Maateb

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old Maatab with rich silver jewelry, cross and ear cleaner

A Maateb is a traditional Ethiopian necklace that has been considered a distinguishing mark of the Ethiopian Christians from ancient times. It is a blue string with a cross usually attached. This cord is tied around the neck of the new Christian at baptism as an outward sign of baptism. Different types of crosses, metals and shapes are used depending on the region of Ethiopia. The custom of the Maateb is still a custom today.

The German biologist Felix Rosen , who traveled to the Menelik II court in 1904 with a German embassy ( rose embassy ) reports: Generally women (like children and many men) wear a cord made of dark blue cotton thread around their necks; her name is Maateb and is the badge of the Christians, while the pagan tribes wear a narrow leather strap instead. Lined up on this blue cord is what the wearer has of jewelry: crosses made of brass or silver, a thick silver ring, cartridges made of saffiano leather or silver, alternating with balls made of glass or amber, curls in silver filigree and finally a dainty spoon, that serves to clean the ears .

The Africa researcher Gerhard Rohlfs writes about the custom of the Maateb: The Christian Abyssinians wear a blue silk, twisted cord around their neck, which can be bought in the markets of the cities. Under the rule of the Negus Yohannes IV , the order was issued in 1880 that all Mohammedans had to convert to the Christian church or emigrate. Very many have bowed to this command and been baptized. So the Maateb in Ethiopia had a control function. It was always possible to see who was a Christian. The Ethiopian Jews, the Falascha , were also the target of forced baptisms . In this context, Felix Rosen reports on a special case related to the importance of Maateb. During a visit to the falascha in Gonder , Rosen saw a falascha woman who had a tattoo in the shape of the Maateb around her neck and chest . The woman stated that she was forcibly taught this. In the north of Ethiopia it is customary to acknowledge a Christian with a tattoo on the forehead in the form of a cross.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Felix Rosen: A German Embassy in Abyssinia. Verlag von Veit & Comp., Leipzig 1907, p. 228 .
  2. ^ Gerhard Rohlfs : My mission to Abyssinia. Taken on the orders of Sr. Maj. Of the German Emperor in the winter of 1880/81. FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1883, p. 168 .
  3. ^ Felix Rosen: A German Embassy in Abyssinia. Verlag von Veit & Comp., Leipzig 1907, p. 432 .