Debtera

Adebtera(ordabtara;^[1]Ge'ez/Tigrinya/Amharic:ደብተራ (Däbtära);plural, Ge'ez\Tigrinya:debterat,Amharic:debtrawoch^[2]) is anitinerantreligious figure in theEthiopianandEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches,^[3]and theBeta Israel,^[4]who singshymnsand dances for churchgoers, and who performsexorcismsandwhite magicto aid the congregation.^[1]^[5]^[6]A debtera will claim an ecclesiastical identity^[7]and behave as inminor orders.^[8]They may in fact be officially ordained asdeacons,^[1]or may act outside the Church hierarchy.^[9]They are usually feared by the local population.^[5]^[1]

Official education and duties

According to Christian tradition, the debtera's music was developed byYared,a saint.^[10]

Debteras are usually chosen from families of other debteras, and are trained from childhood^[11]asscribes^[9](learningGeʽez^[8]^[11]) and ascantors.They are often taughttraditional medicineand layritesas well.^[12]While studying, they often live bybegging,retailing,or practicing traditional medicine.^[11]The main purpose for their studies, however, is written and oral lore pertaining to religious functions, and the test for graduation is memorizing thepsalter.Before services, they bathe and don white clothing, turbans,^[11]and a loose striped over-garment called ashamma.Debteras carry prayer sticks to the service, where they sing, dance, and play drums andsistraoutside the church or thesynagogueduring religious services.^[10]

Priests (Beta Israel equivalentKahens) anddebterasare two separate professions,^[13]though it is possible to pursue both roles.^[14]TheOrthodox Tewahedochurches see the division between a priest and a debtera as following the model used by the ancient Israelites.^[15]

Debteras in the Ethiopian Church

During Lenten services,debterastap prayer sticks to keep the rhythm. The Ethiopian Church condones the performances ofdebteras,citing the story in2 KingsofDaviddancing at the temple andPsalm 47:1( "O clap your hands") for Biblical examples. These performances also feature symbols connected to thePassion of Jesus:the sistrum's swaying and the beating of the drums represent Christ's swaying while enduring beatings, and the tapping of the prayer sticks represent theflagellation of Christ.^[13]

Among the Beta Israel

Among the Beta Israel, the status of debtera is a milestone in the study to become akahen.Unlike fully-fledged kahens, who perform none of the functions of the debtera, debteras are closer to the laypeople, often serving as intermediaries between them and the clergy. A kahen who gives up his position or is deposed may serve as a debtera.^[4]

Religio-magical healing

Debteras participate in liturgy as singers and musicians and, outside the Church religio-magical healers by performing as herbalists, astrologers, fortune-tellers etc. Some Ethiopian authors consider these healers as ‘spiritual healers’ whereas, they are purely religio-magical healers.^[16]Some duties taken on by Debteras are not sanctioned by the Ethiopian Church. Many debteras distribute contraceptive herbs to women and perform magic meant to perform contraceptive functions, in contradiction to the Ethiopian Church's modern official stances.^[17]Some are also reputed to studyblack magicinvokingdemonsalongside their more benevolent official learning.^[12]

Some Debteras traditionally manufactureapotropaic amuletsmeant to protect the wearer from evil spirits.^[6]These amulets are often made of silver and are noted for their use against theevil eyeorbudaand againstzārspirits. They may also study a variety of anti-magic invocations,prayers,and exorcisms. These exorcisms may include prayers, blessing ofholy water(which the possessed person drinks), burning of roots, and incantations from aMagic Star Book.^[8]Some amulets may take the form of small scrolls kept in pouches or similar containers, made from the skin of a sacrificed goat or lamb whose blood is used to ritually purify the intended owner.^[18]Some practice (or rather circumvent)astrology,by giving unlucky people new stars by changing their names. This may be considered "cheating" by the locals, however. Some Debteras have also been noted to use jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) to cause hallucinations.^[12]

A debtera may charge a fee for his charms, exorcisms, and astrological practices, but not liturgical activities.^[19]

Not all of the Debteras duties and cures aresupernatural.Debteras placescarecrowsin farm fields to protect them and shave heads to preventhead louseoutbreaks.^[1]Before theEthiopian Revolution,nobles would often hire Debteras to educate their children.^[12]

Major theological difference in the healing practices of priests or kahens and debteras is that for the priests/kahens, sin versus virtue or evil spirits versus God is the basis for any sickness and healing. Therefore, they prescribe prayer,holy water,baptism,fasting, and penance as a remedy. For the debteras it is evil spirit versus human beings; almost all the sickness are possession of evil spirits or caused by evil spirits, therefore, prayer and holy water become the integral part of any ritualistic religious healing ceremony. Besides these,kitabor amulets are also prepared and give by them to be worn to ward away the evil spirits and thebuda^{[clarification needed]}.

On the other hand, the priests or kahens use the practice of confession, fasting, penance and Church attendance as a means of healing together with some sort of advice and guidance. The soul-father, calledyenafs abbat,is a kind of family spiritual-doctor, common in many places makes frequent visits to the home and performs services as required.

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eEthiopian evil eye belief and the magical symbolism of iron working, by Niall Finneran, Folklore 114 (2003):427-433
^Wolf Leslau,Comparative Dictionary of Geʻez (Classical Ethiopic): Geʻez-English, English-Geʻez, with an index of the Semitic roots,Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1987,ISBN 9783447025928,p. 122
^Glossary Archived2018-11-21 at theWayback Machine,Eritrean Print and Oral Culture, hosted on Canada Research Chair Humanities Computing Studio.
^^a ^bIsaac Greenfield, "The Debtera and the education among Ethiopian Jewry until the arrival of Dr. Faitlovitch" in Menachem Waldman (ed.),Studies in the History of Ethiopian Jews,Habermann Institute of Literary Research, 2011, pp. 109-135 (Hebrew)
^^a ^bMagic and Ritual in the Ancient World, Part 4 edited by Paul Allan Mirecki, Marvin W. Meyer, Published by BRILL, 2002, p.170
^^a ^bTurner, John W. "Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity: Faith and practices".A Country Study: Ethiopia(Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, eds.)Library of Congress Federal Research Division(1991),public domain
^Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions By Stephen D. Glazier, published by Taylor & Francis, 16 Jan 2001, p.134
^^a ^b ^cCase Study: Demonization and the Practice of Exorcism in Ethiopian Churches by Amsalu Tadesse Geleta.The Lausanne Movement, Nairobi 2000.
^^a ^bEncyclopedia of African and African-American Religions By Stephen D. Glazier, published by Taylor & Francis, 16 Jan 2001, p.124
^^a ^bMunro-Hay, Stuart(2002).Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide.I.B.Tauris. p. 53.ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.
^^a ^b ^c ^dKaufman Shelemay, Kay;Jeffery, Peter(1993).Ethiopian Christian liturgical chant: an anthology: Part 2: Performance Practice; The Liturgical Portions.A-R Editions, Inc. pp. 3–6.ISBN 978-0-89579-294-5.
^^a ^b ^c ^dMolvaer, Reidulf Knut(1995).Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 34, 44, 50, 67, 70, 111, 142, and 259.ISBN 978-3-447-03662-7.
^^a ^bMunro-Hay, Stuart(2002).Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide.I.B.Tauris. p. 47.ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.
^Crummey, Donald (2000).Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: From the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century.University of Illinois Press. p. 174.ISBN 978-0-252-02482-5.
^Milkias, Paulos (2011).Ethiopia.ABC-CLIO. p. 175.ISBN 978-1-59884-258-6.
^Janetius, S.T. Abyssinia in the New Millennium (Revised Edition), 2016.ISBN 9783659710629
^Encyclopaedia Aethiopica(2003).Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: He-N.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 4.ISBN 978-3-447-05607-6.
^Description of Ethiopian Magic ScrollatPortland State University'sMedieval Portland site.
^Lulat, Y. G-M (2005).A History of African Higher Education from Antiquity to the Present: A Critical Synthesis: A Critical Synthesis.ABC-CLIO. p. 56.ISBN 978-0-313-06866-9.

[Finneran-1] Ethiopian evil eye belief and the magical symbolism of iron working, by Niall Finneran, Folklore 114 (2003):427-433

[2] Wolf Leslau,Comparative Dictionary of Geʻez (Classical Ethiopic): Geʻez-English, English-Geʻez, with an index of the Semitic roots,Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1987,ISBN 9783447025928,p. 122

[crc-3] Glossary Archived2018-11-21 at theWayback Machine,Eritrean Print and Oral Culture, hosted on Canada Research Chair Humanities Computing Studio.

[Greenfield-4] Isaac Greenfield, "The Debtera and the education among Ethiopian Jewry until the arrival of Dr. Faitlovitch" in Menachem Waldman (ed.),Studies in the History of Ethiopian Jews,Habermann Institute of Literary Research, 2011, pp. 109-135 (Hebrew)

[Mirecki-5] Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World, Part 4 edited by Paul Allan Mirecki, Marvin W. Meyer, Published by BRILL, 2002, p.170

[Turner-6] Turner, John W. "Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity: Faith and practices".A Country Study: Ethiopia(Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, eds.)Library of Congress Federal Research Division(1991),public domain

[7] Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions By Stephen D. Glazier, published by Taylor & Francis, 16 Jan 2001, p.134

[Geleta-8] Case Study: Demonization and the Practice of Exorcism in Ethiopian Churches by Amsalu Tadesse Geleta.The Lausanne Movement, Nairobi 2000.

[Glazier124-9] Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions By Stephen D. Glazier, published by Taylor & Francis, 16 Jan 2001, p.124

[Munro-Hay_p52-53-10] Munro-Hay, Stuart(2002).Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide.I.B.Tauris. p. 53.ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.

[Kaufman-11] Kaufman Shelemay, Kay;Jeffery, Peter(1993).Ethiopian Christian liturgical chant: an anthology: Part 2: Performance Practice; The Liturgical Portions.A-R Editions, Inc. pp. 3–6.ISBN 978-0-89579-294-5.

[Molvaer-12] Molvaer, Reidulf Knut(1995).Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 34, 44, 50, 67, 70, 111, 142, and 259.ISBN 978-3-447-03662-7.

[Munro-Hay_p47-13] Munro-Hay, Stuart(2002).Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide.I.B.Tauris. p. 47.ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.

[14] Crummey, Donald (2000).Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: From the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century.University of Illinois Press. p. 174.ISBN 978-0-252-02482-5.

[15] Milkias, Paulos (2011).Ethiopia.ABC-CLIO. p. 175.ISBN 978-1-59884-258-6.

[Janetius,_S.T_2016-16] Janetius, S.T. Abyssinia in the New Millennium (Revised Edition), 2016.ISBN 9783659710629

[17] Encyclopaedia Aethiopica(2003).Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: He-N.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 4.ISBN 978-3-447-05607-6.

[18] Description of Ethiopian Magic ScrollatPortland State University'sMedieval Portland site.

[19] Lulat, Y. G-M (2005).A History of African Higher Education from Antiquity to the Present: A Critical Synthesis: A Critical Synthesis.ABC-CLIO. p. 56.ISBN 978-0-313-06866-9.

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Official education and duties

Debteras in the Ethiopian Church

Among the Beta Israel

Religio-magical healing

See also

References