Ato Ateweberhan Seghid

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List of content

 

Early life and personal data
Unique name and its meaning
Traditional artist with immense popularity
The gallant artists musical instrument
Music and politics
Alamin Abdeletif speaks out
Mata’a: the anchore of our gallant artists
List of Ato Ateweberhan Seghid’s songs
End of life Appendix: Old MATAA pictures

 

 

 

Ato Atewebrhan Seghid was born in Hazega in january 19, 1917. Ato Ateweberhan had a school education of grade 4 under the Italian colonial administration system. Under that system, grade 4 was the highest level Eritreans could go. Thus, relatively speaking, he was highly educated. Besides singing he had also served with the British Military Administration’s police force in Eritrea. In his CV we find that he also worked with the Italian entrepreneur Signor Gianni at Croce del sud.  According to one of his sons Ato Ateweberhan had a hobby of reading books. He was also a regular reader of Italian language magazines.

 

                            

These are pictures of Ato Ateweberhan Segid at his young age. The pictures show us how elegantly he was dressed and with all the profile of an artist to be.

 

Ateweberhan was a single child born to his father Seghid Woldu and mother Senbetu Fessehaye. His father passed away at an early age where his aunt Measho Fessehaye (a loving mother and a wonderful woman) took the roll of a mother and raised him to Manhood. Ateweberhan cherished his young age

growing up with her. His Aunt Measho Fessehaye went to Ethiopia in search of her lost brother who after the war in Tripoli was said to be in Ethiopia. When she found her brother settled in Ethiopia, she in turn decided to stay and open a hotel in Addis Ababa. This done, she brought her whole family including her nephew Ateweberhan and his family from Eritrea and settled in Ethiopia. Because of her contributions to the Eritrean community she was well known and loved by all Eritreans living in Addis. She made a name by helping all Eritreans who tried to make a living by coming to Addis. She gave them a free lounge at the hotel and helped them find a job by contacting high ranking officials and wealthy Eritreans who frequented the hotel (On one of his songs Ateweberhan quotes her as the mother of all Eritreans ኣደ ኹሉ ኤርትራዊ መዓሾ ፍስሃየ) which indeed she was.

 

It was there in Ethiopia that he began his singing career. It was while in Addis that he sang one of his songs of nostalgia:

 

SaEri agudo werqi mido                                       ሳዕሪ ኣግዶ ወርቂ ሚዶ
ata nAdnas meAs ina nKedo?                             ኣታ ንዓድናስ መዓስ ኢና ንኸዶ

 

It was also while he was in Ethiopia that he sang his famous song Adeye Adi jeganu.

 

Adeye Adi jeganu                                       ዓደየ ዓዲ ጀጋኑ
beAl men’yom zTelemu?                                     በዓል መን ዮም ዝጠለሙ 

Adeye Adeye: Adey iertriya                                 ዓደየ ዓደየ ፣ ዓደይ ኤሪትረያ
nay qedem lmada srAt diomokrasiya                ናይ ቀደም ልማዳ ስርዓት ደሞክራስያ     
amlaK albiswa nay qedamot niya                      ኣምላኽ ኣልቢሱዋ ናይ ቀዳሞት ኒያ

 

 

 

 

 

Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word Ateweberhan. Also in the following lines of this page the reader will find tigrinja translation of the word Ateweberhan quoted from several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word ateweberhan. And, of course, the name Ateweberhan synonyms and images related to the word Ateweberhan.

 

መዝገበ ቃላት - ስማት ኤርትራውያን ብሙሳ ኣሮን ዝተጻሕፈ መጽሓፍ ከምዚ ኢሉ ይትርጉሞ። ”ኣተወ-ብርሃን ትግርኛ ስም ወዲ እዩ። እዚ ናይ ድርብ ቃላት ስም ወዲ : በቲ ኣተወ ዚብል ግስን ብርሃን ዚብል ስምን እተሃንጸ ግሩም ስም እዩ። ከም ቃሉ ከኣ ብርሃን ኣተወ : ብርሃን በርሀ ዝብል ቃል ብስራት የስምዕ። እቲ ኣተወብርሃን ተባሂሉ ዝስመ ወዲ ከም ብርሃን ኮይኑ ናብ ሂወት ስድራቤቱ ይኣቱ እሞ ነዚ ስም እዚ ይለብስ። ብጌጋ ልምዲ ኣቶ ብርሃን ዝብል ኣደማምጻ ናይዚ ስም እዚ ዝስማዕ እዩ። እቲ እሩም ኣበሃህላን ኣጸሓሕፋን ናይዚ ስም ግና ኣተወ ብርሃን እዩ። እዚ ስም እዚ ከም ኣቶ (ማለት ኣተወ) ኮይኑ ተሓጻጺሩውን ኣብቲ ቓንቓ ትግረ ዝዝረቦ ወገናት ኤርትራ ይዝውተር እዩ። ዝውቱር ስም ትግርኛ።

 

ሰጊድ : ትግርኛ ስም ወዲ። ካብቲ ”ሰገደ” ዝብል ሱር ግሲ ናይ ትግርኛ ተወሲዱ በዚ ”ሰጊድ” ዝብል መስርዕ ፊደላቱ ከም ስም ወዲ እንጥቀመሉ መጸውዒ። እቲ ግሲ ፍግም በለ ፣ ተደበረ ፣ ተንበርከኸ ፣ ተሳለመ ፣ ፈጣሪኡ ኣምለኸ ወዘተ ዝብል ሓሳባት ዚገልጽ ሰፊሕ ትርጉም ዝሓዘ እዩ። ስግደት ከኣ ብመሰረቱ ንኣምላኽ ዝግበር ተግባር እዩ። ስለዚ እዚ ”ሰጊድ” ዝብል ስም ምስ ስግደት ንኣምላኽ ዝተኣሳሰረ ስም እዩ። ከም ስም ምስጋና ን ኣምላኽ ኮይኑ ኸኣ ይወሃብ። ዙውቱር ስም ኣወዳት።

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Ato Ateweberhan Segid is one of the most popular singers in all of Eritrean history. Even if you think you've never heard of him, you have! In this very telling song from the 50's, he sends a very strong and clear message to the Eritrean people to beware of the foreigner's favorite weapon: divide and conquer. "Aslamay, Kristanay, Wedi Kolla Dega, ne Mikri Wetsa'i ayte habo Waga. Ayte habo waga, keyt'ekewn idaga!" (Muslims, Christians, low land and high land citizens, don't give value to the teachings of the foreigners or you'll be up for sale).

 

Traslation of the song: Libna Nedidu Meretna Neqixu Etotna Wuhidu Qol’ena Temiyom Gobez Tesedidu Aslamay Kistanay Wedi Qola Degua Nmikri Wexa'e Aythabo Waga.

Our heart burned Our lands became barren Our farming production diminished Our kids starved Our vibrant youths fled from Eritrea All Muslims and Christians From highlands and lowlands Never value stranger's advice.

 

 

Many of Ato Ateweberhan’s songs are available in musical shops

 

 

Ato Atewebrhan had a song for every time. He had a song about time “gizie” where he lamented unemployment, he had sang about the Island of NaKura that was a notorious prison of the Italian era. He had mocked, using song, Eritrean chief executive who was an Ethiopian stooge. He also warned about the eroding power of the Eritrean
parliament of the federation days. His most famous song was again the one that carried a serious message to the people of Eritrea as divisions were surfacing in the ELF in the years 1968-70.

 

Aslamay kistanay wedi qola-dega                                  ኣስላማይ ክስታናይ ወዲ ቆላ ደጋ
nmKri Sela’i aythabo waga                                              ንምኽሪ ጸላኢ ኣይትሃቦ ዋጋ
aythabo waga keytKon Edaga                                        ኣይትሃቦ ዋጋ ከይትኾን ዕዳጋ

 

 

 

Ato Ateweberhan in the middle with eyeglass

 

 

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Indeed, one could confidently say that Ato Ateweberhan Seghid single single-handedly revolutionized the Tigrinya music. Almost everything we have in modern traditional Tigrigna music was introduced by him. His superior talent could have made him rich but he was not into material. He was real artist, righteous, who would say what is right regardless who it might offend or how powerful the offended are. The contents of his songs would tell you everything you need to know about him.

 

 

 

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This legend has many things that should be told about, as no one denies that he is the founder & Grand father of the modern Tigrigna art in general & Music in particular.

 

 

 

Ato Ateweberhan is believed to have started appreciating music and musical instruments (mainly kirar) at the age of 14 but to the dismay and relentless opposition by the family around him.

 

The krar, a chordophone String instrument, is usually decorated with wood, cloth and beads. Its five or six strings determine the available pitches. The instrument's tone depends on the musician's playing technique: bowing, strumming or plucking. If plucked, the instrument will produce a soft tone. Strumming, on the other hand, will yield a harmonious pulsation. The krar is often played by musician-singers called azmari. It usually accompanies love songs and secular songs.

 

 Kirar (5-stringed Eritrean instrument),

 

 

 

Older versions of the instrument

 

Newer versions of the instrument

 

 

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

String instruments are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings. In most strings instruments, the vibrations are transmitted to the body of the instrument, which also vibrate, along the air inside it. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. Some common instruments in the string family are guitar, sitar, rabab, electric bass, violin, viola, cello, double bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki, and harp.

 

 

 

One of the CD’s on sale containing Ato Ateweberhams songs

 

 

 

 

Music played a vital role in the Eritrean Struggle for Independence. Eritrean musicians would start singing songs describing life under foreign occupation, which resulted in forming small musical groups with “the aim of challenging the foreign culture that was engulfing their country” MaTA, which stands for Mahber Theatre Asmara, also known as the Asmara Theatre Association was one of these musical and drama groups formed by Eritreans. It was formed just a few weeks before September 1, 1961: the first date of the Eritrean struggle towards Independence (Banham, 2004). Although there were a lot of singers that created songs with straight forward lyrics, many Eritrean singers included coded communication in their music so that only Eritreans would be able to understand.

 

 

 

What is so amazing about Eritrean music from the 1960’s and 1970’s is their coded messages that secretly induce patriotism amongst the nationals. Music was used to inspire Eritrean youth to join the Eritrean struggle for independence. In addition it was also used to raise political consciousness and to revive patriotism amongst the youth. Broughton, Ellingham and Lusk (2006) acknowledge that the “predominant theme that guided Eritrean musicians from the 1950’s was love of the mother land. ‘Hagerey’, which means my land in Tigrigna, could very well be the most frequently used word in Eritrean’s musical vocabulary. Even after Eritrea gaining its Independence on May 24, 1991, Eritrean artists did not cease to use the word.

 

 

 

Music was used to raise political and social consciousness including equal rights between men and women. In times of war, contrary to the expectation of the enemies, it helped both the fighters and the mass to uplift their morale. Music was almost compared to anesthesia when listened during the worst times of the struggle. It was also an outlet for the Eritrean people, to have their voices heard by both friends and foes that their victory was undisputed: “awetna nay gidin eyu”. In conclusion, the huge contribution of music to the Eritrean struggle for independence was no less than the use of military armaments.

http://joburg.eu/www/en

 

Standing up against Unionist Party, the Nationalist Eritrean Ateweberhan Seghid, who refused to bow for the "UN approved federation", is said to have lost his sight, while singing for Eritrean independence with MATAA (Mahber Threater Asmara), assaulted in stage in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, by those who got paid by Ethiopia to stop any nationalist Eritrean to stand up and stand out for Eritrean Independence. In his life time he has been picked from his home several times by the police for interrogation. The man deserves a whole lot of credit than has been acknowledged so far.

 

Members of the Unionist Party had tricked [under the influnce of alcohol] Ateweberhan into singing the song:

 

Adeye Adeye: Adey iertriya                                 ዓደየ ዓደየ ፣ ዓደይ ኤሪትረያ
nay qedem lmada srAt diomokrasiya                ናይ ቀደም ልማዳ ስርዓት ደሞክራስያ     
amlaK albiswa nay qedamot niya                      ኣምላኽ ኣልቢሱዋ ናይ ቀዳሞት ኒያ

 

where he had replaced the words Eritrea with Ethiopia.

 

This was the song the Haile Sellasie regime loved to echo in their radios, while the wording in the song above is the real text of the song’s lyrics for every genuine Eritrean nationalist. Ateweberhan was angry by what happened right away and sang the following song:-

 

 

Haqi nabey aloKi kdelyeki	Truth where are you? I am searching for you.
ngiegaKa baElKa lewTo	Correct your own mistakes yourself.
Haqi Hizka nfQri ChebTo	seek love after having the truth.
nbSayka lbu ayteHbTo	don’t injure the heart of your comrade/neighbor.
Haqi Haqi klte fidela	Truth[Haqi] the two lettered word (in tigrinja)
Kab fQri kedet motet temenTila	Is death separated from love?
sefera s’ina kem kelbi selila	It has lost its place and is wondering like a lost dog
kHdet atyu Haqi kab zSla’	As betrayal sets in and the truth is hated.
fQri adam gudu entezQlaE	If the “love” of people could be exposed.
kemey gierka engiera kblaE	How on earth can we live in prosperity

 

 

 

Audio link to two of Ato Ateweberhan Segids songs:-

 

Video links to Youtube for some of Ato Ateweberhan’s songs.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy8ur1VjNgM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArUMb4xidSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA_65ruVBpM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oce-vpgo8d4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k93CMVELAfw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwqSJQ97M1o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Y7TmeUgEI

 

 

 

Those of you who have access to the Bologna videos of 1987 would be able to watch Alamin Abdeletif’s account of a story of Ato Atewebrhan Seghid in Addis Abeba about “gamey freweyni” vs. “Adey Adi Jeganu”. Alamin Abdeletif, himself a living legend, testify that Ato Ateweberhan is unique with his talents, love of his country and the courage to do what is in his mind.

ኣቶ እልኣሚን ዓብደለጢፍ ኣብ ቦሎንኛ ዝሃቦ ታሪኽ ናይ ኣቶ ኣተወበርሃን ሰጊድ *Bologna videos of 1987)። ኣቶ ኣተወብርሃን ዘጽንሑልና ባህሊ ሒዝና ኢና ንክተል ዘሎና ኢሉ ዛንትኡ ጀመረ።

 

”ኣቶ ኣተወበርሃን ኣብ ቅድሜኹም ኮይነ ክዝክሮ ዝደሊ ዓቢ ናይ ሃገር ስምዒት ዓቢ ሓወልቲ መስሪቱ ዝኸደ ሰብ ስለ ዝኾነ እዩ። ዓቢ ናይ ሃገር ስምዒት ዘለዎ ሰብ እዩ ነይሩ። ኣቦይ ወልደኣብ እኳ ኣጸቢቖም ይፈልጥዎ ይኾኑ እዮም። ካብቲ ዝዝከረኒ ታሪኽ ናይ ኣቶ ኣተወበርሃን ሰጊድ ብ1959 ዓመተ ምህረት ፈረንጂ ኣብ ከተማ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ጓል ጓሎም ንጃንሆይ ትምርዖ ስለ ዝነበረት ኣብቲ ግዜ እቲ ሙዚቀኛታት ከካብ ዘለዉዎ እቶም ንፉዓትን ምሩጻትን ተጸዊዕም ካብ ኤርትራ ድማ ኣቶ ኣተወበርሃን ሰጊድ ተጸዊዖም ብበዓል ኣስፋሃ ዎልደሚካአል ጻውዒት ተገይሩሎም ከይዶም።

 

ኣብቲ ኣዳራሽ ኣቶ ኣተወብርሃን ተርኺቦም ድሕሪ እቶም ሙዚቀኛታት ካልኦት ተሰሪዖም ታርኦም ምስ በጽሐ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሃይለሰላሴ እቲ ዘላሊ ዝነበረ ካብዚ ቀጺሉ ዘጻውተኩም ኣቶ ኣተወበርሃን ሰጊድ ፍረወይኒ ትብል ክጻወተልኩም እዩ ኢሎም ኣፋለጥዎም። ኣብታ ኣዳራሽ ምስ ደየቡ ማይክሮፎን ምስ

ሓዙ ዕዱማት ኣነ ፍረወይኒ ኣይኮንኩን ዘጻውተኩም እንታይ ደኣ ዓደየ ዓዲ ጀጋኑ በዓል መን ዮም ዝጠለሙ ኢለ እየ ዘጻውተኩም በሉ። ደርፊ ጀሚሮም እቶም ሒዞሞ ዝመጹ ኣንቀጥቂጦም ኣብ ቅድሚ ሃይለሰላሴ ንኣተወበርሃን ከመይ ጌሮም ከም ዘውጽእዎም ሸጊርዎም ፦ ብድሕሪት ዝነበረ ቴንዳ ቐዲዶም ፦ እንዳ ደረፈ ከሎ ብድሕሪኡ ብስልኪ ጌሮም ስሒቦም ኣውጽእዎ። እዚ ክዝክሮ ከሎኹ ደራፋይ ወይ ሙዚቀኛ ማለት ዘለዎ ስምዒት ኣብ ዝኾነ ይኹን ቦታ ክገልጾ ኣብ ቅድሚ ኣሕዋቱ ተራ ናቱ እዩ”።

 

 

(www.eriswiss.com/matea-the-anchor-of-modern-eritrean-music)

 

Ato Atewebrhan was with those who started all three (ma.te.de, ma.m.ha.l, and ma.t.’a) Eritrean theatre associations. He was the one who electrified the Kirar.

 

 

 

MaTA, which stands for Mahber Theatre Asmara, also known as the Asmara Theatre Association was one of these musical and drama groups formed by Eritreans. It was formed just a few weeks before September 1, 1961: the first date of the Eritrean struggle towards Independence (Banham, 2004).Although there were a lot of singers that created songs with straightforward lyrics, many Eritrean singers included coded communication in their music so that only Eritreans would be able to understand.

 

 

 

 

 

The Asmara theater building in downtown Asmara, Harenet Avenue, was used

by the MATA’A group as its main training studio and stage show

 

 

 

For those of you who want to know more about the activities of Mahber Theatre Asmara or MATAA as it was called (the abbreviated version of the organizations name) I advise you to refer to the book by Christine Matzke. Details of the book is noted below.

 

 

 

Formerly known as Cinema Asmara, then became MaHber Tiayatr Asmara (MATAA) it is still used as a Theatre.

 

In this photo we see some of the pioneer singers and instrument players.

 

 

MATAA or Mahber Theater Asmara has made tremendous contribution in creating music and musicians of the 1960s, which through their songs, made invaluable contribution to creating strong sense of nationalism in the heart of the Eritrean people.

 

The development of music in Eritrea has its own historical and traditional roots that date back thousands of years with churches and mosques teaching students hymns and chants in choirs from an early age. But one of the most innovative periods in the development of modern Eritrean music took place in the early 60s with the formation of Mahber Theater Asmara (Asmara Theatre Association), famously known as MaTeA.

 

Had it not been, in part, for MaTeA, Eritrean music would not be where it is today.

 

 

 

One of MaTeA’s many goals was to push for an Eritrean cultural and national renaissance. Though many of its stated goals were hindered by excessive censorship by the Ethiopian authorities at the time, it still went ahead and met the challenges head-on and accomplished some incredible feats.

 

Subsequently, for 15 years following its formation, the association contributed immensely to the sustenance of some of the Eritrean traditional music. At the same time, MaTeA introduced modern musical instruments, particularly to the Tigrigna and Tigre songs, giving rise to some brilliant and timeless musical arrangements. The blending of modern instruments and traditional Eritrean musical instruments in many Eritrean songs meant the arrival of a new trend in the development of Eritrean music.

 

The association’s aim was not limited to playing a role in the revival of Eritrean music. The ultimate goal was to also covertly strengthen the national identity and instill in the youth of the time a sense of duty and responsibility. While embarking on this risky task in what was a highly precarious political climate of those days, the association faced several hurdles along the way and in spite of the difficult circumstances it realized most of its objectives.

 

Another milestone in Ma.T.A’shistory was the empowerment of women artists. The inclusion of women artists in the 60s, in what was otherwise a mainly men dominated field, was another high note of the association that cannot be overlooked. By bringing women artists to its line-up, the association was able to fling the door wide open for Eritrean women in the world of art. In fact, it can be argued that MaTeA managed to mobilize Eritrean women to contribute to the growth of Eritrean arts in general and Eritrean music in particular.

 

The association’s policy of inclusion was not restricted only to Eritreans, but also to Ethiopians, Eritrean-Italians, Sudanese and Egyptians as well. This certainly is further proof of MaTeA’s farsightedness in bringing people together and fostering lasting friendship with other cultures through music.

 

Moreover, prior to the formation of MaTeA, many of the bands and orchestras were entirely made up of Italians. However, with the formation of MaTeA, Eritreans found a way to showcase their artistic skills and were invigorated to be more and more creative.

 

Up to that point, many of the songs, plays and other stage performances were exclusively Italian and for Italian-only audiences. As a result, the natives were left with no option of exercising their right to be creative and advance their artistic talents. But with the inception of MaTeA, all that changed when it began staging plays and performances in Tigrigna and Tigre languages.

 

Having been long deprived of an opportunity to enjoy songs and plays in their own languages, the youth of Asmara were very enthusiastic about MaTeA. They supported the association and that very support from the Asmarini in turn meant more and more was expected from this home-grown association which eventually encouraged the various artists to come up with their own original sound.

 

Throughout its existence, MaTeA has also produced many talented singers and musicians who eventually became legends in their own right. Giants such as the indomitable Ato Ateweberhan Segid, Yemane Gebremichael (Barya), Alamin Abdeletif, Teberh Tesfahuney, Tewolde Redda, Osman Abdelrehim and many more have left an indelible mark on the Eritrean musical landscape. Some talented MaTeA bred musicians also played at international venues as they quickly caught up with the 60s and 70s American psychedelic rock and Motown soul music styles. Some of the great MaTeA musicians who soared to fame include the acclaimed guitar virtuoso Tekle Adhanom (Huwket) and keyboard maestro Abdella Abubeker.

 

 

 

Below are pictures of some of the founding members and pioneer musicians of MaHber Tiayatr Asmara.

 

Ateweberhan Segid

Alamin Abdeletif

Tibereh Tesfahunegh

Tewelde Redda

Tsehaytu Beraki

Osman Abdurahim

 

This was very evident in the fact that there were several other Eritrean musicians who hailed from MaTeA and in varying degrees contributed to the development of Ethiopian music of the 60s and 70s. Most of the bands in Ethiopia at that time had many Eritrean members.

 

In this old picture the faces I recognize are of Tewolde Redda with a guitar

and memhir Asres Tessema with accordion. (I appreciate readers who

can provide names of the others)

As an independent association, MaTeAalso played a significant role in giving back to the community by taking part in various humanitarian activities, which suggests it also lived up to its social responsibility. For instance, MaTeA contributed a big portion of the proceeds it was collecting by staging shows to charitable organizations such as local orphanages, the school for the blind as well as adult literacy programs.

 

Ato Ateweberhan with eyeglasses in the middle.

 

the long history and creative nature of Eritrean artists, the task now for today’s budding singers, songwriters and musicians is to strive even higher and advance Eritrean music so it reaches audiences far beyond its borders and in the process, emulate the ideals of MaTeA. And with that, just like what the late Abraham Afeworki always sought to do, they can take Eritrean music to a whole new level*.

*Mewail Weldemichael

 

 

 

Afkirana Elnayen Abyenana Alo do genna Ati gual Bilenaye Ati Sibar Newite Ayaregkun Gena Chebcheba Deasey Kuhlo Keyshewete’ do Meshela Yihlo Fireweyni Hagerei Zibele Tezekiru Yineber Haqi Kokob TsibaH Kulukum Jeganu Nigusse Sieley Habini Wedi qola dega Weyza Qol’a Ezi’a Zenebesh Kezariba

Adeye Adi Jeganu Agudo Nerateni Anti Zeri Simay Ashakiru Nebriye Ati Werqi Mesqel Aye Gado Bekudaki Wolel Beli Ekhli Deqiq Gizie Gual Adey Haqi Abeleki Mikri Shimagile Nakhura Dekhi Nakura Nay Leyti Telemeni Gizie Wedi Qola Dega

 

 

 

 

 

The late Ato Ateweberhan died in Asmara the 30^th of december 1983 and was buried in his home village Adi QonSi. He is survived by his wife and children who live in Germany. One of Ato Ateweberhan’s son is martyred during the Eritrean armed struggle against the occupation forces of Ethiopia. Surely Ato Ateweberhan was a singer that fought the Unionists very hard, and later the Ethiopian regime under Haile Selassie.

 

 

 

 

(Appendix to the biographical sketch of Ato Ateweberhan Segid)

Old pictures of Mataa from the early 60’s

 

 

Lost one of his eyes after being attacked by Hailesellasie plainclothed security personel

 

 

In all pictures Ato Ateweberhan is easily recognizable. Caption will be updated

 after names of the other musicians is verified.  (source: youtube JW Player)

 

 

Ato Ateweberhan third from the left with Osman on his right. The others unrecognized

 (source: qienit gallery)

 

 

Caption will be updated after names of the musicians is verified. (Source:eriswiss.com)

 

 

 

Caption will be updated after names of the musicians is verified. (source:qienet.com)

 

Ato Ateweberhan is easily identifiable here but caption will be updated

after names of all the musicians is verified.

 

 

 

Caption will be updated after names of the musicians is verified. (source:qienet.com)

 

 

 

(source: Eastafro.com)

 

 

The end / ተፈጸመ

 

 

 

 

 

Biographical sketch of Ato Ateweberhan Segid