All nation, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia have their common and unique cultural practices that are worth-discovering and powerful enough to capture the attention of historian and enthusiasts.
Among these are the Welene people of the Guraghe zone who have their own unique cultural assets. They have their own traditional judicial systems– Yegordene Sere. It is widely practiced in northern Guraghe (Kistane and Gedebano Gutazer Welene).
Its name has slight differences; Yeferagezegne Sera in eastern Guraghe (Meskan); Yejoka Qitcha in western Guraghe (Sebat Bet Guraghe) and Gogot in Dobi. These centuries-old traditions have been serving tremendous role in ensuring peace among the community and the neighborhoods.
Yegordene Sere is one of the traditional judicial systems and is practiced in northern Guraghe, Gedebano Gutazer Welene, one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) Region of Ethiopia.
The Gedebano Gutazer Welene is home to nearly one hundred tribes and each tribe has its own territory and leader.
Geographical organization of the people is categorized into four areas– Gutazer (central and eastern part), Gedebano (western part), Abezhigay (south western part), and Jime (southern part).
Abdulfetah Abdellah, an author who wrote different books about Welene People, told The Ethiopian Herald that Yegordene Sere has been practiced since six centuries ago . He said “It has been serving to manage conflicts in harmony with modern law.” Welene people have their own traditional judicial system – Yegordene Sere.
He stated that there are three types of power divisions in Yegordene Sere. These three divisions are: Administrative, Judicial, and Religious.
The administrative sector is led by Gerads (administrative leaders) and Immams (religious leaders). Judicial sector is led by tribe leaders and appropriate Welene elders. And also, religion sector is headed by religious scholars.
He stated that structural organization of religious judicial sector of Yegordene Sere has four levels – Yemender Sheikh, Yegosa Sheikh, Yedagnig Sheikh, and Hadr. Yemender Sheikh is in charge of solving matters arising from within village.
Yegosa Sheikh also presides over issues within the tribes. Yedagnig Sheikh has bigger role as he pass judgment on matters arising among different tribes. And also, Hadra is a center of religious leaders who collectively solve the issues of Welene people.
Attempts would be made to give solutions at the smallest administrative levels. But, as per the weight of the case, benches at various levels will be involved. Yegarseb bali’e handles cases that involve in the family sometimes it may also look into issues of sub-tribes.
The next level is yesabugnet dagne that serves as a chairperson of Idir (an association established among neighbors) and head of cattle feeding management. Ye’angefegar Dagne serves as a leader and judge of the tribe. Ye’azeri dagne serves as a leader of the four parts of Welene those mentioned above. Gerads or Immams serves as leaders and judges of Welene people, according to Abdulfetah.
He reiterated that YegordeneSere solves three main cases – administrative , civil and criminal cases.
Culture, History, and Heritage Study and Development Head with the Guraghe Zone Culture, Tourism Office, Mengistu Abera, also told The Ethiopian Herald that Yegordene Sere is a system in which Welene people administer the whole social, economic, political and religious issues.“Mainly, it is a traditional justice system of the Welene people that punishes criminals.”
According to him, the members of this elders’ council are free from any bias and these are prominent and respected elders among Welene people.
He said that when elders gather once in a month to preside over suspected of criminal.
He noted that any suspected criminal has the right to lodge appeal and this system is called Giefete. Members of Giefete are very reliable and prominent elders. Giefete has the right to decide on issues other than homicide.
“Community isolates culprits of murder until the case get a final decision or they even be forced to exile to another area. This is very important to avoid retaliation”, he said.
Part of the Guraghe Zone, Gedebano Gutazer Welene is bordered on the south by Muhurena Aklil, on the west by Kebena, on the north by the Oromia Region, and Meskan on the east . The administrative center of Gedebano Gutazer Welene is Mehal Amba.
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this woreda has a total population of 93,408, of whom 44,390 are men and 49,018 women; 1,858 or 1.99% of its population are urban dwellers.
Welenegna language was spoken as a first language by majority (97.65%) of the population; all other primary languages were spoken by the remaining 2.35%. 98.68% of the population said they were Muslim, and all other religions were observed by the remaining 1.32%.
The Ethiopian Herald August 30, 2019
BY ABDUREZAK MOHAMMED
