Worlds Together: Ethiopia

The film opens with visuals of Ethiopians of all ages engaged in everyday activities. Acoustic guitar music plays in the background until a young male narrator begins to describe aspects of the country’s geography, culture, and history. More of a travelogue than an instructional program, it is divided into visits to five cities that show the diversity of the regions. Gonder, in Northern Ethiopia, is an historical town that was a crossroads for caravan routes. Horse drawn wagons are still used there and there is a strong European presence. Footage in Lalibela shows a cool climate and 800-year-old churches, some connected by tunnels. Candles, bells, rattles, and incense are used in religious ceremonies. A young boy, who hopes to become a doctor, is shown but doesn’t speak on camera. In his home, the child’s mother performs a coffee ceremony for guests. Harar, an Islamic city in the East, features mosques and an active marketplace. Other cities shown are the capitol, Addis Ababa, which seems to be the most modern, and Jinka, a small southern town with a cow pasture airport. No captions or graphics, other than a map, are used to explain or reinforce the narrator’s unfamiliar vocabulary, such as cultural groups or food items. This production may serve as an introduction for upper elementary or middle grades to spur further inquiry.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY