Culture of Eritrea
Encyclopedia
The culture of Eritrea
has been largely shaped by its location on the Red Sea
coast, as well as the area's historic links with Ethiopia
, Somalia
, Djibouti
, Sudan
, the Near East
and Italy
. The local culture consists of various, and often quite similar, traditions practiced by the nation's many Cushitic
and Semitic
-speaking Afro-Asiatic
ethnic groups, in addition to those practiced by the area's Nilotic
minorities. Eritrea's semi-arid terrain in the northeastern Sahel
and its unique climate
have also been important influences on local customs.
. Coffee (Ge'ez
ቡን būn) is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely tea
("shai" ሻይ shahee) will be served. The coffee is brewed by first roasting the green coffee beans over hot coals gughin a brazier
. Once the beans are roasted each participant is given an opportunity to sample the aromatic smoke by wafting it towards them. This is followed by the grinding of the beans, traditionally in a wooden mortar and pestle
.
The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel, called a jebena
, and boiled. A jebena is usually made of clay
and has a spherical base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle where the neck connects with the base. When the coffee boils up through the neck it is poured in and out of another container to cool it, and then is put back into the jebena until it happens again. To pour the coffee from the jebena a filter made from horsehair
or other material is placed in the spout of the jebena to prevent the grounds from escaping.
The host pours the coffee for all participants by moving the tilted jebena over a tray with small, handleless cups (finjal) without stop until each cup is full. Some of the coffee will inevitably miss the cup but this is done to prevent the coffee grounds from contaminating the brew. One extra cup is poured each time. The grounds are brewed three times: the first round of coffee is called awel, the second kale'i and the third bereka ('to be blessed'). The coffee ceremony may also include burning of various traditional incense
such as frankincense
or gum arabic
.
consists of various stew
s (tsebhi
) made from vegetables and meat, and served atop a large, flat sourdough
bread
called injera or tayta. Many vegetarian dishes are available, since a majority of the population observe fasting at some time during the year. Eating is accomplished without utensils by tearing a piece of injera (strictly using the right hand), then scooping some stew, vegetables or salad with the bread.
On visiting an Eritrean household, it is polite to decline at least three times if asked to dine. Usually the host will say "bezay kelalem", after which the guest may agree to dine. This process ensures that one does not seem too eager to eat at another's household.
is Christian
, mostly belonging to the Oriental Orthodox tradition of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the other 50% is Sunni Muslim or Sufi. The rest of the population practice traditional Indigenous religions, and Roman Catholic, while others include Protestants, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses
, and Baháís.
Eritrea
was one of the first Christian countries in the world along with its neighbour Ethiopia. With Ethiopia it was the first Christian African country turning Christian before most of Europe. Most Eritrean Christians are Orthodox but there is a large Catholic minority. There are also a few Protestants. Christianity is part of Eritrea's rich culture as most festivals during the year are based on the Christian calendar (excluding events like Independence Day). Eritrean Muslims and Christians have a mutual respect for each other.
accounts for approximately 50% of the population.
All Eritrean Muslims practice Sunni Muslim or Sufism
. Generally, the eastern and western lowlands are predominantly Muslim while the highlands are predominantly Christian
.
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
has been largely shaped by its location on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
coast, as well as the area's historic links with Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The local culture consists of various, and often quite similar, traditions practiced by the nation's many Cushitic
Cushitic languages
The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947...
and Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
-speaking Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
ethnic groups, in addition to those practiced by the area's Nilotic
Nilotic
Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
minorities. Eritrea's semi-arid terrain in the northeastern Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
and its unique climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
have also been important influences on local customs.
Coffee ceremony
One of the most recognizable parts of Eritrean culture is the coffee ceremonyCoffee ceremony
A coffee ceremony is a ritualised form of making and drinking coffee. The coffee ceremony is one of the most recognizable parts of Arab, Eritrean and Ethiopian culture. Coffee is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life...
. Coffee (Ge'ez
Ge'ez alphabet
Ge'ez , also called Ethiopic, is a script used as an abugida for several languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea but originated in an abjad used to write Ge'ez, now the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church...
ቡን būn) is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
("shai" ሻይ shahee) will be served. The coffee is brewed by first roasting the green coffee beans over hot coals gughin a brazier
Brazier
A brazier is a container for fire, generally taking the form of an upright standing or hanging metal bowl or box. Used for holding burning coal as well as fires, a brazier allows for a source of light, heat, or cooking...
. Once the beans are roasted each participant is given an opportunity to sample the aromatic smoke by wafting it towards them. This is followed by the grinding of the beans, traditionally in a wooden mortar and pestle
Mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
.
The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel, called a jebena
Jebena
Jebena is a container used to brew coffee in the Ethiopian, Eritrean and Eastern Sudanese traditional coffee ceremony. It is usually made of pottery and has a spherical base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle where the neck connects with the base....
, and boiled. A jebena is usually made of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and has a spherical base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle where the neck connects with the base. When the coffee boils up through the neck it is poured in and out of another container to cool it, and then is put back into the jebena until it happens again. To pour the coffee from the jebena a filter made from horsehair
Horsehair
Horsehair is the long, coarse hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallcovering material formerly used in the construction...
or other material is placed in the spout of the jebena to prevent the grounds from escaping.
The host pours the coffee for all participants by moving the tilted jebena over a tray with small, handleless cups (finjal) without stop until each cup is full. Some of the coffee will inevitably miss the cup but this is done to prevent the coffee grounds from contaminating the brew. One extra cup is poured each time. The grounds are brewed three times: the first round of coffee is called awel, the second kale'i and the third bereka ('to be blessed'). The coffee ceremony may also include burning of various traditional incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
such as frankincense
Frankincense
Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...
or gum arabic
Gum arabic
220px|thumb|right|Acacia gumGum arabic, also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
.
Cuisine
Typically, Eritrean cuisineEritrean cuisine
Eritrean cuisine is a fusion of Eritrea's native culinary traditions, and the area's long history of trade and social interchanges with other regions and cultures.-Overview:...
consists of various stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
s (tsebhi
Wat (food)
Wat, wet, or wot , known as tsebhi in Tigrinya is an Ethiopian and Eritrean stew or curry which may be prepared with chicken, beef, lamb, a variety of vegetables, and spice mixtures such as berbere and niter kibbeh, a seasoned clarified butter.Several properties distinguish wats from stews of...
) made from vegetables and meat, and served atop a large, flat sourdough
Sourdough
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
called injera or tayta. Many vegetarian dishes are available, since a majority of the population observe fasting at some time during the year. Eating is accomplished without utensils by tearing a piece of injera (strictly using the right hand), then scooping some stew, vegetables or salad with the bread.
On visiting an Eritrean household, it is polite to decline at least three times if asked to dine. Usually the host will say "bezay kelalem", after which the guest may agree to dine. This process ensures that one does not seem too eager to eat at another's household.
Religion
It is estimated that 50% of the population of EritreaEritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
is Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, mostly belonging to the Oriental Orthodox tradition of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the other 50% is Sunni Muslim or Sufi. The rest of the population practice traditional Indigenous religions, and Roman Catholic, while others include Protestants, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, and Baháís.
Christianity
Christianity accounts for 50% of the population.Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
was one of the first Christian countries in the world along with its neighbour Ethiopia. With Ethiopia it was the first Christian African country turning Christian before most of Europe. Most Eritrean Christians are Orthodox but there is a large Catholic minority. There are also a few Protestants. Christianity is part of Eritrea's rich culture as most festivals during the year are based on the Christian calendar (excluding events like Independence Day). Eritrean Muslims and Christians have a mutual respect for each other.
Islam
IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
accounts for approximately 50% of the population.
All Eritrean Muslims practice Sunni Muslim or Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. Generally, the eastern and western lowlands are predominantly Muslim while the highlands are predominantly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
.