Shamon-TUT9101-Kebra Nagast: Bayna Likhim's Journey

Introduction:

The Kebra Nagast, or The Glory of the Kings, is a piece of 14th-century Ethiopian literature written in Ge’ez by Is'haq Neburä -Id of Axum. It is set in Ethiopia and Israel, detailing how the line of Solomon is connected to Ethiopian royalty through his relationship with Queen Sheba. The story details the spread of Christianity to Ethiopia and the eventual relocation of the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia. The story initially follows Queen Sheba, who visits King Solomon in Jerusalem after hearing about his eloquence and great wisdom. The pair are captivated by one another, this leads to Solomon tricking Queen Sheba into sleeping with him. This relationship leads to the conception of Bayna Likhim - Queen Sheba travels back to Ethiopia, pregnant with their son. As Bayna Likhim grows, his interest in his fathers identity becomes relevant. Eventually, Bayna Likhim travels to Israel himself to meet his father. Bayna Likhim’s resemblance to his father is undeniable to the people of Israel, who mistake him for his father. When King Solomon meets his son, he becomes determined to make Bayna Likhim his heir - Bayna’s connection to Ethiopia pulls him away from this birthright. As he returns to Ethiopia, he takes the Ark of the Covenant with him - the Ark finds a new home in Ethiopia.

This map follows Bayna Likhim’s journey, detailing how it parallels the journey his mother took before him. It recognizes that Mount Sinai is where the Ark of the Covenant originated, and connects Bayna Likhim’s movement with the movement of the Ark. Beginning in Aksum, the map links to coinage from Aksum that recognizes the wealth of Queen Sheba and her son are born into. Queen Sheba’s acceptance of King Solomon’s religion is exemplified through this object, as a reverence to royalty is transformed into a reverence of the connection between royalty and God. Bayna’s arrival at Gaza explores the discovery of his identity in relation to Israel, he is greeted like a king because of how closely he resembles his father. In Gaza, Bayna’s relationship to both Ethiopia and Israel is emphasized. Bayna’s time in Jerusalem explores the relationship between father and son - his resemblance is something that Solomon holds dear. Bayna’s time in Israel reveals that no wealth can replace his attachment to his birthplace. The map ends with Bayna’s return to Ethiopia and the movement of the Ark from Israel to Ethiopia. Like Bayna Likhim himself, the Ark is revered in both regions, but is destined by God to remain in Ethiopia.

Space:

Space in the Kebra Nagast is crucial to the narrative of the text in two dimensions: the physical and the metaphorical. As Bayna Likhim travels from Ethiopia to Israel, from Aksum to Jerusalem, space has a clear relationship on a personal, physical level. As the son of the Queen of Ethiopia and the King of Israel, Bayna Likhim is immediately connected to these regions by blood. Through lineage, Bayna is tied to both regions, yet his birth and upbringing in Ethiopia nurtures a sense of familiarity and comfort in Ethiopia. He has grown accustomed to identifying Ethiopia as his home. Despite the captivating effect that Jerusalem has on both Queen Sheba and her son, both characters express an urge of personal desire and duty that returns them back to Ethiopia. There is a duty to their subjects, as well as an inherent desire for Ethiopian atmosphere. Bayna Likhim’s request to return home is expressed in the Kebra Nagast: “”Gold and silver and fine garments are not lacking in our country. Rather, I came to listen to your wisdom, see your face, greet you, do homage to your rule, and bow down to you. But, now, you should send me back to my mother and my country. For nobody hates the place where he was born, and everybody loves his country’s language”” (Norton, 594). Bayna expresses that he has a preference for his country’s food and scenery, he also recognizes that Ethiopia has embraced the true God and Zion (Norton, 594).

Bayna’s connection to Ethiopia as a physical space - through the taste of the food and the sight of its mountains - outweighs his birthright as the future King of Israel. Bayna Likhim’s physical connection to Ethiopia is eventually what sparks this desire to return to his homeland, his connection to the language and food he is accustomed to pushes this narrative of travel and space. To heighten this urge, his role as the future King of Ethiopia enhances this physical connection to Ethiopia - he has a duty to fulfill in Ethiopia that pulls him away from Jerusalem. The acceptance of God in Ethiopia through Queen Sheba’s interactions with King Solomon also pushes this narrative of space, as Ethiopia becomes a space that is suitable for the Ark of the Covenant. Just as the Ark becomes a space that links humanity to God, Bayna Likhim acts as a physical link between Ethiopia and Israel.

Beyond this sense of physical space, there is a theme of metaphorical spaces and movement that remains crucial to the narrative of the text. This metaphorical transmission of space begins with Queen Sheba’s conversion, the religious space of Israel is expanded to Ethiopia. In her conversation with Solomon, Queen Sheba states that “From now on, I won’t worship the sun, but only the sun’s creator, the Lord of Israel!” (Norton, 585). Queen Sheba’s discussions with King Solomon manage to reanimate Ethiopia into a spiritually Christian space. When Bayna Likhim meets his father, King Solomon, he "presented to his father the ring that his mother had handed over to him in private" (Norton, 593). This ring is "the token that Solomon had given her, the ring that had been on his finger" (Norton, 591). Despite this ring acting as a physical symbol of Bayna’s relationship to Solomon, the king states that “Even without you giving me this token, I spotted that your appearance was my exact likeness: You truly are my son!” (Norton, 593). With this statement, the connection between Bayna Likhim and Solomon transcends the materialistic realm, their connection becomes something spiritually concrete - almost like the relationship between God and humanity. The undeniable familial resemblance parallels the transmission of religious beliefs between the two regions: Bayna Likhim represents the way in which Ethiopia embraces Christianity.

Like Queen Sheba, Bayna Likhim’s physical relocation of the Ark symbolizes a metaphorical embrace of Christianity. It also becomes crucial to recognize that Bayna Likhim and the Ark become parallels to one another. Bayna Likhim - like the Ark - is created in a moment of religious embrace. God’s interaction with Moses leads to the duplication of Zion, in this moment of religious history the Ark is brought to Earth. This is indicated in the Kebra Nagast: “God was pleased that Zion should be the residence for his splendor on earth. Having wished it, God brought Zion down to earth and gave her to Moses, so that Moses would make a copy of her” (Norton, 579). Solomon’s connection with Queen Sheba leads to the conception of Bayna, who is understood to resemble Solomon “in looks and appearance, without anything missing or being different” (Norton, 592). Bayna is therefore a copy of Solomon that is meant to exist in Ethiopia, just as the Ark is a copy of Zion meant for earth. The Ark acts as a metaphorical connection between God and earth, just as Bayna Likhim acts as a metaphorical connection of the exchange of faith between Israel and Ethiopia, or King Solomon and Queen Sheba.

Digital Map:

This project uses a modern, interactive map to highlight the journey that both Queen Sheba and Bayna Likhim take. The map focuses on Bayna Likhim’s journey, highlighting how his journey acts as a “coming of age” for himself and for Ethiopian Christianity. This map illustrates the physical distance between each region, indicating how long these journeys would take. When understanding this narrative under a scope of a world we understand, one can understand how this journey is deciphered as extensive and epic. The map recognizes Mount Sinai as the origin of the Ark of the Covenant, then follows Banya Likhim’s journey from Aksum, to Gaza, to Jerusalem and back to Ethiopia. The map stresses how Bayna’s journey mirrors his mothers, starting with the fact that both journeys begin with curiosity about King Solomon. Queen Sheba and Banya Likhim both learn that their connection to their homeland triumphs over everything, even the connection they have with King Solomon. Mapping their travels made me aware of the parallels between Queen Sheba and her son, but also the parallels between Bayna Likhim and the Ark of the Covenant. In mapping these travels, I also became aware of how long it must have taken for both characters to travel to and from Israel. Understanding the magnitude of this distance helped me recognize why Queen Sheba tried to “frighten him so that he would not want to go see Solomon… “His country is far away, and the journey there is difficult, so don’t even think about going there!”” (Norton, 590). Alongside a fear of losing her heir, there was a fear that her son would not make this exhaustive journey. Being able to map the narrative of this story definitely provided insight on the similarities between each journey and the enormity of the journey itself.

Works Cited:

Kebra Nagast. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 4th ed. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2018. 578-597. Print.

The British Library. Map Psalter. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/psalter-world-map.

The British Library. Men carrying the Ark. http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=1175.

The British Museum. Coin. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1915-0108-80.

The British Museum. Album; drawing. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1889-0527-65.

The Israel Museum. Coin and jewelry hoard. https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/374324.