Liturgical Texts used in the Season of Flower

Adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, sorrow, joys and triumph are found in the zema (tone) of church music (Aymero W and Joachim M.(ed), 1970). The notable features of Ethiopian Orthodox church music which is used for day to day church services in different modes of tones include: Zema, Akuakuam, Ge’ez poems (Qine), zemmarie and Mewas’et.  

All these church services are coined and prepared by indigenous Ethiopian church scholars, who have investigated scriptural commentaries along with their mysteries accompanied with melodic chants. Among the few Ethiopian church scholars are: 

• St Yared – the 5th century composer of the hymn of the Ethiopian church; 
• Abba Giyorgis of Zegasicha – a distinguished 15th century scholar and composer of Se’atat (the Horologium) 
• Abba Tsigie Dingil who was an intimate friend and contemporary of Abba Giorgis of Zegasicha; he also authored and composed ‘Mahilete Tsigie’ which is purely incredible Ethiopic work as St Ephraim and St Hiriaqos wrote St Mary’s praise and liturgy respectively. 

  “Mahilete Tsigie”, literally meaning ‘the chant of the flower’, is a collection of compositions which primarily focuses on the flight of the Holy Family and their hardship in the wilderness of Egypt. The work is used for church services throughout the season starting from Meskerem 26 up to Hidar 5 E.C (October 6 – November 14 G.C), and particularly on Sundays within the period. During this season, the earth blooms flowers and the crops of the grain harvest becomes ripened. 

The work is about 150 poetic compositions consisting of numerous stanzas mostly with five and rarely six verses. These strophes of hymns are composed in memory of the hardship of the Holy Family, using fruit and flower as metaphorical symbols to describe Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother St Mary, respectively, just as Isaiah the Prophet did: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Isaiah 11:1).  Due to the above stated reasons, this liturgical work named as Mahilete Tsigie (the chant of the flower). 

Though “Mahilete Tsigie” is mostly used for prayers and teaching believers, as Deacon Yaregal Abegaz analyzed in an article (Hammer Magazine No.3 &4, 1993 E.C), it also consists of multiple historical, cultural and scriptural mysteries.

During Zemene Tsigie (the commemorative season of the flight of the Holy Family), some selected compositions from “Mahilete Tsigie” are sung in each overnight service in a seven year cycle. Of these compositions, two are sung every Sunday and monthly feasts throughout the circular system of services:

A. እንዘ ተሐቅፊዮ ለሕፃንኪ ጽጌ ፀዓዳ ወቀይሕ፣

አመ ቤተ መቅደስ ቦእኪ በዕለተ ተአምር ወንጽሕ፣

ንዒ ርግብየ ትናዝዝኒ እምላህ ፡፡

ወንዒ ሠናይትየ ምስለ ገብረኤል ፍሡሕ፣

ወሚካኤል ከማኪ ርኅሩኅ፡፡

The notion of the poem might be recapped as follows: 

Oh my dove (symbolic representation for St. Mary), 

Please come here to alleviate me from sadness embracing of your child, the lovely. 

And also you shall come with the blissful angle, Gebrial and the merciful angle, Michael.

B. ክበበ ጌራ ወርቅ ጽሩይ እምዕንቈ ባሕርይ ዘየሐቱ፣

ዘተጽሕፈ ብኪ ትእምርተ ስሙ ወተዝካረ ሞቱ፣

አክሊለ ጽጌ ማርያም ለጊዮርጊስ ቀጸላ መንግሥቱ ፣

አንቲ ኵሎ ታሰግዲ ሎቱ፣

ወለኪኒ ይሰግድ ውእቱ፡፡

The above composition describes the help of St Mary to St George, being the glory of his crown during his struggle with nonbeliever kings, which finally made him victorious over all saw his enemies kneel down to him through St Mary’s aid. The verse symbolizes St Mary with the spotless crown of remedy which is purer than the precious stone, and the crown of the flower.    

The other poetic composition which is used for this season next to “Mahilete Tsigie” is known as “Seqoqawe Dingil” which literally means the lamentation of the Virgin. It consists of about 55 poetic compositions with five and sometimes with six verses. Seqoqawe Dingil describes the sufferings, lamentation, sorrow and trouble of the Holy Family with greater depth and intensity.    

Source:

• Deacon Yaregal Abegaz, 1993 E.C. in (Hammer Magazine No.3 & 4), monthly Magazine published by Mahibere Kidusan.

• The book of “Mahilete Tsigie”.

• Aymero W and Joachim M. (edited), 1970.The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, published by the Ethiopian Orthodox mission, Addis Ababa. (http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/church/music.html)