These priests marched and stood with the tabot (replicas of the Tablets of the Law, contents of the Ark of the Covenant supposedly resident in Axum, and the sanctifying piece of any Ethiopian Church) on their heads for hours, very patiently. It is a great honor to be selected to carry the tabot, but I wonder how it is on the back. . .
Diane Varner’s Daily Walks is a great collection of really high-quality photography. I am consistently impressed by the depth of mood that she manages to put into her photos, like the image above, which appears almost fantastical, while representing a real scene. Highly recommended.
A priest escorts the tabot to the Timkat ceremonies at Jan Meda ffield, Addis Ababa.
One of the tabot from the Timkat procession before the ceremony.
Near the beginning of the Timkat (Epiphany) procession, the priests accompanying the tabot (a replica of the Tablets of the Law, said to be the contents of the Ark of the Covenant), which is carried covered, over the head of the priest on the left edge of the image, pause to wait for the tabot of another group of churches to join them in procession to Jan Meda field, where a dozen churches will converge to celebrate together.
Timkat (Epiphany) is a three-day festival, when all the tabot (replicas of the ten commandments tablets, said to be stored in the Ark of the Covenant) are paraded to a source of water, which is blessed for symbolic re-baptism.
Here, a drummer beats out a merry beat as the parade accompanying the tabot goes from church to church.
Make your own ‘HOPE’-style poster at Obamicon. None of my photos worked out great–it seems to be a portrait-style thing.
