Khalid,
That must be your favorite Ethiopian song of all time
Good choice cuzz. Teddy is one of the greatest African entertainers of all time.
abebayehosh...lemlem
ababayehosh...lemlem
bale'injerochay lemlem
qumu betera "
inChet leqimay "
bet eskisera "
enwkan bet'ena "
yelegnim aTir "
edej adralehu "
kokob siqoTir "
kokob qoTiray "
sigeba baytay "
tiqoTagnalech "
ye'injera natay "
ye'injera natay "
hulet lij alat "
lenesu fitfit "
lene'dirqoshih "
hode'wisT gebto "
sinqoshaqushih "
Teddy is huge fan of classical Ethiopia and big supporter of the old school including the Oromo warrior, Dejazmach Balcha Aba Nefso. In the video, he also does the Oromo warrior dance, which mimics the horse galloping.
The reason Teddy has deep attachment to classical Ethiopia is because he was named after the 18th century ruler, Emperor Tewodros II. The Emperor's birth name was Kassa Hailu. Tewodros was both his Geez name and aristocratic title.
Teddy's real name is Tewodros Kassahun. It's a combination of Emperor Tewodros' Geez name and his birth name. So his music and art is strongly influenced by the past and by these legends of the 18th and 19th centuries. He feels he is delivering their message and he is an extension of their vision. These men tried to achieve an Ethiopia equal to the great powers of the time that was above tribalism, religion divide and ethnicity.
Emperor Tewodros II of Gonder with his lions, the man who spearheaded Ethiopian expansion and unity drive but vision was executed by Menelik II of Shoa.
In my opinion, Tewodros II probably had bigger impact on modern Ethiopia than Menelik II. During the time of Tewodros, Abyssinia was like present day Somalia if not worse. Too many warlords, pirates, fake Kings, Princes (this era was actually called Age of Princes or Zemene Mesafint), etc. Tewodros went on a campaign to unify them and consolidate his power. Almost every other day he was away on a mission all over Abyssinia in an effort to crush the warlords and put an end to all the semi-autonomous states including Gojjam (Ras Goshu Zewde), Shoa (Menelik), Wollo (Queen Worqitu), Tigray (Yohannes), south Gonder (Ras Ali of Begemder/Empress Menen) etc.
He recognized the way forward was skilled people including engineers, architectures, doctors, scientists, machinists, etc. He married his daughter of to a European military engineer (Switzerland) in order to keep him in Abyssinia. He likewise requested Britain to send him skilled people instead they sent delegation. When he learned they did not include skilled workers, he took them hostage (wuxu rabay inay wax baran, inay wax uu dhisan, ciidan casri ah uu sameyan). Wu ku xanaqay, sided igu so diri kartan dad xun oo diplomatic ah markan idin ka codsaday aqoon yahano. Rageedi
The British invaded him and he committed suicide before they took him hostage. He did not want Europeans to humiliate him, rather death. He died trying to bring skilled people to Ethiopia so he can transfer the knowledge.
That's a great leader in my book. He sacrificed his life for the knowledge of his nation.
Ras
