Ashenda (Amharic: አሸንዳ ; romanized: äšänəda) is an annual girls’ festival celebrated in tigray region Ethiopia. The festival commences after two weeks of Filseta. During Filseta, people fast throughout the day. Both Filseta and Ashenda honor Mary, Mother of God.
| Ashenda | |
|---|---|
 Amharas celebrating Ashenda in 1921 | |
| Official name | Ashenda |
| Also called | Girls' Day |
| Observed by | Originally Amharas, recently Gurages and Tigrayans |
| Type | Cultural |
| Begins | 16 August |
| Ends | 26 August |
| Date | After the end of Filseta |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Filseta |
The first written mention of “Ashenda” is found in an old Italian book from 1910, authored by [[Tate (1910), "Abessinische Kinderspiele," p. 18</ref> The Ethiopian co-author was born in Gondar of the Amhara region, where he had observed Ashenda celebrations since he was young.[1] Taye is considered by many to be the first Ethiopian ethnomusicologist.[2]
Although Ashenda originated with the Amhara people, whom Dr. Jack Fellman described as “Abyssinian par excellence,”[3] today it is also celebrated by Gurages[4] and Tigrayans.[5]
In the past, Tigrinya-speakers in both Ethiopia and Eritrea traditionally observed a pagan ritual known as “Ayni Wari” (Tigrinya: ዓይኒ ዋሪ), meaning "Eye of the Blackbird."[6][7][8] Due to the crackdown on paganism by Italians during their colonization of Eritrea, Kebessa were forced to abandon this tradition.[9] Safe from the yoke of colonialism in Ethiopia, Tigrayans continued to observe Ayni Wari for most of the 20th century, only abandoning and replacing it with Ashenda in recent decades.
While Gurages and Tigrayans do deny that Ashenda is foreign to them, there is no evidence that could suggest either of these communities have been celebrating it beyond 20 or 30 years.
Scholars are in agreement that after the fall of Axum, the kingdom's ruling class migrated south to Amhara.[10] The Royal Chronicle of Lalibela, which described Amhara families being brought from the north and settled in the south, lends credence to this belief.[11] For this reason, some historians trace the origin of Ashenda to Lasta or Begemeder,[12] also found in Amhara.
Coupled with the Amhara people's political, religious, social, and cultural dominance over other Ethiopian communities throughout history, many regard this as suggestive of Ashenda's Amhara origin.
Leading up to Ashenda, women and girls will prepare to adorn themselves with jewelry, dresses, henna, and diverse cultural hairstyles. They typically wear white cotton dresses, which have colorful embroidery, called tilfi in Amharic.[13] They also wear a lot of jewelry. They weave ashenda grass into a bunch and wear it on their backs or as a skirt. Girls often wear five cornrows in their hair, as well as Kohl eyeliner.
On the first day of the festival, girls gather together and make the journey to their local Church of St. Mary (or any other Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the community), singing, playing music, and dancing along the way. They then go around the entire village, expressing their thanks to each household in the community. The Ashenda girls spend around 20 minutes at each house, entertaining families and themselves, before being bid farewell. After the door-to-door celebrations, the girls find a suitable field in or near the village, stopping to dance and play as they pass by.
The Ashenda festival is intended for women only. However, in the Amhara region, men may play the role of gift-givers, offering the ladies food, clothes, and other presents. Elsewhere, such as in the Tigray region, fathers may choose to accompany their daughters to protect them against endemic sexual assault and harassment.[14]
Name
editAshenda, in the Amharic language, describes not only the festival by the same name but also the grass worn and the flowers exchanged by the ladies during festivities.[15]
Owing to dialectical differences, Ashenda may go under the name “Ashendeya” in some parts of the Amhara region. One may also hear “Shadey,” derived from the Amharic word for the seasonal flower “Adey”.[16]
“Solel” is a song commonly sung during Ashenda. Engicha nekela describes the process of picking Ashenda grass to wear atop one's skirt. While part and parcel of it, these are not to be confused with the festival itself.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Alemé Esheté (1971), "Aleqa Taye Gabra Mariam (1861-1924)," p. 14-15
- ^ Betreyohannes Simeneh, "Scholarship on Ethiopian Music: Past, Present, and Future Prospects," p. 21
- ^ Jack Fellman, "Amhara Verbal Behaviour," p. 8
- ^ GishAbay Ethiopia, "Gurage Ethiopia"
- ^ Aiga News, "A Living Ritual"
- ^ Ge'ez Experience, "Ayni"
- ^ Ibid., "Wari"
- ^ Mulubrhan Balehegn and Salam Balehey, "The Art, Aesthetics and Gender Significance of Ashenda girls' Festival in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia"
- ^ Irving Kaplan (1971), "Area Handbook for Ethiopia," p. 190-191
- ^ Steven Danver (2015), "Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues," p. 15
- ^ Sergew Hable Selassie (1972), "Ancient and medieval Ethiopian history to 1270," p. 265
- ^ Tesema Habte Michael (1951), "Kesate Birhan Tesema: Yeamarinya Mezgebe Kalat," p. 733
- ^ Thomas Leiper Kane (1990), "Amharic-English Dictionary," p. 2096
- ^ Abraham Atakelti and Kahsay Asmelash (2013), "Responding to the Impact of HIV in Tigray, North Ethiopia"
- ^ Thomas Leiper Kane (1990), "Amharic-English Dictionary," p. 1181
- ^ Bahiru Zergaw Gizaw (1994), "Keftegna YeAmahric Mezgebe Kalat," p. 392
External links
edit- Addis Fortune News, "Heritage Inscription Woes Exasperate Floundering Tourism Industry"
- UNESCO, "Format for National Register of thé Intangible Cultural Héritages of Ethiopia"