Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash)

Timket is the greatest festival of the Ethiopian year, falling just 2 weeks after Ethiopian Christmas.It is actually a 3-day affair preceded by the eve of Timket when the dramatic processions take place through a night of fasting, to the great day itself and the...

Meskel is celebrated across Ethiopia on 26/27 September to commemorate the unearthing of the True Holy Cross of Christ. Celebrations begin with the building of the Damera bonfire in Maskel Square in Addis Ababa – a conical pyre of poles surrounded by bundles of...

Irreecha is a chain of rituals performed to plead with and also extend gratitude to the creator. There are two major annual celebrations; Irreecha Tulu (of hilltop) and Irreecha Malka (of lakeside). The former is held during the dry season to plead with Waaqa (the...

Gifaata or Gifaataa is a cultural festival celebrated by the Wolayta people in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. This festival is celebrated each year in September. In this celebration, the Wolayta accept the New Year and send off the old one. Gifaata means, "the...

It is a New Year festival celebrated among the Sidama people. According to the oral tradition, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once a year after her marriage, bringing ''buurisame'', a meal prepared from false banana, milk and...

January 7th, is the day when the historically Ethiopian Christmas has been celebrated and Ethiopians are not the only ones who do so. Russian orthodox and other orthodox celebrate Christmas on January 7. Christmas, which is celebrated on the 7th January, is called...

Like in most of Omo tribes, scarification is widely used in the Kara tribe. Men braid hair in tight braids close to the skull. Sometimes men love to decorate their hair with various feathers and flowers. Women’s favorite hairstyle is a shaved skull or very short hair...