May I be nothing

Tomorrow we leave Ethiopia.  Good-byes are always difficult especially when there is a good possibility that we will never see these people again.  In American culture, we often have a difficult time to simply tell someone "good-bye".  We say, "See you later" or "Until next time".  Sometimes we'll say these things out of habit even when we know that we are unlikely to see the person again.  A final "good-bye" or simply thanking someone for being a part of one's lives is rare.

The Kaffa people, among whom we have been living with in southwest Ethiopia, have a deep culture that I cannot claim to understand.  But as a guest for the last four years, I have noticed one striking characteristic.  They know how to say good-bye and how to honor a guest who has shared life with them.  The most basic way to honor another is to lower oneself.  How much more can one show respect and honor for another than through humility--through self-sacrifice?  Jesus was the ultimate example of this type of love.  The Kaffa language is filled with phrases that give the greatest honor to the other person.  Their everyday phrases include:

Ta allabon (May I be nothing)
Ta gido'a kitite (May you take my strength)
Tan bia (May I take your pain)
Tan riba (May your weakness be mine)
Tacho'a (May I take your sickness)
Ta yesha (May your hunger take hold of me)
Yerimba (May God give back to you)

So as we say "good-bye" to the people of Kaffa Ethiopia whom we have felt so honored to work alongside, we only wish to repeat the same phrases with which they honored us.  "May we be nothing; may you take our strength; may God give back to you.  Thank you for sharing our sadness and our joy. Good-bye."