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A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

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legends:<br />

5.2) Ethiopian legends about <strong>coffee</strong> origin<br />

Mercier (1980-2) menti<strong>on</strong>s in his Ethiopian myth of <strong>coffee</strong> and chat origin four<br />

- A camel shepherd observed an energizing effect <strong>on</strong> his animals after they grazed <strong>on</strong><br />

<strong>coffee</strong> leaves and berries. He tried to taste these berries but got unpleasantly surprised by their<br />

bitterness and threw it <strong>on</strong> the fire: the smell arising pleased him a lot. In this way <strong>coffee</strong><br />

roasting began.<br />

- Sheh Abol, Sheh Tola, Sheh Bäräka were the <strong>coffee</strong> discovers. They were Muslims.<br />

They left retiring themselves in the bush looking for Allah where instead of God they were<br />

finally going to die because of hunger and food absence. But they refused to turn back<br />

ashamed of failure. They decided to follow three different ways in three different countries,<br />

and to write what will happen to them as a proof if they got killed by wild animals then to<br />

meet after seven days. So they followed their way. The third day, Allah talked to Sheh Abol:<br />

“What are these problems you are disturbing me with? Eat this plant (chat) and this bean<br />

(coffe) roast it then drink it! ”. And he showed <strong>coffee</strong> and chat. Sheh Abol wrote it. The fifth<br />

day, it happened to Sheh Tola: “I already told it to Sheh Abol. Leave me al<strong>on</strong>e! This plant is<br />

made for eating and this <strong>on</strong>e for drinking! It will calm hunger! ”. And Sheh Tola wrote it. The<br />

sixth day, Sheh Bäräka wrote: “I told it to Sheh Abol and Sheh Tola! This plant, eat it! This<br />

<strong>on</strong>e, drink it! ”. The seventh day, they met. Sheh Abol first showed his paper and related his<br />

visi<strong>on</strong>, then Sheh Tola and Sheh Bäräka. Surprised and filled with w<strong>on</strong>der, they thanked God.<br />

They w<strong>on</strong>dered what they were going to do and decided that Sheh Abol who has been firstly<br />

chosen had to roast <strong>coffee</strong> beans. He did so then boiled its powder in the morning of this<br />

seventh day. They ate chat, and then thanked Allah. Sheh Bäräka prepared also what he wrote<br />

in the evening. And then they kept this custom enjoying c<strong>on</strong>versati<strong>on</strong>, and so <strong>on</strong>…Their<br />

descendants added the triple decocti<strong>on</strong>, and other elements of the <strong>coffee</strong> cerem<strong>on</strong>y.<br />

- In a bush similar to Jima’s <strong>on</strong>e, three ermites: abba Awäl, abba At<strong>on</strong>a and abba<br />

Bäräka firstly eating red <strong>coffee</strong> cherries decided to prepare a triple <strong>coffee</strong> decocti<strong>on</strong> drinking<br />

each <strong>on</strong>e according to their hierarchy degree. In this way, these decocti<strong>on</strong>s are called abol,<br />

66

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