Zikri is the Harari word for the Arabic “dhikr” and refers to an exercise
(typical of Sufism), which consists of the repetition of the name of God
in order to receive his blessing. The rituals performed in the city of
Harar, important centre of Islamic learning in Ethiopia, are derived from
the influence of Sufi orders, widespread in the Islamized areas of the
Horn of Africa.
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Ritual
The educational system in Ethiopia has been profoundly molded by the past. Traditional education derives its distinctive character from the unique Christian heritage of the country. Ethiopia is, after all, the only African country to have preserved Christianity as its religion for over a millennium and a half.
Having its own written language and literature it developed from very early days a tradition of ecclesiastical scholarship. The long monastic tradition dates beck to the fifth century and the significant role of monasticism in the diffusion of Christian learning during the mediaeval period has been described in an earlier chapter.
In the Christian highlands of Ethiopia, the Church constituted the main guardian of traditional culture and provided the only schools in the land for many centuries. Not only did it preserve its ancient tradition with tenacity and convey it to future generations but it also secured remarkable continuity that has lasted to the present day. For the authority of tradition in present day Ethiopia remains compelling and forceful.
The church school system has been the instrument that has preserved the traditional learning of Ethiopia and conveyed it faithfully to succeeding generations. The priests and Church scholars who are the bearers and propagators of traditional learning have themselves been formed in the church school system that we propose to examine in some detail. For, in spite of the inevitable changes taking place in Ethiopia with the steady expansion of modern secular education in the present century, church schools still play an active part in the Ethiopian educational scene.
The church school system, which is one of the oldest in Christendom, originated in the Aksumite Kingdom with the introduction of Christianity about the 4th century. In the course of the centuries the school system has grown and changed in many ways. With the expansion of the Kingdom and Christianity to the south and southwest, churches and monasteries were founded, which became for centuries important centers of learning.
In their present form the church schools evolved during the “golden age” of the Church from the 13th to the 16th centuries when the literature of the Church had reached its peak. After the great wars, particularly after the 17th century, cultural activities declined. From that time to the present the church schools have undergone little change. The schools have in this period confined their educational activities to glorifying the products of past centuries and conveying these to the coming generation. We shall not discuss here the historical development, but rather the educational activities of the schools, as we know them today in the country.
The church school system has the following divisions:
1) Nebab Bet (Reading school)
2) Qedasse Bet (Liturgy school)
3) Higher schools, namely
a) Zema Bet (Music school)
b) Quene Bet and (Poetry school)
c) Metsehaf Bet which again have different subdivisions.
The Nebab Bet
The Nebab Bet, the Reading School or the “House of Reading” is the first stage of the traditional schools, where primary instruction is given. We find the Nebab Bet in practically all churches and monasteries, in a number of villages and in the compounds of well-to-do landlords. It is a one-teacher school, with instruction given by a priest or layman with church education. It is difficult to estimate the number of Nebab Bet in the country or to evaluate the school population involved. According to the Church Office there are about 15,000 churches in Ethiopia.
If each church has one Nebab Bet, which is probably the case, then there are at least 15,000 one-teacher schools. Each Nebab Bet may have an average of 20 pupils. We may then be justified, with some reservation, in saying that at present the total Nebab bet enrolment might well be 300,000.
This does not include pupils receiving instruction in the village schools and in private compounds. Normally children start school between the ages of 5 and 7, when they are traditionally considered ready to learn. Theoretically, both boys and girls and members of all ethnic groups and classes are eligible to enroll in church schools. In rural districts, parents generally discouraged the education of girls, since their function is to be housewives, and for this role no formal education is felt to be necessary.
Non-Christian families are reluctant to send their children to a Nebab bet because it is closely integrated with the church. Therefore, the Nebab bet and the church schools as a whole can not be considered to serve the entire population, but only members of the Orthodox Christian Church.
The prime function of the Nebab bet is to teach children to read religious books, practically all of which are in Geez. Instruction in the Nebab bet consists almost exclusively of reading.
Children master the 231 letters of the Geez syllabary, and are drilled in the art of good reading. Traditionally writing is not taught, since this was not needed in everyday life, unlike reading which is necessary for daily prayers and participating in the church service. In urban centers and roadside towns the Nebab bet has a new function today.
The modern schools often accepts more readily in their primary grades those children who can already read and write. This limitation of the enrolment is mainly due to the large number applicants and to an insufficient number of schools, so parents, especially those who do not need the labour of their children, are obliged to send their children to the Nebab bet as a first step to enrolment in a modern government school. T
he instruction in the Nebab bet is given in three different stages:
a) Fidel (Alphabets) Instruction
b) Drill in the reading of various religious texts
c) Reading of the Psalm of David
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