Mesob (Amharic: መሶብ) or Harar mesob is a Harari people basket used for storing injera, an Ethiopian and Eritrean flatbread.
History
In a certain form mesob was identified in
Ethiopian Empire as early as the sixteenth century as reported by Portuguese explorer Francisco Álvares; however, the most prominent mesob is of
Harar origin.
In the mid-1970s Amharas began recruiting Harari artisans to develop a particular mesob which incorporated Abyssinian and Harari designs; this variety came to dominate mesob production in Ethiopia.
In popular culture
Although generally described as Ethiopian, mesob baskets belong to a larger tradition of
Harari people basketry. A mesob is depicted on the 10
Ethiopian birr note. Mesob baskets are used in funeral ceremonies to support the family of the deceased person and the baskets are widely viewed as a symbolical representation of Ethiopian and Eritrean culture and their cuisine.
The
Harar mesob is known to be a quality mesob with very complex and prized designs. Today, it is very rare to find old original Harari mesobs, because people are making more simplified and lower quality Ethiopian models.
