معرفی
Dr Hagos Abrha Abay is an Assistant Professor of Gǝʿǝz Philology at the University of Hamburg and founder of the St. Yared Center for Ethiopian Philology and Manuscript Studies. Holding a PhD from Addis Ababa University (2014), he specialises in the critical edition, cataloguing, and cultural analysis of Ethiopian Christian manuscripts, particularly hagiographic and non-codex forms that mediate between oral and written traditions.
Research Interests: His work bridges philology, anthropology, and heritage science, focusing on non-codex Gǝʿǝz manuscripts, healing practices embedded in manuscript culture, and the global networks of Ethiopian Christianity. He explores how unconventional manuscript formats—scrolls, amulets, and ritual objects—function within community life and archival memory.
Publications & Trends: Across his eight recent articles he combines meticulous textual criticism with ethnographic attention to manuscript use, revealing how Ethiopian communities produce, conserve, and repurpose written artefacts for devotion, therapy, and identity negotiation.
Awards & Grants: He held the prestigious Petra Kappert Fellowship at CSMC (2019–2022) and leads digitisation campaigns in Tǝgray monasteries.
Outreach & Leadership: Beyond academia he chairs the Wejjerat Development Association and curates the “Mahilete Gumaye” cultural preservation initiative, demonstrating commitment to safeguarding endangered heritage through poetry and community engagement.
