Teff (eragrostis) is an edible crop that provides 2/3 of the food needs in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Teff is used to make flour and is also used in the preparation of alcoholic products (such as the Ethiopian beer called tella). It is also used to make a traditional Ethiopian dish called injera. Abyssinian teff is used similarly to millet or quinoa; however, its seeds are much smaller, which significantly reduces energy consumption during processing. ¹⁾

Around 316 AD. Frumentius and his brother Edesius of Tyre were taken into Ethiopian captivity. There they were given a position that secured the king's trust, and they converted members of the royal court to Christianity. Ethiopia, the largest empire at the time, was the second country to officially adopt Christianity (Armenia was the first). ²⁾

Young women of the Mursi tribe have their lower lip cut open and a clay disc placed in it. Over time, the discs are replaced with larger and larger ones. The larger the disc in a woman's lip, the more attractive she is in the eyes of the tribe, and the more cows a man willing to marry her is willing to give to her family. ³⁾

Haile Selassie was born as Tafari Makonnen Woldemiael. As governor of Harer Province, he was known as Ras Tafari Makonnen (“Ras” means prince). It is from his name that Rastafarianism, a movement started in the 1930s in Jamaica, takes its name. Rastafarians see Haile Selassie as the messiah foretold in the Bible. Today, there are between 200,000 and 800,000 Rastafarians in the world. ⁴⁾

Hailing from Ethiopia, the Falashas are a Cushitic people known as the “Black Jews. According to Falaish tradition, they are descendants of Menelik, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who brought them from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. The majority of the Falashas are Jews, hence they are also known as “Black Jews,” although some of them profess Christianity. The Falashim now live mainly in Israel. ⁵⁾