The Bodleian Libraries has a collection of manuscripts and icons from Ethiopia and Eritrea, including illuminated gospels in Ge'ez, the Kǝbrä Nägäst, and The Harp of Mary.
Members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities from Oxford, London, and Milton Keynes worked with the Bodleian to co-curate a display, Languages of God: Sacred Scripts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, which was open from 27 July – 13 October 2019. This project is helping us to find out more about these precious books and manuscripts and share them with the public.
Events included an initial scoping meeting in July 2017, a family day in July 2018, a study day in September 2018.
We celebrated the opening of the display on 27 July 2019 with over 200 members of the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities in the UK. The family day featured a traditional chant, a play in Ge‘ez, talks, craft activities, letterpress printing in Ge‘ez, and manuscript viewing sessions.
These events are part of a larger project to raise awareness of these historically important Ge’ez manuscripts.
Find out more about the background and latest updates for this project.
Colouring sheets for Ethiopian & Eritrean Co-curation Project
Select the images immediately below to download and complete the Bodleian Libraries Ethiopian and Eritrean colouring sheets.
