[5] Ullendorff stated that "The concept and function of the tabot represent one of the most remarkable areas of agreement with Old Testament forms of worship.
"[6] The tsellat is usually a 15-centimetre (6-inch) square, and may be made from alabaster, marble or wood from an acacia tree, although longer lengths of upwards of 40 cm (16 inches) are also common.
[8][9][10] David Buxton describes one such procession, on the festival of Gebre Menfes Kidus: To the uninstructed onlooker the climax of the service came at the end, when the tabot or ark was brought out, wrapped in coloured cloths, carried on the head of a priest.
At first the tabot remained motionless, accompanied by several processional crosses and their attendant brightly colored canopies, while a group of cantors (dabtara) performed the liturgical dance so beloved of the Abyssinians.
[12] The return in February 2002 of one looted tabot, discovered in the storage of St John's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, was a cause of public rejoicing in Addis Ababa.