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EDITING THE DƏGGʷĀ: REFLECTIONS ON AN ONGOING PROJECT. [Abstract ID: 0805-09]
Traditionally attributed to St. Yāred (6th c.), the Dəggʷā is the main antiphonary of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is of great importance for its liturgical life and is widely attested in the manuscript material. Nevertheless, it has never been the subject of a comprehensive, diachronic study. Within the framework of an ongoing PhD project at the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (University of Hamburg), this paper discusses the specific problems attached to the task of producing a scholarly edition the Dəggʷā. (A sample edition of a portion of the Dəggʷā is to be included in the dissertation.) A multilayered text, the Dəggʷā consists of antiphons for various liturgical feasts, structured according to a complex system of metatexts (generally abbreviated) and furnished with musical notation. How can this complexity be reflected in an edition? How can the great number of manuscript witnesses, at times only poorly catalogued, be handled? In addition, there are various versions of the Dəggʷā (abbreviations, collections structured according to different systems, as well as what appears to be earlier, pre-Dəggʷā collections of liturgical chant), which raises yet other questions regarding how to approach such a text from an editorial point of view.