Ramatohara

ቅምሻ

Ramatohara, by author Yismake Worku.

"Ramatohara" is a novel by Yismake Worku and is the second part of Dertogada. It is a singular, abstract world of storytelling that links history, love, people, and the complex circumstances that befall them. Yismake’s fictional abstraction is often recognized in this book. In this novel Ramatohara, the title itself is shown within the story to carry the meaning of "super-mind."

From the very start the story puts the reader inside a question. Because of this it enters a world of mystery and suspense that cannot easily be explained. Who is Ramatohara? What is this name tied to? And what lies hidden behind the name? These questions keep carrying the story from one page to the next.

The story is not confined to Ethiopia but reaches other places as well. As the characters travel through different places, the line of the journey meets with historical and personal matters. A narrative that reaches from the region of Gondar and Tana to other destinations makes the world of the book broad.

Within this world of history and travel, human feeling also holds its own place. Love, parting, longing, and the inner struggle of the human heart appear bound to the story. The part where Mirage speaks of his journey and of his search for Sipara clearly shows this personal quest.

The characters seen in the book, too, each enter the narrative carrying their own story and role. Abba Degago, Marye, Mirage, Gera, Niko, Professor Barnabas, and others drive the story forward through various relations and events. Marye’s story and the poem and song of Wendalqo link the story to human life and culture.

As the story deepens, the lives of individuals meet the broad history of the nation and the question of identity. Monuments, historical memories, grudge and revenge, as well as ideas that raise national identity, appear within the narrative.

So "Ramatohara" is not a journey merely to solve one mystery. It is a novel that joins the human heart, individual choice, the power of love, the influence of history, and the question of identity within one narrative line. And this is what makes the Ramatohara novel’s Amharic singular. To read Dertogada alone and put it down is like a leaking bucket. Read the Dertogada novel through to the end.