The Ethiopian Church Journal Blog

  Snow Mushroom Cloud © 02/22/2021 by The Ethiopian Church Journal

Konso village, Ethiopia. Photo: Jens Klinzing Ethiopian Proverbs (Amharic/Semitic) የቸኰለ አፍስሶ ለቀመ። yechekolle afs’so leQeme The hurried spill and gather. በቅሎ ግዙ ግዙ አሞሌ ጨው ላያግዙ። beQlo g’zu g’zu amo Le chaw layagzu They say, “Buy a mule, buy a mule,” but don’t help with a grain of salt. አጥብቆ ጠያቂ የናቱን ሞት ይረድዳል። aT’b’Qo TeyyaQi ye’nnatun mot y’rreddal Keep asking and you’ll soon learn of your mother’s death. መጫር ያበዛች ዶሮ መታረጃዋን ቢላ ታወጣለች። mechar yabezach doro mettaRejawan taweTallech The foraging chicken uncovered a carving knife. ቀስ በቀስ ዕንቊላል በእግሩ ይሄዳል።  Qas baQas ‘nQulal be’g’ru y’hédal Gradually an egg will be up on its own feet. አንድ ዐይን ያለው በአፈር አይጫወትም። Aand ayn yallew baAfar ayyChawet’m A one-eyed person should not play with dirt. አንበሳ ሲያረጅ የዝንብ መጫወቻ ይሆናል። Anbassa siaraj yez’nb mechawacha y’honal An old lion is turned into a plaything of the fly. ከሩቅ ዘመድ የቅርብ ጐረቤት። keruQ zemed yeQ’rb gorabet A neighbor to a far-off relative. ሊበሏት ያሰቧትን አሞራ ዥግራ ናት ይሏታል። libaLwat yaSebwat’...

“Silence said: truth needs no eloquence. After the death of the horseman, the homeward-bound horse says everything without saying anything.”   [ Mourid Barghouti, 1944--2021]   L-R: wife and translator Ashour, Mourid, son Tamim  

At Sunrise  Come, O Sun, Cross over Chanchoo lake, come; Look out for thorns and thistles; walk Leaning on your staff; Come with greetings. Shepherd song | Photo: Lake Langano, Robert Muckley, 2012 Blue Nile Poems, p.35; (Trans.) ©2018 by Mitiku Adisu