Clergy at Bilbila Giyorgis and two other old churches in the Lalibela area use honey made by bees living in the church walls in a healing rite known as Mar, Face2Face Africa reported.
The rock-hewn church of Bilbila Giyorgis in the Lalibela area, November 2018 (Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0) [file photo]
The three churches are Bilbila Kirqos, Bilbila Giyorgis and Beta Ammanuel. Besides being places of worship, they draw visitors who come to see the buildings and take part in the honey ritual.
According to church tradition, a swarm of bees led King Kaleb, who ruled Axum in the 6th century, to the place where the churches stand, and the bees moved into the buildings once they were built. At Bilbila Kirqos the bees are said to have filled seven windows, though over the years most left and only one window is still occupied. At Bilbila Giyorgis they took four windows, linked in local tradition to the four evangelists, and still live there, the report said. The bees at Beta Ammanuel left long ago.
The rite is usually performed by the head priest of the church. For skin diseases, the honey is spread on the affected area while prayers are said and hymns are sung. It can also be eaten on its own, or mixed with holy water and drunk. The custodians of the churches say the bees make two kinds of honey, white and red, and that both are believed to heal physical and psychological illness.
The honey is not for sale. A folk story tells of a priest of Bilbila Kirqos who set off to sell some of it and was attacked by a swarm of bees, forcing him to bring it back to the church.
The healing power attributed to the honey rests on church tradition. The ritual is also part of what brings pilgrims and tourists to Lalibela, a town famous for its rock-hewn churches.
Sources: Face2Face Africa