Aleqa Gebre Hanna (Ge'ez: አለቃ ገብረ ሀና; November 1821 – 1902)[1] was an Ethiopian poet, scholar and religious preacher in 19th-century renowned in Amharic oral tradition for (to quote Donald Levine) his "quick and biting wit.
Of Amhara descent, Gebre Hanna was born in November 1821 in Fogera, a district on the eastern shore of Lake Tana, and his interest in religious learning brought him to the city of Gondar towards the end of the Zemene Mesafint, where he became a teacher at the Church of Ba'eta Maryam in the city and eventually its aleqa.
[5] As Levine describes Aleqa Gebre Hanna's innovation: In the traditional style of aquaquam, the bodies and sticks of the dancers move up and down, punctuating the flow of chant with alternatively gradual and abrupt movements.
[2] According to the one-time Ethiopian ambassador to the United States, Berhanu Denqe, who had received his education there, Aleqa Gebre was one of the teachers at the church school of Saint Raguel on Mount Entoto.
[6] He was often a guest of the Emperor Menelik II and his wife Empress Taytu, and his exchanges with these monarchs are the setting for many of the stories told about him.