Research Associate, University of Toronto BA (Jimma University), MA (Addis Ababa University), PhD (Addis Ababa University), Postdoctoral Fellow (Hamburg University) Email: hago.abay at utoronto.ca CV Hidden Stories - Project Areas of Activity Provenance research on Gəʿəz manuscripts from Ethiopia Manuscript cataloging; building digital access Tigray heritage damage Research Interests Gəʿəz Manuscript Culture Ethio-Semitic Philology Cultural Heritage Damage

Biography

Hagos Abrha Abay is a Ge’ez philologist and manuscript scholar, working on the Textiles in Ethiopian Manuscripts (TEM) project based at the University of Toronto, part of a global, multidisciplinary team working to analyze textile provenance and the commercial and diplomatic networks that brought them to the Ethiopian highlands. He has served as a deputy of the Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO, currently Ministry of Tourism) and has held positions at Mekelle University (Tigray, Ethiopia) and the University of Hamburg’s Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures. Abay is the founder and director of the St Yared Center for Ethiopian Philology and Manuscript Studies (Mekelle University), the Mahlete Gumaye (focused on cultural initiatives in Tigray), and the Gumaye Foundation. He is a Research Associate at the University of Toronto, with the project Hidden Stories: New Approaches to the Local and Global History of the Book, researching the Heritage Crises and Distribution of Ge’ez Manuscripts of Tigray.

Selected Publications

Books

ፍልስፍና ዘርአ ያዕቆብን ወልደ ሕይወትን (Gəʿəz to Təgrəňňa translated book on Zärʿa Yaqob the philosopher ). 2nd ed. Mekelle: Desta Cherqos, 2019.

ሲፓራ (Amharic Poetry Book). Mekelle: Desta Cherqos, 2018.

ማሕሌተ ጉማየ (Təgəňňa poetry book). መቐለ: Desta Cherqos, 2019.

Articles

“Hagiographic Tradition of the Nine Saints: Gädlä Yəmʿatta in Focus.” Aethiopica, 26 (Forthcoming in 2024).

“Non-Codex Gəʿəz Manuscripts as Forms of Healing.” In Soul and Body Diseases, Remedies and Healing in Middle Eastern Religious Cultures and Traditions, 310–39. Leiden: Brill, 2023

“The Gǝʿǝz Manuscripts Collection from the Monastery of Däbrä Ṣǝyon (Abunä Abrǝham, Tǝgray, Ethiopia).” Aethiopica, 25 (2022): 99.

“Christianity and Global Networks in Ethiopia During and After the First World War.” In The First World War as a Turning Point, Wendezeit Weltkrieg: The Impact of the Years 1914-1918 on Church and Mission (with Special Focus on the Hermannsburg Mission), Die Auswirkungen der Jahre 1914-1918 auf Kirche und Mission (unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Hermannsburger Mission), edited by Frieder Ludwig. Münster: Lit Verlag, 2020.