Source:
http://ellisshuman.blogspot.co.il/2014/06/how-i-crashed-not-one-but-three.html
How I Crashed Not One, But Three Eritrean Weddings
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http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xUFQzyZBZ0k/U5qculsSiDI/AAAAAAAABx4/QVFYNgfiqnA/s1600/small+couple.JPG>
Rehov HaNevi'im (Prophets Street) is one of the most beautiful streets
in Jerusalem, with historic buildings and cultural delights in an area
often overlooked by visitors to the city. There's the Italian Hospital,
built in 1914, which now houses offices of the Ministry of Education.
There's the nearby Musrara neighborhood, once one of the city's slums
sitting on the Jordanian border and now attracting artists and the
middle class. There's the Russian Compound, with the beautiful Russian
Orthodox Church built in 1860, and Jerusalem Police headquarters. And
there is Ethiopia Street.
*Ethiopia Street* - a winding, picturesque lane that was once home to
Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the man responsible for reviving the Hebrew language
in the modern era. The main attraction on this lane is the *Ethiopian
Church*, a walled compound built in stages between 1874 and 1901. At its
center stands a round church, modeled on churches in Ethiopia.
My visit to the Ethiopian Church on a Saturday afternoon coincided with
a wedding. No, not just one wedding, but three. And the wedding parties
were not Ethiopian at all! The exquisitely attired brides and grooms
were from Eritrea!
*Where is Eritrea and what are throngs of young Eritreans wearing fancy
clothing doing in an Ethiopian church in Jerusalem?*
The Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem
Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa, positioned alongside
Ethiopia in such a way that it blocks Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea.
The two countries have been at odds for years; border conflicts claimed
some 70,000 casualties between 1998 and 2000.
Talking to the dark-skinned Eritreans gathered at the church I learned
that they can easily distinguish between Ethiopians and Eritreans, but
they have a hard time determining the nationalities of Caucasians.
Groom and brides pose for the camera
Many of the Eritrea's unemployed young people have fled their country
seeking jobs and better lives; a good number of them have made their way
to Israel. According to the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, over
55,000 undocumented Africans
<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_from_Africa_to_Israel>
were here in 2012. The issue of Africans living and working illegally in
Israel has led to friction with residents of the south Tel Aviv
neighborhoods where they live.
In addition to building a fence on the Egyptian border to prevent new
arrivals, the Israeli government has given some migrants financial
incentives to return to their home countries. But many illegal
immigrants are being held indefinitely in detention centers, their
future uncertain. While on the one hand there is a humanitarian desire
to help these people get better lives, and possibly asylum as political
refugees, the increase in illegal African residents in Israel is causing
a serious demographic problem.
The first bride and groom pose at the entrance of the Ethiopian church
Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, and an estimated 50% of the
population is Christian. Their religious practices and beliefs are
apparently the same as those of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. I had
previously visited the Ethiopian Christians of the Old City of Jerusalem
<
http://ellisshuman.blogspot.co.il/2014/02/ethiopian-christians-in-old-city-of.html>
to learn about the church, and its similarity in many ways to Judaism.
Weddings take place on Saturdays. Busloads of Eritreans, male and
female, come from Tel Aviv for ceremonies at the Ethiopian Church.
Everyone is young, capable of having made what must have been a
difficult journey from their homeland to Israel. The men wear elegant
suits; the women are beautiful in colorful dresses and elaborate coiffed
hair styles. *The brides and grooms look regal, almost as if they are
costumed as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the Biblical characters
that play such an important role in the foundation of the Ethiopian Church*.
An Ethiopian priest, not part of the wedding party, waits at the side of
the church
While visiting the church, I didn't actually witness the marriage
ceremonies. It seemed that the brides and grooms - three separate
couples - had come to get the Jerusalem church's blessing. They kissed
the outer stone wall of the building and prostrated themselves at the
entrance door, but they did not enter. Perhaps this was just for the
photographers' benefit, or maybe it was part of the unusual
Eritrean/Ethiopian wedding rituals.
I had not been invited to attend this colorful event - *I was just a
wedding crasher, three times over. But what a fascinating experience
this was*!
Bride and groom bow down at the entrance of the church
Bride and groom, as regal as the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon
Inside the Ethiopian Church - the wedding parties never came inside
Received on Fri Jun 13 2014 - 08:38:54 EDT
