Bubbles in the Sky

In 2010 I went to the Hamar in Ethiopia. The goal was to study and learn their language, and write a descriptive grammar. Studying the grammar of a language without paying the same attention to the culture and the worldview of its speakers is like taking a picture of a landscape with a camera that can only zoom in on to details, like individual trees, but it cannot zoom out to catch the whole scene. Language and culture are indivisible. My journey into Hamar language and culture began when I let my Hamar teachers and friends take me by the hand, showing me every corner of their language, and sharing with me the words and sounds that they cherish and value so deeply. That is: the words that merge the colors, the patterns, and the textures in their cattle's coats. The variety is endless. One coat became an obsession for me, seemingly forever unable to grasp its true essence. Luckily I got help…