Ethiopia is a country blessed with cultural values and traditions which has served for centuries. The nations and nationalities of the country have been using all the traditions on a regular basis to refrain themselves from any sort of damage. In this piece, we show you the forest conservation culture of Sheka people.
Sheka is a Zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. The Sheka people have long been sustainably managing and conserving the Sheka forest utilizing different procedures. Shockingly, these indigenous methods for natural resource management are ordinarily absent from scientific archives.
Gudo is a designated forest found in the mountainous and rocky area. In each village of the Sheka zone, the community has forbidden forests. The sacred forest (GUDO) is a cultural symbol related to indigenous beliefs and signifies spiritual connections to the forest land and with Sheka. The management and conservation of these GUDO is the responsibility of the clan leader (Gepi tato) for the enforcement of the GUDO cultural practice.
The GUDO administration and management are directly associated with the elders that maintain and guide all norms, taboos, and customs of the people. Each community has a Gepi tato in every village of Sheka forest.
According to the Sheka people custom, no extraction is allowed in GUDO sacred forests, except for the harvesting of trees for home consumption at the forest margin. Neither cultivation of land nor cutting of trees for domestic use, nor trees used for beehives are allowed in GUDO sacred forests. If a tree dies in the GUDO sacred forest, it is left to decay naturally; nobody is allowed to cut it, and even the branches of a dead tree cannot be used as fuel wood. Trees in the GUDO sacred forest should also be respected. Violation of the GUDO culture can result in serious punishment.
Getaneh Haile, in his study quoted a clan leader who said “For any village member that has violated the culture of GUDO, it is the responsibility of the clan leader (Gepi tato) for the enforcement of the GUDO cultural practice. If any villager enters the GUDO sacred forest for the purposes of grazing, collecting fuel wood, or logging, it is believed that the violator of the GUDO culture would be cursed and dies consequently. Once it was investigated and discovered that the violator had entered into the GUDO sacred forest and used the forest for any other purpose, he would be asked why he did. Then, according to GUDO culture, he would be penalized. The penalty is curing him, which resulted in death.
The GUDO sacred forest has religious or spiritual significance, passed on from generation to generation, who used the GUDO sacred forest and signifying traditional use and occupancy of a given region. GUDO is a well-protected forest area and is used for worship. Mostly found in hilly and rocky areas and covered by dense forests. In the GUDO culture, the clan leader (Gepi tato) leads to worshiping practices.
The GUDO culture may be celebrated each year or within three- or ten years intervals. In almost all kebele (the lowest administrative and political unit), there is more than one GUDO sacred forest. In one kebele, there may be more than ten GUDO sacred forests. The Sheka people claim that they are descended from Israel and the protection and conservation of the GUDO sacred forest are related to the historical fact found in the Old Testament in the whole bible.
The Sheka people believed that worshiping in the GUDO sacred forest has supernatural meanings. This can be seen in religious beliefs and spiritual connections with nature, particularly in GUDO sacred forests. The spiritual connection of the GUDO sacred forest governs the Sheka people’s daily lives and passed on from generation to generation. The GUDO culture (worshiping at forest) serves to explain the harmony between nature and the GUDO culture. The Sheka people through the GUDO culture sustainably manage local GUDO sacred forests, despite limited modern scientific
This kind of local belief system that totally hinders the use of forest resources among the people of Sheka and this practice of worshiping has been passed on from generation to generation since time immemorial. The practice of worshiping around GUDO (sacred forest) considers the GUDO sacred forests as spiritual or sacred sites over a period of time, and the local belief in GUDO sacred forest prohibits the exploitation of forest resources in the Sheka zone.
The Sheka people believed that worshiping in the GUDO sacred forest has supernatural meanings. This can be seen in religious beliefs and spiritual connections with nature, particularly in GUDO sacred forests. The spiritual connection of the GUDO sacred forest governs the Sheka people’s daily lives and passed on from generation to generation. The GUDO culture (worshiping at forest) serves to explain the harmony between nature and the GUDO culture. The Sheka people through the GUDO culture sustainably manage local GUDO sacred forests, despite limited modern scientific forest management.
The GUDO forest exists in each kebele of the Sheka zone as village protectors. The GUDO sacred forest is usually hundreds of years old and still untouchable. The Sheka people believe that this GUDO sacred forest can provide safety, fortune, and good harvests for their villages. The traditional forest management practices related to the GUDO culture demonstrate that the Sheka people have their own knowledge, beliefs, and management practices related to forests inherited from their generations.
Spiritual connections and beliefs were the main reasons why people worship the sacred forest (GUDO). The protection of the GUDO sacred forest enables the conservation of natural forests from earlier anthropogenic disturbances, allowing trees and other plant species to reproduce. The entire designated GUDO sacred forest area was put under the imposition of local cultural beliefs.
Even though, the culture of GUDO was rapidly declining, the GUDO forest is still kept and protected well. Each informant could readily describe GUDO culture and how the culture positively contributed to the conservation of the Sheka forest. Many informants could recall details of GUDO culture that had practiced some 30 years before.
GUDO culture demonstrates that, the Sheka people have their own indigenous knowledge, beliefs, and management practices related to forest. This cultural and belief system is inherited from their ancestors since time immemorial and evolving over generations. The culture of GUDO described in this article shows that it still exists in every element of local forest utilization, protection, and management and allocation of forest.
Considering the impact it would have on forest protection and conservation, such a culture needs to be strengthened, developed and shared to other parts of the country and even other parts of Africa .
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 12 APRIL 2022
