This project series is about the Ashendiye celebration in Lalibela.

Ashendiye marks the end of a 16 day fasting. It is celebrated annually in different parts of Ethiopia with cultural costumes and traditional dances. Girls are the main participants, as the festival is also regarded as women's day. 

On this day, girls dress in traditional clothing, which is decorated with long grasses. The girls will then bundle up according to their age groups and sing traditional songs, while waving the grass tied to their backs.

They also gather in groups and go house to house, singing and playing their drums in their respective villages . 

This photo series portrays the essence of the colourful Ashenda festival, specially in Lalibela. 

Documenting this project hits home for me, as my father is from Lalibela, which allowed me to visit the city and indulge in the culture often. One of the cultural events I never missed was the Ashendiye festival. As my interest in photography grew over the years, the festival served as an opportunity for me to capture amazing moments.

This photo series consists of two Ashendiye celebrations, one captured in 2019 and another in 2022. My passion to showcase these photographs emanates from the lack of proper visuals of Ashendiye celebration in Lalibela. I aim to communicate through these photographs that the Ashendiye celebration is not one to be geographically limited to northern Ethiopia, but as one of the biggest holidays in all of Ethiopia.