The story
Ketera Timket Eve in Addis Ababa/Nationwide
Ketera is the eve-day observance before Timkat, when each church's Tabot is processed to a body of water for an overnight vigil ahead of the following dawn's blessing ceremony. The procession itself, led by vested clergy with ceremonial umbrellas and accompanied by chanting and drumming, draws crowds who follow the Tabot, with the overnight vigil at the water's edge treated by many as spiritually significant in its own right.
Ketera, meaning approximately gathering or damming in reference to blocking off a body of water for the ritual, refers to the eve-day observance held the afternoon and evening before Timkat itself, when each church's Tabot, wrapped in rich cloth and carried on a priest's head, is processed from its home church to the body of water, pool, river or reservoir, where the following morning's blessing ceremony will take place.