Culture

Ethiopians commemorate baptism of Jesus with “Timket” celebration

Published

10 months ago

January 21, 2024

Celebrating Epiphany, also known as Timket, a religious celebration honouring Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, thousands of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian followers flocked to the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday and Saturday.

Timkat, an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian festival, is celebrated on January 19 and 20 each year. Drawing in tourists, Timkat is a true religious event with lots of colour, singing, drumming, and splashing.

The yearly celebration is acknowledged by UNESCO as a significant piece of intangible cultural heritage. Followers marched from churches to Jan Meda, an open space in the city, as priests carried tabots, sacred tents that resembled the Ark of the Covenant, one of the oldest churches in the world.

Priests splashed holy water and scattered incense as youths sprinted ahead of the tabots to drape a street in crimson carpets as a sign of respect. The students sang hymns during the ceremony. In front of the tabots, the devout dressed in white traditional garments chanted, sang, and bowed.

Abune Mathias, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, emphasised the day’s significance and symbolism during the meeting on Saturday and urged forgiveness, harmony, and peace. Additionally, he exhorted Ethiopia’s authorities to work towards and promote peace.

“At the moment, our fellow citizens—children, elderly, mothers, and sisters—are waiting to die because of hunger. Our Christian faith will be in question if we keep quiet,” he said.

Although fighting between local militias and government forces started a few days before the celebration,. Violence in the Amhara region caused disruptions in some locations. The second-biggest city in the Amhara, Gondar, typically draws large crowds during the Timket festival.

Gondar is said to be the ideal location for Timkat celebrations, since the events climax in a bustling and vibrant afternoon recreation of the first baptism at the water-filled, 17th-century Fasil’s Pool.

Numerous colourful and intriguing festivals, most but not all of which have their roots in the Orthodox Christian Church, are part of the Ethiopian calendar. Others honour conflicts, warriors, and occasionally the overthrow of regimes.

Related Topics:Ethiopia Featured Timket celebration

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Culture

South African DJ Black Coffee bags World’s Best DJ 2024

Published

16 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

South African disc jockey, DJ Black Coffee, has been named the World’s Best DJ 2024 at the Golden Moon Awards.

Reporting on the award, prominent South African tabloid, IOL, wrote:

“All hail Black Coffee from South Africa, winner of the Golden Moon award for the World’s Best DJ 2024! Black Coffee has taken the global stage by storm, blending his unique Afro-house sound with deep, soulful grooves that resonate with audiences worldwide.

“A pioneer, a visionary, and a cultural ambassador, Black Coffee continues to inspire millions, pushing boundaries and connecting the world through his music. A truly deserving icon of this prestigious honour!”

DJ Black Coffee whose real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo, was not the only local South African entertainer who was recognised at the awards as rising star, Palesa Desiree Shilabje, popularly known as DESIREE, was also named the World’s Breakthrough Artist 2024.

On DESIREE, the tabloid said:

“DESIREE’s rise to prominence comes from her ability to craft electrifying DJ sets that seamlessly blend genres—African-inspired house, deep house, techno, and soulful rhythms.

“Her passion for diverse sounds has landed her on some of the world’s most respected stages, like DC-10, fabric, and Hï Ibiza, bringing her deep African influences to a global audience.

“Beyond her music, DESIREE proudly represents the intersex community, using her platform to inspire and educate about her experience. A truly groundbreaking artist, DESIREE is already leaving an unforgettable legacy.”

The Golden Moon Awards are held every year to select the best 100 clubs in the world and to award prizes in different categories to the major players in nightlife, individuals, clubs and associations.

Culture

DRC authorities arrest six over break-in at Lumumba’s Mausoleum

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say six people have been arrested over a break-in and vandalism at the mausoleum of the country’s assassinated independence leader, Patrice Lumumba, in Kinshasa, the country’s capital.

The police had announced the six arrests late Wednesday and said they were still looking for two more suspects.

Interior Minister, Jacquemin Shabani, said in a statement that during the break-in which occurred on Monday, a case containing a single gold-capped tooth, the only part of the former leader that remained after his assassination, was broken by the vandals.

“We assure that the relic is secure and it is protected,” the minister said, without offering more information.

The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.

Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped end colonial rule in the DRC and went on to become the country’s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa’s most promising new leaders, but he was assassinated within a year in 1961.

His body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site.

For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence but instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches.

A military coup toppled Lumumba, who was arrested, jailed and later killed. His assassination, blamed on separatists, cleared the way for the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country he later renamed Zaire for decades with support from Western powers until his death in 1997.

His one remaining tooth was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of his body.

The tooth was returned to Congo after the visit of Belgium’s King Philippe, who expressed regrets for his nation’s abuses in Congo when it was a Belgian colony.