Monday, August 07, 2006

ዋርካዎች

SweetEthiopia
ባለታክሲው

የዋናው አኮፋዳ

ባሮ ባሮ ተስፋ

የዳሞት ግጥሞች

ከገጠመ ግጥም SweetEthiopia

አንድ አይደለሁ እኔ

funny boxes? u need geez unicode.
you could read ande aydelehu ene > click here

በሃሳብ ከእሷ ጋር, ባካል ግን ከዚህ ነኝ
አንድ አይደለሁ እኔ, በሁለት አራቡኝ::

ሁለት ዕትብት አለኝ__
አንደኛው ተቆርጦ
ከልደት ቀዬዬ ድሮ የተቀበረ

ከእማምዬ ማህጸን__
ከአሪቲው ምድሯ
ተስማምቶ የቀረ::

ይሄኛው ዕትብቴ__
ቢሳብ የማያልቅ
የዚያኛው መንትያ

ላይን ተሰዋሪ_
ታስሮ ከማህጸኗ
ከማማዬ ኢትዮጵያ::

ምዕራብ ብሄድ ምስራቅ
ቢጎድል ብሞላ
ብቀል ወይ ብከብድ

የአዕምሮ ማሰሪያው__
የማህጸንዋ ቡንቧ
ጨርሶ አያስኬድ::

የወራት ተራራ_
እሙን አያስረሳ
በአመታት ቢለካ

ትዝታዋ ደወል_
ይመለሳል ከሷው
ሁን ላለው በረካ::

ናኘ ጥሪዋ __
ሲንቆረቆር በፍቅሯ አሸንዳ
ከዚህ ከዕምብርቴ

ተነሳብኝ ደግሞ__
ደምቃ አምራ ታየችኝ
ኢትዮጵያ እናቴ::

በሃሳብ ደረቴ ,አገር ቤት ነኝ ሥሳብ
አንድ አይደለሁ ስዎች , በሁለት ልታሰብ::

-//-


አምላኬ ሆይ !

የእምቧይ ካብ ነው ለካ
ልቤ አፈጣጠሩ፣
ለሺህ ተበተነ
ብትዋዥቅ ፍቅሩ ::

ካቻምና ተክቧል
ብትን ያለው ፈርሶ፣
በንፁህ ፍቅር ዘይት
እጅግ በጣም ርሶ ::

ሲሸራራፍ ወይኔ
ከውሥጤ ተሰማኝ፣
ተንዶ ሠላሜ
አንገቴን ሊያስደፋኝ፣

ኦ !
አቤቱ አምላኬ ሆይ !
ልቤን ጠብቅልኝ፣
ይብቃው ካንተ ወዲያ
ሰው አያምልክብኝ፣
የተራሮች ፅናት
ጉልበትን ስጥልኝ ::


-//-

ተዋኔው

ደፍሬ ጠየኩኝ
ዛሬስ ለተዋኔ፣
መልሥ ዞሬ ባጣ
ግራ ሆኖብኝ ለእኔ ::

"ያውጡኝ ባክዎ ከማጥ
ብልህ ኖት አውቃለሁ፣
ቸር ሰው ጅል ሲባል
በአያሌው ሰማለሁ ::

ሠጥቶ ካለችው ላይ
አለሁልህ ያለ፣
በዋለው ውለታ
ስንቱ ሰው ቀለለ ::

ዕውነት ሞኝነት ነው
መልካም ማድረግ ለሰው፣
እባክዎን ተዋኔ
መልሶን እስቲ ልስማው ::"

ተዋኔው __
የአገጫቸውን ሪዝ
ያዝ _ለቀቅ አርገው፣
አንዳች አማልዕክት ም
ጠያቂ ሰው መስለው፣
እያዩ አሻቅበው
ከሰማይ ሰማዩ፣
አይኖቻቸው በርተው
ጥርሶቻቸው ታዩ ::

"ዶሮይቱ ዕንቁላልን
ብትጥል ባትጥል፣
ትታረድ የለም ወይ
አንት ጎበዝ አስተውል ::

የወይን ሃረግ ግንዱ
ያ ፍሬ ዠርጋጋ፣
ሰው ይሄድ የለም ወይ
ፍሬው ፍለጋ፣
ጥላውን ሊጠጋ፣
አስተውል አይጥበብህ
ልጄ ተረጋጋ ::

የዕባብ ዕንቁላልን
ማነው የፈለገ ?
የመርዝ ፍሬያትን
ማነው እሱ ያፈፈ ?
ዕድሜውን ቆጥሮ
ራሱ ካልረገፈ፣
ማን ሊኖር ለሱ የከነፈ ::

ደግ ሰው እንዲያው ነው
ጣፋጭ ፍሬ ያዘለ፣
የሚኖር ለሌሎች
ምርጡን ዕያደለ ::
መልዕክተ ነፍሱን
ሰጪ ሰውነው ያ ሰው፣
ከሰማይ ሲልከው፣
ሲያበጃጅ ሲሰራው ::"

አሉና .............
ትንሽ ዝም እንዳሉ፣
ልቤ ወተወተኝ
እንደወትሮ አመሉ ::

አኔም __
አሰብኩ መከርኩኝ መከረኩኝ
ደግሜ ደግሜ፣
እምቢ አልኩኝ ለክፋት
መርዝ እንዳይሆን ደሜ ::

የኔው ከእኔው ጋር
ሙግቴን ተረድተው፣
"የመስዋዕቱ ጭስ "
በማለት ቀጠሉ ተዋኔው፣
"ከሰማየ ሰማያት
አልፎ የሚዘልቀው ፣
ጆሮ እንዳለህ ስማኝ
መልካም ሰው የእግዜር ነው ::"

-//-


መቶ ሀያ ሺ ሻማ


ጨልሞበት ኑሮ
አዱኛ ሳያጣ፣

እንደቀድሞው አዳም
ሔይዋን ሳትመጣ፣

በብቸኛ ግዞት
ተቆጣ ! ተቀጣ !

ሥትመጣለት በራ
ከመቶ ሀያ ሺ ሻማ፣

ጠራ መላ አካሉ
እንደመልአክ ሸማ ፣

ሔይዋኑ ለኩሳው
በ ' የኔ ቆንጆ ' ዜማ ::
-//-

መች ባርነት ቀረ ?!

ሰው ሰውን ገዝቶ
እንደሰው ሳይቆጥር፣
እንደቤት እንስሳ
ሰው ይነዳ ነበር ::
አሳዳሪው ጌታ
ባሪያም የነበረ፣
ዘመን ተለውጦ
ባሪያም ጌታ ቀረ ::

ቀረ ልበለ እስቲ
የሆዴን አምቄ፣
በየጎጆው እንዳለ
ጠንቅቄ አውቄ ::
ተሰወረ እንጂ ካይን
መች ባርነት ቀረ፣
ማነው ተበድሮ
በሰላም የዋለ በሰላም ያደረ ?

ያማረ መኪና
ዛሬ ባሽከረክር፣
ትዳርን መስርቼ
ሦስት ጉልቾች ባኖር ::
ታፍኜ እስክሞት ነው
በብድር ላይ ብድር፣
እንዳይፈርስ ውጥኔ
ቀን ከ ለሊት ስበር ::

በአበዳሪ ብዛት
እጅግ ተራኩቼ፣
ለነዚህ ቱጃሮች
የኑሮ ጌቶቼ፣
ሰርቼ ገፍቼ
ሞቼ ተሟሙቼ፣
እንካችሁ እላለሁ
በዕዳ ላይ ዕዳ፣
የዕድሜ ይገላግልህ ባርነት ገብቼ ::

Thursday, August 03, 2006

የጢያ ሃውልቶች??/ Stones of Tiya


የጢያ ሃውልቶች

የኢትዮጵያ ጥንታዊ ታሪክ የአርኪዮሎጂስት ጥናት እምብዛም አልተመለከተውም:: አሻራቸውን ይዘው የተቀመጡት እንደ አክሱም ላሊበላ ና የፋሲል ግንብ የመጀመሪያና የመጨረሻ የጥንታዊት ኢትዮጵያ ብቸኛ ምልክት ሆነው ይገኛሉ:: ነገር ግን የብዙ ሺህ አመታት ታሪክ ያላት ሃገር ኢትዮጵያ የህዝቦችዋን አንድነት የሚያንጸባርቁ ምስክሮች ብቅ ማለት ጀምረዋል:: ከዚህ በታች የሰፈረው መጣጥፍ የሰሜኑ የአክሱም ሃውልታት ደቡብ ኢትዮጵያም እንድነበሩ ያመላክታል::
ባቲ::

Stones of Tiya
Ethiopia offers myriad archaeological sites for the adventurous tourist to visit. Philip Briggs reports on one of the lesser-known rock stelae fields, south of Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s claim to be the richest archaeo-historical treasure trove in sub-Saharan Africa is difficult to dispute. From the myriad ancient hominid fossils that have been unearthed in the eastern deserts, to the Biblical-era giant stelae of Axum and medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia’s overwhelming sense of history invites a response that is equal parts wonderment, disbelief and delighted speculation.

Only a handful of Ethiopia’s historical riches have drawn serious attention from the tourist industry, which means that independent-minded travellers are faced with an embarrassment of exciting and accessible off-the beaten-track options. A visit to one of the hundred-odd rock-hewn churches scattered around Tigray, or any of the country’s dozens of remote island and cliff-top monasteries, makes nonsense of the current media debate, prompted by the release of the film The Beach, about the way in which guidebooks and thronging backpacker trails have practically destroyed genuinely independent travel. Pack the whingers off to Ethiopia for a month, say I, forbid them from going anywhere near the country’s half-dozen semi-established tourist sites, and they’ll return home imbued with the sense of genuine discovery that is supposedly lost to the modern traveller.

A mere 100km by road from the capital Addis Ababa, and only 500m from a public transport route and local guest house, Tiya is the perfect example of the sort of accessible yet practically unvisited gem I’m talking about. Marking the northern limit of a belt of engraved obelisks that stretches right across southern Ethiopia, the Tiya stelae field consists of roughly 40 stones which stand between one and two metres high. Recent excavations revealed that the stones mark mass graves of both males and females who died between the ages of 18 and 30 and were laid to rest in a foetal position. Three engraved symbols predominate: circles, swords, and what appear to be podgy leaves rising on a stem from a rectangular base. The circles might represent the sun or moon, the swords speak for themselves, while the twin-leaves look like so-called false bananas, a type of plantain grown widely in the area. If the symbolism behind all this is open to speculation, so too is the nature of the people who erected the stelae. Local people associate the stones with the 15th Century Muslim leader Ahmed Gragn, but the non-Judaic symbols and greater age of the stones makes this unlikely. Like the much older and larger stelae at Axum — the only comparable constructions that I’m aware of in sub-Saharan Africa — the Tiya stelae appear to pre-date the local arrival of Christianity and to have been erected as grave markers. The southern stelae belt passes through the heart of the modern territory of the Gurage, whose language is closely affiliated to Tigrigna (the language spoken in Axum). This tempts one to ask whether these might be relics of a forgotten offshoot of the pre-Christian stelae-building tradition at Axum.Only 30km north of Tiya lies the most southerly of Ethiopia’s rock-hewn churches, Adadi Maryam, a subterranean monolith excavated in the 13th Century at about the same time that Tiya’s stones must have been erected. Visiting the two sites in conjunction creates the strange feeling that one is crossing the medieval boundary between pagan and Christian Ethiopia. But where Adadi Maryam is very much an active site of worship, the stones of Tiya stand mute and mysterious, neither revered nor feared by the local children who treat the stelae field as a playground. These are simple constructions, it is true, and yet the repetitive intent that lies behind the crude engravings is deeply haunting.

Perhaps it is the sense of discovery I referred to earlier, but Tiya’s impact on me was every bit as powerful as that of the more famous and grandiose stelae of Axum.

Philip Briggs is a regular contributor to Travel Africa. He is the author of eight African guide books.


Tiya factfile

Tiya is about 30km from Melka Awash, a village 60km or more south of Addis Ababa. Cars can be hired (with drivers) in Addis but are expensive. There is direct public transport to Tiya. This leaves from the main Autobus Terra in Mercato before 9am. After that it is necessary to pay full fare on the Butajira bus and ask to be dropped off at Tiya.

The engraved stelae lie about 500m from Tiya. Coming from Addis Ababa the turn-off is on the left side near the telecommunication signpost. Follow this for about 200m, turn right. The stelae are enclosed behind a fence on the rise ahead.

The rock-hewn church of Adadi Maryam lies west of the Butajira road on a small hill five minutes walk from the village of Adadi. The important stone-age site, about a 20-minute walk from Melka Awash, is also of interest.

The Awash River gorge, with its three low, but powerful, waterfalls, is worth exploring if you have time.

There are dollar-a-night hotels in Butajira, Tiya and Melka Awash and a slightly smarter establishment on the main road. However most visitors, other than backpackers, return to Addis Ababa.

Published in Travel Africa Magazine
Edition Twelve: Summer 2000
This edition and subscriptions are available via the Travel Africa Magazine website.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The Headbutt on the Chest

The Headbutt on the Chest
Written by Mesfin Arega (Dedicated to the French soccer players)

Young black - athlete
King of kings of sport,
Superman - the ultimate,
Pay attention for a minute
For this advice so short.

That I give you in earnest
Risking mistreatment
From the white establishment
Set up to protect
The oligarchy’s interest
Under the false pretext
Of defending human right.

So please be silent
Read with intent
Here is my point.

If you really want
ምርጡ ዚዳን ና ምርጥ የኳስ ጥበቡ

To command full respect
Deserve it - don’t expect.

Don’t you ever accept
Ignore or forget
Foul language or dirt
Indiginity or hurt
From a German or any white
An Italian the least.

Don’t try to be saint
For a stupid - idiot
Who understands only might
But has no clue or hint
What it shows - indicate
To be humble and polite.

When provoked to start
Never ever hesitate
For a single instant
To hit back and act
To talk back and shout.

When insulted insult
Talk to him - communicate
In his own dialect.

Do not give any thought
To the false document
Story or plot

The white news outlet
Controlled very tight
By the media magnate

Will surely fabricate
To intentionally deflect
The blame from the culprit
Toward the innocent,

By applying straight
The stereotype default
Which it did create.

For a violent be violent
Give him a hard-hit
Use your head - and butt
Where it hurts most
Right under the chest.

Keep hitting - repeat
Be quick and fast
Do not give respite
Until he lies flat
And then in his pant
Begins to excrete
His bestial white shit.

_____________________

1 I wrote this poem for people who cannot understand the Amharic version. I have neither the ability nor the desire to write a poem in English. I would rather leave that to the Englishmen. After all, it is called “the English language” and they should be the ones solely responsible for developing it - although that is not the case right now. The rest of us have done them a great favor by choosing to use the language. Hopefully, one day, African’s will be conscious and proud enough to replace the colonial languages English, French and Portuguese and the settler language Arabic by one common native language, it doesn’t matter which. At least on the economical side, leaving the other invaluable advantages aside, using one native language instead of four is cost effective.