Sefefe Desa

Year of birth: 1935

Place of birth: Gonko, Bailko, Gondar

Region in Ethiopia: Gondar

Main occupation in Ethiopia: Shepherd, farmer, blacksmith

The language of the interview: Amharic

Sefefe Desa, Ankas, Warga, Gondar, agriculture, shepherd, blacksmith, conservative family, arranged marriage, illness, death, magnificent house, dispute, Christians, family, Jews, working the land, guard duty, festivals, laws of menstruation, circumcision, customs of ritual impurity, laws of sabbath, Haile Selassie, Mengistu Haile Mariam, Italians, wanderings, Waibie, ploughing, weaving, blacksmithing, hosting guests, Kes, building houses, funeral, week of mourning, impurity of dead body, mourning customs, Derg regime, land.

Summary of the testimony:

Sefefe was born during the period of Italian rule in Ethiopia. He is the oldest son of a very well-off family, and as was traditional among Ethiopian Jews, he was given seven different names by his relatives.

Sefefe describes his village, the magnificent house that he built himself, and the unique daily lives of the Jewish residents of the village. He explains the rules of Sabbath observance and their meaning, the rules associated with menstruation, the traditions of hosting guests and washing their feet, and other religious customs. He talks about his brother the Kes and the Kesim’s role as mediators and people who gave advice.

Sefefe talks about the challenges under the regime of Haile Selassie, who forbade Jews from owning land. When the Derg rose to power, Jews were given land, leading to jealousy and persecution from their Christian neighbors. Sefefe relates how he fearlessly defended the members of the community from repeated attempts by Christians to retake control of the lands.

He describes the traditional professions he worked in – agriculture, shepherding, weaving, blacksmithing and building houses. He talked about the people from whom he learned these skills, and how he actually carried them out. He also talks about his work as the security guard of the village on behalf of the government during the Derg regime.

Sefefe married at the age of 19. He describes his wedding and the marriage customs in great detail: the role of the escorts, the manner the bride was brought from her village, what was traditionally given as a dowry, how the marriage ceremony was conducted by the Kesim, the length of the celebrations, and more.

Through the tragic story of his father’s death, Sefefe describes how he built a magnificent bed that was later used as a stretcher at his father and uncle’s funerals. He describes the purification customs for dealing with the dead body, the funeral customs, and the customs of the week of mourning as observed in Ethiopia. After his father’s death, Sefefe became the head of the family. He talks about his role as head of the family and the traditional and non-traditional professions he worked in.