Figure 7 - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Inside Bete Medhanialem, which was hallowed out of rock in Lalibela, and said to be the largest rock-hewn church in the world. (Photograph by Rod Waddington, courtesy of Creative Commons Share-Alike).
Source publication
The rock hewn churches of Lalibela have special significance in the formation of Ethiopia’s consciousness as a sacred land of God’s covenant. Numerous local stories express the sanctity of Lalibela as a Heavenly Jerusalem on earth and the faithful use holy soil from the churches to cure the sick. Every year, thousands of Tewahido believers travel t...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... walks to (pray in) Lalibela's churches would walk in the Heavenly Jerusalem in the afterlife" , p. 110). It repeatedly emphasises that these churches are not like any other church on Earth (See Figure 7). They are more significant than the Tent of Moses, the Temple of Solomon or any other place of worship (2018worship ( [2010, p. 214). ...
Citations
... They were built between the 11 th to the 13 th century CE (Derat et al. 2021;Gobezie, 2018). They are considered as one of the holiest sites in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and have been a place of pilgrimage and worship since their establishment in the medieval period (Woldeyes 2019). Two monolithic churches at Lalibela were selected for this study: Bete Amanuel and Bete Giyorgis (Figure 1). ...
Moisture plays a key role in rock decay in the built and natural environments. Rock-cut sites are particularly vulnerable to moisture-related weathering as they are carved into rock outcrops and do not have impermeable foundations or roofs to retard the flow of moisture. To characterise the moisture dynamics and its influence on weathering of rock-cut sites, we undertook a moisture monitoring campaign using a non-destructive Microwave Moisture Measurement System (MMMS) at two monolithic rock-cut churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The results showed that the walls were more saturated at depth than on the surface during the wet season. This suggests that low surface temperature and higher moisture content at depth will lead to constant-rate drying and accumulation of salts on the surface of the walls during the wet season. In the dry season, there was higher saturation near the surface than at depth (falling-rate drying). High rock surface temperature during the dry season contributes to subsurface drying and accumulation of salts below the surface. This seasonally shifting moisture dynamics will lead to a complex and dynamic damage profile. This study highlights the significant wetting facilitated by a lack of impermeable roofs and foundations at rock-cut structures during rainy periods.
According to Kebra Nagast, which is the subject of the Ethiopian national legend, the Zagwe Dynasty seized the throne of Israel by violating God's law and created an interim period between the Aksum Kingdom and the Solomon Dynasty. In these conditions, where the legitimacy of the throne completely preceded the lineage, ancestral stories also emerged for the Zagwe Dynasty lineage. As a matter of fact, there are stories among the people that add to the narrative of Kebra Nagast, that they too are descendants of King Solomon. However, there is a rumor in Arabic sources that the Zagwe Dynasty was descended from Moses and Aaron, and beyond that, the Negus of that period were defined as priest. Looking at the members of the Zagwe Dynasty, it is seen that they have a close relationship with religion, supporting the rumors. Yemrehana Kristos is called "Kıssis King" as reminiscent of Presbyter John, and Harbay, Lalibela and Nakuto Laab, who follow him, are among the saints of the Ethiopian church. In our study, it has been tried to analyze the discourses about the lineage of the Zagwe Dynasty and their religious figures. It has been seen in the sources that a story similar to the union of Solomon-Makeda is told about Moses and a woman from Kush. According to this, the prophet Moses came to Ethiopia and married a woman from Kush. However, the lineage of the prophet Moses is not related to the Zagwe Dynasty. At this point, the mention of Moses, Harun and Tabot together in the source where the genealogical discourse takes place reveals the possibility of this being inspired by the 248 th verse of Surat al-Baqara. Because in this verse, Tabot is presented as a sign of sovereignty and there are remains of Al-i Musa and Al-i Harun in it. Therefore, we have expressed that this discourse may be a modeling effort made to legitimize the dynasty as a style frequently used in this period. The information we have about the Zagwe Dynasty does not give precise information about the number of kings, when they came to power, and how they were destroyed. However, looking at the Gadls that were written after this dynasty, even during an anti-Zagwe government, it is seen that they were canonized, Although they are usurperors. At this point, it has been argued in our study that one of the most important factors in their acceptance as saints is their position in the face of political and religious authority and conditions in Egypt. As a matter of fact, these kings, who conducted rites in the church, tried to make the Ethiopian Church independent and tried to build the "New Zion" by carving the rocks, were not the successors of Moses and Aaron in lineage, but like them, they were the people who brought together the power of religion and politics in one person.
In “Decolonizing Ways of Knowing: Heritage, Living Communities, and Indigenous Understandings of Place”, we build on the scholarly and artistic practice of deep memory work to present a collection of articles, films, and artwork that contribute critical genealogies from the United States, Africa, and the South Pacific. In this introduction, examples from Antoinette Jackson’s work in the American South and Rachel Breunlin’s work with the Neighborhood Story Project in New Orleans and Western Australia are used to build the special issue’s framework around public scholarship and art. With a particular emphasis on polyvocality, visual ethnography and creative nonfiction, the introduction argues that the work of decolonizing genealogy can be supported by respecting epistemologies that are deeply connected to place. Collectively, the contributors to the special issue demonstrate that creative practices around personal and collective histories can be an important way of reconnecting ties that may have been severed during years of colonialism.
