A man rows home in the evening, with his nets and his catch of Nile Perch, in a papyrus boat called a tanqwa on Lake Tana, just outside of Bahir Dar.
Tag: Amhara
Papyrus Siding, Near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2009
Papyrus used as a building material: the wall of a light-duty building.
Carrying Papyrus, near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2009
A man carrying a large bundle of papyrus, which has been collected out in the lake and transported by tanqwa to get to his village, outside of Bahir Dar. Papyrus sees a variety of uses in the Lake Tana area, and is sold in large bundles like the one this man carries. The use of the stick to transport large loads like this is very typical, and the stick is an ever-present companion to a rural Amhara man areas.
Bundling Papyrus Stalks, Abbay Village, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2009
Papyrus is an ubiquitous commodity in the Lake Tana region, and sees a variety of uses. Stalks are cut from the plentiful stands on the shores and islands of Lake Tana, and brought to Abbay village, where they are made into local reed boats (called tanqwa) sold for a variety of other uses. Here, a man bundles some cut stalks for sale.
Horse, Gonder, Ethiopia, 2009
A horse grazes on a rainy day, just outside the tamari betoch (student huts) of the famous church of Debre Berhan Selassie, in Gonder.
Arabic Writing Teacher, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2009
A teacher of arabic writing at the mosque in Bahir Dar. Moslems are a significant minority in areas of the North, and comprise a majority in the Eastern areas of Ethiopia.
Deacon(?), Andabet, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2009
This gentleman, whose name I have sadly forgotten, was a farmer and a deacon (I believe) at the local church. When I was in the Andabet area for research, he showed my translator and me to the various farms of the priests who made parchment and scribed books.
Cat, Zege Peninsula, Lake Tana, Ethiopia, 2009
A cat lazes in the sun at a house in a hamlet on the Zege Peninsula.
Tree, Gälawdios, Amhara, Ethiopia, July 2009
Gälawdious, the village where I have recently been working, is in beautiful agricultural country (though suffering rather from erosion–I better understand now why Lake Tana is such a muddy brown). Here, a view from my walk out to the däbtära (magician’s) cottage.
Shackles, Bahir Dar, Amhara, Ethiopia, July 2009
While Kes Felege he was unpacking his scribal and carving tools from a box for our interview, he pulled out a pair of shackles. A bit dumbstruck, I asked him what their relationship to scribing was. As part of the training for his Zema students (and Qene students as well), the students take a psycho-tropic drug, which, when properly combined with fasting and prayer, is supposed to allow them mystical insight and inspire them to poetry. I knew as much before I asked the question. Apparently, the students sometimes take this drug on their own, without the proper training and supervision. To control them while they are in the hallucinogenic state, and as a punishment, the shackles are affixed to the student. Here, the shackles are modeled by one of his woodcarving students, who happened to be at hand.