Fichee Chambalaalla is the traditional New Year festival of the Sidama people. This lively festival is a time for the community to come together, celebrate their culture, and pay respect to their ancestors.
Fichee Chambalaalla holds great cultural significance for the Sidama community as it marks the beginning of a new year and a fresh start. The festival is a time for reflection, gratitude, and unity among family, neighbors and friends. It is believed that participating in the rituals and ceremonies of Fichee Chambalaalla brings blessings and prosperity for the year ahead.
Fichee-Chambalaalla is a unique and special festival among the community where participants of the celebration enjoy the transition from the old year to the New Year with various cultural ceremonies including music, dancing, traditional attire, cultural drinks and foods.
According to the Sidama Region Communication Affairs Bureau, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once in a year after her marriage and brings buurisame, a meal prepared from false banana, milk and butter, and shares to her neighbors. Hence, Fichee is a symbol of unity in Sidama tradition. Fichee is a moveable festival determined by astrologers and the date is announced by clans. Celebrations include singing traditional songs and perform dance, and is observed regardless of age, social status and gender.
During the first day of the festival, children wander house-to-house to greet neighbors, who served them buurisame. The clan leaders advised Sidama people to work hard, respect and support the elders, and abstain from cutting down indigenous trees, begging, indulging, and not to giving false testimony and involved in theft actions.
Overall, the festival promotes social cohesion, good governance and equality among the Sidama people and other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Adults, especially women, transmit the tradition and knowledge orally to younger generations by preparing buurisame and making hairdressing to their daughters and other girls.
In connection with this year’s Sidama people’s New Year festival, Sidama State Culture, Tourism, and Sports Bureau Head Jago Agegnehu announced that this year’s festival will be marked colorfully through various ceremonial occasions.As to him, Fichee-Chambalaalla has been registered under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ten years ago.
Accordingly, the Sidama elders (Ayantu) decide the day of the New Year celebration based on their deep understanding of the astrology and moon system. So far, the day marks the transition from the old year to the new one, which the Sidama communities mark it annually with great zeal, keeping its cultural values.
Moreover, following the Sidama New Year festival registration under the UNESCO world prestigious humanity’s heritage, numerous local and international tourists flock to the area annually, he said.
Fichee-Chambalaalla is a holiday that reflects togetherness, peace, love, happiness, and blessing. Elders pray to bring peace among individuals and the whole community does the same through the Ausura fasting and praying program.
Moreover, Fichee-Chambalaalla is beyond a New Year festival where it manifests every member of the Sidama community and a means to share freedom, rejuvenation, hopefulness, mutual understanding and love, as well as respect and other cultural assets.
In addition, the Fichee-Chambalaalla celebration embraces diversified socio-cultural assets that lauds arbitration, loving others, helping others, listening to others, and cooperation among the society.
What is more, during Fichee Chambalaalla, the Sidama people engage in various activities, such as traditional dance performances, music, feasting, and rituals that symbolize renewal and rebirth. The festival typically takes place in the month of March; depending on the lunar calendar, and lasts for several days. During the festival of Fichee Chambalaalla, the streets of Sidama come alive with colorful decorations, traditional attire, and joyful music filling the air. People of all ages gather to take part in the celebrations, showcasing their dance moves and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
It is believed that participating in the rituals and ceremonies of Fichee Chambalaalla brings blessings and prosperity for the year ahead.
More importantly, the Sidama New Year festival season is an ideal season for tourists to visit the State and discover the colorful street festival of the community and immerse oneself with the lively ceremonies of the festival.
If anyone is interested to experiencing the Fichee Chambalaalla festival firsthand, he/she can make arrangements to visit the Sidama state during the New Year celebrations. Many tour operators offer guided tours to the festival, providing visitors with the opportunity to witness the vibrant festivities up close and interact with the local community. By participating in this festival, visitors, both local and international, can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and rituals of a culture that has thrived for centuries and registered as one of the most mesmerizing human’s intangible cultural assets that Ethiopia embraces.
In sum, Fichee Chambalaalla is a time-honored tradition that brings the Sidama community together in joyous celebration and cultural pride. The festival reflects the values of unity, respect for nature, and the importance of community bonds. Fichee Chambalaalla also gives a deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry of traditions that make up the Sidama culture. In general, Sidama as a nation contributed this wonderful asset to realize peace and unity among the people of the world. Let’s celebrate this year’s festivity with love and assure our togetherness.
For tourists joining the festivities enables to experience the magic of this vibrant New Year celebration of the Sidama community.
In 2015, the festival was inscribed by UNESCO as a representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
BY TEWODROS KASSA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2025
