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VARIETY COLUMN"...A column for Ethiopian culture, geography, History, literature, music, k'ne, humor, current affairs and the like...." NUMBER 7 ---< < < < < For the EEDN community > > > > > > --- January 3, 1993 Selam wd wegenoch! Indemn keremaCu? Welcome to this year's first edition of Variety Column. In this edition, we will re-discover the mighty river Abay from its source at Gish in Gojam all the way to the Sudanese border whence it is no more Abay but the Blue Nile. Except for a short glimpse of the Abay bridge and the water flowing beneath it during a childhood trip to Gojam and Gondar, I never had a chance to see the river well. But a couple of years ago, at the height of the 1984-85 drought in Ethiopia, I saw this graceful river in a foreign land flowing so peacefully, and almost unconcerned. Looking at Abay in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, one would feel betrayed. Here is a river carrying millions of cubic meter of water and life giving silt away from the land of impoverished, helpless Ethiopians. The only consolation one would find is, perhaps, that every drop of this river supports human lives in the Sudan and Egypt. An obsession with this eternal river led me to reading a couple of books on the subject. What follows is modified from a short story that was a result of a mental journey inspired by these books and the 1980 documentary T.V presentation of the late Paulos Gno Gno. A visit to the source of Abay at Gish or at Lake Tana and along its accessible course must be a rewarding experience. Cleo'ers who plan to visit home should try their best to include a trip to this area. The article is followed by questions on songs, proverbs and factoids about this great river. Your responses, suggestions and criticisms are highly appreciated. > > > > > > > > ....< < < < < < < < < < < AbayWhere does this great river, this great mass of water, this hope for millions of people come from? Perhaps, it is like the old question of "which one came first? The egg or the hen?" But Abay is different; even though it has no end, it should at least have a beginning. Or at least we should pretend it has a beginning. Why a beginning? Well, we will have to start from somewhere to have a glimpse of the eternal Abay. The dark cloud mass that covers the sky over Wollega, Shoa, Illubabor, Gojam and Gondar beginning from May is the nearest thing to a father that Abay has. June, July and August are the months of the birth of this river. In those rainy days, when the cloud mass breaks loose and the sound of thunder and lightning echo on the Abyssinian plateau, the river Abay winds up its gestation period and is born in a valley somewhere in Gojam. The place of its birth is called Gish. It is a very humble beginning for the mighty Abay. The only witnesses to this birth are few tukul houses and the Gish Mikael church. It is in the next 70 miles flowing north-ward to Lake Tana, that Abay, known here appropriately Gil- gel Abay and sometimes Gish Abay learns how to flow. It rather flows as a violent, tossing brown torrent. Gil-gel Abay gets its first lesson in stubbornness (eb'rit) when it joins Lake Tana. Unlike, most rivers that drain into a lake, Gil-gel Abay refuses to surrender. A lot of people would swear identifying its distinct brownish color as it flows through Lake Tana in a circular arc. Some claim that you could see it from a plane as it flows through the placid waters of Tana. After its stubborn venture through Lake Tana, Gil-gel Abay leaves the lake at the southern tip. This is a swamp country. Bahir Dar is a few miles away from this point when Gil-gel is baptized to a new name "Abay" or the Blue Nile. On its southward journey, Abay flows quietly for about 20 miles only to be interrupted occasionally by cataracts. The Bahir Dar Tis-Isat road winds along the course of the river. Abay, at this stage, doesn't know what is waiting for it few miles downstream. Just like the eerie calm before the storm, Abay flows quietly on a wide bed for about a mile. The eerie silence is suddenly broken as Abay, unprepared for the danger, plunges more than 150 feet. The confusion and anger that accompanies this sudden fall is what makes the Tis-Isat "one of the most magnificent, stupendous sights in creation", according to James Bruce, the first Briton to see the source of Abay. Abay never recovers from this shock up until it crosses the borders of Ethiopia. The experience leaves it with one more lesson in vice; that is anger. Through the rest of its journey, it churns through a deep and narrow bed. In anger, Abay sneaks its way through the narrow gorge in a turmoil of brown and white water. Abay is still angry as it flows through the First and Second Portuguese bridges between Gojam and Gondar. In its anger, Abay fails to notice the history of the land it is flowing through. East of the southward flowing Abay is the Awraja of Gay'nt with Debre Tabor as its capital. Here is a land which has seen countless fraternicides and bloodshed. The armies of Atse Teodros, Atse Susneyos, Atse Libne Dengel, Gragn Ahmed and others have waged battles in the past in this fertile land. The armies of TPLF and Dergue had fought heavy mechanized battles in the Gay'nt plateau only few years ago. West of the Abay is the most fertile land in the nation. The awrajas of Agew'midir and Damot, thought the Italians, would feed the rest of Ethiopia. But, feeding and bringing peace to Ethiopians is the last thing on the mind of Abay as it thunders through its gorge cutting valleys as deep as 1.5 mile. Abay goes through a small lesson in submission when it passes through the Shoa/Gojam border on its now westward journey. A beautiful but modest arch bridge brought the first all- weather connection between Shoa and Gojam. For a change, Abay flows in a wide bed near the bridge. Few miles downstream, Abay is angry again. It flows through uninhabited country for almost 500 miles before it crosses the Ethiopian border. Something happens during these 500 miles and Abay assumes a different personality. Through out its existence, nobody has dared to conquer Abay in this stretch, save one successful British group way back in 1964 and a new modern all-weather bridge between Wollega and Gojam. Perhaps it is this knowledge that it is invincible, or change of topography, or just plain maturity, Abay is very calm as it descends to the Sudanese lowlands on its journey to the lands of the Pharaohs. In the mean time, Abay carries in its bosoms millions of tons of top soil taken from the lands of Wollega, Gojam, Gondar and Shoa farmers. It is heading for its eternal appointment with the farmers of the Sudan and Egypt. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > end < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < Questions1) In previous issues, we had identified some of the bridges across the Abay river. (Namely, the First and Second Portuguese Bridges). There are a total of 6 bridges across the Abay as shown in the following figure. Please identify the remaining bridges. ..../\ .. /......\. /.......... \ /...............\ \. /...................\ \. \...._.......................\ Abay \......../..V\ 1......................\ River \___/_ g/ \ 2............_| | \___.| 3..............|__ --...... 6 5 4.......................\..\ | ..................................................| |_.................*...................................\. \..............Addis................................................ \ \................................................................./ \........................................................./ \............................................/ \-------------------------/. _ V - Lake Tana g - Gish Mikael (source of Abay) 2 - Agam Dil'diy (1st Portuguese Bridge) 3 - Sebara Dil'diy (2nd Portuguese Bridge) Identify bridges 1, 4, 5 and 6 2) The river Abay is interwoven in the language and culture of the people who live near its course. We often find expressions, k'ne, songs and poetry about this river. Please complete the following sayings: a) Ye' Abay'n Lij ....... b) Abay made'riya ye'low .......... c) Abay'in be....... 3) A verse from a popular song in the 70's (G.C) goes as follows: Es-was enkoy nat ye Abay dar enkoy nat ye Abay dar ..................... What is the last line? Who was the voice behind this song? 4) Another verse often used in many songs goes as follows: Anchiye ke Dejen Abay ......................? Teshome (sometimes affectionately called Teshome Wonder) and Ephrem (who happens to be from Dejen) have used this verse in some of their numbers. > > > > > > > > > > > ... end ......< < < < < < < < Belu Melkam Samn't le'hulachinim yihun. Yenantew, Samuel Kinde |