Amharic Praise Poems Composed in Honor of Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889)

The International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (ISSN: 1543-4133) is published two times a year by Tsehai Publishers | www.tsehaipublishers.com | Copyright © 2012 | Volume VI, Number 1&2

Amharic Praise Poems Composed in Honor of Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889)1

Getie Gelaye

This paper presents an edited version, translation and analysis of hitherto unpublished Amharic poems (45 couplets), copied or written ca. 1900 and preserved in the Fondo Conti Rossini collection at the Bibliotheca Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. These are Amharic texts, which contain various praise poems and composed in a style widely known in Ethiopian poetic tradition as fookkära (heroic recitals, praises or warrior’s songs). The poems glorify Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889), referring to his horse-name, Boressaw Kaía, extolling his bravery as a distinguished warrior, unifiers of the country, his personality, his religious devotion, the wars he fought against foreign enemies and regional lords, his followers and soldiers, his achievements and his dramatic death. Linguistic evidence shows that several Oromo and Tigrinya words were frequently used in the Amharic language in the 19th century.

ብቻውን ሲሄድ ይመስላል አምሳ He looks like fifty when going alone, አካሉ የሰው ድምጡ ያንበሳ። His person is human, his voice like a lion.

Introduction

Scholarly studies on the texts of the earliest Amharic poems and songs began in the last quarter of the 19th century by European writers who edited and published them with the assistance of Ethiopian church scholars. These texts contain different praise poems and songs composed in honor of Ethiopian emperors, who ruled the country between 14th–16th century, namely Amdä

Getie Gelaye received his Ph.D. from Hamburg University, Germany where he currently teaches at the Department of African and Ethiopian Studies. For over 20 years, Dr. Gelaye has been collecting, translating, and analyzing various poetic genres, cultural heritages and important oral documents of events in Ethiopia’s history, including resistance to the Italian occupation of 1936–41. Dr. Gelaye has published two books, and co-edited two volumes and several scholarly articles.

INTerNaTIoNal JourNal of eThIoPIaN STudIeS (VI: 1&2)116

Ìéyon (1314-1344), Yéshaq (1414-1429), Zär‘a Ya‘éqob (1434-1468), and Gälawdewos (1540-1559). Over the past several years, scholars of Ethiopian studies have studied these and similar texts, such as the poems of zämänä mäsafént from various perspectives.2 This paper presents an edition, translation and analysis of hitherto unpublished praise poems related to Emperor Yohannes IV based on texts found in the collection of Conti Rossini in Rome during a research visit in 2003.3 A total of five folios containing interesting aspects of historical, linguistic, socio-

political and literary themes were found. The texts were written or copied ca. 1900 but the author is unknown. For this paper I selected the praise poems composed and recited in honour of Emperor Yohannes IV (who was a great warrior and where several couplets refer to his heroic deeds, battle fields and great achievements in fookkära).4 The collector, Carlo Conti Rossini (1872-1949) was a philologist, historian and literary scholar of the Semitic languages and cultures of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Conti Rossini worked as a civil servant in the Italian government and between 1899 and 1903, served as Director of Civil Affairs in the local Italian administration in Eritrea. This provided him with the opportunity to collect several Ethiopian manuscripts as well as oral sources.5 As to the author or composer of these poems (folios I–II), Conti Rossini comments in his postscript, “The author is deemed/supposed to be an indigenous that I know of an Amhara, even from Shewa… however, a great value is not given to these songs (poems).”6

From the poems, I prepared a list of unfamiliar words, expressions and names in Amharic and Oromifa to seek in available dictionaries.7 It was challenging to correctly identify the names or horse-names mentioned in some of the praise poems. I consulted additional references and sources about the historical, cultural and political aspects of the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV. Then I re-wrote the poems with correct orthography and assigned consecutive and similar numbers for each couplet. Finally, I attempted to translate 21 couplets and provide commentary and analysis. The translation of the texts is as close to the original as possible, especially for non-Amharic readers.

Emperor Yohannes IV

aMharIC PraISe PoeMS CoMPoSed IN hoNor of eMPeror YohaNNeS IV 117

Folios II-IV copies of the original Amharic texts about Emperor Yohannes IV, from Fondo Conti Rossini, Bibliotheca Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome

The five praise poems about Yohannes IV by Hasän Amanu, from Zékrä Nägär (1948:879)

Text, Orthography and Language of the Poems

The Amharic text was written in four-folios on very thin paper. The poems are written on the left column and the copyist marked a few brief notes on the right in Italian.8 The size of the Amharic text is 285x230 mm and it is mentioned in the catalogued that Conti Rossini9 copied it. However, part of the text on the third folio differs (in calligraphy) from the remaining text. Folio 1 contains


poems related to Emperor Tewodros II and folios 2 and 3 contain poems related to Emperor Yohannes IV. The text about Yohannes has a title which reads as: ፪ተኛ ያጼ ዮሐንስ (2nd about Emperor Yohannes) but the text about Tewodros is untitled.10 The author of the texts (poems) is not mentioned. However, it is probable that priests or Däbtära11 wrote down the texts before they reached Conti Rossini.12 Out of the 41 couplets which praise Emperor Yohannes IV, five were published by Maòétämä Séllase13 (1948: 879). In these texts, several Oromo words and names are used in the poems indicating an important linguistic development or feature of Amharic in the 19th century. These include አባ ቡላ፣ ቡሬ፣ ወ[ሬ]ረኛ፣ ይ[ኢ]ላላ፣ ጨሬ፣ ቱማታ፣ from poems about Tewodros, and the following examples from the poems related to Yohannes: አኮ[ኰ]ላኰሉ፣ አ[ዐ]ረር፣ ባህ[ሕ]ር፣ አ[ዓ]ድዋ፣ ስ[ሥ]ረቱ፣ አስ[ሥ]መራ፣ etc. The number of couplets related to Emperor Tewodros is 14, whereas couplets related to Yohannes are 41. In these texts, several Oromo words and names are mentioned or employed in the poems, which might be a feature of Amharic in the 19th century. These include: አባ ቡላ፣ ቡሬ፣ ወሬ[ረ]ኛ፣ ይ[ኢ]ላላ፣ ጨሬ፣ ቱማታ፣ from poems related to Tewodros, and the following examples from Yohannes: ሁምና፣ ቦሬ፣ ቦሬሳው፣ ጉራቻ፣ ቃንቄ; and Tégrénñña words such as ዐረር፣ ኰለኰለ፣ [for commentaries and explanations on these words, see pp. 9-13 below].

Unlike the widely known, edited and translated old Amharic royal songs,14 one can read and understand the text of the poems presented here without much difficulty. However, there are some words and expressions that might be regional dialects or archaic forms of the Amharic of the time15 when the poems were composed. The poems are written in a style widely known in the Ethiopian poetic tradition as fookkära: heroic recitals or warrior’s songs/chants.

Historically, fookkära poems16 are composed, recited, improvised and performed at major victories, during battles, on hunting expeditions, at weddings, at important royal banquets, and during the funerals of renowned figures. Warriors, heroes, braves, horsemen and soldiers recited them before kings, lords, chiefs and prominent figures, whose “heroic deeds” became legendary. Fookkära is a distinct genre employed to extol and evoke the imagery of warriors ambling astride, referring to their favourite horse-name17 or praise name, imitating their action in galloping into the battle, attacking the enemy, and finally celebrating the victory. According to Donald Levine (1965:272), “Perhaps the more prominent in Amhara life has been the glorification of brave men. The Abyssinian military ethic took the form of a cult hero…. The guabaz warrior was rewarded by his chief, praised by the minstrel, and esteemed by the populace. His bravery was ranked according to the fearfulness of the enemy vanquished.” It was after victory or killing an enemy that the warriors and brave men performed fookkära and recited a variety of praise poems either by composing new ones or by improvising others’ on the spot.18


Historical and Literary Significance of the Praise Poems

Amharic praise poems play a significant role in the literary, historical and political study of Ethiopian emperors. Some Ethiopian authors such, as Täklä Sadéq Mäkuriya (1936, 1983), Pawlos Ñoñño (1984), Maòétämä Séllase Wäldä Mäsqäl (1942, 1969), Gärima Taffärä (1961) and Héruy Wäldä Íéllase (1910) and chroniclers such as Aläqa Wäldä Maryam (1897), Däbtära Zännäb (1902), an anonymous author (1959), Afäwärq Gäbrä Iyyäsus (1901), Aläqa Täklä Iyyäsus Waqjira (or Aläqa Täkle), Aläqa Gebre-Igziabiher Elyas (1994) and others have attempted to document a variety of Amharic poems, songs and recitals. These include dirges, lamentations, war songs, heroic recitals (fookkära) and a variety of poems composed and recited in honor of Ethiopian emperors, kings, nobles and warriors. These poems and songs were mostly composed and recited by the Azmari, (minstrels) Alqaš or Asläqqaš (wailers or dirge singers); by warriors, soldiers, their followers, and the populace at large on various occasions.

In former days19 fookkära was performed, recited and sung mainly by warriors, soldiers and sometimes by the Azmari. It has been a common tradition for the Ethiopian royalty and nobility to observe qärärto (warrior song) and fookkära performances (mainly by their soldiers, followers and admirers) after lavish banquets, during war campaigns and important religious, social and political gatherings whereby the performers would receive a variety of rewards.20 At such occasions, the kings or nobles would perform fookkära recitals themselves or would give poems to their favorite singers; the person reciting the fookkära would praise the rulers by their horse-names.

Captain Tristram Speedy21, a British officer who attended the court of Emperor Tewodros II and briefly trained the monarch’s army in 1860-62, had the opportunity to hear soldiers’ songs. Speedy’s description of the performance is worth noting: “On such occasions the men would utter war cries [qärärto] calling themselves yetewodros barya (‘slave of Tewodros’) and would boast of the numbers they had slain. Horsemen who had distinguished themselves in battle would dash up at full gallop before the king’s tent, suddenly reining in their horses, while foot-soldiers, brandishing their swords or quivering their lances go through a war dance [fookkära] and as each time in a turn recounts his deeds of prowess, his comrades confirm his boast by crying out ewnet, ewnet

(true! true!”).22 Here are two songs that praise Emperor Tewodros:

“የቴዎድሮስ ፈረስ ታላቁ ታጠቅ ትንሹ ጉሎ

ጅራቱ ትግሬ ግምባሩ ወሎ።

Téwodros’s big horse [is] Tatäq, the small one GulloIts tail is in Tegré, its forehead [is] in Wällo.


እግዜር ያውቃል እርሳቸው ወንድጦሩ ይዘላል አንድ ሺህ ክንድ።

“God knows [that] he [is] a [brave] man,

His spear jumps [flies] one thousand cubits.”23

Richard Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie Asfaw (1985) studied the war songs of Tewodros’ soldiers based on Captain Speedy’s notebooks and family archives. The poems presented above and others were “composed at an important period of Ethiopia in honour of Emperor Tewodros, one of the country’s most notable rulers”.24 Similarly, Berhanou Abebe (1970, 1985 and 1987) made a major study and published three important articles based on the collection of Antoine d’Abbadie, who travelled to Goggam and Bägemdér in 1845-48 and collected several Amharic poems and songs. Berhanou wrote down the poems in Amharic translated into French with commentaries that d’Abbadie only transcribed in Latin. Special mention should be made of Berhanou’s article entitled: በግጥም የተጻፈ ዜና መዋዕል (“A Chronicle Written in Poetry”), which presents the names of Ethiopian monarchs and rulers and dates of their reigns from ancient times until the 18th century. Recently, Molvaer (2005) published an article on historical poems related to Ethiopian emperors and notables based on Aläqa Täkle’s chronicle. Molvaer mentions that he hired a certain Bä’édämaryam Dästa in the 1980s to collect Amharic poems. His study contains nine poems related to Tewodros, two couplets about Yohannes, and few short anecdotes about Lég Iyyasu, Empress Zäwditu and Emperor Òaylä Séllase I.25

Analysis26 of Selected Praise Poems

The Amharic poems composed in honor of Emperor Yohannes IV depict a number of important themes referring to the sovereign, his personality, his character, his bravery, his victory over regional lords and the major wars he fought against the Turks, Egyptians and Mahdists of Sudan and finally about his tragic death. An attempt has been made to translate 21 couplets and provide analysis and commentary on the major themes depicted in the poems. In these texts we find important Oromo words used in the praise poems. Emperor Yohannes’ praise or horse-name: ቦሬሳው itself is of Oromo origin. Linguistic evidence shows that the root verb of borressaw is borressa,27 and the agent borressu, which means the disturber, rebel, violent, etc. and probably incorporated into Tégréñña.28

Yohannes’ official horse-name is አባ በዝብዝ (Abba Bäzbéz),29 but in the couplets presented here, the Emperor is praised mostly by borressaw, probably to emphasize Kaía’s rebellious personality before his coronation and later his


bravery in war. Emperor Yohannes IV has been described as: “a noble by birth, a cleric by education, a zealot by faith, a moralist by tendency, a monk by practice, a nationalist by policy, and a soldier and an emperor by profession.”30

Most poems presented here express that Emperor Yohannes was a great warrior who successfully defeated his internal rivals and foreign enemies. In the poems presented here, Yohannes is described as the most powerful man whose deeds, valour, bravery and skill of administration can be compared with biblical figures such as King David (poem 1), King Solomon (couplet 9) and even with Jesus Christ (couplet 4).

The poet employs carefully selected imagery and metaphorical expressions to depict the military career and achievements of the Emperor and how he defeated the Turks [Egyptians] (see couplets 7, 9, 10). Particularly, couplet 7 praises Yohannes’ victory over the Egyptians in Gura, saying: “he, who descends down to Gura and threshes the Turks”. The poet also praises the Emperor saying: he, who is “killer of the English [probably here also Egyptians] with imported weapons”, etc. Furthermore, Yohannes’ strength, power and military superiority, as well as his weapons, such as his rifle, his sword, and his shield; his horses and mules; his officers and servants, are best depicted in metaphorical expressions in several poems. For example, Yohannes’ grace, strength and force are praised in couplet 14. Here, the poet employs two figures of speech: simile and metaphor. In the first line Yohannes’ majestic grace is described as: “he looks like fifty when going alone”; here the imagery “like fifty” is a simile. In the second line the poet compares the brave Kaía with አንበሳ “lion”, a major metaphor, which relates to an important action and historical event in Kaías’ military career as a youth. Kaía killed a lion before he was crowned as Emperor, and he was welcomed home warmly by his sister and the neighbouring girls beating a drum and singing.31 Soon, Kasa became a powerful man and defeated first his rivals among the notables of Tégre and later the chiefs and lords of other regions and the central provinces of Ethiopia. His military achievements over the peoples of Amhara and Galla32 and how he subdued and ruled them all in unity are praised and depicted in couplets 12, 30, 32, 38. Yohannes is also praised as ያረቡ ዘጊ፣ “he, who fights, faces the Arabs”33 ያበሻ ባል፣ “he, who is husband34 of Abäša”, አንድ አርጎ አስጓዘው፣ አማራ ጋላን አስጎበደደው፣ etc., to show how he successfully defeated and ruled the Amharas the Oromos and other people as far as the sea (couplets 5, 18, 19, 28 and 37).

Emperor Yohannes’ dedication to the faith of Christianity is depicted in couplets 20 and 21. In couplet 20, his ‘sanctity’ and devotion to religious life is described in the first line of the verse as: አንድ ቀን ከሴት ሳዝጋፈፍ፣ “not even a day he slept with a woman”, and the poet continues to tell about the Emperor’s speech, which does not have a defect. Finally the poet mentions the departure of his soul saying: “what did his flesh say, when his soul departed? Yohannes’


chronicles mention the monkish35 life of the Emperor, who built several churches. Probably the most interesting description of Yohannes’ bravery in warfare is how he faced Mahdists or Muslims in Mätämma with his officers and how he later died. Couplets 22-27 all describe this action. For example, in couplet 22 the poet expresses his sadness and deep grief, and laments about the poignant death of Emperor Yohannes, who died having “powder in his belly and sword at his neck” in the hands of the Muslims, whom the poet refers to as አረመኔ “merciless”. It was at this tragic war that Yohannes’ officers all perished; and the poet depicts them as those “who always looked down upon people” (couplet 23).

In Couplet 25, the poet continues to lament the end of Emperor Yohannes’ bravery and heroism referring to him as: “gone are the shield and power [heroism]” again using an important Oromo word, ሁምና and his favourite horse-name, Borressaw. Finally couplets 15 and 41 [which have almost similar verses] raise an interesting relation in the last line of the verse, which says: የካሣን ካሣ መለሰው ደሙን፣ “Kasa avenged the blood of Kasa”. Perhaps the poet may refer here to the two Kasas36: Kasa, Tewodros II and Kasa, Yohannes IV, who were not only rivals, but who were also great warriors, were brave and heroes, who fought against foreign invaders, etc., and finally who both died fighting their enemies.

Conclusion

In this paper an attempt has been made to present an edition, translation and analysis of unknown and hitherto unpublished Amharic praise poems composed in honor of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. These are rich literary and historical sources, which give us insights into the reign of Yohannes IV. We learn about his courage and heroic deeds as well as his dramatic death and events in 19th century history. The study opens possibilities for new approaches of scientific research to compare these poems with contemporary praises of fookkära and other genres of Amharic oral poetry. Thanks to the many unknown singers and poets and to Conti Rossini who preserved these poems in his collection, we are now able to examine the deeds of Emperor Yohannes IV. Other folk poems await systematic collection, analysis and documentation in other languages, such as Tégréñña. We are also able to witness how Amharic poems were embroidered with Oromo and Tégréñña words and expression in the 19th century. A study of such praise poems on the lives, actions, and achievements of Ethiopian emperors presents an exciting socio-cultural, historical and literary contribution invaluable for current and future generations.


Selected Sample Poems with Translations

፪ተኛ ያጼ ዮሐንስ 2nd [about] Emperor Yohannes

2. ቦሬሳው ካሣን አትነካኩት Stir not Boressaw Kasa,

የተቀባ ነው እንደ ዳዊት። Anointed he is like [king] David.

3. ቦሬሳው ካሣ ምነው ቢኮራ? Why not be proud, Boressaw Kasa?

ቱርክ አይመልሰው እንኳን አማራ። Not even the Turks can resist him, let alone the Amhara.37

4. ማን ይነካዋል ቦሬስን በፈረስ? Who can challenge Bore38 in a horse race?

አለ ፈጣሪ አለ ክርስቶስ። Except the Creator, except Christ.

5. ቦሬሳው ቢዘልቅ ባንድያ ፈረስ When Boressaw advanced on a single horse,

አንድ አርጎ ሳበ ባሕር በመለስ። He united all and advanced as far as the sea.

7. እንግዲህ ጋሻ እንግዲህ ሁምና በካሣ ይብቃ

No shield, no bravery after Kaía,

ገዳይ እንግሊዝ በባሕር ዕቃ The killer of the English39 with oversea weapons

ጉራ ላይ ወርዶ ቱርክ እሚወቃ። He, who descends down to Gura and threshes the Turks.

8. ጠጅ በብርሌ ጠላ በጥዋ Tägg with a carafe, tälla with a téwwa (cup)

ያባ ፈንቅል ልጅ ገዳይ ምጥዋ። He, who kills in Massawa, the son of Abba Fänqél.40

9. አኰላኰሉ እንደማበል His stirring41 like storm,

ቱርክ ገጣሚ ያበሻ ባል። The fighter against Turks, husband of the Abäša.

11. ሰይፉ ተሰብሮ ካልተንተራሰው

Unless his sword breaks and he lies his head on it,

አይሰጥም ካሣ መንግሥቱን ለሰው። Kasa will never give his kingdom to others.


12. ብራቅ ይመስላል ሲነሰንሰው It looks like lightning when he spreads […]

እንደ ሰሎሞን አምላክ ያዋሰው Like Solomon, whom God granted [the wisdom of ...]42

አንድ አርጎ አስጓዘው የሐበሻ ሰው። He made the people of Abäša travel43 in unity.

13. የሜዳ ዝሆን የዱር አንበሳ The elephant of the plain, the lion44 of the forest,

ዐረር ማተቡ ቦሬሳው ካሣ። Boressaw Kaía whose neck-thread is a bullet.45

14. ብቻውን ሲሄድ ይመስላል አምሳ He looks like fifty when going alone,

አካሉ የሰው ድምጡ ያንበሳ። His person is human, his voice like a lion.

15. እስካሁን ድረስ ሳናውቅ ወንድሙን We did not know his brother until now,

የካሣን ካሣ አፈሰው ደሙን። Kasa46 avenged the blood of Kaía.

20. አንድ ቀን ከሴት ሳይጋፈፍ Not even a day with a woman he slept,

የንግግሩ የለው ጠያፍ His speech without defect,

ሥጋው ምን አለች ነፍሱ ስታልፍ? What did his flesh say when his soul departed?

22. ዋ! ከንበል ያርገኝ አብረው አይሞቱ Alas! Men die not together

ባሩድ በሆዱ ሰይፍ ባንገቱ። Powder in his belly and sword at his neck.47

23. የቦሬ አሽከሮች ሰው እንደናቁ% The officers of Bore, who always looked down upon people

መተማ ወርደው ሁሉም አለቁ። Went down to Mätämma and perished all.

24. እስላም መዲና እንደሚሐጅ Just as the Muslims make pilgrimage to Medina

ቦሬሳው ጠፋ ባረመኔ እጅ። So perished Boressaw in the hands of Pagans.48


25. ጋሻና ሁምና አለፈች ለዛ Gone are the shield and humna49 (power heroism]),

ቦሬሳው ካሣ ቀረ እንደዋዛ። Boressaw Kaía is gone just like that.

30. ድንጉላው በፊት የሚለው ዘው ዘው He, whose gelding50 strides in the front

አማራ ጋላን አንድ አርጎ አስጓዘው። Made the Amhara and Galla go forward in unity.

33. ጭኖቹ ኰልኳይ እጁ ወርዋሪ His thighs [are] stirrer and his hands throwers,

ጎራዴው ፍለጥ ጋሻው ተፈሪ። His sword [is] a splinter, his shield awe-some.

38. አሥመራ ሲሉት ዓድዋ ላይ ፈላ When one assumes he is in Asmara, he appeared in Adwa,

ዓድዋ ላይ ሲሉት ቦሩ ላይ ፈላ When one assumes he is in Adwa, he ap-peared in Boru,

ቦሬሳው ካሣን ማን ይችላላ? Who can face Boressaw Kasa?

39. እኔ ሚገርመኝ ካሣ እናቱን What astonishes me is the mother of Kasa,

ሸዋን አርግዛ ዝም ማለቷን። Having conceived Šäwa she keeps quiet

Emperor Yohannis IV with his son and heir, Ras Araya Selassie


Appendix: Amharic Texts (Praise Poems)

፪ተኛ ያጼ ዮሐንስ

1. እውነት መስሏቸው ፈርሶ መሬት ቦሬሳው መጣ እሳት በሳት።

12. ብራቅ ይመስላል ሲነሰንሰው እንደ ሰሎሞን አምላክ ያዋሰው አንድ አርጎ አስጓዘው የሐበሻን ሰው።

2. ቦሬሳው ካሣን አትነካኩትየተቀባ ነው እንደ ዳዊት።

13. የሜዳ ዝሆን የዱር አንበሳ ዐረር ማተቡ ቦሬሳው ካሣ።

3. ቦሬሳው ካሣ ምነው ቢኮራ?ቱርክ አይመልሰው እንኳን አማራ።

14. ብቻውን ሲሄድ ይመስላል አምሳ አካሉ የሰው ድምጡ ያንበሳ።

4. ማን ይነካዋል ቦሬን በፈረስ? አለ ፈጣሪ አለ ክርስቶስ።

15. እስካሁን ድረስ ሳናውቅ ወንድሙን የካሣን ካሣ አፈሰው ደሙን።

5. ቦሬሳው ቢዘልቅ ባንድያ ፈረስ አንድ አርጎ ሳበ ባሕር በመለስ።

16. ሥረቱ የሰው የእግዚአብሔር ፍጡር አይመልሰውም የጥይት አጥር።

6. የቦሬ በቅሎ ዓድዋ ብትሰግር ፍጥረት ዓለሙ ሳበ ባንድግር።

17. ጠመንጃው እሾህ ዐረሩ ንብ ደንጊያ መንከስ ነው ቦሬን ማሰብ።

7. እግዲህ ጋሻ እንግዲህ ሁምና በካሣ ይብቃ ገዳይ እንግሊዝ በባሕር ዕቃ ጉራ ላይ ወርዶ ቱርክ የሚወቃ።

18. ዓድዋ ላይ ሆኖ ጥርሱን ቢያፏጨው ቃንቄው ተሰብሮ ምጥዋ ረጨው።

8. ጠጅ በብርሌ ጠላ በጥዋ ያባ ፈንቅል ልጅ ገዳይ ምጥዋ።

19. ባንዲቱ ተንቤን ባንዲት ከተማ አራቱን አህጉር መታው በካስማ።

9. አኮላኮሉ እንደማበል ቱርክ ገጣሚ ያበሻ ባል።

20. አንድ ቀን ከሴት ሳይጋፈፍ የንግግሩ የለው ጠያፍ ሥጋው ምን አለች ነፍሱ ስታልፍ?

10. እስካሁን ድረስ አልጠፋ አጥንቱ ቱርክን እንደ በልግ የቀቃበቱ።

21. ጠፍ ጠፍ አርጋ ወልዳው እናቱ የተበጃጀው የሰማይ ቤቱ።

11. ሰይፉ ተሰብሮ ካልተንተራሰው አይሰጥም ካሣ መንግሥቱን ለሰው።

22. ዋ! ከንበል ያርገኝ አብረው አይሞቱ ባሩድ በሆዱ ሰይፍ ባንገቱ።


23. የቦሬ አሽከሮች ሰው እንደናቁ መተማ ወርደው ሁሉም አለቁ።

33. ጭኖቹ ኰልኳይ እጁ ወርዋሪ ጎራዴው ፍለጥ ጋሻው ተፈሪ።

24. እስላም መዲና እንደሚሐጅ ቦሬሳው ጠፋ ባረመኔ እጅ።

34. ጥይቱ ብዙ ገዝም ወርዋሪ ያባ ፈንቅል ልጅ የባለሱሪ ሠሪታ ቀዳጅ መልካሳፋሪ።

25. ጋሻና ሁምና አለፈች ዋዛ ቦሬሳው ካሣ ቀረ እንደዋዛ።

35. የጎጃም ብረት የሸዋ ፈረስ ሲተራረድ ካሣ ዝም አለ የቡዳ ሞረድ ተጋጭቶ ገባ ዘውድ ለዘውድ።

26. ካሽከሮቹ ጋር አፍኖት ውበት መተማ ቀረ ጋሻና ጉልበት።

36. በሽጉራቻ ልብ የሚያበርድ ዝቅ አርጎ ታጥቆ ሰጊድ መውለድ።

27. አልሆነም ጃንሆይ ብክብዎት ጉልበት የለዎም የቀኑለት።

37. የካሣ ፈረስ ያን የተቀባው መድፉን አስጥሎ ባሕር አስገባው ይኸ አይደለም ወይ ሁሉም ያባባው።

28. ይመስላል ገዴ ፈቶ ሲነሣ ከተማው ዞብል መግደያው አውሳ።

38. አሥመራ ሲሉት ዓድዋ ላይ ፈላ ዓድዋ ላይ ሲሉት ቦሩ ላይ ፈላ ቦሬሳው ካሣን ማን ይችላላ?

29. እሆዴ ገብቷል እንደ መጋኛ ያረቡ ዘጊ ያበሻ ዳኛ።

39. እኔ ሚገርመኝ ካሣ እናቱን ሸዋን አርግዛ ዝም ማለቷን።

30. ድንጉላው በፊት የሚለው ዘው ዘው አማራ ጋላን አንድ አርጎ አስጓዘው።

40. አምላክ የሰጠው እንዲመቸው የረር ከመስኮብ ደባለቀው።

31. ያረቡ ዘጊ ያበሻ ዋስ ያባ ፈንቅል ልጅ [...] ዮሐንስ።

41. ኩል አስመስሎ አምላክ የሰጠው/ ያዋሰው የካሣን ደሙን ካሣ መለሰው።

32. በድንጉላ ላይ እሚጓደደው አማራ ጋላን አስጎበደደው።


Notes

1 This is a revised and expanded version of a paper presented at the 2nd International Research Colloquium on Ethiopian Studies organized at the Institute of Semitic and Arabic Studies, Free University of Berlin in 18-19 December, 2009. I am very grateful to the participants of the conference for their constructive feedback, comments and suggestions. I am greatly indebted to the two anonymous readers of the final version and recommended it for publication in this Journal.

2 These include Ignazio Guidi (1889), Enrico Cerulli (1916), M. Châine, (1920/21), Carlo Conti Rossini (1925), Enno Littmann (1914), Marcel Cohen (1924), G.W.B. Huntingford (1965), Berhanou Abebe (1979, 1985, 1987), Richard Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie Asfaw (1985), Renate Richter (1997), Yonas Admassu (2005), Gezahegn Getachew (2005), among others.

3 I am very grateful to the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO) for awarding me a fellowship (February – April 2003) to carry out research on historical sources in Rome. I thank the staff of IsIAO and the staff of the Ethiopian Embassy in Rome for their assistance during my stay there. I acknowledge with gratitude the kind assistance of Poet and Folklorist Seifu Metaferia Firew and Professors Bairu Tafla, Alessandro Triulzi and Giorgio Banti for the fruitful discussions and for their scholarly advice. A preliminary study of the praise poems related to of Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV was presented at the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, 1-6 July, 2007, Trondheim, Norway.

4 I owe this knowledge to insightful prior studies by Richard Pankhurst and Berhanou Abebe who successfully demonstrated how Amharic war songs and praise poetry could be used in reconstructing 19th century history. Their works were based on the private collections of Captain Tristram Speedy and Antoine d’Abbadie, respectively.

5 See Lanfranco Ricci (2003:791-792).

6 See the remark written at the bottom of [P.S.] of Folio II-IV on the poems of Yohannes IV reproduced below.

7 I made extensive use of Thomas Kane (1990) and others, such as Antoine d’Abbadie (1881), Abba Yohannes Gäbrä Egziabher (1948/9), Ignazio Guidi (1902) and Dästa Täklä Wäld (1962).

8 See Stefan Strelcyn (1975:317).

9 Ibid.

10 According to Strelcyn (ibid) originally the text did not have a title. Conti Rossini also wrote “Senza Titolo” and gave the title [፩ኛ ያጼ ቴዎድሮስ?] with a question mark. See folio I [in the original].

11 There can be no doubt that the texts of these praise poems were written down by the clergy mostly by the Däbtära, who were, for many centuries the sole custodians of the written word in Ethiopia.

12 There are orthographic errors that Conti Rossini made when copying the poems (that is, if he really copied the text as mentioned by Stefan Strelcyn, although one believes that he was a scholar of Ge‘ez and Amharic and he edited and published several texts and royal chronicles. For instance, one can mention such examples as: አይነሳ[ሣ]ም፣ ባህ[ሕ]ር፣ ማሀ[ኻ]ሉን፣ የገሰ[ሠ]ገስ[ሥ]ከው፣ from the text about emperor Tewodros.

13 Maòétämä Séllase Wäldä Mäsqäl published three of the praise poems related to Tewodros (see couplets 1, 10 and 11), and mentions that they were [composed or recited]


by Hasän Amanu with slight modifications. See the reproduced page below. According to Berhanu Gebeyehu (2007:28) Hasän Amanu was a famous Azmari (minstrel) at the court of Négus Mika’el in Wällo.

14 For a recent study about the old Amharic royal songs, see Richter (1997:543-551), Yonas (2005:69-86) and Gezahegn (2005:107-129).

15 The dates on which the poems were composed or the place where they were found or collected are not specified in the texts.

16 According to Mängéstu Lemma (1963:151) the syllabic structure of fookkära poem is known as sängo mägän” one of the three fundamental rhythmical patterns in Amharic versification. Similarly Alämayyähu Mogäs (1967:54) writes: “ፍከራ ጉራ ሳይሆን የጀግንነትን ሙያ መንገሪያ ስለሆነ [ግጥሙ] በአብዛኛው የሰንጎ መገን ሐረግ ነው።”

17 For a detailed description of the tradition of horse-names in Ethiopia see Maòétämä Séllase Wäldä Mäsqäl (1969:195-209). According to Bairu Tafla (1977:65), “It was fashionable for the kings, notables and lords of the 19th century to give important sounding names to their horses. The name was selected to connote or denote the wish, aspiration, and action of the owner.” The horse-name usually begins with the noun: Abba “father”, which means ‘father of ’, ‘master of ’, or ‘lord of ’ so-and-so. Kings and notables were praised by their horse-names by their servants, followers, singers, etc.

18 For a description and performance of fookkära see Getie Gelaye (2006:588-589), Michael Powne (1968:75-76) and Ashenafi Kebede (1971:69).

19 In the 20th century fookkära poems are colorfully recited and performed by Ethiopian veterans on important public holidays, such as the Victory of ‘Adwa (March 2) and Martyrs’ Day (May 5). Over the past years, government officials and authorities use qärärto songs and fookkära recitals on radio and television, during war times as an important medium of propaganda to inspire the public and rouse their courage, or to recruit soldiers. See Getie Gelaye (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009).

20 Ibid.

21 His full name is Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy; Emperor Tewodrso gave him a title and an Ethiopian name, Basha Felleke. Speedy admired Ethiopian warriors and the songs they recited and performed. He memorized the Amharic warriors’ songs [fookkära] and recited them at public gatherings and during his lectures after he returned back to England. See Jean Southon and Robert Harper (2004) and Richard Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie Asfaw (1985).

22 Quoted in Richare Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie Asfaw (1985:51).

23 Ibid, 60. See also Getie Gelaye (2005:585).

24 Ibid, 56. The authors attempted to reconstruct the texts of the songs and provide linguistic comments.

25 Most of the poems that Molvaer presented criticize Emperor Tewodros II and his reign.

26 Due time constraints, commentaries and analysis on selected praise poems are provided here. The reigns of Tewodros II and Yohannes IV are known in Ethiopian history as periods of political turmoil, regional wars, etc. Most of the poems refer to war campaigns, battles and historical events, which require extensive consultation of historical sources. Using these poems as a historical source material, a detailed discussion and a thorough analysis of the historical events will follow in another study.


27 According to Gragg (1982:57) borressa (vt.) means “make muddy, stir up (water); disturb”.

28 See Abba Yohannes Gebre Egziabher (1948/49:403). Abba Yohannes did not indicate its root in Oromo.

29 This means ‘lord of, master of or father of the exploits’.

30 See Bairu Tafla (1977:15).

31 This is mentioned in the chronicles of Emperor Yohannes IV. See Bairu (ibid:41) and Mammo Wéddnäh (1985:32), which runs as follows:

የሹም ተንቤን እንቦሳ ገደለ አንበሳ።

የኔ ወንድም ጀግናው ካሣ ገደለ አንበሳ።

የሥላስ ልጅ ኮፍታራው በለስ ቀናው።

የተንቤን ልጅ ጀግናውበለስ ቀናው።

አንበሳ ገድሎ የኔ ካሣ መጣ እያገሳ።

አቦይ ምርጫ የምሥራች አደይ ሥላስ የምሥራች ወልዳችኋል ተኳሽ ልጅ ትንታግ እሳት የሚፋጅ።

ይዞ መጣ ዳልጋ አንበሳ የኔ ወንድም የኔ ካሣ።

32 This refers to the Oromo people as it was used in those days.

33 This relates to how Yohannes counterchecked the Egyptian invasion in the north. See Zawde Gebre-Selassie (1975), Bairu Tafla (1977), Taddese Beyene (et al eds 1990), among others.

34 This is actually a similar expression that Tewodros II used to utter while he was reciting fookkära or when boasting and bragging in fookkära performances.

35 See Bairu Tafla (1977:15), Täklä Sadéq Mäkuriya (1984:548).

36 See the article about the two Kasas in Shiferaw (1990:289-347).

37 This poem is probably composed and recited after Kasa became Emperor Yohannes, and after he defeated the Egyptians at the battles of Gura and Gundät (1875). See couplet 7.

38 This is a short form of endearment to address Boressaw [Kasa].

39 This refers to the Egyptians and the Mhadists and not necessarily the English.

40 This is actually the horse-name of Yohannes’ elder brother, Däggazmaó Gugsa Mérca. See Bairu (1977:41). According to Maòétämä Séllase (1969:215) Abba Fänqél used to be a common horse-name among the lords of Tégre.

41 The root verb of ኰለኰለ is Tégréñña, which refers to a horseman and how he stirs with his hands and thighs while riding his horse or mule. See Abba Yohannes (1948/49:597).


42 Here the poet compares Yohannes’ knowledge and wisdom of administration with that of King Solomon, whom God granted, among others knowledge and wisdom of administration”.

43 This implies that the people of Abäša accepted his rule and traveled to him, or subdued to him.

44 See the analysis on page 9.

45 Written sources indicate that Kaía was wounded on his neck while fighting against his rivals before his coronation as king of kings Yohannes IV.

46 It is not clear here which Kaía (exactly avenged the blood of the other Kaía, since there were at least four lords whose names were Kaía). However, it is probable that the poet may relate to the two Kasas; Kasa (who later became Emperor Tewodros II) whose army was defeated by the British army; and Kaía (who, later became Emperor Yohannes IV), who successfully defeated the Egyptians (foreign invaders/enemies) at two decisive battles in Gura and Gundät. The two Kaía were great warriors, who fought against foreign invaders and enemies and both died while fighting their enemies.

47 Emperor Yohannes was wounded first by a bullet while fighting in Mätämma and died later. Afterwards, the Mhadists cut his neck [head] by sword and they took it to Sudan. Héruy Wäldä Séllase (1917:16).

48 In the Ethiopian tradition, Muslims are referred as pagans or heathens.

49 This also means ‘force’, ‘might’, etc. See Gragg (1982:218).

50 This is an Arabic origin, “cheval. Arabe de Dongola-jeune etalon”. (d’Abbadie 1881:782).

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Documents

Amharic Praise Poems Composed in Honor of Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889)