Dressed for the part, I cut some meat off the bone and join in the Timket Feast
The Ethiopian Orthodox holiday, Timket
(or, Epiphany) recognizes the day Jesus was baptized. Each region within Ethiopia celebrates
Epiphany differently so what I briefly relate here might not be how people
in places like Gonder or Mekele (cities within northern Ethiopian) would
experience it.
In Ethiopia's southern region of Konso, I greeted Timket dressed with a traditional pair of Konso shorts, the Komfa, and scarf to match. With a few recently made friends who were as welcoming as family, I shared a breakfast feast of meat (both raw and roasted) and t'ej - honey wine.
In Ethiopia's southern region of Konso, I greeted Timket dressed with a traditional pair of Konso shorts, the Komfa, and scarf to match. With a few recently made friends who were as welcoming as family, I shared a breakfast feast of meat (both raw and roasted) and t'ej - honey wine.
One priest splashing holy water upon a crowd that gathered to celebrate Timket
A large Timket procession following the Tabot through a town in Konso
After our meal we headed to a large field where we could observe a ceremony of symbolic baptizing for a crowd of Ethiopian Orthodox followers and took part in a large procession that followed a replica of the Tabot (the Ten Commandments) weaving a path from one church to another, singing, clapping, and rejoicing along the way.
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