Beware of the girls of Ashenda

By Endale Assefa

'Ashenda... Ashenda

Ashenda Adey,

Dborabur doo Kisebra Idey

Ashenda...Ashenda'

This verse is taken from a traditional song which means 'Oh! My country, do I have to wear all the jewelries and break my hand so as to celebrate Ashenda?' Every year, starting from mid August (August 16), girls of Tigray - northern Ethiopia - come together to dance and sing very interesting cultural songs to celebrate a unique tradition called Ashenda.

Ashenda in Tigrigna means 'tall green grass.' 'It implies the end of fasting, known as Filseta, and the approaching Ethiopian New Year,' says W/o Asret Wondimu, an elderly man residing in Addis. Being in groups, dressed in Tibeb (cultural dress made from cotton) and beating a small drum - kebero - the girls sing and people give them money.

It is similar to 'Hoya Hoye' (boys dance for the holiday of Debre Tabor). In this respect W/o Almaz Beyene, a journalist from Ethiopia Radio, Tigrigna service says, "Even if Ashenda is for girls, newly married women who haven't had children also participate, singing,

Ashenda Malet,

Hintiltil Deret

Ashenda Ile Ktsawetia

Aikolaa Endiya

Meaning, 'Ashenda means a necklace, I play Ashenda for I am still young'. If a person keeps them waiting while they praise them, the girls show their displeasure by singing:

Teria Teria ya

Kihid diya Gorerey Nekiaya

'I am going to leave you for my throat is dried.' When finally given the money, all the blessings follow. But there are also incidents when the person refuses to give them any money. During this time, they will be publicly harassed and the person will leave the place but does not over react for it is the culture. They say things like, 'The cigar you smoke has consequences later on'.

By the way, there is a saying in Tigray, "Don't make marriage arrangements with an Ashenda girl, as she is dressed in a new dress, washed her body and wore all the jewels available. That may be deceiving and does not reflect her natural beauty. The ceremony in parts of Tigray - like Adwa - lasts for fifteen days (until the Ethiopian New Year) whereas in the capital Mekele, it lasts for three days, W/o Aida Desta, a resident of Adwa , told Capital.

Habesha aims to survive Survivor Africa

By Endale Assefa

M-NET, the South African TV broadcaster, announced on Thursday, August 24, that Metasebia Yilma, 27, from Ethiopia, will be among the contestants for the forthcoming Survivor Africa series. M-NET is broadcast throughout Africa, including Ethiopia , through DSTV satellite dishes.

From September 3 onwards, twelve contestants will gather for an island adventure in Panama to test their mental, physical and emotional stamina in the notoriously difficult series. Each of the contestants stand a chance of winning the USD 100,000 prize money, but only if they outplay each other over 21 days in one of the most exhausting reality shows in the world.

In other words, in order to be selected, the twelve contestants had to pass rigorous examinations to test their suitability for the series: from fitness and emotional well being to decision-making skills and the ability to work under pressure.

But what is done in the competition?

The contestants make up two teams who participate in a series of 'reward' and 'immunity' challenges each week. The winning team gets a reward or immunity while the losing team must vote one team member off the island. As the contestants diminish, the two tribes merge and battle it out in a series of individual tasks. At the end just two contestants remain, who must battle it out for the money.

M-NET's head of operations for Africa , Joseph Hundah, said that contestants for Survivor Africa have to be extra-ordinary. "There is no other way to say it; you just have to watch the show to understand the magnitude of what these twelve people undertook to do. They can be proud of their selection for the show. It is not easy to make the final list and thousands tried."

The Ethiopian contestant Metasebia was born in Dire Dawa and is an events coordinator by profession. Introducing herself, she says she hates insects if they bite or bother, which according to Capital is unexpected behaviour from a contestant of such a difficult adventurous show. Capital will keep you informed about the play in coming editions.

All that remains to be said is: Good luck Metasebia!

The Bench: 'honey collectors'

By Endale Assefa

'Gimira' which means honey collectors is the former name given to people of Bench. These people once lived in the heavily forested rainy Kaffa highlands.

They were once part of a large kingdom of industrious cultivators, also known to the ancient world as 'great warriors and more esteemed than any of the black nations'.

Indeed they are as industrious today as in the past. They cultivate cash crops like coffee.

They also produce teff, enset and barley, though the great forest of the past has been much depleted. Bees have a special significance to the people of Bench, who remain great honey gatherers as well as hunters.

The Bench people are quite musical, and playing a set of pan pipes is one of their more entertaining cheerful pastimes. Their villages are striking picturesque, with each homestead having its characteristic elevated field-watching huts. The tree Euphorbia amphiphylia, used as a hedge, lines the pathways, and the same wood is used for rafters of the houses, which are quite small with very low entrances.

The thatched roofs are steeper than most and have a distinctively oriental look. Most interesting is the mural decoration used in the homes, a unique remnant of their 'lost culture'.

Walls are covered with murals, which is modeled in light relief in simple designs with a triangle motif and colored in orange or vermilion, charcoal, and cinders.

In general, the people of Bench have ancient traditions with various cultural settings and are very industrious and proud though they were victims of the feudal regime of the past according to the book Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia .