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hrjI wrote previously on the general outlines of how I developed the character of Serafina and wove a historic and personal background for her that served the needs of my story. Here are some research notes gleaned from two travelers' diaries from the early 19th century that will provide cultural background. Very little of this material will be included explicitly in the story itself. As I noted previously, I'll be using Serafina's memories of various cultural practices that her family was able to retain in exile. And the context in which she received her education and became interested in studying mysteries also will be rooted in some of the material here.
I haven't yet had a chance to correlate this material with an insider's view of Ethiopian culture. I've done enough superficial online research to discover that things like names for particular foods have changed in some cases. I'll need to follow up on that further because if I'm naming specific 19th century items, I want to do better than using the undoubtedly corrupted versions of the words that appear in the English diaries. But those differences are why I consider Pearce's journals to be a useful resource, despite their cultural shortcomings. I imagine it's going to be a bit of a challenge to find a subject matter expert to beta-read for these topics. The intersection between people with the knowledge and people in my target readership may be … elusive. But I want to make a good effort to make sure I'm not stepping on any landmines, especially given the somewhat skewed viewpoint of my primary research texts.
I'm going to organize this by topic so there may be some repetition. Citations are from Nathaniel Pearce's journals (chapter and page - the pages start from 1 again in chapter X which starts the second volume). Text is largely direct quotes from Pearce, sometimes paraphrased. This is just a selection of what seem like the most useful and/or interesting items. I have much more in my notes.
Food
brindo [raw meat eaten as a ceremonial feast]
Galla criticize Christians for eating raw meat [II:95]
brindo without bread [IV:148], [V:184]
asmitt a “thin kind of nourishment” (liquid) served to a sick person [III:128]
sherro and bread filfit, or cooked victuals and bread mashed up together [IV:171]
cooked victuals [V:189]
gar in the Tigré or gumfo in the Amhara, a mash made of wheat-flour, water, and butter (eaten to celebrate childbirth) [IX:304]
fowls and fish cooked with curry, a mixture of hot chilly-pepper, and onions, and salt, called dillack, with the addition of some butter and spices, which altogether form a hot compound that few European throats could swallow [X:346]
Mutton sometimes curried, and sometimes boiled, but more frequently only a little broiled [X:346]
goats’ flesh sometimes curried, and sometimes boiled, but more frequently only a little broiled [X:346]
Partridges, guinea-fowl, other game curried [X:346]
Bread (unless noted, described as “bread”) [X:340]
pile of loaves on table IV:153]
cakes of bread [IV:161] , [V:189]
baked our berenter and ate our dinners [XXI:289] Note: this is a meal on the road, so berenter is something one can prepare easily in transit?
Drink
maize [served in horns IV:148], [IV:151], [IV:152], [IV:161], jar of maize [V:189] - Note: I haven't been able to determine if Pearce is calling this "maize" due to a connection with the New World grain, or whether it's his interpretation of an unrelated sound-alike. I suspect the latter.
sowa (the common beer of the country, a fermented liquor made indiscriminately from different kinds of grain, but in general of course from that most common in the part of the country where they reside ) [IV:151], [IV:152]
hornful of maize or tsug (unclear if the two names are equivalent or different drinks) [X:346]
Coffee seldom drunk by Christians who associate it with Muslims [XI:13]
Grains
taff agi (grown in dry season, less esteemed), taff currumpt (rainy season, more esteemed) [VI:200]
Wheat, barley, beans, hemp, and a corn called arras in Tigré, as well as peas, are sown in the month of June, after the first day or two of rain. Other different varieties of grain, called marshella daguxu, and a red taff, called taff agi, are sown from the latter end of April till the middle of May. [X:344]
Meal groupings
brindo without bread, a horn of maize [IV:148]
bread, meat, maize, sowa [IV:152]
cakes of bread, jar of maize, cooked vituals, fowls, bread, sheep [V:189]
gar (or gumfo) and sowa (eaten to celebrate childbirth, a feast called gella) [IX:304]
Table service
host or other assistant (selafé) feeds the diner by hand [IV:161], [IV:168], [VIII:272]
food is served minced [IV:161]
diner wipes the mouth with bread after eating [IV:161]
diners on couch, covered with carpets and pillows [IV:168]
[There are some interesting notes on clothing and adornment, but I don't expect these will carry over into my story.]
Education
One beautiful Galla, whom Ras Guebra had brought up and educated under a priest of great learning, the old gentleman recalled, and gave in care to Abbuzer Tisral, the head-cook. [VI:215]
The lickcounts, or scribes, who regulate the time, esteem themselves very learned people, and are proud beyond conception. The priests are also proud of their learning, and of their rules and regulations in the performance of divine service as Christians, though numbers of them cannot read. [X:326]
There are priests and deacons, who go about to the different towns, or residences of chiefs, where they find employment in teaching children to read, but this is very rare, and they have few scholars, which always surprised me, as the schooling is very cheap. The master receives, for teaching a boy or girl, one piece of cloth, equal to a dollar, every ear, and two cakes of bread daily, from every scholar in turn, so that if he has many it does not bear hard on any individual. … Very few Abyssinians learn to write; those who do are chiefly occupied in writing charms, and some of the more artful persuade the poor ignorant people that they are possessed of supernatural powers, especially the cunning Dosters of Gojam, many of whom travel about the country, writing charms, &c. In country villages, the inhabitants will maintain one of these persons for months together, he pretending that he can prevent hail from destroying their corn, and the locust from approaching the district, and cure all sorts of diseases with his written charms, for which he not only gets paid, but lives upon the fat of their district, and administers justice according to his own goodwill and pleasure. [X:330] Note: useful background for what for both high and low mysteries might take in the Abyssinia of my stories!
[Some interesting descriptions of family life and rites of passage, but I don't think I'll be using any of that material.]
Politics and Social Organizations
The new governor immediately seizes every person’s land and property … the former owner is obliged to fly to another district for refuge, leaving his wife and children, if he has any, in her native place. She will soon get another husband, while her last, if he prospers, finding another master, will also marry another wife. [IX:283]
The people who live in the larger sort of towns, and especially the mechanics, in general lead the most undisturbed life, and are considered the best Christians. Thos who work in silver and gold, in brass, or at the carpenters’ trade, are esteemed as persons of high rank; but those who work in iron or pottery are not allowed the privilege even of being in common society, nor are they permitted to receive the sacrament as Christians. [note: These Budas, or workers in iron and pottery, are distinguished, it appears, from other classes, by a peculiar gold ear-ring, which is worn by the whole race …[they are thought to be hyena shape-changers] [IX:286]
The “Marver”
The women also make merry on the Christmas day, composing and singing silly verses as Christmas carols. … Acquaintances visit each other on all yearly holydays, making merry and drinking to excess; and they have clubs, called marver, which in general consist of twelve persons, but sometimes more, formed for the purpose of friendly communication; the men are in general in one marver, and the women in another, but when the man happens to be absent from his, the wife often attends in his stead, and the same with the husband if the wife is absent. These marvers for men are a kind of benefit societies, the members of which are sworn to be brethren, and always to assist each other in need, and above all not to wrong each other’s bed; though in this respect they are not very attentive to their vows. [XI:19]
Each marver has a priest, who drinks and eats at free cost, and he opens the meeting, when all are assembled by saying the Lord’s prayer, which they all repeat together; he then breaks bread, first to give to the poor at the door, and then to the whole marver in rotation. They break up in general very late, some in a state of intoxication … Many … belong to several of these marvers, that are kept on different holydays. [XI:20]
[Note: the idea of the "marver" seems useful to adapt as the social unit of magical practice in my story-world. The equivalent of the European "mystery guilds" in the sense of a group of people practicing together that increase the likelihood that the group as a whole will be able to perform "effective" magic. This is a concept that Serafina is likely to have picked up from her parents, who likely will have continued some sort of version of the practice in exile.]
Religious Matters
There is also a holy water at the church Oun Arvel, which is greatly esteemed for the cure of persons afflicted with evil spirits. … This complaint is called tigretier; it is more common among the women than among the men. [details] [IX:290]
during the eight weeks after the great Lent, in which these fasts are not observed, being eight weeks of continued festival. Some eat fish on these fast days, and others eat nothing but pulse or herbs, especially during the great Lent. [X:326]
holy sacrament … consists of ground raisins and wheat flour, mixed with water, and is brought from the apartment where it is prepared in a basket, covered with a bit of red cloth or silk, [X:327]
The women also make merry on the Christmas day, composing and singing silly verses as Christmas carols. … Acquaintances visit each other on all yearly holydays, making merry and drinking to excess; [XI:19]
I haven't yet had a chance to correlate this material with an insider's view of Ethiopian culture. I've done enough superficial online research to discover that things like names for particular foods have changed in some cases. I'll need to follow up on that further because if I'm naming specific 19th century items, I want to do better than using the undoubtedly corrupted versions of the words that appear in the English diaries. But those differences are why I consider Pearce's journals to be a useful resource, despite their cultural shortcomings. I imagine it's going to be a bit of a challenge to find a subject matter expert to beta-read for these topics. The intersection between people with the knowledge and people in my target readership may be … elusive. But I want to make a good effort to make sure I'm not stepping on any landmines, especially given the somewhat skewed viewpoint of my primary research texts.
I'm going to organize this by topic so there may be some repetition. Citations are from Nathaniel Pearce's journals (chapter and page - the pages start from 1 again in chapter X which starts the second volume). Text is largely direct quotes from Pearce, sometimes paraphrased. This is just a selection of what seem like the most useful and/or interesting items. I have much more in my notes.
Food
brindo [raw meat eaten as a ceremonial feast]
Galla criticize Christians for eating raw meat [II:95]
brindo without bread [IV:148], [V:184]
asmitt a “thin kind of nourishment” (liquid) served to a sick person [III:128]
sherro and bread filfit, or cooked victuals and bread mashed up together [IV:171]
cooked victuals [V:189]
gar in the Tigré or gumfo in the Amhara, a mash made of wheat-flour, water, and butter (eaten to celebrate childbirth) [IX:304]
fowls and fish cooked with curry, a mixture of hot chilly-pepper, and onions, and salt, called dillack, with the addition of some butter and spices, which altogether form a hot compound that few European throats could swallow [X:346]
Mutton sometimes curried, and sometimes boiled, but more frequently only a little broiled [X:346]
goats’ flesh sometimes curried, and sometimes boiled, but more frequently only a little broiled [X:346]
Partridges, guinea-fowl, other game curried [X:346]
Bread (unless noted, described as “bread”) [X:340]
pile of loaves on table IV:153]
cakes of bread [IV:161] , [V:189]
baked our berenter and ate our dinners [XXI:289] Note: this is a meal on the road, so berenter is something one can prepare easily in transit?
Drink
maize [served in horns IV:148], [IV:151], [IV:152], [IV:161], jar of maize [V:189] - Note: I haven't been able to determine if Pearce is calling this "maize" due to a connection with the New World grain, or whether it's his interpretation of an unrelated sound-alike. I suspect the latter.
sowa (the common beer of the country, a fermented liquor made indiscriminately from different kinds of grain, but in general of course from that most common in the part of the country where they reside ) [IV:151], [IV:152]
hornful of maize or tsug (unclear if the two names are equivalent or different drinks) [X:346]
Coffee seldom drunk by Christians who associate it with Muslims [XI:13]
Grains
taff agi (grown in dry season, less esteemed), taff currumpt (rainy season, more esteemed) [VI:200]
Wheat, barley, beans, hemp, and a corn called arras in Tigré, as well as peas, are sown in the month of June, after the first day or two of rain. Other different varieties of grain, called marshella daguxu, and a red taff, called taff agi, are sown from the latter end of April till the middle of May. [X:344]
Meal groupings
brindo without bread, a horn of maize [IV:148]
bread, meat, maize, sowa [IV:152]
cakes of bread, jar of maize, cooked vituals, fowls, bread, sheep [V:189]
gar (or gumfo) and sowa (eaten to celebrate childbirth, a feast called gella) [IX:304]
Table service
host or other assistant (selafé) feeds the diner by hand [IV:161], [IV:168], [VIII:272]
food is served minced [IV:161]
diner wipes the mouth with bread after eating [IV:161]
diners on couch, covered with carpets and pillows [IV:168]
[There are some interesting notes on clothing and adornment, but I don't expect these will carry over into my story.]
Education
One beautiful Galla, whom Ras Guebra had brought up and educated under a priest of great learning, the old gentleman recalled, and gave in care to Abbuzer Tisral, the head-cook. [VI:215]
The lickcounts, or scribes, who regulate the time, esteem themselves very learned people, and are proud beyond conception. The priests are also proud of their learning, and of their rules and regulations in the performance of divine service as Christians, though numbers of them cannot read. [X:326]
There are priests and deacons, who go about to the different towns, or residences of chiefs, where they find employment in teaching children to read, but this is very rare, and they have few scholars, which always surprised me, as the schooling is very cheap. The master receives, for teaching a boy or girl, one piece of cloth, equal to a dollar, every ear, and two cakes of bread daily, from every scholar in turn, so that if he has many it does not bear hard on any individual. … Very few Abyssinians learn to write; those who do are chiefly occupied in writing charms, and some of the more artful persuade the poor ignorant people that they are possessed of supernatural powers, especially the cunning Dosters of Gojam, many of whom travel about the country, writing charms, &c. In country villages, the inhabitants will maintain one of these persons for months together, he pretending that he can prevent hail from destroying their corn, and the locust from approaching the district, and cure all sorts of diseases with his written charms, for which he not only gets paid, but lives upon the fat of their district, and administers justice according to his own goodwill and pleasure. [X:330] Note: useful background for what for both high and low mysteries might take in the Abyssinia of my stories!
[Some interesting descriptions of family life and rites of passage, but I don't think I'll be using any of that material.]
Politics and Social Organizations
The new governor immediately seizes every person’s land and property … the former owner is obliged to fly to another district for refuge, leaving his wife and children, if he has any, in her native place. She will soon get another husband, while her last, if he prospers, finding another master, will also marry another wife. [IX:283]
The people who live in the larger sort of towns, and especially the mechanics, in general lead the most undisturbed life, and are considered the best Christians. Thos who work in silver and gold, in brass, or at the carpenters’ trade, are esteemed as persons of high rank; but those who work in iron or pottery are not allowed the privilege even of being in common society, nor are they permitted to receive the sacrament as Christians. [note: These Budas, or workers in iron and pottery, are distinguished, it appears, from other classes, by a peculiar gold ear-ring, which is worn by the whole race …[they are thought to be hyena shape-changers] [IX:286]
The “Marver”
The women also make merry on the Christmas day, composing and singing silly verses as Christmas carols. … Acquaintances visit each other on all yearly holydays, making merry and drinking to excess; and they have clubs, called marver, which in general consist of twelve persons, but sometimes more, formed for the purpose of friendly communication; the men are in general in one marver, and the women in another, but when the man happens to be absent from his, the wife often attends in his stead, and the same with the husband if the wife is absent. These marvers for men are a kind of benefit societies, the members of which are sworn to be brethren, and always to assist each other in need, and above all not to wrong each other’s bed; though in this respect they are not very attentive to their vows. [XI:19]
Each marver has a priest, who drinks and eats at free cost, and he opens the meeting, when all are assembled by saying the Lord’s prayer, which they all repeat together; he then breaks bread, first to give to the poor at the door, and then to the whole marver in rotation. They break up in general very late, some in a state of intoxication … Many … belong to several of these marvers, that are kept on different holydays. [XI:20]
[Note: the idea of the "marver" seems useful to adapt as the social unit of magical practice in my story-world. The equivalent of the European "mystery guilds" in the sense of a group of people practicing together that increase the likelihood that the group as a whole will be able to perform "effective" magic. This is a concept that Serafina is likely to have picked up from her parents, who likely will have continued some sort of version of the practice in exile.]
Religious Matters
There is also a holy water at the church Oun Arvel, which is greatly esteemed for the cure of persons afflicted with evil spirits. … This complaint is called tigretier; it is more common among the women than among the men. [details] [IX:290]
during the eight weeks after the great Lent, in which these fasts are not observed, being eight weeks of continued festival. Some eat fish on these fast days, and others eat nothing but pulse or herbs, especially during the great Lent. [X:326]
holy sacrament … consists of ground raisins and wheat flour, mixed with water, and is brought from the apartment where it is prepared in a basket, covered with a bit of red cloth or silk, [X:327]
The women also make merry on the Christmas day, composing and singing silly verses as Christmas carols. … Acquaintances visit each other on all yearly holydays, making merry and drinking to excess; [XI:19]
