Ethiopia 1971 - 1973
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"The road to Gimbi 1972". The photo was taken from the road between Nekempte and Gimbi. The road curls around the tukul, dips and then leads up into the hills. I was travelling to visit a volunteer in Gimbi , a two day trip from Addis Ababa. One of my favorite photos from Ethiopia..
A member of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) population. To most Ethiopians and foreigners (including me) they were known as "the felasha", - a pejorative term, I now know, which means outsider. As with many 'lower caste' groups world wide, many were potters. Many were able to emigrate to Israel where the Ethipian Jewish population is over 150,000.
A family near Addis Ababa that we "showcased" for a visitor from Peace Corps Washington. The upright structures are bee hives (not in use). Honey is the principal ingredient in tej, the popular Ethiopian honey wine (meade). The Peace Corps volunteer and the family probably had a good laugh with all the preparation for the VIP (good clothes, flowers ! in the bee hives).
I took this picture in Gambela, in western Ethiopia near the Sudan border, home of the Nuer and Anuak people who are very different from the people of highland Ethiopia. The Gambela region now houses 380,000 refugees from the fighting in South Sudan. I can't imagine what the town looks like.
A member of, probably, the Hamer tribe of the lower Omo River near Kenya. I was able to hitch a ride on a single engine plane on a a day trip to reconnoiter a site for a possible Volunteer placement. We landed on an unattended dirt strip with no facilities and were met by these men (no ladies) and flew back to Addis Ababa the same day. No volunteers were subsequently placed there. The area is now serviced with regular flights and photographic tourism has become so popular that the world probably thinks the lower Omo tribesmen never wash off body paint .
Bete Gyorgis (St. George Church) at Lalibela 1971. The churches, carved from stone, are attributed to King Lalibela who, in the 12th century, set out to construct a ‘New Jerusalem’, after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the holy Land. (My family is on the steps behind the priests)..
The Ethiopian Coptic Church was founded in the 4th century; its principal deviation from "general" Christian orthodoxy is that it believes Christ was only divine, not human and divine. The prayer sticks serve a dual purpose - to lean on during very lengthy services (Ethiopian churches have no seating) and to stamp and accent essential parts of the litany..
Maskal (Feast of the Finding of the True Cross) - Addis Ababa. The Emperor usually attended and the tree was torched to create a bonfire at the apex of the ceremony. My principal memory is my introduction to Ethiopian crowd control - sticks (batons?) about 5 feet long and one (?) inch thick wielded by police.
