BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
The famous shrine got its name from its location, Faraqasa, – a locality in Merti woreda of Arsi zone, Oromia region. It is situated 225 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa. The nearest big town to Faraqasa is Abomsa town, just about 17 km away.
As October draws to a close, that is where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims across the nation and abroad congregate every year. Even though there is a recently built access road to the village, several pilgrims still travel to the site on foot, possibly as a part of the ritual of the pilgrimage. There are several days of commemoration in Faraqasa, including the Muslim holidays Mewulid and Eid al-Fitr. But the time of the year that gathers the largest crowd in Farakasa is the last week of October.
Over two hundred thousand people were converged at Faraqasa last week, particularly 29 October that marks the death anniversary of the founder of the spiritual shrine, Momina, who is also known as The Lady of Arsi. For almost a century, pilgrims are congregating in Faraqasa to pay their reverence and allegiance to Momina. The Qubba, the mausoleum of Momina is the citadel of the Faraqasa spiritual shrine, one of the most popular pilgrimage shrines in Ethiopia.
Several features set Faraqasa apart from other spiritual pilgrimage sites in the nation. First, it is an independent spiritual cult founded by a woman and endured the attacks of a communist government and religious extremist groups. Second, the Faraqasa pilgrimage is not exclusive to a single ethnic group or religion. Faraqasa stands as a testimony to Ethiopia’s uniqueness as a nation where people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds sit in the same shrine worshiping the same spiritual power. Faraqasa symbolizes the tolerance and harmony that exists among different religious, ethnic, linguistic groups in Ethiopia.
Faraqasa pilgrims consist of Muslims, Christians, and people from other religious beliefs. Studies estimate the majority of the Farakasa pilgrims are Christians. The pilgrimage ceremonies combine elements from several religions and traditional practices. The Islamic influences, however, are dominant over other religions. The Faraqasa cult relies heavily on Islam and borrows several Muslim terminologies. The building where the major spiritual activities take place is named Mesjid [Mosque]. And the term Qubba refers to Momina’s burial site.
Similarly, words like Karama, kaddami are frequently heard in Farakasa, not to mention the founder’s name Momina. On the other hand, there is ample evidence for the existence of Christian influences on the Faraqasa. Out of the eight natural springs used as holy water sources by the pilgrims, seven are named after saints as mentioned in the bible. Furthermore, Faraqasa pilgrimage processions also involve spiritual activities recognized in both Christian and Muslim religions. Such styles of worship have their background in the worship ceremonies of indigenous religions practiced in Ethiopia.
The incorporation of Christian, Muslim, and indigenous religious elements in the Faraqasa shrine could be related to the heterogeneous family background of the founder of the shrine. According to insiders and leaders at the pilgrimage center, Momina had a Christian father and a Muslim mother. She hails from Sanqa Wollo, Amhara region, and traveled and built shrines in various parts of the country before settling in Faraqasa as her prime center for the spiritual services she provided to her followers.
Scholars say the Faraqasa shrine, as a melting pot of diverse religions and ethnic groups, has a syncretistic nature exhibiting a variety of Islamic, Christian, and Indigenous beliefs and practices. Faraqasa is one of those pilgrimage centers which are not influenced by spiritual leaders loyal to specific ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. So in Faraqasa, Anyone regardless of his language, religion, or social status is equally welcomed, and greeted with the word Arhibu and becomes a member of the Jemma [the congregation].
“I cannot describe in words what it is like being in Faraqasa on the eve and on the day of 29 October. It is just mesmerizing experience. I have no illness or other problems, but I have always been there every year since I was 12 to see and participate in the various worship ceremonies. The sounds of mass prayers, and songs, as well as the sights of dancing people dressed in various costumes, are incredible. On that day [29 October], Faraqasa becomes the microcosm of Ethiopia because you can find people from every region of the country. Even foreigners are easy to find there.” says a 40-year-old man who is a resident of Adama town on his way to Faraqasa.
Pilgrims at Faraqasa praise Momina’s glory and the miracle she did with hymns accompanied by the beat of a small drum called Debe. The lead singers conducting these hymns of praise by hundreds of pilgrims are customarily called Fukuras. The dancing and the singing take place everywhere: in the tents, the open fields, and under the trees the whole day and throughout the night. Beyond the hectic and electrifying scenes in Farakasa, there are also corners where solemn and deeply spiritual prayer ceremonies [Wadaja] performed usually led by the senior members of the cult.
Pilgrims ask the spirit of Momina to relieve them from their health issues, to bring them peace and fortune to their community. Pilgrims ask Momina’s spirit to protect them from bad spirits and evil individuals. Some pilgrims make vows to bring various offerings if they get a child or their business plans fulfilled. Others came to pay their vows to the shrines, as they wish they made has been realized.
Even though Momina is dead almost a century ago, the pilgrims praised her and mentioned her name as if she was still alive. Momina and her descendant who succeeded her as spiritual leaders are said to have supernatural powers to alleviate the earthly problems of their followers and even to the level of bringing people and animals back from the dead.
The veneration of the pilgrims to Momina is deep so much so that they even consider the big old trees in the shrine’s premises as sacred since, they say, Momina used to sit under the shade of those trees. The pilgrims paint the trees’ trunks with butter and conduct a coffee ceremony under the shade of the trees. A few minutes walk away from the shrine, there are holy water springs which are said to have healing power for various ailments. Pilgrims drink the holy water or take a bath in it.
There is a lot of myth surrounding this exotic place captivating the imagination of generations. Apart from the majority of the devoted followers of the spiritual leaders of the shrine, a considerable number of travelers are going all the way to the shrine to prove with their own eyes all the mystery stories and wonders they have heard about Faraqasa from their friends and relatives. As is the case with other religious sites, the Faraqasa pilgrims also include a huge number of business travelers who temporarily transform the sleepy village into a bustling small town overnight with their hundreds of shops and restaurants in makeshift tents.
The local community is a beneficiary of the business opportunity created by the influx of pilgrims across the country and abroad. Several members of the local community-run mini shops, offer foods and beverages as well as provide transportation services to the pilgrims all year long with motorbikes and tuk-tuk.
The Faraqasa shrine has spiritual, socio-economic benefits to the local community. Apart from the economical benefits, the shrine has funded the construction of a primary school and a road linking Faraqasa village with the nearest big town, Abomsa. The pilgrimage site has immensely contributed to maintaining the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts and in so doing has maintained the peaceful coexistences of the ethnically religiously diverse people in the surrounding communities. Scholars say the eco-tourism potential of the pilgrimage site is yet untapped.
The Ethiopian Herald December 26/2021
