Tabot

__NOTOC__"Tabot" (Ge'ez ታቦት "tābōt", sometimes spelled "tabout"), is a Ge'ez (as well as Ethio-Semitic) word referring to a replica of the Tablets of Law, onto which the Biblical Ten Commandments were inscribed, used in the practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. "Tabot" can also refer to a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. The word "tsellat" (Ge'ez: ጽላት "ṣallāt", modern "ṣellāt") refers only to a replica of the Tablets, but is less commonly used.

According to Edward Ullendorff, the word "tabot" is derived from the Jewish Aramaic, or more specifically "Jewish Palestinian Aramaic", word "tebuta" ("tebota"), which in turn is derived from the Hebrew "tebah". [Edward Ullendorff, "Ethiopia and the Bible" (Oxford: University Press for the British Academy, 1968), pp. 82, 122] "The concept and function of the "tabot" represent one of the most remarkable areas of agreement with Old Testament forms of worship." [Ullendorff, "Ethiopia and the Bible", p. 82]

A "tabot" is usually six inches (15 cm) square, and may be made from alabaster, marble, or wood from an acacia tree -- although David Buxton states the maximum length of 40 cm is more common. [David Buxon, "The Abyssinians" (New York: Praeger, 1970), p. 162] It is always kept in ornate coverings to hide it from public view. In an elaborate procession, which has often reminded literate onlookers of the sixth chapter of 2 Samuel where King David leads the people dancing before the Ark, [For example, Ullendorff, "Ethiopia and the Bible", p. 83; Buxton, "The Abyssinians", p. 32.] the "tabot" is carried around the church courtyard on the feast day of that particular church's namesake, and also on the great Feast of "Timket" (known as Epiphany or Theophany in Europe). [Donald N. Levine, "Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture", (Chicago: University Press, 1972), p. 63.] Buxton describes one such procession, on the festival of Gabra Manfas Qeddus:: To the uninstructed onlooker the climax of the service came at the end, when the "tabot" or ark was brought out, wrapped in coloured cloths, carried on the head of a priest. As it appeared in the doorway the women raised the "ilil", a prolonged and piercing cry of joy. At first the "tabot" remained motionless, accompanied by several processinal crosses and their attendant brightly colored canopies, while a group of cantors ("dabtara") performed the liturgical dance so beloved of the Abyssinians. The dancing over, a procession formed up, headed by the "tabot", and slowly circled the church three times in a counter-clockwise direction. Finally the "tabot" was carried back into the sanctuary; all was over and the assembly broke up. [Buxton, "The Abyssinians", p. 65]

Although Ethiopia was never colonized, many "tabots" were looted by the British during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, which is a cause of anger among Ethiopians. During the looting of the Ethiopian capital of Magdala in 1868, British soldiers took hundreds of "tabots". The return in February 2002 of one of these, discovered in the storage of St. John's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, was a cause of public rejoicing in Addis Ababa. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20020127/ai_n9626611 "Ethiopian joy as church returns Ark of Covenant; Handover may"] by Jenifer Johnston, "The Sunday Herald", January 27, 2002 (hosted by Find Articles)] [ [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april22/17.22.html "Ethiopia: Returning a Tabot"] by Odhiambo Okite, "Christianity Today", 22 April 2002]

ee also

*Thabilitho
*Altar Stone
*Antimension

Notes

Further reading

* C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, "Appendix III, The "Tabot" in their translation of Francisco Alvarez, "The Prester John of the Indies" (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1961), pp. 543-8.

External links

* [http://www.pilotguides.com/destination_guide/africa/ethiopia/axum.php Pilot Guides' Axum and the Ark]