by Ezra Musa
In 1905, German orientalist Enno Littmann led what was formally titled The Princeton University Expedition to Abyssinia. History, however, tells a more precise and more honest story. The overwhelming body of research, collection, and documentation was conducted in what is today Eritrea, among Tigre/Tigrait-speaking communities. The landscapes, songs, folk narratives, and social traditions preserved in the expedition’s monumental volumes are Eritrean in origin and Tigre/Tigrait in substance.
Had the project been titled with accuracy and integrity, it might have read:
“The Princeton Expedition to Eritrea: Tigre/Tigrait Tales, Songs, and Traditions — with Nefae wad Etman.”
Because at the center of this historic work stood not only Littmann, but an Eritrean scholar whose contribution was indispensable: Nefae wad Etman.
A Study That Has Endured for Over a Century
Between 1910 and 1915, research was published in the renowned multi-volume series Publications of the Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia. For more than 100 years, these volumes have remained core reference works in global scholarship, housed in major universities and national libraries across the world — including institutions in the United States, Europe, and Canada. Copies exist in collections such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, the University of Toronto, Oxford, Berlin, Leipzig, and others, where they continue to serve as foundational documents for the study of Tigre/Tigrait language, oral literature, and Eritrean ethnography.
The physical scale of the work alone reveals its seriousness:
The Volumes (Approximate structure and size)
- Volume I – Tigre/Tigrait Texts
Folk narratives, customs, riddles, and dirges (≈ 280–300 pages) - Volume II – English Translations & Notes
Parallel translations, explanations, and ethnographic detail (≈ 330–360 pages) - Volume III – Tigre/Tigrait Songs and Poetry
Songs, chants, praise poetry, and performance pieces (≈ 500+ pages) - Volume IV (A & B) – German Translations and Scholarly Commentary
Linguistic analysis, historical notes, grammar, and comparative material (together 900+ pages)
Altogether, the expedition produced well over 2,000 pages of linguistic and cultural documentation, one of the most extensive records of Tigre/Tigrait heritage ever assembled.
As my late father, Musa Aron, often emphasized, the depth of these volumes proves two things:
First, that Eritrea, not “Abyssinia”, was the true field of study. Second, that Nefae Wad Etman was not a minor assistant, but a principal architect of the entire work.
The Living Heart of the Expedition: Nefae wad Etman
Nefae Wad Etman was far more than a translator. He was a cultural mediator, oral historian, and field scholar. He gathered information, verified dialects, explained social customs, contextualized songs, and preserved narrative structures that could never have survived on paper without intimate cultural knowledge.
He traveled with Littmann to Germany (1907–1909) to assist in preparing the publications. There, he worked on transcription, translation, and review of the materials that would soon circulate through the academic world.
Then, on his return journey to Eritrea, Nefae disappeared from history. He vanished during travel near the Mediterranean. No grave is known. No official account resolved his fate.
His disappearance remains one of the most painful ironies of the expedition: the man who safeguarded centuries of memory left almost no trace of his own.
Today his life poses a challenge to the present generation:
How many scholars and custodians of knowledge from local communities have been overlooked in the pages of academic history?
Here are some samples of Folk Narratives & Songs.
📜 Folk Narrative Spotlight: “The Man Who Knew the Language of All Animals”
Among the many Tigre/Tigrait folk narratives preserved, one of the most striking is “The Man Who Knew the Language of All Animals.”
The tale speaks of a man gifted with the power to understand every creature, birds, cattle, lions, insects, and serpents. Animals reveal to him the hidden tensions of the land: which herds are mistreated, which predators hunt from hunger rather than cruelty, which villages live out of balance with nature.
When a jackal begins stealing livestock, the man does not trap or kill it. He listens. Speaking in the jackal’s own tongue, he learns of hunger caused by shrinking grazing land. Through mediation rather than force, he negotiates new arrangements between herders and the wild. Order returns not through violence, but through understanding.
The narrative reflects a deeply rooted Tigre/Tigrait worldview: wisdom over dominance, listening over command, coexistence over destruction.
Such stories could only be recorded faithfully through someone like Nefae — who understood not just the language, but the philosophy carried inside it.
Song Tradition: “A Song of AlīGange wad HemmadDerar”
The musical heritage preserved in the expedition is equally profound. Among the best-known contributions is “A Song of AlīGange wad HemmadDerar,” performed by a respected singer of the Tigre/Tigrait regions.
This is not a simple melody. It moves between praise, remembrance, and moral reflection. It evokes grazing lands and migration routes, the dignity of labor, the pain of separation, and the endurance of community. The song’s structure invites communal participation — a lead voice rising, followed by group response — reinforcing identity through sound.
Littmann notated the music. But it was Nefae who preserved the meaning, usage, and social setting of the song — identifying its performer, explaining its metaphors, and recording its variations as sung in different villages.
Without him, the song would have been a hollow transcription. With him, it became a cultural document.
A Personal Memory and a Historical Correction
Throughout my life, my late father, Musa Aron, spoke often about these books. He referred to the volumes by name, describing their size, their scope, and their presence in world universities. But he always returned to the same two points:
- The title was wrong. The research was fundamentally Eritrean and Tigre/Tigrait, not “Abyssinian.”
- Nefae was not properly credited. His role was central, yet history relegated him to the margins.
This article follows that conviction: to honor what was preserved — and to speak honestly about how it was preserved.
Conclusion: A Living Legacy
More than a century later, the Princeton expedition volumes remain pillars of African and Semitic studies. Yet they are also reminders that behind every archive are human lives, often unequally remembered.
The voices of Tigre/Tigrait elders, singers, poets, and storytellers still speak from those pages. And among them stands the quiet figure of Nefae wad Etman — scholar, guide, and guardian of memory.
His life remains unresolved. His work endures.
The responsibility now lies with a new generation to reclaim authorship, restore acknowledgment, and tell the story in full.
Note
- EriXpress Media: Nafae wed Etman ነፈዕ ወድ ዕትማን፡ መዋድቕኡ ዘይተፈልጠ ሊቕ ቋንቋ ትግረ
- As I am not a language expert, I am not certain when “Tigre” or “Tigrait” is more technically appropriate. For clarity and inclusiveness, I use “Tigre/Tigrait.”
