ሓኪን ወዲ መዲን።/Ḥākin Wädi Mädin.
Updated: Sep 7
Medin, son of Hakin, belonged to the noble lineage of the Zeray clan, of the Demat branch of Tarqe. According to tradition, the Zeray lineage was once regarded as a ruling family among the Bilin people.
Hakin Wadi Medin was a renowned Bilin warrior and leader, remembered in oral tradition for his bravery in defending his people and lands against raiders. He is said to have fought in several battles, including the battle of Habrem Gaka, and is remembered as one of the notable heroes of Bilin history.
At one of these narrow passages, we suddenly encountered a group of men coming from the opposite direction. Their appearance was unusual. Instead of the spears and traditional weapons that nearly every travelling Abyssinian whether merchant, soldier, rich or poor normally carried, these men had little more than walking sticks. Across their backs they carried musical instruments: long-necked viols, simple tambourines, and crude mandolins. They appeared to be a travelling company of musicians.
Gær-Guis recognized the man who seemed to be their leader. He stepped forward and exchanged a few words with him. The musicians then climbed onto the jagged rocks along our side of the gorge and waited there, allowing us to pass.
“Who are these people?” I asked after we had gone by. “They are a company of singers going to attend Hakin’s funeral,” he replied. “And who was this Hakin?” “He was the chief of the country we are now passing through and one of the most important notables of the Bogos. Almost all the surrounding highlands were under his authority.” “How did he die?” “He died because of his daughter.” “What do you mean by that?” “It is a tragic story, and it happened only recently.”
Hakin had a son and a daughter named Medina. Two years earlier, his son had been killed in an engagement with the Barias. Medina had long been betrothed to a young chief of the Bogos lowlands. After sufficient time had passed following her brother’s death, she married him. His name was Mender.
The two loved each other deeply. Marriage, rather than weakening their affection, only strengthened it. They were a young and devoted couple: the husband was one of the distinguished sons of Ad Barot, while the wife was the daughter of the renowned Hakin of Ad Demat.
During their honeymoon, they often made a solemn promise to one another: if either should die, the surviving spouse would never marry again, and they would ultimately share the same grave.
Barely a year after their marriage, tragedy struck. The nobles of Ad Barot, together with the young Mender, had travelled to a wedding in Takue. On their return, they were ambushed in a narrow mountain pass by their hereditary enemies, the Ad Bula. The entire group was slaughtered.
When news of the massacre reached Keren, the village was filled with mourning. There was scarcely a household that did not grieve for a brother, husband, or relative.
Among all those who mourned, Hakin’s daughter alone remained silent. She neither complained nor shed tears. Instead, she told the other women to attend to their own grief.
Then she withdrew into her home and locked the door. She dressed herself in her finest clothes and adorned herself with all her silver jewelry, presenting herself as a bride once more. She then took her own life in the room where she and Mender had shared their marriage.
When her body was discovered the following morning, her father travelled to retrieve his beloved daughter. Overcome with both anger and grief, he initially wanted to condemn her for dying so young. But his anger soon gave way to pride and sorrow. He reflected that such devotion could only have come from a daughter of Hakin.
He ordered her body to be taken to Abin Mentel, where she was buried in his Moheber, so that the daughter he had loved in life could remain close to him in death.
Chiefs and Villages of the Bogos
Since proper names can reveal the ancient relationships of one people with another, as each family has its own names of affection, I have taken those of the chiefs of the villages listed above.
Hakin; Tewodoros son of Mahmud; Akte; Asfaday; Idris son of Hasen; Izuz son of Beyt; Bimanet son of Tasfalul; Dirar son of mohamed; Neka son of Giyorgis; Masmar son of Zerit; Nekar son of Nagasi; Samaraweh Hadar Maryam; Anas-raddi; Kuwraba, which is full of tobacco cultivated there and has no chief; Hakin son of Medien; Zamat; Jahad, a small village with only forty spearmen, but renowned as warriors and feared by all; Ajaj Turaj; Adig son of Fidel; Nur ad-Dyen son of Damsas; and Dafil son of Fidel.
We must also add Bet Gabaru, ruled by Zamara son of Abib, near Magarch; Karan, under Mander son of Idris; Zalali, very near Barka, under Ara'adom. The same ruler also governs Darak.
Barka is full of herds, especially camels. Cattle are also abundant, as are giraffes and rhinoceroses, and perhaps hippopotamuses, since the Tigri language has a name for this animal.
The country has no permanent Tigri villages, as the people move with their herds. Consequently, Musa did not give me the names of villages but rather those of the chiefs of each encampment.
Digalal governs all of Barka. Zamat, who is subordinate to him, commands numerous chiefs and their camps. Among them are 'Adarey, Ali Bakit son of 'Adarey, Ikud, Nastur, Idris, and Zamat himself, together with his sons and other related chiefs.
All of these chiefs are said to descend from the same father. The last-mentioned chief also possesses horses and a large number of camels. The horses and their riders are entirely covered in mail armor and are therefore greatly feared.
The following account was recorded by Antoine d'Abbadie, a French explorer and geographer who travelled extensively in the Horn of Africa during the 19th century. In his observations of the Bogos region, d'Abbadie recorded the names of local chiefs, villages, and pastoral leaders, including Hakin son of Medien of Ad Demat. His account provides a valuable 19th-century record of the political and social organization of the Bogos and the names of its local ruling families.
Hakin son of Mädin was born in the village of Wesbensrekhw, which was inhabited by both the Zerit and Zeray clans of the Demat branch. When Hakin reached adulthood, his father, Gebreselassie, who served as the Gim (chief) of Adi Demat, moved him to Halibmentel, the capital of Adi Demat.
Video of Wesbensrekhw Village; https://youtu.be/jaa6X-QonI8?si=iTvNSkXDgwJHsxbD
sources;
Aux pays du Soudan Bogos, Mensah, Souakim By Denis de Rivoyre 1885.
BILIN LANGUAGE BY LEO REINISCH.
Géographie de l'Ethiopie: ce que j'ai entendu, faisant suite à ce que j'ai vu by Antoine d'Abbadie.
Italian Illustration Volume 24 1897.
Eritrean Catholic Eparchy of Keren.
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