Ethiopian Transit
Comfort zones are necessary in certain periods of our lives- consistently pushing your boundaries will wear you out and knowing our limits is important. But we shouldn’t let fear hold us back from attempting to change our routine. Fear has driven me in directions I never thought I would walk. You can’t sit and wait for things to happen. You have to actively work to receive the gifts and achieve the rewards you want from life. A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there. It is a wonderful place for healing and rest but it was time to get my feet moving again.
On the summit of Entoto Mountan. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
After a long transition with my mental health that required me to be still for over a year, I decided to book a short transit through Ethiopia on my way to Kenya for my university fieldwork. Before diving into my research in Kenya, I wanted to gift myself with a short trip to somewhere I’d always read about but never visited. Growing up in Kenya meant that I knew a little bit about Ethiopia, importantly that Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is a major transit hub across Africa. So it made sense to book an extended transit through Addis on my way to Kenya, shave some pounds off my trip and go somewhere I had always been fascinated with. This trip was important to me because during my time at The University of Exeter, I experienced so much racial violence and it made me so mentally unwell; you can read about my experience here. I wanted to do something to rebuild my confidence and to remind me why its so great to be African. The most impressive thing about Ethiopia for me was that it was the only African country that resisted and defeated Western colonisation under Emperor Halie Salassie - a powerful Pan-Africanist who is still venerated in the Rastafarian religion.
As an anthropology researcher, culture fascinates me and Ethiopia has one of the oldest cultures on earth. It is the site of the emergence of modern humans and our oldest ancestor 'Lucy' was discovered there. Ethiopia also has a rich religious history with some of the oldest links to Christianity in the world. I spent a whole day museum hopping in Addis, from the Ethnological Museum of Addis Ababa to the National Museum of Ethiopia which hosts the remains of 'Lucy'. It was a wet and rainy April day so it was a good day to be inside. The National Museum of Ethiopia, happened to be hosting an Afro-futurist art display with local artists depicting blackness in all its glory, I realised in this moment that African art is so much more prolific than is depicted in the West. It got me thinking about the future of art in Africa and the huge milestones that artists are crossing to redefine blackness in a futurist perspective.
I also learnt that Ethiopia was a melting pot of culture and religion even before the advent of Christianity. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the oldest pre-colonial Christian church in Africa. It was built to commemorate Ethiopia's liberation from Italian occupation and is one of the most important places of worship in Ethiopia. It’s also the final resting place of Emperor Haile Selassie. I happened upon a service on the way back to my hotel from a day trip to Entoto Mountain. I wasn't dressed appropriately for the service- women can’t expose their hair, shoulders or legs in places of worship- so I sat in the taxi and listened to the beautiful chants in Amharic as they were broadcast over the speaker to the congregation who gathered all the way out to the gates next to where we were parked.
Most people have heard about Emperor Hallie Selassie but not many people know about the reign of Menelik II who ruled the from 1844-1913. He founded the capital Addis Ababa and lived atop Entoto Mountain (pictured above)- his house has been turned into a museum which you can visit. He was instrumental in modernisation which included implementing a national currency, constructing improved educational facilities and ministries, installing railways and establishing the first telephone and telegraph systems in Ethiopia.
My favourite thing about Ethiopia though, is the ancient self care practices that still exist there today. Ethiopians really take it to the next level when it comes to self scare and to date Addis marks the place where I had the best spa experience. I didn’t know it then, but yoni steaming is still practiced traditionally in Ethiopia and next time I’m there I will definitely seek out a steam. Yoni steaming also known as Vaginal steaming is an ancient health practice to restore health and balance your physical feminine cycles, assist with recovery during postpartum, intimately connect to your feminine source and power and release toxic emotions and stagnation. It has been a powerful tool for me during my recovery from postpartum depression and helped me so much with healing sexual abuse trauma. But yoni steaming is blanketly disregarded by the medical community, not because of its harmfulness, but because it's an area of practice of which doctors lack accurate knowledge. Just doing a simple google search on yoni steaming, you come across countless articles warning you about the dangers of it and why you shouldn’t practice it, but each to their own. The fact that it is a practice in so many ancient indigenous communities around the world speaks volumes and I cannot wait to learn more about this practice in Ethiopia on my next trip there. If you want to learn more about Yoni Steaming, check out my podcast on Youtube, Healing in Harmony.
Aside from the rich culture and history, Ethiopian food and coffee is simply amazing. I spent my last night in a local restaurant 'Habesha,' which hosts traditional music and dance while you share Injera around the table. Injera is the national dish of Ethiopia- a sour flat bread served with meat and vegetables. I highly recommended this cuisine to anyone who hasn't tried it. Ethiopia is also the origin of coffee and they have intrinsic coffee ceremonies which you can attend while there. Being mixed race and having grown up in two different cultures, I often feel like an outsider- but in Ethiopia, most people think I am one of them, because incidentally, I happen to have the same physical appearance as Habesha's.
Traditionally not somewhere most people, especially Kenyan's actually go on a short break, the culture, food and people of Ethiopia is so inviting and warm. I can’t wait to explore more of the country and learn even more about this rich and beautiful culture.
I couldn't imagine a better place to visit to step out of my comfort zone.
Engenoi
