The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
Today's date is: 5/12/2025
|
The Falashas: The Forgotten Jews of Ethiopia, by David Kessler
24 Records Found.
Displaying page 8
of 24:
| another to extend their territories and the writ of the Negus was only nominal, had provided an ideal setting for an ambitious, free-booting young warrior. Kassa, who later became Emperor of Ethiopia under the name of Theodore II, was born about 1818 in Kwara province, the son of a minor local chieftain who died when he was a child. His mother was of humble origin and the official histories have little to say about her. During his lifetime Kassa claimed to be of royal blood and a scion of the Solomonic line, but the claim has never been substantiated. Among the Falashas of Kwara, however, there is a different legend. They say that Kassa's father, Hailu Waleda Georgis, was a Falasha converted to Christianity who married a similar convert called Esther who, haying lost her virginity before marriage, had.been expelled from the tribe in accordance with custom and thus was thrown into the arms of a Christian husband. When she became pregnant she went to a Falasha monk to seek an interpretation of a dream which foretold that she would give birth to the sun. The monk told her this meant that her child would become an important person. When a boy was born she called him Kassa, meaning 'compensation', because she had been badly treated by her people and God had compensated her. After her husband's early death, Esther fell on hard times and was forced to earn a livelihood by selling flowers of the kosso tree, which, as Bruce had written, were used as a remedy for tapeworms, a very common malady.(1) The trade in kosso is much despised and in later years Theodore was taunted by his enemies on account of his mother's lowly occupation. The Falashas maintain that the emperor used to show them consideration and that on his campaigns he gave presents to the Falasha monks and invited their prayers. On the death of his father Kassa was sent to a monastery near Lake Tana. He escaped from it when it was sacked by Galla rebels from Gondar and he found refuge with an elder half-brother, named Kinfu, who sent him to school at another monastery in K wara province. This proved to be a formative period in the boy's life. He not only acquired a reputation for great bravery and skill in many activities but he was also a serious and able student. It was here that he learnt of an ancient prophecy that a saviour named Theodore would one day rule over Ethiopia. He kept this well in mind and dreamt of himself as the saviour who would not only restore order in Ethiopia itself but, as Consul Plowden wrote, would 'reclaim all the provinces lately conquered by Egypt along (1) The use of this plant as a medicament is described by R. Pankhurst in 'Europe's discovery of the Ethiopian taenicide-Kosso', in Medical History, vol. 23, no. 3,July 1979. |
| 113 Missions |