Culturally speaking, it would hard to top Africa in the level interesting. Each country is highly distinctive and packed with one-of-a-kind experiences and stories that stimulate the curiosity. However, I would have to say Ethiopia is by far the most fascinating because of their connection with Judaism and Christianity. Their largest traditional religion is found with the [1]Oromo people and their worship of Waaqayoo (Waaqa for short). Here is a quote from one of the famous Qaallu (male priest) M. de Almeida (1628-46), who had this to say: 'the Oromo are neither Christians, moors nor heathens, for they have no idols to worship.” Interesting he associated “idols” with Christianity. I wonder what what we as Christians would think of that reputation we have!? Below is the traditional range of territory the Oromo occupy.
Since the introduction of first Christianity and then Islam, the Oromo have become converted to both at a reasonable rate. After converting to either religion, they typically retain their former opinions and thus the three main branches are: Christian Oromo; Islamic Oromo; and traditional Oromo.
In addition to not worshiping idols, the Oromo also appear to believe in one Divine Reality or God, namely the Waaqa. Waaqa does not tolerate lies, theft, or injustice and commands obedience to divine law and turning away from all sin. Within the Oromo faith, there are other manifestations
through mini-deities and angels, but they are expressions of the one divine reality.
The picture below and to the left is an Oromo man performing rituals for a worshiper. It is beneath the dignity of an Oromo to ask for reimbursement money at any time for his services. Traditionally, you can find Ethiopians claiming to have descended from all three branches of Noah’s children — Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Yet, the most prevalent and biblically sound is Ham and his son Cush in Genesis 10:6. In traditional Ethiopian history, King Solomon an
intimate encounter with [2]Makeda (biblical Queen of Sheba) and the child that was the result of the affair is said to be the origin of the Ethiopian royal family extending back well over a several Millennia until the early 70’s when an outside communist regime deposed the Solomonic emperor Halie Selassie.
[3]Islam has a story of Solomon having relations (non-sexual) with the Queen of Sheba, or Bilqiys in the Quran in the Surah An-Naml chapter. This connection is more economical. While on the subject of Islam, it also is worthy of noting that the Muslim faith reached Ethiopia early on in the development of Islam in the 7th century. That is six hundred years after the Biblical account in Acts 8.
Now back to the Solomon and Queen connection! While the Ethiopian traditional connection between Solomon and the Queen is biological, in the Quranic it is economical, in the biblical account it is spiritual…in the biblical it is spiritual. The Queen searches Solomon out over “[4]heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions (1Ki 10:1, NASB).”
In the Christian faith, it is claimed that the record in Acts chapter 8 of the Ethiopian Eunuch and Phillip is the start of the Christian faith in Ethiopia. Yet, there is another link with the Ethiopian and the line of Shem (that’s where the Hebrews descended from) that extends back further than any of the aforementioned traditions. Abraham’s third wife Keturah gave birth to Jokshan, who in turn begat Sheba (Gen 25:1-3, NASB). It has long been stated that this is the same family line of Sheba, the grandson of Abraham. Extensive [5]DNA studies have also been given on Ethiopians and have shown that most have about 50 percent Semitic blood.
Thus if this very popular theory is true, the Queen of Sheba who met with Solomon was already at the very least partially a descendant of Shem because of the Sheba factor. Yet, if the Solomon and Makeda (Queen of Sheba) is legit, Ethiopia has at least two major connections with the Semitic people. I thought this quote would be a nice way to sum up the blog. “[6]Once they were kings. A half million strong, they matched their faith with fervor and out-matched the Moslem and Christian tribesmen around them to rule the mountain highlands around Lake Tana. They called themselves Beta Israel—the house of Israel—and used the Torah to guide their prayers and memories of the heights of Jerusalem as they lived in their thatched huts in Ethiopia”.
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[1] https://ethnomed.org/culture/oromo/oromo-cultural-profile
[2] Stephen Belcher, African Myths of Origin (London: Penguin Books, 2005)
[3] https://www.al-islam.org/enlightening-commentary-light-holy-quran-vol-13/section-3-solomon-and-queen-sheba#surah-
naml-verses-32-33
[4]The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Ki 10:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[5] https://news.upenn.edu/news/out-africa-penn-geneticist-publishes-largest-ever-study-african-genetics-revealing-origins-migr
[6] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html. “Falashas: The Forgotten Jews,” Baltimore Jewish Times, 9 November 1979
