Traditional Ethiopian school education
The traditional Ethiopian church schooling is an elaborate education system, which in the highlands of Ethiopia still serves the purpose of training clerics for church service. Up until the 20th century, church schooling was the only institution that taught basic reading and writing skills and also ensured the spread and preservation of Christian culture. Not only in areas where modern schools are often miles away, the first stage of church schooling, which is still carried out in monasteries and church yards, continues to play this role.
In addition to this task, traditional church schooling was also a prerequisite for employment at court over the centuries. It is therefore not surprising that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , worried about losing its significant influence in state and society, had great reservations about the introduction of Western-type schools.
The curriculum
The curriculum of the traditional Ethiopian schools is divided into four sections, the complete completion of which takes at least 28 years, but is only expected from future Däbtärotsch (Sg. ደብተራ; däbtära ; Ethiopian Orthodox church singer ).
The first section is known as the House of Reading (ንባብ ቤት; nəbab bet ) and was (and is in some cases still) started by children mostly at the age of five. Under the supervision of a highly respected teacher, up to 200 students learn the Ethiopian alphabet at the same time before they then learn the most important Ethiopian Orthodox prayer books by heart .
Future deacons now visit the house of the liturgy (ቅዳሰ ቤት; qədasä bet ) after which they can be ordained a priest. Part of the curriculum of this school is the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy and the Liturgy of the Hours. Future Däbtärotsch complete the House of Church Hymns (ዜማ ቤት; zema bet ) at this level . As a rule, pupils of this level leave the place of the house of learning and wander around the country in small groups begging to find the Zema teacher of their choice. During the entire section, which takes about nine years to complete, the students are expected to support themselves by begging. Both church singing and church dance (ኣቋቋም; aqwaqwam ) are learned through observation, imitation and memorization.
In the House of Church Poetry (ቅኔ ቤት; qəne bet ) the Däbtära students deepen their knowledge of Gə'əz in order to first understand the poetry presented by their teachers and then to be able to produce their own poems, a skill that is very common in Ethiopian society is appreciated. Qəne has mostly religious content and is performed on major church holidays.
In the last section of the Ethiopian church school system, the House of the Book (መጽሐፍ ቤት; mätshaf bet ), classical commentaries on the Old and New Testament , later writings by the church fathers and finally the calculation of the Ethiopian calendar and the history of Ethiopia are learned.
Web links
literature
- Christine Chaillot: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Tradition. A Brief Introduction to its Life and Spirituality. Inter-Orthodox Dialogue, Paris 2002, ISBN 83-85368-98-1 .
- Kalewold Imbakom: Traditional Ethiopian Church Education. Translated by Menghestu Lemma. Teachers College Press, New York NY 1970.