Tsehaynesh Alyihu

Father's name: Aliyihu Meheratu Bito

Mother's name: Gaviansh Simon

Year of birth: 1945

Place of birth: Ayana Buna, Tirza Mariam, Wollo

Region in Ethiopia: Lasta

Main occupation in Ethiopia: Potter

The language of the interview: Amharic

Tsehaynesh Alyihu, robbers, shepherding, games, divorce, gabeta, ashu-lala, potter, mud, fire, grinding, racism, buda, kayla, hyenas, menstruation house, red heifer, tattoos, monthly cycle, ritual immersion, stars, missionaries, Sabbath, firstborn son, Mengistu Haile Mariam, Emperor Haile Selassie, Derg, Ayana Buna, Tirza Mariam, Wollo, Belessa, Gondar, Lev-Rawaha, Sudan, Israel, Gamu-Gofa.

Summary of the testimony:

Tsehaynesh describes her family tree. She relates that her parents divorced when she was a child. Her biological mother was unable to take care of her. She drifted between her grandmother, her father who had remarried, and her aunt.

Because her aunt had no sons, Tsehaynesh would shepherd her sheep. While watching the sheep, she used to play various games with the neighborhood children such as gabeta, ashu-lala, and others.

After ten years, Tsehaynesh moved to live with another of her father’s wives, who lived in Belessa in the province of Gondar. There, she worked as a potter and did various housework tasks such as grinding seeds and spices, bringing water, and so forth. Tsehaynesh describes the work of pottery, from choosing the material through the finished product.

During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, Jewish families were forbidden to own land. She had to buy the soil for her pottery work from her Christian neighbors or barter with them with pottery work. They sometimes insulted her because she was Jewish. After the Derg party rose to power, the prohibition was revoked. Her family could own land and do with it as they wished. She describes various manifestations of racism that she and her family encountered.

Tsehaynesh got married. She moved to live with her husband in a village named Lev-Rawaha, which was a transit stop for Jews attempting to immigrate to Israel by way of Sudan. Because she was pregnant and taking care of small children, her husband decided to set out on the trip to Israel alone. Tsehaynesh returned to her stepmother’s house in Belessa. An unfortunate incident and fear of a blood feud forced her and her family to move to Gamu-Gofa, where they lived for seven years before immigrating to Israel.

Tsehaynesh discusses the custom of the menstruation house, called marjam gojo in Amharic, where women stayed when menstruating or after giving birth. She describes how it was built, the social life, and the various customs the women had to observe while staying there. Tsehaynesh also explains the various tattoos that are common in Ethiopian society and the circumstances and manner in which the tattoos were done.