Ethiopian Lalibela — Christmas Pilgrimage Torchlight
183.40 £
Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas at the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela — 50,000 pilgrims in white shemma gathered outside Bete Giorgis church at 3am, the white crowd illuminated by torches and candles in the high altitude cold.
Description
Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas (Genna) at Lalibela is one of the world’s most photographically extraordinary religious gatherings — 50,000 or more pilgrims converge on the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela on the 7th of January (Ethiopian calendar), the majority dressed in white cotton shemma wraps that create a sea of white around the 12th-century churches. The midnight and 3am services take place outdoors around the most important church, Bete Giorgis, with the torches, candles, and cross-shaped church illuminated by the priest-operated floodlighting system. This image was made at 3:15am from a position on the elevated trench wall of the Bete Giorgis complex, looking down at the congregation gathered in the rock-cut courtyard. Shot at ISO 6400 on a 24mm prime at f/2.8, the available torch and candle light of 50,000 candles illuminates the white shemma crowd below.
