Sometimes, I wonder why humanity ever invented religion, except perhaps as a means of further dividing the species. I mean, besides racial differences and disputes over territory, what other factor has contributed to more death and bloodshed across human history? I've noticed that in those movies and television shows about the future, such as Star Trek, they show diverse populations and worlds but leave out religion. Good call if you ask me.
My name is Abraham Teshome and I was born in the City of Dabat, on the northern arm of Ethiopia. My parents Elias and Mariam Teshome moved to the region of Ontario, Canada, and raised our family there. I remember very little of Ethiopia, a land that continues to haunt my dreams, since I'd only seen seven rains ( local term ) when we left the country.
All I remember is that conflict over ethnicity and religion plagued Ethiopia at the time, and my parents, being from the Animist faith, caught up between the Orthodox Christians and the Muslims, felt that Ethiopia was unstable, so they tried their luck in Canada. I grew up in Toronto, and I consider this vast, diverse metropolis to be my home.
I believe in Waaq, the ancient sky god that was worshipped across Somalia and Ethiopia and other lands in the Horn of Africa before the arrival of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Islam. This faith is pretty simple. We believe that Waaq, typically represented in the form of a tall, robust dark-skinned man standing against a clear blue sky, essentially protecting the world.
Waaq the Sky God was served by a group of benevolent spirits called the Ayaanle, and the chief enemy of the benevolent Waaq was an immortal monster called Habbab Ina Kamas. In ancient times, Habbab Ina Kamas descended from the realm of the spirits and possessed a man's body, thus enabling him to gather followers and rule a vast land that stretched from Ethiopia to Somalia.
Eventually, Waaq sent mankind a champion, Qori Ismaris, a man who could transform himself into a hyena. Qori Ismaris had been given supernatural powers by Waaq the Sky God to save mankind from Habbab In Kamas's tyranny, and he defeated the immortal monster, dispatching him to the Underworld. Although defeated, Habbab In Kamas swore eternal hatred toward both humans and Waaq and vowed that one day, he would bring down both the Kingdom of Heaven and the earth.
Habbab In Kamas had a consort, a flesh-eating and shape-shifting female entity known as Dhegdeer, a demon said to haunt forests in ancient Ethiopia and Somalia, and she had a fondness for feeding on youths. Habbab sired many offspring upon Dhegdeer, and they were said to be the first demons, immortal beings hell-bent on either corrupting or subjugating mankind.
A descendant of the heroic Qori Ismaris was the legendary Queen Araweello, who was famous for her great height as well as her beauty and wisdom. This fierce warrior woman inherited great power from her supernatural ancestor Qori Ismaris, and was said to have subjugated the strongest men in the land stretching from Somalia to Ethiopia.
Even today, many Somalis and Ethiopians speak of the legendary Queen Araweello with reverence and great respect. Indeed, this woman warrior was said to have promoted matriarchal values which elevated the status of women in the region. Of course, this all but vanished once the patriarchal Abrahamic faiths arrived in Somalia and Ethiopia.
The worship of Waaq the benevolent Sky God spread beyond the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia and included what is today known as Eritrea as well as parts of Northern Africa. The arrival of Christianity in the region dethroned the worship of Waaq as the primary religion of the Horn of Africa, and Islam's ascent much later all but wiped out this beautiful Animist faith, which only survives in parts of Ethiopia today.
That's my faith, ladies and gentlemen, and it is as important to me as the dominant religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam matter to most human beings alive upon this earth today. My faith is much older than these, and the sole reason we practitioners don't exist in great numbers is because we don't proselytize like Christians and Muslims do. The belief in Waaq the Sky God doesn't mandate spreading in numbers.
"Earth to Abe, quit daydreaming," a loud feminine voice chimed in, startling me out of my musings. I sat at a corner of the University of Toronto library, and sitting across from me, a certain young Middle-Eastern woman rolled her lovely brown eyes. I sighed deeply and smiled at my girlfriend Afaf Halevi, who looked downright peeved.
"Sorry, Afaf, I was lost in thought," I said, somewhat apologetically, and Afaf sighed and shrugged. Tall and slender, with long black hair, light bronze skin and light brown eyes, this Arab gal took my breath away from the moment we met. I first saw her at school, in the Atrium, where she and a host of other Arab students were handing out flyers about American troops abusing their power while in Arab countries.
"You do that shit way too much, my dude," Afaf said crossly, and I smiled and reached for her long, sleek hands. Gently I took them in mind, and then, looking coyly into Afaf's almond-shaped golden brown eyes, I brought her hands to my lips. Tenderly I kissed them, and Afaf looked annoyed, but grinned just the same. I know what my lady likes.
"Got a lot on my mind, my lady, but that's no excuse to neglect you, let me make it up to you," I said, and Afaf smiled when I pulled two tickets out of my pocket. Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and Afaf likes his movies too, so I figured I'd take her to see the new movie Focus at the Cineplex Cinemas on Dundas Street.
"Damn you, Abe, I've been wanting to see it for ages," Afaf giggled, and practically snatched her ticket out of my hand. I smiled and watched her as she looked the ticket over. Afaf turned the ticket over this way and that, and then finally thanked me. Leaning over, she planted a kiss on my lips. Afaf winked at me, and just like that, everything was copacetic between us once more.
"See you tonight at five," I say with a smile, and then, linking arms with Afaf, I walk her to her next class. I love walking around the University of Toronto campus with Afaf. We're from different worlds, to say the least. I'm Ethiopian, as I said before, and Afaf is half Arab and half Greek, born in Mississauga, Ontario, to a Palestinian Muslim father and a Greek-Canadian mother. I'm a practicing Animist and Afaf is a lapsed Sunni Muslim. I'm a criminal justice student and Afaf is into civil engineering. Technically, our worlds aren't supposed to mix, but we met and we just clicked. Who gives a fuck what people think of us?
