Ashenda (

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literature ...

: ኣሸንዳ;

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: አሸንዳ) is a national

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

celebrated by Tigray (

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Agew The Agaw or Agew ( gez, አገው ''Agäw'', modern ''Agew'') are a pan-ethnic identity native to the northern highlands of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea. They speak the Agaw languages, which belong to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic la ...

(Ethiopia) Amhara (Ethiopia). Ashenda also known as "Girls’ day" is a festival awaited by Habesha women of all ages. Although Ashenda is celebrated primarily by teenage girls, females of all age group get to participate in this national festival, during this festival men are expected to be on their best behavior. Habesha girls prepare for the celebration of Ashenda in leading months. Prior to the celebration, groups of girls make preparations for the holiday by buying new clothes, visiting hairdressers, preparing drums and harvesting the distinctive 'Ashenda' grass (which will be tied around their waist for the celebration). The holiday started as a cultural one, but evolved to a religious one. Its origin can be traced to ancient Israel a common way Hebrew women celebrated their Holidays, victory, heroes (Exodus 15:20) After the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

into Ethiopia in the 4th century AD the celebration began to have religious tone and merge with Christian beliefs, those celebrating it now see it as a commemoration of the heavenly ascension of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

following her

Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

, a feast called Filseta. It is typically celebrated between 16 and 26 August every year.

Celebration

On the first day, the Ashenda girls gather together and make the journey to their local Church of St. Mary (or any other Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the community), playing music and dancing. They then go around the entire village, expressing their thanks to each household in the community. The Ashenda girls spend around 20 minutes at each house, entertaining families and themselves, before being bid farewell usually with gifts of money, food or drink. After the door to door celebrations, the girls find a suitable field in or near the village, spending between a day to a week dancing and playing in the field while passing men are urged to provide gifts of money. All money and gifts collected over the course of the celebration are then donated to a charity, the Church or other events.

Name

Ashenda is named after the long, thin "Ashenda" grass which girls tie to hang down from their waists in a fashionable pattern. The Ashenda grass has come to symbolize the religious festival, as dancing girls move their waists causing the leaves to shake in an eye-catching manner. The festival also called "Shadey", "Ashendye", "Aynewari", "Solel", and "Ingicha".

References

External links

Ethiopian Magnificent Holidays: A Case Study of the Ashenda FestivalAshenda - Girls FeastThis is AfricaAshendiye/Ashenda – girls’ festival – celebrated in North Ethiopia
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church Marian feast days August observances Festivals in Ethiopia Festivals in Eritrea

Celebration

Name

See also

References

Further reading

External links