Chapter 9 - Monastic Compounds and Monastic Life in Solomonic Ethiopia

Summary

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX, BETÄ Abrǝham, and Islamic religiouscommunities all existed, alongside those of the BetäƎsraʾel, in Solomonic Ethopia. Let me introduce each of themin turn.

Ethiopian Orthodox Monasteries and Monasticism

A number of monastic lifestyles occur within the Ethiopian Orthodox monastictradi-tion: coenobitic monasticism(andǝnnät), in which the monks and nuns livefully communal lives, their actions strictly regulated by the leaders of themonastic community; idiorythmic monasticism(qwǝrit), in which the monks and nuns leadsemi-independent lives, but are associated with a monastic community andparticipate, to varying extents, in its liturgy and economic life; andanchoretic monasticism (a hermit is known as abaḥtawi), in which the monks and nuns live inseclusion, at times maintaining some form of contact with a monasticcommunity (Chaillot 2002, 154–57; Kaplan 2007, 989–90).Different monastic communities follow different sets of rules regulating theactivities of their members. These rules are either transmitted orally orwritten down, and are, at times, attributed to the founder of the monastery.A considerable degree of autonomy of individual monastic communities todetermine their way of life is considered common in Ethiopian Orthodoxmonasticism (Kaplan 2014, 445–46). A few monastic“houses,” such as the above-mentioned Ewosṭateans,developed in Solomonic Ethiopia, each adhering to a specific ideology andthe legacy of its founder (Kaplan 1984; 2014a, 444–45).

The number of monks or nuns living in a monastery can vary between a fewindividuals to several hundred. While some Ethiopian Orthodox monasteriesare meant exclu-sively for men (in some cases, even female animals are notbrought into the monastery's premises, Chaillot 2002, 158–159,166; Kaplan 2007, 990), some monasteries serve both monks and nuns, and someprimarily serve nuns. There are mentions in Ethiopian Orthodox hagiographiesof monks and nuns living together as part of the same monastic community,but such an arrangement was not common in recent times. Rather, in caseswhere both monks and nuns inhabit the same monastery, the two communitiesare considered separate and, in coenobitic monasteries, reside in separatesections of the monastery, though they do at times make use of the samefacilities (Fluche and Per-soon 2007; Wright 2001).

Some Ethiopian Orthodox monasteries are located in remote areas which arediffi-cult to access; others in the hinterland of rural communities; andothers within or on the outskirts of towns.