Ethiopian Crosses: Lacework in Metal and Wood

In an Ethiopian church at the end of a long service, a priest stands at the door holding a small wooden or metal cross. One by one, worshippers come forward and kiss it, touching it to their foreheads. At great festivals, priests carry tall crosses of brass and silver on poles in procession, glinting in the sun above the crowds. On the street, men and women wear small crosses on blue cords around their necks; some have crosses tattooed on their foreheads or wrists. In Ethiopia, the cross is everywhere — and Ethiopian crosses are some of the most beautiful and intricate religious objects in the world.

An ancient Christian tradition

Christianity became the state religion of the kingdom of Aksum in the 4th century, under King Ezana, making Ethiopia one of the oldest Christian nations in the world. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church developed its own rich traditions of art, music and ritual, and the cross became its central visual symbol. Coins of Aksumite kings after Ezana's conversion already carry the cross.

Types of crosses

Ethiopian crosses come in several main forms, each with its own use:

• Processional crosses — the largest and most elaborate, made of bronze, brass, copper or silver, and mounted on long wooden staffs. They are carried by priests in processions at festivals such as Timkat (Epiphany) and Meskel, and kept in churches.
• Hand crosses — smaller crosses held by priests, often made of wood or metal, with a handle. Priests use them to bless people, who kiss them.
• Neck crosses (mesqel) — small pendants worn by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Traditionally they are worn on a blue silk or cotton cord, called a mateb, which itself marks a person as a baptised Christian.
• Crosses painted, carved and tattooed — on church walls, doors, manuscripts, and on the skin.

Lacework designs

What makes Ethiopian crosses so distinctive is their design. Rather than a simple shape with two crossing bars, many Ethiopian crosses are built from intricate openwork patterns — loops, interlacing bands, lattices and small crosses within crosses — so that they look almost like lace made of metal. Some are round or diamond-shaped overall; others have arms ending in elaborate flourishes or smaller crosses.

The interlacing designs are often interpreted as symbols of eternal life and of the endless nature of God, and some scholars see links to the interlace patterns of early Christian art in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Others point to purely Ethiopian developments over centuries of local craftsmanship.

Different regions and towns developed their own styles, and crosses are often named after places — such as the Lalibela cross, the Gondar cross or the Aksum cross. Some famous crosses kept in churches are believed to be centuries old and are treated as sacred treasures.

How they are made

Metal crosses are traditionally made by lost-wax casting — a wax model is covered in clay, the wax is melted out, and molten metal is poured in — or by cutting and engraving sheets of metal. Silver crosses may be decorated with fine engraving and filigree. Wooden hand crosses are carved from a single piece of wood. Many crosses are made by specialist craftsmen, while some of the most sacred older crosses were made in monastic workshops.

Crosses in daily life

The cross is part of daily life for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians:

• People greet priests by kissing their hand crosses.
• Children and adults wear neck crosses from baptism onwards.
• Cross tattoos on the forehead, hands or wrists have long been common in some regions, especially among women.
• Homes, vehicles and shops display cross images.

The great festival of Meskel, celebrated every September, honours the finding of the True Cross, and ancient manuscripts and church paintings, such as those described in our story on Ethiopian icon painting, are full of cross motifs.

Why it matters

Ethiopian crosses show how a single symbol, shared by Christians all over the world, can be transformed by local artists into something unique. Their lace-like patterns carry more than a thousand years of faith, craftsmanship and identity. Hold one up to the light, and you see not just a cross, but an entire tradition woven in metal.

Further reading

• Marilyn E. Heldman, African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia (Yale University Press, 1993)
• Mario Di Salvo, Crosses of Ethiopia: The Sign of Faith (Skira, 2006)
• The Walters Art Museum — Ethiopian processional crosses