>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. [ Pause ] >> Peggy Pearlstein: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Peggy Pearlstein. I'm head of the Hebraic section here at the Library of Congress, and I'm very happy to welcome Dr. Habtu, who will be speaking to us today, and I know you will enjoy the program. I'd like to introduce Fentahun Tiruneh, who is our area specialist here in the Hebraic section for [inaudible], who will introduce the speaker and the program. >> Fentahun Tiruneh: Thank you, Peggy. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the African and Middle East Division. I would like to go ahead and introduce the professor directly. Professor Hailu Habtu, and he has admitted to me that I can call him by his first name as we normally do. Professor Hailu Habtu was born in Ethiopia in [inaudible] near the city of Mekele in the Tigrarian region. He moved to Addis Ababa at an early age and began his elementary education and pursued his high school education at the [inaudible] Country School and at the [inaudible] Secondary School. He joined the faculty of science at the University College of Addis Ababa in 1959. He interrupted his studies and started work at the Institute of Public Administration as head of the translation and publication section. Winner of the African Scholarship Program of America University's program. He was able to join the Indiana University in Bloomington in 1963 and secured his first degree in philosophy and economics. Going back to Ethiopia, he began work at the ministry of finance in 1967. He then joined the ministry of trade and tourism and became an instructor on Ethiopian history, geography, and civics. Dr. Hailu was confronted by an [inaudible] political turmoil within Ethiopia and fled to the Sudan, but soon left for England to pursue his studies. He received his master's degree in 1977 and his Ph.D. in 1983. In 1984, Dr. Hailu joined the University of California - Santa Barbara as a visiting academic and stayed there until the summer of 1986. Then he went to the city of New York, and that's where he taught for about eight years at the City College. In 1994, he went back to Ethiopia and in the Tigray region became the head of the Bureau of Culture and Sports and, subsequently, head of the Tigray Institute of Languages. From there, Dr. Hailu moved to Addis Ababa and worked at the French Center for Ethiopian Studies as publications manager for close to ten years. In 2005, he joined the Institute of Ethiopian Studies under the [inaudible] University as a senior research fellow. Currently, he's visiting professor at the African Studies and Research Center over at Cornell University. Dr. Hailu has authored numerous articles and publications and on and about Ethiopia. I must also add that Dr. Hailu comes from a radical family that has paid tremendous sacrifice to instill the ideals of democracy in Ethiopia. He himself is a living example of such efforts. Finally, Dr. Hailu is a proud father of five lovely children. There will be a question-and-answer session period for about 15 minutes, but before I welcome Dr. Hailu to the podium, I would like to make the following disclaimer. This event is being videotaped and subsequently broadcast on the Library's website and on the other media. The audience is encouraged to offer comments and raise questions during the formal question-and-answer period, but please be advised that your voice and image may be recorded and later broadcast as part of this event. By participating in the question-and-answer period, you are consenting to the Library's possible reproduction and transmission of your remarks. And I now welcome Dr. Hailu to the podium. >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Thank you very much, Mr. Tiruneh. If you allow me, though, I call Fentahun as you did, as you called me Hailu. It is a great and [inaudible]. It's a great honor to be invited to give a talk at the Library of Congress, this most esteemed of institutions. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Fentahun Tiruneh, a long-standing member of the Library, for extending the invitation to me. When Mr. Tiruneh invited me to give a talk on ancient Ethiopia here at the Library, I welcomed the opportunity with pleasure. However, no sooner had I accepted the invitation than I felt old by both a sophisticated audience I was going to face and by the breath and scope of the talk at hand. Therefore, I immediately set out to narrowing it down to a level that was both manageable and of potential interest to a broad international audience. I ended up with a choice of today's talk, "A Momentous One Hundred Years, Ancient Ethiopia: 520 - 620 A.D." Allow me to set the reasons for doing so. One, the period 520 to 620 A.D. is a relatively well documented one primarily from sources outside Ethiopia; two, during this time, we see a conjuncture of three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the first instance, Kaleb, who reigned from 513 to 543 A.D., goes to South Arabia to save the Christian community there from persecution by a Jewish king. In the second instance, Abraha, Kaleb viceroy in South Arabia, leads a campaign to destroy Mecca in the very years that the prophet Mohammad was born in 570 A.D. Three, [inaudible] Islam, Ethiopia became the first country of refuge for its adherence, fleeing persecution in their home city of Mecca. Thus, it became a normal trespass territory for Islam on account of the prophet's injunction not to declare jihad on Ethiopia as recorded in the [inaudible]. Four, the period also marks the birth of monatism [phonetic] and the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia through the agency of the nine saints who came from Egypt, although originally from the Roman Empire. Fifth, again, it marks the birth of that most enduring aspect of Ethiopian Christianity, Saint Yared's Church music. Allow me now to give a very brief background of Axumite history. Although local lore takes it back to the times of Queen Sheba, which would be the tenth century B.C., mainstream scholarship refers to trace back Axum's beginnings to the fifth century B.C. and its downfall to the ninth or tenth century A.D. The oldest standing monument in Ethiopia is [inaudible] in Northern Tigray, and it is dated to the sixth or fifth century B.C. Axum's territorial extent varied over the centuries. Its core base was in the highlands of Tigray in [inaudible] and the adjacent coastline on the Red Sea, but to extend it well into the interior of present-day Ethiopia. For example, Abraha was supposed to have his capital in [inaudible], Kaleb's son, was supposed to have governed [inaudible] west of [inaudible] Addis Ababa. Over the course of its long history [inaudible] at least five occasions when Ethiopia had occupied Southern Arabia. At times, it also extended west to the Sudan, as far north as the southern borderlands of Egypt. A major landmark in Ethiopian history is the conversion of King [Inaudible] to Christianity in 325 A.D. and the consecration of Frementius [inaudible] as Ethiopia's first bishop by the [inaudible] in Alexandria. From then on until the 1970 revolution, Christianity remained the [inaudible] religion of the country, and Axum the ideal coronation site for Ethiopia's kings. Apart from commerce with the Mediterranean world, which its gold, silver, and bronze coins inscribed in Greek [inaudible], Axum had trade with Asia, and Axumite coins have been found as far west as Iran and China. All indications show that Axum was a maritime and mercantile power for a considerable period of its history. It declined as a trading country rather abruptly from the moment [inaudible] of merchant Islam destroyed its major port [inaudible] around 640 A.D. It is of the period following this turn of events that Edward Gibbon made the oft-quoted remark, "Ethiopian slave [inaudible] a thousand years forgetful of the wealth by whom they were reported." But did Ethiopians really slip? In their supported slumber, they still managed to build a new Jerusalem [inaudible] with 11 magnificent monolithic churches to support their [inaudible]. Kaleb's expedition to South Arabia. Kaleb, the son of [inaudible] and the grandson of [inaudible] the Second is one of [inaudible] well-known kings outside of Ethiopia. It's mostly known as [inaudible] Pass or [inaudible]. [Inaudible] in Ethiopian language, it is [inaudible]. Ethiopia's national epic [inaudible], the Glory of Kings, which begins with the late end of Solomon and Sheba, ends with the reign of Kaleb. He's the last king included in the work. There is a [inaudible] of Kaleb preserved in the [inaudible] monastery in an island in the middle of Lake [inaudible], one of the [inaudible] in Southern Ethiopia. An Ethiopian scholar [Inaudible] discovers [inaudible] is examining it. One wonders if it is the same one as that which [inaudible] in his excellent book ancient Ethiopia mentions his [inaudible] and describes an independent [inaudible]. We have records of [inaudible] to Kaleb and by Sudan and [inaudible] in 533 A.D. [inaudible]. They have left us interesting accounts of what they observed. In Axum on a hill to the northeast of the compound where the obelisk stand, there are two tombs believed to be those of Kaleb and his son, Gabra Masqal. They have been noted as earlier in the 16th century by [inaudible], a Portuguese Jesuit father, and by [inaudible] in the 19th century, however, it was [inaudible], leader of the German Axum expedition who finally unearthed them at the beginning of the 20th century in 1906. There are now standard fare in the tourist [inaudible] of Axum. Many coins of Kaleb have also been found. By and large, we have a [inaudible] for Kaleb and his remarkable trade. Kaleb is best known both inside Ethiopia and outside for the expedition he led to Saudi Arabia to serve the Christian community there from persecution by a Himyarite who'd converted to Judaism known as Du Nuwas, in Ethiopia as referred to as [inaudible]. When he converted to Judaism, he adopted the name Yusuf. One Christian who escaped safely came to Axum and showed Kaleb part of the coast torn apart by [inaudible] on top of the accounting the killings and the injuries that inflicted upon the Christians of [inaudible] found north of [inaudible]. And I quote, this is from [inaudible]. Very well known, tenth century, Persian historian of the world. [Inaudible] prophets and kings. I'm quoting from him. "In 523, [inaudible] embarked on a campaign to eliminate the [inaudible] and the indigenous Christians of Southern Arabia. The 800 strong [inaudible] was put to the test, and the [inaudible] taken. [Inaudible] and to endure a blockade. Then in November of that same year, 523, [inaudible] occupied this crown Christian population massacre, the churches burned down and [inaudible]." According to the book of the Himyarites, [inaudible], a Christian lady was [inaudible] bishop and the Emperor. According to Arabian [inaudible], the King of [inaudible] by a certain [inaudible] who escaped the massacre. [Inaudible] brought the news the destruction of the city, carrying with him the visible symbol half burned [inaudible]. He begged Kaleb and the [inaudible] bishop to help his country The news [inaudible] by the abbot before [inaudible] was sufficient for Kaleb to [inaudible] decide when the plight of the Christians marched [inaudible] and elsewhere in South Arabia. Once Kaleb decided [inaudible] and put an end to the persecution of Christians there, they embarked in building the necessary navy that would transport his troops. He ordered the building of 70 large and 100 small ships, and he procured another 60 from outside. He assembled 230 ships all together and [inaudible] South Arabia with some 70,000 troops. Kaleb and his troops [inaudible] saved the Christians from further persecution. After restoring the position of the Christians and rebuilding the churches, he build, he appointed a local Himyarite of noble origin as the governor of the Southern Arabia, but, apparently, he was not such an attractive leader and [inaudible] was, started attacking, harassing the Ethiopian army stationed there, and Kaleb had to go a second time to Southern Arabia. This time, he appointed Abraha as his viceroy and governor of South Arabia. I think I should go a bit faster, and it would take longer if I were to keep on [inaudible] all that. So he appointed Kaleb. [Inaudible] he appointed Abraha. OK, the campaign Kaleb led to serve the Christians of Niger and from prosecution were so deeply appreciated by Christiandom that he has been canonized not only in the Ethiopian church but also in the Greek and Latin churches. The Ethiopian calendar is revered on the 20th of [inaudible], that is May, while in Roman, Greek [inaudible] is observed with the [inaudible] on the 24th of October. Now we go to the second topic. Abraha has campaigned to destroy Mecca. Abraha didn't just decide to destroy Mecca, but was [inaudible] reason for the war. Apparently, OK, Abraha had built a very magnificent church in San'a', which is where Israel Arabs refer to as [inaudible], variation on [inaudible] of church. To build the church, he imported marbles from Rome and mosaics from Constantinople, and he had hoped to turn San'a' as a place of pilgrimage in place of Mecca. One who from the tribe of [inaudible] who heard of this came to San'a' and desecrated the church. Apparently, he's supposed to have lived [inaudible] and soiled the walls of the church. That was the pretext for Abraha to decide to go to Mecca, and on his campaign to Mecca, what was unusual was that there were 13 elephants which were in the campaign, and the one he called was called Mom, was apparently the strongest and the biggest. It is curious how, I mean, it's just I wonder how the elephants crossed the desert, what provisions were taken there [inaudible] in terms of what they would eat and what amount of water was given. It's just my own curiosity. It indicates he went to Mecca, and I could start reading again, I think. As his story ends with death and the Koran affirms, Abraha and his troops were suddenly attacked by flocks of birds carrying tables and broking them on the invading troops. The detail accounts that each bird was carrying three tables, one in its beak and two in its claws. Historians are agreed that the so-called attack, that by the birds was actually a smallpox epidemic. That was what decimated Abraha's army. The destruction of Abraha's army was providential for the prophet Mohammad was born in [inaudible] as Arabs refer to it, The miraculous appearance of the flocks of birds which decimated Abraha's army were, therefore, providential. It's no wonder that [inaudible] 105 in the Koran precisely alludes to these events as [inaudible]. "Sees thou not how thy Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant. They did not make the traitorous plan go astray and descend against them [inaudible], striking them with bones of baked clay. Then did He make them like an empty field of stocks and straw of wheat the [inaudible] has been eaten up." That's taken from the Koran. I think I'll skip some of what the [inaudible]. Go to the third topic. Islam's first refugees come to Ethiopia. Most religions are met with resistance and even persecution at the beginning. The fate of Islam was no different. The prophet Mohammad's new faith was unwelcome in Mecca. He, therefore, advised his followers to go to Ethiopia and seek refuge there in the land of righteousness where really no one is wronged. The first group of refugees comprised 11 men and 4 women. This is known as the first [inaudible]. A second group numbered 100 followed. Alarmed by this [inaudible], the [inaudible] sent a delegation from Mecca bearing with gifts to the king of [inaudible] asking him to send them back. The king decided to question the fugitives himself. The prophet's cousin Jaffa described the teaching of the prophet, including the belief in the Immaculate Conception. At this, the king told the emissaries to go to [inaudible] saying if you were to offer me a mountain of gold, I would not give up these people who have taken refuge with me. The refuge that the Ethiopian king granted was a gesture so appreciated by the prophet that in the [inaudible] it is recorded that he said do not attack [inaudible] unless they attack you. For that reason, the Arabs never declared a jihad against Ethiopia. While the fact of the refuge is attested to by historians, there is another legend that grow out of it. This is the alleged conversion of the Axumite king to Islam. There appears to be no historical basis for it. On the contrary, [inaudible] kings, it reports and gives the name of two of the Muslim refuges who converted to Christianity instead. Then there comes the fourth topic, the nine saints and the introduction of monastism. The nine saints is the name given to a number of monks who came to Ethiopia in the Axumite period. Although their origin was in different parts of the Roman Empire, they appear to have come to Ethiopia after learning the roots of monastic life in Egypt from St. [inaudible] himself. They arrived in Axum during the reign of [inaudible] the Second, the grandfather of Kaleb, and lived through three more reigns, those of [inaudible], Kaleb and the [inaudible]. The most active evangelist, evangelization was in the reign of Kaleb and that's why I've included them in the one-hundred year period that is the subject of this talk. With the exception of two of them, [inaudible], who stayed in the vicinity of Axum although technically outside of the city, the other seven evangelized further out and [inaudible]. The oldest monastery in Ethiopia was founded by Abba Aragawi in the [inaudible] on top of an amba, a flat of mountain that's accessible only by a very big rock that's called Zendo and in [inaudible] to the [inaudible] that's reportedly swung [inaudible] to the amba. At times, it has served as refuge to royalty fleeing from strong force. Such was the case with [inaudible] fleeing from Abraha [inaudible]. Another monastery was established by [inaudible] a few kilometers southeast of [inaudible]. This monastery is now gaining increasing visibility since a few scholars claim that it houses the oldest gospel to date. The claim is that radio carbon dating has given the range of 330 to 650 A.D. at the time when it was written. The monks in the monastery hold that it was written by their spiritual father, Abba Aragawi. [Inaudible] questions [inaudible] master of the calligraphy and of his skill in illuminating manuscripts can be raised. Whatever future discussions of the eight of them, manuscript and of pen [inaudible] may yield, it's still considered that the manuscript was, indeed, written in the first millennium A.D. And then the other monks founded other monasteries elsewhere. [inaudible], smaller, it's interesting. It's found in [inaudible], and it's [inaudible]. The monastery that bears his name is [inaudible] 28 kilometers southwest of [inaudible]. It's very difficult to access the narrow footpath to the gate at the top of the mountain. It's only a couple of footsteps away from the hole into the precipice and one has to walk slowly and carefully. Once past the gate of [inaudible], one is securely inside one of the most beautifully-painted church ceilings anywhere. Interestingly enough, it is the nine saints who are depicted on the circular dome of the monastery. [Inaudible] founded his monastery near the historical site of [inaudible]. Let's be done with the nine saints for the time being and go to the fifth topic. Saint Yared's enduring sacred music. In 1995, during my first year in Ethiopia after some 20 years exiled, a traditional scholar [inaudible] came to me and asked if I could in any way help his manuscript get published. I said I'd try, and, fortunately, his volume and his handwritten work was word processed and published hard bound by early 1997. Jacques [inaudible], a French lawyer turned anthropologist, had it published courtesy of the [inaudible], which he was head. The manuscript was the traditional [inaudible] on the sacred music system of Yared, but Jacques insisted that I write an English introduction. Tough [inaudible], I managed to get just enough material to write the introduction by asking the masters in the field. Therefore, it is with this provision that I dare to speak about Yared's music system. The first date for reality is given as [inaudible] in 501 A.D. When he reached school age, his parents sent him to a traditional church teacher, but he found learning practically impossible until one day he drew his lessons from a worm that was trying to climb up a tree but kept on falling. On the seventh attempt, the worm managed to climb up the tree. Inspired by the persistence of the little worm, nothing would stop Yared from there on. Yared's music involves chant, instrument accompaniment, specifically the drum and the cistern as well as the prayer style used to keep measure and to stomp the ground when appropriate. It involves clapping of the hands and dancing forward, backward, and sideways. Yared's music draws its biblical justification from Psalm 150, which calls for both praise with the sound of the trumpet, of the harp and the cymbal and with dance as well. Yared's eminent place in Ethiopian culture is because he is the most spiritually uplifting and euphonic composer of both the hymns and chants that accompany that. He established the timeless [inaudible] of their service by time of day and day of year, by the occasion of the feast and by its import, by the character of the religious season and by its dominant theme and mood. It starts all music that I heard the angels sing in heaven uttering holy, holy, holy Lord, the heavens are filled with Your holy praise. Then I'll skip to how it reflects the changes in the seasons, and I've got a couple of hymns about the rainy season when it's all thunderstorms, lighting in Ethiopia. All the rainy season - [ Talking in Foreign Language ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Listen to the sound of the footsteps of the rain when the rains fall down for rejoice. Listen to the sound of the footsteps of the rain when the rains fall down [inaudible] saturated. Or again for the rainy season, again, [inaudible] especially July is full of dark, heavy clouds, and it calls the - [ Talking in Foreign Language ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: The clouds hear and obey His word, and the streams brim with water, and the [inaudible] quench their thirst. Now the rainy season is gone, and in September in Ethiopia all the fields are full of yellow daises and [inaudible] flower, and the hymn would go in its own time, the rainy season has passed. Now is established the season of plenty. Behold, the plants have blossomed and brought forth fruit. Or again, it will go [inaudible]. He has protect the sky with stars, and the Earth, He has a dome for his flowers. All of the above is focused on the seasonal and [inaudible] and on the agricultural cycle. The other themes, however, mainly are wove around we just [inaudible] biblical events, the life and teachings of Jesus, His miracles, the lives of St. Mary and of the others are all subjects of the hymns. Let us now look at some of the more important Christian holidays and observances. For the Christmas season, it refers to the Three Wise Men, the kings of [inaudible] and the islands of [inaudible], the kings of Sheba, Shaba, sorry, and the Arabia bring gifts And also, again, referring to the Three Wise Men who have followed by the Star to Bethlehem. The Star becomes their guide and to them [inaudible]. Now with the Ethiopian [inaudible] fasting is one of the more important duties of a devout Christian. Lent is an especially important fasting season, lasting 56 days until Easter. In fact, last Sunday, [inaudible] marked the end of the first half of that fast. Ethiopian Easter will be three weeks away from the coming Sunday. The [inaudible] underlies the importance of fasting and this deeper meaning beyond mere abstinence from food [inaudible]. Let the eyes pass away from seeing evil, let the ears pass, obviously, from hearing evil, and let the tongue fast from speaking evil. And, lastly, on the joyous occasion of Easter, if [inaudible] goes, Christ has risen from the dead with great power and authority. This put Satan in chains. He has said [inaudible] free. Peace, henceforth, let there be peace. Thank you very much. [ Applause ] >> I think we have a 15 minutes [inaudible] comments. [ Pause ] [ Inaudible Audience Response ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Please [inaudible] I think. [Inaudible] OK. [ Inaudible Audience Response ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: OK. Thank you very much. About the tolerance between religions. I would say generally it is in the character of Africa and Africans to be very tolerant of others' faiths. If we look at the various belief systems all over Africa, it is, every ethnic group has their own religious system, and the neighboring ethnic group would let them be. It would be with traditional African religions. Now with the coming of Christ and Judaism, it is not a prophesizing religion. So it would let others be, but Christianity and Islam, especially with some Christianity, and Islam are prophesizing. They want to claim the image in the world in their own images, and when you want to do that, you are bound to be intolerant, and religions are. So I would say the reason why there has been so much tolerance between the various faiths in Ethiopia may stem from the bigger character of African religions or people being allowed to live with their own faith. They [inaudible] with the very old church, going back to the fourth century, has not been a missionizing religion. Only this century because of the [inaudible] in the West Indies. That's when the different church start to sending missionaries to the Caribbean first and then to the U.S., and now, of course, we see a proliferation of [inaudible] territory. So I would say the tolerance is not solely an Ethiopian characteristic but a general African one with the exception when you take West Africa as in Nigeria, well, that is more a reflection of Islam and Islam's aggressive tendency rather than otherwise. Now, as to Yared's being the first one to have created musical notation, I'm not so sure. It's certain that Yared's music has something like ten symbols to mark the way as the verses should be chanted, but in the work I introduced by [inaudible], he says that the notation actually, although it did exist the chant and how it was to be chanted although it goes back to Yared's time. He says the notation really, the graphic representation of the notes starts with [inaudible] and some other one of the time of Emperor [inaudible] much later. So I do, so there is doubt thrown by one of the [inaudible] of Yared's music. And he claims that prior to this notation which [inaudible] and another one, I forget their name, but to their time, it will be, could take a few decades to master Yared's music, but once the notational system was put in place, you could master the music system within a three-year period. Incidentally, talking about Yared's music system, I know of a French scholar, an ethnomusicologist, Olivia Torme or Torme Olivia. I don't know which way. He has studied chants all over the world of various religions, and Judaic, Islamic, and Christian, and he told me when I used to work in the French Center that he found the Yared system the most complex and the deepest. That is opinion of a professional ethnomusicologist. So that's like a [inaudible]. [ Inaudible Audience Response ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: OK, with [inaudible] please. [ Inaudible Audience Response ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Well. OK. Well, to be honest, really, I cannot make any relations between biblical ethnography and what is happening currently in the area, but are the minor correction. Ethiopian presence in Southern Arabia does not go as far as the Gulf states, Kuwait, Oman, and so on and so forth. It's covered more the eastern part of Arabia, but it's really that if we have to talk of the towns [inaudible] further north San'a' and then further north [inaudible]. It is really more the Yemen side, and there is the western side of South Arabia. I don't think it ever went as far as the Gulf states. But, you know, biblical ethnography, really, there is very little I can say on that. [ Inaudible Audience Response ] >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Not really, but one thing, while that linguists are saying nowadays is the putting the whole of Africa at the origin of the Afra-Asiatic family of languages, and when they compare [inaudible] languages, it's very interesting how the further west is and the furthest is I think [inaudible] and how they see the similarities between them. But after the original [inaudible] or of any language, who can say when, and so on and so forth. But what we certainly know is that Kaleb left [inaudible] inscriptions as many kings earlier than him, and what I myself question is there is talk about some of the vocalization of [inaudible] as having happened much later with the coming of [inaudible] and so on and so forth. From what I see of the poems, and the poems you will not find with Kaleb. It will be the first [inaudible] and so on and so forth. I would think the non-vocalization [inaudible] even after this was vocalized, in the poems you don't see vocalized [inaudible]. You see unvocalized [inaudible]. So it may be that vocal, non-vocalization was used for monuments and poems and so on and so forth, that it would be too much to have the extra symbols. That's all I can say, but I cannot say much further. I'm not being [inaudible]. Thank you. >> Questions. [ Pause ] >> OK. Thank you so much. >> Dr. Hailu Habtu: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. [applause] >> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress.