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The genealogy of the Boranā

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 5 passages · 574 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Genealogy of the Boranā is an anonymous Ethiopic text that presents a genealogical narrative of the Boranā, a group whose identity and historical context remain undefined within the work. The sole known witness is the edition betmas:LIT7841YaBorana, with no recorded manuscript tradition or variant readings. The text opens with an incipit typical of Ethiopic origin traditions, tracing the Boranā's origin to a place called Omu Walabu and identifying their clan as Tulemam. The narrative is presented as reported speech, suggesting an oral tradition. The work lacks a date, author, translation, or commentary, making its historical setting highly speculative.

The Genealogy of the Boranā is significant as a rare example of a non-biblical, non-hagiographic Ethiopic genealogical text, offering insight into how certain groups in the Horn of Africa constructed origin narratives. Its reliance on oral tradition and its focus on a specific clan (Tulemam) and place (Omu Walabu) may reflect social structures and historical memories otherwise unattested in written sources. However, its isolated survival and lack of contextual data limit its utility for broader historical reconstruction.

Historical context

The Genealogy of the Boranā survives only in a modern edition (betmas:LIT7841YaBorana) with no known manuscript witnesses, making its date, place, and community of origin impossible to determine with certainty. The text is written in Geʿez, the classical liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which suggests a provenance within the Ethiopian or Eritrean Christian tradition, but the work's genre—a genealogical narrative of a group called Boranā—does not align with canonical or hagiographic literature. The mention of Omu Walabu may point to a region in the Horn of Africa, but no secure identification exists. The text's presentation as oral tradition ('as follows, they say') indicates it may have been collected from local lore, possibly in a context where clan genealogies served social or political functions. Without external corroboration, the work's historical context remains speculative, and it may date from any period after the development of Geʿez as a written language (c. 4th century CE) to the early modern era.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

26 commentary units 6 structure6 term5 background5 caution2 reception1 transmission1 dating 0 derived notes 11 open questions 5 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 5 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT7841YaBorana:1 · narrativemedium
Source
Ya-Boranā tǝwlǝdd ʾǝndazzih naw The following incipit and explicit of the core text by are taken from according to the description by Stefan Strelcyn in 144–145 . The subdivision in textparts is taken from according to the description by Stefan Strelcyn in 207–208 . በስመ፡ የቦረና፡ ትወልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው። ቦረና፡ የተፈጠረበት፡ አገሩ፡ ኦሙ፡ ወላቡ፡ ይባላል። መጫም፡ ቱለማም። ያንድ፡ አባት፡ ልጆች፡ ናቼው። ነገር፡ ግን፡ ከኦሙ፡ ወላቡ፡ ሲፈጠሩ፡ አፈጣጠራቼው። እንደዚህ፡ ነው፡ ይላሉ። ክርስቲያን፡ ለክርስቲያን፡ አንዱ፡ ክርስቲያን። ሐብታም፡ ከበርቴ፡ ሰው፡ ነበረ፡ የሱን፡ ሴት፡ ልጁን፡ አጯት።
English
In the name of the Boranā, their genealogy is as follows. The Boranā, the place where they originated, their country is called Omu Walabu. The clan is Tulemam. They are children of one father. The story, however, of how they came into being from Omu Walabu is as follows, they say. A Christian, for a Christian, one Christian. A wealthy man, a man of substance, there was. His daughter, his female child, he gave her in marriage.
LIT7841YaBorana:2 · narrativemedium
Source
በዚህ፡ እህችን፡ የታጨችቱን፡ ልጁን፡ ሲድር፡ ሰውዬው፡ ገና፡ የሚደረገውን፡ ነገር፡ ሁሉ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ገልጦለት፡ ያውቀው፡ ነበረ፡ ይላሉ፡ ስለዚህ፡ ለሠርግ፡ የመጡትን፡ ስርገኞችን፡ ሁሉ፡ መከራቼው፡ ሲመክራቼውም፡ ልጄን፡ ይዛችሁ፡ ከወጣችሁ፡ መንገድ፡ ስትኼዱ፡ ከዋርካጥላ፡ አታሳርፏ ት፡ የጋላ፡ ወንዝ፡ የሚባለው፡ ውሐ፡ አለና፡ እሱንም፡ ውሐውን፡ አታጠጧት፡ ብሎ፡ መከራቼው፡ በዚሁ፡ እነዚያ፡ ሰርገኞች ፡ ሙሺራይቱን፡ ልጅ፡ ይዘው፡ ወጥተው፡ መንገድ ፡ ሲሄዱ፡ ያችን፡ ልጅ፡ ውሐ፡ ጥም፡ ያዛትና፡ የምትሞት፡ ስትሆን፡ ጊዜ፡ አገሩም፡ በረሐ፡ ነውና ፡ በውሐ፡ ጥም፡ ከምትሞት፡ ብለው፡ ያንን፡ የልጅቱ፡ አባት፡ የመካራቼውን፡ ነገር፡ ረስተው፡ ጥሰው፡ ያነን፡ የጋላ፡ ወንዝ፡ የሚባላውን፡ ውሐውን ፡ ቀድተው፡ አጠጧት፡ ከዋርካ፡ ጥላም፡ አሳረፏት፡ የሰዮ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፡ ሰዮና፡ ሊቃ፡ ወንድማማች፡ ናቼው። እናታቼውም፡ ደዲ፡ ትባላላች፡ ሰዮ፡ ሁለት፡ ይወልዳል፡ ስማቼውም፡ ዱለቾና፡ አከዩ፡ ነው፡ አንገፋው፡ ዱለቾ፡ ነው። ቀጥሎ፡ ገርጄዳ፡ ነው፡ ገርጄና፡ የሞጋሳ፡ ልጁ፡ ነው። ሰዮ፡ አልወለደውም፡ አፊሎ፡ የጄርጌዳ፡ ሜዲቻ፡ ደለታ፡ ነው። አከዮም፡ ሶስት፡ ልጅ፡ ወልደ፡ አንገፋው፡ አለኩ፡ ቀጥሎ፡ አው፡ ነው፡ ካሱ፡ ቀጥሎ፡ ገላን፡ ነው። ስድስቱ፡ ሰዮ፡ እሚባሉ፡ እነዚህ፡ ናቼው።
English
In this, our sister, the one who was seized, her son Sidr, the man, everything that was to be done, God revealed to him, he knew it, they say. Therefore, he advised all the wedding guests who had come for the wedding. As he was advising them, "Take my daughter and when you go out, when you travel the road, do not cross her through Warkāṭla. There is a river called the River of Gallā, and do not let her drink that water," he advised them. With this, those wedding guests took the girl Mushirāy and went out. As they traveled the road, thirst for water seized that girl, and when she was about to die, since the country was desert, they, saying "She will die of thirst for water," forgot and violated the matter of the girl's father's advice, and they broke open that river called the River of Gallā and let her drink. They crossed her through the shade of Warkā. The genealogy of Seyo is as follows. Seyo and Liqā are brothers. Their mother is called Dedi. Seyo begets two. Their names are Dulecho and Akeyu. The firstborn is Dulecho. Next is Gerjeda. Gerjeda is the son of Mogasa. Seyo did not beget him. Afilo is the son of Gerjeda's Medicha. Akeyu also begets three children. The firstborn is Aleku. Next is Aw. Kasu. Next is Gelan. These six are called Seyo.
LIT7841YaBorana:3 · narrativemedium
Source
The Boranā from the land of the Omo በስመ፡ የቦረና፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ ቦረና፡ የተፈጠረበት፡ አገሩ፡ ኦሙ፤ ወላቡ፡ ይባላል። መጫም፡ ቱለማም፡ ያንድ፡ አባት፡ ልጆች፡ ናቸው። ነገር፡ ግን፡ ከኦሙ፡ ወላቡ፡ ሲፈጠሩ፡ ኣፈጣጠራተው፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፡ ይላሉ፤ ክርስቲያን፡ ለክርስትያን፡ አንዱ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ ሓብታም፡ ከበርቲ፡ ሰው፡ ነበረ፤ የሱን፡ ሴት፡ ልጁን፡ ኣጯት። Wayṭo የወይጦ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Geda የጌደ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው። Č̣alyā የጨልያ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Sibu የሲቡ፡ ትውልድ። Sidām የሲዳም፡ ጃላ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Leqā የሌቃ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Bonayā የቦነያ፡ ትውልድም፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Wayu የዋዩ፡ ልጆች፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Mana Matā የመነ፡ መታ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Wara የወረ፡ ኣቦ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤
English
The genealogy of the Boranā is thus: The land where Boranā was created is Omo; his birthplace is called Walabu. Maččam and Tulemam are children of one father. But the matter, they say, is that when they were created from Omo Walabu, their creation was thus: A Christian, for a Christian, one Christian was a wealthy, noble man. His daughter, Aǧǧot. Wayṭo The genealogy of Wayṭo is thus: Geda The genealogy of Geda is thus: Č̣alyā The genealogy of Č̣alyā is thus: Sibu The genealogy of Sibu. Sidām The genealogy of Sidām Jāla is thus: Leqā The genealogy of Leqā is thus: Bonayā The genealogy of Bonayā is thus: Wayu The genealogy of the children of Wayu is thus: Mana Matā The genealogy of Mana Matā is thus: Wara The genealogy of Wara Abbo is thus:
LIT7841YaBorana:4 · narrativehigh
Source
Mana Manyā የመነ፡ ምኛ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Lālu የላሉ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Bonyā የቦንያ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Ḥaru የሐሩ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Nono የኖኖ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፡ Tulamā የቱለማ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Liqā የሊቃ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፤ Sayu የሰዩ፡ ትውልድ፡ እንደዚህ፡ ነው፡ Ya-Boranā ḥagaru Horr Walābu naw The following incipit of an addition by is taken from according to the catalogue description in 145 . The subdivision in chapters and the incipits for each chapter are taken from according to the description by Stefan Strelcyn in 208 . የቦረና፡ ሐገሩ፡ ሆር፡ ወላቡ፡ ነው፡ መጫና፡ ቱለማ፡ ወንድማማች፡ ናቸው፡ አባታቸው፡ ቦረን፡ ይባላል፡
English
The genealogy of Mana Manyā is thus: The genealogy of Lālu is thus: The genealogy of Bonyā is thus: The genealogy of Ḥaru is thus: The genealogy of Nono is thus: The genealogy of Tulamā is thus: The genealogy of Liqā is thus: The genealogy of Sayu is thus: The land of Boranā is Horr, Walābu. Maččam and Tulemam are brothers. Their father is called Boran.
LIT7841YaBorana:5 · narrativehigh
Source
Horr Walābu የቦረና፡ ሐገሩ፡ ሆር፡ ወላቡ፡ ነው፡ መጫና፡ ቱለማ፡ ወንድ ፡ ማማች፡ ናቼው፡ Wayṭo የወይጦ፡ ትውልድ። ባማርኛ፡ ወይጦ፡ በጋልኛ፡ ዋታ፡ የተባለው፡ ከ፬ቱ፡ የቱለማ፡ ለጆች፡ አንድ፡ ነው፡ Maččā የመጫ፡ ትውልድ። የመጫ፡ ትውልድ፡ አንጋፋው፡ አባ፡ ነው፡
English
Horr Walābu The land of the Boranā is Horr Walābu. Maččā Tulamā is the father of the male line. Wayṭo The genealogy of Wayṭo: in the Bamar language, Wayṭo; in the Gal language, he who is called Wāta. He is one of the four sons of Tulamā. Maččā The genealogy of Maččā: the genealogy of Maččā is the first father.
Citation. Tergwame, “The genealogy of the Boranā”, LIT7841YaBorana:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT7841YaBorana#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0029 · generated 2026-11-15.