Ethiopian Folktales

The Fruit of the Landየምድሪቷ ፍሬ

Amharaአማራ · 1 min readደቂቃ ንባብ

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Narrated by Worku Mersha

There was somebody called Kenjazmach{footnote}Kenjazmach (or Qegnazmach) is a title meaning the commander of the right wing of an army.{/footnote} Sewnate who lived in Debre Marcos, capital of Gojjam{footnote}Formerly a province in north-western Ethiopia.{/footnote}. He used to enjoy tej{footnote}An alcoholic drink made with honey; similar to mead.{/footnote}, and he sold his land.

When asked why he sold his land, he said, “I shall eat the fruit of the land before the land eats me.”

And he sold a eucalyptus{footnote}Emperor Menelik, who ruled from 1889 to 1913, introduced the eucalyptus tree to Ethiopia from Australia at the end of the nineteenth century. Its quick growth, and suitability for firewood and building material ensured its rapid spread through much of Ethiopia.{/footnote} tree before it was full grown.

When asked why, he said, “I don’t want to get thin while it’s getting thick.”

የምድሪቷ ፍሬ

በወርቁ መርሻ የተተረከ

የጎጃም{footnote}ጎጃም የቀድሞ የሰሜን ምእራብ ኢትዮጵያ ግዛት ነው፡፡{/footnote} ግዛት ዋና ከተማ በሆነችው ደብረ ማርቆስ ውስጥ ይኖሩ የነበሩ አንድ ቀኝ{footnote}ቀኝ አዝማች ማለት የጦር ሃይሉ የቀኝ ክንፍ አዛዥ መጠሪያ ነው፡፡{/footnote} አዝማች ሰውነቴ የተባሉ ሰው ነበሩ፡፡ እሳቸውም ጠጅ{footnote}ጠጅ ከማር የሚጠመቅ የአልኮል መጠጥ ነው፡፡{/footnote} በጣም ይወዱ ነበርና እርስታቸውን ሸጡ፡፡

መሬታቸውን ለምን እንደሸጡ በተጠየቁም ጊዜ “ምድሪቷ ሳትበላኝ በፊት የምድሪቷን ፍሬ ልብላ ብዬ ነው፡፡” ብለው መለሱ፡፡

ባህርዛፉንም{footnote}ከ1881-1985 ድረስ ኢትዮጵያን የገዙት አፄ ምኒሊክ ወደ 19ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን መጨረሻ ላይ ባህርዛፍን ከአውስትራሊያ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ አስገቡ፡፡ ፈጥኖ ማደጉ፣ ለማገዶነትና   ለግንባታ አመቺ መሆኑ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ በስፋት እንዲዳረስ አድርጎታል፡፡{/footnote} በለጋነቱ ሸጡት፡፡ አሁንም ለምን እንዲህ እንዳደረጉ ሲጠየቁ “እሱ እየወፈረ እኔ መክሳት አልፈልግም፡፡” ብለው መለሱ ይባላል፡፡

In the original voice — hear tales from Amharaአማራ, told in Amharic. Listen ›

Check your understandingግንዛቤዎን ይፈትሹ

  1. Where did Kenjazmach Sewnate live?

  2. What drink did Sewnate enjoy?

  3. What did Sewnate do with his land?

  4. What reason did Sewnate give for selling his land?

  5. What kind of tree did Sewnate sell?

  6. Why did Sewnate say he sold the tree before it was full grown?

For discussionለውይይት

  • Sewnate said he wanted to eat the fruit of the land before the land ate him. What do you think he meant by this?
  • Do you think Sewnate made wise choices when he sold his land and his tree? Why or why not?
  • What does the story tell us about the kind of person Sewnate was?
  • If you were Sewnate's friend, what advice would you give him about selling his land and tree?