Alemtsehay Wedajo

This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by their given name, Alemtsehay, and not as Wedajo.

Alemtsehay Wedajo (Amharic: ዓለም ፀሐይ ወዳጆ- Alem-tse-hay, born October 1955) is an Ethiopian actor, songwriter, and playwright.

Biography

Wedajo was born in October 1955 in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. From a young age, her teachers encouraged her artistic development. These teachers helped her with her talent, which pushed her to perform at big stages at a young age, such as the Hager Fikir Theater.[1]

After graduating from high school, she was selected by the poet Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin for a two-year training program, after which she began to act and write full time.[2]

She has written more than 400 songs,[3] including a series of children's songs for Ethiopian artists such as Aster Aweke, Theodros Teshome and Ephrem Tamiru.[4]

She founded The Tayitu Cultural and Education Center in January 2000, a non-profit organization that aims to support the cultural, social and artistic needs of the Ethiopian community in North America, especially in the Washington Metropolitan area.[5] The centre primarily focuses on producing and presenting theatrical or literary works by Ethiopian-American authors for the public. The centre also supports a range of educational programs, including youth tutoring and mentoring schemes, along with providing lessons in Amharic poetry writing and acting for young Ethiopian-Americans. The centre's name was inspired by the late Empress Taytu Betul, founder of Addis Ababa who played an important role in the 1896 Battle of Adwa during the failed Italian invasion of Ethiopia.

Wedajo also founded and ran the YeLijoch Amba – the First Children's Theater Group – running it from January 1990 to December 2000. This organization focused on training young, orphaned children in music and drama, and performed in multiple European and African countries.[6]

She co-founded The Ethiopian Theatre Professionals Association and acted as a chairperson for 14 years after its establishment, from January 1986 to January 2000.[2][7]

Acting career

Wedajo wrote and directed Tiru Nakfaki. She has played the role of Ophelia in Hamlet among others. In one of her well-known films, Woven, she played an Ethiopian mother who holds to Ethiopian traditions while raising her Ethiopian-American daughters.[8]

Activism

Wedajo has been an activist throughout her adult life. She is associated with the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP).[9]

Poems

Throughout her life, Wedajo has produced a significant body of poetry, including works inspired by traditional war songs composed by women for departing soldiers. A well-known poem of hers is called Marafiya yattach Heywot, published in 1996, translating to "A life that has no resting place".[10]

Awards

She won the 2016 Bikila Award for her contribution to celebrating Ethiopian culture.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Biography". Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  2. ^ a b "Biography". Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  3. ^ Insight, Addis (August 28, 2018). "Ethiopia's First Female Director of Ethiopian National Theater Returns Home". Addis Insight. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  4. ^ "Tadias Interview: Alemtsehay Wedajo, Founder of Tayitu Cultural Center at Tadias Magazine". Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  5. ^ "About". TayituOrg. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  6. ^ "About". TayituOrg. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  7. ^ "Book Details – Ethiopian Ebook and Audiobook, AfroRead – AfroRead – Ethiopian Ebooks and Audiobooks app".
  8. ^ Woven, Lima Production, Ur-Mee, WitNas Productions, 2018-12-14, retrieved 2025-11-22
  9. ^ Abebe, Surafel Wondimu (November 2018). "Decolonial Embodied Historiography: Female Performing Bodies, Revolutions and Empires in Ethiopia".
  10. ^ "Founder". www.tayitu.org. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  11. ^ "Bikila Award: Events". bikilaaward.org. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
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