Senior Essay,
Hana Gabriel, 2011,
Hawassa University, Department of Anthropology
CHTPTER THREE
3.1 Background of the Area
Sidama people found in southern nations, nationalities and people of
Ethiopia
. It covers the area of 69818.8 meter square of land. Sidama zone share a border with oromiya in south-west and northwest, Gedio and Oromiya again in south and Wolaita in west side (SNNPR profile 2001) Sidama zone has three kinds of ecological zone “dega, woynadega and kola”. According to the 1999 census the population number of Sidama zone Is 2,966,652. Hawassa is the central city of
Sidama
zone its about 270km south of the federal capital city
Addis Ababa
. (SNNPR profile 2001). Sidama zone have many natural and manmade heritages like Logita and Bonora waterfalls, megalithic in local language “sodiya” natural caves and natural bridges also found. For the ritual and recreational purpose there are hot streams like “gedabo, burketo ,wondogenet, and lake are found. Different forests and aged churches are one of the remarkable heritages of the zone.(SNNPR profiel2001)
3.1.2 ECONOMY
The main economic activity in the area is agriculture and cattle herding; the societies are a mixed farming society, in some amount artesian and traders are found , the main edible plants in the area is mainly false banana “ enset” , coffee, pepper, cabbage, onion, and cereal like maize, wheat ,barley ,teff, oats and other cereals and fruits, tuber plants as wll as chat are found ( Hawassa city administration FEDD,2007;5)
3.1.3 LANGUAGE
Sidaamu afoo is the language of the society, this language categorized under east Cushitic language family. This language has a slight relation with languages like Kambata, Afan Oromo ,Halaba and Kbena languages . Now a days the language is used as official language ad from the year 1984 E.C, its used for different proclamation and published books and constitutions are written with it .(SNNPR profile 2001)
3.1.4 HISTORICAL BACK GROUND OF SIDAMA PEOPLE
According to the societies elders and different written materials there are different assumptions about the historical background of the Sidama .the people were settled around and at the bank of red sea and by the route of south west to Harar and Bale plateau they came to settle and again they move through further west to the present day Halaba and around the lake Abaya then finally they settle in the present land of Sidama.
In Sidama society there are different clans these clans tied based on the ancestors called Bushe and Maldiya descent or kin. It’s believed that Bushe and Maldiya were brothers but because of conflict between them they built their own dynasty and difrent clans are come through generations. This two big totems have their own clans. Under the Bushe main base there are Holo , Garbiecho, Asaraye, Harbe, Harbegona ,Dara, Shebedino, Malgana are found and under the main bases of Maldiya :Aleta , Hwella, Kebena, Sawola are found .Under this different clans other many sub clans are exists.(Sidama people and their culture Amharic version (SNNPR profile2001)
3.1.5 CULTURAL ADMINSTRATON
The sidama people have their own administrative and justice as well as conflict resolution systems. In their court and justice system criminals accused under the institution called “seera” the process held by the local king called “woma” the power is not central only but every clan have their own king. From the role held by the king:-
Held ritual and eight authority passing system , which the authority gives for other person each eight years this system is called “Gada” this authority is also have a hierarchy from top to bottom .
Held justice and conflict resolution especially between two clans like a case of religion and land based conflict and this system is called “Motet shongo”Olu shongo: which is held under kebele level and lead by the local elders and the final decision made by the voice of the shongo. In this case the administrative justice system also held by women. They participated tn the system of “Yaka” but most of the time this events were held by the big women called” Karicho’’ when the case of man violation to women’s appear and the decision and punishment pass by the women is called “Chaka”(Btanna 1983)
3.1.6 MARRAGE
In Sidama people there are different kinds of marriage system that the society uses to build a family
Huchato : it’s a marriage through by the permission of the family that one girl is given as a wife to a man
Adulash: the man who need the girl and his friend’s persuade the girl so that she marry him and live with him
Dira (abduction) it’s a force full marriage without the permission of the girl and her families’ knowledge.
Ragge: These kinds of marriage are held when women lost there husband by death so that she married to a man who is a brother of her husband.
Addawaana: the marriage takes place by the willing of the girl it’s called seqo tuge ea. .(SNNPR profile 2001)
3.1.7 CULTURAL FOOD HABIT
The main food for the society is made from false banana tree called “ enset” it’s called in local terms like kotco and bula. It’s a kind of food extracted from the enset tree for example kotcho is used to prepare meals like Omolcho, Duwame , Bursame and other meals are prepared from it .In some parts of the sidama barely and maize is also used (SNNPR profile 2001.)
3.1.8 Religion
The Sidama religion is basically monotheistic combined with the ancestor worship however the tribal forefather is largely based on the believes that they are powerful protector of the clan, as effective intermediary between the God and their people (Betana; 1983:115)
In the region it’s known to have four religious divisions protestant, orthodox, catholic and Muslim followers are exist
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Discussion and analysis
4.2 Introduction
In sidama society the celebration of the dead is a long process, so that it passes through continuous patterns. . Now this process is no longer practiced in most part of the region and if so it’s with the collaboration of other cultural practices. Even though it’s not practiced now days the practices is a lot to mean for that society they correlated it with different social political and cultural aspects and understand it through different phases and ways. The process is not simply visible for an outsider that the social groups have their own ways to express their meanings and feeling that this is tied up with the normal day to day life of the Sidama people. There is a general truth that most of the this practices is once the life of this people they live according to the norms and values of the funeral ceremonies but to this day because of many factors the funeral ritual ceremony came to an end and almost extinct at all. In every human activity there must be a change but, the changes might be inevitable. The funeral culture in sidama people changed with different reasons that the society no longer practice it .the reasons that invite change is many different.
According to the data I gathered I have got some core factors for the change and extinction of this culture and a brief description about the values that it was considered as an identity marker as well as the events that were carried out by the members to the mourning of an individual.
4.3 The death of a child
When a child died aged up to 2 year it’s not being a funeral ceremony for him/her but only their family the father and their close relatives are expected to bury him /her but this is only working for a child on average age of two and less them two years.
If the child is a growing boy or a girl there will be a three days crying and have little ceremony that will be held by the deceased mother and the father as well as small local elders who are considered to be the one who bless and perform the ceremony
The ceremony starts by bringing a new chopped leaf of ‘enset’ the local source of food or false banana. In this case the leaf is expected to be not tearing away or have any stretch mark on it. The local elders or “ ciemessa” were responsible bodies to perform the ritual.
On the new leaf they put a fresh butter and blessed it with blessing words and the “ciemeesa “ or local elders give the blessed butter for the mother, she take and rub the butter on her face and in her abdomen then she gives the butter to her husband. The husband also rub the butter in his face ad his abdomen. While the wife and the husband exchanged the butter again and again the elder blessed them and said “Let the bad thing gone Let God/ maganno/ given them the one who serve them, and the one who can be their child forever.
After this all blessings the local elders told to put the left butter at the middle of their bed and this will be marked as the end of the ceremony. The local elders told them that the child is not their child that he belongs to, ‘maganno’ God that’s why he took him. After this the families told not remember and cry about the child. Even if a relative visit and needs to cry they have to say that, the funeral is already passed it’s finished by blessing “Massinnonni wi‘llaati” it’s to mean it’s passed with blessings. Once the ceremony takes place the family should stop weep and their grief. As my informant in the interview told me it’s considered as a complaint in God to cry after the funeral was finished.
As I understand the ceremonies that’s held with the local elders and between the family it’s to give them hopes that ,they have another one instead. As well as the peoples respect and fear of their God because the deceased child considered to be the child of God. And if the family cry and weep for more days this will indicate they are not in respect of the God.
In My interview the people that i asked told me that one can get child again but never a mother and father so, even if it hurts; it’s not a big deal for weep that mach. The burial site for a new born baby is with in the house at the edge of the place where the cattle’s spent the its just at the house of the family ,but if the child is about two years and above they buried him /her outside the house in the back.
4.4 The Death of an adult man and women
In Sidama people the death an adult man and women are taken as a deep sorrow and the ceremony also held with a lot of practices. When an adult person died the corps stayed home for two or three days for the purpose of waiting other relatives who came from other villages and other places.
If the season are not a working season like harvesting and swing season all the local peoples cry for three days and this is called the funeral days.’
After relatives and families are gathered to the mourning house. The local elders selected place or site for the burial. Most of the time if the deceased are male he buried on the family burial site with his ancestors or great grandfathers and other male family members. After the site is selected they start to dig out the tomb. Burial tomb in Sidama people made in two forms. According to sex and age of the dead person.
If the deceased are male first one ground is measure up to four meter, then on both ends of the ground they dig a hole in one meter or average human height depth. After they finish digging a hole in both sides of the four meter it’s connected to each other by digging horizontally the underground. This make the tomb like a tunnel, this tomb is called ‘Xurruqo”. After the body is buried they put chopped wood to close the horizontal tunnel and to protect the crops from the soil. After this a lot of soil is putted on the top of burial ground at about two meter height or minimum of an average human height.
If the deceased are a female the tombs are different but it’s possible to prepare a tomb like the above one for a female too.
But most of the time a female tomb is different from the male. After the grave yard is selected most of it will be at the back of their home or living compound. First its dig as a hole up to one meter depth and then it again dig horizontally to the left side. While the male grave has a tunnel between the two holes; the women’s grave has only one hole and horizontal plane for the corps
After the body is buried they prepare wood to cover the corps and to project it from the soil that’s putted back on the grave.
The schedule mourning and the burial service once complete this will not be the end of the funeral. Instead the local elders and star chasers select a day for the next ceremony. On the first phases of the ceremony as we see after the corpse buried and weeping of the family and social members, the next ceremony will be held again.
In the first phase of the ceremony that peoples gather to bury the man or a women, women’s have task to prepare food and to take care of the mourning visitors. After this the next phase is appointed for next free and non-holydays, this second phase is called ‘Wi’la kayiisa” it’s to say the mourning star again.
According to focus groups discussion the reason why people do bury males outside of the living compound or in a grave site and female on the back yard. Most of the time the ancestors grave site are respected and even when people got in to a dispute with others they swear with the grave. Because it’s believed that, the ancestor’s sprit will see them. The place belongs to the ancestors graves are only for the male ancestors. Women’s are not allowed to even be there. This yard is only allowed for males.
The grave sites are protected by planting long root trees so that it stays for a long time. And the area become full of trees and it is just like a small forest.
The second thing here is that the first phase completed only in three days and the next phase continues. According to my informant in interview this is a mechanism for the deceased families in order to prepare for the next ritual and has to prepared for the next phase because, death is accidental and no one’s ready for death so it needs a time to prepare for ritual.
This second ceremony will make the family happier and get relief from their grief. Peoples think that if one a person died we can’t get him/ her back so we must have a ceremony and untie our membership from the dead and it must be separate in mind and the body. According to my informant, always remembering the dead person believed to attract the spirit of death to one self. But if we have a ritual and complete the mourning the family as well as the sprit will be separated. He also give me an example that when a man dreamed of his dead relatives he have to prepare milk and honey to pour on the grave of the dead relatives because it makes the spirit to be with the dead.
4.5 The death of elderly man
In Sidama people when an elderly man of the local area died it’s not just proclaimed as if others adult person died. In this case the first person/ men’s/ who must know is the local elders and. The news told for the local elders by the funeral proclaimer of the local institution ‘Serra” This people might be two or three from the members of the social institution the man’s who proclaimed the news are called “Murriccha” it mean the one who proclaimed the funeral. After the local elders gathered and decided on what place and how the general takes place then all the villagers hear the funeral.
The local elders and the wise men’s decided the burial site and the preparation for the burial starts. All grave grounds are prepared on similar way with other male deceased. This process is similar for elder and as well for a clan leader, but only the marks of the tomb make a difference between the graves.
The corps of an elderly man and clan leaders is not buried on the third, as it is done for others, it has to stay for five up to seven days at home. This is a sign of respect for the elders and local leaders. The process of corpse preparation held by the traditional healer and respected elders. The crops rubbed by honey and other spicy mummification techniques in order to prevent the dead from bad dour and to protect it from decay. After the seventh day the corps covered with a cotton garment. In some places it’s covered with seven garment if the person are rich but, most of the time it’s covered with three garments. The cloths expect to be new and the upper garment to tie on the corps must be the clothes of the deceased first son. After this the ‘Murriccha” proclaim when and where the burial services took place.
If the deceased are clan leaders the funeral should be proclaimed for all the villagers. This will be possible when two or three people climb in to hills and say “Wumu Foolishshinno” it’s to mean the leader is dead. The people listen this news also does the same thing for the other villagers; in this way all the country side villages know the leader is dead. It’s not possible for all people to came to the funeral house for all the village people’s, but they cry and express their grief in there village.
On the burial services peoples sing, biting a drum and even perform a horse racing in order to show his respect and to show the ability of the deceased, but not for the purpose of competition.
The family members singing and making an elegy poem for the heroic nature of the leader. As well they mentioned what he was doing when he was alive.
When the burial services are performed it has its own custom. The head of the corps put on the direction of sunshine or to east direction and the leg should be on the west side or on the direction of sunset.
According to my informant in interview, peoples buried in this manner because the place of good sprit present in the east parts of the earth. This idea also related with the idea that every Christian nations believed that and even also Muslims believed east is the palace that God exists and need people’s to build his house to worship him. This show that ‘culture has never been truly isolated (Boas 1940, 1996)
After the people put back the soil on to the corps they made a hill above the grave it’s to maximum of two meter and minimum of an average mean’s height and built a fence surrounding the tomb. Then at last the deceased older son or his brother pour down a honey which is mixed water and milk to the grave hill.
4.6 The Death of a women /mother
The death of a women is a sorrow full event for Sidama , But if the women are unmarried its not such a big ceremony as do to mother and an old women.
When a mother died neighbors’, family and relatives praise her and made an elegy poem for her. They make a poem about how she treat people, how she brought up her child. Her hospitality the way she makes meal and whatever good she has done in her life time.
The women’s grave are made in similar manner for all women weather she is brave, good and highly respected, The grave ground are made like a hill as for the men’s do but ,not more than one meter and other grave makers will put on the tomb.
Then built a fence around the grave ground that it’s not much stronger, like that of the men .it’s built with white stick so that a person recognized it’s a women graveyard.
After the burial services have finished the families are prepared for the next phase of funeral called ‘Wi’la kayiisa” this will be held according to the scheduled month and day.
4.7 The Second phase of the funeral “Wi’la kayisa”
The funeral of a child aged from newborn to the age of 18 year this phase of the funeral be ceremony will not held. After the burial practices have finished in every funeral the local elders and star chasers gathered and agreed up on the time that when shall the next funeral started. This decision is made in accordance with checking holydays and working days like farming time harvesting and other holydays have to be known before the decision has made.
In this parent with my focus group discussion the elders told me that it’s been considered a curse for the society and for the family to held the funeral on holydays, these kinds of arrangement bring another death to the society. The other idea on the discussion is that if the funeral held on the working days this will be obstacle for the sociality this will also affect the economy of the society. This is the reason that it should be with out those days.
Before the local elders made the final decision they calculated on days and month specially to make the funeral before the coming new year “Ftchchee’’ holiday the new year in Sidama.
After the month and the day are choose. The family of the deceased starts to prepared what need for the ritual. When the chosen day approached the family repaid their fence, the house prepare a cattle for the ritual. In this case preparing cattle might not always work if the families are not rich. But at this time the social institution members have to participate and help for the reparation of the coming day.
If the meal, drinks and the cattle to the ritual is not repapered the funeral will not held, that is why the families, villager and the ‘seera’ Institution members work together to make that possible. Whatever the case is that whether the families are poor or not the funeral must be held before the coming New Year.
When the day came the house of deceased will cleaned and they put grass and the leaf of ‘enset ’or false banana on the house floor and all the relatives gathered then they stayed the night there.
when it’s being to be down at about 11Am they wake up and a man came out from the house, Then shout for about three times, then the peoples inside the house starts cry and shout and weep by biting a drum and make a poem about the deceased. While it is being morning a separate ceremony for male and female funeral is held. The second phase of mourning is different for both sexes especially after the first day morning.
4.8 The Second phase of funeral for male
When the deceased are male a group of people gather as it is for every one and spent the night in his house But the real difference came in the morning that group of males are sent to bring a tree, a tree which can be a representative of the deceased. The selected tree must be straight grown and tall called ‘Doore”.
When the men’s find the tree they hit it with an axe and shout three times at this time the owner of the tree my come but he can’t forbid them to take. But if he saw them before they bit the tree he can forbid them to take. After they cut the tree they peel the fork off. But if the dead man is un married man they did peel it, because as my informant told me he is doesn’t see many things in his life. he is new that he didn’t know which a family life is. They just bring it. If the dead is an elder and married man they peel off the fork and only the upper part of the branch is left as it was green and full of leaf.
As they finish the task of preparing the tree, they came back to the village. But until they came back the villagers dancing and making an elegy at home and outside the house while the men’s approached to the village they shout and cry, so that the ladies on the funeral came and well come, and follow them by singing biting drum and crying. After that the men’s put the tree down and as well women’s put their drum down and sit on a separate places then cry for a while.
Here if the man is a killer or a hunter the tree should be painted with red paint or soil) the called “Sorssa”. According to the focus group discussion. The reason for that Sidama people need to be a hero is because they need to have a “sorssa’ on their tree but the other participants in the focus group also opposed this idea and most of the focus group agreed on, the peoples of Sidama didn’t have a motivation to have this but one have a task to keep the boundary so that the could be a warrior and the need to project the village from beasts so in this case they become a hero because they did what a hero does.
If the man is not a warrior or a hunter of lion tiger, an elephant and other bests the red paint or soil is not painted in the tree. While finishing the painting they dig a hole and erect the tree than tied it up with a rope in order to protect it and preventing of falling down. This funeral service held outside the house in a large plot of land.
While erecting the tree and finished it the males make a perfect circle that each person should hold a stick or a javelin on their hand then the women’s came in the middle of the circle and play the drum. The male members follow the sound of the drum and sing a song called ‘qexaala” if the man is only a hero or respected person rather they only praise the died and made an elegy about him
While the wife of a hero is crying she wears his close and put it in her shoulder. If the man kills a beast she wears the skin of the best and told the villagers and members what her husband did. Above this on her hair she wears a feather. The bird called “belgguda’’ and, the feather is called “Wooraqqa”.
All the attendants of the funeral sing with a harmonious manner, they jump and dance to express their sorrow. While the circled man play ‘qexaala” the rest of the people cry and weep on the edge the erected tree called “DOORE”.
The sing of ‘qexaala” the types of singing for holiday ceremony as well as for funerals, only the poem are different. This singing is not sing for every member but for only a hero and an respected elderly man.
While the family crying and friends of the deceases perform and condemned different kinds of expression of their sadness /grief/. The women’s bring thorns and rub their face and checks until it bleeds ad even the males used a dagger to kick their head and women’s scratch their face with their nail and tear out their hair with force.
Even the male, if they lost the loved once family or friend uses thrones to bit their back by putting off their cloth.
According to my key informants and focus group discussion this is one reason for the abolishment of the funeral culture because it hurt peoples specially women’s. At the past time try practice this highly and its not even possible to see a women without a scare on her face. As I understand this because of the people exposed to formal education bring change in the social life of the people and makes then to judge it as a harmful practice.
When the signing o ‘qexaala” motivated peoples to hurt themselves because the poem in the signing make them to remember the dead and they feel that they can’t get him back thir memory with the dead man will make them to weep.
This practice is also performed after the funeral is done, when a visitor came to visit the family. Women’s make themselves fall on the ground like a fallen tree and this hurt the women’s.
As my focus groups discussed. Sometimes the making of an elegy poem for the hero was poem with the language of “Oromiffa” But a big and open ended contradiction came between my informants and between the focus groups. The idea of the elegy poem with Ormoiffa language creates a great argument.
Most of the focus group informants believed that sometimes its poem with ‘Oromiffia” language, the reason that is Sidama people and Oromo people are most of the time they are at fight because of border conflict and the need for a pasture land conflict they fight so that they killed each other on a war so when a hero died his wife’s or a single wife made the elegy with ‘Oromiffa” to make the people Oromo hear what the man did to them and to make them jealous. The man on the day of his life teach his wives how to make an elegy with ‘Oromiffa” so that they sing it when he died.
The other focus groups participant’s and my interview informants told me that the culture of elegy poem comes from Ormoia cultural they call it ‘Gerrarre” in sidamu affo. They said Oromos culture to poem the elegy. It makes harmony and it’s beautiful when it’s signing in oromiffa language. That they said it’s not our culture to make a poem “Gerrarre” but we borrowed it from them.
In this case the contradiction need farther research of the origins of the culture but as I understand it makes sense for me to believe them they made a poem because they are enemies. I came to this conclusion because the sidama society have a poem for every event and they say it with a harmony, so it’s hard to conclude that its not their culture. But according the data have collected I can’t decide which idea is right or wrong. The general idea here is it might be borrowed because they are neighbors and share much of their culture, but it’s not known whether it doesn’t have origin in Sidama.
The funeral ceremony continues until the erected tree is putted down and this also need its own ritual the final ritual called” Qiiso” (cooling the mourning) marked the third phase of the ritual, but until that for the continues three days they cry, weep from morning to noon around the erected tree ”Doore”
4.9 The other cases of wi’la kayiisa
This type of funeral service are appear in case of accidentally death out side once residence or other factors. When man died out of his own village that the place he has social institution, family and relatives. He changes his resident, the burial service is held at the new area. For example in Ethiopia the most known ways to have a funeral for this kinds of accidental death is to bring the corpse to his/ her family, if he/she have one. In sidama case, when man died they buried him where he died, but the mourning taken away to families and relatives and first places where he was lived, so that the second phase of the mourning will be held there. In this case the days that will be selected is chosen first to start and end the morning that because it’s a taboo for the people to have a funeral services in holidays and after the New Year celebration.
If the men is a hero the process or mourning held as it was before for the other hero’s that they bring the tree paint it with red soil ‘Sorrssa” and weep and grief for continuous for three days but for an older a more respected person it will continues for 7-9 days then the final process of ‘Qiiso” it means cooling the mourning will starts
As one of my key informant. The other parts of this mourning also work for the man who has two wives. It’s rare and starts after the coming the modernization and fast urbanization in the area. For example a man might have two wife and they have lived separate towns. He might die on one of the two women’s residence at this time, the funeral held at the place he died, and the other family of him came and takes the morning to their home. In this case the second wives who take the mourning have benefit because of the one who live in big town has lived with others culture so, the mourning will held in that areas cultural contexts, that most of the people live in town given money for the mourning, so that the second women get money from her institution in her place. Its more business oriented because after modernization and or urbanization is expanded peoples in towns stop to bring food and other resource for the morning but money. Before sometimes where there is no modernization and rapid urbanization when this kind of death is appears the mourning is not be in two places so, if the person with two wives died the mourning takes place in according to the person’s social life with the community, his property and good relationship he has seen and the that he have this criteria will prepared for the mourning only the appropriate palace will chosen to held the mourning.
4.10 The poem for a warrior and heroes
The poem are written in both the local languages and its meaning in English
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