Begena: An ancient Ethiopian instrument that is healing souls, reviving traditions

Timeless tunes: A student practises during a class session at Eman Begena School in Addis Ababa.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Biruktawit Tasew’s fingers glide over the strings of the begena, producing a deep, hypnotic sound. Along with six fellow musicians, she breaks into a solemn religious melody, holding their audience spellbound.

One of Ethiopia’s oldest instruments, the begena was once reserved for the elite — and effectively banned during the Marxist Derg regime between 1974 and 1991. But it is experiencing a resurgence among Ethiopia’s artistic community.

For the last three years, Biruktawit’s group has visited a nursing home in Addis Ababa every Friday to play for its residents. The begena “is medicine for the soul,” said Ms. Biruktawit, 23, who has been playing the instrument for about a year.

Ethiopia: its past and current challenges

Legend has it that the instrument was brought over from Israel in the 10th century BC by Menelik I, Ethiopia’s first emperor, who received it from King David. For centuries, the instrument’s music has accompanied the prayers and meditations of monks of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church, which represents about 40% of Ethiopia’s 120 million people.

That association with religion meant it fell from favour as the country turned towards communism in the 20th century, but it has slowly returned. Resembling a harp or a large lyre, trapezium-shaped and about a metre tall, it has 10 strings — traditionally made from sheep’s intestines — that symbolise the Ten Commandments.

It is plucked with the left hand, either bare or with a plectrum, while players wear a netela — a traditional white cloth — draped across the chest for men, and as a veil for women.

Begena therapy

At Grace Nursing Home for the elderly, the begena brings healing. Sitting in a small courtyard where residents gather to listen to the soothing melodies, 60-year-old Solomon Daniel Yohanes gently shakes his head in his wheelchair as the tunes fill the air.

Mr. Yohanes has been a resident for two years and said the begena has “brought him peace”. “When you’re looking for God, you look for him in different ways, and I see the begena as God speaking in his own voice,” he said.

Natnael Hailu, a doctor and co-founder of the institution, admits to being “shocked” to see his patients “forget their pain and drift into sleep” to the tune of the instrument. “It calms their heart rate, lowers their blood pressure and soothes them. More than any other instrument, begena therapy has a real calming effect,” he said.

Positive influence

Gene Bukhman, a cardiologist and lecturer at Harvard University who attended one of the performances, said the begena’s melodies could have a positive influence on people suffering from chronic illnesses. Ermias Haylay, now 23, started playing the begena when he was 15.

He was not immediately convinced: “I found it smelled bad since some parts come from sheep,” he said. But he soon came to love its “spiritual aspect” and founded a school to train students in the ancient instrument.

It was his idea to play the begena in retirement homes and hospitals — he even plays during surgeries — hoping to entertain patients and “bring them a bit of joy”.

Before long, he noticed “extraordinary changes” in patients with Alzheimer’s, dementia and autism. “They became very calm,” he added. Demands for the lessons have been booming and he hopes to open schools around the world to help more patients.