The Timkat festival, is the most important festival for Ethiopian Orthodox believers. Timkat takes place every 19 January and lasts three days. Forty percent of Ethiopians identify as Christians and are among the Christian traditions oldest in the world. This celebration of Epiphany recalls Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River with ritual recreation and parades with replicas of the Ark of the Covenant.
Emperor Fasilides converted Gondar his capital in 1632. In doing so, he commissioned a large pool for swimming and for the religious ceremonies. These have survived to the present day and host the country’s largest and most significant Timkat celebration. While other cities bring river water for the ceremony, in Gondar participants can immerse themselves completely in holy water.
The Tabots they are carried only by the oldest priests in the community and completely covered because they are too sacred for anyone to look at them. Even the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is forbidden to see it; only its guardians may look at it. It is said that the real Ark of the Covenant is in the city of Aksum, guarded by monks who have sworn not to abandon the grounds of the chapel until death.
The faithful, dressed in traditional white robes, or shamma, gather around the pool as sunrise reflects in the water. The water is blessed and sprinkled over the faithful. Some of the most devoted participants enter and immerse themselves, recreating the ritual of baptism of Jesus, as well as a symbolic renewal of their own baptism.
They gather clergy in their ceremonial robes, holding colourful liturgical parasols, and pilgrims dressed in white, children wearing crowns and colourful clothes parade through Gondar’s streets, expressing their joy by jumping and dancing as they return the tabots to the church. Once the ark is back in its resting place, everyone leaves the compound and returns home to celebrate with great banquets.
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✔️ 18-day trip
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The north is the land of Christians who have left their ancient monuments as testimony.
In the south, in sub-Saharan Africa, culturally diverse peoples live alongside one another along the Omo River.
