Modaina

The culture of Eritrea has been largely shaped by its location on the Red Sea coast, as well as the area's historic links with Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, the Near East and Italy. The local culture consists of various, and often quite similar, traditions practiced by the nation's many Cushitic and Semitic-speaking Afro-Asiatic ethnic groups, in addition to those practiced by the area's Nilotic minorities. Eritrea's semi-arid terrain in the northeastern Sahel and its unique climate have also been important influences on local customs.

Coffee ceremony

An Eritrean woman at a traditional coffee ceremon

One of the most recognizable parts of Eritrean culture is the coffee ceremony. Coffee (Ge'ez ?? bu-n) is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely tea ("shai" ?? shahee) will be served. The coffee is brewed by first roasting the green coffee beans over hot coals gughin a brazier. Once the beans are roasted each participant is given an opportunity to sample the aromatic smoke by wafting it towards them. This is followed by the grinding of the beans, traditionally in a wooden mortar and pestle.

The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel, called a jebena, and boiled. A jebena is usually made of clay and has a spherical base, a neck and pouring spout and a handle where the neck connects with the base. When the coffee boils up through the neck it is poured in and out of another container to cool it, and then is put back into the jebena until it happens again. To pour the coffee from the jebena a filter made from horsehair or other material is placed in the spout of the jebena to prevent the grounds from escaping.

The host pours the coffee for all participants by moving the tilted jebena over a tray with small, handleless cups (finjal) without stop until each cup is full. Some of the coffee will inevitably miss the cup but this is done to prevent the coffee grounds from contaminating the brew. One extra cup is poured each time. The grounds are brewed three times: the first round of coffee is called awel, the second kale'i and the third bereka ('to be blessed'). The coffee ceremony may also include burning of various traditional incense such as frankincense or gum arabic.

Cuisine

Typically, Eritrean cuisine consists of various stews (tsebhi) made from vegetables and meat, and served atop a large, flat sourdough bread called injera or tayta. Many vegetarian dishes are available, since a majority of the population observe fasting at some time during the year. Eating is accomplished without utensils by tearing a piece of injera (strictly using the right hand), then scooping some stew, vegetables or salad with the bread.

On visiting an Eritrean household, it is polite to decline at least three times if asked to dine. Usually the host will say "bezay kelalem", after which the guest may agree to dine. This process ensures that one does not seem too eager to eat at another's household.

Music of Eritrea

Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa. Perhaps the most famous Eritrean musicians in history are Eng. Asghedom W.Micheal, Bereket Mengisteab, Yemane Baria, Osman Abderrehim, Alamin Abdeletif & Atowe Birhan Segid, some of whose music were banned by the Ethiopian government in the 1970s. Also of note is Bereket Mengistab, who has had a lengthy career, and 60s legends Haile Ghebru and Tewolde Redda. The latter was one of the first electric guitar players in East Africa, and a singer and writer of the famous 'allegedly' Eritrea's independence song "Shigey habuni" with love theme as coded message for political freedom ( - whether the attribution of a lot of the songs of this period to the desire for political expression/freedom was true or if it was just the wild fancy of a repressed people who zealously wanting expression to their deep secret political desire, were only eagerly extracting secret political meanings from what has to be run-o-the-mill universal love songs/folk ballads and nothing else - is not certain).

Folk music

Traditional instruments include the stringed kraar, kebero, lyre, kobar and the wata (a distant/rudimentary cousin of the violin).

Popular music

Modern Eritrean popular music can be traced back to the late 1960s, when the MaHber Theatre Asmara began to produce stars like Osman Abderrehim, Alamin Abdeletif, Yemane Ghebremichael also commonly known as Yemane Baria, Jabber, Ateweberhan Seghid, Yonus Ibrahim, This music was influenced by American psychedelic rock and Motown soul music. The list of eritrean singers and eritrean bands is long.

Since then, some musicians, like kraar-player Dawit Sium have helped to incorporate the core indigenous Eritrean musical elements in popular music. Imported styles of music from Europe, North America, and elsewhere in Africa, as well as the Caribbean, are also very popular in urban areas of Eritrea.

Dancing

Traditional Eritrean Tigrigna dancing involves two main styles of dance. In the first which is called 'quda', the dancers form a circle and slowly circumambulate or move around in an endless circular motion to the rhythm of the music. Then, they cease the circular musical flow/motion and dance in pairs or 3's facing each other for a short while before resuming the circular motion in a file again. During this time, they shuffle their feet to the beat of the music and bob their shoulders in a rhythmic fashion. Female dancers usually move their shoulders more than the male dancers. Towards the end the musical tempo increases and the drum beat quickens to signal this musical crescendo. The dancers round off their dancing by facing each other in twos and threes and moving their shoulders faster - this can also involve jumping and bending your knees and going down to the floor to sit in a squatting position while bobbing those shoulders and moving the head sideways to the strong drum beats.

In the second style of dance, two groups (often a group of men and a group of women) line up and face each other. The dance features a skipping step to the music. Periodically, the two groups will change places, dancing across the floor and passing each other in the process.

Other Eritrean traditional dance include those by the Kunama which involves raising the bead-strung legs in sync with the rhythm of the music; those by the Saho which involves jumping each leg in rhythm with the beats - as well as those by Afar, Nara, Tigre, Billen, Hidareb and Rashaida. .

Religion

It is estimated that 50% of the population of Eritrea is Christian, mostly belonging to the Oriental Orthodox tradition of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the other 50% is Sunni Muslim or Sufi. The rest of the population practice traditional Indigenous religions, and Roman Catholic, while others include Protestants, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Baháís.
[Christianity

Christianity accounts for 50% of the population.

Eritrea was one of the first Christian countries in the world along with its neighbour Ethiopia. With Ethiopia it was the first Christian African country turning Christian before most of Europe. Most Eritrean Christians are Orthodox but there is a large Catholic minority. There are also a few Protestants. Christianity is part of Eritrea's rich culture as most festivals during the year are based on the Christian calendar (excluding events like Independence Day).
Islam

Islam accounts for approximately 50% of the population.

All Eritrean Muslims practice Sunni Muslim or Sufism. Generally, the eastern and western lowlands are predominantly Muslim while the highlands are predominantly Christian.