Mereja.Forum

[Naga Tuma]

What is tradition? What is culture? What is hospitality?

Can they be born spontaneously out of a gem of somebody's imagination or are they established out of a practice over the ages? I have intuitively thought that it is out of the latter.

I do not think that if it weren't out of the latter, they wouldn't get any attention from the prophets, so much so that one of them would go to the extent of describing a land wherein no one is wronged.

Juxtapose that with what happened in Ethiopia just a few months ago, which is now last year according to Ethiopia's calendar. I have made a conscious decision to not listen to much of the reports. However, even based on the limited reporting I heard or read about, I couldn't help asking what the hell happened in "the land wherein no one is wronged." As a matter of fact, we could ask the same question about what has been happening over the last many decades.

Can a tradition be a brand? Can culture be a brand? Can hospitality be a brand? If not, why would the prophets get out of their ways to describe these attributes so remarkably in the so distant past? How can anyone explain this juxtaposition, which is what I have been asking myself for so some time and expressing it at this time?

In my understanding, "the land wherein no one is wronged" doesn't mean no can be wrong. No, far from it. All of us can be wrong. I think that even the prophets would say they were wrong if they learned about this juxtaposition. There is a big difference between no one being wronged and any conscious attempt to wrong someone.

Were their observations not well-founded or we failed to connect their observations in the so distant past with our own contemporary personal experiences?

Ever since I read about their observations, I have tried to understand and interpret them based on my own personal observation of the culture in which I grew up in rural Ethiopia as well as those I heard about in other rural parts of the country.

For you town folks, there is something called rural Ethiopia. If you live in the U.S., some of the best glimpses of it are the large paintings on the walls inside Fry's Electronics stores, at least in one local store where I live now. That is a different juxtaposition of fascinating rural scenery in one of the leading contemporary electronics stores.

I am certain that most of the people who lived in the distant past that the prophets talked about also lived in the countryside.

One of the stories that I heard about is that if a traveler in the countryside gets thirty and asks for water from a home, it is common that he is offered milk instead of water.

I have recently written about one of the modest homes that my late parents owned. In that small village, it stood out a little bit. It was on a route for caravans of countrymen going to the closest town from far away places to sell produce, purchase goods, and return to their villages. It used to happen about every Saturday, a common market day of the town.

On their way back from town, darkness often fell before some caravans could get back to their villages. It appeared that they often looked for homes that stood out to host them for a night. So, it was common for my late parents to host a small caravan at the family's homes on Saturday nights.

The hosting goes like the following, including rough translations of the conversations.

In the dark (they don't do that when there is still light,) a member of the caravan calls the family: ወረነ (እዚህ ቤተሰብ, this family)
A member of the family, usually the head of the family, responds: ኦ (ወዬ, yes)
The member of the caravan: ኑት ዽዬ፣ ኑ ቡልቻ (መሽቶብን ነዉ፣ ኣሳድሩን, it became dark on us, host us for the night)
The member of the family responds: መን ከን ዋቃት፣ ጎረ ቡላ (ቤት የዋቀ ነዉ፣ ጎራ በሉና እደሩ, the home is Waqa's, come in and spend the night)

That is basically it for the caravans to come in as guests, not as strangers, and spend the night. I don't remember any caravan asked who they are before they are let in. This is one of the typical examples through which I tried to understand the expression "the land wherein no one is wronged."

After the guests come in, they are treated to dinner, if it was ready, or waited chatting, mostly with the head of the family, until it got ready. It would be during that chat that the family gets to know more about the caravan and usually learned about people and other families that both sides knew.

Right after dinner, the guests bless the family for the meal and for hosting them by calling on Waqa. They genuinely appeal to Waqa, at least that is what I think, to pay the family for its generosity and hospitality.

In return, the head of the family also blesses the families of the caravan. My late mother's response to blessings is short and the same: አመናፍ ኤበ ዸቡ (ለዚህች ያህል ምርቃት መነፈግ ኣለ, would one be denied blessing for just this much?)

Moreover, mostly the oldest child who is present at the time, if not away to school, washes the feet of the guests. Yes, I have also washed the feet of guests several times, some of them arriving with shoes, some bare feet.

By the dawn of the next day, they would leave. I don't remember any day when I woke up and saw the guests still there.

I do not understand how other Ethiopians interpret the expressions of the prophets in terms of their lived experiences. For me, this experience feels real enough to connect me with those expressions.

If these values of tradition, culture, and hospitality are not out of the blue either in the distant past or during my own life time as a young man, how can you explain the juxtaposition between these values and what we all witnessed from near and far as happened in Ethiopia? I have been lost for words and I don't understand how anyone can explain it away.

[Somaliman]

And you think the bunch of clowns that populate this forum would read such a long article in which you've invested your time and energy!

[Naga Tuma]

May be it was worth my time if at least one reader found the interest and time to read my long scribble.

[Somaliman]

May be it was worth my time if at least one reader found the interest and time to read my long scribble.

I believe if we had on this forum just 5% of people like you, who don't come just to talk but because they've something to talk about, this forum would be an interesting place to be attracted to!

[TesfaNews]

May be it was worth my time if at least one reader found the interest and time to read my long scribble.

I believe if we had on this forum just 5% of people like you, who don't come just to talk but because they've something to talk about, this forum would be an interesting place to be attracted to!

[Za-Ilmaknun]

These all seemed to have happened when the earth was round and the end of the horizon was the end of the world. I wish I was born during that time and saw the kindness your folks extended to the complete strangers and, the trust the community had of each other. It is unbelievable even by any standard to witness what the country is going thru as we speak. ..a country which once had a culture and moral high ground as described in your beautifully composed text...which is now turned in to a slaughter house...

When we politicize identity, we lose the prism thru with we see the good, the bad and the ugly as a measure of idea. The minute we hear somebody speaking in a different language or dilate, that person is labeled as enemy and has to be eliminated. The political actors who brought about this kind of politics openly told us that ..it was the shortest path to victory. Once they climbed on to the helm...they let is be as is or at times inflamed it more so that we are blinded by the flame to not see the trap beyond...and they stay perpetually at the evil tower. The question is ...how are we going to reclaim at least some of the moral decency of the not so distant past? Or should we just lose all hope and prey to get at each others' throat for zero sum?

[Somaliman]

May be it was worth my time if at least one reader found the interest and time to read my long scribble.

I believe if we had on this forum just 5% of people like you, who don't come just to talk but because they've something to talk about, this forum would be an interesting place to be attracted to!

Tarik,

You're a perfect example of the stupid clowns that I was referring to!

[Naga Tuma]

Somaliman and Za-Ilmaknun,

Maybe you guys are giving my scribble more value than it is worth. Thank you anyway.

Za-Ilmaknun, the people come from established communities that know about one another one way or another. So, soon after the chatting starts, they are asked which rural community they come from. Once that is identified, then they ask about people that the family knows in those communities. Sometimes, they even end up related, at least distantly, through marriages. The communities come from a confluence of those known as the Gabaro and the Borana. Those identifications didn't deter the concept of innocent until proven guilty in practice, which is to treat them as your guests instead of strangers.

[gagi]

Very inspiring anecdote how the Ethiopians of yesterday were descent with traditions that embodied the best of humanity.

I also remember what one of my best friends who is from Harergie told me about the hospitality that he grew up witnessing in his community. In this place known as Gara Negus, there was family who used to supply year-round drinking water to any passerby. They leave out side of their compound barrels of water so that any passerby who is in the middle of the long arid crossing can use. Students from the rural areas in the vicinity, caravan merchants, etc - were invited to quench their thirst freely!

[kerenite]

What is tradition? What is culture? What is hospitality?

Can they be born spontaneously out of a gem of somebody's imagination or are they established out of a practice over the ages? I have intuitively thought that it is out of the latter.

I do not think that if it weren't out of the latter, they wouldn't get any attention from the prophets, so much so that one of them would go to the extent of describing a land wherein no one is wronged.

Juxtapose that with what happened in Ethiopia just a few months ago, which is now last year according to Ethiopia's calendar. I have made a conscious decision to not listen to much of the reports. However, even based on the limited reporting I heard or read about, I couldn't help asking what the hell happened in "the land wherein no one is wronged." As a matter of fact, we could ask the same question about what has been happening over the last many decades.

Can a tradition be a brand? Can culture be a brand? Can hospitality be a brand? If not, why would the prophets get out of their ways to describe these attributes so remarkably in the so distant past? How can anyone explain this juxtaposition, which is what I have been asking myself for so some time and expressing it at this time?

In my understanding, "the land wherein no one is wronged" doesn't mean no can be wrong. No, far from it. All of us can be wrong. I think that even the prophets would say they were wrong if they learned about this juxtaposition. There is a big difference between no one being wronged and any conscious attempt to wrong someone.

Were their observations not well-founded or we failed to connect their observations in the so distant past with our own contemporary personal experiences?

Ever since I read about their observations, I have tried to understand and interpret them based on my own personal observation of the culture in which I grew up in rural Ethiopia as well as those I heard about in other rural parts of the country.

For you town folks, there is something called rural Ethiopia. If you live in the U.S., some of the best glimpses of it are the large paintings on the walls inside Fry's Electronics stores, at least in one local store where I live now. That is a different juxtaposition of fascinating rural scenery in one of the leading contemporary electronics stores.

I am certain that most of the people who lived in the distant past that the prophets talked about also lived in the countryside.

One of the stories that I heard about is that if a traveler in the countryside gets thirty and asks for water from a home, it is common that he is offered milk instead of water.

I have recently written about one of the modest homes that my late parents owned. In that small village, it stood out a little bit. It was on a route for caravans of countrymen going to the closest town from far away places to sell produce, purchase goods, and return to their villages. It used to happen about every Saturday, a common market day of the town.

On their way back from town, darkness often fell before some caravans could get back to their villages. It appeared that they often looked for homes that stood out to host them for a night. So, it was common for my late parents to host a small caravan at the family's homes on Saturday nights.

The hosting goes like the following, including rough translations of the conversations.

In the dark (they don't do that when there is still light,) a member of the caravan calls the family: ወረነ (እዚህ ቤተሰብ, this family)
A member of the family, usually the head of the family, responds: ኦ (ወዬ, yes)
The member of the caravan: ኑት ዽዬ፣ ኑ ቡልቻ (መሽቶብን ነዉ፣ ኣሳድሩን, it became dark on us, host us for the night)
The member of the family responds: መን ከን ዋቃት፣ ጎረ ቡላ (ቤት የዋቀ ነዉ፣ ጎራ በሉና እደሩ, the home is Waqa's, come in and spend the night)

That is basically it for the caravans to come in as guests, not as strangers, and spend the night. I don't remember any caravan asked who they are before they are let in. This is one of the typical examples through which I tried to understand the expression "the land wherein no one is wronged."

After the guests come in, they are treated to dinner, if it was ready, or waited chatting, mostly with the head of the family, until it got ready. It would be during that chat that the family gets to know more about the caravan and usually learned about people and other families that both sides knew.

Right after dinner, the guests bless the family for the meal and for hosting them by calling on Waqa. They genuinely appeal to Waqa, at least that is what I think, to pay the family for its generosity and hospitality.

In return, the head of the family also blesses the families of the caravan. My late mother's response to blessings is short and the same: አመናፍ ኤበ ዸቡ (ለዚህች ያህል ምርቃት መነፈግ ኣለ, would one be denied blessing for just this much?)

Moreover, mostly the oldest child who is present at the time, if not away to school, washes the feet of the guests. Yes, I have also washed the feet of guests several times, some of them arriving with shoes, some bare feet.

By the dawn of the next day, they would leave. I don't remember any day when I woke up and saw the guests still there.

I do not understand how other Ethiopians interpret the expressions of the prophets in terms of their lived experiences. For me, this experience feels real enough to connect me with those expressions.

If these values of tradition, culture, and hospitality are not out of the blue either in the distant past or during my own life time as a young man, how can you explain the juxtaposition between these values and what we all witnessed from near and far as happened in Ethiopia? I have been lost for words and I don't understand how anyone can explain it away.

Greetings naga tuma,

I believe the first who mentioned "in the land wherein no one is wronged" was the islam prophet Muhammed. The first who sought shelter in abyssinia were the prophet's companions among them his daughter ROKIA along with her husband OSMAN BIN AFFAN who became later a caliph after the death his predecessor.

Many arab historians claim that the the migration of prophet muhammed's companions to abyssina precedes their migration to medina which occured years later but they call it HIJRA or the first calendar year in Islam. By the way HIJRA means migration.

P.S. I wonder, in abyssinian fairy tales or the bla bla 3000 years diatribe they never mention the name of the good axumite king then who gave shelter to the persecuted first muslims in the world. Even the renowned ethio historian ato tekletsadiQ mekuria doesn't mention him in all of his multiple history books.

[Sadacha Macca]

What is tradition? What is culture? What is hospitality?

Can they be born spontaneously out of a gem of somebody's imagination or are they established out of a practice over the ages? I have intuitively thought that it is out of the latter.

I do not think that if it weren't out of the latter, they wouldn't get any attention from the prophets, so much so that one of them would go to the extent of describing a land wherein no one is wronged.

Juxtapose that with what happened in Ethiopia just a few months ago, which is now last year according to Ethiopia's calendar. I have made a conscious decision to not listen to much of the reports. However, even based on the limited reporting I heard or read about, I couldn't help asking what the hell happened in "the land wherein no one is wronged." As a matter of fact, we could ask the same question about what has been happening over the last many decades.

Can a tradition be a brand? Can culture be a brand? Can hospitality be a brand? If not, why would the prophets get out of their ways to describe these attributes so remarkably in the so distant past? How can anyone explain this juxtaposition, which is what I have been asking myself for so some time and expressing it at this time?

In my understanding, "the land wherein no one is wronged" doesn't mean no can be wrong. No, far from it. All of us can be wrong. I think that even the prophets would say they were wrong if they learned about this juxtaposition. There is a big difference between no one being wronged and any conscious attempt to wrong someone.

Were their observations not well-founded or we failed to connect their observations in the so distant past with our own contemporary personal experiences?

Ever since I read about their observations, I have tried to understand and interpret them based on my own personal observation of the culture in which I grew up in rural Ethiopia as well as those I heard about in other rural parts of the country.

For you town folks, there is something called rural Ethiopia. If you live in the U.S., some of the best glimpses of it are the large paintings on the walls inside Fry's Electronics stores, at least in one local store where I live now. That is a different juxtaposition of fascinating rural scenery in one of the leading contemporary electronics stores.

I am certain that most of the people who lived in the distant past that the prophets talked about also lived in the countryside.

One of the stories that I heard about is that if a traveler in the countryside gets thirty and asks for water from a home, it is common that he is offered milk instead of water.

I have recently written about one of the modest homes that my late parents owned. In that small village, it stood out a little bit. It was on a route for caravans of countrymen going to the closest town from far away places to sell produce, purchase goods, and return to their villages. It used to happen about every Saturday, a common market day of the town.

On their way back from town, darkness often fell before some caravans could get back to their villages. It appeared that they often looked for homes that stood out to host them for a night. So, it was common for my late parents to host a small caravan at the family's homes on Saturday nights.

The hosting goes like the following, including rough translations of the conversations.

In the dark (they don't do that when there is still light,) a member of the caravan calls the family: ወረነ (እዚህ ቤተሰብ, this family)
A member of the family, usually the head of the family, responds: ኦ (ወዬ, yes)
The member of the caravan: ኑት ዽዬ፣ ኑ ቡልቻ (መሽቶብን ነዉ፣ ኣሳድሩን, it became dark on us, host us for the night)
The member of the family responds: መን ከን ዋቃት፣ ጎረ ቡላ (ቤት የዋቀ ነዉ፣ ጎራ በሉና እደሩ, the home is Waqa's, come in and spend the night)

That is basically it for the caravans to come in as guests, not as strangers, and spend the night. I don't remember any caravan asked who they are before they are let in. This is one of the typical examples through which I tried to understand the expression "the land wherein no one is wronged."

After the guests come in, they are treated to dinner, if it was ready, or waited chatting, mostly with the head of the family, until it got ready. It would be during that chat that the family gets to know more about the caravan and usually learned about people and other families that both sides knew.

Right after dinner, the guests bless the family for the meal and for hosting them by calling on Waqa. They genuinely appeal to Waqa, at least that is what I think, to pay the family for its generosity and hospitality.

In return, the head of the family also blesses the families of the caravan. My late mother's response to blessings is short and the same: አመናፍ ኤበ ዸቡ (ለዚህች ያህል ምርቃት መነፈግ ኣለ, would one be denied blessing for just this much?)

Moreover, mostly the oldest child who is present at the time, if not away to school, washes the feet of the guests. Yes, I have also washed the feet of guests several times, some of them arriving with shoes, some bare feet.

By the dawn of the next day, they would leave. I don't remember any day when I woke up and saw the guests still there.

I do not understand how other Ethiopians interpret the expressions of the prophets in terms of their lived experiences. For me, this experience feels real enough to connect me with those expressions.

If these values of tradition, culture, and hospitality are not out of the blue either in the distant past or during my own life time as a young man, how can you explain the juxtaposition between these values and what we all witnessed from near and far as happened in Ethiopia? I have been lost for words and I don't understand how anyone can explain it away.

Greetings naga tuma,

I believe the first who mentioned "in the land wherein no one is wronged" was the islam prophet Muhammed. The first who sought shelter in abyssinia were the prophet's companions among them his daughter ROKIA along with her husband OSMAN BIN AFFAN who became later a caliph after the death his predecessor.

Many arab historians claim that the the migration of prophet muhammed's companions migration to abbyssina precedes their migration to medina which occured years later and they call it HIJRA or the first calendar in Islam.

P.S. I wonder, in abyssinian fairy tales or the bla bla 3000 years diatribe they never mention the name of the good axumite king then who gave shelter to the persecuted first muslims in the world.

They probably don't mention the negus or king who gave refuge to the Muslims, because he eventually became Muslim, and you see how they treated Lij Iyasu when he allegedly became a Muslim.
The same people who gave birth to the type of people who recently threatened, and then finally KILLED an Oromo preacher for preaching the Christian religion in Afaan Oromo.

https://www.facebook.com/10000172909604 ... 072847362/

[DefendTheTruth]

Greetings naga tuma,

I believe the first who mentioned "in the land wherein no one is wronged" was the islam prophet Muhammed. The first who sought shelter in abyssinia were the prophet's companions among them his daughter ROKIA along with her husband OSMAN BIN AFFAN who became later a caliph after the death his predecessor.

Many arab historians claim that the the migration of prophet muhammed's companions migration to abbyssina precedes their migration to medina which occured years later and they call it HIJRA or the first calendar in Islam.

P.S. I wonder, in abyssinian fairy tales or the bla bla 3000 years diatribe they never mention the name of the good axumite king then who gave shelter to the persecuted first muslims in the world.

They probably don't mention the negus or king who gave refuge to the Muslims, because he eventually became Muslim, and you see how they treated Lij Iyasu when he allegedly became a Muslim.
The same people who gave birth to the type of people who recently threatened, and then finally KILLED an Oromo preacher for preaching the Christian religion in Afaan Oromo.

https://www.facebook.com/10000172909604 ... 072847362/

Look, how you two are from the same source, typically characteristic of your both camps, one from EPLF and another from OLF, everywhere they (adherents of these groups and their breeds) turn to they run around with only sense of grudge and always talking about resentments, even when these are off-topic with regard to the topic under discussion here.

You already spoiled the well-started discussion, you could have started your own topic to entertain your sentiments, which are endless, anyhow, and shared your view on the topic of this thread here, if you had any.

I didn't hear about the story of you linked but even if that should be a tragic happening, then still it remains an incident of very few instances, if not singular.

You breed grudge, then you earn also grudge, what else? You are shackled by a sense of grudge and you will remain prisoner of your own making in your own self.

[Sadacha Macca]

Greetings naga tuma,

I believe the first who mentioned "in the land wherein no one is wronged" was the islam prophet Muhammed. The first who sought shelter in abyssinia were the prophet's companions among them his daughter ROKIA along with her husband OSMAN BIN AFFAN who became later a caliph after the death his predecessor.

Many arab historians claim that the the migration of prophet muhammed's companions migration to abbyssina precedes their migration to medina which occured years later and they call it HIJRA or the first calendar in Islam.

P.S. I wonder, in abyssinian fairy tales or the bla bla 3000 years diatribe they never mention the name of the good axumite king then who gave shelter to the persecuted first muslims in the world.

They probably don't mention the negus or king who gave refuge to the Muslims, because he eventually became Muslim, and you see how they treated Lij Iyasu when he allegedly became a Muslim.
The same people who gave birth to the type of people who recently threatened, and then finally KILLED an Oromo preacher for preaching the Christian religion in Afaan Oromo.

https://www.facebook.com/10000172909604 ... 072847362/

Look, how you two are from the same source, typically characteristic of your both camps, one from EPLF and another from OLF, everywhere they (adherents of these groups and their breeds) turn to they run around with only sense of grudge and always talking about resentments, even when these are off-topic with regard to the topic under discussion here.

You already spoiled the well-started discussion, you could have started your own topic to entertain your sentiments, which are endless, anyhow, and shared your view on the topic of this thread here, if you had any.

I didn't hear about the story of you linked but even if that should be a tragic happening, then still it remains an incident of very few instances, if not singular.

You breed grudge, then you earn also grudge, what else? You are shackled by a sense of grudge and you will remain prisoner of your own making in your own self.

What makes me, as an individual, or anyone for that matter, a so called ''OLF''?
What criteria are you using? The same Meles used, perhaps, when he said ''under every OPDO, you will find an OLF?''
What grudges or resentments, when I am just presenting the truth citing historical examples that substantiate such claims/truths?


And how could it be ''off topic,'' if it has to do with the title phrasing ''wherein no one is wronged,'' even though we know ethiopia's recent and past history is full of oppression and wrong doings, and even though the phrase ''wherein no one is wrong,'' refers to the just rule of a long gone abyssinian/ethio king/negus? One who eventually became Muslim himself?

You not hearing of a story, means NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH, because it's inevitable that you or I, or individuals, will not hear of every event or issue in Ethiopia or elsewhere, for that matter. Whether it's singular or not, matters not either, what matters is that it occurred, and it's also inevitable AND or/logical, that perhaps, just PERHAPS others share in the beliefs of the criminals who killed this oromo preacher.

[Naga Tuma]

What is tradition? What is culture? What is hospitality?

Can they be born spontaneously out of a gem of somebody's imagination or are they established out of a practice over the ages? I have intuitively thought that it is out of the latter.

I do not think that if it weren't out of the latter, they wouldn't get any attention from the prophets, so much so that one of them would go to the extent of describing a land wherein no one is wronged.

Juxtapose that with what happened in Ethiopia just a few months ago, which is now last year according to Ethiopia's calendar. I have made a conscious decision to not listen to much of the reports. However, even based on the limited reporting I heard or read about, I couldn't help asking what the hell happened in "the land wherein no one is wronged." As a matter of fact, we could ask the same question about what has been happening over the last many decades.

Can a tradition be a brand? Can culture be a brand? Can hospitality be a brand? If not, why would the prophets get out of their ways to describe these attributes so remarkably in the so distant past? How can anyone explain this juxtaposition, which is what I have been asking myself for so some time and expressing it at this time?

In my understanding, "the land wherein no one is wronged" doesn't mean no can be wrong. No, far from it. All of us can be wrong. I think that even the prophets would say they were wrong if they learned about this juxtaposition. There is a big difference between no one being wronged and any conscious attempt to wrong someone.

Were their observations not well-founded or we failed to connect their observations in the so distant past with our own contemporary personal experiences?

Ever since I read about their observations, I have tried to understand and interpret them based on my own personal observation of the culture in which I grew up in rural Ethiopia as well as those I heard about in other rural parts of the country.

For you town folks, there is something called rural Ethiopia. If you live in the U.S., some of the best glimpses of it are the large paintings on the walls inside Fry's Electronics stores, at least in one local store where I live now. That is a different juxtaposition of fascinating rural scenery in one of the leading contemporary electronics stores.

I am certain that most of the people who lived in the distant past that the prophets talked about also lived in the countryside.

One of the stories that I heard about is that if a traveler in the countryside gets thirty and asks for water from a home, it is common that he is offered milk instead of water.

I have recently written about one of the modest homes that my late parents owned. In that small village, it stood out a little bit. It was on a route for caravans of countrymen going to the closest town from far away places to sell produce, purchase goods, and return to their villages. It used to happen about every Saturday, a common market day of the town.

On their way back from town, darkness often fell before some caravans could get back to their villages. It appeared that they often looked for homes that stood out to host them for a night. So, it was common for my late parents to host a small caravan at the family's homes on Saturday nights.

The hosting goes like the following, including rough translations of the conversations.

In the dark (they don't do that when there is still light,) a member of the caravan calls the family: ወረነ (እዚህ ቤተሰብ, this family)
A member of the family, usually the head of the family, responds: ኦ (ወዬ, yes)
The member of the caravan: ኑት ዽዬ፣ ኑ ቡልቻ (መሽቶብን ነዉ፣ ኣሳድሩን, it became dark on us, host us for the night)
The member of the family responds: መን ከን ዋቃት፣ ጎረ ቡላ (ቤት የዋቀ ነዉ፣ ጎራ በሉና እደሩ, the home is Waqa's, come in and spend the night)

That is basically it for the caravans to come in as guests, not as strangers, and spend the night. I don't remember any caravan asked who they are before they are let in. This is one of the typical examples through which I tried to understand the expression "the land wherein no one is wronged."

After the guests come in, they are treated to dinner, if it was ready, or waited chatting, mostly with the head of the family, until it got ready. It would be during that chat that the family gets to know more about the caravan and usually learned about people and other families that both sides knew.

Right after dinner, the guests bless the family for the meal and for hosting them by calling on Waqa. They genuinely appeal to Waqa, at least that is what I think, to pay the family for its generosity and hospitality.

In return, the head of the family also blesses the families of the caravan. My late mother's response to blessings is short and the same: አመናፍ ኤበ ዸቡ (ለዚህች ያህል ምርቃት መነፈግ ኣለ, would one be denied blessing for just this much?)

Moreover, mostly the oldest child who is present at the time, if not away to school, washes the feet of the guests. Yes, I have also washed the feet of guests several times, some of them arriving with shoes, some bare feet.

By the dawn of the next day, they would leave. I don't remember any day when I woke up and saw the guests still there.

I do not understand how other Ethiopians interpret the expressions of the prophets in terms of their lived experiences. For me, this experience feels real enough to connect me with those expressions.

If these values of tradition, culture, and hospitality are not out of the blue either in the distant past or during my own life time as a young man, how can you explain the juxtaposition between these values and what we all witnessed from near and far as happened in Ethiopia? I have been lost for words and I don't understand how anyone can explain it away.

Greetings naga tuma,

I believe the first who mentioned "in the land wherein no one is wronged" was the islam prophet Muhammed. The first who sought shelter in abyssinia were the prophet's companions among them his daughter ROKIA along with her husband OSMAN BIN AFFAN who became later a caliph after the death his predecessor.

Many arab historians claim that the the migration of prophet muhammed's companions to abyssina precedes their migration to medina which occured years later but they call it HIJRA or the first calendar year in Islam. By the way HIJRA means migration.

P.S. I wonder, in abyssinian fairy tales or the bla bla 3000 years diatribe they never mention the name of the good axumite king then who gave shelter to the persecuted first muslims in the world. Even the renowned ethio historian ato tekletsadiQ mekuria doesn't mention him in all of his multiple history books.

Greetings to you as well, kerenite,

Just when I think of your comments on this forum as logically coherent, I sometimes fail to see its continuity. For instance, you are making self-conflicting statements here. On the one hand, you appear to suggest that the expression was a historical account made by Prophet Mohammed. At the same time, it is not clear whether you think it was valid or invalid. Are you able to make up your mind in the world of logic if you think it was valid or invalid? That answer will make the basis for your other statements, whether they remain valid or invalid.