Gelanesh Haddis

Haddis was born in Silalo in the Ethiopian province of Gojjam in 1896.[1] Her father, Haddis Kinan, was an expert in a type of Ethiopian poetry called qene.[1] At the age of eight years old, Haddis lost her sight.[1] Her father taught her qene, which was unusual at the time due to her gender[2] and her disability.[1]

Haddis began teaching alongside her father at the school in Silalo.[3] During the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, her father was executed by the invading forces.[3]

After the death of her father, Haddis taught in her own right and over two thousand pupils came to study with her during her career.[3] She also trained 150 new qene teachers.[3]

Haddis became an expert in qene in her own right, as well as becoming an expert in another Ethiopian literary form: andimta.[4] Andimta involves memorising biblical interpretations from the past and repeating them to new audiences.[1] In order to be able to memorise them, like Haddis, a teacher had to have an excellent knowledge of the Bible already.[5] However, it is for the qene form that Haddis is remembered, for the tone of her sung recitations and her compositions.[6] She was particularly noted for her use of qene metre.[7] She was even referred to as "the Ethiopian Homer."[8]

Haddis married and had three children, but one child died very young.[3]

Haddis broke gender barriers by becoming a qene teacher, a role that was usually preserved for men.[9] To remember her a museum was established in Bahir Dar, on the shores of Lake Tana, where visitors can consult her poetry.[3]