A Visit with Lucy: Part 2 (Ethiopia)

For the first hour at least, I wended my way through several galleries that explored the culture and history of Ethiopia. I am ashamed to say that my concept of Ethiopia until I encountered that exhibit yesterday was of a barren land inhabited by starving people -- ideas planted by my parents’ frequent refrain of “There are children starving in Ethiopia” whenever I left food on my plate, and reinforced by photo and video images of the famine of 1984-85.

In Lucy’s Legacy, I learned that Ethiopia is the only African nation never to be colonized by Europeans. I admired cultural artifacts -- spears, water carriers, drums, stringed instruments -- that were both beautiful and useful. I discovered that Jews, Muslims, and Christians have coexisted relatively peacefully for centuries, and saw rooms full of boldly colored religious icons, elaborate carved and metal-work crosses, and religious texts.

Photos and models showed amazing churches hewn out of solid rock, and reproductions of colorful murals told both religious and historical stories. The exhibit included an audio tour delivered via a remote-control-like device which you used by punching in numbers and holding it up to your ear. One of the artists whose work was on display explained that it was customary for paintings of people to have slightly large eyes to show their purity of heart. People show face-on were good and innocent, while wrong-doers or those with dark hearts or suspect motives were shown in profile. A mural showing the 1896 Battle of Adwa, during which Ethiopia managed to fend off Italy’s attempt to colonize it, was a wonderful example of these traits, with nearly all the Italian ranks shown in profile, and the virtuous Ethiopians defending their territory shown full-face.

I learned just a little about Haile Salassie, the last Emporer of Ethiopia, who was deposed in 1974 -- the very year that Lucy was discovered. His rule began in 1930, and he brought Ethiopia into the United Nations. He was a vocal proponent of racial equality, and his work was so admired in Jamaica that Bob Marley named his music and movement “Rastafarian” after the last Emporer, whose birth name was Ras Tafari.

Before entering the galleries, I had planned to blow through the Ethiopian culture and history portion of the exhibit quickly, assuming that they wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as the science and romance of Lucy herself. But the folks who designed the exhibit outmaneuvered me. Between their carefully chosen artifacts, the artful way in which they displayed them, and the written and audio descriptions of what they were and how they fit into the complex and colorful puzzle of Ethiopia, they drew me in and made me care.