Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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FUNERALS OF ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS IN GERMANY. [Abstract ID: 1305-05]

Verena BÖLL, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

Ethiopian Orthodox believers have been living in Germany since a long time and are buried in German cemeteries. The paper will describe some Ethiopian burials in catholic and protestant cemeteries in Germany in former times. Have they been buried with the same liturgical ceremony as in Ethiopia? Was the whole ceremony fulfilled, was the Mäshafä genzät available? Have there been changes and modifications in the ritual performance due to the presence of the Catholic Church? Furthermore it analyses current Ethiopian funerals. Due to the presence of several Ethiopian Orthodox parishes in Germany the rites can be performed as prescribed. Nevertheless time and place have an effect on the Ethiopian ecclestical funeral ceremony and will be shown in detail. Finally, the question is: Is the cultural behaviour of the mourners like the feeding of the poor after the burial the same in Germany?