Edinburgh Research Explorer The Stranger at the Feast Citation for published version: Boylston, T 2018, The Stranger at the Feast: Prohibition and Mediation in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Community. The Anthropology of Christianity, 1 edn, Unversity of California Press, Oakland. https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.44 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1525/luminos.44 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 10. Oct. 2021 Luminos is the Open Access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and reinvigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org This research was made possible by an ESRC studentship PTA-031–2006–00143 and by a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Stranger at the Feast THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF CHRISTIANITY Edited by Joel Robbins 1. Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the Mission Encounter, by Webb Keane 2. 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Moving by the Spirit: Pentecostal Social Life on the Zambian Copperbelt, by Naomi Haynes 23. The Stranger at the Feast: Prohibition and Mediation in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Community, by Tom Boylston The Stranger at the Feast Prohibition and Mediation in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Community Tom Boylston UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2018 by Tom Boylston Suggested citation: Boylston, T. The Stranger at the Feast: Prohibition and Mediation in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Community. Oakland: University of California Press, 2018. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.44 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. Chapter 5 was first published in different form in Africa Vol. 87, No. 2, 11.04.2017, p. 387–406, under the title “From sickness to history : Evil spirits, memory, and responsibility in an Ethiopian market village.” (2017) Material from Chapter 6 was first published in Material Religion 11(3): 281–302, under the title: “‘And Unto Dust Thou Shalt Return’: Death and the Semiotics of Remembrance in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Village.” (2015). Chapter 8 was first published under the title: “Sharing Space: On the Publicity of Prayer, between an Ethiopian Village and the Rest of the World” in Praying with the Senses: Contemporary Orthodox Christian Spirituality in Practice. Ed. Sonja Luehrmann. Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2018). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Boylston, Tom, 1980- author. Title: The stranger at the feast : prohibition and mediation in an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian community / Tom Boylston. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017038245 (print) | LCCN 2017041872 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520968974 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520296497 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Christianity—Ethiopia—Case studies. | Taboo—Ethiopia— Case studies. | Mediation—Religious aspects—Christianity—Case studies. | Ethiopia—Church history. Classification: LCC BR1370 (ebook) | LCC BR1370 .B69 2018 (print) DDC 281/.75—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017038245 contents Map vi Note on Amharic Pronunciation and Transliteration vii Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 1. A History of Mediation 22 2. Fasting, Bodies, and the Calendar 37 3. Proliferations of Mediators 56 4. Blood, Silver, and Coffee: The Material Histories of Sanctity and Slavery 72 5. TheBuda Crisis 86 6. Concrete, Bones, and Feasts 103 7. Echoes of the Host 119 8. The Media Landscape 131 9. The Knowledge of the World 144 Conclusion 156 Reference List 159 Index 173 Zege Peninsula Mehal Zege Giyorgis Betre Yiganda Tekle Maryam Haymanot Debre Silasé Afaf Ura Kidane Mihret Azwa Fure Maryam Maryam Lake Tana N 0 1 Mile Lake Tana Ethiopia Bahir Dar map 1. Zege Peninsula. Note on Amharic Pronunciation and Transliteration Amharic transliteration is based on the system used by A. Pankhurst (1992). This system minimizes diacritics and is more approachable to nonspecialists than those used for technical linguistic work. The vowels are represented as follows: 1st order: e (pronounced as in democracy) 2nd order: u (as in lunar 3rd order: í (as in Fiji) 4th order: a (as in father) 5th order: é (as in fiancé) 6th order: i (as in medicine) 7th order: o (as in vote) Explosive consonants are represented by q, t’, s’, ch’, and p’. Gemination is indicated by doubling of the consonant where appropriate. vii Acknowledgments I have run up far too many intellectual debts to count since this research began. First of all I am grateful to everyone in Zege who has looked after me and put up with my questions: to Thomas and Haregwa, Abebe and Zebirhan, Abbo, Antihun and Askay, Eyayehu and Yekaba, Kassahun and Wibayé, to Menilek, Babbi, and Masti, to Aderaw and Getaneh, to Temesgen, Tillik Sew, Selam, Beza, Endalew, Yitayal, Mulet, Abderajah, to Taddesse and to gashé Tesfaye. I am grateful to Yile- kal for his help in starting this work, and to Amare for introducing me. I thank everybody in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church who has assisted me with such pa- tience: Abba S’om and Abba Melake Gennet; Abba Haylemaryam, Mergéta Worqé, Mislené Fantahun, Memhir Abbi, and in Addis Ababa to Memhir Daniel, who was always willing to explain things. Tefera Ewnetu has shared his expertise and time with unmatched generosity. Igzíabhér yist’illiñ lehullachihu. I owe special debts to the works of Tihut Yirgu Asfaw, Binayew Tamrat, and Abdussamad Ahmad, who have set the standard for studying Zege. In Bahir Dar I am also tremendously grateful for the friendship of Anna, Kyle, Saul and Juliet, John Dulin, Anita, Caitlin, Stef, and all the Peace Corps folks. In Addis Ababa Makeda Ketcham, Yodit Hermann-Mesfin, Stéphane Ancel, Alula Pankhurst, and many others have provided generous guidance, and Brook Beyene introduced me to Amharic language and literature with flair and wit. Izabela Orlowska was a gracious host and an academic inspiration. Ralph Lee has shared freely his immense knowledge of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. Sara Marzagora has been an inspirational scholar. At the LSE, Matthew Engelke and Michael Lambek offered assured guidance and intellectual inspiration. Fenella