An inhorn with black ink, a small bottle of red ink, a bamboo pen (ba’ar), and a piece of tile used for rubbing the parchment surface before scribing all sit in their places on a wooden inkstand, in the home of a scribe in Adgrat, Tigray Province, Ethiopia.
Ashmelas WoldeGabriel writes a small sample book in the traditional way, using a bamboo pen and resting the parchment quire against his knee, while seated on a short stool.
An eremite watches the celebrations outside of the church compound of Maryam Tsion (St. Mary of Zion), the holiest church in Ethiopia, and supposed resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. The yearly festival of St. Mary is the premiere holiday in Axum.
A nun rests upon her staff while watching the celebrations in honor of St. Mary of Zion, Axum’s high holy day, and the celebration of the patron of Ethiopia’s most important church.
A cat sits leashed to its stand, at the prouduce section of the main market in Mek’lele.
A bike leans against a mural depicting traditional outdoor teaching in the courtyard of a cafe in Mek’ele where I spent a fair amount of time.
A priest’s cat sits on some news-sheets, patiently waiting for her master’s interview to be completed.
A horse grazes on a rainy day, just outside the tamari betoch (student huts) of the famous church of Debre Berhan Selassie, in Gonder.
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.
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.