The Oromo people have a vibrant and ancient cultural heritage deeply rooted in their tether to the land and their traditional way of life. Two of the most significant cultural celebrations in the Oromo calendar are the ‘Goobee’ and ‘Shinooyyee’ festivals, which take place in different parts of the Oromia region and Finfinnee, Addis Ababa.
The Goobee celebration is a harvest festival that marks the end of the agricultural season and the beginning of a new cycle. It is a time of thanksgiving and celebration, where the Oromo people come together to give thanks for the bountiful harvest and to honor their connection to the land. During the ‘Goobee’ festival, the Oromo people engage in traditional dances, music, and feasting, as well as rituals and ceremonies that are deeply rooted in their cultural and spiritual beliefs.
The Shinooyyee celebration, on the other hand, is a coming-of-age ceremony that marks the transition of young Oromo men and women into adulthood. This ceremony is a deeply significant event in the life of the Oromo people, as it represents the passing of knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the next. During the ‘Shinooyyee’ celebration, the young people undergo a series of rituals and ceremonies that are designed to prepare them for the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.
Both the ‘Goobee’ and ‘Shinooyyee’ celebrations were underway in Finfinnee until September 13 in the center of the traditional homeland of the Oromo people. Finfinnee, which is now known as Addis Ababa, has a rich history that reflects the struggles and resilience of the Oromo people.
According to Biruk Girma Executive Manager of Borati Art Promotion Institute, the Status of the Goobee and Shinooyyee Festivals today is very promising about its breeding. The festival shows the culture, tradition and identity of the Oromo to the world and plays a major role in the promotion and preserving of Oromo culture and identity. Goobee and Shinooyyee festivals are when young Oromo people meet and spend time to strengthen their love and unity he says.
Goobee, is a men’s festival. It is a festival where young men welcome the light of Spring with joy, hope and good wishes. It is the bliss of spring, the joy of the dawn of the earth. It is a light that sprouts for the youth with green hope and courage. It is a time when the youth declare their freedom and independence. Shinooyyee is a place where girls show their freedom. During this festival, girls remove the fragrant grass and sing, dance, and stand in freedom with each other and young men.
In a country where the government is working to ensure social prosperity by promoting and enhancing the culture and traditions of the people, Goobee and Shinooyyee are celebrated while preserving their morals and symbols. The sixth round of the Goobee and Shinooyyee Festival was launched last week at the Oromo Cultural Center in Finfinnee in collaboration with the Oromia Bureau of Culture and Tourism and Boraatii Arts Promotion.
The event was attended by the Head of the Bureau of Culture and Tourism of Oromia, Jamila Simbiru, who said that the Oromo people have their morals, culture, history, traditions, and civilization it has also contributed to the foundation for the country. The Oromo people have a culture of living with harmonious relationship with different ethnic groups. Therefore, the Oromia Regional State government will continue to work hard to ensure that this culture is more visible, developed, and passed on from generation to generation in the future, she said. The event was attended by thousands of young men and women from Sheger, Adama Bishoftu, and Finfinnee.
A young men named Fayera Waktola from Sheger City, says we have made adequate preparations for the eve of Meskel and Irreecha and along with the celebration of Goobee and Shinooyyee.
He says the festival is a festival of success, history, restoration of lost culture and expression of the Oromo people. He recalled that the festival had been lost due to the resistance of past regimes. Fayera said that five years ago, Goobee and Shinooyyee rituals, as well as Irreechaa festival started being celebrated in a warm manner in the capital of Oromia, Finfinnee. He said he would play his role in educating the children about the culture and morals of the people and teaching them the truth. He called on all Oromo people to play their part in ensuring that the upcoming Irreecha festival is celebrated beautifully and peacefully.
The young man from Sululta Town, Sheger City, said he was even happier to see the eve of Goobee and Shinooyyee festivals in such a warm manner and thanked the government for contributing such freedom to the people. The young man said that a lost culture has returned, and he will play his role as a young man to protect his environment to ensure peace so that it will continue to be more beautiful.
Our enemies are as numerous as we are, as a youth we will not open our gates to enemies to disturb us, separate us, and make peace with all nation’s nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, said Fayera.
“We are working hard in five gates to ensure that the Irreecha festival is celebrated peacefully at Hora Finfinnee and Hora Harsadee,” he said.
Sifan Tamiru, a resident of Finfinnee, said this year’s Goobee and Shinooyyee celebrations are different from previous years. She mentioned that this makes her even happier. She said it is a culture that we, especially those living in Finfinnee, are proud of enjoying and viewing especially. She recalls that in the past we were very terrorized and oppressed not only to express ourselves but even to speak about our culture.
Now, however, it is a great victory for the Oromo people to express their culture in this way, to have the lost culture reinstituted and to be able to get adorned in traditional clothes in this way, she said. She said the girls are working on preparing and decorating various events such as traditional clothes and traditional dishes to celebrate Irreechaa beautifully.
Another girl, Bikiltu Solomon, said the sixth time the Goobee and Shinooyyee festival had been celebrated in Finfinnee previously, we did not have the right to wear traditional clothes, she said, adding this turn of events is a great joy for her and the Oromo people.
BY NAOL GIRMA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 15 SEPTEMBER 2024
