This volume presents a new study of Qǝne, the extemporaneous sacred oral poetry of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Täwaḥǝdo churches. It discusses the technique of “Wax and Gold” used to compose Qǝne through which poets construct multilayered meaning using complex grammatical structures, polysemous vocabulary, and oblique allusions to texts and customs. The Introduction outlines the history of the Qǝne tradition, its liturgical function, and the challenges involved in understanding its multiple layers of meaning, and it provides a detailed account of the translation method developed for this study. 

Aimed at both scholars of the Täwaḥǝdo tradition and a wider audience, this book exposes readers to an ancient poetic practice previously inaccessible without a comprehensive knowledge of Gǝʿǝz. The book introduces the new approach of Integrative Translation: each poem is presented through paired Plain and Poetic translations, enabling readers to perceive the branching meanings of the original Gǝʿǝz text and the diverse connections they evoke. A selection of fifteen qǝne poems is included, drawn from published collections compiled by notable traditional scholars of the churches, each featuring the Gǝʿǝz text and paired translations on facing pages.

Extensive annotations guide readers through the interpretive world in which Qǝne is composed, tracing the scriptural, liturgical, exegetical, hagiographical, and cultural sources that shape the tradition and illuminate the multiple meanings embedded in each poem. A Glossary also explains key terms and concepts. This is the first volume to make the Qǝne tradition accessible in English while preserving the distinctive multilayered character of the poetry.
 

Calum A. Samuelson is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Sankt Ignatios College (Stockholm School of Eastern Christian Studies) and a Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS). He earned his PhD in Orthodox Studies for research on theosis in the Täwaḥǝdo tradition from the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS) in Cambridge, UK. In addition to his research on Qǝne (ቅኔ), he has broad interests in Eastern Christian Studies and theology—which he has taught at universities on three different continents. As an ordained minister in the Methodist tradition and a board member of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative (LOI), he makes regular efforts to communicate his research for the benefit of the global Church.  

Ralph Lee, MBE is Director of ORIMI, the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Research Institute for Mission and Innovation and works in partnership with Sankt Ignatios College (Stockholm School of Eastern Christian Studies). He first went to Ethiopia in 1990 to teach chemical engineering and has since spent sixteen years living and working there, including eight at Bahir Dar University. In the heartlands of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥǝdo Church, he learned Amharic and Gǝʿǝz, and his encounter with that Church and its tradition led him to retrain in the study of religion at SOAS University of London. During his doctoral research on symbolic interpretations in Täwaḥǝdo literature, he returned to Addis Ababa to teach at Holy Trinity Theological College. Since returning to the UK in 2014, his research has focused on 1 Enoch and its influence within the Täwaḥǝdo tradition, Täwaḥǝdo commentary on sacred texts, and the philosophy and theology of the tradition.