Philological and Textual Analysis of Gädlä Məlkam
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Date
2021-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopian has developed a rich Ethiopic, Gǝʿǝz, literary tradition since the Aksumite period. This rich literary tradition embraces different literary genres such as Bible, Homily, Hagiography, and History which are translated from foreign languages- Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Arabic- and other local developments of Gǝʿǝz literatures. These different genres of Gǝʿǝz literatures have both religious and secular values and contribute higher significance for the overall understanding of Ethiopia. This thesis tries to analyze Gädlä Məlkam so as to explore different facts and elements hidden in it.
Gädlä Məlkam is a local Gǝʿǝz hagiography which tells about the life of Saint Məlkam- his birth, growth, monastic life, education, combating, miracles, and death. Even though the gädl includes several intertwined significances, it is still far from the eyes of the philological researchers; it has not been studied, and even has not been catalogued yet. Therefore, the aim of this study is to introduce the manuscript of Gädlä Məlkam and to examine different valuable elements, namely philological, historical, cultural, social, literary, linguistic, religious which are included in it. The primary data source for the study is a manuscript of Gädlä Məlkam which is found in the monastery of Kəbran Gabriel and the National Archive and Library Agency (NALA) being both microfilmed and digitalized.
As a result of deep qualitative analysis of the manuscript it is estimated, using philological tools, that the gädl was composed in the first half of 16th century. The subject of the gädl, Məlkam, is the saint who has combated and did several miracles in the monastery of Däbrä Halleluya found in the Western Tigray. In addition to his monastic life, he is described in the manuscript as he was Bible scholar, author, prophet of the New Testament and singer of the chant of St. Yared. As findings, the manuscript comprises different values and importance which are significant for both religious and secular purposes. Among the investigated values of the manuscript philological, historical, social, cultural, theological, literary, and linguistic elements are included.
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Philological and Textual Analysis