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Qorqor Maryam
In the northern part of the Ethiopian province of Tigray lies the Gärʿalta region. Thanks to its characteristic easily carved sandstone, this region is home to numerous rock-hewn churches. One of these is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary known as Qorqor Maryam.
According to tradition, its murals were executed in the thirteenth century by the saint Abba Danǝʾel of Däbrä Maryam, making them among the earliest in the region. This dating seems to be corroborated by art historical analysis and an inscription in the church which reveals that Danǝʾel was responsible for its painting and was the intellectual driving force behind its unique and complex iconography. The role of Ethiopian holy men in making and painting their churches is a distinctive feature of monastic foundations at this time.
Qorqor Danǝʾel
Located higher up on the Qorqor mountain, a few hundred meters from the church of Qorqor Maryam, one finds a small oratory dedicated to the same Abba Danǝʾel that created Dabra Maryam. Danǝʾel was the spiritual father of Ewosṭatewos, a famous head of a dissident monastic movement in Ethiopia in the first half of the fourteenth century.
Comparison between the painting in the two Qorqor sites shows technical divergence. Both sets of painting share a palette of red and yellow iron oxide, and green earth. But the pigments used in Maryam suggest total reliance on locally sourced materials: the dullness of the green earth pigment is probably due to its conspicuously low iron content, which may indicate its sourcing from mudrock found at the base of the Qorqor massif. In Danǝʾel the pigments are of superior quality and must have been acquired from more distant locations.
Yǝmʾata Guḥ
Another church in the Gärʿalta region is Yǝmʾata Guḥ, which is spectacularly located high above the arid plain. The church can only be reached by climbing the sandstone rock face. Possibly of a later date than the churches on the Qorqor mountain, this church is dedicated to Saint Yǝmʾatta, one of the Nine Saints: these were foreign monks who, according to tradition, came from the Mediterranean region in the fifth or sixth century and contributed to the spread of Christianity in the Aksumite Empire.
In the image shown here, Saint Yǝmʾatta is on horseback, while the other Nine Saints appear on the carved dome of the ceiling. Among them are Abba Arägawi, who is considered as the founder of the mountain monastery of Däbrä Dammo (See Fig. 1.2) which he reputedly reached by holding onto a snake. Abba Gärima, founder of the homonymous monastery that holds two precious late antique illuminated manuscripts, is also recognizable among these holy men.