Lalibela
Lalibela
ላሊበላ | |
---|---|
Town | |
Lalibela (
Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of the 4th century, and its historical roots date to the time of the
The layout and names of the major buildings in Lalibela are widely accepted, especially by local clergy, to be a symbolic representation of Jerusalem.[3] This has led some experts to date the current church construction to the years following the capture of Jerusalem in 1187 by the Muslim leader Saladin.[4]
Lalibela is roughly 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level. It is the main town in Lasta, which was formerly part of the Bugna district. The rock-hewn churches were declared a World Heritage Site in 1978.[1]
History
Origins
There is some controversy as to when some of the churches were constructed. According to local tradition, Lalibela (traditionally known as Roha) was founded during the
Recent archeological excavations of Lalibela finds abundant pottery and faunal remains dating between 900 A.D and 1100 A.D, which indicates that the site was largely a secular settlement before being transformed into a religious center by King Lalibela. Pre-Christian carved animal friezes were also found on the lower walls of the nearby Washa Mika'el cave and Christian paintings were subsequently added on to the upper walls, suggesting that this region was still going through a process of Christianization during this time.[11]
14th century
Abuna Bartolomeo from Egypt visited the churches sometime during the reign of Dawit I (1382–1413).[12]
15th century
Its name was first used in a European publication in Fra Mauro map made in Venice 1457-59, written as Lalabeda.[12]
16th century
A Portuguese priest, Francisco Álvares (1465–1540), accompanied the Portuguese Ambassador on a visit to Dawit II in the 1520s. After Alvares described the unique church structures he wrote: "I weary of writing more about these buildings, because it seems to me that I shall not be believed if I write more because as to what I have already written they may accuse me of untruth, therefore I swear by God, in whose power I am, that all that is written is the truth, and there is much more than what I have written, and I have left it that they may not tax me with its being falsehood. And because no other Portuguese went to these works except myself, and I went twice to see them from what I had heard of them. I swear by God, in Whose power I am, that all I have written is the truth".[13] Although Ramuso included the plans of several of these churches in his 1550 printing of Álvares' book, it is unknown who provided him with the drawings.[14]
According to the Futuh al-Habaša of Sihab ad-Din Ahmad,
The next reported visitor to Lalibela was Miguel de Castanhoso, who was a soldier under Cristóvão da Gama and left Ethiopia in 1544. Castanhoso states: "There are here certain churches cut out of the living rock, which are attributed to angels. Indeed, the work appears superhuman, because, though they are of the size of the large ones in this country, they are each excavated with its pillars, its altars, and its vaults, out of a single rock, with no mixture of any outside stone. When the Moors overran this country they wished to destroy these churches, but could not either with crowbars, or with the gunpowder which they exploded in them, doing no damage at all."[17]
19th century
In 1882, French explorer Achille Raffray was given an Ethiopian manuscript at Lalibela, which adds that the King Lalibela and his wife Meskal-Kebra brought from Alexandria (Egypt) and Jerusalem about five hundred workers whom we still refer to them as Europeans, headed by someone named Sidi-Meskal.[18] However, according to Monti della Corte (1940) Raffray's translation of the three-language manuscript was almost completely incorrect. Utilizing the expertise of A. Van Lantschoot at the Biblioteca Vaticana, the discrepancies were clarified. The first text, written in Coptic (contrary to Raffray's assertion of Greek), is a brief statement attributed to Abuna Bartolomeo, dated during the reign of Dawit (1380-1409). The second text, in Arabic, is serves as a land charter confirming specific rights of the church. The third text, in Ge'ez, appears to have been written during the reign of Lebna Dengel (1508-1540). Contrary to Raffray's claims, there is no mention of Sidi-Maskal or foreign builders in the texts.[12]
20th century
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Haile Selassie made a pilgrimage to the churches at Lalibela, at considerable risk of capture, before returning to his capital on April 1936. Italian forces soon captured the town shortly after.[12]
In 1968,
During the
21st century
In early August 2021, Tigrayan Defense Force fighters captured the town during the Tigray War as a response to the invasion of Amhara forces into the Tigray region.[19] On 1 December 2021, the Ethiopian army recaptured the town.[20] The town was recaptured again by Tigrayan forces on 12 December.[21] On 19 December, Ethiopian state media announced the town was recaptured for a second time, though it was unclear when.[22]
In early November 2023, Lalibela was the site of fierce fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Fano fighters. The town is currently under Ethiopian control.[23]
Architecture
The architecture of the churches contain significant Aksumite influences, as Stuart Munro-Hay notes that the church of
In a 1970 report of the historic dwellings of Lalibela, Sandro Angelini evaluated the vernacular earthen architecture on the Lalibela World Heritage Site, including the characteristics of the traditional earth houses and analysis of their state of conservation. His report described two types of vernacular housing found in the area. One type are a group he calls the "tukuls", round huts built of stone and usually having two stories. The second are the single-story "chika" buildings which are round and built of earth and wattle, which he feels reflects more "scarcity". Angel's report also included an inventory of Lalibela's traditional buildings, placing them in categories rating their state of conservation.[31]
-
Tukul, two-story stone building
-
Tukul showing exterior steps to second floor
-
Chika, an earth and wattle building
Churches
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii |
Reference | 18 |
Inscription | 1978 (2nd Session) |
This rural town is known around the world for its churches carved from within the earth from "living rock," which play an important part in the history of rock-cut architecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries. Unesco identifies 11 churches,[1] assembled in four groups:
The Northern Group:
- Biete Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), home to the Lalibela Cross.
- Biete Maryam (House of Miriam/House of Mary), possibly the oldest of the churches, and a replica of the Tombs of Adam and Christ.[1]
- Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael), known for its arts and said to contain the tomb of King Lalibela)
- Biete Meskel (House of the Cross)
- Biete Denagel (House of Virgins)
The Western Group:
- Church of Saint George, thought to be the most finely executed and best preserved church
The Eastern Group:
- Biete Amanuel (House of Immanuel), possibly the former royal chapel.
- Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of Saint Mercurius/House of Mark the Evangelist), which may be a former prison
- Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos)
- Biete Gabriel-Rufael (House of the angels Gabriel, and Raphael) possibly a former royal palace, linked to a holy bakery.
- Biete Lehem ("Bethlehem", Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם "House of Bread").
Farther afield, lie the monastery of Ashetan Maryam and Yemrehana Krestos Church (possibly eleventh century, built in the Aksumite fashion, but within a cave).
The churches are also a significant engineering feat, given that they are all associated with water (which fills the wells next to many of the churches), exploiting an artesian geological system that brings the water up to the top of the mountain ridge on which the city rests.[32]
Other features
Lalibela is also home to an
Demographics
According to the 2007 Census Data, the population was 17,367, of whom 8,112 were males and 9,255 were females.
Gallery
-
Bete Medhane Alem
-
Bete Amanuel
-
Ritual drums in a side track of Bete Giyorgis
-
Bete Abba Libanos
-
Bete Maryam
-
Priest with processional crosses at St. Mary's
-
Man standing beside the walls of Biete Medhane Alem, believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world
-
Genneta Maryam
Three-dimensional site scans of the Lalibela churches are also accessible online.[35]
See also
- Rock-cut architecture
- Monolithic church
- Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
- List of World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia
- List of colossal sculptures in situ
References
- ^ a b c d e "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023.
- ^ Windmuller-Luna, Kristen (September 2014), "The Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela", Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, retrieved 27 July 2017
- ISBN 978-0-300-14156-6.
- ISBN 978-0-300-14156-6.
- – via Silverchair.
- S2CID 130648151.
- ^ Buxton, The Abyssinians (New York: Praeger, 1970), p. 110
- ^ Buxton, The Abyssinians, p. 108
- ^ "Medieval Houses of God, or Ancient Fortresses?" Archaeology (November/December, 2004), p. 10.
- ^ Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, Wollo, Yager Dibab (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992), p. 24.
- ^ Derat, Marie-Laure. "The rock-cut churches of Lalibela and the cave church of Washa Mika'el: troglodytism and the Christianisation of the Ethiopian Highlands". www.cambridge.org.
- ^ a b c d e f "Local History in Ethiopia" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 29 November 2023)
- ^ Alvares, Francisco; Stanley, Henry Edward John Stanley (1881). Narrative of the Portuguese embassy to Abyssinia during the years 1520-1527. University of California Libraries. London : Printed for the Hakluyt society. p. 130.
- ^ Francisco Alvarez, The Prester John of the Indies, translated by Charles Fraser Beckingham and George Wynn Brereton Huntingford (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961), p. 226. Beckingham and Huntingford added an appendix that discusses Alvarez's description of these churches, pp. 526–42.
- ^ Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader, Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia, translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003), pp. 346f.
- ^ Pankhurst, "Did the Imam Reach Lalibela?" Addis Tribune, 21 November 2003
- ^ De Castanhoso's account is translated in R.S. Whiteway, The Portuguese Expedition to Ethiopia (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1902), pp. 94–98.
- ^ Raffray (1844-1923), Achille (1882). Les églises monolithes de la ville de Lalibéla (Abyssinie).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Lalibela: Ethiopia's Tigray rebels take Unesco world heritage town". BBC News. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Ethiopian government says it has recaptured Lalibela, U.N. World Heritage site". Reuters. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Tigray rebels retake Ethiopian heritage town of Lalibela". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Ethiopian military again controls religious town of Lalibela - media". Reuters. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Ethiopian troops force armed group out of Orthodox holy site of Lalibela".
- ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart (1991). Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity (PDF). Edinburgh: University Press. p. 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
- ^ Finneran, Niall. The Archaeology of Ethiopia. p. 232.
- ^ Fauvelle-Aymar, François-Xavier. "Rock-cut stratigraphy: sequencing the Lalibela churches". www.cambridge.org.
- .
- ^ Finneran, Niall. The Archaeology of Ethiopia. p. 15.
- ISBN 978-83-901809-3-9.
- ^ Buxton, The Abyssinians, p. 113
- ^ Odiaua, Ishanlosen. "Mission Report:Earthen architecture on the Lalibela World Heritage Site" (PDF). whc.unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Mark Jarzombek, "Lalibela and Libanos: The King and the Hydro-Engineer of 13th Century Ethiopia" (PDF), Construction Ahead, (May–June 2007): 16–21
- ^ "The 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Statistical Report for Amhara Region"" (PDF). Central Statistical Agency. 31 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics Archived 2008-07-31 at the Wayback Machine, Table B.3
- ^ "Site - Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches". zamaniproject.org. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
Further reading
- Irmgard Bidder, Lalibela: The Monolithic Churches of Ethiopia, translated by Rita Graham-Hortmann. (Cologne: DuMont Schaumburg, 1958).
- Graham Hancock, Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, African Ark – Peoples of the Horn, Chapter I: Prayers of Stone/The Christian Highlands: Lalibela and Axum. Harvill, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, ISBN 0-00-272780-3
- Paul B. Henze, Layers of time: a history of Ethiopia (Shama Books, Addis Ababa, 2004). Chapter 3: "Medieval Ethiopia: isolation and expansion"
- Sylvia Pankhurst, Ethiopia: a cultural history (Lalibela House, Essex, 1955). Chapter 9, "The monolithic churches of Lalibela"
- David W. Phillipson, Ancient Churches of Ethiopia (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009). Chapter 5, "Lalibela: Eastern Complex and Beta Giyorgis"; Chapter 6, "Lalibela: Northern Complex and Conclusions"
External links
- Dagmawi Lalibela: Stunning photos of a new African wonder – BBC 18 August 2023