Tag: Gojam

A farmer winnows his chickpeas, on the road from Bichena to Bichena Gyorgis church. 

In case you are unfamiliar with the process, after the stalks have been thoroughly beaten or trod upon by oxen (threshing), to break the seeds out of the pods and break them away from the remaining pods and stalks (the chaff), the farmer uses a pitchfork (or their hands) to throw the whole pile up into the air; the seeds, being dense, fall right back down, whereas the chaff floats away in the slightest breeze, and will adequately separate even in no breeze. This of course, is the origin of the expression ‘separating the wheat from the chaff.’