Table Of ContentIn: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, ed. by Svein Ege, Harald
Aspen, Birhanu Teferra and Shiferaw Bekele, Trondheim 2009
Amharic Praise Poems Related to Emperors
Tewodros II and Yohannes IV
Getie Gelaye1
This paper presents an edition, translation and analysis of Amharic poems, which were
preserved at the Bibliotheca Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome. The poems are
composed in a style widely known in the Ethiopian poetic tradition as fukkära (heroic
recitals or warrior’s songs) and they glorify the two great Ethiopian sovereigns, Tewodros
II and Yohannes IV, referring to their horse-names, reigns, their bravery, personality, the
wars they fought, their followers, their achievements and their dramatic death.
Introduction
Scholarly studies on the texts of the earliest Amharic poems and songs began in the
last quarter of the 19th century by European writers who edited and published them with
the assistance of Ethiopian church scholars. These texts contain different praise poems
and songs composed in honour of Ethiopian emperors, who ruled the country between
14th-16th century, namely Amdä Ìéyon (1314-1344), Yéshaq (1414-1429), Zär‘a
Ya‘éqob (1434-1468), and Gälawdewos (1540-1559). Over the past several years,
scholars of Ethiopian studies have studied these texts and other similar ones, such as the
poems of zämänä mäsafént from various perspectives.2
This paper presents an edition, translation and analysis of hitherto unpublished praise
poems related to Emperor Tewodros II and Yohannes IV based on a text found in the
collection of Conti Rossini in Rome.3 The text was written or copied ca. 1900 but the
author is unknown. I prepared a list of words, expressions and names used in the poems
and tried to find the meanings of the unfamiliar or [old] words and expressions which
are in Amharic, Oromifa and Tégréñña from the available dictionaries.4 However, it
was not easy to correctly identify the names or horse-names mentioned in the praise
poems. I consulted additional references and sources about the historical, cultural and
political aspects of the two Emperors. Then I wrote down the poems with correct
orthography on a computer and gave them consecutive and similar numbers for each
couplet. This also applies to sample couplets selected for analysis and translation.
Finally, an attempt has been made to translate 32 couplets out of a total of 55 and
1 Department of African and Ethiopian Studies, Asia-Africa-Institute, Hamburg University, Edmund-
Siemers-Allee 1 (Ost), D-20146 Hamburg, Germany, E-mail: [email protected]
2 These include Guidi (1889), Cerulli (1916), Conti Rossini (1925), Littmann (1914), Cohen (1924),
Huntingford (1965), Berhanou (1979, 1985, 1987), Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie (1985), Richter
(1997), Yonas (2005), Gezahegn (2005), among others.
3 I am very grateful to the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO) for awarding me a Research
Fellowship (February – April 2003) to carry out research on historical sources in Rome. I thank the
staff of IsIAO and the staff of the Ethiopian Embassy in Rome for their assistance during my stay in
Rome. I acknowledge with gratitude the kind assistance of Poet and Folklorist Seifu Metaferia and
Professerors Bairu Tafla, Alessandro Triulzi and Giorgio Banti for their scholarly advice. Finally, I am
grateful to the German Research Association (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) for its
financial support to participate at the 16th ICES in Trondheim, Norway.
4 I have used extensively Kane (1990) and others, such as Antoine d’Abbadie (1881), Abba Yohannes
(1948/9), Guidi (1902) and Dästa (1962).
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Getie Gelaye
provide commentary and a sample analysis. The translation of the texts is as close to the
original as possible, especially for non-Amharic readers.
1. Text, Orthography and Language of the Poems
The Amharic text was written in four-folios on very thin paper. The poems are
written on the left column and the copyist marked a few short notes on the right side in
Italian. The header of the paper has a signal, which reads as: “R. RESIDENZA DI
ACACHI-IL RESIDENTE”.5 The size of the Amharic text is 285x230mm and it is
mentioned that Conti Rossini6 copied it. However, part of the text on the third folio
differs (in calligraphy) from the remaining text. Folio one contains the poems related to
Emperor Tewodros II and folios 2-4 contain poems related to Emperor Yohannes IV.
The text about Yohannes has a title which reads as: ፪ተኛ ያጼ ዮሐንስ (2nd about
7
Emperor Yohannes) but the text about Tewodros is without title. The author of the two
texts related to Tewodros and Yohannes is not mentioned. However, it is probable that
priests or Däbtära wrote down the texts.8 There are about four other texts, which are not
presented in the current study. There are orthographic errors that Conti Rossini made
when copying the poems (that is, if he really copied the text as mentioned by Strelcyn,
although one believes that he was a scholar of Ge‘ez and Amharic and he edited and
published several texts and royal chronicles.9) For instance, one can mention such
examples as: Aይነሳ[ሣ]ም፣ ባህ[ሕ]ር፣ ማህ[ኻ]ሉን፣ የገሰ[ሠ]ገስ[ሥ]ከው፣ from the text
about Tewodros; and the following examples from the poems related to Yohannes: Aኮ
[ኰ]ላኰሉ፣ A[A]ረር፣ ባህ[ሕ]ር፣ A[ዓ]ድዋ፣ ስ[ሥ]ረቱ፣ Aስ[ሥ]መራ፣ etc. The
number of couplets related to Emperor Tewodros is 14, whereas couplets related to
Yohannes are 41. Out of these, 8 couplets were published by Maòétämä Séllase10
(1948:878-79), while the remaining 45 poems are unknown and have not been
translated and published. In these texts, several Oromo words and names are mentioned
or employed in the poems, which might be a feature of Amharic in the 19th century.
These include: Aባ ቡላ፣ ቡሬ፣ ወሬ[ረ]ኛ፣ ይ[I]ላላ፣ ጨሬ፣ ቱማታ፣ from poems
related to Tewodros, and the following examples from Yohannes: ሁምና፣ ቦሬ፣
ቦሬሳው፣ ጉራቻ፣ ቃንቄ; and Tégrénñña words such as Aረር፣ ኰለኰለ፣ [for comments
and explanations on these words, see pp. 9-13 below].
Unlike the widely known, edited and translated old Amharic royal songs11, one can
read and understand the text of the poems presented here without much difficulty.
However, there are some words and expressions that might be regional dialects or
archaic forms of the Amharic of the time12 when the poems were composed. The poems
are written in a style widely known in the Ethiopian poetic tradition as fukkära: heroic
recitals or warrior’s songs/chants.
5 See Strelcyn (1975:317)
6 Ibid.
7 According to Strelcyn (ibid) originally the text did not have a title. Conti Rossini also wrote “Senza
Titolo” and gave the title [፩ኛ ያጼ ቴዎድሮስ?] with a question mark. See folio I [in the original].
8 There can be no doubt that the texts of these praise poems were written down by the clergy mostly by
the Däbtära, who were, for many centuries the sole custodians of the written word in Ethiopia.
9 See Ricci (2003:792).
10 Maòétämä Séllase published three of the praise poems related to Tewodros (couplets 1, 10 and 11) and
five poems referring to Yohannes (couplets 1, 9, 11, 13, 14) with slight modifications of one of the
couplets. He mentioned that the poems were [composed or recited] by a certain Hasän Amanu.
11 For a recent study about the old Amharic royal songs, see Richter (1997:543-551), Yonas (2005: 69-
86) and Gezahegn (2005: 107-129).
12 The dates for which the poems were composed or the place where they were found or collected are not
specified in the texts.
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Amharic Praise Poems Related to Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV
Historically, fukkära13 poems are composed, recited, improvised and performed at
major victories, during battles, hunting expeditions, at weddings, at important royal
banquets, and during the funerals of renowned figures. They were mainly recited by
warriors, heroes, braves, horsemen and soldiers in front of kings, lords, chiefs and
prominent figures, whose “heroic deeds” became legendary in the history of the
Ethiopian people. Fukkära is a distinct genre employed to extol and evoke the imagery
of warriors ambling astride, referring to their favourite horse-name or praise name, their
action in galloping into the battle, attacking the enemy, and finally celebrating the
victory. According to Levine (1965:272), “Perhaps the more prominent in Amhara life
has been the glorification of brave men. The Abyssinian military ethic took the form of
a cult hero…. The guabaz warrior was rewarded by his chief, praised by the minstrel,
and esteemed by the populace. His bravery was ranked according to the fearfulness of
the enemy vanquished.” It was after victory or killing an enemy that the warriors and
brave men performed fukkära and recited a variety of praise poems either by composing
new ones or by improvising others’ on the spot.14
3. Historical and Literary Significance of the Poems
Amharic praise poems play a significant role in the literary, historical and political
study of Ethiopian emperors. Some Ethiopian authors such, as Täklä Ìadéq (1936, 1983,
1984), Paulos (1984), Maòétämä Íéllase (1942, 1969), Gärima (1961) and Héruy (1910)
and chroniclers such as Aläqa Wäldä Maryam (1897), Däbtära Zännäb (1902), an
anonymous author (1959), Aläqa Täkle and others have attempted to document a variety
of Amharic poems, songs and recitals. These include dirges, lamentations, war songs,
heroic recitals and a variety of poems composed and recited in honour of Ethiopian
emperors, kings, nobles, warriors, etc. These poems and songs were mostly composed
and recited by the Azmari, (minstrels) Alqaš or Asläqqaš (wailers or dirge singers); by
warriors, soldiers, their followers, and the populace at large on various occasions. In the
former days15 fukkära was performed, recited and sung mainly by warriors, soldiers and
sometimes by the Azmari. It has been a common tradition for the Ethiopian royalty and
nobility to observe qärärto (warrior song) and fukkära performances (mainly by their
soldiers, followers and admirers) after lavish banquets, during war campaigns and
important religious, social and political gatherings whereby the performers would
receive a variety of rewards.16 At such occasions, the kings or nobles would perform
fukkära recitals themselves or would give poems to their favorite singers; and the
reciters of fukkära would praise the rulers referring to their horse-names17 in the verses.
13 According to Mängéítu (1963:151) the syllabic structure of fukkära poem is known as sängo mägän”
one of the three fundamental rhythmical patterns in Amharic versification.
14 On the performance of fukkära see Getie (2006:588-89), Powne (1968:75-76).
15 In the 20th century fukkära poems are colorfully recited and performed by the Ethiopian veterans at
important National Holidays, such as the Victory of ‘Adwa (March 2) and Martyrs Day (May 5). Over
the past years, government officials and authorities use qärärto songs and fukkära recitals on radio and
television, during war times as an important medium of propaganda to inspire the people and rouse
their courage or to recruit soldiers. See Getie (2004, 2005, 2006).
16 Ibid.
17 For a detail description of the tradition of Horse-names see Maòétämä Séllase (1969: 195-98).
According to Bairu (1977:65), “It was fashionable for the kings, notables and lords of ninetieth
century Ethiopia to give a high sounding name to their horses. The name was selected to connote or
denote the wish, aspiration, and action of the owner.” The horse-name usually begins with the noun:
Abba “father”, which means master of, or lord of […]. Kings and notables used to be praised in their
horse-names by their servants, followers, singers, etc.
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Getie Gelaye
Tristan Speedy, a British officer, who visited Ethiopia in 1861-62 and attended the
court of Emperor Tewodros, had the opportunity to hear soldiers’ songs, which were
sung after victories. Speedy’s description of the scene is worth mentioning: “On such
occasions the men would utter war cries [qärärto] calling themselves yetewodros barya
(‘slave of Tewodros’) and would boast of the numbers they had slain. Horsemen who
had distinguished themselves in battle would dash up at full gallop before the king’s
tent, suddenly reigning in their horses, while foot-soldiers, brandishing their swords or
quivering their lances go through a war dance and as each time in a turn recounts his
deeds of prowess, his comrades confirm his boast by crying out ewnet, ewnet (it is true,
it is true”).18 Here are two songs that praise Emperor Tewodros:
የቴዎድሮስ ፈረስ ታላቁ ታጠቅ ትንሹ ጉሎ
ጅራቱ ትግሬ ግምባሩ ወሎ።
Téwodros’s big horse [is called] Tatäq, the small one [is] Gullo
Its tail is in Tegré, its forehead is in Wällo.
Eግዜር ያውቃል Eርሳቸው ወንድ
ጦሩ ይዘላል Aንድ ሺህ ክንድ።
God knows [that] he [is] a [brave] man,
His spear jumps [can fly] one thousand cubits.19
Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie (1985) studied the war songs of Tewodros’ soldiers
based on Speedy’s notebooks. The poems presented above and others were “composed
at an important period of Ethiopia in honour of Emperor Tewodros, one of the country’s
most notable rulers”.20 Similarly, Berhanou (1970, 1985, 1987) made a major study and
published three articles based on the collection of Antoine d’Abbadie, who travelled to
Goggam and Bägemdér in 1845-48 and collected several Amharic poems and songs.
Berhanou wrote down the poems in Amharic that d’Abbadie transcribed and translated
into French with commentaries. Recently, Molvaer (2005) published an article on
historical poems related to Ethiopian Emperors and notables based on Aläqa Täkle’s
chronicle. Molvaer mentions that he hired a certain Bä’édämaryam Dästa in the 1980s
to collect Amharic poems. His study contains 9 poems related to Tewodros, 2 couplets
about Yohannes and few short anecdotes about Lég Iyyasu, Empress Zäwditu and
Emperor Òaylä Íéllase I.21
4. A Sample Analysis22 of Selected Praise Poems
Couplets 1 and 2 and 9-13 directly relate to the deeds and valour of Tewodros,
praising his personality, bravery, courage, determination, etc., as a distinguished warrior
and military tactician. Particularly, the first and the last couplets depict the dramatic
death of Kaía or Emperor Tewodros in Mäqdälla, which had a great symbolic impact in
Ethiopia. It is this dramatic death that the poet-singer chose to honour and glorify the
mighty king, whose life, career, dreams, images, achievements, etc., inspire many
18 Quoted in Pankhurst and Girma-Selassie (1985:51).
19 Ibid, 60. See also Getie (2005:585).
20 Ibid, 56. The authors attempted to reconstruct the texts of the songs and provide linguistic comments.
21 Most of the poems that Molvaer presented criticize Emperor Tewodros and his reign.
22 Due to space restriction, short commentaries of the praise poems are provided here. The reigns of
Tewodros II and Yohannes IV are known in Ethiopian history as periods of political turmoil, regional
wars, etc.. Most of the poems refer to war campaigns, battles and historical events, which require
extensive consultation of historical sources. Using these poems as a historical source material, a
detailed discussion and a thorough analysis of the historical events will follow in another study.
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Amharic Praise Poems Related to Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV
Ethiopian artists, such as novelists, poets, playwrights, sculptors, painters and singers.23
Kaía or Tewodros died long ago, but for the poet-singer, Tewodros is still alive in
Mäqdälla.24 Therefore, rather than lamenting his pains, grief and sorrows in dirge (mušo
or léqso), the poet-singer chose to praise Tewodros25 in fukkära also commonly recited
during the death of a king, a warrior, a brave man, etc., and later at a series of memorial
feasts or celebrations organized in honour of the dead. Here the poet refers to two major
historical places: Qwara, where Kaía, the gifted warrior, originated, and Mäqdäla,
where Tewodros, the visionary king ended his life. The second poem praises the
bravery26 of Emperor Tewodros referring to his horse-name, Aባ ታጠቅ (Abba Tatäq)
– ‘father’ or ‘lord of Tatäq’, lit. “Girdle [yourself]”, whose action, courage, violence
and heroism is superior, and hence the poet could not find any other hero and any other
horse, who could match with the king and his horse.
In the following couplets, the poet uses carefully selected words such as:
ወንድ (manly, hero), ጎበዝ (brave, valor), Eብድ (mad, hot tempered or angered), etc.,
to describe Tewodros’ violence and bravery and metaphorical expressions to convey the
most significant message. For example, in couplet 12, the poet metaphorically depicts
Tewodros’ bravery at war by describing: “he, who looks like a mad man when he
throws a spear”. The poet also depicts Tewodros’ strength and bravery using a different
praise name, Aባ ሞገድ (Abba Mogäd) “lord of storm”, which depicts best Tewodros’
force, powerfulness and vigorousness. The poet also compares the king with a Vulture
to extol his speed. This refers to Tewodros’ military tactics of fast, unexpected and
forced war campaigns, where he surprisingly marches to the most dangerous areas
“where Vulture can not reach, let alone human being” to fight his enemies and subdue
his rivals (couplet 13). Here the poet refers to one of Tewodros’ successful military
campaigns he made to Goggam, where he won a decisive victory in 1863 at the battle of
Engébara27. Furthermore, Tewodros’ bravery is glorified referring to his esteemed
sword and his spear in couplet 9 and 11, respectively. In couplet 10, the poet-singer
addresses [praises] directly the great warrior Kaía and tells about his fondness for
weapons especially his favourite sword describing him: “you have no relation other than
a sword”. In couplet 11 the poet not only extols Tewodros’ bravery at war but also
describes the act of his violence and cruelty as he kills and chops off men’s genitals.
Couplets 3-7 mention six names28 or horse-names of masters, who were probably
19th century warriors, lords or local chiefs and their servants or soldiers. As their names
indicate, they might be originated either from the Yäggu Dynasty, Bägemdér, Sémen or
Tégre. These are: Íéyyum Bäqqahäñ and Ali Abba Bulla29, who are praised and
23 See Taye (1983: 115-116).
24 Rubenson (1990:12, 15) writes, “a myth was born, … a new hero is born.”
25 Tewodros himself was versed in several languages and skilled in composing and reciting fukkära
poems. His favorites self praises and widely documented expressions are: “Oæd´ (O∫)፣ õé, ôè≈
πçz%”, etc. See Berhanou (1987:35).
26 Taye, ibid writes, “In contrast to written historical fiction, oral literature takes as its focal point the
dramatic personality of Tewodros rather than his struggle and reforms. Accordingly, violence and
bravery are marked as the personal features that distinguish Tewodros most.” See also Rubenson
(1990:14-15).
27 See Gärima (1961:161).
28 Most of these names are Oromo origin, which might have relations to the lineages of Yäggu Dynasty,
who are also referred as “Wärrä Seh”.
29 It is probable that Ali [Gwangul] Abba Bulla was one of the warring lords from the Muslim and Oromo
family of the Yäggu Dynasty in Wällo. According to Berhanou (19770:101) Abba Bulla was the
horse-name of Däggaó Amäde. Berhanou notes “Boula est le nom de cheval da dadajaó Amedé
musulman très guerrier et hai en Bagemodr”. See also Rubenson (1991:35).
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Getie Gelaye
portrayed in couplet 3 as masters; and Bäläw Gwangule and Täbäggä Buree as servants.
The names Bäläw and Gwangul are mentioned in the chronicle of Tewodros (Fusella
1959:4-6) and in Rubenson (1991:100). In couplet 4 two additional names, Asfaw
Maläfiya30 and Wäreñña31 [and] Bérru, are mentioned and praised as brave men. The
first one might be a fighter about whom it was not possible to find information. The
second one is Wäreñña, an Oromo name, to which at least few lords or chiefs are
known by this name, such as Ras Wäreñña, who was a great warrior and governor of
Sémen during the reign of Emperor Täklä Giyorgis.32
Couplets 5 and 6 praise [Fitawrari] Gäbréyye, who was Tewodros’ most trusted war
general and a capable military leader, and who was his right hand. In couplet 5, the poet
metaphorically describes Gäbréyye as የባሕር Aዞ “crocodile of a river” – comparing
him with crocodile and praising him saying: “he, who comes up now brandishing a
sword”. In couplet 6 the poet again repeats the first line of the verse (see poem 1) that
he used to praise the dramatic death of Tewodros and to assert that Gäbréyye is also
alive and has not been forgotten. Further in the second line, the poet proudly praises
Gäbréyye, using [his praise or horse-name] ድግን “déggén”33. Here, the poet addresses
his audience using a second person masculine saying: “why don’t you say Déggén
Gäbréyye?” so that Gäbréyye will always be remembered. Perhaps it is necessary to
comment here on the word ድግን “déggén” in Amharic34, which is derived from the
verb ደገነ ‘däggän’ and means, “to point, to aim; to point a bow, a gun, a hose, to take
aim, get ready to shoot; to fend off an attack with a sword or a cudgel”. 35 Here the
meanings “get ready, to aim, to shoot, to fend off an attack with a sword” could best fit
in to describe the great warrior, Gäbréyye. Probably Conti Rossini copied the word
wrongly as ግድን “gédén” [in couplet 5], and ጊድን “gidén” [in couplet 8]. In the
original text he put a short note on the right side, stating the origin of the word ግድን is
Tégrénñña and adds probably the variant —&≈è is a dialect in Gondär. However, this is
a beautiful praise poem, which honours both Tewodros and Gäbréyye, who were
comrade-in-arms.36 In couplet 14, the poet-singer laments the tragic death of Tewodros,
directly addressing him. Emperor Tewodros died on Monday April 13, 1868 in
Mäqdäla, committing suicide. Here, the poet directly asks the warrior King, saying:
“what did the earth say, when you died?” and continues to tell about the natural
phenomena that the earth devours or consumes human being [people] mornings and
30 This is mentioned as Assäfa Maläfiya in the poems of Zämänä Mäsafént that Berhanou (1985:20)
published.
31 The term may be Oromo by origin, but it was used in the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries to
mean 'rebel'. According to Kane (II, 1990: 1499), the name Wäreñña is obsolete Amharic, which
refers to a “rebel, pretender to the throne who rises against the monarch”. Here, this name probably
refers to Ras Wäldä Séllase, who was a great warrior and “a serious pretender to the throne after the
fall of Emperor Täklä Giyorgis, who had made him ras [r’ésä mäkuwanént] and was governor of the
Amhara Regions from Sémen to Bägemdér” (Rubenson 2000:103).
32 See Rubenson, Ibid.
33 I was unable to trace the origin of the word in the available dictionaries. However, I found the word
ግድን in Gärima (1961: 143), in a different praise poem composed about Fitawrari Gäbréyye which
reads:
ድግን ገብርዬ የሞተው ዝኆን
ጦር መጣ በሉት ይነሣ Eንደሆን። Hence, the word might be used with slight change of the first
two alphabets; or it can be a regional variant in Gondär and Tégray.
34 Dästa Täklä Wäld (1962:340) defines ድግን as: “የተደገነ፣ የታሰረ፣ የጎረሠ፣ ድግን መትረየስ”. The
last example can be translated as: ‘a loaded machine gun’, which strengthens our assumption discussed
here.
35 See Kane (II, 1990:1834).
36 According to Ethiopian historians and chroniclers Tewodros grieved deeply when he heard the death
of Gäbréyye fighting against the British army.
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Amharic Praise Poems Related to Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV
evenings. In the third line, he describes the death of Tewodros defying [his enemy] face-
to-face, using the Oromo word: ቱማታ (tumata). The word ቱማታ is defined as:
“uproar, turmoil, combat with spears; spear used only for thrusting; slaughter; directly
opposite, face-to-face”.37 This definition shows a vivid and dramatic description of
fighting. Tewodros preferred death by his own hands rather than surrendering to the
British army. The poet here prefers to honour the king’s death not by throwing a spear,
which could be thrown from far away but rather by combating face-to-face. The poems
presented here begin and end with the death of Tewodros.
The Amharic poems related to Emperor Yohannes are three times more numerous
than the poems composed about Tewodros. They raise a number of important themes
referring to the sovereign, his personality, character, and bravery his victory over
regional lords and the major wars he fought against the Turks, Egyptians and Mahdists
of Sudan and finally about his tragic death. An attempted has been made to translate 21
couplets and provide analysis and commentary on the major themes depicted in the
poems. Here again we find Oromo words and names used in the poems. Emperor
Yohannes’ praise or horse-name ቦሬሳው itself is of Oromo origin. Linguistic evidence
shows that the root verb of boressaw is boressa,38 and the agent boressu, which means
the disturber, rebel, violent, etc., and probably incorporated into Tégréñña.39 Yohannes’
official horse-name is Abba Bäzbéz, but in the couplets presented and analysed here, the
Emperor is praised mostly by Boressaw, probably to emphasize Kaía’s rebellious
personality before his coronation and later his bravery in war. Emperor Yohannes IV
has been described as: “a noble by birth, a cleric by education, a zealot by faith, a
moralist by tendency, a monk by practice, a nationalist by policy, and a soldier and an
emperor by profession”.40 Most poems presented here express that Emperor Yohannes
was a great warrior who successfully defeated his internal rivals and foreign enemies. In
the poems presented here, Yohannes is described as the most powerful man whose
deeds, valour, bravery and skill of administration can be compared with biblical figures
such as King David (poem 1), King Solomon (couplet 9) and even with Jesus Christ
(couplet 4). The poet employs carefully selected imagery and metaphorical expressions
to depict the military career and achievements of the Emperor and how he defeated the
Turks [Egyptians] (see couplets 7, 9, 10). Particularly, couplet 7 praises Yohannes’
victory over the Egyptians in Gura, saying: “he, who descends down to Gura and
threshes the Turks”. The poet also praises the Emperor saying: he, who is “killer of the
English [probably here also Egyptians] with imported weapons”, etc. Furthermore,
Yohannes’ strength, power and military superiority, as well as his weapons, such as his
rifle, his sword, and his shield; his horses and mules; his officers and servants, are best
depicted in metaphorical expressions in several poems. For example, Yohannes’ grace,
strength and force are praised in couplet 14. Here, the poet employs two figures of
speech: simile and metaphor. In the first line Yohannes’ majestic grace is described as:
“he looks like fifty when going alone”; here the imagery “like fifty” is a simile. In the
second line the poet compares the brave Kaía with Aንበሳ “lion”, a major metaphor,
which relates to an important action and historical event in Kaías’ military career as a
youth. Kaía killed a lion before he was crowned as Emperor, and he was welcomed
37 Kane (I, 1990:961).
38 According to Gragg (1982:57) boressa (vt.) means “make muddy, stir up (water); disturb”.
39 See Abba Yohannes (1948/49:403). Abba Yohannes did not indicate its root in Oromo.
40 See Bairu (1977:15).
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home warmly by his sister and the neighbouring girls beating a drum and singing.41
Soon, Kaía became a powerful man and defeated first his rivals among the notables of
Tégre and later the chiefs and lords of other regions and the central provinces of
Ethiopia. His military achievements over the peoples of Amhara and Galla42 and how he
subdued and ruled them all in unity are praised and depicted in couplets 12, 30, 32, 38.
Yohannes is also praised as: ያረቡ ዘጊ “he, who fights, faces the Arabs” 43 ያበሻ ባል
“he, who is husband44 of Abäša”, Aንድ Aርጎ Aስጓዘው፣ Aማራ ጋላን Aስጎበደደው፣
etc., to show how he successfully defeated and ruled the Amharas the Oromos and other
people as far as the sea (couplets 5, 18, 19, 28 and 37).
Yohannes’ dedication to the faith of Christianity is depicted in couplets 20 and 21. In
couplet 20, his ‘sanctity’ and devotion to religious life is described in the first line of the
verse as: Aንድ ቀን ከሴት ሳይጋፈፍ፣ “not even a day he slept with a woman”, and the
poet continues to tell about the Emperor’s speech, which does not have a defect. Finally
the poet mentions the departure of his soul saying: “what did his flesh say, when his
soul departed? Yohannes’ chronicles mention the monkish45 life of the Emperor, who
built several churches. Probably the most interesting description of Yohannes’ bravery
in warfare is how he faced Mahdists or Muslims in Mätämma with his officers and how
he later died. Couplets 22-27 all describe this action. For example, in couplet 22 the
poet expresses his sadness and deep grief, and laments about the poignant death of
Emperor Yohannes, who died having “powder in his belly and sword at his neck” in the
hands the Muslims, whom the poet refers to as Aረመኔ “merciless”. It was at this tragic
war that Yohannes’ officers all perished; and the poet depicts them as those “who always
looked down upon people” (couplet 23). In Couplet 25, the poet continues to lament the
end of Yohannes’ bravery and heroism referring to him as: “gone are the shield and
power [heroism]” again using an important Oromo word, ሁምና and his favourite
horse-name, Boressaw. Finally couplets 15 and 41 [which have almost similar verses]
raise an interesting relation in the last line of the verse, which says: የካሣን ካሣ
መለሰው ደሙን፣ “Kaía avenged the blood of Kaía”. Perhaps the poet may refer here
to the two Kaías46: Kaía, Tewodros II and Kaía, Yohannes IV, who were not only
rivals, but who were also great warriors, were brave and heroes, who fought against
foreign invaders, etc., and finally who both died fighting their enemies.
To conclude, in this paper an attempt has been made to present an edition and sample
translation of a text, which contains interesting Amharic praise poems. These are rich
literary and historical sources, which give us insights into the reigns of Tewodros II and
Yohannes IV and the history of Ethiopia in 19th century. The study opens possibilities
for new approaches of scientific research to compare these poems with contemporary
praises of fükkära and other genres of Amharic oral poetry. A study of such praise
poems related to the lives, images, actions, courage, determination, bravery,
achievements and the tragic death of Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV, is an
interesting historical and literary project, which will have high value for present and
future generations.
41 This is mentioned in the chronicles of Emperor Yohannes. See Bairu (1977:41).
42 This refers to the Oromo people as it was used in those days.
43 This relates to how Yohannes counterchecked the Egyptian invasion in the north. See Zawde (1975),
Bairu (1977), Taddese (et al eds 1990), among others.
44 This is actually a similar expression that Tewodros used to utter while he was reciting fukkära or when
boasting and bragging in fukkära.
45 See Bairu (1977:15), Täklä Ìadéq (1984:548).
46 See the article about the two Kaías in Shiferaw (1990:289-347).
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Amharic Praise Poems Related to Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV
5. Sample Poems with Translation
[፩ኛ ያጼ ቴዎድሮስ] I. Poems about Emperor Tewodros II
1. መቸ ሞተና መቸ ተረሳ?
መቅደላ ያለው የቋራው ካሣ።
So soon is he dead; so soon forgotten?
Kaía of Qwara, who is in Mäqdälla
2. Eንግዲህ Eኔ ሌላ Aላነሣ
ከፈረስ ታጠቅ ከጎበዝ ካሣ።
Henceforth I shall not mention any one,
Except Tatäq from among horses, and Kaía from braves.
3. Aይነሣም ወይ ጌታ ከሎሌ?
ሥዩም በቃኸኝ በለው ጓንጉሌ
ዓሊ Aባ ቡላ ተበጀ ቡሬ።
Won’t man mention the master with the servant?
Íéyyum Bäqqahäñ and Bäläw Gwangule,
Ali Abba Bula [and] Täbäggä Buree.
4. ይነሣል ጎበዝ በየሰፈሩ
Aስፋው ማለፊያ ወሬኛ ብሩ።
Braves arise in every place,47
Asfaw Maläfiya [and] Wäreñña48 Bérru.
5. ድግን ገብርዬ የባሕር Aዞ
ይዘልቃል Aሁን ጎራዴ መዞ።
Déggén Gäbréyye, crocodile of the rivers,
He will now come up brandishing with [his] sword.
9. መቸ ሞተና መቸ ተረሳ?
ድግን ገብረዬ Aትልምሳ!
So soon is he dead; so soon forgotten?
Why do not you say: déggén Gäbréyye!
10. የቋራው ካሣ ልበልህ Eንዴ?
የለህም ዘመድ Aለ ጎራዴ።
Shall I call you Kaía of Qwara?
You have no relation other than a sword.
11. Aንሡ ታላችሁ Eናንሣ ወንድ
የቋራው ካሣ Aባ ሞገድ።
If you want to mention (someone), let’s mention the brave
Kaía from Qwara, Abba Mogäd [lord of storm].
47 This could also mean ‘braves are praised in every village or area.’
48 See footnote 31 above.
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12. ጦር ሲወረውር ይመስላል Eብድ
በጨሬ ገድሎ ቁላ Eሚጎምድ።
He looks like a mad man when he throws a spear,
He, who kills with a cäre49 and hacks a penis.
13. የገሠገሥከው Eስከ Eንጅባራ
ስንኳን50 ሰውና Aሄድ Aሞራ።
You make forced march to Engébara51,
Vulture would not make it, let alone human being.
14. ምድር ምናለች የሞትህለታ?
ሰው Eምትበላው ጧትና ማታ
በውርወራ A[ይ]ዶል52 ያው በቱማታ።
What did the earth say, the day you died?
Which devours people mornings and evenings,
Not by throwing at, but rather by tumata.53
፪ኛ ያጼ ዮሐንስ II. Poems about Emperor Yohannes IV
2. ቦሬሳው ካሣን Aትነካኩት
የተቀባ ነው Eንደ ዳዊት።
Stir not Boressaw Kaía,
Anointed he is like David.
3. ቦሬሳው ካሣ ምነው Aይኮራ?
ቱርክ Aይመልሰው Eንኳን Aማራ።
Why not be proud, Boressaw Kaía?
Not even the Turks can resist him, let alone the Amhara.54
4. ማን ይነካዋል ቦሬን በፈረስ?
Aለ ፈጣሪ Aለ ክርስቶስ።
Who can challenge Bore55 in a horse race?
Except the Creator, except Christ.
5. ቦሬሳው ቢዘልቅ ባንድያ ፈረስ
Aንድ Aርጎ ሳበ ባሕር በመለስ።
When Boressaw advanced on a single horse,
He united all and advanced as far as the sea.
49 This is an Oromo term, which means “long, slender and straight spear” (Kane 1990:1690). The word is
mentioned in one of Tewodros’ chronicles written by an anonymous Ethiopian writer and published by
Fusella (1959:16-22). It reads as: Aጤ ቴዎድሮስ ጨሬAቸውን በትክሻቸው Eንዳደረጉ ካንዲት
የባላገር ሴት ገቡና Eንዴት ዋልሽ Aልዋት። ... ሴትዮዋንም ደህ[ኅ]ና ሁኝ ብሎ ጦሩን Aንሥቶ
ወጥቶ ተጓዘ። ... ጨሬውን Eየሰበቀ Aንድ ጀግና ፈረሰኛ Aስከትሎ ንጉሡ ወደAሉበት ደረሰ።
50 This is a variant of Eንኳን.
51 Probably, this refers to the battle of Engébara that took place in Agäw Médr (Goggam), where
Tewodros defeated his main rival Däggazmaó Tädla Gwalu, who was governor of Mecca and Agäw
(Rubinson 1991:232).
52 This is a variant of Aይደለም። See Kane (II, 1990:1299).
53 See note 37.
54 This poem is probably composed and recited after Kaía became Emperor Yohannes, and after he
defeated the Egyptians at the battles of Gura and Gundät. See couplet 7.
55 This is a short form of endearment to address Boressaw [Kaía].
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Description:historical poems related to Ethiopian Emperors and notables based on Aläqa Täkle's .. English [probably here also Egyptians] with imported weapons”, etc.
