🤯Teddy's Merema/መሬማ Song References Ancient Aksumite Marginalized Community in Yemen Today
There were multiple speculations on how this song must be interpreted and the most famous theory was that it might be referencing the diaspora Ethiopians who work as housemaids in Arab homes. Some say that phrases in the song like "ብጠራት አትሰማ"(She won't respond when I call her) is a reference to how Ethiopian who travel to these Arab countries leave behind or change their names identities and throw their passports to avoid deportation.
But recently I've come across a new theory people are catching on that it might be referencing ancient Ethiopian/Eritrean settlers in Yemen who date to the Aksumite era.
After the conquest of King Kaleb of Aksum against Himyar in Yemen to protect the persecuted Christian minorities in Najran, the region was under Ethiopian control for about 40 years[Image-3] until the Persian army expelled the Axumite rulers[Image-2]. Oral history of one particular group of Afro-Yemenis date to this ancient settlement leftover when Aksumites ceded their rule.
The Muhabashin[Image-1], as they call themselves which translates to 'marginalized', are a black Yemeni community living in the coasts and spread across various cities in Yemen doing lower class jobs like handling garbage and cleaning streets. The native Yemeni name for them is Akhdam which means servant/slave which clearly shows the level of discrimination against them. They have restrictions on going to school, holding high positions, marrying with other tribes etc.. They are looked down upon and generally concentrated in the slums of the cities like Sana. Their livelihood can be likened to the life in the slums of Addis like Koshe.
In the song መሬማ(Merema) in his new album Etorika, Teddy is talking to a hypothetical member of this community, a woman named Merema.
The lyrics and their translation:-
ማዶ ባብል የመን //Across, in Bab El-Yemen//
፡በሰንዕ ከተማ //In the city of Sana(where majority of mentioned community lives)//
፡እንደ አፋር አፍሌታ ፡የጠየመው ፊቴን
፡ሌላው ቢቀር እንኳን ፡እይው ማንነቴን ፡ዞረሽ
//Turn around(ዞረሽ)(metaphoric for look into the past), and look at my face which is dark like the Afar cradle. At least turn and see my identity or who I am.//
In another line he says:-
ማዶ ባብል የመን ፡በሰንዕ ከተማ፡ ፡ባያት አምሳያዬን፡ ብጠራት አትሰማ
//Across in Bab El-Yemen, in the city of Sana, when I saw my አምሳያ/my kind/my look-alike when I called out to her she won't hear/respond(a reference to how they were cutoff from their ancient identity, language, history or education and are stigmatized and seen as lesser than)//
This other line further confirms that this song is for the Muhabashin in Yemen by making a clear distinction between Merema(a Muhabashin) and his "brothers and sisters" or Ethiopians working in the other Arab countries:-
ሊብናን ቤሩት ካታር፡ ባህሬን ሳውዲ ዱባይ፡ እንደሚያዝነው ልቤ፡ እህት ወንድሜን ሳይ፡ ባያት አምሳያዬን፡ ብጠራት አትሰማ፡ መሬማ
//Like my heart saddnes when I see my(Ethiopian) brothers and sisters in Lebanon, Beirut, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi, Dubai; when I saw my kind(Merema in Yemen) when I called out to her she wouldn't respond. Merema.//
Another line mentioned the sorrows of the community(through Merema) in their commonly assigned jobs: Street cleaning:-
እያየሽው በትካዜ፡ የምትጠርጊው ጎዳናውን //Watching it with sorrow, you clean the streets(Merema)//
This song is a testament of Teddy's literary, artistic skills and activism. His works speak for themselves and I've got nothing else to add.
How did this make you feel? What did I miss?