I am using today’s post to point out a fascinating film project to you. The film project is not in any way related to Baskeet or the Basketo Special Woreda but it deals with a topic that is also very relevant for the area where the Baskeet live.
In an earlier post on the St Mikael Church in Baskeet I mentioned that the church is surrounded by a forest with abundant wildlife (birds and gureza-monkeys). Small forests also surround the other Orthodox churches in Baskeet, e.g. the Maryam-Church in Laska:
Maryam Church Laska (Basketo Special Wäräda)
Apart from the sacred groves (ts’oossi) of traditional Baskeet authorities, the forests around the Orthodox churches are the only significant and unexploited forests with indigenous trees in the Basketo Special Woreda.
Since I recently read about the work of the ecologist Margaret D. Lowman (see here and here) in Northern Ethiopia, I understood the ecological importance of these forests and the need to protect them.
At present, a documentary is being produced by Peter Eliot Buntaine and Greg Vander Veer about Ethiopian church forests, the documentary work and the preservation efforts of Alemayehu Wasse, Margaret D. Lowman and colleagues. I am looking very forward to this documentary. It is already possible to have a look at the trailer of Ethiopian Church Forests: The Green Necklaces of Ethiopia:
My best wishes to the “Church Forest” team for the post-production phase!
Welcome to Basket to Ethiopia! With this blog I keep you posted about my research on Baskeet, an Omotic language of Ethiopia. Follow my (field)work and learn about the fascinating language and cultural traditions of the Baskeet people.
