Category: Haile Selassie I – Anecdotes

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

Cultural Sayings of His Majesty

“The other cultural sayings His Majesty often repeated were ‘Ke ras belay nefas’ (no one more important than yourself) or ‘Ha le fe semayu new’, which is an example of sem ena work (wax and gold). The denotative (or wax) translation of the saying “Ha le fe semayu new” is that the sky has passed by. The connotative (or gold) translation is that the character Ha ሀ (which appears first on the Ethiopic alphabet chart) is greater in value than the character Fe ፈ (which appears twenty-fifth) because of the order in which each character appears. The Ethiopic alphabet has thirty-three basic characters, each of which has seven forms depending on which vowel is pronounced in the syllable. Therefore, we are to conclude not only that Ha is more important than Fe but also that in life, we should see all things as related and relative. If you are last on the list, you might think that being first is greater. While your position in the alphabet (or life) is obviously relevant, it does not determine everything about you or how important or not important you are—most of life depends on how you perceive something and how much you allow it to impact you in positive or negative terms.”
(Taken from “It was Only Yesterday”, Hannah Mariam
Meherete-Selassie, 2018)
ከራስ ፡ በላይ ፡ ነፋስ ። (litt. “The wind is above the head/self”)
ሀለፈ ፡ ሰማዩ ። (litt. “The heaven has passed away”, but also “Ha is the heaven of Fe”)
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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Testament of War (1935)

“In accordance with tradition, the emperor made his last will and testament before going to war. If he should die in battle, Haile Selassie instructed that the empress and his children should be taken to the British embassy, where they would seek asylum. The senior commanders and officers were to regroup in an unoccupied part of Ethiopia and choose a leader from among their number, who would assume overall command. The intention was that they should then continue their brave struggle. If Ethiopia should lose her independence, patriotic forces in the country should start a guerrilla war against the occupiers and do everything they could to ensure that the nation regained its sovereignty as quickly as possible. The whole world should be informed about the country’s fate and the crime of the Italian war of aggression. Haile Selassie’s will was entrusted to Etshege Basileos, the senior abbot of the monastery of Debre Libanos, for safe keeping.”
(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. 116)
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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes Italo-Ethiopian War

The Departure from Addis Abeba into Exile (1936)

“Suddenly everyone stiffened. One of the two doors in the pavilion opened. Palace servants, bare-footed and their shammas drawn over the sword-arm, ran out to clear the porch. The Emperor followed.

He was dressed in khaki as a general. His aspect froze my blood. Vigour had left the face, and as he walked forward he did not seem to know where he was putting his feet. His body was crumpled up, his shoulders drooped: the orders on his tunic concealed a hollow, not a chest.

I did not know it then, but later I learned that the chiefs whom he had ordered out, some of whose troops had cheered the very order, refused to go.

They pleaded inability to assemble their soldiers.

They appeared behind the Emperor now, completely satisfied wih their excuses. Gatatchu had even donned a new pair of grey trousers, with a military stripe down the side, immaculately creased. He smelt of fresh scent.

They did not realise, as the Emperor realised, that their reluctance had destroyed the last chance of organised military resistance in Ethiopia. They still believed themselves to be great leaders of men (…)

Gates of the courtyard opened… Nine hundred men followed, armed with new Mausers, marching well, carrying gas masks. As they passed the saluting base they eyes-righted the Emperor.

He did not respond, scarcely raised his hand. He recognised no one. His eyes focussed neither on objects nor on space. After the shock of the final disobedience, the parade which he was now forced to attend meant nothing, and he bitterly paid it no attention.

He went back into the pavilion. Buxton drew near with his box of Bibles, but he could not speak to he Emperor: none of us could speak to him, not even the young adviser Spencer. (…)

I stood between the doors and looked in. The Emperor lay back in the corder of a deep sofa, utterly exhausted, his high black hair showing like a halo over a face without feeling. The Empress sat erect at the other end, with her finger raised. Occasionally the white net on her head shook as she emphasised a point. When he said wearily that he would fight on, she insisted that he should fly. The sixteen-year-old boy stood by for orders, but they never came: he marched his soldiers of a day back to their homes, to the latest bugles of Ethiopia.

For hours the Empress lectured the Emperor. (…)

It must have been then that the Emperor at last decided to go. Reason, the appeal to the League, allied itself to the instinct of flight…”

(Taken from “Ceasar in Abyssinia”, G.L. Steer, 1936)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Feast of St. George (1934)

“At six o’clock one morning I was wakened by his interpreter, a French-speaking Abyssinian, with a message:

‘Blatta Teklu wants you to know that the Emperor is going to drive to the Feast of St. George to-day. Perhaps you would be interested to see this Abyssinian ecclesiastical celebration, and he has sent me to take you there.’

‘Thank you’, I aswered, still half sleep; ‘but why is it necessary to be called out of bed at six o’clock?’

‘Because the service has already begun and the Emperor is praying with his subjects’.

It was not difficult to find the way, for the street leading to the Coptic Church was crowded with people who wanted to see the Emperor. They had waited since midnight to see him for a split second as he drove past in his motor, and were now squatting there till noon, when he would return. When we arrived prayers were still being said in the church and we had to wait outside. (…) At the top of the church steps which continued right round the building hung a white curtain, and a costly carpet had been laid down for the Emperor when he came out. In the background the people were collecting in thick masses, and all the while the priests chanted on, scarcely audible above the din of the crowd. Now I was seeing the real Abyssinians, an ancient immutable race.

Suddenly a wave of movement swept across the crowd. The warriors stood up (…) The priests had appeared at the church door, dressed in blazing vestments of heavy brocade, the bishops wearing crowns of rich gold. (…) The high dignitaries of the land began to leave the church, bowing down before the Emperor’s box that was erected at the top of the steps outside the entrance. After some time the heavy white curtain swayed; people were moving behind it, although it was impossible to see who they were. My guide whispered to me that the Emperor had already arrived but he had to be shielded from the eyes of the Evil One. Then suddenly the curtain dropped. The people saw their Emperor in the flesh, and every man in the crowd collected in the square, from ministers and bishops to warriors and beggars, called out with one voice: ‘Habet, Habet!’ Little Father, Little Father! I bowed to the ground and the Emperor acknowledged my gesture with a friendly smile, for he knew already who I was and I learned later that I had been invitated to the festival at his special command.

Then the service in the square took place. The monks played sing-song psalms of the Coptic Church on their stringed instruments and others performed sacred dances. The music grew wilder, the drums beat louder and the dancing monks whirled in more extravagant ecstasy. Everyone was moving to the rhythm of the thundering drums, while the Emperor, majestically calm, stood quite unmoved by it all.

The dance over, the sacred procession started to go round the church three times. At the head walked the priests, followed by the Emperor, carrying his rifle over his shoulder, a special honour which he renders only to God, for on no other occasion does an Abyssinian nobleman carry arms. The Emperor’s numerous servants attend him and before God he is himself only a servant. His rifle is now not covered because the Devil is crushed out when God is present, but as soon as the procession leaves the vicinity of the church the costly weapon is wrapped up in silk, out of sight of the Evil One.

As the Emperor went past I noticed that he was strikingly pale, and the mayor’s interpreter confirmed my impression.

‘His Majesty is tired out’, he told me, ‘he rose at three o’clock this morning to finish some State business before the Church festival’. (…)

The powerful princes of the Church take the greatest pains to insure that the Emperor always arrives punctually, and woe betide him if he leaves before the end! In many respects he is the Church’s prisoner, for the Church is the real ruler of the country. (…)

The Emperor has often to give up radical reform plans for fear of straining his relations with the Church. The Church is now playing a particularly important part by trying to force the Empire to declare war, but Haile Selassie is standing firm and will remain a pacifist as long as he possibly can.”

(Taken from “Abyssinia On The Eve”, L.Farago, London, 1935 p. 56-62)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Request of Ras Asserate (1972)

“In the summer of 1972, festivities were held to mark the emperor’s eightieth birthday. My father told me that he and my mother went to the palace first thing in the morning to offer their congratulations. Haile Selassie received them in the drawing room that adjoined his bedroom. For his birthday present, Ras Asserate gave His Majesty a bespoke leather travel writing case specially designed by Algernon Asprey in London, which the emperor was evidently delighted with. Then my father suddenly fell at the emperor’s feet. Alarmed, Haile Selassie asked him: ‘What on earth has happened?’ The prince replied:

‘Your Majesty! In the name of my father, your loyal friend and servant Ras Kassa, I beseech you to grant me one great favour. Today is the day when Your Majesty has it in his power to give Ethiopia its greatest gift ever. When you go before the Ethiopian people presently to address them, please say this to vour subjects: <<My beloved people of Ethiopia. I have served you for almost sixty years. Now the time has come for me to retire and hand the reins of power to a new generation. Here is my son, into whose care I commend you. Serve him as faithfully as you have served me and be as loyal to him as you have been to your Emperor during all these years.>> If you do this, I guarantee that you will go down in history as the greatest emperor.’

The emperor was visibly moved and said nothing for a while. Then he told my father to get up and answered him: ‘Tell me, did King David abdicate? Or can you think of any other Ethiopian ruler who has done so? We shall reign as long as the Almighty allows Us to. And when the time has come for Us to depart, He will know what is best for Ethiopia’.“

(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. 275)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Chosen One (1955)

“The title ‘Elect of God’ carried by the Ethiopian emperor was much more than simply an expression of godliness. In any event, right up to the very end, Haile Selassie was steadfast in his belief that he really had been chosed by God to be king. Accordingly, this title was affirmed in the two Ethiopian constitutions that Haile Selassie enacted in 1931 and 1955. The consultations on the renewed constitution of 1955 saw lively debate on this passage among members of the constitutional commission. In particular, the American advisor John H. Spencer, who had been called in to help draft the new constitution, saw it as an anachronism. He spoke to the secretary of the constituent assembly, Lij Imru Zelleke, and asked him to prevail upon the emperor to have this clause dropped. But when Lij Imru approached the emperor with this request, Haile Selassie reacted furiously: ‘How can you presume to doubt it ?’ he shouted at Imru Zelleke, ‘Where would We be if We weren’t elected by God’. And not just the emperor himself, also his retainers and the majority of Ethiopians believed he was the Chosen One; this fact also went a long way towards explaining the unconditional loyalty that many people showed him right up to the end – while a new generation of Ethiopian intellectuals bridled at the very idea.”
(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. 93)
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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

Tekle Hawariat’s Provocation

“On the day when Ras Tafari was introduced to us as the emperor’s successor, I was standing behind the minister of war’s chair. Ras Tafari entered the room, dressed in his official robes and with a prince’s crown on his head. He walked up to the war minister and kissed his feet. To try and provoke Ras Tafari, I asked: ‘Do you really think those narrow shoulders of yours will be strong enough to support such a great land as Ethiopia?’ Ras Tafari just smiled benignly and replied; ‘I’ll find everything easy with masters like you to guide me.’.”

(from “Autobiography – Yehiwot Tarik”, Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariam, Addis Ababa 2006, p.304)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Pool Game

“As a child, I found it hard to understand: on the one hand the emperor was part of our extended family – my grandfather, Ras Kassa Hailu, was his cousin and one of his most loyal companions from childhood to old age – yet at the same time he was unapproachable; he was the King of Kings, Abbaba Janhoy, the Great Father of the Nation, and everyone around him would bow and prostrate themselves as a sign of their great reverence for him. I, too, always found him to be surrounded by this imperial aura except for one single occasion. This encounter took place in the 1960s in Eritrea. The emperor had come to Asmara and taken up residence during his visit at the Viceroy’s palace, my father’s official seat of administration as governor-general of the then-province of Eritrea. When Haile Selassie and his cousin Ras Imru came to call on us one afternoon at my father’s private residence in the palace grounds, the emperor’s interest was piqued by the pool room. Evidently he felt inclined to have a game of pool. He slapped Ras Imru – who was actually several years younger than his cousin but looked somewhat older – on the shoulder and said: ‘Come on, old man! Can you still remember how we used to play in Lij Iyasu’s house when we were boys ? Let’s see if you’re still up to it !’. Ras Imru laughed, and the emperor took off his suit jacket and handed it to my father. ‘Come on, Asserate, you too!’, Ras Imru challenged my father. His Majesty’s jacket was duly passed to me, and the emperor broke off. Even after just a few shots, it was apparent that Haile Selassie was markedly superior to his cousin and his kinsman – though none of us or any of our acquaintances had ever seen the emperor with a pool cue in his hand. This was the first and only time I ever saw the emperor in shirt sleeves. All the gravitas of his office had fallen away from him, and at this moment he was just an ordinary person enjoying a game. I stood there rooted to the spot. Holding the emperor’s jacket in my outstretched hand, I watched enthralled as the emperor potted ball after ball. After the final one, the black eight-ball, had also disappeared into one of the pockets, he laid his cue aside and I passed him his suit jacket. He slipped into it, and in a trice he was transformed back into the Emperor of Ethiopia.”

(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. xx)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Ice Cream Treat

“My first memories of the Ethiopian emperor take me back to my childhood, in 1956. I was eight years old at the time and had come down with mumps, which stubbornly refused to clear up even after treatment with a course of drugs. The doctors in the Haile Selassie Hospital in Addis Ababa decided to operate on me, removing parts of my parotid gland that had become infected. To this day, I can clearly remember this procedure: being anaesthetised with ether and the intense nausea that subsequently overcame me. But above all I recall the moment when I woke up from the anaesthetic: as I slowly came to, the first person my gaze focused upon was none than the Negusa Negast, the King of Kings. He was wearing his field marshal’s uniform, over which he had draped his kabba, the traditional cloak of the Ethiopian nobility. Next to him stood my grandfather Ras Kassa and my father Ras Asserate, both looking worried. The emperor laid his hand on my forehead and said: ‘Now wait just a moment, my boy, and there will be ice cream as a treat !’. Saying this, he took his leave in French of Professor Leutze, the hospital’s German clinical director, and of the German surgeon who had performed the operation, thanking them for their splendid work. I later learned that the doctor who had operated on me was given a gold coin in gratitude by the emperor, while my parents sent him a set of gold cufflinks. I lived the next few days in a world of make-believe. For a whole week, as I lay in my sick bed, I received daily deliveries of a large Thermos flask, emblazoned with a golden imperial lion and filled with the most diverse and wonderful flavours of ice cream. The delicacies were specially prepared for me from fresh ingredients by the emperor’s Swiss head chef in the nearby Genete-Leul Palace.”

(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. xvii)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Library of Enrico Cerulli

“I had travelled to Ethiopia via Rome and had visited Enrico Cerulli (born 1898), the greatest living master of Ethiopian studies, scholar, diplomat, and proconsul. In that last capacity he had been Vice-Governor General of Ethiopia during two years of the short-lived Fascist occupation. (…) He was then (and, for that matter, has remained ever since) one of the very few foreigners to possess a fluent command of Amharic. When I was received by the Emperor during my 1958 visit, one of his first questions was about Cerulli. In fact, this was the occasion of a royal repartee which I remember very clearly. His Majesty had asked me about my library of Ethiopian books; I told him that it was quite good but could not compare with Cerulli’s splendid collection. ‘Ah’, he replied, ‘but you have bought your books !’ (irso gin matsahifton baganzab gaztawal – in the rather more telling Amharic original).”

(Taken from “The Two Zions”, E.Ullendorff, Oxford 1988, p. 202-203)