Sigd Festival

Our Edot unit of study about the history and culture of the Beta Yisrael of Ethiopia culminated yesterday morning when we re-enacted an abridged version of their annual Sigd Festival on our Isaiah campus.

As soon as the first students entered the classroom a little before 9 a.m., they were directed to one of four tables on which were spread out dresses and tunics and vests of all colors, similar to what Beta Yisrael members might have worn in Ethiopia for a special occasion.

One table was devoted entirely to the white robes and turbans and colorful, fringed umbrellas that are the traditional garb of the Kessim (their religious leaders)...

...while two tunics and plastic swords and daggers awaited the two "shiftas" (highway robbers) who would be "attacking" our group as we "climbed the mountain."

As the classroom began to fill with the "actors" and costumes were donned...

... as scripts were looked over and "kessim" could be seen walking past "shiftas..."

... a (relatively) quiet calm "kissed the crowd" and within 15 minutes we were ready to begin our procession down to the courtyard between the Talmud Torah Building and the Temple House.

Very quietly, we all proceeded through the upstairs school hallway, then down the stairs where we gathered by the courtyard gate.

From the courtyard, we began to go down to Risa Road, singing "Am Yisrael Chai" (the "African" version) as we descended.

Led by our three Kessim (singular, Kes), we then began our "climb up the mountain," as we listened to a CD recording of a song written by Shlomo Gronich called "Ha'Masa l'Eretz Yisrael" ("The Journey to the Land of Israel"), which describes the hazardous trek the Beta Yisrael had to take in 1984, in order to reach Israeli cargo planes waiting for them in the desert of Sudan, to take them to the "Promised Land." The song describes the dangers - extreme heat in the day and cold in the night, lack of food and water, and "shiftas attacking with swords and daggers."

As we began our ascent, we passed through a "Beta Yisrael village" where a young basket weaver was plying her trade along the path.

Even before leaving the mountains of Gondar Province, there was hidden danger lurking in the underbrush...

...two shiftas were waiting to pounce on our unsuspecting group, though all the valuables they might come away with were the little bits of food we took for our journey.

Still listening to the song on the CD, we climbed the highest "peak" of our "mountain."

Finally, we reached our destination (not Jerusalem, but the Oneg Room!). There, we all stood facing east as our three Kessim led us in reciting two prayers and a song taken directly from the Torah (or the Orit, as the Beta Yisrael call it) - the Sh'ma, V'Ahavta and Mi Chamocha. Following the Mi Chamocha song, we sat on the rug (while parents sat on chairs set up behind us), as the Kessim read the first 8 verses of Chapter 8 from the Book of Nehemiah, recalling how Ezra the Scribe gathered all the people in Jerusalem to hear the words of the Torah.

We then came to the verse in the Book of Nehemiah where the name of this Festival is derived from - "And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their bodies and faces to the ground." The Ge'ez word "sigd" ("seged" in Hebrew) means "prostration or bowing down."

The final verses read by the Kessim read, "And Nehemiah and Ezra the Scribe and the Levites that taught the people said unto all the people - This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then Ezra said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither should you be sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:2-8)

At this point in the Sigd Festival, the Beta Yisrael, who would fast all morning before climbing the mountain, would "break their fast."

We broke our fast just like the members of the Beta Yisrael, with slices of Yemarina Yewotet Daabo (Honey Yeast Bread)...

... and with pieces of Dabo Kolo (Sweet Snack Bread) which we prepared in class last Sunday. To wash it all down we drank traditional Ethiopian beer (OK, it was apple juice).

While we were still eating and drinking, the students performed the Proverb Skits they had written several weeks ago (with the Proverb posters they painted  during our previous week day sessions as backdrops). These skits taught the value the proverb was created to teach, by setting the proverb in a modern-day context.

WHEN TWO ELEPHANTS FIGHT, THE GRASS BENEATH THEM IS BENT AND BROKEN

IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE WAY, EVEN A PLAIN IS LIKE A JUNGLE

SLOWLY, SLOWLY, THE CHICKEN’S EGG WILL GET ON ITS FEET AND WALK

ONE STRING BRAIDED WITH OTHERS IS STRONG ENOUGH TO TIE DOWN A LION

When the skits had all been performed, it was time to celebrate with traditional drum circles and shoulder dancing. Unfortunately, we had no drums or drummers to form the drum circle, so instead I played the YouTube videos of the drum circle and shoulder dance that I had shown in class the previous Sunday (see November 6th post to view them). With the shoulder dance video playing on the screen we had set up, I tried to get my students and even their parents to join me in trying out the shoulder dance. But while the students did a wonderful job getting into character for the rest of the Sigd Festival, they somehow couldn't even be "noodged" (one of my favorite Yiddish words!) into trying it out by me or my TAs.

That's OK - our Festival was just about over, and it was time to remove the costumes and throw them and the props into a large, plastic bin I had set to the side in the Oneg Room for that purpose. As parents and students moved into the Sanctuary to join the other 3rd-6th graders for tefillah, my very able TA's began the clean-up process, while some parents stayed behind to help as well. A very big thank you goes to Jill and to Tom for helping out!!!

As a post note, the Sigd Festival is always held on the 29th day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. This year, that date falls on November 18th when we are scheduled to hold our very first JQuest session on Shabbat morning! I'm hoping to see you all then.

In the meantime, pack your bags and put on your traveling clothes. We're about to take a big jump in time and space, from 20th century Ethiopia back about 2100 years to 167 B.C.E., when a group of very unhappy Jews living in Judea are about to begin a revolt against a seemingly overwhelming enemy, with very long-lasting results for the culture and beliefs of our Jewish People!


 Post Note:  During the weekday sessions following our Sigd Festival, I asked the students to write down their responses to the following two questions:

What did you learn about the Beta Yisrael that you found interesting and would like to share with others?

Which activity did you enjoy the most during our unit of study about the Beta Yisrael and/or during the Sigd Festival?

I used their responses to create a documentary bulletin board in the hallway outside our classroom. I invite you to come up and read their responses.