27 III: Daria Elagina (Hamburg Universität) & Dorota Dzierzbicka (UW), An Ethiopian pilgrim at Old Dongola, Sudan. New insights from a Vatican manuscript

In 1596, Takla ʾAlfā found himself stranded in Old Dongola, Sudan, during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Our paper discusses the Ethiopian monk’s first-hand account concerning his stay in the city, preserved in a colophon to his work, in manuscript Vat. Et. 44, now at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The text offers invaluable insights into the city’s late sixteenth-century community and its role in sub-Saharan trade routes. As the only known Ethiopian visitor to post-medieval Dongola to leave a written record, Takla ʾAlfā provides a unique perspective, complementing recent archaeological findings.

Expanded with autobiographical elements, the colophon sheds light on philological practices and religious traditions—including a link between the fast of Our Lady Mary of the Mount of Qwǝsqwām and King Śarḍa Dǝngǝl—and contains the earliest attested reference to gelaba merchants in Sudanese sources. Additionally, its mention of a celestial phenomenon aligns with Ethiopic narratives featuring supernatural signs.

We also present the latest stage of our research, which focuses on the manuscript’s material aspects. The watermarks on its paper, along with those on other codices from S. Stefano dei Mori, will hopefully shed light on the collection in the broader context of paper manufacturing, interregional trade, and social interconnections between Europe, the East, and Africa.