Rivka Gashe Tzazu

Father's name: Gashe Tzazu
Mother's name: Tamnyu Tiho
Year of birth: 1935
Place of birth: Adi Verba, Tigray
Region in Ethiopia: Tigray
Main occupation in Ethiopia: Housewife and potter
The language of the interview: Tigrinya

Rivka Gashe Tzazu, nature, agriculture, wedding, pottery, housewife, clay vessels, art, drawing, cooking, water, coffee, engraving, reed vessels, ornaments, handicraft, customs and tradition, hospitality customers, poetry, songs, education, children, journey, immigration to Israel, holy sites, Adi Verba, Tigray, Dambia Belasa, Debaguna, Ambaluga, Sudan, Israel.

Summary of the testimony:

Rivka sings a song about Dambia Belasa, her father’s village. She describes her family history and the family’s daily life in the village. She relates that her grandfather would sometimes go to a holy site called Ambaluga, where he would stay and pray for a week. Rivka talks about the various plants that her family grew and notes that the family owned their lands.

In the winter, Rivka would do housework, such as cooking, laundry, and grinding of grains and spices. Rivka describes how she did the various tasks and the way the house was run. In the summer, she would make various clay vessels for cooking and for carrying water. She describes how she learned this craft from her mother, lists the types of vessels and explains their uses. Rivka explains the preparation process of clay vessels and demonstrates with the various vessels: finding the mud, processing it, forming the vessel, firing it and selling it. Buyers from the neighboring villages would come to Rivka and her mother, and on Christian festivals, they would go and sell their wares in the large market in Dobaguna.

Rivka also talks about the household vessels and ornaments that she would make from reeds, and she shows examples. She also describes the customs of hospitality, including washing feet, a coffee ceremony, and serving wine and alcoholic beverages.  

Rivka talks about her children, describes their education at length, and sings children’s songs and many other songs.

Finally, Rivka talks about the difficult journey she and her family took, beginning with leaving their home for Sudan and until they reached Israel.

Rivka Gashe Tzazu