BY STAFF REPORTER
Ethiopians have an age-old culture of horse riding that passes down from generation to generation. Ethiopians are highly attached with horses and well skilled in horse riding.
This is demonstrated in various street festivals, both religious celebrations and non-religious events, including Timket (Epiphany), Meskel (the Finding of the True Cross), as well as in wedding and mourning ceremonies plus in welcoming and escorting guests.
Horses are also used as a means of travelling to the market, transporting possessions during nomadic journeys. Even in war times, Ethiopian patriots fought sitting on the horseback and used horses to transport logistics to warfronts.
As the legend goes and many historians stated while the country was invaded by the Fascist Italy, Ethiopian horsemen, being along with other patriots, defeated the Italian army sitting on horse backs.
This century old tradition of horse galloping is also are very much practiced in the rural areas of the country mostly in Amhara and Oromia States widely.
Horse riding contest is also the other norm that Ethiopians are accustomed to in both special events and normal times. Especially in rural areas, it is an activity carried out to show performance.
Not only that, but following their attachments and fondness, Ethiopians give names to their horses. For instance, as Alemu Alene wrote in his article taking the case of Awi Zone and titled ‘ Horse culture & tourism development: Towards initiating horse tourism in Awi Zone, Northwestern Ethiopia, based on their service, the Awi name their horses as agassess, senga, bazar and mesina.
Likewise, depending on their color, they give them different names to their horses, which help the community to differentiate one horse from the other.
The major color-based horse names and their meaning are: Shanko / shanku—full black horse, fenzo / fanzu—gray and white mixed horse, shasho / shashu—full white horse, bula—yellowish horse, dama—full red horse, Bora—full red horse with white color in the forefront, gemer—mixed colored horse, grach—a horse with black and white mixed color.
Based on their behavior, the Awi people also named their horses. Behavior-based horse names are given mainly for senga horse. This is because the behavior of senga horse is largely obtained during the taming process called giria/giregn.
In other words, the different types of training given for the senga horse can result in different type of behavior on the horse. Behavior based senga horse names which are common in the locality are Chefari, Segar and Chole.
As Alemu stated, in order to engage in various activities, different types of trainings are given for horses for about 6 months, the process of taming locally known as giria/giregn. The technique of taming applied on horse varies according to the purpose the specific horse is going to serve.
Recently, the 81st round Sebat Bet Agew Horse Riding festival was celebrated colorfully in Injibara Town of the Agew Awi Zone in the Amhara State.
According to Awi Zone Administrative Culture and Tourism Department Head, Zewditu Worku there is a belief that while the country was invaded by Fascist Italy, the Agew patriots, in collaboration with other citizens, defeated the Italian army supported by the help of St. George. As a result, the festival takes place every year to commemorate the moment. The Agew community is highly attached with horses, she added.
The culture of Horse Riding has a direct bearing to cultural and historical background. Therefore, it has to be preserved and passed down to generation.
Mentioning that communities’ longstanding culture of taming horses, she said for centuries they have been utilizing the horses for various day to day activities.
As to her, the communities have established an association named ‘Sebat Bet Agew St. George Association.’ The Association has more than 53, 000 members.
Currently in collaboration with stakeholders and pertinent bodies, the department is undertaking various activities to make Agew Horse Riding festival an attractive means to raise the confidence of local people and win the expectation of international tourists.
The festival is going to be bedecked with exhibitions, panel discussions, handcraft and other events. What is more, the department has started conducting the study to be inscribed by UNESCO to attract more tourists and make it an international heritage. The necessary documents have also been collected to help facilitate the study, she added.
As Alemu stated in his paper, Awi Zone is the home of large number of horses. In Awi Zone, it is common to observ Agew horsemenengaging themselves in gugis show on horse racing field.
As to him, on the day of annual religious celebration in each parish large number of horsemen gather themselves and escort the Arc of the Covenant from its church to its place of sprinkling the holy water, and the vice versa.
They give brightness to this religious event by raising the flag of the country and by voicing the horsemen songs accompanied by trumpet. Some of the horsemen songs voiced in this celebration are songs locally titled as “Sengaw Abeba”, “Sengaw Aymolo” and “Yesengaw Get”.
After escorting the annual religious celebration, the horsemen engage themselves in gugis game. And after the gugis game is concluded, the horsemen observed enjoyed the feast of the day’s religious celebration prepared by the residents of the locality.
The horsemen are served with Ethiopian local foods and drinks known as injera, wet and Tela (local beer). At the end, the whole process of escorting the day’s religious celebration is concluded with the blessing of elders and religious fathers, he added.
Mourning is the other socio-cultural practice in which horsemen have active participation in Awi Zone in general and in the highland areas in particular.
During the game, the horsemen place themselves at the center holding the flag of the country and undertake funeral chant and bragging, turn by turn, by remembering the patriotic and other deeds of the deceased.
Trumpet is largely used to give brightness to the funeral chant, which is composed by chant leaders based on the role, age, status and sex of the diseased. In other words, funeral chanting conveying different messages are organized for patriots, fathers, mothers, horsemen, prominent individuals, committed farmers, etc.
There are various cultural practices undertaken during the mourning ceremony. Some of the horsemen are observed wearing special horsemen decoration, known as lofisa, on their back and head. Besides, 10–15 senga horses wear special dress, decorated with crosses, in all of their bodies except their legs and head (see figure 3).
According to informants, this is a long established cultural practice in the locality. Previously, it was undertaken with the death of wealthy man as manifestation to his asset.
But these days, it is also employed in the mourning ceremony of most of the individuals who reached adolescence stage. With the death of either the husband or the wife in the horseman family, their kuta (white cotton toga) is placed on the neck of the senga horse of the household head (husband), as the sign of sadness.
This horse is not climbed until the end of the ceremony. The painting of St. George is also observed climbing on a long stick and forced into the ground. This is mostly done with the death of members of the horsemen association.
Apart from these, different types of handicraft outputs are produced from horse fly-whisk. The most important are hand fly-whisk and lofisa. Hand fly-whisk is produced in Awi Zone from fly-whisk obtained from the horse’s mane and tail, as to the paper.
The culture if it is preserved and promoted can generate huge amount of capital from domestic and international tourists.
The Ethiopian Herald February 6/2021
