Alitena (Ge'ez: ዓሊተና) is a town in northern Ethiopia, located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region. Alitena was the administrative center of Irob woreda until Dawhan was made the new center in 2003.
Alitena has been an important Roman Catholic center in northern Ethiopia as early as 1845, when disciples of Justin de Jacobis converted some of the local residents from the Ethiopian Church. At Easter 1847 the Catholic missionaries de Jacobis and Guglielmo Massaia, together with two Ethiopian priests recently ordained by them, celebrated mass there in 1847. Although lacking churches, de Jacobis was fond of the people there, and considered Alitena as a possible place of refuge if there should be persecutions against the Catholics. Since 1934 the Lazarist Mission in Tigray had its main center at Alitena.
Alitena is connected to Zalambessa by a 175 kilometer road which was constructed under the inspiration and leadership of the local Roman Catholic priests, and opened 5 December 1974.
Gaelic:
A stór, a stór, a ghrá
A stór, a stór an dtiocfaidh tú?
A stór, a stór, a grhá
An dtiocfaidh tú nó an bhfanfaidh tú?
Bhí me lá breá samhraidh i mo sheasamh ar an mhargadh
'S is iomai fear a dúirt lion: "Monuar, gan tú sa bhaile agam".
Gheall mo ghrá domsa cinnte go dtiocfadh si
Ni raibh a culaith Déanta agus sin an rud a choinnigh i
Thart tóin an gharrai, a Mháire, bhfuil an fhidil leat?
Aicearra na bprátai go dtéimid' sair an fhidileoir
Mhí mise lán den tsaoil is bhi cion amuigh is istigh orm
Nach mór a dáthraigh an saol nuair nach bhfuil eion ag duine ar
bith orm?
English:
One fine summers day as I stood there in the market place
Many a fine young man remarked, “I’m sad you are not home with me.”
Chorus:
My darling, my darling, my love
My darling, my darling, will you come with me
My darling, my darling, my love will you come with me or settled be.
My true love promised kindly that she would surely come with me
Her wedding dress not ready, delayed her in joining me.
We have got water from the Eirne, and green grass from the heaven’s stems
Cows udders are near rending from the overflow of milk in them.
By the bottom of the garden, a Mary, is the fiddle there?
The shortcut by the praties, we’ll hasten to the fiddler.
At one time in my life I was dearly loved by everyone