Les Mille Visages de l’Éthiopie - Histoire et traditions - Documentaire voyage - AMP

Ethiopia has a hard time getting rid of the tenacious clichés of the famines of the last century. However, this great country, which is twice the size of France, has a profusion of historical and natural sites. We are going to take you to discover the high plateau of the north of the country, rich in an amazing cultural, ethnic and spiritual palette. Ethiopia is one of the oldest states in the world. It is well deserved that we are interested in this magnificent and preserved Abyssinia, which has been isolated for a long time. Addis Abeba is a mountain town. With an average altitude of 2,400 meters, it is the highest capital of Africa and the fourth in the world. Looking at the history of the country, it is a recent capital, created in 1882 by Emperor Menelik II, who is now experiencing unprecedented economic growth. In Maganania, we find one of the many road stations that serve the surroundings of the capital. Buses and public taxis remain a very popular mode of transport. Individual cars are still reserved for an elite. There are 91 million inhabitants in Ethiopia, where we speak Amharic, the official language. It is the only African country to have escaped European colonialism. Agriculture is the country's main resource, such as coffee. The country is the first African producer. If the large market, the Merkato, has lost its prestige, Chola remains one of the privileged places to find fruits, vegetables, spices, not to mention the N7. It is a paste that is produced from a trunk of a banana tree, which grows above 1,000 meters in altitude. The trunks of these trees, which do not bear fruit, can be large. They are peeled until a puree is obtained, which is then passed to the blade to slice the fiber. This paste will then be used as flour to make bread, or as cereal for breakfast. Pepper and spices occupy an important place in Ethiopian cuisine. Salt arrives in blocks from the north of the country, where we will go. The country has made good progress in its fight against undernourishment. When the weather is stable, i.e. with a normal rainy season, Ethiopia has the ability to store cereals to be able to redistribute them in case of a hard blow. The St. George Cathedral is one of the strong symbols of the capital. It was erected to celebrate the victory of the Ethiopians in 1896 over the Italians. It is also the church where Emperor Haile Selassie was crowned. The last emperor to reign over the country. An emperor revered by the Rastas, who he considered as the last descendant of King Solomon and Queen Saba. Nearby, a street is dedicated to all the clergy's equipment. Mass outfits with various accessories. It is the Orthodox Christian Church which is the most important in the country, especially in the north. It takes five people, including two priests, to celebrate the Eucharist, without forgetting the monks. This represents a large population. Piasa is one of the beautiful neighborhoods of the capital. In these avenues, which still bear the imprint of the Italians, there are many jewelry shops. Historically, these shops were run by Ethiopian Jews, the Falasha. Since 1980, a large majority of them have emigrated to Israel. Coffee is a ritual anchored in the daily life of the whole country, which is the first African producer, and the country of origin of the famous Arabica. Tomoka was the first establishment to offer coffee for tasting. Created by an Italian in 1953, then taken over by an Ethiopian family 20 years ago. Customers can choose different crews according to their taste, and then chat quietly around the counter or small tables. The coffee is roasted in the back shop with a heating drum, dating from the last century. The service takes place at a sustained rhythm, even going so far as to offer cappuccinos. Coffee is also drunk around the main squares of the city center, taking advantage of the gentle winter sun. With the altitude, the temperatures remain around 20 degrees. The Lion of Abyssinia, or the Lion of Judah, remains the emblem of the country. In Christianity, this name symbolizes Christ. The station is now closed, since the closure of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti line in 2008. It was the French who, between 1897 and 1917, built the 780-kilometer-long single-track line, which experienced its peak in the mid-1920s. Subsequent conflicts will gradually make up for its existence. The Ethiopians are very good at running on foot. The greatest international runners of recent years come from the high plateau located further south. Amateurs and professionals meet early in the morning, or at sunset, along Churchill Avenue. Everyone trains hard in small groups. We head north, in the Amara region, to Bahirdar, on the banks of Lake Tana, where the Blue Nile is its source. Here, like in the rest of the country, 93% of the population lives on agriculture and livestock. Every Saturday morning, on the city's central square, cattle heads are traded. In this market, goats and sheep are at the entrance, while more in the center are the cattle, or even a few camels. Negotiations are quick and often take several ten minutes. Shepherds leave the place without animals, but with a smile, a sign that the trade has been fruitful. On the side of the horned beasts, discussions are even more lively. The sums at stake are also more important, for animals so well sought after for the quality of their meat as for their ability to work. In mid-November, a good part of the harvest is made. The big religious holidays are over, the season of weddings is in full swing. A pretext to celebrate, even if it means blocking traffic on a boulevard for a few dances. The village of Salché borders the banks of Lake Tana. It is crossed by a track mostly occupied by cattle. Some trucks and motorbikes and taxis go there from time to time. Traditional houses are made of eucalyptus wood and dry earth. The teff is grown, a very fine cereal, which is made into a kind of crepe dough. The injera, once cooked, will give a cake that will serve as a base for all meals. It is kept like this for several days. Lentils, meat or vegetables will be poured on top. Tamre prepares injera for the whole family every two days. We are five in our family. This is where I prepare the injera. It will be served with a puree based on peas. Around Salché, a lot of cattle is grown. It looks like tea bushes, but it is a plant that, if mowed for a long time, produces an euphoric and stimulating effect. Cattle is very popular not only in Ethiopia, but also in neighboring countries like Djibouti. Before permanently preserving the harvested leaf, Genano brings it briefly to the mouth to check its freshness. The cattle trade, which is classified as a stupefying one, makes many families live around the village, especially since its culture spreads throughout the year. The cattle are negotiated by farmers to go to Addis Ababa or Djibouti. Coffee is also an important food for the village. It is mainly intended for family consumption. The large commercial farms are located further south. Marie Tou, Genano's sister, is 18 years old. She is in charge of the coffee preparation. After drying the cherries for ten days, the first operation is to extract the seeds from the bark. Marie Tou then sifts what she has obtained to keep only the coffee seeds still green. It is then the roasting, an essential operation that will release the aromas and will last about ten minutes, taking care to roast the seeds well without burning them. The longer the roasting, the more bitter the coffee will be. The last operation is to grind the seeds between two stones. Then only Marie Tou will pour the ground coffee into the cauldron filled with hot water. Incense from the Boswela tree accompanies the ceremonial service. Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia. It stretches over 80 km long and is made up of a volcanic fault. Surrounded by several mountain ranges, it is quite shallow, not exceeding 9 m, which gives it a certain fragility in terms of climate variation and the use of water by man. In the north, away from the villages, on the banks of the Zege Peninsula, several churches and monasteries dating from the 13th and 14th centuries are hidden in the forest. Like every Sunday morning, after a night of prayer, the priests leave the place exhausted. Originally, the Dura Church was part of the Mercy Convent. From the outside, nothing can imagine this abundance of colors, through a succession of giant paintings painted on the same wall. Ethiopia is the second country after Armenia to have converted to Christianity. Its foundation dates from the 4th century, largely inspired by Judaism, which the population practiced at the time. Over the years, Ethiopians have added to their religious history saints with African roots who contributed to the rise of Christianity in the country. We find the richness of this religious history in its frescoes, often dancing in characters, whose reading requires a good understanding of Ethiopian Christianity. The Zege Peninsula is covered with eucalyptus forests, whose wood is used as a structure for houses. We find genano, which, after delivering its cattle, will lay nets near the bank. It is used as a tankwa, a traditional papyrus boat, made identically for millennia with giant papyruses, an endemic plant to lakes. Genano lays its nets a few hundred meters from the bank. Because if the wind rises, it can become very complicated to circulate with this type of papyrus. It will come to pick up its nets at the end of the day, a fish often made up of barbels, catfish, which it will sell to the village and which will complete the family's resources. The Nile has a double nature, formed by the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, which joins Khartoum in Sudan. But it is the Blue Nile, also called the Bee, which contributes to the majority of the river's flow. The explorers of the last century suffered to find the source of the river. Today, it is considered that it is Lake Tana that is its origin. While further south, the priests of Jis Abey consider that the tears of God flowing from the rock constitute the genesis. But it is at 30 km from Bahirdar that the Blue Nile expresses all its power and its charm in the Tississat Falls. About 40 meters high, its flow varies depending on the intensity of the rains. About 60 km east of Lake Tana, a detour through the village of Orahomba is imposed. Founded in 1986 by Zumbra Nuru, the objective was to create a social structure based on equality, regardless of race, sex, origin, or even age. One of the foundations of its village is based on education, where, from the kindergarten, we teach the alphabet, but also ethics and human rights. Today, the village has 460 residents, divided into 140 families, where the help has supplanted the utopia of the beginning. The elders have their houses. Often, in the surrounding villages, the families did not have the means to take care of their elders. Here, they find a house that is dedicated to them. Here, every human being is a member of our family. He is our brother or our sister. So if someone, because of his health or his age, wants to stop working, we take care of him. Solidarity is one of our founding principles, instilled by Zumbra Nuru. The houses were all built on the same model. They have electricity and water nearby. Thus, the kitchen is the object of a separate room, to prevent the smoke from the wood fire from polluting the main rooms. In the village, everyone works for the cooperative and receives the same salary. In addition, each person has to work one day a week for the sick and the elderly. Not being able to live only from agriculture, given the poverty and scarcity of the soil, the inhabitants of Oramba have diversified towards weaving, milling and commerce, with three spices mills and a moving truck. A mill equipped with six electric devices allows the villagers of the neighborhood to come with their cereals. The cooperative also has a weaving workshop of about twenty manual weaving jobs. Weaving is the first source of income for the cooperative, followed by commerce and then milling. Even if we now show Oramba as an example, the economic balance is still fragile, and Zumbra Nuru, its founder, continues to travel to generate help and be inspired by similar models. In the village bazaar, young girls monitor the arrivals to try on new dresses that will be sold at very advantageous prices. Here, in these high plateaus, where the altitude varies around 2,400 meters, deforestation has wreaked havoc. Wood is cut to heat and cook, and large forests cover only 3% of the territory. A little further north, near Gondar, the village of Bourbox is known all over the country. The greatest singers in Ethiopia are from there, like Sisay Bogal, who is 70 years old. We have been singers for three generations. I started by practicing with my father. Then I started traveling, first near Gondar, then to Asmara, and then all over the country. I sang from the age of 20 to 60. It's been 10 years since I stopped and I've been working in the farm. Indissociable from the singer, the mazinko accompanies a melody that tells the daily life or even love stories. Often the singers improvise texts by taking the names of the guests present. The three sons of Sisay are also singers. One of them lives in Washington and produces for the large Ethiopian community that lives there. The city of Gondar, nearby, was the capital of the country between 1634 and 1855. Beyond the fertile lands surrounding the city, Emperor Fasilada had been seduced by this caravan crossing between Sudan, Egypt and the Red Sea, where gold, ivory and slaves passed. Remnants of this time, the singular palace of Fasilada, which resisted the assaults of time and the various invasions and plunders that he had to endure after 1855 when the capital was moved to Magadala. We are now climbing to the east, at an altitude of 2,600 meters, on the side of the Simien Mountains, in Lalibela. Here, almost all the population is Orthodox Christian and does not hesitate to take steep paths for long hours to go to what is considered the Holy City of Ethiopia. It is said that in 1187, during the Zagwe dynasty, when the Muslims took control of Jerusalem, King Lalibela decided to build a replica of the Holy City by digging even the rocky base into volcanic tuff. A work that challenges the imagination and will last 23 years. This set of monolithic churches embodies for many pilgrims an essential place of Ethiopian Christianity. Galleries allow to circulate from one church to another. Today is baptism day in Betamariam. Six priests celebrate the Mass. They go and come around the Sacred Heart, the Magda, protected from the gaze by large curtains. They are the only ones to be able to look at the tabo, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, which, according to the Bible, contains the tables of the Law with the Ten Commandments. The original would be preserved in Aksum, in the north of the country. It is the most sacred relic in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Mass and the texts are spoken in Ge'ez, a sacred language only used by the clergy. The Mass will last one and a half hours, punctuated by silent meditations. The Church of Saint George is the most famous expression of the work accomplished at Lalibela. Built on a cruciform plan of 25 meters on each side, it is 30 meters high. It is an independent structure that is only attached to the rock by its base. It is entirely excavated in the plateau made up of a red volcanic rock. 3,400 cubic meters of rock must be removed to outline the church All around the mountains of the Simien, the day comes to an end. The shepherds return to Lalibela. We continue our journey to the Tigray province to reach Aksum, the very ancient capital of the Aksumite Empire, which dominated trade between Africa and Asia at the beginning of the first millennium. Last big city before the Erythraeus, the market gathers farmers from all over. The Ivory of the past centuries has been replaced by a larger variety of fruits and vegetables. Spices and dry vegetables still occupy an important place. In a street parallel to the market, Regat prepares breakfast with his young sister Fana. She finishes kneading the ambacha dough, a bread very popular in Aksum. Fana, on her side, takes care of the long preparation of the coffee. For the ambacha, you need yeast, spices, sugar, flour and water that must be kneaded for 20 minutes. Curiously, Fana serves popcorn before the coffee. It has been widespread for several years. Quick to prepare, it replaces the bread or the injera offered to its guests as long as the coffee is ready. The ambacha is ready to cook. It looks like a thick pizza. On the stove, a mash of chickpeas. It will accompany the injera, the other traditional cake. The meals are taken around a central dish shared with the injera and the mash of chickpeas and the ambacha bread next to it, which is eaten hot. The mother prepares the pepper. While in the back of the garden, the bees are in full swing. Aksum's white honey is also sought. From the first century after Christ, the Aksumite Empire was an advanced civilization with its own currency and its alphabet, which will become the language used by the Orthodox priests of the country. Its obelisks are one of the most visible obelisks of this time, symbolically representing palaces. The highest reached 30 meters. Simply placed on the ground, they were kept in balance thanks to a counterweight system in the basement. The highest steles were used to designate the location of the graves of the rulers of the Aksumite Empire. They are among the largest monoliths shaped by man. Recent excavations have allowed to update several royal necropolises. Some located outside the perimeter of the stele could be those of pre-Christian Alemayohu in his shop works gold and silver, a know-how that has been passed from father to son for generations. Moreover, in Addis Ababa, the best artisans who work silver are from Aksum. Here in the Tigray, we love jewels. Besides, people often come to us to order pieces. Alemayohu works on a pair of silver earrings that must be ready tomorrow for a wedding. At Christmas time, we have a lot of work. For weddings, they are also important gifts. But what continues to fuel the conversations between historians, archaeologists and Ethiopians, is the existence of the Queen of Saba. In particular, about these ruins updated in 2008 by German archaeologists in Aksum. Are they the ones of her palace dated from the 10th century BC? In the neighboring field, gestures are repeated, probably millennia, to harvest the teff, this very fine and light cereal that is used to prepare the galettes of injera. Although November is a dry season, all families are committed to this tea and avoid thunderstorms at the end of the day. Aksum is also considered as a holy city. Around the Church of St. Mary of Sion, we distinguish the new church dating from the early 1960s and built by the emperor Haile Selassie. The former church, of the same name, is a venerated place, first because it is the first church built in Ethiopia in the 4th century, then because it was the place where each emperor came to be crowned. The priests carefully preserve religious texts from the Bible written in Ge'ez language and richly illustrated on sheepskin parchments. The most important building, however, remains a simple chapel. It houses the Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets on which the Ten Commandments According to legend, it would have been brought back by King Menelik, who would have been the son of King Solomon. As no one except a monk has the right to see this Ark, doubts persist about its authenticity. The spirituality of the city is found in the creations of the artists. These triptychs are very popular with visitors. I put in a good day to make a triptych. It is a very demanding and very precise work. Aksum is a holy city, so we have a lot of themes and characters to find inspiration for our paintings. In the Tigray province, the habitat in the villages is different. The houses, which are called Odumo, are made of stone with a choum roof. The same family can have several huts around an inner courtyard that allows the cattle to enter at the end of the day. Here, agriculture and proximity farming In the village of Adwa, the Archangel Saint Michael The population has put on a white veil of cotton that symbolizes purity. Around the church, the priests preach the values ​​of the family. The women are on the right of the church, the dignitaries and men on the opposite. Point d'orgue de la cérémonie, the priests will tour the church four times with the tabo, which symbolizes the Ark of the Covenant and the Tables of the Law The drums and the religious chants will take over. In the distance, a group of women pray together. It is also in the surroundings of Adwa that the Italians suffered a devastating defeat in 1896 in their attempt to colonize the country. For the time being, teff crops are finished. The seeds are so light that they must be sifted one day without wind. Teff is now growing in Europe and the United States. It is very nutritious, does not contain gluten and grows in extreme conditions of drought or flood. It is only sensitive to very few diseases, which may one day improve the fate of these families who still live in precarious conditions. By continuing the road north, we take the high plateau of the Tigre which rises to more than 3,000 meters with endless canyons and valleys. We then reach Mekelle, the last city in the north of the country, before the border with Eritrea and a starting point to plunge into the Danakil Depression. The Danakil Depression is a descent of 120 meters below sea level to one of the warmest places on the planet, from where caravans of donkeys loaded with salt arrive. More than 2,000 meters from Mekelle, a temperature that is close to 45 degrees in winter. The salt is temporarily stored in Bereale, the last village before the extensions of Lake Salé. Here we are in Afar territory, at the junction of the Arab, African and Somali The fineness of the earth's crust in this place regularly produces gases and magma, which salt and heat transform into a strange spectacle. The sulfurous gases quickly remind us that there is nothing idyllic in these colors. A little further on, strange gypsum, gem salt and crystal towers rise, announcing the Salt Lake. Under a merciless sun, men pour salt plates. Equipped with an archaic hermine, they refine badly thickened blocks into regular plates 7 to 8 cm thick, and bring them to the right size to be loaded on camels. In some places, the salt crust exceeds 2,000 meters thick, deposited by the rains that have swallowed the top of the high plateau through all kinds of sediments, then quickly evaporated by the heat. It is estimated that at this rate, the salt reserves are almost inexhaustible. The plates will then be assembled to be loaded on the camels, which will bring them to the village of Beréalé. Part of the loading will continue on its way to the high plateau, another will go to Dodane, less expensive to feed than a camel, while the rest of the load will go by truck. The advance of the road may one day make these legendary caravans disappear. At nightfall, the caravans meet in the freshness of the high plateau. The camels, loaded with fodder to feed themselves, are about to descend to the Danakil. We are back on the high plateau of the Tigre. These mountains of the Geralta house many perched Christian sanctuaries, often rupestres, sometimes troglodytes. At the foot of the massif, in the village of Megab, attention is focused on another center of interest. There are a good hundred perched sanctuaries at an altitude, with a community of monks and hermits who pray and study in quasi-autarcy, surrounded by herdsmen and a few heads of cattle. Araya is 24 years old. Twice a week, he goes up to pray at Abuna Yemata. For a foreign visitor to the Tigre province, access to these churches remains difficult, even dangerous. Especially since the last part of the ascent must be done barefoot out of respect for the sacred places. At the top, there are several caverns, including a place of burial reserved for monks and priests. From there, you still have to access the top of the piton, take a narrow passage above the void to finally be welcomed by the priest. Contrary to what the monks of the village say, the church does not date from the arrival of Christianity in Ethiopia in the 4th century, but according to researchers from the CNRS, more likely from the 12th century and from the 16th century in terms of paintings. We think it is a place conducive to prayer. If you are at the top of the mountain, you are closer to heaven, so closer to God. Moreover, when you are high, here we think that we are protected from the harmful influences that may be lower. The books are written in Ge'ez and are real works of art. Once his day is over, the priest circulates above the void like a cabaret. Villagers improvised guides to help visitors cross the most delicate passages. In the valley, a couple of Burkov of Abyssinia, better known as Hornbill, enjoy the sun. The male has a blue pocket on his neck, while for the female it is a red pocket. Descending from this unique place towards Wukro, a last stop is imposed at Abraha Atseba. Its monolithic church in the shape of a cross is another example of the imagination of its creators, probably of the 10th century. A recent part has been added to destabilize the architectural balance. Inside, paintings and columns would need to be preserved, but it is not the rare visitors and the few donations left that would make it possible to do the necessary. This is where this journey full of surprises ends, which will undoubtedly bring another look at an amazing Ethiopia.