Letter from Addis Ababa

Author(s): Solomon Deressa

Source: African Arts, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter, 1969), pp. 42-44+62
Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3334259
Accessed: 01-05-2020 14:07 UTC

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 Addis Ababa est une ville pleine de con- Bien sur, la litterature ethiopienne
trastes; ne nous etonnons pas sur un ecrite en Amharique a une audience
boulevard a six voies d'avoir a ceder le internationale limitee; pourtant de nom-
passage a deux vaches. Grand centre breux auteurs ecrivent pieces et poe-
international, c'est aussi une ville afri- mes pour la radio et les theatres de la
caine traditionnelle avec son immense ville. Comme ailleurs en Afrique se
marche; on peut tout y acheter; il pose le probleme d'une critique avertie
n'attend que le romancier qui saura en et responsable. L'absence de maisons
exprimer la dimension epique. Le Musee d'editions caracterise la situation cul-
du Centre d'Etudes Ethiopiennes y turelle en Ethiopie; elle explique le
achete des objets d'art de l'Ethiopie nombre d'oeuvres impubliees. La cen-
traditionnelle. II y a dix ans les manu- sure est aussi responsable de cette situa-
scrits du XIVesiecle ne valaient pas tion; et pourtant comment rexercer sur
plus chers que des romansfeuilletons! une litterature dont un des procedes
essentiels est le "double entendre".

SOLOMON DERESSA

you the hustler "esperanto" before un-

A though perhaps the most cosmo- style himself a poet, give a public read-
furling the parchment or canvas, for ing,
politan town on the continent, Addis a or claim to be a seasoned profes-
Ababa is in many ways the most African moment whets your appetite for more sional of the stage, and capitalizing on
excitement than mere aesthetic pleasure.the local media's starvation for material,
of African cities. It was obviously con-
ceived by Ethiopians for Ethiopians As the almost sole collector of this junk,leave drama aside and present a sym-
who had every intention of living the a artsy-craftsy resident foreigner, who phonic composition that will have at
traditional Ethiopian life. generally claims that Ethiopians know least two nights of good attendance.
Because the traditional Ethiopiannothing about art, has had a most detriLThe next step is to pass on to the much
way of life has not been dealt with in mental effect on the traditional artist's more enjoyable and lucrative business
method of production. In the not-so-of advising the government or sitting
foreign literatures, travelogs apart, and
also because the Ethiopian character on juries of experts on the arts. Certain
distant past the unschooled painter pre-
is anything but candid, the place often pared his own canvas, concocted his of being played up by the qualitatively
proves both fascinating and incom- own paint, and got to work without toounderstaffed media, the Addis dilettante
prehensible even for the more sensitive much worry as to what others wouldunderstandably forgets the distinction
between the dedicated artist and the
foreigner. The ultra-modern six-lane think and without too much hope of
boulevards with fourphase traffic lightsfinding a buyer for his product. He was polyvalent small town celebrity. This is
that can be turned into a purgatory of perhaps completely unaware of the all very well, but when you get down
congestion by a couple of absent-minded finer tricks of the trade, but in workingto the brass tacks of it all, it amounts to
cows crossing against the light--the saying that Addis Ababa is a ripe,
for his own pleasure he was free to follow
cows are probably owned by a poor his own whim within the traditional fascinating, and beautiful young woman
stylized frame of reference. The result who has everything it takes except the
family that runs its own dairy farm right
behind Africa Hall lead into residen- was, whether good or bad, in each case capacity to desire. Under other circum-
tial sidestreets which in turn open ontoa unique work. Today he has adopted stances, with a little more interest on
back alleys that can with startling abrupt-factory techniques -do a picture and the part of the government, which
ness turn into fragmented images in aif it fetches a good price on the street after all has the monopoly on most
hell dreamed up by Hieronymus Bosch. corner, go back home, take out the things, Addis Ababa might have be-
Children are playing marbles. The pros original pattern, trace the outlines and come a Salamanca, say, as Spengler
are standing pert and insolent at thefill in the colors. Fortunately, con- caught a glimpse of it in his rear mirror
doors of their shabby or not-so-shabbytemporary Ethiopian literature, written - an organic, cultural city.
dwellings. A carefree male customer ismostly in Amharic, is accessible only to To spend an hour in the early evening
urinating into the gutter. Ethiopians who, although they may lack in one of the half dozen bookshops of
Notwithstanding whatever one mightthe cultivated sophistication of western Addis, which anyway seldom carries
hear of life in Addis Ababa, I would notreaders, are much less willing to be im- books worth mentioning, can be an
be surprised if it were the freest city inpressed. Non-Amharic readers through interesting experience. An odd English-
the world. So free, really, that nobodytheir unawareness of what is being done man might come in for a three-day-old
talks of freedom. Free of fears about almost deny the very existence of Am- copy of his Daily Telegraph. A French-
one's political opinions, free of smallharic literature. man might walk in and ask for Le Figaro
town gossip, free of puritanical sexual On the other hand, the Ethiopian's Litteraire, or whatever other French
mores. And also free for those who lack of sophistication in matters aesthe- paper constitutes the piece de resistance
tic also plays havoc with the arts. Any-
peddle junk in the guise of art. In fact, in his habitual diet of incomprehensible
the manner in which these stray artistsbody (especially a foreigner or an Ethio- French-style journalese on literature.
sidle up to you, look askance, and givepian educated abroad) can walk in, A polyglot young Ethiopian would

42
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saunter in and ask for a copy of Jeune
Afrique or whatever will steady his
African revolutionary's palpitating
heart. The affluent Ethiopian, like the
AID employee, will be sure to come in
for his Newsweek or Time magazine.
All of these in their own way represent
more than printed information. They
are talismans to several successful eve-
nings in hotel lounges. There being no
coteries of writers and artists, only in-
tellectuals who have put in the day's
work towards the fashioning of modern
Ethiopia meet in the lounges of the
several hotels to discuss the same things
that they were discussing a dozen years
ago when they first came out of college.
But this is only one facet of Addis.
In the west end of town, Addis Ketema
(New Town), or the mercato, sprawls
for thousands of square meters. Every-
thing under heaven is bought and sold
here. All the 86 languages and dialects
of Ethiopia are spoken, as well as Arabic,
English, Italian or whatever other lan-
guage you may wish to try, but Amharic
is still the lingua franca. The un-western-
ized wealthy merchants of this pulsating
financial nerve center of the country do
not frequent the hotel lounges, the art
exhibits, or concerts. But one does run
into them at presentations of Amharic
plays or movie matinees. The affluent
and educated Ethiopians do not go to
the mercato if they can help it. For
shopping they send their servants.
Avoided by the serious-minded Amharic
writer whose daily preoccupations do
not differ markedly from those of the
intellectuals, the mercato whose every
square foot is a mine of material lies
waiting for the Ethiopian novelist who
can write on the dimensions of the great
Russians. Tourists go there for souve-
nirs. The Museum of the Ethiopian
Studies Institute also goes there for its
collection of objets d'art, ancient manu-
scripts, and specimens of fast-disap-
pearing Ethiopian handicrafts. Only a
decade ago a 90-page dime novel fetched
the same price as a 14th century illumi-
nated manuscript on parchment. But
times are changing.
On this side of town there are times
of the vear when two or three art ex-
hibits are going simultaneously, followed
by two or three Amharic plays in suc-
cession, followed again by amateur
dramatics by members of the thirty to
forty thousand expatriate citizens of
Addis. And then long stretches of nothing.
One does not hear of Ethiopian
literature outside of Ethiopia for the
simple reason that our writers write in
Amharic. Although some of them are
so slight that by the UNESCO definition
they would be "brochures," new books
are coming out all the time. And this
in spite of the fact that there is no pub-
lishing house in Addis and that the
writer who does not have the means to
be his own publisher had better have

43

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the fund-raiser's instinct for conjuring volume of his collected poems appears, not seem to be set up to give them the
up money out of thin air. A lot of writers chances are that Amharic poetry might guidance and assistance that thev re-
have neither. So some of the best works never be the same again. quire. The need for reorganizing the
done in Amharic today, even if they And then there are writers like Sebhat place is felt by most practicing artists
pass the censor, remain what one writer Gebre-Egziabher whom one still reads, and interested people in town.
sarcastically refers to as "desk literature." if one is lucky, in manuscript. Matter-of- Even more than scholarly writings,
Mengistu Lemma, a career diplomat, songs were for a long time the true
fact as a person, Sebhat writes short
has to date written stage comedies and stories and novels that make no con-
receptacles of the best in Ethiopian
a radio play that display an astute satiri- scious attempt at Ethiopianism. His
poetry. This may still be true to some
cal sense, pungent irony, and a thorough extent in the countryside, but in Addis
characters are etched with such pre-
knowedge of traditional clerical Ethio- cision and his Amharic prose is so un-
Ababa itself the shifting of stress from
pian literature. His first published work, the lyrics to the music has delivered a
adorned that one barely notices how
however, was a volume of poetry that unusual his stories are. He has success-
salmagundi. The two folkloric dance
not only showed great promise, but also fully, I think, managed to make per- groups that have government subsidy
contained at least one poem that Am- versity rub shoulders with sanctity andare in such a sorry state that one counts
haric literature will always be legiti- find explosive humor in the quiet short- the months to see them out. Worth-
mately proud of. Mengistu Lemma's comings of the national character. while folkloric groups such as the
father, Aleqa Lemma, was a poet and Tesfaye Gessesse, who was educated Orchestra Ethiopia (composed of native
scholar of the Church. Realizing his rare in the U.S., has written and successfullyinstruments backing good Ethiopian-
fortune, Mengistu taped his father re- produced several plays. But his shortstyle singers) have proved ephemeral
citing his own poems, the poems of those stories and poems remain unpublished. due to lack of financial backing.
who taught him, and those of teachers Tesfaye interweaves pathos with a What Addis misses is adult enter-
another generation back. The traditional humor that sometimes borders on farce,tainment that one can depend on at
Ethiopian teaching method had leaned but he is often held back by too great a least to keep up a certain level of medi-
heavily on memory, and the ninety- preoccupation with technique. Hisocrity. Whether because the return
eight-year-old father's answers to the writing, although consciously but not addresses were lost by filing clerks or
young writer's thousand and one ques- exotically Ethiopian, reminds one ofnot, several films of the stature of
tions resulted in a unique book that Anton Chekhov. Madame X seem to have been given
spans two centuries of Ge'ez-Amharic The major published novel of the permanent residence permits. Those
last several years, however, is Fikir Iske who can afford television sets have been
poetic techniques and one man's fruitful
odyssey through a long life. Introduced reduced to turning to Bonanza and
Mekabir (Love Unto Death), a 600-page
in simple, clear Amharic, well annotated blockbuster by Haddis Alemayehu, a The Invaders for solace.
and indexed, the book may yet prove cabinet minister in the Imperial Govern- A Frenchman writing of Ethiopia in
more important to the development of ment. The book's major shortcoming is the first decades of the century made
Amharic literature than any one par- that of any medieval novel - plot. Coin- the peculiar statement that Ethiopians,
ticular work of the same caliber. cidences abound. But this is a conclusion when on the road, go three to four days
Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin, writer-in- on afterthought. While immersed in the without food, then consume super-
residence at the National Theatre, story, one is hardly aware of these draw- human quantities of raw meat on the
has given us renditions into Amharic backs. The book's qualities are its prose, fifth day, take off a day or two while
of Shakespeare's tragedies which forwhich is simple yet elegant, the true digesting, and begin the same routine
power of imagery and beauty of langu-ring of every statement, which comes again. Whether our physical appetites
are so much nearer to the boa con-
age should be envied by anybody at out of personal experience, the flesh-
any time who has tried to get Shakes- and-blood aliveness of the characters, strictor's than to other people's may be
debatable. But had the Frenchman
peare out of the English. When he works and an ambitious range.
in Amharic Tsegaye is perhaps the most Skunder, internationally the best- been speaking of our cinema-going
difficult but greatest living Ethiopian known (and deservedly) Ethiopian habits, he might have been nearer the
poet and also an excellent playwright. painter, is perhaps the most single- truth. Once a year the Creative Arts
Center holds a film festival which some-
Even for a full-time writer, he is pro- minded of our artists. His three one-man
lific. Wielding what must easily be the shows in the last two years have met times runs eighteen consecutive nights.
largest vocabulary in Amharic letters, with a measure of success which by And then one gets to see such winning
he has also written non-dramatic poetryany standards would be enviable. films as the Czechoslovakian Closely
characterized by a brooding, haunting Finally, Afework Tekle, the first Watched Trains, Britain's The Empty
sort of atmosphere. But his direction oftrained and conscious Ethiopian painter, Quarter, and at the other extreme the
his own plays has invariably proved is a many-faceted, versatile Renaissance Ghanaian Hamile, a bad parody of
dramatically unsatisfactory. man. He has done perhaps more than Hamlet, even in comparison to our
home-made movies.
Gebre-Kristos Desta, a painter who any single individual to force the philis-
is perhaps overly cerebral on canvas, is tine native to accept the artistic profes- One should not get the mistaken
so far the only Ethiopian poet who, un- sion not only as serious, but also as no impression that there are not enough
wittingly or not, has unleashed a ragingworse than the administrator's. Besides things of artistic worth taking place in
controversy in the local papers as to doing church murals, he has designed Addis. What we sorely need is serious-
minded criticism that would be at least
whether his poems are poems at all. It postage stamps, clothing, most exquisite
is difficult to believe that the journalists playing cards, and is responsible for the worthy of the efforts of the practicing
fail to see the sparse beauty of his rhythm stained glass at Africa Hall. Although artists. The non-Ethiopian who delves
in several dimensions. One assumes he has not exhibited recently, this into analyzing and appraising native
that his offense has been to break with articulate artist continues to work inefforts usually ends by creating more
the sedate tradition of Amharic poetry the now famous Studio Alpha. misunderstanding than worthwhile
which, put grossly, amounts to vari- Turning to the younger artists, tooguidance. So much so, in fact, that un-
ations on the kind of poetry that Alex- numerous to be dealt with individuallyfoundedly unfavorable comparisons
ander Pope wrote. It is as if Gebre- here, all that one can say of them as are
a often made between the arts in
Kristos had tried to make Japanese group is that the one Fine Arts school,Ethiopia and in other African countries.
poems pass for Chinese. When the first run by the Ministry of Education, does The educated Ethiopian, on the other
Continued on page 62

44
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 ADDIS ABABA UNESCO prize. Hence, from
from the
of view of literacy, the
the point
the situation
point
situation looks
looks NOMABHADI
continuedfrom page 44
promising. However, under
under present
present
circumstances of stringent censorship, continuedfrom page 27
stringent censorship,
very little of what is written
written would
would even
even
hand, is so busy climbing into the newly reach the publishing firm.
firm. The
The rather
rather easily, can't you?"
formed middle class that he can hardly marked lack of freedom
freedom concerning
concerning the
the "Yes, I can, mother."
be said to be interested in anything that written word is at least
least as
as striking
striking as
as "Good! Now, as you know very well,
does not bear directly on the price of the ease with which the the Ethiopian
Ethiopian they have plenty to eat over there be-
cars, TV sets, city plots, and rent of writer has learned to accept
accept being
being cen-
cen- cause they have plenty of rain. My
houses with proper plumbing. sored. It is an interesting
interesting fact
fact that
that the
the brother has more cows, more goats,
It might well be that Ethiopian mainstay of traditional
traditional Amharic
Amharic literary
literary more corn, more pumpkins than anyone
artists and writers, working for their own technique, double-entendre
double-entendre and
and intri-
intri- else in his village. He has many children.
national market and not too concerned cate symbolism, has put
put both
both writer
writer and
and They are healthy and happy and kind.
with whether foreigners understand censor in a rather embarrassing
embarrassing position:
position: You will play with them the whole day.
them or not, work with an independence what did who mean and what is who My brother's wife is a very kind person.
of spirit and self-reliance uncommon reading into what? She will look after you very well. If you
in most so-called developing countries. One would assume that some of the go at once, you'll reach there before
In any case, an Ethiopian who has the purposes of a writers' or artists' associa- nightfall. When you feel hungry, just
command of English and French neces- tion would to attempt to bargain for eat a little of your bread, and don't
sary to read books by his fellow Africans some sort of publishing facilities and wander off your way to look for berries
(Chinua Achebe and his peers excepted) also to widen the boundaries of censor- in the thicket."
cannot help finding a return to Amharic ship that create the writer's sense of As her parents embraced her, Noma-
texts a refreshing change from the over- claustrophobia. But this can hardly be bhadi began to sob again.
simplified and ever-repeated theme of said to be the case in Addis Ababa. The "Don't cry now, my child," said the
"how tragically the old ways went and one writers' organization is taken seri- mother, trying to look cheerful. "If you
how the young hero successfully strad- ously mostly by people who have little cry along the way, the Mbulu will hear
dled two worlds." to do with writing. The organization, you, overtake you and rob you of your
Quite clearly, the most pressing when luckv, manages to finagle a trip bread. Remember, you are to look
problems are lack of patronage for the abroad for one or two writers a vear. straight ahead all the time. Don't look
plastic arts, the limited readership due At its worst, it puts on contests of poetrv to the right or to the left. Above all,
to low literacv rates, and the almost that would have a hard time being pub- my child, don't look back. Do you hear?
complete lack of publishing firms. But lished by a self-respecting high school Don't look back at all!"
these are problems that relate to every magazine--and this in a country in Nomabhadi set out for her mother's
point of national life and therefore should which poetry is both a very serious brother's village. It was a fairly long
be considered more a challenge than a affair and a popular pastime. stretch to the foot of the mountains,
deterrent by Ethiopian artists. Publishing Because of the censorship situation,
but she walked on bravely and took the
firms, in particular, are not going to it would be unfair to expect this "Letter"
winding path up the slope steadily. But
appear in any great number unless the to give even a superficial survey of the before she disappeared over the ridge,
book business cani become lucrative on current literary scene in Addis Ababa. the impulse to take one last look at her
a national scale. Both private and gov- This writer is forced to mention onlv old home was too strong. She looked
ernment organizations have shown those works that have either been pub- back. What she saw made her cry out
enough interest in the expansion of ished or that he has had the good for- in pain. The whole homestead was in
literacy for Ethiopia to win the 1968 tune of seeing in manuscript form. ? flames. She knew at once what this
meant. Her parents had burnt every-
thing in the courtyard, set fire to each
and every one of the smaller huts, and

IGBO
then shut themselves in their own Great
Hut and set fire to it from the inside.
She would never see them again.
mother again.
A LEARNER'S DICTIONARY As she turned to resume her journey,
she remembered her mother's warning
Beatrice F. Welmers
that she was not to cry, and she quickly
William E. Welmers
checked her sobs. But her first cry of
pain had been heard, for she heard a
FULL TONE MARKING
strange voice calling to her in a lisp,
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PHRASE COLLOCATIONS "Sister! Sister! Why are you crying?
Wait for me."
EXAMPLES OF SENTENCE USAGE
With a start, Nomabhadi wiped away
2000 IGBO-ENGLISH ENTRIES
her tears and, before she knew what
2000 ENGLISH-IGBO ENTRIES she was doing, she had looked left and
right to see where the voice came from.
FIRST IN A SERIES A strange creature had just emerged
from the thicket and was running to
overtake her. It was half-human, half-
OF AFRICAN LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES
beast. It was walking on its hind-limbs
published by the African Studies Center but could not hold its body up. Its body
University of California
Los Angeles California 90024 was wrapped in the skin of some animal
$6.00 resembling the baboon, but much

62
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