A fortnight ago, I had begun writing an article about the museum located inside the St. George Cathedral. But, then the notorious subject of football came in and I had to give it priority. After all, I could not think of anything as powerful as football in bringing almost everybody together.
For me, it does not matter much whether the Walyas win or lose. No amount of rhetoric or propaganda can fully enjoy as much attention as football, be it inHolland orEngland,Ethiopia orNigeria. One could even call that history in its own right, I guess.
By the way, today’s article could be a rather personal encounter, as I am writing it from a hospital bed at the St. Luc Hospital inBrussels. I hope it is not my death bed! I had a relapse of sorts and had to fly back for a check-up.
At the Museum, one finds a few manifestations of Ethiopian history since the reign of Emperor Menelik and the founding of Addis Abeba. As I was being shown around, one parody was echoing throughout my mind.
When an individual kills another, it is either a murder or an assassination. It becomes a serious offense. If the same act is done by a group of men and women under the pretext of defending the royal family or the country, it becomes gallantry or martyrdom.
If pious people follow the leaders of the church, it will be a crusade or sanctimony, but there is almost nothing to reflect on the lives of the commoners. The craftsmen, the farmers, the merchants and the weavers are only there to fill the gaps. They are the ones that kill or die, but they have no recognition in history books, except perhaps some numerical reference, like Dejazmatch – somebody with so many followers.
They do not even have binaries or epitaphs on their gravestones, if they have one at all. Nobody keeps records of their names or identities.
And so, the Museum, like all other museums in the country, displays the shields, spears, helmets, pistols, guns, head dresses made from lion’s manes, wartime woven belts and decorations that give splendour and majestical profile to the so-called “big men” who have made a name for themselves at the expense of the lives of commoners. But, then that is how the freedom of a country is defended and secured.
Yet, don’t ask me freedom from what?
Colonialism is perhaps a much simpler subject to identify. One knows the enemy at face value and tries to free himself by fighting tooth and nail to overthrow it.
But the collections at the museum do not reflect anything of this. They have no chronology of the battle ofAdwaand do not show any sequence of any such events.
One can appreciate the intricacy of the gold smith or jewellery of the period by looking at the ornamental dresses worn during ceremonies like coronations or wedding days. The craftsmanship is so defined and intricate that it is difficult to understand why such skills are not continually updated.
The battle ofAdwais an important historical event, not only in Ethiopian history, but also in the history of the black man. A couple of decades ago, at a special occasion organised to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of the capital, the flamboyant and softly spoken popular film director, Abate Mekureya, made a very daring venture to stage the ” Battle of Adwa”.
He was able to achieve one of the most spectacular performances ever displayed in the country. Of course, the event deserves no less.
The war songs and the choreography; the men screaming to motivate the warriors; the women ululating in support; some of the musicians playing the Masinqo and the Kirar, a few of them running about back and forth, vowing and crying, citing their past achievements under the general title “Demo Gellele” was really exciting and invigorating.
Of course, the battle ofAdwais not a closed chapter yet.
The people and the leaders of the country are expected to pause for a moment and ask themselves “why did we have to pay so much sacrifice? What is freedom after all? Not being needed by an invading force? What will that do if we are not free from poverty?
Our aim should be to have a country where every citizen has the opportunity to live better and longer; where every citizen speaks their mind openly and freely; and where every citizen is respected not for what language they speak or religion they subscribe to, but simply for who they are as an Ethiopian.
Ethiopia’s heritage is far too rich to be displayed at a narrower venue than the City Hall. After all, what do our offspring bequeath better than the history of their forbearers?
Let the world come and visit the beautiful country with its beautiful weather. It falls upon our shoulders to promote this poor but beautiful land of ours.
The current tramway project may have made the traffic flow a bit difficult, but visitors could make the best out of this rare opportunity to branch off to the church and meet Deacon Mihret, who shows what it really takes to be a good curator. One can have a wealth of time with him at almost no cost.
School children can be taken to the site for a visit, which they may remember for the rest of their lives. I hope Mihret and his colleagues will try to place the collections according to their historical sequence, starting from the artistic paintings of the Battle of Adwa.
It is about 97 years since the first railway line was launched in the capital. By some historical coincidence, we might be able to celebrate the century having a new light train line.
We shall then feel somewhat embarrassed to look up at his statue having had no excuse for the long overdue project for one hundred years. It is good that we are a free nation, aspiring to be even freer than ever before.
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