Dr. Ayele Bekerie This is Me

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1. 1. www.tsehaipublishers.com

   www.tsehaipublishers.com/ijes/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/29/2007   Last Visited: 11/29/2007

   Ayele Bekerie, Cornell University

2. 2. New Yorkers Received Rare Treat at MOBIA: Ethiopian Art from The Walters Art Museum at Tadias Magazine

   www.tadias.com/?p=556 - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/14/2007   Last Visited: 3/18/2008

   To understand what makes Ethiopian Orthodox Christian art unique, one must understand the role African traditional religions and Judaism played in Ethiopian culture prior to the introduction to Christianity, said Ayele Bekerie, assistant professor at Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center.
   
   "The influence of ancient religious traditions are manifested in what we now call Ethiopian Christianity, particularly in reaching out to angels and visualizing the biblical stories in colors and styles inspired by the material culture and environment," Bekerie said. "It is important to note that most monasteries and some churches are built on top of hills and mountains where you experience remarkable and colorful views of the sunrise and sunset. Besides, the landscape is always a panorama of rainbow colors."
   
   Ethiopian Christianity also evolved out of a Judaic culture as well, established over 3,000 years ago. Bekerie tells the story:
   ...
   Ethiopians believe the Ark is located in the Aksumite Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, but every church in Ethiopia and throughout the world must have a replica of the Ark in order affirm their legitimacy, Bekerie said.
   
   Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian civilizations in the world. The religion was practiced along the Ethiopian coastline as early as 42 A.D., Bekerie said, after a Meroë (in what is modern day Sudan) merchant introduced commoners to the religion. Due to the inclusive nature of African traditional religions, Christians were able to worship openly without fear of persecution.
   
   Perhaps more significantly, Ethiopia became one of the first countries in the world to take Christianity as its state religion approximately 300 years later when, according to legend, Frumentius, a Christian merchant seaman from Tyre on his way to India with relatives, became shipwrecked and was delivered to the king in Axum, a powerful world empire in the fourth century, Bekerie said.
   
   "He was raised with special care and managed to master the language and traditions of the Aksumites," said Bekerie.
   ...
   While Ethiopian artists were almost unquestionably influenced by Western and Byzantine devotional icon painting in the 15th century, due in part, museum curators suggest, to the destruction of many church murals and liturgical objects during the Muslim invasions of the 1530s and 1540s, Bekerie said some observers are too quick to see overt Western influence in Ethiopian artists' creative thought.
   
   "It seems to me there is some sort of mental block not to acknowledge originality and creativity in the Ethiopian artists," he said. "I always advise scholars to use the example of the architecture of the Debre Damo Monastery, the oldest monastery in Ethiopia."
   
   The monastery is constructed of stone blocks and logs, creating a distinct architectural feature, Bekerie said. Distinct painting traditions have also emerged in different regions of Ethiopia and are pursued by students over the centuries. The monarchy and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christian Church were institutional pillars that guided culture and politics in Ethiopia until the monarchy's fall in 1974, Bekerie said.
   
   "The monarchy is gone and the church is still place," he said.

3. 3. 2007 November archive at Tadias Magazine

   www.tadias.com/?m=200711 - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/1/2007   Last Visited: 3/18/2008

   By Ayele Bekerie
   ...
   Publisher's Note: This article is well-referenced and those who seek the references should contact Professor Ayele Bekerie directly at: ab67@cornell.edu
   
   About the Author:
   
   Ayele Bekerie was born and raised in Ethiopia. He earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies at Temple University in 1994. He has written and published in scholarly journals, such as, Journal of Egyptology and African Civilizations (ANKH), Journal of Black Studies, The International Journal of Africana Studies, and Imhotep. He is also the author of Ethiopic: an African Writing System, a book about the history and principles of Ethiopic (Ge'ez). He is a Professor at Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center. He is a regular contributor to Tadias Magazine.
   
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