ETHIOPIA: Again the Lion

Guests of Ethiopia on a festal day almost two decades ago still remember what happened as they prepared to dress: the entire water supply of the capital city of Addis Ababa had been shut off without warning. Distinguished visitors, protesting the loss of their baths, were told in hushed tones that His Majesty the King of Kings, Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God and Light of the World, and his Queen of Queens needed the water themselves for a ceremonial bath prior to their coronation. Next day, after the bath and an all-night vigil on his knees before the altar of the Coptic Church of St. George, pale, thin Haile Selassie was crowned with the three-pound circlet of rubies, sapphires and diamonds. Five tawny lions chained to the Emperor’s throne snarled their approval while nervous representatives from most of the world’s great nations eyed them uneasily.

In the years that followed, the world got to know the Lion of Judah better. Its harried conscience was stirred briefly when the dignified, bearded figure stood bravely but hopelessly before the Council of the League of Nations, begging protection as Benito Mussolini’s airmen bombed his practically unarmed people. Many thrones have tumbled since that day in 1936, some great empires fell and some new conquerors arose to disquiet the West’s conscience. But Haile Selassie by World War II’s end was back on his gilded throne, and once more all but forgotten. Last week in the royal palace at Addis Ababa, looking like figures from an ancient tapestry, the King of Kings and his Queen sat once again on their twin thrones to receive the homage of Ethiopia’s people. It was the igth anniversary of their coronation. All day long Addis Ababa’s bars and parks echoed to laughter and raucous dance music. The King himself laid cornerstones for a new university, a city hall and a Y.M.C.A., and made a speech to Parliament. “If, by the Grace of God, oil should be found,” said the King of Kings, “it would be a great source of wealth to Ethiopia.” But there were broader concerns. “As a member of the United Nations,” said the monarch who had found nothing but a stony, shamefaced rebuff in the old League, “Ethiopia has a duty to achieve and maintain world peace and security.”