Chapter 18 - Čärbita

Summary

SECOND FORMER BetÄ Ǝsraʾel village,Čärbita, is located only 5 km south of Bänkärand 3.6 km south of the Ganšəlame cemetery (map 17.1). It isalso attested to have been the site of a Betä Ǝsraʾelmonastic centre: Qes Asres Yayeh (1995) relates in his bookthat he was born in 1903, and that when he was six years old, he began hisreligious education under the guidance of AbbaƎrmǝyas, Abba Daḫǝn, andAbba Näga, “at the Torah learning centerin Wogera, Charibita.” Elsewhere, Qes Asres (1995,63–64) provides a list of monks and nuns whom he met or heard aboutwhen he entered a religious community as a student for two years. Thus, theidentity of the “Torah learning centre” as a religiouscommunity is confirmed. In this list, amälokse(monk) by the name of AbbaƎrmǝyas appears. No monks by the name of AbbaDaḫǝn or Abba Näga are listed, but twomonks bear similar names to these, and hence might be the same individuals:Abba Däǧän andAbba Nägatu. It may be, due to the proximitybetween Čärbita and Bänkär, that this is areference to the same extended monastic centre.

While the people we encountered at Čärbita were unfamiliar witha Betä Ǝsraʾel monastic community having lived there,they did remember the Betä Ǝsraʾel community which usedto reside in the village and showed us a few BetäƎsraʾel-related sites: the prayer house(mäsgid), Betä Ǝsraʾeldwellings, and the Betä Ǝsraʾel children'scemetery (map 18.1).

The Mäsgid

Coordinates: 12.899274, 37.711000. Elevation 2671 m.

The remains of the mäsgid consist of a heap ofstones, roughly pear-shaped, the apex of which is oriented towards thenorthwest, and the base of which faces the southeast (fig. 18.1). It is 8.5m long, with a maximum width of 2.4 m, and preserved to a height of 1.5 m.Walls delimiting plots extend from the stone heap in differentdirections—one from the apex to the west-northwest and three from thebase: one to the southwest, one to the southeast, and one to thenortheast.

The shape of the stone heap does not seem to clearly match any known layoutof a Betä Ǝsraʾel prayer house. However, the area inwhich it is located is extensively culti-vated, and it seems more thanlikely that part of the remains were dismantled to clear land forcultivation.