Part IV: Some extras, nahu senai wonahu werazut
Saturday September 17 was church ceremony in the morning and Arki-Hlfot in the evening. The church ceremony took place at Mai Temenai and by 11:00 am, we were on our way home. On the way back, I was instructed to take care of some errands. The task took me to the neighborhood of Alpha-Romeo, in Gejeret n'ushto and I was not a bit disappointed by what I had encountered on my way. Initially, I was faced by two soccer playing teams in the middle of the street near Bar TibleS, Edaga Hamus. I stopped to plead with the players to let me pass, but to my surprise, the players were much respectful than my peers. One of the players picked up the ball and motioned his arms telling them to let the car pass. He then directed me to pass. Throughout my drive on Saturday, I encountered a number of neighborhood teams playing soccer and finally I was stopped by yet another team at enda anbeTa, on the outer skirts of San Francisco Catholic church. Those who might be thinking of the old days' fields and playgrounds, sorry I hav e to disappoint you. No more is the soccer field at enda tanika (the junkyard that was filled with rusty Coca-Cola bottles left by the Americans, I assume); no more is the play ground inside San Francisco Catholic church (endaboy gerie); and no more are the fields in mai welaKu.
The other significant change I observed in my old neighborhood is the absence of Adey Ma'aza and Adey Mehret's suwa factories. According to the legend of Gejeret n'ushto, Adey Ma'aza was once arrested by the Ethiopian Derg officials, and was taken to the 5th police station for interrogation. One of the investigators at the police station asked Adey Ma'aza to "confess her sins and come clean at her own accord". When she told the investigator there was no sin she knew of, she was put in a solitary confinement for three days. At the end of the third day, the same Derg investigator took her out for further interrogation and decided to question her about the "sinful crime" she supposedly had committed. The investigator told Adey Ma'aza that she was accused of serving suwa to a "ShaEbia wonbedie" (a rebel, member of the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front). The witty Adey Ma'aza told the investigator that she might have done it considering she would even serve a dog with her best suwa if the investigator was to send one armed with fifty cents; that was the cost of a cup (wanCha) suwa at the time.
For Adey Mehret, legend has it that she had gotten a deal to take her suwa manufacturing company to Washington, Seattle. The legend is that she had found this wealthy investor (Hade Enda) where she signed a deal to make her Suwa for his consumption only. She moved her suwa manufacturing company to Washington, Seattle, in the vicinity of Boeing and Microsoft headquarters, and the investor is said to be extremely pleased and satisfied with his investment. Neither did Adey Mehret fare any worse. My hope and wish is to visit Adey Mehret's suwa manufacturing company in the near future and see if she can share some of her secret recipes with one of her favorite customers, whom she affectionately called "my nephew".
Later in the evening, it was time for the bride's family to receive the Arki-Hlfot. This Arki-Hlfot was a bit unusual compared to the ones I had seen and participated before. As my sister and her husband are devoted church goers, we had reached a compromise on the traditional Arki-Hlfot. We let them bring their church choir (mezemran) for the early hours of the evening. Their choir arrived around 7:30 PM with their SenaSl (sistrum) and large church drum. They were singing hymns and spiritual songs in the Ge'ez language. No base or lead guitar, no trumpet or sax, no machine drum or a keyboard, just the millennia old church instruments that we know the faithful use to accompany their mahliet (songs of praise). There were a score to a couple of dozen young men and women praising and glorifying their Lord in the traditional Tewahdo Orthodox tradition. "nahu senai wonahu adam" (behold the splendor, behold the people) was one of my favorites and of significant value. The time allotted for them was until 9:00 pm; c onsidering the number of young and old faithful they had attracted, they were given an extra hour. Around 10:30 pm, the rest of us, secular folks, took over the das (wedding hall) for an authentic traditional Arki Hlfot, the whole nine yards of gWaylan kudan accompanied with koboro and emblta, ala Ato Ateweberhan Segid.
The first round of the gWayla was blessed by the elders, parents and grandparents who are in their 80's and some in their early 90's. At the beginning of the gWayla, the elders were dancing calmly and harmoniously shaking their shoulders in step with the beat of the music. On the second round, however, they started dancing energetically with their wraps enfolded around their belts and their shoulders shaking left and right with great enthusiasm and rhythm. After dancing with every bit of energy they had, as if they were told this night was their last night walking on this planet, they left the stage for the youngsters to romp all over the place. As tradition dictates, the koboro (drums) for the first few rounds of dance were offered to the groom's friends who came for the Arki-Hlfot. They did their part and returned the favor by giving back the drums to the bride's family who were lining up to show off their skills. After the first few rounds, I tried to crack a joke with a couple of young men who were playi ng the drum in double-beat from the beginning till the end of a dance. I told them "anta kltieKumsi teQorinkum nbml'eta qerneshiH bHanti mElti mHareskuma" (The two of you under an oxen yoke would have become handy to plow the whole of qerneshiH in a day). The response of one of them was more hilarious than my attempt at a Harestay's (farmer's) joke: "anta wedeyay: nHnas meteQorena: sbet tHz seb'aygn ala diya?" (Cousin, there is no problem we would serve as oxen, but is there really a man able enough to hold his own holding the plowshare?). After an unforgettable dancing and laughter, unfortunately, the Arki-Hlfot had to end around 3:00 am after having more than 4 "last songs/dances". We all bade each other goodnight (some jokingly good morning) and I left hoping and praying that the evening would become a good preview of the future Arki-Hlfots. nahu senai wonahu werazut (behold the splendor, behold the young).
To be continued...
dawit
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