ABSTRACT
Edward Ullendorff is well known for his scholarly work, having a thorough grounding in the scholarly study of the historical and philological problems pertinent to the subject of Ethiopia. His book has been devised as a general work that also addresses each topic in turn. He begins by tracing the history of the discovery of Ethiopia and of Ethiopian studies in Europe, which he follows with a brief geographical outline of the country, finally listing its ethnic groups. EU establishes a connection between the essential items of clothing that an Ethiopian monk receives in the course of his progression from novice, and the Jewish High Priest's vestments. In his JSS article, EU adds the importance of ritual purity in Ethiopia to the parallels with Judaism. Sexual relations were forbidden when preparing for an encounter with the sacred, for example during days of fasting and also at the time of the menstrual cycle.
