This is the first time that hair samples from mummified baboons have been analyzed in a mass spectrometer to pinpoint the location of Punt.

Before going into details of their scientific result, Dr. Dominy pointed out why the land of Punt was important to the Ancient Egyptians. Dr. Dominy stated that the relationship between Ancient Egypt and the land of Punt was the first peaceful interaction between two “countries”, and that it was also one of the earliest and longest lasting trading relationships in human history, spanning over 1300 years. This relationship started from 2450 BC during the reign of Sahura (as evidenced by the Palermo Stone) and continued through the reign of Pharaoh Ramasis III (XX Dynasty). Dr. Dominy showed a picture of a hieroglyphic tablet of a custom’s official record that was taken at Marsa Gawasis, a port in Egypt where preserved Ancient Egyptian ship components were found.




A custom official's hieroglyphic record found at Marsa Gawasis, Egypt

The commodities that were imported from the land of Punt included:

. Gold and electrum ( a compound for gold and silver).
. Plant tissues (Ntyw: myrrh; Comminphora; Sntr: Pistachia and ebony
. Animals and animal products (baboons, short-horned cattle, leopards and ivory)

Punt Expedition bas relief from Dar el-Bhari (Queen Hateshepsut's temple)

Even though some or all of the commodities were and are still found in the Sinai (baboons were not found), Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda and Mozambique, two commodities; sntr (incense made from pistachio plant tissue) and baboons were important in determining the location of Punt. It was previously believed that the incense that was highly prized in Ancient Egypt was frankincense, but now it has come to light that it was sntr (pistachio). Actually, Dr. Dominy indicated that when Somalia got its independence in 1959, it issued a stamp in reverence and in reference to itself as the land of Punt. On the stamp, a frankincense tree is carried by two people.

As indicated above, the second commodity was the baboon. The Ancient Egyptians had high reverence for baboons. In the mornings, baboons face to the east and announce the rising of the sun by making a “wa-hoo” vocalization. It has been hypothesized that baboons face the rising sun in order to warm up digestive bacteria in the gut. It is not known whether the ancient Egyptians knew the above mentioned scientific fact or not, but for them baboons were symbolically associated with the rising sun). Dr. Dominy indicated that the Ancient Egyptians (especially the Pharoah’s and their families raised the baboons as pets).

A picture taken by Eric Lafforgue in Eritrea.

An x-ray of a royal pet baboon without his canine teeth.

A mummified baboon

Going into details of their research, Dr. Dominy explained that there are different species of baboons (Papio papio, Papio hamadryas, Papio anubis, Papio ursinus, and Papio cynocephalus), but there were two baboon species that were mummified and were depicted in Ancient Egyptian paintings. They are Papio hamadryas and Papio anubis. Dr. Dominy explained that his team got hair sample from two mummified baboons. The hair sample from one of the mummified baboon could not be used to determine the place of origin, because the baboon had been in Egypt as a pet for a long time. However, the hair sample from the mummified baboon from the British Museum did help to determine its origin. Since baboon populations vary isotopically, by analyzing the ratio of oxygen stable isotopes from the hair sample, Dr. Dominy explained, his team determined that

* All the other places that once were believed to be land of Punt were eliminated (Siani,
Yemen, Uganda, Somalia and Yemen)

* The oxygen isotope (O18) analyzed through hair sample of the mummified baboon was
consistent with the oxygen isotope (O18 )and types found on the baboons from Eritrea.





Biographic distribution of baboons




Papio hamadryas





Papio-anubus

Finally, this is a major scientific breakthrough. The audience was so fascinated by the presentation; people were still asking them questions up to 9:30 PM.




staying after the lecture.




coffee ceremony with incense

 One of the most highly sought after commodity by the ancient Egyptians was incense from Eritrea.


Pictures courtesy of Dr. Nathaniel Dominy.

Conversation with Anthropologists Dr. Nathaniel J. Dominy and Gillian L. Moritz

Issayas: Can you briefly describe about yourselves.

Nathaniel J Dominy: I'm an Associate Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UC-Santa Cruz. I received my BA from Johns Hopkins University in 1998 and PhD from the University of Hong Kong in 2001; from 2002-2004 I was NIH Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. I'm currently a Fellow of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

(Note: Dr. Dominy was ranked by Popular Science magazine (2009) as one of ten "Brilliant 10" scientists younger than 40 years old. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/ten-young-geniuses-shaking-science-today?page=7 )

Gillian L. Moritz : I'm a PhD student in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UC-Santa Cruz. I received my BS from Saint Louis University in 2008. I have research interests in stable isotope ecology, sensory systems, and primate behavioral ecology.

Issayas: What is the significance of your findings?

Dr. N. Dominy and Gillian Mortiz: Our preliminary findings narrow down the range of possible geographic locations for Punt. We can rule out some hypothetical locations such as Mozambique and Uganda. And the evidence we have so far is inconsistent with a location in Somalia or Yemen. Instead our results favor a location in Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia. Such results are significant for contributing to our knowledge of the earliest maritime trading networks in antiquity

Q: Why was Punt important for the Ancient Egyptians?

A: Punt was important because it was an emporium for highly valued, exotic goods. For the Ancient Egyptians, the most important commodity of Punt was incense.

Q: The location of Punt had been a mystery for a long time, why was it a mystery?

A: Because the evidence is mixed. The textural evidence differs from the artistic evidence; and, until recently, the archeological evidence was too scarce to be much use. By nature, scholars are creative, argumentative people... so in the past century at least 5 geographic hypotheses have been advanced

Q: Why was Punt called "God's Land?"

A: For the Ancient Egyptians, Punt was a wildly productive region with numerous valuable mineral and biological commodities. Punt was the best emporium on earth.

Q: For a general audience can you briefly describe how a mummified baboon can hold the secret for the location of the land of Punt?

A: The chemical composition of baboon hair reflects the chemical composition of plant water, and plant water reflects the chemical composition of rain water. So we can create a chemical map of eastern Africa based on rainfall patterns. Fortunately, each hypothetical Punt location carries a distinctive rain-driven chemical signature that we can match to living baboons as well as the mummified ones from Ancient Egypt.

Q: Why were baboons important for the Ancient Egyptians and beside baboons, were there any other mummified animals that you wanted to research on?

A: Some baboons were mummified because they were beloved royal pets whereas others were mummified for religious purposes. Mummified short-horned cattle and antelopes might have been interesting to study.

Issayas: Thank you both for your time and comments. (Note: For further information on the subject and their research, please check out the following two links:

http://heritage-key.com/blogs/owenjarus/baboon-mummy-tests-reveal-ethiopia-and-eritrea-ancient-egyptians-land-punt

To check Dr. Dominy's lab: http://people.ucsc.edu/~njdominy/

Dr. Dominy and Moritz will be presenting their findings to the public at Oakland's Monthly Public Forum on Saturday June 12th 2010. Check out the flier below for details.

Pictures from May 3 , 2010 Santa Rosa Junior College Eritrean Event

I was invited to screen my film entitled "Asmara:City of Radiance" to Santa Rosa Junior College students on May 3rd 2010. The occasion was sponsored by the Eritrean Students Association whose main purpose was to introduce Eritrean culture to Santa Rosa Junior College students. It was an indoor and outdoor event.

Here are some pictures from the outdoor event.

Below are pictures from the Eritrean basketry workshop that was held on the same campus on April 3, 2010. The pictures below are courtesy of Solomon Gebretensae.

Pictures from "Eritrea:The Oldest New Nation" lecture at Santa Rosa Junior College on Feb. 8th, 2010.

At the invitation of Santa Rosa Junior College Museum, I gave a lecture entitled "Eritrea: The Oldest New Nation". The title is from my on-going documentary on Eritrea. The lecture started at 12:30 and lasted an hour. The lecture included a 12 minutes film and power point presentation. It was standing room only and after the door of the auditorium was closed, people were turned away. The lecture started with a moment of silence. There were two sign language translators present. Briefly, I talked about how Eritrea is a new country and continue to talk about how Eritrea is an old country, hence the title of the lecture.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Exhibit Opening Reception at Santa Rosa Junior College Museum

Santa Rosa Junior College Museum's Exhibit opening reception was held on February 4th 2010.
The exhibit was a kick-off for various Eritrea-related exhibit and lecture series. The exhibit will run from February 4th 2010 through May 9th 2010.

The event was well attended, organized and received. Kudos to all the people who made the event a success. Of course, no Eritrea-related event would be successful without the full participation of Eritrean women.


Here are some pictures that I took at the event.

 

Conversation with Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Part Five (Last)

Issayas: How about the Mensa?

Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin: In his book Envoys of the Gospel in Ethiopia , Gustav Aren writes: "A convert from Islam, Ato (Mr.) Gustavo Bealged Maybetot (1908-1987), went in 1927 from Geleb to Asmara to seek employment. "On my arrival there a circular had been distributed to all companies and government offices which forbade employment of members of the Church", stated Ato Gustavo in his Hiwoyt Tarik, his 12-page autobiography.Later he founded the Mekane Yesus Congregation at Dessie, Ethiopia.

Ato(Mr.) Gustavo Be'alged Maybetot (1908-1987)

Two things struck me about Ato Gustavo. The first was his forename. The name must have been given to him by some Swedish missionary, or taken by him in appreciation of a Swedish missionary by the same name. The second thing that struck me about him was his loyalty, his perseverance in his Evangelical faith he had received. He was a Kenisha, at home in his faith away from home. Secondly, he belonged to the category of people known as the Mensa (pronounced with a guttural sound at the end). Who were the Mensa? What can we say of their history and culture? In what way did they come in touch with the Swedish Evangelical Mission?




Teachers in Geleb. Sitting: Left to right: Qesh Dawit Amanuel, Ida Coisson, Ida Harndahl and Eleazar Hedad. Standing. Left to right: Eyassu Be'imnent, Tesfa-Li'ul Hibtes , Timoteos Fayed, Samuel Etman, Maestro Coisson. (1930)

Teacher Natnael Negassie and his family who labored in the Geleb area.

Karl Johan Lundstrom has given us a short but comprehensive survey of their history. His text follows.

When the first Swedish missionaries arrived in Massawa, the French Consul Werner Munzinger advised them against advancing to the Oromo through Abyssinia. He suggested instead that they begin work among the Mensa people who according to him, were pagan and lived just a few days walk from Massawa. However, he soon ran into a problem. Catholic missionaries, who had initiated mission among the Bilen, not far from the Mensa, protested against his proposal. He therefore changed his mind and recommended Kunama as the most suitable site for pioneer missionary work by the Swedes.

Seven years later, Munzinger, who by then was in Egyptian service, was still urging the missionaries to do something for the Mensa. In December 1873 a missionary by the name of E.E. Hedenstrom (1844-1904) moved up the area, settling in a place called Geleb. In Geleb the missionaries met still another culture. The people were not, as Munzinger had first stated, pagan but bearers of a mixture of Muslim and Christian cultures. Mensa tradition claims that the people originated in Arabia. The Swedish missionary K.G. Roden writes,

Their forefathers were two brothers Tsed and Tsebed, descendants of Kerosh and Manneja, who lived in Arabia. later on they separated: Tsebed remained in his country of origin, while Tsed crossed the Red Sea , landed on African soil and settled on Buri, a peninsula south of Massawa. From him were born Haranreway, Hatsotay, Toray, Schiahai, Adalie(Adaglie), Mensaay, and Mereyay. The first of these formed a branch called Haranrewa; the others a second branch with name of six people: Haso, Tora, Schiahay, Adallye, Mensaay and Mareya.

The new settlers were Saho who migrated from the coast to Haigat. A migration led the same groups of Saho to the plateau where they took up Tigrigna or Tigre as their language. The story continues to narrate how the Mensa and Marya left their brothers and moved towards the area where the sun sets and then moved up to Haigat. There they went in different directions. Mensaay settled at Haigat and his descendants were called Mensa, while the Mareyay settled at Erota and his descendants were called Marya. The existing population, called Tigre was subdued and Mensa and Marya became the ruling classes (Shimagele) in the area. The area mentioned above was located in the Central Eastern Highlands of Eritrea and stretched towards the north. The language spoken by the people was Tigre, closely related to the ancient Ge'ez. Other related groups, such as the Bet Juk, settled north of Mensa. The Mensa were divided into two groups: The Beit Abrehe, with their main center at Habna (Geleb) and the Biet Eshhaqan, with their center at Mihlab.

Issayas: Pastor Ezra, thank you very much for your time. Do you want to add anything before we end?

Pastor Ezra: I would like to take this occasion to thank you sincerely for kindly presenting the forthcoming book entitled, Kenisha: The Roots and Development of The Evangelical Church of Eritrea 1866-1935. By Karl Johan Lundström. Edited by Ezra Gebremedhin in a series of installments. As we now come to the end of this generous enterprise, I must say that the publication of the book has been delayed and that it will be published, hopefully, during the first quarter of 2010. It will be a solid work of just over 500 pages, richly supplied with photos, maps, some simple charts and a comprehensive and up to date bibliography. Among the appendices of the book we have a section of several pages on literary sources (annotated) on the history of the Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) and the ECE, as well as some brief statistics on mission and church, yesterday and today. A “lexicon” with very short biographical data on former Swedish missionaries and their Eritrean colleagues from around 1867 to the present (for Swedish missionaries) and to 1935 for their Eritrean colleagues, will be of interest for both Swedes and Eritreans. We shall be sending notice on the venue of the publication and distribution of the book in good time. Meanwhile, be our jungle telegraph. Thank you!

e-mail contact: ezra.gebremedhin@teol.uu.se

Conversation with Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Part Four:

Issayas: Pastor Ezra, you mentioned that Karl Johan Lundstrom had materials on the history of the Kunama and the Mensa. Can you breifly elaborate on that? Also, a lot of people do not know that Aboi Woldeab Woldemariam's first job was as a teacher in Kunama area.

Pastor Ezra: When three Swedish missionaries landed on the coast of Massawa in the spring of 1866, they had no thoughts of heading in the direction of Kunama. Their goal was to reach the Oromo in western and southern Ethiopia. However, the route from the coast to the interior of Ethiopia was closed to them due to political and social unrest in the country. The roots of Evangelical Church of Eritrea (ECE) go back to the individuals and small communities that once belonged to three religious groups: the "Animist" Kunama, Tigre speaking Muslims and mainly highland populations groups that belonged to the Orthodox Tewhado Church and who spoke mainly Tigrigna.

Aboi Woldeab who was born in 1905 started school late. He spent his early years as a boy tending his father's cattle in a highland village in Eritrea. Even though he started school late, he made fast progress. Eventually he attended the Teacher Training School of the Swedish Mission at Beleza. His first job was that of a teacher in Kunama where he was to spend three years and where he almost died of the type of malaria that attacks the brain.

In 1935 he writes the following personal report on a confirmation ceremony that he attended in Ausa Conoma:

" The mission field in Kunama has far been regarded as the most difficult and the least fruitful field. Its history, which I have had occasion to learn about more closely in recent days, has been dark. [...] but I only want to say that I have admired and still admire those people who struggled and died victorious, in spite of the fact that they never saw victory."

Aboi Woldeab was in Kunama in the company of his close friend Sahle Ande-Mikael (later commonly addressed as "Memher Sahle"). The two were part of a working team led by an energetic, widowed Swedish missionary by the name of Signe Berg.

Aboi Woldeab had experienced a sense of awe and admiration in the face of what the very first Swedish messagers of the Gospel had met in Kunama, "the land of blood and tears." But who were the Kunama who had captivated the hearts of Swedes and Eritreans alike? Why did they attract such attention?



Chief Adim Billa the first Kunama to be baptized on the mission field.
As a boy, he had met the first missionaries and his mother used to cook for them.



School for girls in Kunama.
Middle row: Far left, Emma Andersson and behind her Joseph Mati.
Peter Andersson is seated to the far right of the girls in the front row.



Maria Nilsson with the first Christian couple wedded in Kunama: Joseph Mati a teacher who was later ordained and his wife Sillas who was from Geleb.

The main area of settlement of the Kunama was and still is between the Gash and Setit rivers. However, a certain section of the population lives to the north and south of this area. Basically, the area is divided into four regions, namely Marda in the north, Barka in the east, Bazena in the west, and Tika in the south.

The Kunama language is classified as belonging to the Nilo-Saharian group of languages. The Rev. Sture Normark, a former Swedish missionary to Kunama mentioned that there are four main Kunama dialects: Marda (for the region around Sosena), Barka (for the region around Kulluku), Tika (for the region around Ugaro) and Sogodak (for the region around Tessenei).

Kunama culture shares many characterstics with the cultures of other Nilotic people. The totem symbols that represented the four territorial divisions are an example. These divisions with their respective totem symbols and dialects are Shua (the Rhinoceros) for the Marda, Gumma (the Buffalo) for the Barka, Karawa (the Elephant) for the Tika and Semma (the Moon) for the Sogodak. Each division has its own dialect.

In 1864 Werner Munzinger (Governer General of Massawa under the Egyptians) reported that Muttersrwecht, a social system in which the woman plays a dominant role in the family, existed among the Kunama. The system was, however, not a form of matriarchy in which the woman was the head of the family, but rather one based on matrilineal kinship. Inheritance followed the mother's lineage, but the dominant personality was the mother's brother, i.e. the maternal uncle. Thus the women played a crucial role in Kunama society as bearers of tradition and spiritual life.

The society was very egaliterian and the village was seen as a unit. An attack on a single member was considered an attack on the village. Every village had a council whose members were called Andai, the Great Ones. These elders consisted of all married men in the village. As a sign that they had assumed this role, the men cut their hair and receive the title Anda.

The older a man, the greater his influence. The elders met regularly on the dibba, the site of the council, usually located under a big tree. In the deliberations that were held, the younger members of the council spoke first, followed by the older ones, who also had the right to final say.
If a Kunama broke the faneda- the manners and customs- he would find himself isolated. This was the worst punishment that could be meted out to a Kunama. Kunama society was acephlous, i.e. it had no central ruler or chief. Every village was legally and politically independent. A stranger could become a member of the village even if he didn't have any relatives in the village. This fact had negative consequences. The absence of a common defence organization left the Kunama open to attacks by robbers and to other kinds of harassment.

A.Pollera and E. Cerulli maintain that the Kunama, since times immemorial regarded Anna as the one God, the creator of all among the Kunama. According to the Kunama, the first people to be created were Adam and Aua (or Hawa), the original parents of the Kunama. The names may have been added later as these words occur both in the Jewish-Christian and Muslim traditions.
The Kunama addressed their prayers not only to God but also to their ancestors. In their religion there were clear signs of hierarchial structure. Highest in this hierarchy was the Creator, Ana and below him/her came the hierarchy of the ancestors, which consitituted the various lineages. The society also had bearers of religious heritage, people who were recognized as specialists in various aspects of religious practice. These assumed both secular and spiritual functions. Among such specialists called Manna, are : the L'Aula Manna: who brought or withheld rain; L'Ula Manna: who provided protection from locusts; Sciurka Manna: who provided protection from birds;Bian Manna: who protected specially durra(sorghum) from the scourage of worms;Attana Manna: who provided protection from flies and insects.

The Manna were male. There was, however, another group of female actors in the realm of religious rituals, who were called Asirmina. The Kunama too attach a great importance to the presence of spirits. The world is a unit of the Living and the Dead, Good Beings and Evil ones. Life would continue beyond the grave and the spirits of the deceased would always be present in the minds of the Kunama. The spirits , usually representing someone from about a generation ago , would assume a human shape by becoming a Manna and Asirmina.


Next(final) on the Mensa.

Conversation with Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Part Three

Issayas: In an interview that I did with Prof. Asmerom Legesse and posted on my blog a while back, he referred to reformers within the Orthodox Church who started a reform movement in the 1860's and this movement coincided (Zeitgeist, if you will. Where history and destiny emerge)with the Swedish missionaries who were trying to go to Ethiopia (at that time, Abyssinia). Can you tell us about the reformers and their contribution in forming the ECE?

Pastor Ezra: It should be pointed out that though the narrators of this story are Qeshi Selomon Atsqu and Qeshi Zera-Tsion Mussie, the main figure and spokesman in this story of the early fathers of the ECE is Qeshi Haile-Ab Tesfai(Qeshi Haile-Ab and Per Erik Lager were killed by one of the soldiers of Ra’isi Woldenki’el outside of the church of Qiddus Mikaél in Addi Qontsi in July 1876). The two fathers of Evangelical Christianity in Eritrea narrate their story with a quiet sense of conviction, and with hardly any trace of self-pity or bitterness. As the title of their narrative (BERHAN YEKUN: LET THERE BE LIGHT, published in 1912) indicates, the first encounter between highland Orthodoxy and those who had arrived at an Evangelical conviction took place in Hamasen.

The point of departure of those who were of Evangelical persuasion was that the Bible and only the Bible (Tsiruy qal Igziabher- the pure Word of God) should be the guide and norm for teaching and practice in the Christian Church. Of course, these Evangelical fathers meant the Bible with the sixty-six books which they regarded as canonical, not the eighty-one books of the Tewahdo Orthodox Church. These fathers of the ECE, a number of whom were still priests of The Orthodox Church,were brought up in the classical theological literature of their mother church. Their understanding of The Trinity was based on the teachings of Haymanotä Abäw (Faith of the Fathers). Their standards for life and behaviour were set and guided by works like Fitha Negest (Law of The Kings) and Sinodos, even though the narrators add that they found the rules of Sinodos “harder than the rules of Orit” i.e. The Old Testament straight forward history than the kind of outright hagiography which abounds in dramatic miracles.

They had respect for ser‘at abbotat (The rule of the fathers). Nevertheless, when the time came for them to enter holy orders, Qeshi Solomon and Qeshi Zera-Tsion, had traveled to Adwa with a certain Haleqa Afeworq, the arch-priest of Hamasen, to ‘‘receive priesthood’’from Abune Atnatewos. After their ordination, they were received in a private audience by the bishop, who is reported to have told them, “If you can preach the Gospel in another country do so; if not preach it in your own country” Haleqa Afeworq then took them and introduced them to a certain Johannes Maier, a messenger of the Gospel from Switzerland who lived in Adwa at the time. Maier encouraged them, gave them portions of Scripture and other writings in Amharic. He also promised to supply them with further copies of Scripture from a bookstore in Massawa.

Monks from Debre Bizen Accuse Fellow ‘Orthodox’ in Tseazzega

According to the narrative in Birhan Yikun, monks from Debre Bizen, intent on challenging the ‘early fathers’ of the ECE, first appeared in Tseazzega in May 1873, according to the Julian calendar. The narrative states, It happened that in May 1873 some monks of Debre Bizen [...] were on their way to bring charges against us. Qeshi Gebremedhin, who was on a journey, happened to meet them at Addi Qontsi. Believing that they were still on friendly terms, he alighted from his mule in all sincerity and greeted them with a ‘Good morning!’ However none of them answered his greeting. He therefore interrupted his journey, returned at a gallop to his comrades and told them about what had transpired. Convinced that they would be interrogated in proper order, for good canonical regulations, taken from the different church councils recognized by the Coptic Church.

For good or for bad, they laid out welcome carpets in church and waited for them. The others however, about thirty monks altogether, came in procession, carrying the seat (stool) and cross of Abune Filippos, which were covered with ornamented textiles, and walked straight towards the residence of Blatta Gebre Kidan. Blatta Gebre Kidan sent his servants and had us brought to his presence. The subjects taken up at this session were the role of the saints as mediators, the significance of the Tabot (The Ark of the Covenant) in the worship of the Orthodox Tewahdo Church and the piety of the faithful. The main spokesmen for the Evangelical group were Qeshi Haile-Ab and Qeshi Gebremedhin. The first encounter seems to have ended in a deadlock. In any case, another appointment was made for a meeting at a place known as Miku´at Meret.
The same issues were discussed in greater detail at the session in Miku‘at Meret. The Orthodox Tewahdo priests argued energetically in favour of the thesis that angels, saints, the righteous had been given promises by God that they would be able to mediate on behalf of the faithful. The Evangelicals maintained that such a teaching was based, in the last analysis, on secondary sources of dubious quality and not on the Bible. Since the views of the two parties were found to be irreconcilable, the matter was referred to a judge in Tseazzega.

Once before the judge, the spokesman of the Orthodox Tewahdo monks, Abbat Haile Yesus, argued,‘Don’t give these people their’ rim’ (i.e. rations or rightful dues). Note: Let at this point be known that we should perhaps restate a fact that is probably not obvious for everyone. The Kenisha never questioned the propriety of mutual intercessions (i.e.‘praying for each other’) here on earth, i.e. in atsädä siga (the realm of the body).What they questioned was the propriety and ‘biblical legitimacy’ of praying for or entreating the prayers of the departed, i.e. communicating through intercessions with the departed in atsädä näfs (the realm of the soul or spirit). Furthermore, the Kenisha felt that the unique and utterly sufficient role of Christ as the Mediator of Mankind before the Father should be underlined.

Abbat Haile Yesus continued to argue to not let them enter the church. "I excommunicate all those who associate with them", he said. Let him who has the power to excommunicate do like wise!’ At this, all the monks present said, ‘We have excommunicated!’Then Qeshi Gebremedhin replied, ‘Behold, my master! How can they excommunicate us while we stand here before the law? Isn’t this like deciding that a person be made to forfeit his cattle before he is convicted or that he be made to lose his wife before he is divorced?’ At this stage, some elders like Ayte Barya’ou from Shiketi and Kentiba Zemouy from Tseazzega stood up and pleaded with those who had uttered the excommunications: ‘Restrain yourselves! Unbind your excommunications!’However, the former said, ‘We shall not!’We then replied, ‘Well then, we too have authority, just as you do. We would have excommunicated you. However, since you are rulers of the land and the bestowers of worldly appointments, let a thousand carpets full of gold and a thousand slaves bearing guns, protect you. We then pronounced, ’Don’t give them their ‘rim’ and don’t associate with them.’ The judges told us, ’Go home.Let your mutual excommunications remain in force.’ We spent the night at our homes and they spent the night locked in church. On the morrow, mediators came to us and told us ’Keep to the Bible, which is lofty enough. Don’t refer to questions’.

We answered, "as long as we have the Bible we have everything we need in it. Indeed, that is why we preach on the basis of the Bible ". Having said this,we considered the matter, approved of their request and agreed to become reconciled. The mediators then took us to the church where they were. After the reconciliation we greeted and embraced each other. We then spent two days discussing books. At last we agreed that we would rectify wrong practices inthe church. Having agreed that we would meet at Miku ’at Meret on the feast of Be’alizgi in Meskerem, we parted company.

A Good Will Visit to Debre Bizen

Qeshi Haile-Ab and Habte-Giorgis of the Evangelical group paid a goodwill visit to Debre Bien before the date of the coming meeting at Miku’at Meret, hoping to facilitate the dialogue that had been started. They were given the cold shoulder. The proposed October meeting was postponed to Be’alzgi in Tiqimti, i.e. the 29th of Tiqimti (ca the 7th of November).On the day of the meeting, the Evangelicals felt that the atmosphere between the two parties had deteriorated. A spirit of confrontation had replaced that of dialogue. According to the narrative in Berhan Yekun, the friendly and conciliatory Blatta Gebre-Kidan was left out of the negotiations,intentionally. Soldiers who belonged to Ra’isi Barya’ou were sent to arrest and take Qeshi Haile-Ab, Qeshi Selomon, Qeshi Gebre-Medhin and Habte-Giorgis to Areza, where they were made to stand before Ra’isi Barya’ou.

The priests of Evangelical conviction were openly ridiculed and stripped of their priestly head covers and attires. Issues which the Evangelicals had questioned, like the mediatory roles of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, saints, the righteous, the martyrs, angels,the Tabot (Ark of the Covenant), the cross, sacred images, and certain regulations on fasting, were taken up and discussed. No agreement could be reached on the debated questions. At last the monks of Debre Bizen pleaded with Ra’isi Barya’ou that the accused be forgiven “for today”.They continued,if they sin in like manner in the future, we elders who live in our monastery shall keep an eye on them. If we send them back to you, do what you want with them. We would then be free from any responsibility for them.Then the Ra’isi replied, ‘ Since they are priests from the jurisdiction of my friend Hailu (Note: Degiat Hailu who was the prince of Tseazzega was a close friend of the Swedish missionary, Lager) I shall have mercy on them for today.’ He then asked the accused,’Do you prefer religion or punishment?’ And our brothers answered, ’When did we ever abandon the faith of the prophets and the apostles?’ At this reply, theRa’isi answered, ’In that case, swear not to abandon the faith of the prophets and apostles and the Three Hundred!’ They agreed not to. Then, Matthew 25:41-46 was read, after which they gave their oath to abide by the promise they had given.

The Ra’isi added, ‘If I hear, from now on, such an accusation against you, woe to you! You will be responsible for the consequences.’ He then released them and sent them away on bail, for a small sum of money. On their way to their home region they reasoned, ’ As far as faith is concerned, what else did the prophets and apostles have, except faith in God? And as far as The Three Hundred are concerned, what else did they have except the faith in the Trinity which they had formulated at Nicaea? What was the point of binding us by oath on such obvious matters’, they said, laughing as they moved homeward. And those of our colleagues who had stayed at home received them with joy. Alas, their joy and laughter was not to last long. Soon, persecution,flight, fear, exile to the burning heat and humidity of the Red Sea coast,hunger and thirst, were to become their lot.

Birhan Yikun- A Mirror of the Historical, Cultural, and Religious Features of Highland Eritrea

As already mentioned, the narrative in Birhan Yikun is, in many ways, a mirror of the historical, cultural, social and religious features of life among the Orthodox Tewahdo. It reflects the tenor of the times when Swedish missionaries and the Kenisha were slowly starting to gain a foot hold on the Orthodox highlands of Hamasen.

The narrative reflects quite a homogeneous Orthodox society in which local chiefs and leaders of the church worked in concert,listening to complaints and litigation. These leaders also meted out punishment or took measures to reconcile the conflicting parties.The power to excommunicate that the Orthodox priest possessed was held in high respect. In the course of the conflict, priests representing the Orthodox Tewhado Church and those Orthodox priests who had arrived at Evangelical convictions excommunicated each other. Others, both civic and church authorities, pleaded with the conflicting parties to lift or take back their excommunication. Berhan Yikun reflects a rural communal tradition in which efforts were made to iron out conflicts, through the offices of elders and men of authority. The highland society where the Kenisha found themselves was a society in which religious, social, political and cultural issues were intimately tided to each other. To abandon the Orthodox Tewahdo faith was to forfeit ones right to live in peace in the village of one's forefathers.

Next, Part Four On Kunama

A Conversation with Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Part Two


Issayas: You are Aboi Woldeab Woldemariam's nephew. I have a good friend, Dr. Nicole Saulsberry, who wrote her dissertation on Aboi Woldeab. I'm always urging her to publish it. Do you know if Aboi Woldeab had kept a diary or notes on events. If so, have you thought of writing a book about Aboi Woldeab using private (family) and public records?

Pastor Ezra: Yes I have a small notebook with material from an interview that I had with Aboi Woldeab. I don't know when and how I can use these notes, which were taken when he lived with us here in Uppsala for some months in the 1980s. I am sure that most of the things that he told me are things that he had told others. But, I haven't looked at these notes for some time.

Issayas: I read the late Prof. Gustav Aren's two books (Evangelical Pioneers in Ethiopia and Envoys of the Gospel in Ethiopia) about 8 years ago. What are the similarities and differences between your upcoming book and Prof. Aren's books?

The late Prof. Gustav Aren and Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Pastor Ezra: Let me say that the book [whose subtitle is "The Roots and Development of The Evangelical Church of Eritrea 1866-1935" (Allow me to keep the main title a secret!)] is basically a work of the late Karl-Johan Lundstrom, a missionary of the Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) to Eritrea. Several sections of the coming book build on material from Gustav Aren's Evangelical Pioneers in Ethiopia (1978) and, to a lesser extent, his Envoys of the Gospel in Ethiopia (1999). This is not surprising. The book must begin with an introduction into the historical background of the Evangelical Church of Eritrea (ECE). Not all future readers of the present book would have read Prof. Aren's books. Furthermore, the material taken from Aren is particularly appropriate for Eritrea and the ECE, though Gustav uses the same material as a prelude to the history of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). However, the present book by Karl Johan Lundstrom has given me a good deal of new knowledge about the history of the SEM and its mission in Eritrea, and the "prehistory" of the ECE. This is particularly true of Karl Johan Lundstrom's material on the history and culture of the Kunama and the Mensa. Furthermore, I have been impressed by K.J Lundstrom's contributions to our knowledge of the involvement of the Italian colonial powers, the Catholic Church and Catholic mission activity in the work and life of the SEM and the Evangelical community. The accounts on the roles played by missionaries from the Waldensian Church (a Protestant minory) in Italy in the work of the SEM and the ECE have also been very enlightening. Finally, it has been most revealing for me to read about some highly gifted, dedicated but stubborn Swedish missionary personalities on the mission field.The late Karl Johan Lundstrom

Let me explain to you as to how I came into the picture. Some three months before his death in December 2003, Karl Johan called me in Uppsala to tell me of the state of his health and to ask me to take over and complete the task of recording the history of the ECE. I couldn't believe my ears when he told me that the doctors had diagnosed an advance state of cancer. I visited Karl Johan and his wife, Maj-Britt at their home in the small community of Eksjo in the province of Smaland. My intention was to see him in person and to receive some more specific information and directions on the work he had started, before he became too weak to share information with me. We talked about the assignment in somewhat general terms. Even though he showed me some chapters of the emerging history of the ECE and some of the notes on which he had based his work , he felt that there was no need for any special hurry on specific directives to me. I must admit that I was a little uncertain about his optimism at the time. I continued my journey to Uppsala and never saw Karl Johan again. In hindsight, I must admit that the lack of a clearly defined mandate has led to uncertainty and unnecessary delays.


Next, part three.

A Conversation with Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin

Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin


A brief background note.

About a month or so ago, Seble Ephrem sent me an e-mail after she read an interview that I did with ELEM (Eritrean Life and Entertainment Magazine: http://www.elemonline.com) for their latest issue(July/Sept. 2009) . Seble liked what I had to say in the interview and informed me that I needed to contact Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin because according to Seble, Pastor Ezra had finalized writing a book on the history of the Evangelical Church of Eritrea (ECE). I contacted Pastor Ezra and he was willing to do an interview with me for my blog.

I would like to thank Seble for passing the information and for Pastor Ezra for his patience( from my endless and constant nagging) and graciousness. Since most of the questions that I had asked Pastor Ezra were already in his book, I'll present the truncated answers in parts.

This is part one.


Issayas :Can you tell my readers(briefly) about yourself?

Pastor Ezra Gebremedhin: I was born in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia on November 17, 1936 and received my B.A. from the University of Addis Abeba in 1957. I left for St. Paul, Minnesota the same year on a scholarship from the Lutheran World Federation. I received my M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) and my B.D. from the Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. I took a year of internship at the Ethiopian Evangelical College in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, between 1960 and 1961 (the year of the coup d'etat by the bothers Mengistu and Germame Neway). Upon my return to Ethiopia in 1963, I was made the Executive Secretary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) in which capacity I served up to 1966. Ordained in 1964, I served as pastor of the oldest Mekane Yesus congregation in Addis Abeba until 1970, when I left for Sweden for further studies. I was awarded a Doctor of Divinity at the University of Uppsala in 1977 and taught Theology between 1977 and 2000, the last fifteen years as Assistant Professor at the Theological Faculty of Uppsala University. From my Kenisha parents, who had moved to Ethiopia from the then Italian colony of Eritrea in the early 1920s, my siblings and I received a deep and lasting impression of the Evangelical faith which had nurtured them in the Eritrea of their youth. I have served as pastor among Diaspora Eritreans and Ethiopians of Evangelical Lutheran persuasion here in Sweden. My wife Gennet Awalom, also a person of Eritrean background, and I have three children and seven grandchildren. We are residents of Uppsala, Sweden.

Issayas: Can you tell us briefly, what was the story behind the establishment of the Evangelical Church of Eritrea?

Pastor Ezra: During the latter part of the 19th century there was a growing concern in missionary circles, especially in Great Britain, about ways of conducting mission and organizing indegnous Christians into churches. The motto, "A Self-governing and Self-propagating Church" had been adopted but, at the beginning, it didn't quite seem to catch. In time, it became the cornerstone of the Protestant missionary policy in Africa. The organization of the Church on the basis of a democratic constitution was meant to guarantee independence under African leadership.

In 1920 a newly appointed Mission Secretary, Nils Dahlberg, visited the SEM (Swedish Evangelical Mission) field in India and together with the Rev. P.O.Froberg, who was then the chairman of the mission conference, raised questions regarding the organization of the local church. Dalhberg presented a proposal for a church constitution to the India Field Conference and to the Board in Sweden. The constitution was solemnly approved at a conference in Chindwara on February 9, 1923. The name of the new church was to be "The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central Province". 31 delegates from different congregations and 7 missionaries were present at the meeting. A Synodical Council was set up, consisting of one missionary, three Indians and the President. The new church elected Rev. P.E. Froberg, who was also the chairman of the Field Conference, as President. Missionaries continued to hold the office of Church President up to 1945 when the office was transferred to an Indian, The Rev. Emanuel Raman.

Nils Dahlberg, Mission Director of the SEM, arrived in Eritrea just before Easter 1925, following a visit to Ethiopia in 1924. On Palm Sunday a gubae (meeting) was held in Asmara with some 1200 participants. The Mission Secretary was given a warm reception and he made a deep impression by his happy and dashing appearance and, even more, by his powerful preaching and the contributions he made during the conversations. Many Kenisha came to remember him and to compare his visit with that of Professor Kolmodin in 1909-1910. Dahlberg underlined the view that a growing congregation must strive to become self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating.

This philosophy had been propagated by Prof. Kolmodin 17 years earlier, but had not, due to many unfavorable conditions, been realized as yet. A committee was selected to prepare a proposal for a church constitution "in close keeping with the pattern of our sister fields in India and South Africa." Another important question was the upgrading of the education of indegenous co-workers. This proposal too was accepted at the mission conference in the autumn of 1925 and referred to the Board that gave its full approval. The hopes of Iwarson (the Field Director of SEM in Eritrea) were evidently not limited to the Church in Eritrea. Earlier on, in a letter to Dahlberg, Iwarson had expressed interest in seeing the formation of a wider organization that would include the Church in "Southern Ethiopia", possibly also the Presbyterians. He had also discussed the matter with Karl Nystrom of the Bible True Friends, who had shown interest in participating in such an organization.

The First Synodical meeting, which constituted the Evangelical Church of Eritrea (ECE), was held in Sept. 1926. 34 participants were present, 12 of these were pastors, 12 were laymen from the congregations and 10 were missionaries. The main item was the election of a president. This position went to Rev. Iwarson. Pastor Tewlde-Medhin Gebre-Medhin was elected Vice-President, while others were elected to different offices.

Next, part two.