HomeThe Roles and Values of Menzuma : Islamic panegyrics in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa
The Roles and Values of Menzuma : Islamic panegyrics in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa
Rôles et valeurs du Menzuma : panégyriques islamiques en Éthiopie et dans la Corne de l'Afrique
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Published on Monday, November 22, 2010
Abstract
The songs of praise called menzuma, sung by a soloist accompanied by a choir and percussion are popular all over the Muslim areas of Ethiopia where the practice of Sufi Islam is still well rooted. The purposes of this workshop are many : to study Menzuma genre from different perspectives and in the different languages in which it is performed ; to study the role of Menzuma as a social performance in public or private spheres ; to understand the relations between the oral performance and the written text of Menzuma ; to explore the different levels of significance of Menzuma texts, i.e. Religious, moral, historical, artistic, etc. ; to observe the circulation, exchange and transformations of Menzuma among different societies of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
Announcement
Program
Friday 19 November
Location : Ras Mekonnen Hall, Addis Ababa University
- 8:40 am Welcoming address, Dr. Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis, Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and Director of the Skunder Boghossian College of Performing and Visual Arts, AAU.
- 8:50 Opening Remarks - Ato Dawud Muhammed, State Minister, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
- 9:00 Significance of the workshop, Sheikh Ahmedin Sheikh Abdullahin Chello President, the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Addis Ababa.
- 9:10 “Jeba” traditional Coffee Ceremony - Coffee break
PANEL 1
Moderator : Dr Fekade Azeze, Addis Ababa University
- 9:50 An Hommage to the Late Berhanu Gebeyehu’s Study on Menzuma Literature - Dr. Eloi Ficquet, French Center for Ethiopian Studies.
- 10:00 Heroic qualities of Epic standards in Menzuma - Assefa Mamo, Bahir Dar University
- 10:30 Eighty Five Years of Inter-disciplinary study on Menzuma and Manzuma related genres : An overview - Kemal Abdulwehab, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, AAU
- 11:00 A Brief Stay with the Menzuma star : Sheikh Muhammed Awol Hamza. Introduction by Ato Idris Muhammed, department of Philology, AAU. Performance of two menzumas by Sheikh Muhammed Awol Hamza
- 11:30 End of the first panel – closing remarks by the organizing committee.
- 12:00 Lunch break
Afternoon : Friday prayer time – no paper presentations
- 4:30 Cocktail at the Skunder Boghossian college (situated at Siddist Kilo, in front of Oromia Supreme Court, on the beginning of the road to the French Embassy)
Saturday 20 November
Location : Ras Mekonnen Hall, Addis Ababa University
PANEL 2
Moderator : Ato Ahmed Zekaria, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, AAU
- 9:00 Menzuma tradition in the Harari region of Ethiopia : Preliminary observations - Dr Simone Tarsitani, Durham University, UK.
- 9:30 The role of Zikiri to Harari people : past and present - Muna Abubakir, Linguistics and Philology Department, AAU.
- 10:00 Women and children’s religious repertoires in and around Harar - Dr Ilaria Sartori, Independent scholar, Italy
- 10:30 Coffee break
Moderator : Mr Francis Falceto
- 10:45 Zikri in Harari Pop songs - Dr Wube Kassaye, Yared School, AAU.
- 11:15 An analysis of a Menzuma text collected in Awsa, Afar region - Dr Eloi Ficquet, French Center for Ethiopian Studies & Aramis Houmed Soulé, French Center for Ethiopian Studies
- 11:45 General Discussion
- 12:00 Lunch Break
PANEL 3
Moderator : Ato Semieneh Ayalew, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, AAU.
- 14:00 The Characteristic features of Menzuma as a Genre of its own and the functions it serves : An Ethnographic approach - Rukya Hassen, Wallo University.
- 14:30 The role of Zekkara in narration of oral history in Arsi - Hassen Muhammed Kao, Arabic Department, AAU
- 15:00 Coffee Break
Moderator : Dr Alula Pankhurst
- 15:15 Evocating and Evicting Awlya (Saints) : A Few Comments on Menzuma Performance in Oromya Regional State - Dr Thomas Osmond, Haramaya University.
- 15:45 Glorifying the Virtues of the Prophet and the Virtues of Local saints : The Shonki, Geta, and Chali Menzuma of Wallo - Dr. Ahmed Hassen, Addis Ababa University
- 16:15 General Discussion
- 16:45 End of the workshop
18:30-20:00 Menzuma Concert at the Alliance Ethio-Française
with :
- Muhamed Awol Hamza (Amharic)
- Qetibare group (Gurage)
- Raya Abba Mecha (Oromo)
- Eliyas Ahmed Adus (Harari)
Organizing Institutions : Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University - Centre français pour les études éthiopiennes (Addis Abeba)
Subjects
Places
- Ras Mekonnen Hall, Addis Ababa University,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Date(s)
- Friday, November 19, 2010
- Saturday, November 20, 2010
Keywords
- musique, Islam, Menzuma, Ethiopie, Cfee, Centre français pour les études éthiopiennes
Contact(s)
- Secrétariat du Cfee
courriel : secretariat-cfee [at] ethionet [dot] et
Reference Urls
Information source
- Nicolas de Lavergne
courriel : transatlantic [dot] dh [at] msh-paris [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« The Roles and Values of Menzuma : Islamic panegyrics in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa », Conference, symposium, Calenda, Published on Monday, November 22, 2010, https://calenda.org/202573
