Gabra Manfas Qeddus
Amhara–Tigrinya highland folk religion · mortal · Amhara–Tigrinya highland folk religion traditional religion; continuing · mortal
Gabra Manfas Qeddus, affectionately called Abbo, is among the most beloved saints of the highland folk religion, a wild ascetic whose Acts brim with fabulous motifs. Said to have lived hundreds of years, he dwells among sixty lions and sixty leopards, grows a coat of white hair in place of clothing, and journeys to Ethiopia to found a hermitage on the volcanic peak of Zuqualla. In one famous episode a raven, the devil in disguise, pecks at his eye as he stands rapt in prayer. Popular devotion invokes him against wild beasts and drought, and his image, ringed with lions, leopards and a white-flecked bird, is ubiquitous in highland churches.
Domains
- asceticism
- wild animals
Powers
- dwells peaceably among lions and leopards
- suffers the devil-raven to peck his eye
Epithets
- አቦ
Sources
- Gädlä Gäbrä Mänfäs Qǝddus (The Acts of Gabra Manfas Qeddus), first (fabulous) version.
- Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, s.v. 'Gäbrä Mänfäs Qǝddus' (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2005).