Dark clouds and heavy rains, at the end of August, are slowly ceding place to the sunny sky of Addis Ababa as usual. Filseta marks the Dormition of St Mary; the two weeks of fasting, which the Ethiopian Orthodox church believers hold so dearly, culminated a week and a half ago.
The culmination of the Filseta ushered in several outdoor festivals, such as the Buhe, just right at the end of the fasting days, the Ashenda, Shadey, Ashendiye, Solel, Aynewari, and Engicha. Even if the Engicha is one of the cultural assets attached with the Ashenda festival, it has not been much popular as the festivals mentioned above. Concerned bodies that work in such areas need to do their homework!
Ashenda is mostly celebrated in the northern Ethiopian regions. It is rippling to the central part of the Country. It is a religion-based festival. But it turned out to be a cultural festival with different names from place to place. The Wag Humura people call it Shadey while the Lastas call it Ashendiye. Tigriyans call it Ashenda. For the people of Qobbo it is Solel and the Aksum it is Enewari. And then it is Engicha in some zones of the Amhara Region, where the young girls go out to the fields to pick bundles of lash grasses called Engicha to make traditional wearable brooms. They also go out to pick flowers called Adey Abeba, a flower that typically grows and blooms from August to September every year in Ethiopia.
Beyond its religious values, the festival has evolved into a cultural celebration embraced by girls of all religious backgrounds, emphasizing the contributions and empowerment of women in Ethiopian society. Ashenda is typically celebrated between August 16th and 26th each year. It is also known as a festival that most dominantly young and unmarried girls celebrate adorned with costumes, and hairbands. Since it is related to the season when the grasses become ever greener and the flowers bloom, as well as the sky becomes clear, this is the season of joy and freedom for children and young girls.
The festival, which scholars estimated to begin around 400 AD, commences with a gathering of Ethiopian girls who embark on a journey to their local Church of St. Mary or any Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the community. Only women participate in the celebration while men mostly play the role of gift givers, in some cases protectors from potential harassment, as the younger girls travel door to door singing Ashenda songs and receiving gifts like money and traditional foods prepared for the festival.
Accompanied by lively music and dances, they visit every household in the village, expressing gratitude and spreading joy. They wear a traditional white dress 80 to 90 cm long. Ashenda Grass, which grows on highlands on hills, around their waists. The visual spectacle of the grass swaying and shaking as the girls dance adds to the festive ambiance and symbolizes the essence of the celebration. Additionally, the festival provides an opportunity for participants to showcase traditional jewelry, elaborate dresses, and other adornments that reflect their cultural heritage.
However, this magnificence seems to fade from time to time whether from the impact of an urbanized global lifestyle or shortages of resources. Of course, the economic inflation and expensive lifestyle may have affected the vibe of the festival. But most of all peace and stability take the greater part in shaping the image of such a beautiful outdoor festival that foregrounds women.
Last Thursday Ashenda Festival was celebrated on the premises of Arada Subcity. This reporter intercepted celebrants for an interview.
Luwam Gebremedhin, was a resident of Aksum. She now lives in Addis Ababa. She was celebrating the Ashenda festival with her friends at Arat killo, the heart of Addis Ababa, when The Ethiopian Herald approached her. She says the festival is more colorful and vibrant than two years back. Two years back ,it was a time when the Ethiopian government was forced to launch a law enforcement campaign against the Tigray Liberation Front until the war was culminated by the November 2022 peace agreement.
According to Luwam, Ashenda is a peace festival where young girls declare their freedom and showcase their beauty in public without fear, as they sing and dance door to door in their neighborhoods. “We do not harbor fear on such days, no shame, and nothing to keep our heads down during the days of Ashenda. We are happy and free from every traditional constraint. But that was in the past. The war has affected not only the girls but most of the people in Tigray, physically, psychologically, and economically.”
She says that most festivals would only get their shine when there is peace and stability. According to her differences in political ideologies are always expected to surface among groups with different interests. But trying to solve political differences at gun points couldn’t benefit any opposition group except destroying the mass public they happen to represent.
Thus the young girl, Luwam, urges all political entities throughout the country to give up the ideas of winning ideologies at gunpoint. She advises them to come to round tables and iron out their differences. She mentioned that participating in the National Dialogue is a step ahead towards a peaceful solution. “Even though the names are different Ashenda is supposed to be celebrated in Amhara and Tigray States colorfully. But there are still armed movements in the Amhara region and threats of conflicts in Tigray. Thus, these colorful festivals wouldn’t get their magnificence if peace is not secured,” she stresses.
It was a recent fact that Ethiopia has proposed the Ashenda to be registered as an intangible cultural heritage to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Unfortunately, the nation also lifted its request in 2021 for the fact that the documents that Ethiopia has provided and the bodies that made assessments were different. Ethiopia has provided the document stressing that the festival is one of the many, which women shine on and keeps cultural and social values, with an indication that the public requested the registration by UNESCO.
“Since the Ashenda festivities are peace-promoting cultural values all entities with different socio-political and economic interests must come to platforms such as the National Dialogue and settle the dust civilized manners,” says Luwam.
BY NAOL GIRMA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 31 AUGUST 2024
