Travel information on Security & Safety for visitors in Ethiopia

Category Archives: Fast

The Great Lenten Fast in Ethiopia

Fried Fish - Telapia

Fried Fish – Telapia

As many will know the big fasting season in Ethiopia started this week on Monday. Fasting is appears in many religions around the world. But in the west its has lost its rigour for most people. However in the Ethiopian Orthodox church there are many fasting days through the year. In fact a strict observer of all fasts would be vegan for half the year. The longest of the fasts is Hudadi or the Abiy Tsom, as the lenten fast leading up to Easter is variously known, and the majority of followers of the Orthodox church fast these 55 days every year.

Why is it 55 days when in the western church it is 40 days?  There are specific reasons for the addition of 2 weeks to the 40 day fast that many of which people are not aware.

Medieval painting of King Eraclia

The first week of Hudadi is known as the fast of Eraclius, a Byzantine Emperor who lived in 614 A.D. During his reign the Persians invaded Jerusalem and took the Cross of the Lord. Eraclius made an expedition to Persia and having defeated the Persians he took the Cross back to Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem who were very happy because of Eraclius’s victory and the return of the Cross, dedicated the first week before Lent to be the fast of Eraclius and included it in their canons. The last week of Lent is Passion Week which remembers the Apostles who fasted in commemoration of Christ’s Passion.

To the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Hudadi is a period of fasting when the faithful undergo a rigorous schedule of prayers and penitence. This fast is observed with greater rigour than any other fast and it is a test of one’s spiritual strength and resolve. Properly observed it is believed to nullify sins committed during the rest of the year.

The fast if strictly followed, is applicable to all persons older than 13 years of age
involves abstinence from:

  • meat, dairy products and eggs (and many will abstain from fish too);
  • instead, cereals and vegetables will be consumed;
  • only one meal (vegan) a day is eaten, taken in the evening or after 3:00pm (when church services end). Before that no food, drink nor even water is to be consumed;
  • starting on Good Friday to Easter Sunday (i.e. late on Saturday night), there is total abstinence nothing taken maybe eaten nor drunk.
  • on other Saturdays and Sundays during Lent, eating breakfast is allowed;
  • Daily Services are conducted in all churches from morning to 2:45pm;
  • Priests regularly attend night services starting at midnight up to 7am.

(More details can be seen here)

Fasting selection  ‘ye tsom bayenetu’ 

 

For the visitor to Ethiopia a wonderful array of fasting foods is served up on enjara – just ask for: – ‘ye tsom bayenetu’. You may also get a wonderful fried fish (probably Tilapia) ‘asseh‘.  Enjoy!

Tesfa Tours will happily recommend good fasting restaurants in Addis, and take you there as part of a city tour.

This is also a great time to travel around the country if you are vegetarian, as there will always be a veggie option. Out of the big cities vegetables maybe a bit limited, but the staples of shiro (a ground chickpea sauce) and lentil (misser). But immediately following Easter even Wednesday and Friday fasting is put to the side as many people eat meat whenever they can.

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Fasting, Prayer sticks and the Battle of Adwa:- March in Ethiopia

Fasting selection with Ethiopian beer

For Orthodox Christians, March is the middle of the Lentan Fast. The Hudadi or the Abiy Tsom as it is known, started on Mon 24th February (Yekatit 16) and runs for 55 days through to 19th April – Ethiopian Easter (in fact across the Orthodox world) known in Ethiopia as Fasika.

The fast means followers observe a strict vegan diet. There is debate as to whether fish is allowed during fasting, and you will see it on many fasting menus. However all meat, dairy produce and eggs is avoided during the fasting time. Many people will also not eat or drink from when they get up until some time later in the day, maybe mid morning, but for the strict observers until mass has been said in the church in the afternoon which would be around 3pm or 4pm. The fast for many also means abstaining from drinking and dancing. In the church itself during fasting time the kebero drums are not played, but there is a slow beat taped out with prayer sticks and to the rattle of the sistrum, as out set by St Yared in the 6th century.

Abuna Gebre Menfes Kiddus

The most important saint’s day in March is for Abo – Abuna Gebre Menfes Kiddus – on 14th of March (Megabit 5). Abo is a saint that lived with wild animals and his churches often have really wild looking forests. On this day in Abo churches you will here the liturgical music created by St Yared without the Kebero.

There is a big public holiday on 2nd of March (Yekatit 23). This is Adwa Day, the day that Ethiopia commemorates the victory of the Ethiopian troops over the Italians at the battle of Adwa in 1896. This battle ended Italian colonial ambitions in Ethiopia, until Mussolini gave renewed energy to colonial aspirations in the 1930s.

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Painting depicting the Battle of Adwa

The story goes that the Italian commander General Oreste Baratieri, knew that the massive Ethiopian force was living off the land and was running critically low of supplies, but that political pressure from Rome and on the urgent advise of his commanders, in the early hours of the morning of 1st March he ordered his army forward in three divisions to engage the superior Ethiopian forces in battle. Anyone who has been to Adwa will know it is a mountainous area with many steep peaks. The Ethiopians had occupied the high ground and the Italian divisions got confused in the dark and separated. Each division was roundly beaten and by noon the remains of the Italian army was in retreat. 7,000 of the Italian army were killed, with others wounded and taken prisoner. Two brigadiers were killed and a third captured, and many rifles and all their artillery was captured. As such their fighting force was decimated. From the Ethiopian side some 4-5,000 were killed, but the fighting force remained intact.

However Menelik decided not to advance into Eritrea and totally annihilate the remains of the Italian army. Despite the Ethiopian army being intact, many solders had been on campaign for a long time, and the country was just recovering from a severe famine. Some believe that Menelik believed, perhaps rightly, that such a move would drive the Italian public to push for another campaign against Ethiopia. In point of fact the battle lead directly to the signing in October 1896 of the Treaty of Addis Ababa which ended the war between Italy and Ethiopia and in which the Italian’s recognised Ethiopia as an independent country.

The whole war came about because of the preceding treaty of Wuchale signed in 1899. Article 17 of the treaty in the Italian version stated that Ethiopia must conduct its dealings with foreign powers though Italy thus to be in effect a protectorate of Italy, but the Amharic version stated that Ethiopia could use the good offices of Italy in its foreign dealings. Now Menelik had achieved the goal of maintaining Ethiopian independence in an age in which colonial powers over-ran every other country in Africa (only Liberia was independently ruled). This left Ethiopia as the emblem and point of pride for other Africans dreaming of self governance. It is not a coincidence the the AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity, has its home in Addis Ababa today.

The battle will be commemorated at Adwa Dildi, a bridge below the Feresenya Condominiums (Signal). It is a public holiday across the country (and our office is closed!)

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In August there are celebrations in the countryside

Tigray offers great walking with wonderful views, even in the rainy season.

Yesterday was the 1st of the Ethiopian month of Nehassy – 1.12.10 in the Ethiopian calendar (7.8.18 for much of the rest of the world) and it signals the beginning of the final fast of the year – Filseta – a 3 week fast which commemorates the ascension of the Virgin Mary to heaven.

This is a really lovely time to be trekking in the mountains of Tigray. There is much less rain and more sun there than in Addis. The soil being sandy does not turn to mud, and there are colourful celebrations – Buhe and Ashenda to enjoy.  You can also enjoy the prickly pear fruit – Beles, which is in full season now.

Stick Dancing in Meket

Buhe is celebrated throughout Orthodox parts of Ethiopia on 19th August and commemorates the transfiguration of Jesus on mount (Debre) Tabor.

 

Young boys go around the neighbourhood singing outside homes in return the families will give them specially baked ‘ Buhe’ bread. People light bonfires with chibo – bundles of dried sticks and sing the Hoya Hoya song.
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Ashenda- girls singing in traditional dress

Ashenda is celebrated in certain parts northern Ethiopia (especially Tigray and Agaw areas) at the end of the Filseta fasting on or around 22nd August. Beautifully dressed girls with special hairstyles, and maybe skirts made from the grass that gives the festival its name traditionally gather to sing songs and play drums, with a few young men watching over them to be sure they are safe. You will also see them in Addis and will be expected to make a small donation.

 

So why not escape the cold and wet of Addis and soak up some sun and enjoy the local culture on a community trek?

 

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Melkam Gena – Happy Christmas

Priest holding traditional taper

The churches are all celebrating mass this morning across Ethiopia and the Orthodox world. It is Christmas morning and the fast that started 42 days before in late November is now over. Today is a feast day and all kinds of meat will be prepared for the celebrations.

Lalibela is the place to celebrate Gena, with thousands of pilgrims walking into the holy town from great distances to participate in the Christmas morning celebrations above Bete Mariam church. Many hundreds of tourists will be there to witness this spectacle.
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Tesfa Tours wishes all who are celebrating today and very happy Christmas.

Gena ceremony in Lalibela

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The last week of Lent in Ethiopia is the most rigorous fasting of all

Priest holding traditional taper

Priest holding traditional taper

Yesterday (9th April) was Palm Sunday or Hosanna – the Sunday before Easter.  It is a very special day in the Orthodox church commemorating Jesus’s march into Jerusalem on a donkey with Palm fonds laid before him. It is marked with palms (worn by many worshippers on hands or head), processions and special services in the church.

Ethiopia is now in the last week of Great Lenten fast or Hudadi, this last week of Hudadi is commonly known as Holy Week, or the “Week of Pains” or the Himamat and is the strictest part of Lent. During Himamat no absolution is given, and during this week the fast becomes yet more rigorous. For some strict worshippers, having broken the fast after mass on Thursday they will not eat any food nor drink even a drop of water until Easter morning. So they totally abstain for all of Good Friday (or Sekelet) and Saturday, breaking this fast after the church service that goes through the night on Saturday, finishing at around 3am on Sunday morning. These three days are known as “Qanona”. The priests neither eat nor drink but remain in the churches singing and praying incessantly.

No other major religion has such penitential fasting. For the strict observers of the fast, the 55 days of Lent are very tough on the body. Fasting in Ethiopia not only means a vegan diet but also means many hours of no food or drink. Each fasting day the observer will not eat of drink anything from the time they wake up until after the mass in the middle of the day is finished in church for many that means 3-4pm. Two simple meals may then follow, a late ‘lunch’ or more properly ‘break-fast’, and a light supper in the evening. What is staggering is that there is no drinking – not water, not coffee, nothing – during those fasting hours.
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On Easter Sunday chicken, cheep, goats and cattle are dispatched for the pot as the fasting comes to an end in no uncertain terms. Sunday sees piles of sheep skins on street corners, to be picked up by small dealers in trucks. For the days leading up to Easter flocks of sheep and goats as well as herds of oxen were driven by herders into the city, chickens were driven in trucks and pick ups. They are sold at impromptu markets all over the city to be slaughtered in back yards. Prices of livestock more than double for Easter. Sheep come to Addis with drovers bringing them across countryside from several hundred miles away, across Shoa and even as far as Wollo.

After Easter there is no fasting not even on Wednesdays and Fridays until after Pentecost on 4 June (Parakilitos). In the countryside the end of the fasting is celebrated in different ways. In Tigray priests are feted with parties held by different households from their parish. In Wollo I have seen the girls making swings from rope to hand off trees and play on them singing songs, while the boys have javelin contests. Its also a second wedding season as people like to get married before the rainy season and after the fasting. These are enjoyable times in the countryside, and if you have the chance to spend a week or so up in the countryside on a Tesfa Trek in Wollo, Tigray or the Simiens you will be a very welcome guest and participant at the celebrations.

 

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Fifty five days of fasting underway in Ethiopia

Fasting-JokeAs many will know the big fasting season in Ethiopia started this week on Monday. Fasting is appears in many religions around the world. But in the west its has lost its rigour for most people. However in the Ethiopian Orthodox church there are many fasting days through the year. In fact a strict observer of all fasts would be vegan for half the year. The longest of the fasts is Hudadi or the Abiy Tsom, as the lenten fast leading up to Easter is variously known, and the majority of followers of the Orthodox church fast these 55 days every year.

Why is it 55 days when in the western church it is 40 days?  There are specific reasons for the addition of 2 weeks to the 40 day fast that many people are not aware of.

Eraclias

Medieval painting of King Eraclias

The first week of Hudadi is known as the fast of Eraclius, a Byzantine Emperor who lived in 614 A.D. During his reign the Persians invaded Jerusalem and took the Cross of the Lord. Eraclius made an expedition to Persia and having defeated the Persians he took the Cross back to Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem who were very happy because of Eraclius’s victory and the return of the Cross, dedicated the first week before Lent to be the fast of Eraclius and included it in their canons. The last week of Lent: Passion Week during remembers the Apostles who fasted in commemoration of Christ’s Passion.

To the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Hudadi is a period of fasting when the faithful undergo a rigorous schedule of prayers and penitence. This fast is observed with greater rigour than any other fast and it is a test of one’s spiritual strength and resolve. Properly observed it is believed to nullify sins committed during the rest of the year. 

The fast if strictly followed :

  • is applicable to all persons older than 13 years of age
  • involves abstinence from: meat, dairy products and eggs (and many will abstain from fish too)
  • instead, cereals and vegetables will be consumed
  • only one meal (vegan) a day is eaten, taken in the evening or after 3:00pm (when church services end). Before that no food, drink  nor even water is to be consumed
  • starting on Good Friday to Easter Sunday (i.e. late on Saturday night), there is total abstinence nothing taken maybe eaten nor drunk.
  • on other Saturdays and Sundays during Lent, eating breakfast is allowed.
  • Daily Services are conducted in all churches from morning to 2:45pm.
  • Priests regularly attend night services starting at midnight up to 7am.

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Fasting selection with Ethiopian beer

Fasting selection with Ethiopian beer

For the visitor to Ethiopia a wonderful array of fasting foods is served up on enjara – just ask for: – ‘ye tsom bayenetu’. You may also get a wonderful fired fish (probably Tilapia) ‘asseh‘.  Enjoy!

Tesfa Tours will happily recommend good fasting restaurants in Addis, and take you there as part of a city tour.

Leave a comment

Melcam Fasika – Happy Easter

Photo by Anthony Pappone Photography (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronnyreportage/)

Photo by Anthony Pappone Photography (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronnyreportage/)

Enkwanaderasachu

Best wishes to everyone celebrating Easter this weekend.

Easter in Ethiopia, known as Fasika is celebrated according to the Orthodox or Eastern church calendar. Some years it falls on the same day as in the western church, but this year it is as far apart as it can be.
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Fasika is a Ge’ez (the ancient liturgical language of Ethiopia) word and also the word in Amharic and Tigrinya for Easter. Easter is sometimes called Tensae a Ge’ez word meaning to rise). It is one of the most important holidays in Ethiopia marking the end of a long 55 day Lenten fast. On Easter Sunday chicken, cheep, goats and cattle are dispatched for the pot as the fasting comes to an end in no uncertain terms.

There is a lot of fasting in Ethiopia with 180 days of fasting through the year (almost half the year is fasting) and more for priests and monks and the like who fast for 250 days a year. Fasting means abstaining from and meat or dairy produce. Fish was traditionally allowed but it is now common for many to exclude fish too.

Following Easter there is no fasting for one month until the regular Wednesday and Friday fasts restart.

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The fast of the Apostles

For those who prefer the vegan fare, this week brings back the yesom bayenetu (mixed fasting food dish) -with its wonderful selection of tasty vegan dishes, often with a fried fish too. Following the long fast that led up to Easter, was a few months of no fasting, but with the Senay Tsom starting yesterday – as the Fast of the Apostles is called, comes back the regular Wednesday and Friday fasting that most Orthodox believers will follow (as the Senay Tsom is not strictly for all).

The Fast of the Apostles ends with the feast of Peter and Paul on 12 July, and it begins each year 8 days after Pentecost. Thus it’s start is tied to Easter and can move around. So this fast may be as short as 8 days or as long as 42 days. This year with the early Easter it is the maximum 42 days long!

By the time it finishes we will be well into the full Krempt rains – although judging by the last few weeks Addis Ababa wis already there!
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So enjoy the fasting food in the coming weeks, and keep your umbrella handy!

Fasting selection with Ethiopian beer

Fasting selection with Ethiopian beer

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