SAINT YARED

Is not casual if I speak about Saint Yared, and is not casual that the public music school is named after this saint. Saint Yared have a very important role in the Ethiopia music’s world.

 

Saint Yared is the composer of the most of the traditional himns of Ethiopian Orthodox church.

Somewhere I read that Saint Yared was not a good student, and once, he saw a caterpillar trying to climb a tree and after many attempts was able to arrive to its goal: the top of the tree. Then he thought that if the caterpillar can fail and try again and again up to reach its goal he can do the same and try again to learn.

I think all of you should try the same. There is always a second and probably a third or more chances!

Keep trying!

 

ABOUT ME

Some people is asking me why now the blog is not active as before… and they are right (you too if you are asking yourself so).

Last year I started the Music School that last for three years. I’m now in the second year and I have to dedicate more time to play guitar and to learn as much as I can. And is becoming difficult to search for new ideas to write about in the blog.

As people ask me to keep it alive I will do my best to start again.

Thanks for your patience!!

THANK YOU

Hello families,

Is already some time that I'm in touch with families that have search the origin of their children. I know that not always is easy. I appreciate the confider minds.

I think is very important for each of us to know the own story. even if it is painful.

GIVE AND GET

A few useful words in day to day are related to giving and receiving, maybe if you are going to adopt a child in Ethiopia will be useful. It's nice to give some security to children at a time of great change.

ENKA / ENKI                            take (first for boy, then for girl)
Seten / Sechin                              Give me (first for boy, then for girl)
WUSED / WUSEGI                    take it (first for boy, then for girl)
LEWESED?                                Shall I take it?
TEFELEGALEH / TEFELEGIALESH?    You want it? (first for boy, then for girl)

BUHE

Every August 19 there is an orthodox holiday called Buhe. Children go from door to door singing a song called hoya hoye, one of them is saying "hoya hoye" and some sentences and the others follow while rhythmically repeating "ho" and some sentences. The people in the houses before used to give them some food, now often give them some money.

At dusk it is customary burn the chibo, some bundle of sticks, is used to burn in neighborhoods where everyone brings their own chibo and then set fire to them.

It is something that children who go to other countries do not have the opportunity to participate, there are many songs on You tube, perhaps could have fun with them!

ZOO AMHARIC

Someone was asking me about the names of the animals in amharic... is nice when people ask me about a subject that they are interested in!

Thank you!, and now let me teach some names of the animals in amharic.

WESHA                  dog
DEMET                   cat
ANBESSA              Lion
ZEHON                  elephant
TOTA                     monkey
TENCHEL              rabbit
NEBER                   tiger
QECHENE             jiraffe
GUNDAN              ant
BIRA BIRO            butterfly
GUMARE              hipopotamus
EBAB                     snake
TAKULA               wolf


Don't forget to ask me whatever you would like to read in the blog!

PLAYING WORDS

Children are almost all the day playing. I think is so useful to have some words ready to play. I think in this case I should do a kind of phrasebook, is much easier to be able to use than the word itself.

ENECHAWET                                                               let’s play

ENERUT                                                                        Let’s run

MEROT TEWEJALESH/TEWEDALEH?                      Do you like to run (female)/(male)

MECHAWET TEFELEGIALESH/TEFELEGALEH?     Do you want to play (female)/(male)

KWAS                                                                           Ball

MEDENES TEWEJALESH/TEWEDALEH?                 Do you like to dance (female)/(male)

GEMED                                                                         Rope

I hope it can be useful to play a little bit!

LOCUST CLOUD

Yesterday afternoon in Addis Ababa there was a cloud of locust that covered the sky of the city. I haven't seen anything similar before in my entire life.

Here you have a picture of one of them to let you have an idea of shat king of animals they are. I couldn't take good pictures of the cloud, but it would be interesting.

“MEKINA DECOR”

In Ethiopia people like to personalize their cars in very special ways. There are shops specialized in items to decorate the cars as special cover for the wheels, or hairy fabrics used to decorate the inside of the car… Some of the decorations are so imaginative and is very curious to see them.

May be it could be interesting to collect pictures of different decorations and put them together. Good Idea for a photographer!

If you ever come to Addis Ababa try to notice it!

THE WORDS FOR THE WATER

The water takes many shapes in the life, tha's why there are many names to call it. HEre you have some words of the water:

UHA                  water in general
MINCH            source (like Arba Minch, forty sources)
WENZ              river
HAYQ              lake
BEREDO         ice or hail
BAHIR             see or very big lake (like Bahir Dar, shores of the lake)
FAFATE          waterfall

Here you have a picture of the Blue Nile Falls. ENjoy the water!

GELADA BABOONS

Is there someome that have traveled to Ethiopia that have send me this beautiful video about the Gelada Baboons. They are one of the endemic animals of Ethiopia, you can't find them anywhere else!

There are many communities around the country, epecially in the Simien Mountains but you can see them also in Debre Libanos, only 100k km far from Addis Ababa.

Watch this video:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dp2tsjtezoyt2ss/SIMIEN%20BABOONS%20GELADA%205%20FALANDO.MTS

MORE MUSIC

Here you have a pair f links of music that I have create, the first one is created in one of the traditional scales of Ethiopian music. I'm waiting for your comments!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wo2apt5axbdh8ge/Tizta%20minor.mp3
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2m83tbbe7cxxmlp/Techono.wav

Please don't forget to comment!