Timkat
Timkat
In Ethiopia, Epiphany is a far more important holiday than Christmas. Whereas Western Christians commemorate the journey of the Magi in their Epiphany celebrations, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians honor the occasion of Jesus'baptism. Accordingly, they call the festival Timkat (sometimes also spelled "Timqat" or "Timket"), which means "baptism." Since the Ethiopian Orthodox Church follows a different calendar than that commonly adhered to in the West, Ethiopians celebrate Timkat on January 19 (see also Old Christmas Day). The festivities spill over to the following day, when Ethiopians observe the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel.
Preparations
Adults prepare for Timkat by washing their cotton robes, called sham-ma, and restoring them to a brilliant whiteness. In addition, they brew special beers, bake bread, and slaughter a sheep in preparation for the Timkat feast. Children receive new clothes from their parents for this special occasion.
Religious Observances
Religious observances begin around sunset on Timkat Eve. Garbed all in white, parishioners wait outside their local church for the priests to emerge with the tabot, or holy ark. The ark contains the Tablets of the Law, which Jews call the Torah and Christians know as the first five books of the Old Testament. Ethiopians do not believe that the original Ark of the Covenant was lost. Instead they claim that the Cathedral of Axum in Ethiopia now guards this precious relic. Each Ethiopian Orthodox church has a blessed replica of that original. On Timkat Eve the priests and parishioners of each church form a procession bearing the tabot to a nearby body of water where an all-night celebration will take place. Processional crosses, incense censers, drums, trumpets, and bells set the mood as the congregation wends its ways towards the water. Priests in their bejewelled ceremonial robes and sequined velvet umbrellas show up as splashes of color amidst the sea of worshipers in white. In Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, many congregations meet at Jan Meda, the old horse-racing arena.
Hours of drumming, dancing, eating and drinking precede the religious service, which begins at two in the morning. Around dawn the priests bless the stream or lake by submerging a gold cross and a consecrated candle in it. The priests scatter drops of water on those who want to rededicate themselves to their Christian faith. Some enthusiastic worshipers, not content with this mild gesture, immerse themselves completely in the water. Afterwards the crowd resumes the feasting, singing, and dancing. Later, jubilant processions, led by dancing and singing priests, escort the tabots back to their shrines.
Recreation
Many enjoy the afternoon by watching feres gugs. This event, held on many feast days, resembles medieval European jousting. Participants wear capes made out of lions' manes and headdresses made from baboon hair. Colorful brocades, velvets, and tassels adorn their horses. The game itself may have developed out of the military maneuvers practiced by the mounted warriors of past eras. One band of horsemen armed with bamboo lances tries to knock the members of the other band off their horses. The defenders must escape these blows by clever horsemanship or deflect them with shields made of rhinoceros or hippopotamus hides.
Well-attended public events such as these provide an opportunity to engage in another kind of sport, that is, the search for a mate. Many young men wander through the crowds hoping to spot an attractive, eligible young woman. The more bold among them may then approach the girl's father with inquiries.
Further Reading
Clynes, Tom. Wild Planet! Detroit, Mich.: Visible Ink Press, 1995. Henderson, Helene, and Sue Ellen Thompson, eds. Holidays, Festivals, andCelebrations of the World Dictionary. Second edition. Detroit, Mich.: Omnigraphics, 1997. Levine, Donald N. Wax and Gold. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965. MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Folklore of World Holidays. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1992.
Web Site
A site sponsored by the Ethiopia Tourism Commission:
Timkat (Timqat)
Date of Observation: January 19
Where Celebrated: Ethiopia
Symbols and Customs: Guks, Mass Baptism, Tabot
Related Holidays: Epiphany, Ganna
ORIGINS
Timkat is celebrated in Ethiopia by Orthodox Christians. The word Christian refers to a follower of Christ, which is a title derived from the Greek word meaning Messiah or Anointed One. The Christ of Christianity is Jesus of Nazareth, a man born between 7 and 4 B . C . E . in the region of Palestine. According to Christian teaching, Jesus was killed by Roman authorities using a form of execution called crucifixion (a term meaning he was nailed to a cross and hung from it until he died) in about the year 30 C . E . After his death, he rose back to life. His death and resurrection provide a way by which people can be reconciled with God. In remembrance of Jesus's death and resurrection, the cross serves as a fundamental symbol in Christianity. With nearly two billion believers in countries around the globe, Christianity is the largest of the world's religions. There is no one central authority for all of Christianity. The pope (the bishop of Rome) is the authority for the Roman Catholic Church, but other sects look to other authorities. Orthodox communities look to patriarchs and emphasize doctrinal agreement and traditional practice. Protestant communities focus on individual conscience. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches are often referred to as the Western Church, while the Orthodox churches may also be called the Eastern Church. All three main branches of Christianity acknowledge the authority of Christian scriptures, a compilation of writings assembled into a document called the Bible. Methods of biblical interpretation vary among the different Christian sects. Just as EPIPHANY is observed twelve days after CHRISTMAS (December 25), Timkat, the Ethiopian celebration of Epiphany, occurs twelve days after GANNA, the Ethiopian Christmas (January 7). Christianity was established in Ethiopia in the fourth century, when a Christian from Syria named Frumentius traveled there and influenced the local ruler. At the time, Christianity in Syria was under the domain of the Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt. Thus, so was the new church in Ethiopia until 1959, when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church separated from the Coptic Church of Egypt. Timkat commemorates the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan and is celebrated in a unique manner. Timkat focuses on the Ark of the Covenant, the wooden chest containing the tablets on which the Ten Commandments or laws of the ancient Israelites are inscribed. Although no one is really certain what became of the original Ark, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has largely based its identity on the fact that it resides in the holy city of Aksum (Axum), where it is housed in a special chapel next to the Church of Saint Mary of Zion and watched over day and night by a single guard who is both a monk and a virgin. Every Orthodox church in Ethiopia, however, has a TABOT or sacred replica of the Ark, which is taken out on the eve of Timkat by the priests and villagers and carried to a tent that has been erected near a stream or pool. The procession that accompanies the TABOT is a particularly colorful one, with all the villagers dressed in white and the priests wearing brightly colored satin robes and carrying velvet umbrellas studded with sequins. The TABOT remains in the tent throughout the night, while Orthodox Christians gather around it to sing, dance, and pray. A mass is held at 2:00 a.m., and people hold picnics by the dim light of oil lamps, drinking the Ethiopian beer that they have brewed especially for this holiday.
At dawn, the priest takes a ceremonial golden cross, dips it in the water, and uses it to extinguish a candle that sits on the makeshift altar or on a pole in the river. After this, he sprinkles water over the faithful who have gathered to commemorate the baptism of Christ. At this point it is not uncommon for people to start jumping into the water fully clothed, even though the water is often very cold (see MASS BAPTISM ). After this, the TABOT is carried in procession back to the church, accompanied by the sound of bells, drums, trumpets, and singing. January 20 is the feast of the Archangel Michael, a popular saint in Ethiopia, which gives everyone an excuse to extend the celebration for another day.
One of the best places to witness the observance of Timkat is in the isolated northern mountain town of Lalibela, which is named after the king who ruled the country from 1167 to 1207. The town has eleven churches carved out of a single rock formation that date back to the period when Christianity first flourished in Ethiopia. According to legend, King Lalibela's stonemasons built the churches- some of which are four stories high-with the help of angels over a twenty-fouryear period. Like churches elsewhere in the country, each contains a TABOT that is carried out in procession during Timkat.
SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS
Guks
One of the most popular pastimes during Timkat is playing the national sport known as guks, which consists of "warriors" pursuing each other on horseback Timkat
and hurling bamboo lances. The game takes place in an open field, and the players, who are organized in teams, wear white uniforms with capes and headdresses that resemble a lion's mane. They protect themselves against the blows of their opponents with shields made from animal hides -usually hippopotamus.
The game has its roots in actual warfare techniques, back in the days when Ethiopians pursued their enemies on horseback and relied on speed and accuracy with a javelin rather than armor and sophisticated weapons to avoid injury.
Mass Baptism
The custom of jumping into the water on Timkat is symbolic of Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan. Ethiopian Christians believe that when they immerse themselves in the water they are "born again" into the Christian faith, and some believe that the waters cure infertility and other ills.
Tabot
The term "tabot" seems to refer not just to the Ark-the acacia wood box that the Lord told Moses to build (Exodus 25:10) to house the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written-but also to the sacred tablets themselves. In Ethiopian Orthodox churches, these tablets are usually made out of wood or stone, and laypeople are never allowed to actually look at them. On Timkat they are covered by several layers of richly decorated fabric before being carried in procession to the tent that has been set up for them.
What happened to the original Ark? It was given a special room, called the "Holy of Holies," in the Temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem, but when the city was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C . E ., the Ark disappeared in the chaos. The Ethiopians aren't the only ones who claim to have the true Ark in their possession, but it is this belief that gives the replicas found in all their churches so much power and authority.
FURTHER READING
Harper, Howard V. Days and Customs of All Faiths. 1957. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. Ickis, Marguerite. The Book of Festivals and Holidays the World Over. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1970. MacDonald, Margaret R., ed. The Folklore of World Holidays. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.
WEB SITE
PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) www.pbs.org/wonders/Episodes/Epi4/4_cultr2.htm
Timqat (Timkat)
Ethiopian religious processions are characterized by the priests' richly colored ceremonial robes, fringed, embroidered umbrellas, and elaborately decorated crosses. The national sport of guks is often played at Timqat. Warriors with shields of hippopotamus hide, wearing lion-mane capes and headdresses ride on caparisoned horses and try to strike each other with thrown bamboo lances.
Embassy of Ethiopia
3506 International Dr. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
202-364-1200; fax: 202-587-0195
www.ethiopianembassy.org
Ethiopian Tourism Commission
P.O. Box 2183
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
251-1-517-470; fax: 251-1-517-533
www.tourismethiopia.org
BkFestHolWrld-1970, p. 23
EncyChristmas-2003, p. 758
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 39