![]() When we see the Archangel Michael standing with his sword resting on his shoulder and one wing lifted in the air, as if he has just landed at this spot, there is no change of expression on his face. It is highly stylised work, and visibly simple, leaving everything but the essentials of a narrative, an episode, out: concentrating exclusively on catching, and presenting, the very essence of the event. We sometimes see him surrounded by heaps of bodies rescued from the fires of hell, sometimes stabilising a large boat in which devotees have travelled over rough waters, at other times kicking Satan and sending him into perdition. Here he is seen as a youthful figure, clad in a richly embroidered robe, head surrounded by a ‘halo’ of black curly hair, large eyes staring at nothing in particular, body firm and resilient. Armed with a flaming sword and supported by large wings - which obviously had emerged as a part of his iconography - the Archangel is rendered very differently from the way in which we see him rendered, time after time, in classical, medieval European paintings. In a style marked by vivid colours and bold, emphatic lines, the paintings tell the story of the Archangel Michael: his miracles and heroic feats, including, as has been said, ‘saving the faithful from the burning flames of hell, healing the sick, and treading on Satan’. This manuscript, with nearly 50 full-page paintings, was produced during the ‘cultural boom’ in Ethiopia, one learns, something that was experienced with the establishment of a permanent, stable court by the Solomonic emperor Fasiladas (1632-1667) of the same dynasty to which, later, Haile Selassie, ruler of Abysinnia/Ethiopia, belonged, with the title of ‘Emperor’. St Michael protecting countless people from the furies of hell. It is in one of the homiliaries to Archangel Michael that some great paintings, belonging to the 17th century, are found. His powers and his attributes are without number or limit in Catholic belief. And, second, that the Archangel Michael - one among the four most prominent of angels, which include Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel - has a vast following among believers, a very special place in their hearts, for he is the Protector, the one who is almost like God: defender of the Church and chief opponent of Satan. ![]() It is a collection of homilies - tributes or homages, something like our stotras - arranged in Christian churches according to the ecclesiastical calendar for reading at Matins. ![]() There too I need to confess two things: one that I did not know what a homiliary was. We, certainly I, should be moving into the area of the arts, as I mentioned before. WAG, 17th century Singing and chanting in the streets during a festival in honour of the Archangel Michael The Archangel Michael bringing sinners back to life. I did not, however, know that we also owe coffee to Ethiopia for it was in that land that the first coffee beans were discovered. Some great athletes, among the greatest, in fact, especially in the track and field areas - Olympic stars - have come out of Ethiopia. 17th centuryĪs many as 88 languages are spoken in Ethiopia, spread over the impressively diverse ethnic groups. I knew that what we now call Ethiopia was once called Abysinnia but that the ancient name was revived only in 1945 I was not aware of, at least of the year in which it happened. As long back as the 9th century BC, a great kingdom flourished in Ethiopia, taking the history of the land to a long, long way back. Nor that ‘anatomically modern humans’ - homo sapiens - are believed to have emerged from ancient Ethiopia and spread out to the east in the middle Paleolithic period. I did not know, for instance, that it is the 13th most populous country in the world, and the second-most populous in Africa after Nigeria. Flea, American musicianĪdmittedly, this piece relates to Ethiopia, specifically to some art in that large African nation, but in fairness to myself, I should put down first what I did not, till now, know about it. It’s filled with art and music and poetry and intellectuals and writers - all kinds of people. But you get there and it is another world. Nelson MandelaĪll I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like, as well as what I read about the famine. ![]() I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African. Ethiopia always has a special place in my imagination and the prospect of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England, and America combined. ![]()
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