Armed with a bamboo ink pen and a steady hand, Ethiopian Orthodox priest Zelalem Mola carefully copied text in the ancient Ge’ez language from a religious book onto a goatskin parchment. At the Hamere Berhan Institute in Addis Ababa, priests and lay worshippers work by hand to replicate sometimes centuries-old religious manuscripts and sacred artwork. “Ancient parchment manuscripts are disappearing from our culture, which motivated us to start this project,” she said. The precious works are kept mainly in monasteries, where prayers or religious chants are conducted using only parchment rather than paper manuscripts. Some customers order small collections of prayers or paintings for themselves to have “reproductions of ancient Ethiopian works”, she said.

Source: Ethiopian News June 01, 2023 10:54 UTC