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.”