Tag Archives: Ethiopia

The Lost Goldmine

Text: “Legend has it that a German settler moved to the Phoenix, Arizona area and was working in the Peralta Mine of the Superstition Mountains in East Phoenix, about one hour from the city of Mesa. In the late 1900s, that man was said to have become wealthy by stumbling across a section of that mine that was closed off to everyday miners. After stumbling upon the gold, he became extremely rich, and he left Phoenix to live a life enshrouded in wealth. After much time, the man grew old, and seeing the way the gold had changed his life, he didn’t want to take its source of origin to the grave. He told a nurse in his hospital the location of the hidden mine. Rumors spread regarding its location, and many people have tried to find the lost gold in the Superstition Mountains. The Superstition Mountains are rumored to be some of the most treacherous in the U.S., so if you were to get lost, you most likely wouldn’t find your way out and be left for dead. Countless bodies have been found in the mountains. People have been found with their heads removed and lost to the point of dehydration and starvation, The gold is said to be cursed as it has never been found, and those who seek it out never return.”

Context: My informant – a 29-year-old man living in Mesa, Arizona  – told me this story, drawing on a legend he had heard from one of his old bosses. My informant works in construction and infrastructure, and he was once on a job site near the base of the Superstition Mountain Range. On a lunch break, he and his coworkers began to wander into the mountains, which their boss proceeded to warn them about, calling upon the story of the lost goldmine and those who go missing in the mountains. My informant described how his boss was extremely adamant about not going into the mountains because of the legend and how many get lost in the range, and to this day, he still hasn’t ventured into them.

Analysis: After hearing this legend from my informant, I recalled a piece written by Tok Thompson on proverbs in Ethiopia. In the article, Thompson explores the rich cultural landscape of Ethiopia through the lens of Amharic proverbs. In Amharic culture, wealth is perceived as a transformative force in social relations, yet it is also believed to be determined by destiny, making the pursuit of wealth futile. The proverbs critique greed and highlight the futility of chasing wealth, which stands in stark contrast to the belief in capitalist societies like the United States, where wealth is often equated with hard work. Ethiopians value a full and meaningful life regardless of wealth, a sentiment reflected in their proverbs. 

While the legend my informant described to me doesn’t come from Ethiopia, I see a lot of Amharic cultural narratives within it. The legend tells the story of one lucky man who discovered a lot of gold in the Superstition Mountains, and when he revealed its location on his deathbed, people quickly sprung into action to find the goldmine and claim it for themselves. While the mountain range is inherently treacherous, people are still able to explore them and hike through them; however, if someone seeks out the gold that the man discovered years ago, they go missing. I feel that this legend is similar to the Amharic proverbs regarding wealth in the sense that they both discuss the consequences of greed, and how chasing wealth is a fool’s errand. My informant told me that the man who found the gold in the legend merely stumbled upon it, asserting that it was by luck. However, when people go out into the Superstition Mountains with a purpose of claiming the riches, they are never to be seen again. The legend of the lost goldmine in the Superstition Mountains, as recounted by my informant, echoes themes found in cultural narratives from around the world, including Ethiopia. The legend warns against the pitfalls of greed and the futile pursuit of wealth. While the story of the German settler who stumbled upon the gold speaks to luck, the fate of those who actively seek out the treasure serves as a cautionary tale. Through these cultural narratives, we are reminded of the folklore that transcends borders and generations. 

References:

Thompson, Tok. “Getting Ahead in Ethiopia: Amharic Proverbs about Wealth.”

Proverbium, 2009, 367-386.

The Land that Howls

Nationality: Ethiopian/Italian

Primary Language: English

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles

Date: 2/20/2024


Text:

“In Eritrea, there is a town named Nefasit, meaning the village of the wind nested in the mountain highlands. Because of its high elevation, the wind frequently picks up and due to the shape of the surrounding mountains will make a lot of loud sounds. They say that the sound comes from our ancestors reaching out to us, and that the tone of the sounds lets us know of their intention. 

When the wind howls, it is them warning us to stay vigilant as danger nears. And sometimes when the wind hits the mountains the right way it vibrates everything with a humming that sounds like music. This means that the ancestors are pleased with our decisions and that good fortune is upon us, usually in the form of a woman blessed with a child or a fruitful new season.”

Context: He recounts the story behind a region in his motherland Eritrea. This is a known story that he heard growing up through his family. He explained also how important nature is in the country of Eritrea and how they are very in tune with the land around them. Therefore they listen and take in signs that mother nature is trying to show them and use it as a vice to predict the future. 

Analysis: It was really charming learning how a piece of folklore was so interconnected to mother nature. A distinguished tie to nature is rare from my own community, so hearing another community’s strong acknowledgement to nature and how that ties into their traditions is very insightful. My interpretation of the story is that the people of that region are very in tune with their surroundings and have gone through centuries of receiving signs from their environment that indicate fortune or misfortune. 

To not see the soul

Nationality: Ethiopian/Italian

Primary Language: English

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles

Date: 2/20/2024

Text: “In Ethiopian culture, people are generally wary of foreigners and the lower class, believing many of them invoking the power of buda or demons to curse others. As such it is rude for these people to sustain eye contact, and they generally take effort to sustain eye contact with them as an attempt to curse them. They also believe these demon-invoking people to be capable of changing into hyenas and thus also avoid making eye contact with wild hyenas”

Context: This was told to him at a young age by his family and is a cultural aspect with spiritual components. He clarifies though that it is not something he participates in and personally believes in. Especially with the fact that he was mainly raised in the United States and it is not a social norm that is practiced.

 Analysis: This was an example of how heavily they believe in signs of misfortune and curses, even on a smaller scale not involving magic. I was able to draw parallels between the “tabooistic” belief of the evil eye, that by holding eye contact they can be inflicted with misfortune. Both stem from glaring and believe that one who is jealous, or in this case lower in stationary, they can evoke a curse to lessen your fortune.

Blocking the Groom

Informant AM is a graduate student from San Jose California, whose family is originally from Ethiopia. There is a strong Ethiopian diasporic community in San Jose, where much of its traditions live on.

Text:

“The morning before the reception, the groom and his family members accompany him to go pick up the bride. But, at the door, the bride’s family is blocking them. They’re role playing — that’s what it seems like. I’m like, ‘Didn’t y’all agree to this?’ I don’t know why it became a tradition. Every single Ethiopian wedding I’ve been to has done it.”

Context:

Informant AM witnessed this tradition in primarily Ethiopian Orthodox Christian weddings. Ethiopia is a country with 36 million Orthodox Christians as of 2017, according to the Pew Research Center (Diamant). The Orthodox Christian religion places an emphasis on sexual purity in women, with the most apparent example being the veneration of the Virgin Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ.

Analysis:

In “Wedding Ceremonies in European Folklore,” Hungarian folklorist Géza Róheim gives several examples of similar wedding traditions where the families of the bride and groom role-play a situation with a barrier, such as a Slovak wedding tradition where the groom’s family attempts to stela the bride’s bed. Róheim proposes that this cluster of traditions, collectively termed, “The Barrier,” are a means of giving meaning to the liminal nature of a wedding, especially in the case of the woman transitioning into sexual maturity. The custom of blocking the groom similarly reflects the importance of sexual maturity, especially to Orthodox Christians.

Works Cited:

Róheim, Géza. “Wedding Ceremonies in European Folklore.” International Folkloristics Classic Contributions by the Founders of Folklore, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999, pp. 197–230.

Diamant, Jeff. “Ethiopia Is an Outlier in the Orthodox Christian World.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 17 Aug. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/11/28/ethiopia-is-an-outlier-in-the-orthodox-christian-world/#:~:text=Ethiopia%20is%20an%20outlier%20in%20the%20Orthodox%20Christian%20world&text=The%20country%20in%20the%20Horn,largest%20Orthodox%20population%20after%20Russia. 

Ethiopian Wedding Gifting Traditions

Informant AM is a graduate student from San Jose California, whose family is originally from Ethiopia. There is a strong Ethiopian diasporic community in San Jose, where much of its traditions live on.

Text:

“My grandpa actually told me this, I didn’t know this was a thing. So, friends and family of the bride and groom, they give gifts to the parents, and usually the gift is money. I have no idea why. My grandpa told his friends, like ‘I have 11 children, you don’t have to give me gifts after each child.'”

Context:

Informant AM witnessed this tradition in primarily Ethiopian Orthodox Christian weddings. Ethiopia is a country with 36 million Orthodox Christians as of 2017, according to the Pew Research Center (Diamant). Ethiopian Orthodox culture is patriarchal, taking cues from religious hierarchy barring women from positions in the clergy among other examples set by the Bible and Orthodox customs. Similar, Ethiopian Orthodox culture places a heavy emphasis on the knowledge of elders and the importance of family.

Analysis:

Ethiopian wedding gifting traditions reflect the importance of family. For example, informant AM mentioned that it is customary to presents gifts to the couple’s parents, as well as to the couple itself. The practice resembles other traditions practiced in Ethiopia and other countries which emphasize family influence, such as the custom of gaining parental approval before marriage. One such tradition in Ethiopia is known as ሽማግሌ, or shimagelay, which translates to “elder.” In this custom, the groom sends his parents to deliberate with the parents of the bride before a marriage proposal can officially be made. This discussion mainly consists of the groom’s parents convincing the bride’s parents that the groom can adequately take care of the bride, reflecting both patriarchal values and the value of elders’ opinions in Ethiopian culture (Habeshabrides). Yet, informant AM also mentioned that her grandpa advised his friends not to give him gifts, indicating that Ethiopians are willing to be flexible about practicing this tradition for the sake of practicality.

Works Cited:

“Brides of the Blue Nile.” Habeshabrides, https://habeshabrides.com/culture/brides-of-the-blue-nile/.