Ethiopia 19, Lake Tana, Ura Kidane Mihret monastery

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ETHIOPIA
19
Lake Tana
Ura Kidane Mihret Monastery
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LAKETANA
Lake Tana is Ethiopia's largest lake and famous
for the churches and monasteries on 20 of the
lake's 37 islands. The Lake is known as the home
of the Monasteries founded on some of the 20 of
its 37 Islands. Ura Kidane Mehret is a church of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, located on the
Zege peninsula in Lake Tana of Ethiopia. It is
part of the complex of the Convent of Mercy. At
least one author considers it the most attractive
church in the Lake Tana region. The convent was
founded in the 14th century by the saint Betre
Mariyam (Amharic "Rod of Mary"), although the
present circular church dates from the 16th
century.
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The seven ostrich eggs on the cross mean that
you're supposed to be in church seven days a
week. Why ostrich eggs? Because ostriches never
leave their eggs and you should never leave the
church! The old cross was changed
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The outer corridor, the "qene mehlet", accessible
to anyone
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The church itself is deceptively simple on the
outside--a large, round building topped by an
elaborate cross--but when we pass through the
tall wooden doors we're stopped short by
brilliantly colorful paintings reaching from
floor to ceiling
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Its wall are decorated with numerous murals
painted between 100 and 250 years ago subjects
include Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam and his
followers. The most significant were painted by
Alaqa Engida during the reign of Emperor Menelik
II.
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Every inch of this wall is covered in paintings.
Some scenes are familiar, like the Crucifixion
and St. George defeating the dragon
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Many of the churches and monasteries of Lake Tana
are very famous cultural museums because of their
beautiful mural paintings and many other valuable
treasures such as varieties of crosses, crowns,
costumes of Kings, illuminated manuscripts,
mummified bodies and remains of several Ethiopia
Emperors in wooden coffins and glass boxes.
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Others are strange to us, coming from holy books
that have been discarded by or lost to the
Western tradition, like the Miracle of Mary and
the Kebre Negast
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The Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes many such
books in their canon. The books of Enoch and
Jubilees were translated into Ge'ez, the ancient
Ethiopian language still used in church services,
but were lost to the West and survive in the New
Testament only in a few quotations. If it wasn't
for ancient Ethiopian translators, these books
would be almost entirely unknown
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The paintings are vivid, showing scenes of
miracles and worship
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Mary is a popular figure and every phase of her
flight to Egypt is shown in detail. There's also
a brilliant painting of all the souls in Hell
being freed after the Crucifixion
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The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with
each of Ethiopia's ethnic groups being associated
with unique sounds. The kebero is a large hand
drum used in the Orthodox Christian liturgy.
Smaller kebero drums may be used in secular
celebrations. A piece of animal hide is stretched
over each end, thus forming a membranophone.
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Lake Tana has thirty-seven islands, twenty of
which are home to churches and monasteries. Some
of them dated back to the 13th century and many
others are dated from the 14th century to the
Gonderine period of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Many of the original churches of Lake Tana are
said to be renovated and reconstructed during the
Gonderine period.
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Many of the Lake Tana churches have been used as
the major refugees for many cultural treasures of
the country in general and the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church in particular during the times of war and
worse conditions in the history of the country
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The paintings sometimes take interesting twists
to familiar themes. For example, the common image
of St. George killing the dragon has a unique
legend attached to it in Ethiopia. There once was
a village that worshiped the dragon and made
human sacrifices to it every day. A maiden named
Brutawit was going to be sacrificed and St.
George told her that if she believed in God that
she would be saved. She was, thanks to George's
skill with a lance, and she took the dead beast
back to the village to show that God was more
powerful than the dragon. The entire village then
converted to Christianity.
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The church has its treasury in a nearby
outbuilding, which contains the richly
embroidered robes of Negus Tekle Haymanot and his
wife Laqetch Gegre Mehdin, as well as the crowns
of Emperor Yohannes IV, Emperor Tewodros II,
Negus Tekle Haymanot, and Emperor Tekle Giyorgis
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Sanda Negrutiu Alin
Samochis Daniel Scradeanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to
their  respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
Sound Ethiopian Orthodox meditation
chant - Kidasse Alebigne Wilta