Ethiopia, where eating is a celebration

Africas oldest country marks major holidays and everyday events with a
bit of ceremony, including food, drinks, friends, and family. Writer Emily
Lang explains.

thiopia boasts not only

a distinctive culture but
also delicious cuisine. I
had tasted Ethiopian food in the
United States and Canada, and I
was overjoyed at the opportunity
to try the real thing. A friend and
I would be traveling all over the
continent of Africa and staying a
little over two weeks in Ethiopia
with a couple of our friends
who were living and working
at an international school in the
capital, Addis Ababa.
We arrived just in time to catch
the end of the fasting season,
right before the Christmas
celebration.
In
Ethiopia,
Christmas is celebrated on
January 7, not December 25 as
in many countries, because the
country uses its own calendar
system rather than the Gregorian
one.
After arriving at the airport, we
waited five hours for our entry
visas and lost luggage. As we
left, our friends greeted us and
took us to their apartment in
the heart of Addis Ababa. We
celebrated the end of our long
journey - three days total in
transit - with a sweet glass of tej,
Ethiopian honey wine, served in
a ceremonial vessel which I can
only describe as an engraved
beaker one might use while
conducting a science experiment.
It felt very odd drinking out
of something I presumed had

better place in a laboratory, but

the delicious tej soon had us
unconcerned about the shape
of the glass. Highly alcoholic
and generally homemade, tej
is a drink for every day and for
special occasions. The long
awaited opportunity to stretch
our legs and shower were cause
enough for us to raise a glass.
Ethiopian soil is best suited for
legumes, tubers, and a few leafy
greens, so these foods make up
the diet of most people and are
the ingredients of many of the
traditional dishes. There are two
things that any self-respecting
Ethiopian will tell you to try
while you are visiting their
country, their world-renown
coffee, and their national dish,
injera.
Injera is a main component of
just about any Ethiopian dish.
Consisting of a basic mixture of
fermented teff, a non-glutenous
ancestral grain and water, this
dough is placed onto a mitad, a
round Ethiopian griddle equipped
with a lid used specifically for
making injera.
Usually the
whole process takes a minimum
of three days if you include
the fermentation. Teff is one of
Ethiopias major crops, and the
government has only recently
approved the exportation of the
crop because of its importance
to the country and the diets of its
people.

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Injera is typically used as the base

of any dish, its golden, round,
and spongy saucer setting atop
the round serving trays typically
used in both restaurants and
homes. On top of this injera base
can come a variety of traditional
dishes, generally either served
in separate piles alongside more
rolled up injera or in dippable
side portions, also served with
more rolled up injera. With
the fasting season upon us, we
generally ate shiro, chickpea
stew, or yetsom beyaynetu,
various mixed vegetable curries,
due to local customs not to
consume flesh leading up to
Christmas in reverence for the
sanctity of Christ. This meant
no meat, milk, eggs, or any other
type of animal product. Whats
more, all of the ingredients used
in making the foods are locally
cultivated. It is not uncommon
to see various vegetable vendors
stands set up along the street,
and the local herders even move
their livestock into the town
to sell. Hundreds of goats run
alongside automobiles, and
chickens are strapped to the
backs of motorcyclists speeding
downtown.
Coffee is the other must-try when
visiting Ethiopia.
Regional
coffee makes up about 60%
of Ethiopias foreign income
through exportation, making it
critically vital to the countrys
well-being. The Ethiopian brew
is incredibly flavorful and holds
great cultural and historical
significance. Coffee ceremonies
are an integral part of Ethiopian
life, performed for a purpose but
enjoyed for its pleasure.

When we visited, we only saw

a glimpse of a traditional coffee
ceremony. At a restaurant we
were given the coffee -sweetened
with sugar, as the majority of
locals prefer it- alongside a
mountain of burning coals of
incense and a woven basket of
traditional unbuttered popcorn
for snacking.
A traditional
ceremony has many steps, each
an important part of preparation.
Generally a woman of the
household will prepare the beans
by hand over the fire until they
are dark brown, then grinding
them by hand and brewing the
coffee over the hearth. She will
also burn incense alongside the
coffee to clarify the environment
and ward off evil spirits. These
ceremonies can take many hours,
and its considered impolite to
drink fewer than three cups of
coffee. We interviewed a local
about the meaning behind the
ritual.
Q:
When would a coffee
ceremony be required?
A: Mostly on holidays, family
gatherings, and social events.
Q: Could you walk me through
the steps and preparation of the
event?
A: A lady who makes and serves
the coffee sits in the middle
of the house (a tukul house is
always circular) and all other
people will sit around the house
in a circle. When the coffee is
ready it will be served with kolo
(a roasted grain mix consisting
mostly of barley) or popcorn.
People who are drinking usually
talk about different issues, like

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social, political, religious, etc.

Q:
What is the cultural
importance of the ceremony?
A: The ceremony is a means for
the community to come together
and talk. It helps the community
and share ideas and information
on different issues.
Q:
Is there a historical
significance behind it?
A: We dont exactly know the
time that the coffee ceremony
become popular, but our kings
and queens, community leaders,
and elders used it for very long
time. A long time ago, it was a very
good time to share information
within the community very
quickly. For example, during the
Ethiopian-Italian war, Ethiopians
used coffee ceremonies to give
information and support for the
patriots. They also were a good
time to discuss on how to get rid
of Italians.

dont think that either my friend

or I had any true idea as to what
we would encounter. Ethiopia is
a land of marvels to be explored
and has managed to hold onto
its rich roots of cultural history
in spite of the modern-day
advances. If you ever have the
opportunity, I urge you to take
the plunge into this wonderful
world. You may just be surprised
as the delights that you might
find.

Nowadays, coffee ceremonies

are especially common when
inviting a visitor into your
home. It is done in homage to
hospitality and to the newcomer,
making them feel welcome and
important within the group. It
signals friendship and respect
among individuals, who can
exchange important information
which may be crucial for life in
many small villages. It offers a
holy place for members of the
community to hold fellowship
with one another, and it is one of
the most important social events
within Ethiopian culture. Coffee
ceremonies can be performed up
to three times a day.
When we went to Ethiopia, I
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Facts
Lucy, one of the worlds oldest
and most complete hominin
skeletons was found (and
continues to reside) in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. Her bones are
dated as 3.2 million years old.
The Gregorian Calendar began
to be used in 1752. In contrast,
the Ethiopic calendar is much
more heavily based upon solar
movements as well as planetary
one and was modified by
missionaries who later arrived
in Ethiopia.
Africa is made up of 54 countries
and is the second largest
continent.
As the oldest country in Africa,
Ethiopia has a hearty past
and, when asked (or sometimes
without), many Ethiopians are
quite proud of their right to say
that their country has never
been governed by any outside
forces (with the exception of
Italys 5 year occupation, not
colonization).

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