To help you as you search through the archive, here is a list and description of some favourites. Just enter the title in the search bar to find the items:

1. "Ancestral Tales", by Teklay Zeweldy
This is a book of 10 folktales. You can click on the Full Text feature to read the English translation.

2. "Kibrom and Wachil"
This is a folktale about a young boy and his companion and sister, a talking dog. You can hear the tale in Tigrinya, or click on the Full Text feature to read the English translation. Other folktales include "Kulu Halif, the Laziest Man in the World", and "The Stonecutter and the Worm".

3. "An Exhibition of Artwork by Eritrean Fighters"
Some nice art to feast your eyes on.

4. "Documents Tigrinya", by Wolf Leslau
There are interesting translated tales and descriptions of rituals to read here.

5. "The Fire on the Mountain and Other Ethiopian Stories", by Harold Courlander
An elegant collection of translated tales from Ethiopia and Eritrea, with colourful illustrations.

6. "Traditional and Modern Tigrinya Proverbs", by Dr. Kebreab Weldeghiorghis and Dr. Ermias Kebreab
A Collection of 5000 proverbs and riddles. Click on the Full Text feature to read some translated pieces.

7. "Wedding"
This includes recordings of traditional wedding songs and insults.

8. "A History of Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea", by Ghirmai Negash

9. "Bibliotheca Abessinica"
Click on the Full Text feature to read "How King Solomon Begat King Menelik", a national legend of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

10. "Two Lives", by Tiberih Tesfahuney
Click on the Full Text feature to read a translation of this Eritrean singer's autobiography.

There are several new audio recordings to listen to, including wedding songs, descriptions of wedding and new year rituals, and insults. Just search under any of those names to find the files.

Coming soon: I've found a book, published in 1904, which has text and translations of the famous Ethiopian and Eritrean legend of Queen Sheba and King Solomon, and a lesser known legend about the saints who slew an evil dragon. There's also a text about King Menelik's journey to Jerusalem. These are popular legends in the Eritrean and Ethiopian oral traditions.

Check out some recordings of wedding songs I've recently added. You'll find them at the artifact called "Wedding". There's also a new translation in progress there, which describes a traditional wedding ceremony. Also, there are a handful of new folktale translations to read. You'll find them at the "Documents Tigrigna" artifact. There are more translated proverbs to read from "Modern and Traditional Tigrinya Proverbs". Feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

You can now read a complete translation of "Two Lives", the autobiography of Eritrean singer Tiberih Tesfahuney. Just search for the book by that title, and click on the full text feature to read the translation. It is still a rough translation.

Some of my translations, originally appearing here, have also been published in the most recent edition of Sable Magazine, a literary magazine based in the UK.

I've recently finished translating two folktales: "The Story of Aaron," and the "The Stonecutter and the Worm." Just look up those titles on this site, and click on "Fulltext" to read the translations.

I've finally gotten my hands on the new book of proverbs compiled by Dr. Ermias Kebreab, and have begun translated a few. I'll add the book to this site soon, but in the meantime, here are a few choice samples:

ልቢ ስብ ክትፈልጥ ብናትካ ጀምር
In order to understand other people's hearts, you must first understand your own.

ሓሳዊ ክልተ ጊዝየ ይርሔጽ
A liar sweats twice as much as an honest person.

ሓሶት ኣየቅይሕ፣ ምድያብ ኣየንዉሕ
Lies don't make you any prettier; climbing hills doesn't make you any taller.

Also, I've finally added some words to the glossary!

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new book of 5000 proverbs and riddles in the Tigrinya language, compiled by Ermias Kebreab, a scholar at the University of Guelph. You may order the book by contacting:

Ermipublishing
32-66 Rodgers Road
Guelph, ON
N1G 4Y5

http://www.ermipublishing.com

The book will soon be featured here.

Check out the new translations of texts appearing in "Documents Tigrigna: Grammaire et Textes", by Wolf Leslau. The translated texts include the author's preface and introduction, a description of the social role and function of the traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian "debtera", a humourous and true tale about a child's encounter with one such debtera and Satan himself, and a collection of proverbs, along with interpretations. Just click on the book's image which appears on this page, and then click on the "Full Text" link to read it. Enjoy, and feel free to leave any comments and suggestions you may have!

There are a bunch of new books I'll be adding to this database soon. First of all, there are two books of Tigrinya grammar which I have recently obtained. The first is edited by John Mason, published in 1996 by the Red Sea Press, and is intended for beginners. The second was written by Amanuel Sahle, and was published in 1998, also by the Red Sea Press. It is written in Tigrinya and it is intended for learners at the advanced (high school) level.

I have also been spending perhaps a little too much time obsessively photographing and preparing images from two old Ge'ez manuscripts I found in the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta. Ge'ez is the liturgical language of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches, and it is only spoken by monks and priests. So why have I spent precious time on these materials, considering that neither I nor most Eritreans or Ethiopians can read them? Well, as it turns out, the manuscripts seem just about ready to fall apart, so my photographs may be valuable in the long run. Secondly, I hope it may be of use to scholars in the Geez language. Thirdly, the manuscripts have a unique aesthetic which will enrich this database. And finally, I have been compelled by the (political?) question of the manuscripts' provenance: how did these texts arrive at the University of Alberta?

Welcome to the Streetprint 3.0 version of this site. It's still in the works and kind of hidden from the public right now, but good for you if you've managed to find it. You'll notice the News and Glossary features have been added. I think they should be useful.

Let me apologize to all of the educators out there who have asked me about ordering books. I have been slow to respond. One change I'll make in the future is to post the stores and distributors where some of the books and other materials can be purchased. For starters, here's an excellent little variety store in Toronto:

Expo Music Plus
876 Bloor St. West
Toronto, ON
M6G 1M5
Telephone: (416) 536-0982

It was quite a treat to find this store during my first summer in Toronto. I bought as many books as I could afford, not knowing that, one year later, I would be developing a streetprint database on that material.

Another excellent source is Yohanna Mahtem, which is a desktop publishing house run by Haile Bokure, a scholar, writer, and translator. Here is the website, email, and mailing address:

Haile Bokure
P.O. Box 1395
Powder Springs, GA, 30127
USA
HBokure@aol.com
http://members.asmarino.com/YohannaMahtem/

And of course there is Africa World Press/Red Sea Press, the leading publisher in books relating to Eritrea and the Horn of Africa. Here is their information:

Africa World Press Inc. & The Red Sea Press Inc.
541 WEST INGHAM AVENUE SUITE B
TRENTON NJ, USA 08607
Telephone (609) 695-3200
Fax (609) 695-6466
awprsp@africanworld.com
http://writers.aalbc.com/africaworldpress.htm