Sigd

Mehlella (Ge'ez: ምህልላ ,Hebrew: "מֶהֶללַה"‎; "Supplication") also Amata Saww (ዐመተ ሰወ; "עמתה סו"; "Grouping Day") or in its popular name Sigd (ሰግድ, "סיגד"; "Worship") is one of the unique holidays of Beta Israel community. Celebrated on the 29th of [the Hebrew month of]Cheshvan.

Previously, Sigd was celebrated on the 29th of Kislev, and after a calendar reform it was moved to is present day, 50 days after Yom Kippur. Originally Sigd was another name for Yom Kippur and after the reform that reunited them, the holiday was called by its present name.

A Kes at the Sigd in Jerusalem, 2008.

There are two oral traditions on the origin of Sigd. One tradition traces it to the 6th century in the time of the Aksumite king Gebre Mesqel when the war between Jews and Christians ended and both communities separated from each other. The second tradition traces it to the 15th Century as a result of persecution by Ethiopian-Christian Emperors. The first mention of Sigd is from the 15th century.

Sigd symbolizes the acceptance of the Torah. Kessim have also maintained a tradition of the holiday arising as a result of persecution by Christian kings, during which the Kessim retreated into the wilderness to appeal to God for His mercy. Additionally they sought to unify the Beta-Israel and prevent them from abandoning the Haymanot (laws and traditions of Beta Israel) under persecution. So they looked toward the Book of Nehemiah and were inspired by Ezra's presenting the "book of the law of Moses" before the assembly of Israel after it had been lost to them during Babylonian exile. Traditionally in commemoration of the appeals made by the Kessim and consequent mass gathering, the Beta Israel would make pilgrimages to Midraro, Hoharoa, or Wusta Tsegai (possibly marking locations of relief from Christian persecution) every year to reaffirm themselves as a religious community

The word Sigd itself is Ge'ez for "prostration", and the root letters s-g-d are the same as in Mesgid (etymologically related to Masjid in another Semitic tongue - Arabic (s-j-d), and identical to the Hebrew root s-g-d, or "worship"), one of the two Beta Israel terms for "synagogue". During the celebration, members of the community fast, recite Psalms, and gather in Jerusalem where Kessim read from the Orit. The ritual is followed by the breaking of the fast, dancing, and general revelry. In February 2008 MK Uri Ariel submitted legislation to the Knesset in order to establish Sigd as an Israeli national holiday, and in July 2008 the Knesset officially "decided to officially add the Ethiopian Sigd holiday to the list of State holidays."

Further reading

• Wolf Leslau, Falasha Anthology, Yale University Press, 1951
• Kay Kaufman Shelemay, "Seged, a Falasha Pilgrimage Festival", Musica Judaica, Vol. lII, 1, pp. 42-62.
• Jon G. Abbink,"Segd Celebration in Ethiopia and Israel: Continuity and Change of a Falasha Religious Holiday", Anthropos, Vol. 78, 1983, pp. 789-810
• Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, Michigan State University Press, 1986, ISBN 9780870132742
• Shoshana Ben-Dor, "The Sigd of Beta Isarel: Testimony To A Community In Transition" in Michael Ashkenazi and Alex Weingrod (Editors), Ethiopian Jews and Israel, Transaction Publishers, 1987, ISBN 9780887381331, p. 140 - 159
• James Arthur Quirin, The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of the Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992, ISBN 9780812231168

External links

• "The Jewish Agency for Israel page", a brief description of the holiday from the Department of Zionist Education
• "The Sigd - An Ethiopian Jewish Holiday", from the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews
• "Photos of Sigd", by Danny Yanai