page_title: Gibreab Teferi
section_title: Kebur Zabagna (ክቡር ዘበኛ) and Entertainment
hierarchical_section_title: Gibreab Teferi / Life / Kebur Zabagna (ክቡር ዘበኛ) and Entertainment
caption_attribution_description: English: Approval of resignation and appreciation of hard work for his country
context_page_description: Gibreab Teferi Dasta, also spelled Gebreab Teferi, was an Ethiopian activist, poet and playwright known for his extensive knowledge of the Ge’ez and Amharic language.
  A well-known Ethiopian poet, Gibreab Teferi Dasta died at age of 65 in the city of Addis Ababa. He was one of the early pioneers of Ethiopian music and Theater. Gibreab was a celebrated poet, lyricist, and playwright who wrote over two-hundred songs, dozen plays, and hundreds of poems in the Amharic language. Gibreab's patriotism as can be seen in many of his songs and plays. He also worked as a journalist, author, musician, composer and theater director. He wrote several unpublished plays, thousands of songs, and was in the process of publishing a book of plays and poems when he died in 1980 EC. He also served in the Imperial Army, rising to the rank of Shalaqa-Basha and was the primary Amharic lyricist for the Ras Band in the famous Ras Hotel, eventually becoming management there, where he worked until retirement.
context_section_description: In 1938 EC, Gibreab Teferi returned to Addis Ababa to find a city much changed from his previous visit 12 years prior. He told Melese Talahoun, the city had "changed a lot; practically nothing was as it used to be. Everything was mixed-up." He had become a deacon in St. George's cathedral and was in the city looking for a job. He came upon an employment posting from the Imperial Army (Amharic: ˈክቡር ዘበኛ'), looking for any person who could read and write. Gibreab could do both, so he applied. Through the long application and interview process, the Imperial Army(Amharic: ˈክቡር ዘበኛ') recruiters discovered that Gibreab was a talented poet. He was brought into the Imperial Army (Amharic: ˈክቡር ዘበኛ') as an official playwright and lyricist for the entertainment division.
  During his tenure with the Kebur Zabagna, Gibreab wrote several plays, many as a source of education for the soldiers; his first play to be performed in the military was "Don't forget your military duty" (ወታደርነትሕን አትርሳ), which encourages the soldiers to be clean, honorable, and presentable. Years before the Kebur Zabagna created a theatrical department in 1949, Gibreab's plays were performed by the men; just like Shakespearean actors, some men wore dresses and played the role of women. Gibreab also wrote many lyrics for the Kebur Zabagna band and most of his lyrics were performed by the famous kebur Zabagna band which includes the Famous Tilahun Gessesse, Tefera Kasa, Bizunesh Bekele, and many more. His work lives on, because, even today, those same lyrics are performed by the famous Kebur Zabagna artists and are appreciated and enjoyed by many Ethiopians. 
  In 1948 EC or 1956 when the Yugoslavian president Marshal Tito visited Ethiopia, nobody was willing to give a presentation in front of king Haile Selase and Martial Tito. Then, the king asked Gibreab Teferi to introduce the army and the day's program. Gibreab gladly went onstage and gave a military salute and presented the program well. His family still has the picture of him giving speech on that historical day.
  
  Later, he transferred to Takele Ena Sarawitu (Amharic: ˈጠቅል እና ስራዊቱ'), the Imperial Army's radio and newspaper department, where he worked as a journalist and writer. Gibreab Teferi reached the rank of Shalaqa-Basha (Amharic: ˈሻ አለቃ ባሻ') (commander of the colonel) before leaving the Imperial Guard in 1954. He received many awards for his ethics, loyalty, and service to his country.
caption: Resignation Letter From Kebur Zabagna
exif: {"Image ExifOffset": "2098", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}