BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
The Gedeo ethnic group in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ State is endowed with enormity of values and culture. The people of Gedeo have deep rooted ethno botanical belief. The Gedeos New Year is said to be Deraro which means flower.
The New Year falls between the beginning of January and February as most holydays in Ethiopia are marked in the harvest season. Though the world celebrates a New Year as the planet makes a full circle around the sun, prioritizing stewardship towards environment along with other values make Gedeo peoples’ New Year unique.
Eshetu Worku, Communication Expert in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ State (SNNPS) of Gedio Zonal Administration had moment of togetherness with The Ethiopian Herald.
Of course, as it is the home of diversity, there are numerous New Year celebration in the State; however, the Gedeos New Year is far beyond culture and tradition. The Gedeos set decree new proclamation which is called Lalava after deliberating and evaluating the preceding year. The measurements and Evolutions System is called Faqe. The festival includes prayers and season of forgiveness and end of quarrelsome
The day is celebrated with various events under the leadership of Abbaa Roga subordinates of Abbaa Geda, Gedeos traditional leader. The principal subjects are environmental protection, combating theft and abduction, said Eshetu.
The upcoming New Year celebration, as to him, will be marked with promoting State’s tourist attraction sites and orchestrating language and culture symposiums with the involvement of media houses.
At the festival, there will be exchange of Gumata which means gift and there is series and mass events of forgiveness and prevalence of justice to receive the New Year with constructive spirit.
Most notably the Gedeos envisage environmental protection as a matter of existence. This is highly supported by local leaders and elders. The sacred forests of Gedeo are more valuable and accepted endowments than anything.
As Gedeo has long been adopting the tradition of treating their localities to the extent considering ‘producers’ in formal saying green plants as a sole means of living, they have been determinant to give due concern to issues of environment and were also precognitive adversities followed due to failure to protect ecology.
As the inherent Gedeo custom, trees are among the most respected blessings; even killing a prey taking a camouflaged shelter in side a songo-sacred forests of Gedeo as an asylum – is considered as an evil and a law-breaking act that could not be forgiven among the community.
The biodiversity within the forest is respected and protected as part of one’s body and existence. That is why the Gedeos have also adopted and criminalize killing birds and cutting trees without the recognition of Geda Leaders-traditional administrators of the society.
Members of the Gedeo are expected to plant more than two seedlings before cutting a tree. Even eating foods and messing up forests inside trees is a taboo practice according to the age long tradition of Gedeo.
Furthermore, profiling a person and his family in relation to developing forests is also of paramount importance to get the will of the daughter in law families preferred for marriage relation. All over the issues of environment and forest conservation is the most principal subject in the New Year celebration and setting forth plans for the coming year.
Unlike the most common traditions in Ethiopia which considers cattle as assets, in Gedeo trees are considered as the primary assets to judge an individual. Hence, in marriage and other social relationship the ownership of indigenous tree is the prerequisite criterion to allow such societal bonds.
Traditional agroforestry system in Gedio Southern Ethiopia is a deep-seated practice with sense stewardships towards environment. The ethno botanical beliefs and practices of the community have been preserving forests for generations, as to the World Agroforestry.
Studies show that the culture of the Gedeo is distinguished by two features. The first is the baalle, a tradition of ranks and age classes similar to the Gadaa System of the Oromo people.
Asebe Regassa Debelo provides oral traditions showing that the Gedeo acquired the practice from the Guji Oromo, with whom they have had, historically, a close relationship. On the other hand, their agricultural economy is based on cultivating Enset, as is their neighbors the Sidama people, whose language is closely related to theirs. From a geopolitical point of view, the Gedeo are Horner, and from an ethnic point of view, they are Cushitic.
Besides the baalle system, before their conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in the 1890s, the Gedeo lived in a federation of three territories called Sasserogo, or “three Roga”. These Roga, Sobbho, Ributa and Rikuta, shared one Aba Gada, which was similar to the Oromo office, and every eight years was passed to a new office holder in the next age set at a ceremony also known as baalle. According to Gedeo tradition, all leadership positions from Aba Gada at the top down to the office of Hyiticha were assumed at the baalle ceremony, while specific roles were held by specific clans or sub-clans.
Incorporation into expanding Ethiopia Empire in 1895 led to numerous social upheavals. In areas where the Gedeo “submitted peacefully” local administration was not disturbed, but in those that required military action, military governors ruled and at times became feudal lords.
According to documents, the incorporation of Gedeo into the empire seriously affected their socio-economic, political and cultural autonomy. For instance, the Gedeo were barred from using their baalle tradition in their day-to-day lives, except in religious and rituals, leading to social disintegration, and loosened the social ties amongst the different tribes.
However recently local leaders and the people of Gedeo are vigorously working to regain the glory they had and exploit untapped values. Hence, the zonal administration has completed preparation to colorfully celebrate Deraro about seven days a head organizing events that would mount the heritages of Gedeo to a better position, Eshetu said
The Ethiopian Herald 9 February 2021
