Nile Ethiopian Ensemble: Profile of an African Immigrant Music

African

Immigrant

Folklife

Nile

Ethiopian

Ensemble:

Profile

of

an

African

Immigrant

Music

&

Dance

Group

Betty

J.

Be/anus

,

from

research

by

Tesfaye

Lemma

&

Dagnachew

Abebe

M

ore

than

40,000

Washington-area

residents

claim

the

Ethiopian

region

as

their

birthplace.

They

are

members

of

several

culturally,

religio

usl

y,

linguistically,

and

ethnically

diverse

communities.

The

largest

is

Amharic,

but

the

area

also

i

ncl

u

des

Tigrean,

Oromo,

Eritrean,

and

Gurage.

Tesfaye

Lem

m

a,

a l

ongtime

advisor

and

community

scholar

of

the

Afr

ican

Immigrant

Folklife

Project,

is

the

founder

of

the

Ce

nt

er

for

Ethiopian

Arts

and

Culture

and

of

the

Nile

Eth

iop

i

an

Ensemble.

The

center,

like

many

other

African

imm

i

grant

organizations,

promotes

traditional

culture

for

th

e

benefit

of

their

youth

and

the

understanding

of

the

ge

neral

American

community.

And,

like

many

Afri

c

an

immigrant

music

and

dance

groups,

the

ensemb

le

presents

traditions

from

many

peoples

-

in

Suggested

Reading

Donned

in

traditional

clothing

and

carrying

traditional

instruments,

the

Nile

Ethiopian

Ensemble

poses

for

a

photo.

Photo

courtesy

Nile

Ethiopian

Ensemble

this

case,

those

from

the

Horn

of

Africa

-in

their

performances.

The

ensemble

often

performs

with

Seleshe

Damessae,

a

master

of

the

kerar

(six-stringed

lyre),

who

learned

to

play

from

his

father.

Damessae

spent

four

years

studying

the

traditions

of

the

Azmaris,

itinerant

performers

in

northern

Ethiopia,

from

whom

he

is

descended.

He

now

teaches

young

apprentices

to

make

and

play

their

own

kerars

here

in

Washington,

D.C.

Most

members

of

the

ensemble

started

performing

as

youngsters

in

Ethiopia.

"I

enjoyed

dancing

with

my

Barlow,

Sean,

and

Eyre

Banning.

1995.

Afropop:

An

Illustrated

Guide

to

Contemporary

African

Music.

Edison,

New

Jersey:

(hartwell

Books.

Broughton,

Simon,

Mark

Ellingham,

David

Muddyman,

and

Richard

Trillo,

eds.

1994.The

Rough

Guide

to

World

Music.

London:

Rough

Guides.

Fros

c

h-

S

chroder

, J

oa

n.

1991

.

Thin

gs

of S

ig

nifican

ce

Do

Not

Vanish:

Danc

e

and

the

Transmission

of

Culture

in

the

Ghanaian

Community.

UCLA

Journal

of

Dance

Ethnology

15:

54-67.

Lemma,

Tesfaye.

1991.

Ethiopian

Musical

Instruments.

Washington,

D.C.:

published

by

the

author.

__

_ ,

ed.

Newsletter

of

the

Center

for

Ethiopian

Arts

and

Culture.

P.O.

Box

73236,

Washington

,

DC

20056-0236

.

friends

during

holidays

like

Easter,

New

Year,

Christmas,

and

also

weddings.

Many

people

from

the

neighborhood

admired

my

talent,

and

I

continued

my

singing

and

dancing

career

in

school,"

said

dancer

Abe

be

Belew,

who

was

born

in

Gondar

Province.

Like

singer

Selamawit

Nega,

most

future

members

of

the

ensemble

in

the

late

1970s

were

recruited

orforced

to

join

music

and

dance

groups

sponsored

by

the

former

Ethiopian

government

"to

educate

for

propaganda

purposes."

Dancer

AI

maze

Getahun

recalls

that

when

his

family

objected

to

this,

"My

father

was

labeled

a

revolutionary,

and

they

sent

him

to

jail."

During

this

time,

members

of

the

ensemble

learned

songs

and

dances

from

many

Ethiopian

ethnic

groups.

Most

of

the

ensemble

members

eventually

moved

to

Addis

Ababa,

the

capital

of

Ethiopia,

and

joined

musical

groups

that

toured

the

Middle

East,

Europe,

and

the

United

States.

Tesfaye

Lemma

defected

to

the

United

States

while

on

a

tour

in

1987.

As

musicians

and

dancers

arrived

in

the

Washington

area,

Lemma

formed

the

ensemble.

And,

in

accordance

with

the

Amharic

proverb,"

Kes

be

kes

inkulal

be

igru

yeheda/"

(Slowly,

slowly,

even

an

egg

will

walk),

the

group

has

developed

a

loyal

audience

for

their

performances

in

the

Washington,

D.C.,

area

and

beyond.

On

the

weekends,

musicians

from

neighboring

regions

of

Tunisia,

Morocco,

Egypt,

and

Algeria

sometimes

stay

late

at

local

North

African

restaurant

s

like

Casablanca

performing

music

together

in

informal

sessions

attended

by

family

and

friends

from

home.

New

groups

form

from

such

gatherings.

The

Kasbah

Band

,

musicians

of

Moroccan

origin

perform

both

Moroccan

shaabi

and

Algerian

rai

popular

music

at

a

holiday

banquet

of

the

Algerian

-

American

Association

of

Greater

Washington,

D.C.

Photo

by

Harold

Darwin

50

SMITHSONIAN FESTIV

AL

OF

AMERICAN FOLKLIFE