I vaguely remember hearing that Parfitt’s own theory is that the “ark” is in fact a large, wooden bowl that was used as a battle drum to lead men into war. It was so large and loud that it would strike fear into opponents — or something like that. He eventually found the remains of the drum mouldering in the storage room of a small African museum.
The exact description of the ark of the covenant is given in Exodus. It most certainly wasn’t a bowl — it was a box, like a half-sized coffin, to hold the Ten Commandments tablets and a couple of other small things.
From the “copies” Ive seen, I don’t think many of the Ethiopians leading the churches can even read. Ive seen a copy like you describe, looking something like a giant potje carried between two poles (man front and back) and Ive seen a “copy” that looked like an old little one room wooden steeple church carried between two men side by side bridging the two inner shoulders. Neither match the description in any way.