1. Gursha (Gorsha or Goorsha) is an act of honour involving feeding another with your hand at the Ethiopian table. It may also be done as a subtle incentive to get some form of favour or recognition.
2. Gursha is an Amharic word which means “mouthful”, “tip” or “bribe”.
3. Ethiopian meal times are usually communal, eating alone gives the impression that you are too territorial with food.
4. The person who gives the Gursha is referred to as “Agurash” while the one who receives the Gursha is “Gorash”. It is common for the host to be the “Agurash and the guest to be the “Gorash”.
5. When you are honoured with Gursha, you are expected to return the honour.
6. The elderly at the table are usually the first to be honoured with Gursha. Those of the same gender also give each other Gursha, male and female relatives may also offer each other but it’s inappropriate to give Gursha to another person’s spouse.
7. A peer-to-peer Gursha occurs between mates, while a non peer-to-peer Gursha can occur between a parent and child, or kitchen staff and the owner of the home.
8. Gurshas should always come in threes; that is the giver feeds the receiver three times for a Gursha to be complete, traditionally. There is a popular Ethiopian saying that buttresses this: “One Gursha makes foes Two keeps them apart And three keeps them closer”
9. Gursha is usually a “mouthful”, this means you are likely to be fed larger portions than you would have fed yourself at a time.
10. Gursha in other Ethiopian languages is “Mukilas” (Tigrinya), and “Fuudhaa” (Afaan Oromo).
