Eritrea National Anthem

ኤርትራ ኤርትራ ኤርትራ

Ertra, Ertra, Ertra

Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea

Written 1993

Adopted 1993

Lyrics Solomon Tsehaye Beraki

Music Isaac Abraham Meharezghi / Aron Tekie Tesfatsion

🗽 Independence 💪 Resilience ⚔ Battle / War 🕊 Freedom 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage | Defiant

Key Facts

1. Eritrea's independence war lasted 30 years (1961-1991), one of the longest in African history, and the anthem's tone reflects this prolonged struggle
2. The anthem is in Tigrinya, which is spoken by about 55% of Eritreans, though the country has nine recognized ethnic languages
3. Before winning independence, Eritrea had been federated with Ethiopia in 1952 and then annexed by it in 1962
4. Eritrean radio and television stations play the anthem when they begin broadcasting in the morning and when they sign off at night, and schools sing it as the flag is raised and lowered

Eritrea National Anthem Lyrics

𝄆 ኤርትራ ኤርትራ ኤርትራ፡ ብዓል ደማ እናልቀሰ ተደምሲሱ፡ መስዋእታ ብሓርነት ተደቢሱ። 𝄇 መዋእል ነኺሳ ኣብ ዕላማ፡ ትእምርቲ ጽንዓት ኰይኑ ስማ፡ ኤርትራ'ዛ ሓበን ውጹዓት፡ ኣመስኪራ ሓቂ ከምእትዕወት። ኤርትራ ኤርትራ፡ ኣብ ዓለም ጨቢጣቶ ግቡእ ክብራ። ናጽነት ዘምጽአ ልዑል ኒሕ፡ ንህንጻ ንልምዓት ክሰርሕ፡ ስልጣነ ከነልብሳ ግርማ፡ ሕድሪ'ለና ግምጃ ክንስልማ። 𝄆 ኤርትራ ኤርትራ፡ ኣብ ዓለም ጨቢጣቶ ግቡእ ክብራ። 𝄇

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

Adopted upon independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year war of liberation, one of the longest conflicts in African history. The anthem was written in Tigrinya, the most widely spoken language in Eritrea. The lyrics reflect the immense sacrifice of the independence struggle, which cost an estimated 65,000 lives among Eritrean fighters alone.