YARED: THE COMPOSER OF HUMNS

Besides deggua, Yared is regarded by Ge'ez (Ethiopic) scholars as the founder of qiné, a very high, elaborate, strict and mult-layered from of Ge'ez poetry that is cryptic, complex, profound, and rich in allusions to religion, legend, history, law social customs, etc, and generally to the human condition. Following Yared, Yohannes of Gebla in Wollo, and Tewanei of Deg Istifa in Gojam are reputed to have enriched it and made it even more complex and rigorous. However, it is Yared who is generally credited as the supreme founder of this uniquely Ethiopian genre of poetry known as qiné, a genre that demands not only metre and measure but also strict adherence to the rules of logic.

Nevertheless, Yared's place in Ethiopian culture is what it is on account of his being the most subtle, most spiritually uplifting, and most euphonic composer of both the hymns and the chants that accompany them. He further established the order of their service by time of day and day of year, by the occasion of the feast and by its import, by the character of the religious season and by its dominant theme and mood.

His compendium of hymns is known as the Deggua. His composition began with: