Tabot


Tabot is a Ge'ez word referring to a replica of the Tablets of Law, onto which the Biblical Ten Commandments were inscribed, used in the practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Tabot can also refer to a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. The word tsellat refers only to a replica of the Tablets, but is less commonly used.

Etymology

According to Edward Ullendorff, the Ge'ez word tabot is derived from the Aramaic word tebuta, like the Hebrew word tebah. "The concept and function of the tabot represent one of the most remarkable areas of agreement with Old Testament forms of worship."

Description

A tabot is usually a square, and may be made from alabaster, marble, or wood from an acacia tree—although David Buxton states the maximum length of is more common. It is always kept in ornate coverings to hide it from public view. In an elaborate procession, which has often reminded literate onlookers of the sixth chapter of 2 Samuel where King David leads the people dancing before the Ark, the tabot is carried around the church courtyard on the patronal feast day, and also on the great Feast of Timket. Buxton describes one such procession, on the festival of Gebre Menfes Qidus:

Looting of tabots

Although Ethiopia was never colonized by the British, many tabots were looted by them during the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, also known as the Battle of Magdala, which is a cause of anger among Ethiopians. During the looting of the Ethiopian capital of Magdala in 1868, British soldiers took hundreds of tabots.

Repatriation of looted tabots

The return in February 2002 of one looted tabot, discovered in the storage of St. John's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, was a cause of public rejoicing in Addis Ababa. Another was returned in 2003 after Dr. Ian McLennan recognised the ancient tabot at an auction in London. He bought it and donated it to the government of Ethiopia.