Steiner Ranch Multicultural Festival

Each month a Steiner family or group of families share their unique culture and heritage on the Ranch Record. We hope you will join us in this exciting journey, and you will contribute to the festival. To participate, please contact us via email at communications@steinerranchhoa.org

September highlight the galatis-bayleyega family

By Huluagersh Bayleyegn

We are the Galatis-Bayleyegn family; Hulu, Ermias, Beza, and Athena. We are excited to be part of the Steiner Ranch Multicultural Festival and share our Ethiopian cultural tradition with you. We have lived in Steiner Ranch since 2011. We moved to Austin from California in 1999. We knew the moment we stepped foot in Austin that Steiner Ranch would be where we would raise our children. We instantly fell in love with the beautiful hills and the surrounding natural environment, as well as the community. Seeing many children playing outside in the streets reminded us of where we grew up. Since living here, we have only come to love it even more, forging life-long relationships with our neighbors and making incredible memories. We consider ourselves lucky to have been able to raise our children in such a beautiful, safe, and nurturing neighborhood. Our children were born in Austin, but my husband Ermias and I are originally from Ethiopia. We both moved to the USA over 30 years ago. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa (Eastern Africa), bordering Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti and the capital city is Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is about one and a half the size of Texas, with a very diverse population of over 110 million, making it the second most populated country in Africa. Its population is so diverse that over 80 languages are spoken and use a unique alphabet and calendar, uniquely distinct from other African nations. Ethiopia served as a symbol of African independence throughout the continent's dark colonial period. It is one of the founding members of the United Nations and the African Union, while boasting as the African base for many international organizations. As one of the first countries in the world to convert to Christianity and a land containing important religious artifacts and manuscripts, Ethiopia has a unique spiritual and cultural heritage. Therefore, it should not be surprising that Ethiopia's major festivals revolve around significant Orthodox Christian dates. After all, the alphabet and the calendar are the contributions of the Church of Ethiopia. As a result, holidays are celebrated on different dates compared to the Western world. The festivals also exude spirituality, color, and excitement, and, of course, delicious large feasts.

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The Ge'ez script known as Fidel which is the alphabet for the "official working" language of Ethiopia: Amharic

September is a significant month for Ethiopians in many regards. The most important of all being the celebration of the New Year. Due to the use of the ancient Coptic calendar, the Ethiopian New year falls on the 11th of September (the 12th of September during a leap year). Ethiopians follow a 13-month calendar, similar to that used in many Eastern Orthodox churches, trailing the western calendar by seven years and eight months. September also coincides with the end of the long rainy season, where the landscape is covered with "Adey Abeba", whose bright yellow flowers ushers in the celebrations of the new year. The yellow flower, known as Adey Abeba, is indigenous to Ethiopia and blooms in September. The yellow color of the Adey Adeba flower is a symbol of peace, harmony, and love. It is customary for children to pick the Adey Adeba to give to their elders in exchange for a few coins. Ethiopians call the New Year "Enkutatash" which means "gift of jewels" in the Amharic language. The story goes back thousands of years to the Queen of Sheba of ancient Ethiopia, returning from a trip to visit King Solomon of Israel in Jerusalem. She gifted King Solomon gold and unique spices and jewels. When the Queen returned to Ethiopia, her chiefs welcomed her with "Enku" or jewels to replenish her treasury. Despite its religious connotations and history, Enkutatash is not an exclusively religious holiday. The celebration is both religious and secular and begins on the eve of the New Year. As nighttime approaches, families gather and start building a bonfire, which is lit once night descents. The bonfire called "Chibo" is built outside, in the front yard. The family dances in a circle around the fire and sings happy songs while wishing each other well for the New Year. In the end, when the fire dies a little, everyone jumps three times over the fire pit, leaving the old year behind and welcoming the New Year.

Adey Abeba bright yellow flowers Families dancing in circles around the fire pit ‘Chibo’ celebrating the New Year

The next day begins with church services and traditional songs, usually performed by a group of girls. This is followed by a traditional family meal of chicken stew and injera, washed down with traditional honeybased wine ("Tej") and fresh Ethiopian coffee. During the day, kids would be running around in their new outfits while the adults are busy hosting one another. Young children receive small gifts of money or bread after the girls gather flowers and sing, and boys paint pictures of the "Adey Abeba" and Saints.

Traditional Ethiopian Feast staple of many celebrations: injera which is spongy pancake made with teff flour, chicken/beef stews and other vegetarian dishes

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Celebrating the Ethiopian New Year in the USA has become somewhat complicated and sensitive after the horrific events of 9/11 in 2001. Since the holiday falls on one of the weekdays most of the time, Ethiopian families in the USA celebrate on the weekend before or after the 11th of September. While living in Steiner, we have celebrated Ethiopian New Year by hosting family and friends for a traditional dinner and coffee ceremony. This year, due to COVID-19, we will likely celebrate the New Year within our household. We hope to resume our regular festivities next year!

New Year Family celebration accompanied by traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony and delicious food

"Gebeta", known widely as Mancala, and considered one of the oldest board games in the world, is a very popular game in Ethiopia. Gebeta is played by adults and children alike. Its popularity is largely due to its simplicity and availability of the equipment. Gebeta is played on a board made from a variety of materials, such as wood, stone, or just simply by digging holes into the earth. Typically, the holes are set in rows of two, with large holes at both ends of the board where players can hold their pieces. Playing pieces can vary, including seeds, beans, stones, cowrie shells, marbles, pebbles, or other small objects. Although there might be some variance, the main object of the game is to capture more pieces than the opponent. With a 2-row board, the players control their sides of the board, with moves made into the opponent's side. For example, in a process known as sowing, all the pieces from a hole are dropped one at a time into successive holes, in a motion covering the board. Sowing is a suitable name for this move, since not only are many games traditionally played with seeds, but placing seeds one at a time in different holes reflects the physical act of sowing, showing its link to its agricultural past. At the beginning of a player's turn, they choose a hole with pieces that will be sown around the board. This selection is often limited to holes on the current player's side of the board, as well as holes with a certain minimum number of seeds. If the sowing action stops after dropping the last piece, the game is considered a single lap game.

(The information above includes excerpts from "allaboutETHIO.com".) Traditionally Doro Wot is served with an Ethiopian flatbread called injera. It is a spongy pancake made with teff flour and the batter is left to ferment for up to 3 days before its cooked in a cooktop similar to an electric griddle crepe maker cooktop with a lid. The injera is used in place of an eating utensil and is used to scoop up the chicken stew, sauce and boiled egg.

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Spiced butter Sub with Cooking oil or more • 2-3 medium onions sliced • 1/4 cup canola oil • 2 Tablespoons Berbere Spice • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic • ½ Tablespoon minced ginger • 3- 3½- pound whole chicken cut in pieces or chicken thighs • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste • ½ Tablespoon paprika • 1 Tablespoon dried basil optional • 4-6 Large soft boiled egg shelled removed • 1-2 Lemons Freshly Squeezed (adjust to taste) • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1.Season chicken with, salt, pepper and set aside 2.In a large pot, over medium heat, heat until hot, and then add spiced butter and onions, sauté onions, stirring frequently, until they are deep brown about 7 -10 minutes. 3.After the onions are caramelized or reached a deep brown color, add some more oil, followed by berbere spice, garlic, and ginger. 4.Stir for about 2-3 minutes, for the flavors to blossom and the mixture has a deep rich brown color. Be careful not to let it burn. 5.Then add about 2-3 cups water. Add chicken, tomato paste, paprika, basil, salt and cook for about 30 minutes. 6.Throw in the eggs and lemon juice; thoroughly mix to ensure that the eggs are immersed in the sauce. 7.Continue cooking until chicken is tender about 10 minutes or more 8.Adjust sauce thickness and seasoning with water or broth, lemon, salt according to preference. 9.Serve warm (Author: Immaculate Bites @ www.africanbites.com)