Manuscripts and texts, languages and contexts: the transmission of knowledge in the Horn of Africa

The conference Manuscripts and texts, languages and contexts: the transmission of knowledge in the Horn of Africa (Hamburg, 17-19 July 2014) was jointly organized by three EU-funded projects in Ethiopian Studies. For the project Ethio-SPaRe: Cultural Heritage of Christian Ethiopia (ERC Starting Grant, Hamburg, 2009-2014), dealing with recording and cataloguing manuscripts preserved in ecclesiastic libraries primarily in the North Ethiopian Highlands, this was the major closing conference. For the projects TraCES: From Translation to Creation: Changes in Ethiopic Style and Lexicon from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages (ERC Advanced Grant, Hamburg, 2014-2019), dealing mainly with Ge'ez written heritage and IslHornAfr: Islam in the Horn of Africa, A Comparative Literary Approach (ERC Advanced Grant, Florence - Copenhagen, 2013-2018), dealing with the Islamic manuscript tradition of Ethiopia and the Horn, this was a launching event.

The conference was organized into four thematic panels: Palaeography and Codicology (Chair: D. Nosnitsin); Ge'ez Philology and Language (Chair: A. Bausi); History and Historical Geography (Chair: D. Nosnitsin); Islamic Tradition: Arabic and Ajami Manuscripts (Chair: A. Gori).

Panels and topics

The papers in the Palaeography and Codicology section centred on the analysis of the physical aspects of Ethiopian manuscripts. Such issues as layout, decoration, writing styles, but also the reconstruction of provenance, scriptoria or historical libraries are of primary interest. Case studies on manuscript preservation and/or material analysis methods are also welcome.

The panel on the Philology and Language addressed in the first place the earliest strata of Ge'ez literature. Papers dealing with the reconstruction and the history of texts were in the centre of academic discussion. An additional issue was the developments in the style and lexicon of the Ge'ez language as it may be reflected in the texts from different periods.

The History and Historical Geography panel welcomed contributions centring on the use of manuscripts for reconstructing Ethiopian cultural landscape of the past. Not only the major works but also, and even more so, the many additional texts or notes can assist in establishing the relationships that once existed between persons, places or regions. These may have been occasional or systematic. Revealing these historical links was the purpose of the discussion.

The final panel, Islamic Tradition, welcomed scholars dealing in their research with the manuscripts written or used by the Muslims of Ethiopia. These may be in Arabic or in other languages (written in Arabic script). The actual texts transmitted in these manuscripts, their themes and distribution, were of primary interest. Codicological or historical issues were also considered.

programme

Day 1

Thursday, 17 July, Edmund Siemers Allee 1 Ost, Room 221

9:00 -9:15:	Opening words from the University and the Organisers
Session 1. Codicology
9:15 -10:00:	Some preliminary conclusions of the Ethio-SPARE project (Denis Nosnitsin, Hamburg) An example of interdisciplinarity: Araro Takla Haymanot (Denis Nosnitsin, Hamburg, Marco Barbarino, Naples) Address of a representative of the Tigray Culture and Tourism Agency Address of a representative of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
10:00 -10:45:	Emergence and decline of manuscript collections in North Ethiopia: problems of study (Denis Nosnitsin, Hamburg)
	Coffee break
11:15 -12:00:	The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: unknown witnesses of the collection from East Tǝgray (Vitagrazia Pisani, Hamburg)
12:00 -12:45:	Towards an understanding of early Ethiopian scribal tendencies (Ted Erho, Munich)
12:45 -13:30:	Text arrangement and scribal practices in Ethiopian Psalter manuscripts (Sophia Dege-Müller, Hamburg)
	Lunch break
Session 2. History I
15:00 -15:45:	Reconstructing and Mapping Aksum's Historical Toponymy: a Preliminary Attempt (Luisa Sernicola, Naples - Antonella Brita, Hamburg)
15:45 -16:30:	Where was the original place of the Atronsä Maryam Church? (Derese Ayenachew, Debre Berhan)
16:30 -17:15:	Emperor Zär'a Ya‛ǝqob of Ethiopia to Augusta Helen, "Your deed followed you." (Getatchew Haile, Collegeville)
	Coffee break
17:45 -18:30:	Communications Implications of a 19th Century Tǝgrǝnna Manuscript for the Study of Local History and Culture (Fesseha Berhe, Mekelle) Portraits of donors in Ethiopian manuscripts of late 19th and early 20th centuries (Michael Knüppel, Vellmar) The Chronicle of Emperor Gälawdewos (1540-1559): a Source for the Research of Historical Geography of Medieval Ethiopia (Solomon Gebreyes, Hamburg)
18:30 -19:00:	Discussion

Day 2

Friday, 18 July, Edmund Siemers Allee 1 Ost, Room 221

Session 3. History II
9:15 -10:00:	Historical Texts in Manuscripts from East Tigray: An Overview (Stéphane Ancel, Hamburg)
10:00 -10:45:	Mapping Medieval Ethiopia: The Province of Wajj, 13th to the 16th centuries (Shiferaw Bekele, Addis Ababa)
	Coffee break
11:15 -12:00:	Ras Alula's Ge`ez Biography -- Revisiting (Haggai Erlich, Tel Aviv)
12:00 -12:45:	A short Amharic manuscript of the 1840s found in the Vatican papers of Arnauld d'Abbadie (Eloi Ficquet, Paris)
12:45 -13:30:	Revisiting the 1911 Unpublished Diary of Heruy Walda-Sellase (Bahru Zewde, Addis Ababa)
	Lunch break
Session 4. History III
15:00 -15:45:	North Ethiopian Epistolography - Newly Discovered Letters of Tigrayan Nobles from Missionary Archives (Second Half of the 19th Century) (Wolbert Smidt, Mekelle)
15:45 -16:30:	The Historical Writings of Aläqa Täkläyesus Waqjira in Documenting the Literary, Cultural and Regional Landscape of Gojjam (Getie Gelaye, Hamburg)
16:30 -17:15:	Writing the ancient history of Goǧǧam: the screen of the 19th c. regional historiography (Margaux Herman, Dabra Marqos)
	Coffee break
17:45 -18:30:	Communications An ancient description of the inhabited world, with some anecdotes concerning different cities and sages: The case of a new manuscript (Rafal Zarzeczny, Rome) The Composition of historical Documents in Tәgray: the Kәbrä Nägäśt, Mäṣḥäfä Aksum, Wängel zäwärq and Tarikä Nägäśt (Yohannes G/Selassie)
18:30 -19:00:	Discussion

Day 3A

Saturday, 19 July, Edmund Siemers Allee 1 Ost, Room 221

Session 5A. Ge'ez Philology I
9:00 -9:15:	The TRACES Project: methodology and goals (Alessandro Bausi)
9:15 -10:00:	An old witness for the Ge'ez version of Ben Sira (Daniel Assefa, Addis Ababa)
10:00 -10:45:	The conundrum of the Ethiopic personal names in the Ethiopic Bible (Martin Heide, Marburg)
	Coffee break
11:15 -12:00:	The Textual Criticism of Ethiopic Obadiah: a Characterization of the Shared Variants Constituting the Five Families of Manuscripts (Garry Jost, Marylhurst University)
12:00 -12:45:	The TraCES lexical tool: first results (Andreas Ellwardt, Christina Vertan, Hamburg)
12:45 -13:30:	Cycles of Zion in the early Ethiopic texts (Amsalu Teferra, Addis Ababa)
	Lunch break
Session 6A. Ge'ez Philology II
15:00 -15:45:	A 1609 Ge'ez letter by ras Se'elä Krestos: Insights into the language's status in early seventeenth century Ethiopia (Leonardo Cohen, Haifa - Andreu Martinez, Hamburg)
15:45 -16:30:	A new Grammar of Gəʿəz: Challenges and Surprises (Stefan Weninger, Marburg)
16:30 -17:15:	The earlier textual Ethiopic heritage (Alessandro Bausi, Hamburg)
	Coffee break
17:45 -18:30:	Communications Beyond Tribal Names and Denominations in the Texts of Mäftǝḥe Sǝray Manuscripts (Gidena Mesfin, Hamburg) Ge'ez grammar and vocabulary in the ancient manuscripts and in contemporary usage (Dawit Tessega, Nuernberg)
18:30 -19:00:	Discussion
19:00 -19:30:	Final general discussion

Day 3B

Saturday, 19 July, Edmund Siemers Allee 1 Ost, Room 222

Session 5B. Islamic Philology I
9:00 -9:15:	The IslHornAfr Project: methodology and goals (Alessandro Gori, Copenhagen)
9:15 -10:00:	Waqf certificates from Harar: a first assessment (Alessandro Gori, Copenhagen)
10:00 -10:45:	Saho Islamic poetry and other literary genres in Ajami script (Giorgio Banti, Naples - Moreno Vergari, Bolzano - Axmadsacad Maxammad Cumar)
	Coffee break
11:15 -12:00:	Two argobba ajäm mansucripts from Wällo (Andreas Wetter, Berlin)
12:00 -12:45:	Introducing an Arabic manuscript of Shayh Muḥammad Shafī (d. 1806) (Endris Mohammed, Addis Ababa)
12:45 -13:30:	Shaykh Abdellah Walenso (d.1369A.H /1949 A.D) and his Legacy in Transmission of Ḥadith in Southeastern Ethiopia: Preliminary Remarks on Two Written Ijāza of Ḥadith found in Arsi (Hasen Mohammed Kawo, Addis Ababa)
	Lunch break
Session 6B. Islamic Philology II
15:00 -15:45:	Ajami mss. from southern Somalia: sheekh Awees from Brava (Giorgio Banti, Naples)
15:45 -16:30:	Word-breaking in Ethiopian Arabic: Evidence for intimate Christian-Muslim contact (with an appendix on semantic change in Harari) (Orin Gensler, Addis Ababa)
16:30 -17:15:	Communications 1 Magic, Traditional Medicine and Theurgy in Arabo-Islamic Manuscripts of the Horn of Africa (Sara Fani, Florence/Copenhagen) Some notes about the lists of saints in Harari Arabic manuscripts (Michele Petrone, Florence/Copenhagen)
	Coffee break
17:45 -18:30:	Communications 2 Describing a Tigrigna 'Ajamī Manuscript (Amira Ibrahim, Addis Ababa) Bun Fatah, A Harari Supplication Related to Coffee Ceremony (Ahmed Zekaria, Addis Ababa) Kashf Al-Ġuma: An Inspirational and Polemical Text by Shaykh Ṭalḥa Ja`far (c. 1853-1936): Thematic and Linguistic Analyses (Kemal Abdulwahab, Addis Ababa) The "unique manuscript collection" of Seddeqa: Jimma Zone (southwestern Ethiopia) (Kemal Ibrahim, Addis Ababa)
18:30 -19:00:	Discussion
19:00 -19:30:	Final general discussion in Room 221

Conference organizers:

Alessandro Bausi, alessandro.bausi"AT"uni-hamburg.de
Denis Nosnitsin, nosnitsin"AT"yahoo.com
Alessandro Gori, frd322"AT"hum.ku.dk

Discussants:

David Appleyard, Ewa Balicka-Witakowska, Giorgio Banti, Baye Yimam, Alain Gascon, Michael Gervers, Marilyn Heldman, James McCann, Gianfranco Fiaccadori, Ran HaCohen, Steven Kaplan, Michael Kleiner, Shiferaw Bekele, Ewald Wagner, Witold Witakowski, Rainer Voigt

Participants:

1. Abbebe Kifleyesus, Asmara
2. Jon Abbink, Leiden
3. Abdurahim Yusuf, Addis Ababa
4. Abrham Adugna, Hamburg
5. Ahmed Zekaria, Addis Ababa
6. Amira Ibrahim, Addis Ababa
7. Amsalu Tefera, Addis Ababa
8. Stéphane Ancel, Hamburg
9. David Appleyard, Landévennec
10. Bahru Zewde, Addis Ababa
11. Bairu Tafla, Hamburg
12. Ewa Balicka-Witakowska, Uppsala
13. Giorgio Banti, Naples
14. Marco Barbarino, Naples
15. Alessandro Bausi, Hamburg
16. Baye Yimam, Addis Ababa
17. Berhe Kebede, Hamburg
18. Verena Böll, Dresden
19. Antonella Brita, Hamburg
20. Stefan Brüne, Hamburg
21. Marco Bunge, Marburg
22. Dirk Bustorf, Gondar
23. Leonardo Cohen, Haifa
24. Daniel Assefa, Addis Ababa
25. Dawit Tessega, Nürnberg
26. Sophia Dege-Müller, Hamburg
27. Derese Ayenachew, Debre Berhan
28. Serge Dewel, Paris
29. Marco di Bella, Naples
30. Elias Feleke, Addis Ababa
31. Andreas Ellwardt, Hamburg
32. Endris Mohammed, Addis Ababa
33. Ted Erho, Munich
34. Haggai Erlich, Tel Aviv
35. Sara Fani, Florence/Copenhagen
36. H.E. Fesseha Asghedom, Berlin
37. Fesseha Berhe, Mekelle
38. Gianfranco Fiaccadori, Milan
39. Eloi Ficquet, Paris
40. Ib Friis, Copenhagen
41. Alain Gascon, Paris
42. Orin Gensler, Addis Ababa
43. Michael Gervers, Toronto
44. Getie Gelaye, Hamburg
45. Gidena Mesfin, Hamburg
46. Jacopo Gnisci, London
47. Alessandro Gori, Copenhagen
48. Ran HaCohen, Tel Aviv
49. Wolfgang Hahn, Wien
50. Theresia Hainthaler, Frankfurt
51. Hasen Mohamed Kawo, Addis Ababa
52. Martin Heide, Marburg
53. Marilyn Heldman, Washington, DC
54. Ingrid Henke, Hamburg
55. Margaux Herman, Debre Berhan
56. Hintsa Alemie, Nürnberg
57. Himie Ermias, Berlin
58. Marie Huber, Berlin
59. Susanne Hummel, Hamburg
60. Garry Jost, Portland
61. Steven Kaplan, Jerusalem
62. Kemal Abdulwahab, Addis Ababa
63. Kemal Ibrahim, Addis Ababa
64. Michael Kleiner, Göttingen
65. Michael Knibb, London
66. Michael Knüppel, Kassel
67. Magdalena Krzy?anowska, Hamburg
68. Andreu Martínez d'Alòs-Moner, Hamburg
69. James McCann, Boston
70. Charles McClellan, Radford
71. Abune Mekarios, Addigrat
72. Alexander Meckelburg, Hamburg
73. John Mellors, London
74. Mersha Alehegne, Addis Ababa
75. Meseret Haileselassie, Mekelle
76. Muna Abubakr, Addis Ababa
77. Max Nordheim, Naples
78. Denis Nosnitsin, Hamburg
79. Daria Ogorodnikova, Hamburg
80. Anne Parsons, London
81. Michele Petrone, Florence/Copenhagen
82. Vitagrazia Pisani, Hamburg
83. Maija Priess, Hamburg
84. Thomas Rave, Hamburg
85. Anne Regourd, Paris/Copenhagen
86. Veronika Roth, Berlin
87. Hanna Rubinkowska, Warsaw
88. Evgenia Sokolinskaia, Hamburg
89. Saba Tesfay, Budapest
90. Luisa Sernicola, Naples
91. Shiferaw Bekele, Addis Ababa
92. Veronika Six, Hamburg
93. Wolbert Smidt, Mekelle
94. Solomon Gebreyes, Hamburg
95. Cristina Vertan, Hamburg
96. Massimo Villa, Naples
97. Rainer Voigt, Berlin
98. Ewald Wagner, Giessen
99. Stefan Weninger, Marburg
100. Andreas Wetter, Berlin
101. Witold Witakowski, Uppsala
102. Yared Haile Selassie, Zurich
103. Yohannes Gebreselassie, Paris
104. Rafal Zarzeczny, Rome