An Ethiopian Legend

The legend of Kaldi

There once lived a young Ethiopian shepherd boy named Kaldi. He lived in a small village where he looked after animals and food. One day, he noticed

that his goats were behaving odd after eating the bright red berries from the

bush nearby. If he wanted to cure his sickness, he decided to try these fruits. Hed found the taste was sour. After a while, he started to stay alert and be full with energy.

On the way, he picked some fruits to give some to his wife. When he got there, he gave it to her and she described the taste of the berries. They both thought that this was a gift from God.

After a few days, Kaldi took some of the fruits and leaves from the bush to a monastery. As he entered in the monastery, Kaldi told his experience to the monks.  After believing of what Kaldi said was true, he encouraged other monks to cook the fruits and the leaves.

People thought that the outcome was terrible so they the remains into the fire, thinking that was the devil’s work. All of a sudden, a dazzling aroma began to come out of the fire. A new idea got them at once. With roasting and boiling the grains, it became a wonderful flavour. After drinking this new drink, they found themselves to stay up all night. They finally used this new drink as a new type in order to stay awake longer to pray all night long.

By: Raheal Mengistu