AMHARIC

Mezmure Kristos is an extremely rare volume; very few African nations claim such an extensive indigenous document, written in a totally indigenous language and script at such early date. Bahrey, author of Mezmure Kristos (Songs of Christ), composed the book during the reign of Emperor Tserste Dengel (1550-1597). Written in Geez, an ancient religious language, it serves as a meditation on issues such as sainthood, prayer, and the qualities of just rulers. The subjects tackled by Bahrey are indicative of the kind of questions--those regarding peace and war, justice and injustice, disorder and social harmony--that troubled medieval Ethiopia. New scholarship dealing with this text could help establish a narrative of traditional Ethiopian philosophical understanding of these issues--issues still relevant to Ethiopians today.