Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin
Encyclopedia
Abba Samuel Wolde Kahin was the tutor and mentor of Ras Tafari Makonnen (later Emperor Haile Selassie I) and his cousin, Ras Imru Haile Selassie
, when the two were children living at Harar
, ca. 1902-1912.
In Chapter 1 of his autobiography, My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, Haile Selassie recalls how his father Ras Makonnen Woldemikael first arranged for Dr. Vitalien, a physician from Guadeloupe
, to instruct the boys in French
an hour or so a day. Not considering this sufficient, he also hired Abba Samuel, an Ethiopian at the French Capuchin
Mission in Harar. Samuel's father, Alaqa Wolde Kahin, had earlier converted to Roman Catholicism
.
According to historian H.G. Marcus, this association had caused some suspicion among the nobles that Ras Tafari was leaning toward Catholicism himself, which suspicion he allayed by undergoing a rare second Ethiopian Orthodox rite of baptism in 1906.
As remembered by the future Emperor in his autobiography,
Later in Chapter 5 of his autobiography, the Emperor relates that Abba Samuel was one of the seven men who drowned in a boating accident on Lake Alemaya on 7 June 1915.
Imru Haile Selassie
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He was also the cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie.-Biography:...
, when the two were children living at Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
, ca. 1902-1912.
In Chapter 1 of his autobiography, My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, Haile Selassie recalls how his father Ras Makonnen Woldemikael first arranged for Dr. Vitalien, a physician from Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, to instruct the boys in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
an hour or so a day. Not considering this sufficient, he also hired Abba Samuel, an Ethiopian at the French Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
Mission in Harar. Samuel's father, Alaqa Wolde Kahin, had earlier converted to Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia
The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...
.
According to historian H.G. Marcus, this association had caused some suspicion among the nobles that Ras Tafari was leaning toward Catholicism himself, which suspicion he allayed by undergoing a rare second Ethiopian Orthodox rite of baptism in 1906.
As remembered by the future Emperor in his autobiography,
Abba Samuel was a good man who possessed great knowledge, who applied himself to learning and to teaching, who in goodness and humility gathered knowledge like a bee from anyone, who was devoted to the love of God and of his neighbour, and who did not strive to find enjoyment of the flesh but of the soul. I am saying this because I had known him very well while we were together some ten years.
Later in Chapter 5 of his autobiography, the Emperor relates that Abba Samuel was one of the seven men who drowned in a boating accident on Lake Alemaya on 7 June 1915.