Acknowledgements

The Story Collecting Project was a remarkable collaborative venture. Many people and organisations made significant contributions, chief among them, of course, the narrators of the stories. Their passion for their cultural heritage was exhilarating. Wherever possible, the name of the narrator of an individual story has been acknowledged.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Education had oversight of the Story Collecting Project as a whole and gave it full-hearted support. The collection of stories was facilitated by the Regional Cultural and Education Officers, who are listed individually in the introductions to each region's collection of stories. Unreserved apologies are due to any persons not duly acknowledged. Omissions and inaccuracies are inevitable after a gap in some cases of more than ten years.

The British Council in Ethiopia under Michael Sargent (Director 1992-1998) responded enthusiastically to Elizabeth Laird's original project proposal, and gave it maximum support. Several members of the British Council were involved in the project, but particular mention should be made of the drivers Teklehaimanot Yigletu and the late Dereje Mekonnen who undertook arduous journeys throughout Ethiopia.

Three principal Amharic/English translators worked on the project with Elizabeth Laird during the story-collecting expeditions: Michael Daniel Ambatchew, Mikhail Negussie and Mesfin Habte-mariam, though many stories were translated by local members of the Regional Cultural and Education Bureaux. The fluency in English of the translators differed somewhat from one region to another. Much credit is due to the translators and facilitators for their hard work and expertise.

This website has been generously funded by the Christensen Fund, under the guidance of Wolde Gossa Tadesse, who supplied not only the necessary finance, but moral support and encouragement, which was much appreciated.

The preparation of the material for this website was done by Elizabeth Laird and Michael Sargent. Gareth Cromie, Anton Oliinyk and Anna Sidyakina provided expert technical assistance in the setting up of the site.

This website and all the stories were translated from English to Amharic by Shimeles Lemma Birru; proofreading of the Amharic version of the site was by Dr. Negusse Araya.

Michael Daniel Ambatchew
in Assayita

Mikhail Negussie
on the road to Jijiga

Mesfin Habte-mariam
near Bahir Dar

Ethiopian Folktales

Acknowledgements