Cyber Ethiopia

When I first visited the Ethnographic Museum (sometimes called the Ethnological Museum) a few years ago it was earnest and amateurish. During my most recent visit, the museum had developed into an elaborate and, in most parts, a highly professional and interesting set of displays. The collection is held at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) of the Addis Ababa University. It is located at the old Guenneta-Leul palace donated by the former emperor to the university. The Entrance and The Building The show starts even before you go into the building, with a garden filled with a selection of Ethiopian stelae. The largest stelae from the Tiya field south of Addis is there, 5 meters including the underground part. Also impressive is the massive stone palace itself,

with life-size golden coloured statues guarding the massive staircase. The front hallway is high ceilinged and elaborate. Displays line the hallway telling the story of the palace in photos and text. At the end of the main hallway is the library containing the non-Amharic collection of the IES (mostly English). Around a couple of corners to the right the large staircase appears which leads you upstairs. At the top a ferocious lion greets you, sufficiently tatty so that it doesn't give much of a scare. The lion guards the entrance to the Amharic collection of the IES. Down the hallway you pass through the improved and attractive gift shop (recommended) and arrive at the entrance booth for the Ethnographic Museum. I personally have taken the not too cost effective route of a lifetime membership of the IES (a bargain for residents at 1000 Birr), but for other ferengis the cost is 20 Birr, and Ethiopian students have to fork over 1 birr each. Don't bother to bring your camera – no photos allowed. There are two floors of exhibits, the lower one is interesting but not highly professional, while the upper floor is excellently presented. Second Floor Exhibits Starting with the lower floor, I was familiar with the display cases of photos and artifacts based on different ethnic groups and economic activities. Many of the ethnic groups are covered, with Amhara, Oromo and Tigrayan displays prominent. Some of the exhibits in the second room are quite large and impressive, including reed boats from Lake Ziway and Lake Tana, a balsa boat from Lake Abaya (in which everyone carves their names in the soft wood), a Gojjam beehive and so on. There is also a large and appropriate display on the ox drawn plough, the main piece of technology which differentiated Ethiopia from the rest of Sub Saharan Africa for a couple of millenium or so. The south is not forgotten, with nice displays on the ensete culture (false banana) which is the mainstay of about 5 million Ethiopians, and a good collection of the stunning gap mouthed wooden funeral statues of Konso. Although I've seen many of these statues in Konso itself, the museum collection is notable for the exaggerated size of the breasts and penises in their statues. There were a couple of special displays on during this visit. One was a nicely presented ‘Women's costumes of Eastern Ethiopia' covering 4 ethnic groups around Harar (Harari, Oromo, Somali, and Argobba). Full size mannequins sported the diverse and colorful clothing of that area – women from there are in my opinion the most colorfully and fetchingly dressed in Ethiopia. The inevitable display of Harar baskets was complemented by fairly extensive exhibits of jewelry, combs, gourds and henna and tattoos. The other temporary display was an interesting if somewhat earnest depiction of the ‘Social Development Needs of Pastoralists in Ethiopia'. Drawings and script identified the particular problems of these currently hard hit people in the east and southeast of the country. The Upper Floor A whole different level of the museum arts greets you on the upper floor, reached by a narrow staircase next to the entry booth (be sure to not miss it – there isn't a sign!) You enter a huge room, with high ceiling and beautiful polished wood flooring. You are in a modern and elegant setting, surrounded by well displayed pieces of art which date back hundreds of years. The permanent displays are of traditional Ethiopian art – paintings, icons, crosses and Arabic script. Art dates from pre-Gondarine – more than 500 years old – to early 20th century depictions of Emperor Menelik. Amongst the most impressive are the 15th century icons – some quite large – with their typical religious motifs. These pre-date the contact between Ethiopia and Europe initiated by the Portuguese in the 1500's, and I am fascinated by the impact of the whiter skinned Europeans on Ethiopian art. In my opinion the Gondarine era which followed showed Jesus and Mary as more fair skinned, but I can certainly be corrected. I prefer the earlier ‘keye' or red-skinned depictions of the holy family. There are many large paintings on display, some of recent vintage and others more classic. The large Gondarine era paintings are impressive, depicting amongst other things my favourite, St. George dispatching a dragon. Unfortunately, they were inexpertly taken from old churches then reattached in a misguided 1960's technique onto cloth, from which they are now pealing. The current museum guardians are in no way responsible for this, and like the rest of us are the victims of this travesty on these invaluable pieces of art. There is also a nice permanent display on mosques and Moslem shrines. Temporary, or perhaps more permanent exhibits are on Ethiopian pillows and headrests, and on Menelik and his favourite Ferengi Engineer – Alfred Ilg. The headrests and pillows are apparently the inspiration of the energetic wife of the Italian Ambassador, a great supporter and help to the museum. Fluffy and soft pillows are complemented by a great collection of the wooden pillows that are like a little stand with a carved resting ledge for tired heads. Although these pillows seem inexplicable to me (I haven't tried them for more than a few seconds) they certainly must be popular judging by the numbers and variety! I am told that, apart from anything else, they were very useful in preserving the elaborate hairdos popular amongst the ladies. There is a great photo display on Alfred Ilg, the builder of bridges, water systems and railroads at the turn of the century. During his stay in Ethiopia from 1878-1906 he became more than an engineer – he was a close friend and adviser to Emperor Menelik. Although Swiss, Ilg rose to become a State Minister in the Imperial government of Ethiopia. Photos display Menelik and his palaces as well as Ilg in various activities, including the killing of a very large snake. The Music Display The final exhibit of the museum is the highlight. The music display combines advanced exhibition approaches with excellent descriptive narrative, wonderful lighting and even subdued and atmospheric Ethiopian music from speakers in the background. It is wonderful. You enter a passageway and take a journey through Ethiopian music, following geographic routes and historic development of the major instruments. The different harps or lyres of Ethiopia (masinqo or bagana), drums, finger pianos, bells and so on are shown in fascinating detail. There is even a little church tukul set up in the middle to celebrate the liturgical music of St. Yared, the supposed VIth century founder of the rich musical tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The many donors who have helped the museum to improve and develop these displays must be thanked and congratulated. The visitors' book is filled with the compliments of the visitors from many countries. The only negative comment I found was from an Ethiopian student – complaining about the 1 birr entry fee being too high!!