Soul's Wisdom

The Bone-Deep Wisdom of T’ïkïmt: Ethiopia’s Meaty Pact with Winter Have you ever imagined a connection between a meat-clad bone and a month? It seems improbable, yet in Ethiopia, the second month of  T’ïkïmt  (October) and the humble  at’ïnt  (bone) share an ancestral bond written in frost and sustenance. As the rainy season yields to sunlight, a paradox unfolds: mornings and nights plunge into  Ethiopia’s deepest chill  just as the sun reclaims the sky. This is T’ïkïmt—a month where breath mists in dawn air and stories begin with  "Once, on a biting October day…" In this crystalline cold, elders distill wisdom to survival:  "Bə T’ïkïmt and at’ïnt!"  ( " In T’ïkïmt, seek bones with meat!" ). The counsel is both practical and poetic. Meat becomes a shield—its fats and proteins fortifying bodies against the encroaching frost. For generations, families have obeyed this unspoken pact: chew the roasted lamb clinging to ribs, savor the marrow in ...

The International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture says toasting "is probably a secular vestige of ancient sacrificial libations in which a sacred liquid was offered to the gods: blood or wine in exchange for a wish, a prayer summarized in the words ‘long life!’ or ‘to your health’’!  Indeed it’s an old tradition that can be dated back to the time of the ancient Greeks. Another document states that whenever there was a gathering or a massive celebration, the Greeks would gather, pour wine and toast one another celebrating the occasion. This gesture was later picked up by the other cultures around the world and passed on through generations until we end up with the toasting tradition that we know today. Toasting is something that is done at almost every celebratory or festive occasion where one a person or two may stand up and say a few nice things either about the person or persons or the occasion. As you know, they then will clink their glasses together and cheer before downing t...