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Allegory of Art: A Study Of Masterpieces Of The Most Influential Literary Figure In Eritrea: Mr. Beyene Haile

A Study Of Masterpieces Of The Most Influential Literary Figure In Eritrea: Mr. Beyene Haile


By Mebrahtu Asfaha


It is with profound sadness that I read the passing of the most influential literary figure in Eritrea, Mr. Beyene Haile. With this short memorial, I would like to present to you Mr. Beyene Haile, an enthusiastic Eritrean, extraordinary interpreter of human reality and inspirational writer and poet of the art.


Mr. Beyene Haile wrote many significant literary works, but the one that gave him enduring fame was “Abidu Do Tiblwo”. He published this masterpiece in 1964 when he was only 22 years old, and it is a testament to his linguistic genius and to his extraordinary level of maturity; and it has held its place as a masterpiece of Eritrean literature. The book has seen three editions in 1964, 2003, and 2005 respectively; and has been more read than any other Eritrean book, with the sole exception of “Commando”, I think, by Solomon Drar.


With the exception of “Abidu Do Tiblwo,” that has only 111 pages, Mr. Beyene Haile was a voluminous writer. Most of his literary and political proses, especially his historical proses, are of a higher order, and provide us with an insight to his sophisticated level of writing and to his extraordinary linguistic excellence, and place him in the front rank of Eritrean authors.


His greatest novel is, undoubtedly, “Abidu Do Tiblwo”. The quintessential theme of the book is art and the love of chiseling extraordinary figures in the white marbles or sandstones that he retrieves from the nearby mountain of “Erara” and beyond. The book is an account of his youthful attachment to life in Adigrat, Tigray in the mid-1960s where he describes with vivid nostalgia the rustic rural life of this beautiful small town.


As a faithful guardian of the memory and values of the town of Adigrat, he gives us an insight and a picturesque account of the extraordinary beautiful topography of Adigrat, and its diverse people. With his wondrous skill of the artist’s eye to see with a unique poetic vision, Mr. Beyene Haile narrates with a powerful image about his mysterious journey through the mountains of “Erar” and the plains of “Gherahu”, and beyond to retrieve the material for chiseling his sculpture.


In meticulous detail and spontaneous description, as in richly hued water colours and careful explorations in oils, he talks about the beautiful flowers, and the sensational starkly beautiful colours about “Golgol Netsa” where after a scorching summer heat and dry season, when the first rain comes, the area is transformed into a paradise.


Mr. Beyene Haile’s direct, reflective writing reveals the profound sadness he felt on seeing his sister rendered physically disable as a result of a physical injury in her leg in the days when there was only one car in the vicinity of the town to transport her for medical treatment to Adi Keyih; and the painful account of the town’s bully boy “Hagos”.


The author as a gifted observer of the people, and the environment that surrounds him, and blessed with an ability to weave compelling narratives, he recounts about a boy who is their house servant by the name Meles whose tongue is sweeter than honey, and about his wise and magnanimous friend “Ghebre”.


It is in the instinct of the human heart to search for love, to seek to unravel the tantalizing secrets of the inner heart and to find the extreme happiness of love; and the author finds his extreme happiness of love in a beautiful young lady “Zayid” who is the daughter of the family friend, and the story revolves around the suffering heart and happiness of love with an articulate romantic vocabularies.


Never did any work of art rise so suddenly into notice or engage the public attention more powerfully, than “Abidu Do Tiblwo”. This cannot be attributed solely to its intrinsic excellence. What he said derived authority from the subtleness of his observations, and tales from the natives’ point of view describing the culture and the accents of the local people, something that no other writer has been able to do. As an historical novel, dealing with art and rural life it has no equal. Moreover, for Mr. Beyene Haile, in his work “Abidu Do Tiblwo”, Adigrat represents a community where he grew, and a place for learning and chiseling his extraordinary sculpture. It is a place for growth of the human spirit, and a place for the development of human values. Imbued with the powerful essence that makes a place into a community, Mr. Beyene Haile is one of those rare open persons who genuinely become part of all who they meet. Because he is anchored in multiple cultures and generations, his life stands as a living proof of the growth of intellect and wisdom that accrues through diverse experience and lifelong learning. His emphatic portrayal of diverse people is motivated by understanding, appreciation and a sense of celebration.


Recently, there has been a tradition of following the literary style of writing of Mr. Beyene Haile. Michael Adonay’s work “Mosakuti Mai Mine” follows such a tradition.


Moreover, Mr. Beyene Haile is good in his long stories, such as “Tisbit Bahgu” and ‘Dukan Teberh”, but it is as a writer of a short novel that he has eclipsed the other writers of his day. In addition to the aforementioned works, he wrote a large number of essays, poems and novels.


His Tigrigna style is classical. Not a page could be opened without exciting the strongest personal feelings in the mind of the reader. The prose of his ‘Abidu Do Tiblwo”, although half a century have intervened since its composition, is probably, to an Eritrean eye, still devoid neither of freshness nor elegance. It is such freshness and elegance of his style that attracts me to read it, year after year, together with my sister and my mom, each time that my mom comes to visit us from the States to Canada. I am attracted to read his books because I am fascinated by the profound and subtle allegory, which pervades his work, the bold and unusual metaphors that he everywhere employs, and the great variety of knowledge he displays. I am also mesmerized by his incredible ability, and his hasty allusions to passing events, and his description of persons by accidental circumstances, his succinct descriptions of the places they live, and the language they speak and the accent of their tongues. Although I have never been to Adigrat in Tigray, it is extraordinary, how much intensely I desire to visit (one day, hopefully).


In conclusion, while still a young man, he had given body to an extraordinary book that recounts the love of art and the history of the indomitable farmers and priests stepped in the rural tradition who daily wagered their lives and their well–being on the unforgiving dirty and dusty land, but extraordinary beautiful Adigrat, Tigray.


In his meticulous and spontaneous writing, in his richly archaic and poetic composition, and careful explorations of cultures and peoples, Mr. Beyene Haile’s uncluttered, dramatic composition and superb technique portrays a marvelous reverence for the truth and love of art. He is a versatile writer of extraordinary reputation, energetic champion of Eritrean literature, and sensitive preserver of the sights and sounds and diverse peoples and places.


Let us celebrate the life of Mr. Beyene Haile, dedicated champion of education, preserver of history, talented builder of family and community and primary arch to the keystone of Eritrean literature.



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Beyan Two.jpg

Beyene Haile
1941-2012

Dawn Of Remembrance

 

It crossed not my mind, not at all

Until this dawn of remembrance:

To bother myself, ah bless my soul

With the duty of giving you reassurance.

Not that I doubt for a moment

Your noble heart to cease loving

But that I happen to lament

Over lost chances meant for giving.

 

Gondar,

June 20, 1974

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