Music in Black Jewish and Christian Communities
By Ashenafi Kebede
Ethiopian Review, February 1994
It is safe to say that no sacred topics known to the Western world have been so persistently discussed, argued about, studied, and widely documented as Christianity and Judaism.
It is not only their history, teachings, and influences which have been investigated on a world-wide basis, but also the role of music in Jewish and Christian worship has been the occupation of many outstanding minds in countless numbers of books. There is one, and only one, area in the world which has been bypassed in these investigations and even today remains outside, and that is Ethiopia. The scholarly community still knows little about the Ethiopian branches of Judaism and Christianity–their origin, teachings, and forms of worship. Even less is known about the sacred chant of these two important religions in Africa.
There are many reasons for the Occident’s ignorance of the
musical practices of people in Jewish and Christian communities in Ethiopia. First, there is the erroneous belief of Occidental scholars that Ethiopian and North African cultures are very much apart from the rest of the continent. Theodore Grame aptly states it as follows:
The reason for this lies in our belief that the Maghrib is a thin finger of “Arabic” or “Islamic” culture that extends from Egypt to the Atlantic; therefore, it is reasoned, it must be treated as a special case, and not brought into the mainstream of African studies. In other words, our attention is firmly fixed on an East-West cultural axis to the near exclusion of the North-South one.
Second, Ethiopian isolationism has kept the country apart from the rest of the world. With the exception of two comparatively short periods — the first three hundred years of Ethiopian Christiandom (330-650), a period of extensive international activity, and the reign of Empress Zewditu and Haile Selassie I (1917-1974) — the world forgot about Ethiopia, by whom it in turn was forgotten. “Encompassed on all sides by the enemies of their religion,” Ethiopia remains to this day an African island of black Jews and Christians.
Third, the number of foreign scholars sufficiently familiar with the Ethiopian languages, music, and other branches of culture to be able to investigate these areas is almost none. During the centuries of isolation, and at all other times, Ethiopian scholars (debterawoch) and chroniclers kept historical records, both in handwritten manuscripts and later in the format of printed books. Most of these documents, chronicles, and manuscripts were written in Ge’ez, the ecclesiastic language, and Amharic, the common secular language. These languages, with their script and large vocabulary, have proved to be too difficult for foreigners
to master within a reasonable period of time for purposes of
understanding and translating Ethiopian books into other foreign languages.
Forth, the proud Ethiopian personality has contributed to the discouragement of foreign students who wished to investigate Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians in general have always been distrustful and suspicious of foreigners. The upper class nobility and the knowledgeable priests especially have been reluctant to share information with Europeans, who often acted arrogantly and introduced themselves as “Ethiopic scholars before their first lesson on Ethiopia.” Ethiopia practiced a form of Judaism long before the Christian era; Ethiopia accepted Christianity when most of Europe was pagan. “Who are these Europeans to tell us that our forms of Judaism and Christianity are more primitive than theirs?”
“And why?” These are questions that Ethiopians ask. We are
also left in utter amazement when members of other African
countries tell us today that Judaism and Christianity are religions of the white European world.
The Kibre Negest (Glory of Kings), one of the most important
historical books written in Ge’ez, elaborates on the exodus of the Hebrews from Jerusalem to the Ethiopian Empire at Axum about 2,000 years ago. It clearly explains the conditions under which the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia and how Judaic practices, including chanting, started; and this information is supported by the Gospels. It reveals that Ethiopia believed in one God around 1000 B.C. The numerous migrations of Semitic peoples from around South Arabia to North and Northeast Africa during that time have been attested to in books as well as by the cultural
remains of artifacts. The Fellasha oral tradition regarding their Hebraic origin and their present musical practices appears to be reasonably accurate. There is, in addition, a solid historical foundation for these tradition. The Fellasha claim to be not only ethnically Jewish but also direct descendants from those Hebrew nobles and priests who came to Ethiopia accompanying Menelik I, King of Axum. They call themselves “The Children of Israel;” they call their community Bete Israel or “House of Israel.” As their ancestors were men who intermarried with the native African women in Ethiopia, the Felasha consider themselves Afro-Semitics.
The cultural practices of the Fellasha undoubtedly demonstrate many striking elements of Judaism. The Synagogue, for example, is the most important and the central part of village life. The Sabbath (Saturday) is celebrated with strict reverence according to the Jewish faith. The Fellasha festivals include the New Year (Jewish Rosh Hoshana), Passover, the Feast of the Tabernacles, and the Day of Atonement. The Fellasha are highly particular about their food: they do not eat food prepared by a non-Fellasha or animal meat that is not prescribed as food by the Old Testament. Vocal music, particularly chanting, plays an important role in all phases of their religious worship.
An ethnomusicological documentation and serious study of Fellasha chant has great significance not only for an understanding of music in the context of Ethiopian culture but as well for the comparative study and understanding of sacred chant, intercultural influences, and uses of music in religious worship in the context of Hebraic and Christian cultures around the world. The Fellasha tradition certainly consists of the oldest Jewish chant in the world. Powne correctly states, “While most Christian Chant presumably has its roots in Jewish practice, Ethiopian chant probably has a closer relationship than most.” Musicologist Gustave Reese detected ethnic links between “Ethiopian Psalmody as sung
today” and Hebrew Chant.
The Fellasha are found today in small villages scattered around the northern Ethiopian provinces of Begemdre, Semien, and Tigre. They live congregated in large close-knit communities in regions north of Lake Tana, and in towns such as Ambover, Uzeba and Seqelt. However, their culture is rapidly disappearing and their number is diminishing as they gradually become dislocated and absorbed by the larger Ethiopian population.
Fellasha Chant
The origin of the Fellasha chant, as the Fellasha themselves, remains shrouded in legends and stories. We will discuss, however, a few of its outstanding characteristics as it is performed today in Fellasha communities. Perhaps it may even be possible in the future to construct a relatively objective cultural history from the chant. Fellasha chant is almost entirely vocal music. On a few occasions, however, such as the celebration of New Year, it is accompanied by sistrums, drums, and bells. Stone-chimes are not used to accompany chanting, but to mark time and to call members of the community to prayer meetings.
Prior to the Muslim invasion of northern Ethiopia in 1892, when Muslim bandits destroyed monasteries and burned their religious books, the Fellasha conducted services in Hebrew. Today they speak and chant in Ge’ez . In the recitation of sacred texts, an admixture of syllabic and melismatic styles of chanting are employed. Each syllable is clearly enunciated: long melismas are sung vibrato, with a throbbing and nasal vocal quality. Ornamentation includes the placement of eliding and sliding microtonal inflections before or after the main syllabic tones. Vocables are rarely used. Accurate intonation always is considered important. When performing as a group, the Fellasha chant heterophonically melodic phrases or formulas memorized by the cantors). The temporal aspect of the chant is completely governed by the text. Therefore, it is often sung in free-rhythmed, or parlando rubato, style.
The Ethiopian Christian Church
Historical and Biblical accounts attest to the fact that one of the Three Wise Men who visited the newly born Christ-child laden with gifts was an Ethiopian prince. Most Europeans were still practicing paganism when Ethiopia accepted Christianity as a state religion around 333 A.D. It was Ezra, the King of Axum and a member of the Solomonian line of Ethiopian monarchs, who formally introduced the new religion into the country. “Prior to his conversion to
Christianity, he believed in Igzi-abher, One Perfect God, equivalent to the Biblical Yahweh; it is most likely that he was a Fellasha. Ethiopian sources indicate that he converted to Christianity in order to gain major political advantages around the Mediterranean and Red Sea zones through achieving “Christian brother-hood” with the then powerful Roman Empire. The members of the nobility and high clergy received Christian baptism following in the lead of their monarch. Consequently, Christianity was superimposed first over the existing Fellasha forms of Judaism and religious chanting.
This point — the superimposition of Christianity over Judaic practices in Ethiopia — has to be clearly understood, because it provides us with a background and framework for a discussion of the beginning and development of monotheistic practices prior to and after the rise of Christianity. Comparatively speaking, there are many similarities between the Fellash temple and Christian Church:
1) The shape and construction of the Church, in one case, and Temple, in the other, resemble one another. They are both round with three chambers.
2) In both cases, the priests are all men. Women play no part in religious services.
3) In both cases, chanting was intended and used as the sole
expression of the belief in one God. It is almost entirely sung; it is the human voice, not a musical instrument, that is considered important.
4) In both cases, the religious leaders and active participants are divided into three groups; deacons, priests, and scholar/ educators.
5) In both cases, the congregation does not take part in singing.
6) And in both cases, Ge’ez is used as the sacred language.
The Christian Churches and monasteries, however, received
patronage from the monarchs and became centers of learning and artistic activity. Ethiopia committed her Christian liturgy to writing at the beginning of the fifth century. Except in Egypt, there were no systems of writing used to record liturgy before this time; the question of external influence is not applicable here. It is also very important to note here that Ethiopians alone among the peoples of the African continent have had a written script for nearly two
thousand years.
Under Christianity, the translation of the Holy Scriptures and other literary works of antiquity was completed. Monasteries and the imperial court with their scriptoria were the workshops in which beautifully illuminated manuscripts were produced. These manuscripts were produced on parchment birana, a durable and time-resisting material, which has enabled us to know and admire the masterpieces produced many centuries ago. The monastic system was also a powerful agency in the development, creation, and preservation of culture. It gave birth to a system of formal church education that integrated music, poetry, gesture, and personality development. A system of notation was introduced as part of the Church’s objectives to preserve its large repertory of
sacred chants.
The System of Ethiopian Notation
Jewish cantillation uses a system of notation that is similar to the Ethiopian system. Within the Orthodox Christian Churches, Syrian, Armenian, and Egyptian manuscripts between the seventh and twelfth centuries show the use of notational symbols, signs, and letters. The Egyptian notation is not any more in use today; it has become a strictly oral tradition. The Syrian and the Armenian Churches use a notational system that is simpler than the Ethiopian. Only the Jewish and the Ethiopian systems have survived to this day. However, a great deal of work remains to be done in order to explain their precise relationships. We can indicate at this point, however, that the Ethiopian notation, to use Michael
Powne’s words, “is the most developed system, and extends to
all the music of the church, not just to the cantillation of the lessons.”
Most Ethiopian authorities credit Yared with having invented Ethiopic notation. Saint Yared, the greatest of all Ethiopian scholar/musicians, lived during the reign of King Gebre Meskel (476-571). But an Ethiopian manuscript, found now in Paris, states that it was two non-ecclesiastic learned men, Azazh Gera and Azazh Raguel, who introduced notation during the reign of Emperor Gelawdewos (1508-1540), obviously many years after the death of Yared. Church personnel find this most unacceptable due to the fact that both Gera and Raguel were civilians devoid of divine knowledge and untrained in the practices of the Holy Church. To
be sure, it is also possible that notation might have been
introduced to the Ethiopian Church before Yared’s time. History states that Frumentius, the first Ethiopian bishop, was a Phoenician. Phoenicians, who accomplished the change from syllabic to alphabetic writing circa 1500 B.C., may have also made similar progress in the area of notation, at least around the beginning of the Christian era. Phoenicians might have been invited by Frumentius to work within the Ethiopian Church, and they would have brought notation with them. Although this is all hypothetical, the possibility that notation may have entered Ethiopia before Yared’s time is just as strong as the possibility that Azazh Gera and Raguel may have invented it. Yared was given sainthood for
the invention of the notation system among his other great
contributions.
Ethiopic notation employs both Milikitoch (neumatic signs–curves, dots, dashes, etc.) and siraye (letter notation taken from the Ge’ez alphabet). For purposes of easy identification, the siraye is often placed above, while the milikit is placed below the text of the manuscripts. The siraye consists of small letters usually written in red ink; the milikitoch are easily recognizable by their distinct shapes, and they are often written in black ink. Although neither the signs nor the letters indicate individual pitches, they clearly remind the knowledgeable cantor of melodic passages, each with its own relative pitches, each passage is both melodically and textually meaningful. The duration of each pitch, silence, and volume is also measured according to their importance within each passage and the entire chant as a whole.
The neumatic signs specifically indicate performance approaches, such as tempo, dynamics, and special ornamental inflections. In order to clarify their performance implications, I give the following list, which consists of the most important milikitoch with their Ge’ez names and their precise meanings in English; equivalent Italian musical terms are provided wherever possible.
Milikitoch
National Signs of the Ethiopian Church Music
1. yizet – Detached and accented tone. Derived from the verb meyaz (to hold). Equivalent to staccato.
2. deret – Sing in a low, deep voice Chest register. Also applies to singing with the lips close, with clenched teeth, and with deep chest resonance. Humming at the lowest range of the male voice.
3. kinat – Upward glissando. or aKina Both terms are derived from the verb maKnat or “to raise up.”
4. Chiret – Start high and proceed with downward glissan do . The Chiret vocal melody is often connected to a cadence. The terms is derived from Cira or tail.
5. difat – Drop the voice. Skip to a lower range. Often
refers to singing an octave lower. The root verb is medfat
or “to throw down.”
6. KurT – Refers to singing a cadential formula which often ends on the home tone. Its root is meKureT , “to end” or “to cut.” Equivalent to coda.
7. ruT – Throbbing, warm, and expressive singing style with rapid but narrow pitch fluctuations. The term is derived from meroT, “to run.” Equivalent to vibrato.
8. rikrik – Rapid repeat of a single syllabic tone. This style of singing usually creates a sense of tension at the high range. Equivalent to tremolo.
9. hidet – Gradually getting faster and louder. Sing each syllable distinctly. Equivalent to accelerando, crescendo, and portamento at the same time.
10. serez – Slight pause.
The siraye letter notation consists of abbreviations of words and melodic formulas that accompany them. Memorization of the original text and of the letter abbreviations of the text with the melodies that accompany them serve as the key to the understanding and operation of the notation. The letter abbreviations are often transferred from the original text and placed over and under new texts, which are chanted to the melodic formulas represented by the letters.
The Ethiopic alphabet contains over 250 characters. Each letter represents a melodic formula when used in notation. Letters are also used in combinations — in pairs, threes, and even fours. Through a process of syllabic permutation, a vast number of melodic formulas with ornaments can be indicated. Ethiopian debterawoch, church scholars, claim knowledge of over a thousand notational letters and letter permutations. European writers, on the other hand, have estimated that there are about six-hundred melodic phrases which are indicated by letters: Villoteau gives forty-seven, H. Zotenberg lists 168, Mondon-Vidailhet prints fifteen signs and forty-three letters, and Michael Powne estimates a figure of 600. There is, of course, no reason to question the claim of the Ethiopian scholars. They have, after all, committed to memory an astounding amount of information acquired through many years of formal education in the Church schools.
In order to show siraye letter notation, I have prepared a chart of the Ethiopic alphabet on the following two pages. It should be remembered that each letter consists of a vowel and consonant. The Ethiopian claim of at least 1000 letter indications seems to me to be quite an underestimation when considering the vast number of combinations and permutations of the major 231 letters shown here.
Definite pitch-values were never recognized in the Church-music. Modal and melodic phrases were known under the generic term zema (Hebrew sama, Arabic Sama ), each zema or melodic phrase being ecphonetically indicated by a letter or a combination of letters. The letter notation consists of abbreviations of words in the sacred text; the syllables of each word are sung according to a style prescribed by ecclesiastical tradition. The difficulty of understanding the notation lies in the fact that it is impossible to study the melodic formulas represented by letters apart from the
liturgy of which they are an integral part. Any attempt to study the liturgy would involve knowledge of Ge’ez and memorization of texts in numerous volumes of books. Even after all the memorization, the performance aspect of the chant, including expression, interpretation, and improvisation, is dependent upon each individual’s skill and artistry, for there is no uniform interpretation of the notation or style of performance.
Any serious study of course must start with the most important book of the Church, the Diggua, the Collection of Church Hymns compiled by Yared. Both milikitoch and siraye notations are employed above and below the lines of text. The Diggua consists of two parts: (1) specific hymns celebrating holy persons and things (holidays, etc.) and (2) hymns of a general character, such as hymns for the ordinary days of the week. Other important works that employ the ecphonetic notation include mi’eraf, a collection of hymns and chants for the year; mewas’it, a book of religious anthems for the year; igzer negs, chants for Saints’ days; and guba’e melk, a collection of general chants. Among the
most special and favorite works, negere mariam, the praises of Virgin Mary, stand first; gebre hemamat, the passion-week chants, are considered to be the most sacred.
For purposes of general identification, the repertory of the Ethiopian Church may be ordered in the following seven classes.
(1) Dawit: Most of the material of this class comes from the Bible. Dawit (David) refers to the prayers of David. It is recited as Tirai zema or unaccompanied chant in a half-spoken half-sung style. Students of the Church Schools memorize the Dawit to demonstrate mastery of correct accent, intonation, and expression.
(2) Lauds of Our Lady and Jesus Christ: This class consists of separate and complete chants for each day of the week. As has been mentioned before, the most descriptive poetry kine and melody zema is found in the Praises of the virgin.
(3) Songs of Solomon: This class comes from the Bible.
(4) Songs of the Prophets: This class comprises fifteen
categories.
1. The first prayer of Moses (Exodux XV, 1-20).
2. The second prayer of Moses (Deuteronomy XXXII, 1-21).
3. The third prayer of Moses (Deuteronomy XXXII, 22-43).
4. Prayer of Hannah (I Samuel II, 1-1-).
5. Prayer of Hezekiah (Isaiah XXXVIII, 10-20).
6. Prayer of the Prophet Minas. (The Old Testament Apocryphal).
7. Prayer of the Prophet Jonah (John II, 3-10).
8. Prayer of the Prophet Daniel (Daniel IX, 4-19)
9. The Song of the Three Holy Children. (Daniel II, 52-56).
10. Lauds of God for the Deliverance of the Three Children
(Luke I, 46-55)
11. Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk III, 2-19).
12. Prayer of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah XXVI, 9-20).
13. Thanksgiving to the Virgin (Luke I, 68-79).
14. Benedictus: Thanksgiving to Zecharias, Father of John the Baptist (Luke I, 68-79).
15. “Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace” (Luke II, 29-32).
(5) Mezebe Diggua: This is The Collection of Church Hymns
compiled by Saint Yared. It is the most important work, and may be studied in its five parts.
1. Yohannes. Hymn dedicated to Yohannes.
2. Some diggua . Songs of Lent, dedicated to st. Mary’s Church of Tsion.
3. Mi’eraf. The text of David’s Psalms set to music by Yared.
4. Astemru. Hymns and chants for the education of the priest.
5. Fasika. Songs of easter.
6. Kidassie and se’atat: Kidassie is the Mass. Se’atat consists of chants sung at night. Both are performed only by priests and deacons.
7. Zimare and mewas’it: The zimare is sung after the Kidassie (Mass). Mewas’it consists of prayer and chants for the dead.
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Ashenafi Kebede, Ph.D., is Professor of Ethno-musicology, African, and African American studies, and Director of the Center for African American Culture at the Florida State University. He is also the Director of the Ethiopian Research Council.