Chapter 17 - Bänkär and Qärn Amba

Summary

OUR SEARCH FOR the holy and monastic site of Qärn Amba (which we havenot yet been able to reach) is what ultimately led us to the village ofBänkär, itself a former Betä Ǝsraʾelmonastic site. In his notes on Betä Ǝsraʾel monks andholy places (Leslau 1974, 626), Taamrat Emmanuel writes, regardingAbba Gärsäm (who was traditionally adis-ciple of Abba Ṣəbra): “InQərnamba (Ǧanwara) there exists a sacred place that carrieshis name and is the goal of pilgrimage for the Falashas. In Qərnamba,[Abba] Gärsäm had two places where hehabitually said his prayers: one was on the top of the mountain; the otheron the side of the mountain. At one time, provisions were lacking in one ofthe places, and God immediately made barley grow, whichAbba Gärsäm used for dinner.”

Yona Boggalä reported, in an interview with Ben-Dor (1985a, 45), thatĜQärn Amba is located in a valley below the town ofBänkär, which is located on a mountain. When examinedtogether, these two testimonies seemed to indicate that Qärn Amba waslocated on a mountain, and that the mountain was situated in the generalvicinity of the valley below Bänkär. A further indication thatQärn Amba was located on a mountain is derived from its name.“Qärn” is theGǝʿǝz word for “horn” and can also beused to refer to a horn in Amharic. “Amba” isthe Amharic term for a Table Mountain and is often used in the context offorts and places of refuge. Therefore, assuming theGǝʿǝz term “qärn” is the one referred to in the place-name, this name'sliteral meaning would be “Table Mountain of the Horn,” a namethat would likely be given to a prominent topo-graphical feature.

The village of Bänkär therefore seemed to be an ideal startingpoint in the attempt to locate Qärn Amba. That this village had beenthe place of residence for Betä Ǝsraʾel monks wasindicated by Qes Ḥadanä Təkuyäand by Ǝ.T. Qes Ḥadanä (2011,210–12) provides a list of Betä Ǝsraʾel monks inhis book, in which he mentions five individuals who were “born andpassed away in Bänkär Wägära”:Abba Ǝlʿazar,AbbaSänbätu, Abba Yaʿəqob,Abba Wändǝmnäh, andAbba Ṣagga. Ǝ.T.