Ethiopian Folktales

Ras Hailu in Genevaራስ ሐይሉ በጄኔቫ

Amharaአማራ · 1 min readደቂቃ ንባብ

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Narrated by Worku Mersha

There was somebody called Ras{footnote}An Ethiopian title that could loosely be equated with the rank of duke. Other than king or emperor it was the highest Ethiopian title.{/footnote} Hailu{footnote}Ras Hailu (1868-1959) was the ruler of the province of Gojjam in north-west Ethiopia. {/footnote} who was the governor of Gojjam. He went to Geneva with Emperor Haile Selassie to get Ethiopia enrolled as a member of the League of Nations.

And, later on, while visiting Rome, on his way back to Ethiopia, he went to a certain shop and said, “For how much will you sell this shaver?”

“We sell this type of shaver for a very high price. After all, what are you going to do with this kind of expensive shaver in your poor country?” the man said scornfully.

“That’s not your business,” replied Ras Hailu, “Just tell me your price and sell it to me, and I know what to do with it. The hair of my people is very soft.”

So he bought it and went home. And he established a barber’s shop in Addis Ababa.

While he was in Rome, someone called him, “You black people are like monkeys,” and Ras Hailu replied, “Yes, we both look like monkeys. I look like her face and you look like her bottom.”

ራስ ሐይሉ በጄኔቫ

በወርቁ መርሻ የተተረከ

የጎጃም አገረ ገዢ የነበሩ ራስ{footnote}ራስ ከንጉሱ ወይም ከአፄው ቀጥሎ የሚገኝ ከፍተኛው የኢትዮጵያ ማዕረግ ነው፡፡{/footnote} ሐይሉ{footnote}ራስ ሐይሉ ከ1860-1951 በሰሜን ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ የጎጃም ግዛት አስተዳዳሪ ነበሩ፡፡{/footnote} የተባሉ አንድ ሰው ነበሩ፡፡ ኢትዮጲያን የተባበሩት መንግስታት አባል ለማድረግ ከአፄ ሃይለስላሴ ጋር ወደ ጄኔቫ ይጓዛሉ፡፡ በኋላም ወደ ኢትዮጲያ በመመለስ ላይ እያሉ ሮምን ሲጎበኙ አንድ ሱቅ ውስጥ ገብተው “ይህ መላጫ ስንት ነው?” ብለው ይጠይቃሉ፡፡

“እንደዚህ ያለውን መላጫ በውድ ዋጋ ነው የምንሸጠው፡፡ ለመሆኑ እንደዚህ አይነቱን ውድ መላጫ በድሃ አገራችሁ ላይ ምን ያደርግላችኋል?” ብሎ ሻጩ በማሾፍ ጠየቀ፡፡

ራስ ሐይሉም “ይህ አንተን አያገባህም፡፡ ዋጋውን ብቻ ንገረኝና ሽጥልኝ፡፡ ምን እንደማደርግበት እኔ አውቃለሁ፡፡ የህዝቤም ፀጉር በጣም ለስላሳ ነው፡፡” አሉት፡፡

በዚህም ሁኔታ መላጫውን ገዝተው በመመለስ አዲስ አበባ ውስጥ ፀጉር ማስተካከያ ቤት ከፈቱ፡፡ ሮም በነበሩም ጊዜ አንድ ሰው “እናንተ ጥቁር ሰዎች ዝንጀሮ ነው የምትመስሉት፡፡” ሲላቸው ራስ ሐይሉም “አዎ! ሁለታችንም ዝንጀሮ ነው የምንመስለው እኔ ፊቷን ስመስል አንተ መቀመጫዋን ትመስላለህ::” ብለውት ነበር ይባላል፡፡

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Check your understandingግንዛቤዎን ይፈትሹ

  1. Who told this story?

  2. What was Ras Hailu the governor of?

  3. Why did Ras Hailu go to Geneva?

  4. Which city did Ras Hailu visit on his way back to Ethiopia?

  5. What did the shopkeeper say about Ethiopia when Ras Hailu asked the price of the shaver?

  6. What did Ras Hailu do with the shaver after he went home?

For discussionለውይይት

  • The shopkeeper spoke scornfully and assumed Ras Hailu's country was too poor to use the shaver. What does this show about how the shopkeeper treated him? How do you think Ras Hailu felt?
  • When someone called Ras Hailu a monkey, he gave a clever reply instead of getting angry. What do you think of the way he answered? Would you have responded differently?
  • Ras Hailu turned an insult about his country into a chance to start a useful business at home. What lesson can we learn from the way he reacted to people who looked down on him?
  • The story shows Ras Hailu staying calm and proud when people insulted him and his people. What does this tell us about his character?