Faya Dayi Review: Stylish Documentary Immerses Us in the Khat Leaf s Intoxicating Aura Faya Dayi Review: Stylish Documentary Immerses Us in the Khat Leaf s Intoxicating Aura
Jessica Beshir s debut feature eschews anthropological detail for enveloping clouds of atmosphere in this study of Ethopia s top cash crop.
Guy Lodge, provided by
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Courtesy of Feyatey
Khat is Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop, making serious business from a spiritual high: When chewed, the leaves of the flowering green plant act as a stimulant, believed in certain corners of Sufism to aid prayer and enable transcendence. Others make less lofty demands of it, simply chewing the leaves to mellow out, making days of drudgery pass a little more softly including those who work gruelingly in the khat trade.