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Timket Ethiopian Epiphany

Staff Reporter
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By Haile-Gebriel Endeshaw
Banchayehu is a young girl in her early twenties. She serves a neighborhood family as a maid. Last Tuesday early in the morning I heard her arguing with the young house lady (her employer) that she should be given a day off on Friday so that she could enjoy celebrating the Timket festival.
“… Please, I need to have a day off on the coming Friday, Betty.” Banchayehu names the lady like any other family members or close friends. “I will have my friends waiting for me at Jan Meda… please,” she enquired.
“Banchiye, half a day is enough… The Tabot comes out of its temple on Friday starting around 2:00 PM in the afternoon. You will not get anyone in Jan Meda before noon. The singing and dancing will come on after 4:00 PM late in the afternoon… Why do you need to go out starting from early in the morning? I mean… what will you do there? … The whole family will go out after 2:00 PM. I myself will also go out to escort Medhanialem Tabot. I think you can go along with us. Let’s enjoy the festival together. Don’t you think this is the best way to celebrate Timket together, Banchu? … Or do you have something hidden from me?”
“No, please… I have an appointment with my friend… Betty, please… Please!”
“Your friend? … a ‘he’ or a ‘she’?”
“Please, don’t make fun of me, Betty! Please, let me go out to celebrate Timket by myself the whole day.”
Orthodox Christian people across the country are celebrating this year’s Ethiopian Epiphany (Timket) starting from last Friday. Even today, the 20th of January or the 12th of Tir (in the Ethiopian Calendar), many Orthodox Christians escort St. Michael Tabot back to its temple. St. Michael is commemorated on the 12th day of every month. This Tabot is not taken back to its temple along with the other Tabots on the 19th of January or the 11th of Tir. Because as the following day falls on the 12th of Tir, which signifies the day of St. Michael, worshipers take the opportunity to commemorate the day by escorting the Tabot back to its temple in a colorful procession.
Timket is best known for its colorful ritual ceremony. Actually, it is a three-day festival. Last Friday is the first day of the festival with a name Ketera. This day late in the afternoon Tabots will be escorted by the laities to places where they stay overnight. Tabots are models of the ark of the Covenant, or replica of tablets of laws received by Moses from God. Tabot is given extreme reverence by the Orthodox Christian followers. When the Tabot is out of the temple, it is covered by a colorful velvet and sheltered by big bright umbrellas so that infidels won’t view it. Available sources retell that “…the Tabot … represents the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah when he came to the Jordan [River] for baptism”. Yesterday, the 19th of January, was the main festival of Timket which is officially observed across the country. Orthodox Christians residing in Addis Ababa celebrated the event colorfully at a place called Jan Meda.
The name Jan Meda is a combination of two words, Jan and Meda. Jan (short for Janhoy) is a substitute word for ‘His Majesty King’ whereas ‘meda’ means ‘field’. Literally ‘Jan Meda’ means field of His Majesty. Jan Meda is a large open space situated in the north-eastern part of Addis Ababa. Various sports, religious festivities and other events are held here.
Every year Timket falls on January 19 (Tir 11 in the Ethiopian Calendar). By the way, the Ethiopian Calendar has 13 months in a year. The last month which is named Pagumen usually has five days which will be six in every four years. Wikipedia indicates that “…the Ethiopic calendar has 12 months of 30 days plus 5 or 6 epagomenal [inserted at intervals; intercalary] days, which comprise a thirteenth month. The Ethiopian months begin on the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are in Ge’ez. A 6th epagomenal day is added every 4 years, without exception, on August 29 of the Julian calendar, 6 months before the corresponding Julian leap day. Thus, the first day of the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1900 and 2099 (inclusive), is usually September 11 (Gregorian). However, it falls on September 12 in years before the Gregorian leap year…” There is a difference of eight years between Ethiopian and European calendars. For instance, this new European Year is 2019 but in Ethiopia it is 2011. This means that any foreigner who happens by chance to be in Ethiopia will become younger by eight years. Hey people, please don’t miss the opportunity of getting younger by visiting Ethiopia.
According to the interpretation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the term Timket was taken from the Ge’ez word Asteryo meaning ‘reveal’. Timket signifies the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate this festival by getting baptized with holy water blessed by priests.
On the eve of Timket (Ketera) Tabots will be taken out being carried by priests to Jan Meda and stay there the whole night. Commonly all Orthodox Christian laities escort the Tabots in procession. This time deacons and priests who are wearing colorful satin clothes sing hymn songs. Young and old people, most of whom dress up in national costumes, also sing, clap and dance giving thanks to their God.
Many people pass the night of Ketera around the big and colorful tent in which the Tabot is placed. They all pray, sing and eat the whole night. Then, early in the morning a big special mass will be held. Priests who are wearing colorful shema (cultural woven clothes) sing beautifully by shaking sistrum; waving their prayer stick (staff). The boo-boom and tim-tim sounds of a big drum being beaten by a priest, who is performing ritual dancing in the middle of the field, also give a special color to the event. What a colorful ritual service it is! Long after this, the baptizing service will be held. First, a priest dips his big cross in to the water and bless it. Then he splashes and sprinkles the holy water on all laities who push one another to get wet.
Like Meskel festival, the finding of the True Cross, Timket is also attended by many tourists and other foreigners who happen to be in Ethiopia.
Every Orthodox Christians are dressed up in their finest during the celebration of Timket. Once in Jan Meda with the Tabots, all the people celebrate the event by singing and performing various cultural and traditional dances. Young people make a big circle with one of the boys standing in the middle and blowing harmonica singing and dancing. Various sporting and lottery games are also seen being practiced.
For many young people Timket brings a good opportunity to get friends of opposite sex. The young man may choose his friend from among those pretty girls who are singing and performing cultural dances. He will ask her to join him in the dancing performance. First the girl may step back shyly in to the surrounding crowd. If the young boy insists by dragging her hand, she may cover her face with her palms and move forward to the open space which is full of dancing boys and girls. The new couple dance and chat in full view of the surrounding spectators. It is the boy who does the fondling, tugging, hugging, whispering in the girl’s ear… The togetherness may get further enabling the couple to make a tour of Jan Meda by munching sugarcane, chewing gum, sucking sweet candy, drinking soft drinks or eating fresh chickpea… Then they may invite one another and establish lasting friendship. There are many young people who have met their lifelong friends of opposite sex in Timket fields. …Who knows… this Timket may be a special day for Banchayehu to get her boyfriend for life!

The writer can be reached at: gizaw.haile@yahoo.com

Tamerat Zemariam

Tesfaye Getnet
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Name: Tamerat Zemariam

Education: Degree in Accounting

Company name: Tamerat Zemariam Beverage Distributor

Title: Owner

Founded in: 2014

What it does: Distributes alcohol and soft drinks

HQ: Bole Medhanyalem

Number of employees: 34

Startup Capital: 700 birr

Current capital: Growing

Reason for starting a Business: To be my own boss

Biggest perk of ownership: Doing what I want

Biggest strength: Using time properly

Biggest challenge: Not getting enough beverages from factories

Plan: To open my own beverage production company

First career: Selling onions

Most interested in meeting: Haile Gebreselassie

Most admired person: Bill Gates

Stress reducer: Chilling with my friends

Favorite past-time: Working

Favorite book: Fiker Eskemekaber by Hadis Alemayehu

Favorite destination: Debre Birhan

Favorite automobile: Scania

Happy holidays

Ton Haverkort
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One thing I like about living in Ethiopia is the fact that we follow a different calendar here. As a result, we are seven years younger and enjoy thirteen months of sunshine. And we also have the opportunity to celebrate holidays twice, like Christmas, Easter and New Year. Wonderful! Especially those who work in international organizations or companies will be privileged as both calendars are respected. Add this to the numerous other national holidays that are celebrated in Ethiopia and you hardly find the time to take up some of your annual leave days. From the employees’ perspective, that is. From the employers’ point of view, things may look somewhat less rosy though. Quite a number of productive days are lost or subjected to claims for overtime. Come to think of it and I realize that employees find it rather easy to claim overtime. They find it a lot harder though to apply for a day off or for annual leave. Annual leave is preferably capitalised instead. “What to do?” or “Where to go?” are responses that I get when I ask somebody when he or she will take leave. There is a monetary factor involved here as well as many will not have been able to set aside enough money to take the family out for a holiday. This is a pity as it is important to rest and spend quality time with family and friends.
On the other hand, I observe that workers find it very easy to stay away from the workplace at any given time, without requesting for it or explaining the reasons for their absence. If given at all, the reasons are expected to be accepted without further questions. Some of the reasons for absence are more justifiable and verifiable than others but even then, little effort is being made to inform the office sufficiently and in time.
I have noticed that employees find it very easy to leave their work on their desk and leave the office for any personal reason. They may be away for a few hours without anybody knowing where they are and for what purpose they left the office. Ever wondered about all the people who go to church during week days to pay respect to their church’s Saint? The whole street is blocked by parked cars and believers dressed in white to pay their respect. They can’t all be jobless, can they?
In some offices this has developed into the interesting habit to report for work twice a day, i.e. early in the morning and just after lunch. And after attending to some urgent matters, the coat is left on the hanger behind the desk, to be picked up again at the end of the day. Where the office bearer is during the hours in between, nobody knows.
While the existence of non-commercial organizations will not be directly threatened by such behaviour, this is different for companies that need to make a profit out of their productive hours. All the more reason to take the issue far more serious than is normally done. Examples of productive hours lost are plenty and here follow some:
Leaving the office to attend to personal issues.
Attending a medical clinic or reporting sick for not serious enough matters.
Attending funerals of not close ones.
Attending engagements, which are normally done on week days.
Attending the church’s Saint days during working hours.
Browsing the internet for personal reasons and responding to personal emails.
Personal telephone calls.
Staying away from the office or workplace the day after a public holiday.
I was surprised to notice that many people didn’t report for work on the Monday after Easter. The excuse used is related to digestion problems after eating and drinking things that were abstained from during the fasting period, read “hang over”. And so the work can wait? When will this time be compensated for? Probably not at all.
I cannot help but conclude that when it comes to ethics related to observing working hours and putting in the time and energy required to do the job, we face a culture in Ethiopia, which negatively affects business. And where this is so, such culture and bad habits need to be dealt with. Here follow some suggestions:
Have a policy, regulating leave, holidays and overtime. The policy will include the requirements to apply for permission for any leave or time off in writing, written justifications for any absence and the consequences for not following the regulations.
Don’t only have the policy; apply it consistently. Where you allow exceptions, the policy will become obsolete.
Set a number of compulsory leave days, for all workers to take, like for example the Easter Monday.
Have a system recording workers coming to and leaving the office.
Install cameras in the workplace.
I know some of these measures will be difficult to introduce as many workers have gotten used to relaxed working hours and they will feel restricted, while using Ethiopian culture as an excuse. Don’t worry about the excuses but remain consistent in applying the new rules will be my advice. After all, it is your business. In time, the resistance will make way for acceptance.

ETHIOPIAN YOMIF LEADS BOSTON’S MIDDLE-DISTANCE CLASHES

Michael Samson
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Organizers of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix have announced that world indoor champion Yomif Kejelcha, multiple NCAA champion Edward Cheserek and a handful of the USA’s leading 800m runners are among the latest additions to the line-up for the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting in Boston on 26 January.
Yomif, who successfully defended his world indoor 3000m title last year, will step down in distance to contest the mile in Boston. Last week he opened his 2019 campaign by clocking 2:18.34 for 1000m and 3:52.61 within the space of half an hour on Seattle’s oversized indoor track.
He will face Kenya’s world indoor 1500m bronze medalist Bethwel Birgen, two-time Olympic 1500m medalist Nick Willis of New Zealand and Canada’s two-time NCAA champion Justyn Knight.
The men’s 800m in Boston will be just as competitive as USA’s Donavan Brazier, Clayton Murphy, and Boris Berian take on Spain’s world indoor bronze medalist Saul Ordonez.
Brazier, the North American U20 record-holder and US indoor champion, returns to the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix as the defending champion in the men’s 800m. He won last year in 1:45.11, just 0.11 off of Johnny Gray’s North American indoor record set back in 1992.
In the men’s 3000m, three of last year’s top four finishers return for a rematch: defending champion and history’s second-fastest indoor miler Edward Cheserek, event record-holder and Olympic 5000m bronze medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet, and Spain’s European indoor 3000m champion Adel Mechaal.

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