Monday 7 April 2014

Timket Eve, Adwa

Timket is one of the holiest holidays in Ethiopia. It's a celebration of Epiphany by the Orthodox Ethiopian church. People gather together in a central area of a town, dance and reenact the baptism of Jesus. Various stand-ins for the Arc of the Covenant, known as "tabots," are used by priests to represent Jesus during the ceremony. The tabots are moved around and prayed to during the two-day festival.

Timket Eve is the first part of the two-day event. The ceremony includes dancing and parading a tabot around. Once the festival is over, priests stay up all night in tents, praying until Timket the next day.

It's on, time to follow the town to a field and see the ceremony.


Religious dancing and music commences.

Everyone gets dressed up in their best religious clothes.


The devout.

The priests, highly costumed. The priests, who are holding square, flat-looking things above their heads, are holding tabots.


A couple more looks at attendees.
  No mistaking the pageantry.

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