The Armenians in Ethiopia (Part II)

As Boris Adjemian’s narration reveals, the Arba Arba Ledjotch (Forty Children), who became the first imperial brass band, were not the first Armenian presence in the country. Armenians had already been established in the royal court for many generations preceding…
The Armenians in Ethiopia

The story of the Arba Ledjotch lives on in memory In 1924, a group of forty children who had survived the 1915 genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turks and had formed a brass band at the Armenian monastery in Jerusalem were…
A rising female artist with exciting new tunes

The Ethiopian singer Yemariam “Yema” Chernet has a gentle voice with a steely core, crafting an intimately forceful style and a lush feel that’s revealed on her debut album “Yedega Sew”. Based in Addis Ababa, Yema adeptly bridges the traditional…
Differing narratives on Fascist collaboration legacy

Berhane Marqos Wolde Tsadik (1892-1943) was an interpreter, civil servant, diplomat, and government minister. He held several important roles in his career, starting as an interpreter at the Franco-Ethiopian railway and eventually rising to become the director-general of posts, telephones,…
Rising artist to watch

Selome Muleta is a force to be reckoned with. One of the fresh voices on the Ethiopian contemporary art scene, she crosses borders and disciplines to take Ethiopian art to new heights. Living and working in Addis Ababa, her work…
A new Oromo music video seduces audience

The YouTube video opens with an image of a young man and woman standing with their bicycles with industrial brick building background. Images of a Borena chief, traditional dishes, injera, and multicolored mounds of spicy stews follow. The soundtrack begins…
Surviving the sting of my father’s nettle switches

Poet and playwright Mengistu Lemma came from a prominent clerical family. His father Aleka Lemma Haylu Wolde Tarik (1868- 1967) was an important head priest who commanded respect and admiration and was a stern disciplinarian who imposed strict rules on…