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Ethiopian Orthodox devotees celebrate festival of Epiphany with water, colour, prayer

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For the first time in over two years, Ethiopian Orthodox devotees were able to celebrate the festival and holiday of Epiphany, known locally as “Timkat”.

The events which started on Thursday and spilled into Friday, saw the devotees converge on Lake Ziway, about 120 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, aboard canoes, motorboats and kayaks fashioned from papyrus stems, to celebrate the festival.

The Timkat festival is the Orthodox annual celebration marking the baptism of Jesus Christ which is one of the holiest days on the Ethiopian Orthodox calendar.

Describing the celebration, a media report stated that the festivities began as high priests of the church departed from monasteries situated on five of the lake’s islands, flanked by clergy draped in red, blue, white and gold, holding the tabot replicas of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were allegedly given to Moses in the Bible.

“From the islands, the priests boarded boats laden with crosses and other icons and journeyed to the centre of the lake, where they performed rites surrounded by the faithful.”

“Devotees dressed head-to-toe in white, crammed into whatever vessels they could find, including traditional boats crafted from papyrus known as “tankwa”, the report said.

“The following day, the priests returned to the lake to bless the water and on the banks, the fervour and meditation of the evening ritual gave way to smiles of joy.”

“Devotees rushed to the shore where a priest sprayed the crowd with now-sanctified lake water using a hose.”

Some worshippers opted to just plunge their faces directly into the lake, while children splashed and played in the shallows.”

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Moroccans celebrate ‘special towncrier’ who works only during Ramadan

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Moroccans have continued to celebrate a “special towncrier” otherwise known as “Nafar”, who works only during the Ramadan period.

The Nafar, Naoufal Boukhriss, whose seasonal job lasts for one month and ends once Eid al-Fitr is declared, signalling the end of the holy month, is seen as a rare occupation as he “walks the paths and alleys in the early hours of the morning, starting at three am,” alerting faithful to the morning prayers and the Suhoor which is the meal to be taken before commencement of the day’s fasting.

According to Boukhriss who operates in the ancient Moroccan city of Rabat, the “Nafar plays a certain tune with a long trumpet-like instrument to wake people up for the suhoor meal before Muslims start their day of fasting during Ramadan.”

Nafar is the Moroccan way of calling someone who does this job, but the name of this profession differs from country to country. It shares the same name as the instrument in Moroccan Arabic,” he said.

“This craft, once a widespread Ramadan tradition in the past, has become rare today, as it has gradually disappeared with the emergence of technology and new urban areas.

“This (Nafar) is currently only found in the old city. As for the upscale neighborhoods, most of them do not accept the presence of the Nafar, because they say that they have a phone and an alarm clock that they use,” Boukhriss explained.

Local media reports that as a symbol of tradition, Boukhriss usually wears a special set of traditional clothes before he goes on his rounds in the old city.

“He dons a long shirt or ‘Jallaba’, a headpiece or ‘Tarbouch’, leather slippers ‘Belgha’ and white socks.

“While walking through the alleys, Boukhriss plays a special tune that notifies people of the time of suhoor, which is different from the ones they perform inside the mosque.

“Boukhriss considers this work as a reward from God. In return, residents thank him with food, sugar, or a share of money.”

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Tanzanian singer Zuchu in cloud nine as hit single ‘Sukari’ makes YouTube history in East Africa

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Tanzanian singer, Zuchu, is over the moon after her hit single “Sukari” made history as the first song in East Africa to garner over 100 million views on YouTube.

Zuchu who is Diamond Platnumz Wasafi Record signee, also etched her name in the annals of East African music history by becoming the first solo artist from the region to achieve that feat.

The singing sensation who also celebrated her milestone, took to her social media platforms to express her gratitude and acknowledge the team behind the masterpiece.

Reminiscing on the transformative power of “Sukari,” she said the song not only changed her life but also carved a significant mark in the East African music industry.

Writing in her local Swahili dialect, Zuchu said:

“Viewers Milioni 100,000,000 Za Sukari zinanifanya Kua msanii Wa Kwanza kutoka East Africa Kufika Mafanikio Haya Kwenye Wimbo wa peke yangu.”

She also didn’t miss the opportunity to thank her loyal fans, particularly singling out one named Milly, whom she credited for contributing to the success of the project.

“To my family thank you so much haya ni mafanikio yetu wote tuliowezesha ukubwa wa hii project, I appreciate you,” she expressed with heartfelt appreciation.

Diamond Platnumz, himself a Tanzanian music mogul and Zuchu’s mentor, also celebrated her while emphasizing the significance of achieving such a feat with a song that’s 100 per cent Swahili and without any feature.

“When you look with the eye, you’d think it’s a normal thing, but when you try to do it, you’ll know how heavy it is,” Diamond remarked.

Zuchu is among the top female artists in the eastern African region with 3.2 million YouTube subsribers with hit tracks like “Honey”, “Kwikwi”, “Utaniua”, among others, to her name.

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