Travel information on Security & Safety for visitors in Ethiopia

Category Archives: Prickly Pear

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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Have your tried the Prickly Pear?

Hailay (Tesfa Tours driver) peeling a prickly Pear - Beles fruit!

Hailay (Tesfa Tours driver) peeling a prickly Pear – Beles fruit!

As Baloo sings in the Jungle Book –

 

Now when you pick a pawpaw

Or a prickly pear

And you prick a raw paw

Next time beware

Don’t pick the prickly pear by the paw

When you pick a pear Try to use the claw

But you don’t need to use the claw

When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw.
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The peeled Beles fruit – no more prickles!

The season for these tasty fruit starts in May, but you are best advised to let someone who knows how to peel it (as you do not have Baloo’s claws!). So why not come up after Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) and walk through the beautiful Agame mountains around Adigrat, famed for their tasty ‘Beles’ fruits.

It is also the season of priest parties (for two weeks after Fasika)- when householders entertain their local priests to congratulate them on getting through the rigours of another fasting season. Local beer and spicy ‘Teh’lo’

Tehlo ceremony in Tigray

Tehlo ceremony in Tigray

(meat in red sauce with balls of barley) is served and everyone celebrates the season.  You will undoubtably be invited in as a guest of honour.

So come and be a guest of the local villagers in the Agame mountains this May.

 

 

 

The Cactus in flower in the Agame mountains

The Cactus in flower in the Agame mountains,

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