35 Facts About Gibreab Teferi

Gibreab Teferi Dasta, spelled Gebreab Teferi, was an Ethiopian activist, poet and playwright known for his extensive knowledge of the Ge'ez and Amharic languages.

Gibreab Teferi was one of the early pioneers of Ethiopian music and Theater.

Gibreab Teferi was a poet, lyricist, and playwright who wrote over two-hundred songs, dozen plays, and hundreds of poems in the Amharic language.

Gibreab Teferi worked as a journalist, author, musician, composer and theater director.

Gibreab Teferi wrote several unpublished plays, thousands of songs, and was in the process of publishing a book of plays and poems when he died in 1988.

Gibreab Teferi served in the Imperial Army, rising to the rank of Shalaqa-Basha and was the primary Amharic lyricist for the Ras Band in the Ras Hotel, eventually becoming management there, where he worked until retirement.

Gibreab Teferi was born in 1923 in the Bure Damot region of Gojjam Province to his father, the Commander of the Right Brigade, Qenyazmach Teferi Dasta, and his mother, Weyzero Semagne Tasama.

Gibreab Teferi's parents separated when he was just nine months old.

Gibreab Teferi was raised by his aunt, who lived in the same region.

Gibreab Teferi received primary education in the traditional schools of the area, learning to read and write through the church.

Gibreab Teferi became known for his fast learning skills in Ge'ez.

Gibreab Teferi taught young Gibreab many of the songs and lyrics in praise of Addis Ababa.

Gibreab Teferi made his first journey to Addis Ababa when he was a mere ten years old.

Gibreab Teferi was so transfixed by the melody that the song become embedded in his mind.

Gibreab Teferi was forced to quit his education in 1937, during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

Gibreab Teferi became a resistance fighter in Arbegnoch movement, creating the coarse, wool, blanket-like garments for the anti-fascist rebels and a fighter.

In 1945, Gibreab Teferi returned to Addis Ababa to find a city much changed from his previous visit 12 years prior.

Gibreab Teferi came upon an employment postings for the Imperial Army, he was young and energetic and qualified to be an Imperial Army.

Since Gibreab Teferi knows how to read and write, in his spare time he started writing plays and lyrics, it's this that lead to the creation of the theatric and musical department of the Imperial army.

Years before the Kebur Zabagna created a theatrical department in 1949, Gibreab Teferi's plays were performed by the men; just like Shakespearean actors, some men wore dresses and played the role of women.

Gibreab Teferi wrote many lyrics for the Kebur Zabagna band and most of his lyrics were performed by the band's famous artists which includes Tilahun Gessesse, Tefera Kasa, Bizunesh Bekele, and many more.

Gibreab Teferi worked for Takele Ena Sarawitu, the Imperial Army's radio and newspaper department, where he worked as a journalist and writer.

Gibreab Teferi reached the rank of Shalaqa-Basha before leaving the Imperial Guard in 1954.

Gibreab Teferi received many awards for his ethics, loyalty, and service to his country.

Gibreab Teferi wrote several plays, both during and after his time with the Kebur Zabagna.

Gibreab Teferi was an accomplished musician, playing the clarinet and the traditional krar, a stringed instrument similar to a lyre, as well as possessing a strong tenor voice.

Gibreab Teferi taught himself to play the krar, since it is a traditional instrument that one can learn by watching a master player and then practicing.

Gibreab Teferi learned modern music in the Kebur Zabagna from the Armenian instructor Kevork Nalbandian, and become very good at playing clarinet.

When Gibreab Teferi was put in prison because he was suspected of involvement in the Coup d'etat, he wrote lyrics depicting the king as his lover to show how much he still loved his country.

In 1954 EC when a new orchestra was formed in the famous Ras Hotel, Gibreab Teferi, recently retired from the Kebur Zabagna, became one of the original members of the band, the primary Amharic lyricist, and the MC of the first Ras Band.

Gibreab Teferi continued to work in the hotel industry for many years, in both management and legal departments, at all Ras Hotel branches, such as:.

Gibreab Teferi continued to be well respected well into his retirement.

Gibreab Teferi continued to write plays, poems, and songs throughout all the years that he was employed in the hospitality industry.

On 14 January 1988, Gibreab Teferi died of an internal illness at Maekalawi ez Hospital.

Gibreab Teferi's funeral was in Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa.