Essence of DOPE
Posts tagged Ethiopian
Church of Tewodaj Teddy Fikre
Jan 29th
Nope, I won’t ask you for 10%, I will not ask you to stand and sit 45 times, and most definitely will not insist that you convert to Teddism at the of my sermon.
by Teddy Fikre written: Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Welcome family to a new church called Tewodaj Teddy Fikre. By no means am I the priest, pastor, or Abba. I am just a deeply flawed man who is seeking in Him guidance and forgiveness. I will not wear false pretenses nor will I wear a purple robe in the guise of the King of Kings. I will most definitely not wear a crown or make people bow down to me and kiss my ring. I will be like the rest of the flock, I shall not stand on a pulpit and preach at my audience. I will simply sit in a circle with the rest of the sinners and read from the bible together and find in the pages the essence of love and patience.
To be honest, I have tried to go to church multiple times in my life. When I was in the midst of my deepest depression, I went to church often pleading with God to save More >
Serendipity Rejoined
Jan 17th
She walked in a slow staccato rhythm and I walked with a rushed allegro beats. She tried to calm me down and beseeched to just enjoy the steps.
by Teddy Fikre written: Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
There, I found her again in the middle of DC right next to corner bakery. It seems that Serendipity had decided to rejoin my side for one more day at least. I am not sure what induced her to return; further more confused what made her leave in the first place. But I was not about to inundate her with questions, better to count my blessings and understand that Serendipity is always ephemeral. So when she decides to visit again, always just say a quiet prayer and don’t be selfish by trying to suffocate her with guilt. Just breath her in, enjoy her essence, so that when she departs at least you are left a piece of her pheromones in your nostrils and a touch of her hands in your breast.
Thus, at approximately 2:15, Serendipity returned my call. I asked her what she was doing, she said she just finished lunch and was on her way back to work. I sighed; she felt a pang of More >
Intervention
Jan 16th
Today, I was offered love and care by those who love me and through their intervention find a path towards my own redemption.
by Teddy Fikre written: Monday, January 16th, 2012
I sat through a four intervention today after my sister read the Depression Fikre article I wrote yesterday. She read my words and saw in them a suicide note; after crying the whole night thinking that I was about to off myself, she decided to call for an emergency intervention. While I was drinking Hennessy shot after shot and dancing with perfect strangers at Babylon, she spent the whole night thinking I was about to have a reunion in heaven with my father. She called my phone endlessly while I was in my car at Babylon’s parking lot sleeping off the intoxication.
I did not know what she was up to, somehow I made it home from my intoxicated state and slept immediately on the sofa at Chez Teddy. Martha must have called at least 30 times trying to get a hold of me. Unable to reach me, she sent over my brother Million to see if I was still breathing. Thus a knock at 11:00 AM, I pretended that I did More >
Depression Fikre
Jan 15th
If you too are wedded to this bitch named Depression, lift your chin up and know that from this dark today will emerge in time a brighter tomorrow.
by: Teddy Fikre written: Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Time to chronicle my life in between sips of this DOPE cappuccino I’m enjoying at Sakofa while listening to the blissful sounds of Kuku Sebsebe. Nah, today you won’t find me extolling the virtues of Ethiopia neither will I delve into yet another Taboo subject in the Habesha community. Today, while recovering from a night of partying and endless shots of Hennessy, I shall put pen to pad and write instead a sober article. This is a story of my life, about my escapes from the clutches of my wife Depression. This friend visits me one in a while, she is the opposite of Serendipity. Serendipity inspires me to smile and write, Depression robs me of my charm and my wit. To wit, this is a story that countless Ethiopians share, but too few have the courage to express. So let me express it for those who are robbed of their expressions and left shivering in dark lit corners.
My friend depression has with me for More >
Habesha Ketero
Jan 13th
It is great to be timeless and refuse to be brought into a world of unending hustle; however we must adapt and adopt a new culture, one that is not on Bole Time.
by Teddy Fikre written: Friday, January 13th, 2012
How ironic, I was supposed to have completed this article three hours ago and emailed it to the publisher of browncondor (that would be me) before 1:00 PM. Alas, I was struck with that dreaded Habesha gene named Ketero. This disease Ketero is so dreaded that it is listed as more lethal than Ebola on the CDC website. Seriously, the inability to be on time within the Habesha community is so widespread and rampant, that even the late people end up arriving early to most Habesha events. So this article, inspired by Kassahun Kebede on a Facebook page I administer, is one that will delve into the Ethiopian collective psyche and discuss in the open our inability to be timely.
Now, like I stated above, I am the biggest sinner when it comes to this transgression. No bull kaka, I will probably be late to my own funeral. This Ketero disease has prevented me from enjoying countless milestones in my own life. More >
Enkutatash Celebration at Berkeley
Aug 31st
Enkutatash means the “gift of jewels”, and is an important festival in the lives of Ethiopians.
Posted: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
On Sunday, September 5th, the public is invited to take a walk on the cultural side at Enkutatash, the 7th Annual Ethiopian New Year Festival at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in downtown Berkeley, from 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
The goal of this Festival is to commemorate Ethiopian traditions, art, and culture. This celebration will include: delicious traditional dishes, national costumes, poetry, music, children’s programs, Reggae Band Selamta, West African Highlife Band, Ethiopian Musicians Haileye Tadesse, Neway Afardew, and much more. This family friendly event is free of charge and open to all.
Enkutatash means the “gift of jewels”, and is an important festival in the lives of Ethiopians. Its celebration dates back to the days of the Queen of Sheba. After three months of heavy rain, spring comes creating a beautiful clear fresh atmosphere in Ethiopia. The highlands turn to gold as the daisies burst into flower, gifts from nature to Ethiopia. Enkutatash is traditionally celebrated in a big way in Ethiopia; just as Americans celebrate the New Year.
ECCC, the sponsor of More >
Why I Don’t Eat Red Meat
Aug 20th
An OpEd from TsehaiNy.com written by Betty Shiferaw about the reasons behind her not eating red meat in a culture that sees red meat as a staple in our food.
by Betty Shiferaw. Posted: Friday, August 20, 2010
Author: Betty Shiferaw
Growing up in America with an Ethiopian cultural background can be intense at times in the sense of not understanding either the American ways of living or the Ethiopian. As a proud Ethiopian or Habesha, as we like to call ourselves, I must say we love to eat. Similar to the stereotypical Italian families, Habeshas find it rude not to offer or receive a well nourished meal.
Speaking from experience, I’m going to focus on my family. My family loves to eat, particularly red meat, and have a good time. Put any of us in a box and it’s a party. We know how to have a good time in the worst situations because thankfully, we all have the basic understanding that life is truly what you make of it. One thing that my family members don’t understand is how in the world I don’t eat red meat.
I’m blessed to say my grandparents, whom I owe everything to, raised me. I never knew how to speak More >
The Risk of Defining One’s Identity as Pure
Aug 12th
Irrespective of the language we speak, the accent that we speak it in, or the place we live in, no one person is better than another, and certainly no one person is purer than the next.
by Meeraf Taddesse. Posted: Thursday, August 12, 2010
Recently, I received a comment on a recent article of mine—“The Rules of Habesha Dating: Habesha Edition 1”—which has affected me in a great way. One particular reader, named “Abesha,” left a comment mentioning his opinion on the “‘real’ abesha” versus “pure Americans” that only look Habesha but clearly are not so in his eyes. I have to say that his comments really upset me. I was ready to quit writing articles altogether at one point because of his negative comments, but decided to push ahead. However, as I was writing another completely different article, I just could not get his comments out of my head. I decided to shelve that article and to, instead, write this article in response to his comment, which has hurt me so deeply. People in my life have known me as a very strong person. I am sure that they would be extremely surprised that one comment from a person, of whom More >
Is the Word Habesha an Insult?
Aug 4th
I am not passing judgment on your use of the word, I just choose to embrace another word to identify my nationality.
by Teddy Fikre. Posted: Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Let me take you through a recent journey I had. As I was purchasing some coffee at a local bakery, I see who I assume to be an Ethiopian lady at the counter. Living in the DC area, this is not really a revelation, if I go a day without seeing an Ethiopian or an Eritrean would be a shock to the system these days. As I approached the counter to purchase my coffee, almost instinctively, I said “Selam” to her. Maybe it is because I lived in America for such a long time or the fact that I probably said Selam in my distinctive Americanized Amharic, whatever the queue, she looked up with almost a look of surprise and said “Habesha neh?”
At that exact moment, I paused. I wanted to answer in the affirmative, but I was once again caught off-guard with her word selection. Really, I should not be, the word Habesha is ubiquitous these days—almost everyone uses it right? However, reflexively, I resist that word as if I was More >
A Poem about Us
Aug 4th
An original piece that talks about the bonds and the blood that we all share, the highlights our commonalities that are stronger than the insignificant differences that divide us.
by Hiwote Getaneh. Posted Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Engendered from Atse Menelik, Atse Tewdros, Aba Bora and Ras Jifar, this Habesha came to be. It’s worth was seen only on the faces, shoulders and backs of warriors that knew the Abyssinia they fought for. The pride they bought us all and the battles we should simply diffuse by now. It runs deep through the arteries of royalty The tourism sites The churches The rivers The valleys.
It cries at the nights our fathers spent in jail Those grevious days, time has only waned. Never forgotten Yet unfairly feared.
Don’t u remember those nights we slept in the hallway of our Kasanchis house? It was just me, you, Mariam, Gabriel and the Good Book.
Windows and doors don’t always mean opportunities Then, they were maledictions. And now, they sway back and forth.
So when mutinies rose and the color of blood overpowered the significance of the green or the yellow, our parents stood…afraid of this Red Terror. But time never loses focus It did what it always does And More >