Nov. 7 and 8
On the 7th Tamrat came over again and we talked some more about the Orthodox church. Then I went with him to Tekla haimonut to observe a children’s class seeing a “Thank You Song”
Laptop stopped functioning properly and so for today the ethnographic record is mostly field recording and paper notes.
Nov. 8th
J&J performed vascular surgery on my laptop by cutting a section out, splicing the silver and copper wires separately, then taping each with electrical tape. Laptop seems to be functioning again (for the time being!)
At 5 PM went to the Bible Society Building to see some other traditional instruments. Gebre is recording the New Testament onto CD for people who aren’t able to read the bible. Spent a few hours here. Most of it was discussing the project and this was done in Tigrinya.
I did see how Ethiopian music relies on the pentatonic scale. There were a few handmade flutes made from bamboo and another stringed instrument looking like a cross between a harp and a guitar.
There was also an electric keyboard which was brought, a yahmaha from America that had to be used with a power converter. The musician selected a flute sound and played the melodies to the prayer chanting using the C pentatonic scale. There was generally a fast turn on C-D-C and then back down the scale (cdc a g f)
I also learned that most of the chanting is word for word from the bible, just set to a melody. The drum is used to mark the beat.
For dinner (8:45) we went to Geeza Galarsey were there was traditional dancing and a popular style of music.
The female dancers wore long white dresses with the hems lined in colorful (red, yellow, black, green) geometric patterns. They also wore layers of big beaded necklaces, which became a percussion instrument when they jumped and shook their necks to the side.
A big component of this type of dancing is jumping in time and also moving shoulders to the back and the front. There is much more upper body dancing (not necessarily arms, but upper body) than in any other type of dance I have seen. The dancers don’t really use their hands or fingers in any type of intricate gesture, but instead move their shoulders back and forth quite quickly, further subdividing the beat.
The males changed dress for many of the different dance numbers, but one outfit they wore several times was a silk white shirt and pants. Quite simple.
The clothes are oversized and flowing, and patterned scarves are also used frequently as extensions of the arms, and because the clothing flows so well it looks quite beautiful.
One song in particular was about how in Tigray there are 5 ethnicities. This song told the story of how a man had fallen in love with a girl from a different ethnicity, but his parents would not allow him to marry her. He talked about the pain in his heart, but there was something he could do about it, and at that point the music began to get louder and the dancers began to jump higher and shake faster.
(translation by Daniel, an Ethiopian).
Nov. 9th.

The water turned back on today (yay!) so I got to take a shower and it was marvelous.

Impressions:
Kids saying “soft soft soft soft soft” selling Kleenex.
Coffee Ceremony!!

Friday November 9th
Talked with Kibron and set up an interview for next Thursday, when he is available. Heard that his room where his wife and three children live (a 15X25 ft. place) was rented for 250 birr (~$30/month) to 280 birr, and he’s now looking for a new place since he can’t afford the increase.

Watching a story on TV about Ethiopian runners and how they train- some actually have to pay to train on a real track, so many run in the mountains instead.

Kids playing tether ball with a old frayed rope and sand filled sock.
Brown juice bars. No water. (tinish, whatever that means)
The guard who stomps his foot and salutes us and gives us a high five.
Girl with snoopy backpack being teased and chased by the boy. Gabe and Connie and how kind they are.