Ari In Gondar |
My year as a JDC Jewish Service Corps Fellow in Gondar, Ethiopia The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the positions, strategies or opinions of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee |
Gondar- Chag Purim
I know you have all been sitting at the edges of your seats waiting to hear about how Purim is celebrated in Gondar, Ethiopia. So sorry to keep you waiting!
Being a Conservative Jew from the States, I am used to celebrating Purim in some secular costume, at a large party or carnival, eating triangular cookies and at times drinking copiously. Interestingly, Purim here is celebrated in much the same way. On Purim the community center (the place of gathering for the Falash Mura community) was dressed up in streamers and posters, the children wore funny hats and masks, the older kids put on a play retelling the Purim story in Amharic, and the Megilla was read in Amharic (probably one of the few time in history when that has happened). It was quite the celebration bringing thousands of people to the community center for a day of learning, games and fun.
Back at home that evening, Alex and I decided to undertake the task of making Hamentashen. Side note: Israeli’s don’t know the word Hamentashen and refer to the triangular pastry only as Oznei Haman, leading to some very confused looks whenever we mentioned Hamentashen. Anywho, without any measuring devices or mixing bowls and an oven that refuses to work conventionally, we actually made a pretty successful batch of the triangular treat. We were so moderately successful that we invited the Israeli volunteers over the following week and made like 50 more.
