Tag Archives: Amharic

Ethiopian Tale – Wardit the Mule

Main Piece 

My informant told me the story of a beautiful mule named Wardit. Wardit was on her way to drink water from the river, when she met an admirer, a horse, on the way. The horse confesses his love for Wardit, and asks about her parentage. Wardit looked confused, and asked the horse why her parentage is important. The horse explains that it is tradition to marry someone from a good familial parentage. Wardit explains that her mother is the governor’s horse. The horse was delighted, and asked of Wardit’s father. Wardit then said proudly that her sister is the priest’s horse. The horse looked puzzled and asked once more of Wardit’s father. Wardit then said that her aunt is the village governor’s horse. The horse grew impatient and once again asked of Wardit’s father. Just then, Wardit’s father appears. He is an old, wrinkled donkey. He asks Wardit what she is doing talking to the horse. Wardit ignores him. Again, the father asks Wardit, and again, Wardit ignores him. The horse angrily asks Wardit who the horse is and why he disturbs the conversation. Wardit insists that she does not know the old, shrivelled donkey. The horse begins to kick the donkey to death. With his final breath, the donkey asks God, “Oh God, look at what has happened to me.” God speaks to Wardit and declares her barren and unable to have children. He says, “you have disrespected your father, so you shall bear no child.”

Context 

This tale is told to young children to teach them to respect their elders, as this is a very important manner to instill in children in Ethiopia.

Background

My informant was born and raised in Ethiopia. He explains that in Ethiopian culture, disrespecting one’s parents is considered a very heinous offense. He informed me that this also applies to any elders in or outside of the family. He explained that Ethiopians are very family oriented, thus many tales in Ethiopian culture aim to teach children to be obedient and prioritize their family. My informant learned this tale from his parents at a young age, which further reaffirms that this tale was told for educational purposes.

My Thoughts

I had never heard of this tale before, but it did resonate with me. We have the same family values in Armenian culture. I found it interesting that Wardit was punished by God, which suggests that disrespecting one’s parents is not only a social offense, but a religious one. According to my informant, religion is a non-negotiable aspect of society in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. This tale also communicates the importance of family values. Wardit was punished for not defending or claiming her father. According to my informant, disrespecting an elder, regardless of your relationship with them, is disrespectful and shameful. For more information on Ethiopian family dynamics, see the cited article from Cultural Atlas under the subheadings titled “Family” and “Household Dynamics.” 

Source:

Evason, Nina. “Ethiopian Culture.” Cultural Atlas, 2018, culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/ethiopian-culture/ethiopian-culture-family. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.

Ethiopian Tale – Three Deaf People

Main Piece

There was once a deaf farmer, who grew wheat on his farm. One day, as he was plowing wheat, he was approached by a deaf woman. Neither one knew that the other was deaf. 

“Excuse me,” the deaf woman asked him, “I have lost my sheep. Do you know where they went?”

“I’m farming wheat over here. My field ends over there,” the deaf man answered, pointing his finger to the end of his field. 

The woman follows his pointed finger and, luckily, she finds her sheep. To express her gratitude to the man, she offers him one of her sheep that has a broken leg. 

“Take this sheep in return, the leg is broken,” she says.

The man answers, “why do you interrupt my work once more? I am farming.”

The woman thought he asked for another sheep, but she refused another and insisted on giving him only the one with a broken leg. The two quarreled some more and decided to go to court to settle their dispute. Unbeknownst to them both, the judge was also deaf. 

After listening to, but not hearing, both of their disputes, the judge told the man, “the baby on the woman’s back is your son because he looks just like you.”

Context 

This joke is told in a casual setting, but not near deaf people present, so as not to alienate them from the group setting. This joke is told to convey the message that hearing is not the same as listening. 

Background

My informant was born and raised in Ethiopia. He remembers hearing this joke from a friend. He explained that it is memorable because it made him laugh. He explained that the joke is not meant to ridicule deaf people, but to emphasize how important it is to listen to, not just to hear, people when they speak. 

My Thoughts

When I first heard this joke, I laughed as well. I can see why my informant said this was one of his favorite jokes. I think the moral of the joke is relevant, and its meaning can be understood by those outside of the Ethiopian community. The joke emphasizes the importance of listening to someone, and draws a distinction between listening and hearing. I noticed that the judge is a common recurring character in Ethiopian stories. The judge is commonly depicted as simple-minded, ignorant, and unfair. This suggests that those in power, like the judge, may not always be the smartest in most qualified people. In other words, just because someone holds a position in society, does not mean that person is worthy of that position.

“The goat doesn’t get to keep the grass when he dies.”

My informant is from Washington, D.C. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia. This her explanation of a saying she has heard her father use:

“So since my dad is from like, the rural area of Ethiopia, he knows a lot of Ethiopian sayings. Some of them are based on like, stories. Um, I don’t know most of those. But my dad will just kind of throw them in random situations and they don’t really make sense to me. So one time was when this guy was like, doing something that my dad thought was selfish. We were at Costco and this guy didn’t put his shopping cart away after he used it. He just left it in the middle of the parking lot. So my dad looked off into the distance and said, ‘Well, you know what they say.’ Then he recited a saying in Amharic and then he translated it for us. And basically the meaning was, um, ‘The goat doesn’t get to keep the grass when he dies.’ It didn’t make any sense to me, but apparently it means, “Don’t be selfish about things just because you’re not using them anymore.” Sort of. At least, that was my understanding of it. It’s not a phrase I’m going to be using, but my dad thought it was important to share.”

My informant is someone who has somewhat of a language barrier between her and her parents. Her mother and father are fluent in Amharic, the language most commonly spoken in Ethiopia, but my informant does not speak or understand this language. Therefore, some things get lost in translation. This particular saying is one example of those miscommunications. My informant’s father is trying to relate to her, but she has a hard time understanding exactly what reference she is making. She’s had an urban American upbringing, whereas her father grew up on a farm on Ethiopia. She is not used to interacting with goats or observing goats’ interactions with grass. Sometimes, the places she and her father grew up seem worlds away. Despite the many cultural differences, my informant is ultimately able to understand the gist of what her father is trying to tell her. The literal meaning of her father’s saying may be confusing to her without the context that her father learned it in, but the important part—the message he is trying to convey—remains. In this way, this folk saying helps my informant’s father communicate with her, even if it is in a somewhat indirect way.