BY SOLOMON DIBABA
Ethiopia is amongst the countries that have registered a number of tangible and intangible heritages under UNESCO’s cultural heritage list. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, UNESCO has recognized four intangible and nine tangible Ethiopian (a total of 13) heritages. Buhe is one of the ancient historical heritages of Ethiopia yet to be registered at UNESCO.
In a couple of days Ethiopians will mark Buhe. Buhe which also known as the Festival of Debre Tabor or the Festival of Transfiguration is one of the 9 outdoor religious and cultural celebrations marked between August and September in Ethiopia. It is one of the intangible religious and cultural heritages celebrated every year on the 19th of August. This festival symbolizes the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor in Israel.
In Ethiopia the festival is celebrated at the foot of Mount Debre Tabor in Gondar and over the past years, it has gradually emerged to be one of the tourist destinations in Ethiopia. Today, due to the destabilization and lack of peace inflicted on the people in the area, the festival will be forced to take place in less paraphernalia due to security matters.
Chroniclers in the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church denote that the transfiguration was accompanied with thunderous voice from heaven in which God has said that Jesus is the Son God and that everyone should heed to him has been celebrated in Ethiopia for more than 1600 years.
Historical and religious narratives of the church denote that shepherds who were tending their sheep under Mount Tabor were watching the situation and were late to come home on time. Parents who were worried about their kids prepared smaller loaves of bread that they took for the kids who later on distributed the loaves among the poor in their communities.
Buhe is also considered as a festival for kids who crack whips locally known as Jirraf made of tree trunks move in groups singing at each house they come across in memory of the sound of thunder the shepherds at Mount Debre Tabor. In olden times and even at recent times, the kids are provided with loaves of bread known as mulmul dabo which they collect and distribute among the poor at local churches.
The chorus of the Buhe song “Hoya–Hoye” is sung by the kids in groups. They thank those who provided them with gifts with songs that are also occasionally incoherent because they insert names and add titles that they wish for the head of the family who listens to their songs as tradition requires.
Buhe is a memorable event for kids and is considered as one of the most important childhood celebration that no kid wants to miss mostly in rural Ethiopia.
This festival effectively blends religious beliefs with cultural tradition showing the culture of sharing prevalent among the peoples of Ethiopia who are known for their generosity towards the needy. As stated above children are the main actors of the festival.
The peoples and government of Ethiopia have excellent opportunity to make Buhe festival a center of tourist attraction and to register it as one of the intangible cultural heritages of mankind. It is very important to make feasibility research on the possibility of registering Buhe at UNESCO.
The festival is sometimes understood as if it is celebrated only in Amhara Regional State. I think this is wrong mainly because the celebration cuts across the faithful of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church among the nations and nationalities in Ethiopia.
Buhe also marks the end of the Filseta fasting season dedicated to the glory of Virgin Mary. Despite the cultural background of Buhe, now days, money is being used as a replacement for gifts of mulmul dabo.
Buhe is a one of the most ancient religious celebrations in Ethiopia. It is a festival of hope and aspiration for the upcoming spring in which farmers hope to get better harvest.
The Arefa or Eid Al-Adeha was celebrated a month back showed unity among families and community members in which the believers also share what they have with needy in their respective communities. They also take the occasion as an opportunity to strengthen their bond with other regions across the country.
The two religious festivals show the age-old cultural cohesion between the peoples of Ethiopia. All the religious festivals on the other hand declare peace and love not only among the members of a specific religion but also among the faithful from other religions.
Religious and cultural festivals like Buhe are not well documented. This is of critical importance because the coming generation needs to know the contents of these celebrations in their original forms. The country needs a catalogue of documented cultural n religious festivals not only for promotion and marketing purposes but also as tools for learning for sociologists and anthropologists alike.
This year, Buhe will be celebrated under the backdrop of mixed fillings among the people of Ethiopia. The nation is just attempting to recover from the aftermath of COVID-19 virus which is already took its toll across the country. The actual size and scope of the celebration was tarnished with social distancing, obligations to wear face masks, hand washing and other precautionary measures put in place to fight the pandemic.
Buhe is celebrated close to the eve of the Ethiopian New Year. It heralds the end of the rainy season and the coming of a New Year for which Ethiopians of all walks of life aspire for new hope and wish to meet their friends after the end of the rainy season.
The people of Ethiopia are celebrating Buhe in sort of a mixed filling during the year that will soon end. Over the year, Ethiopians, particularly those in Amhara and Afar and parts of Oromia mark Buhe amidst greater agony, displacement, loss of life and property inflicted on these people by terrorist TPLF and several of its allies including Shene.
On the other hand, despite the conspiracy and propaganda war waged by international media outlets and Egyptian as well as Sudanese media, Ethiopia has successfully managed to fill GERD in the third round and was also able to generate 370MW hydroelectric power from the 9th turbine.
In addition, according to the reports that came out from the National Macroeconomic Committee, the country has registered promising economic results over the previous fiscal year.
At this point in time, all Ethiopians should be mindful of the plight of our citizens who are forced to be displaced by the war inflicted on the people of Ethiopia and promote the culture of sharing what they have with the needy citizens.
In many parts of the country, including Amhara, Afar and in Tigray, farmers are trying to catch up with the rainy season in their attempts to produce their own food. The government has reported that agricultural inputs including fertilizers and selected seeds have been distributed to farmers in the country.
Throughout the previous fiscal year terrorist TPLF and its allies, supported by western propaganda machineries have been trying to destabilize the country by employing various means of treachery and conspiracies directly and through their fifth columnists but Ethiopians have managed to retain their unity and territorial integrity amidst the tribulation they were forced to face over the year.
The prevalence of sustained peace is one of the major prerequisites for the promotion of intangible religious and cultural heritages and outdoor celebrations in Ethiopia. Ensuring dependable public security system needs to be in place to attract foreign and local spectators and tourists on such festive occasions.
The celebration of Buhe is a source of national optimism and hope that the New Year which is just on the horizon would bring. People hope that the upcoming National Dialogue and Reconciliation will create a general national consensus in which all Ethiopians here and overseas will cooperate in promoting civic nationalism in the country to ensure their effective participation in accelerating the socio-economic and political reforms in the country.
The celebrations of the intangible and tangible cultural and religious heritages of the country could be organized in such a way that the can promote s spirit of unity and solidarity among the people of Ethiopia and reduce conflicts that are plaguing the country from time to time. On the other hand, it is important to carefully document the intangible and tangible heritages of the country to effectively transfer them to the next generation.
The celebrations of intangible cultural and religious celebrations which are held every year have far more meaningful impacts in shaping the trends of cultural and religious diversities in the country. It is regrettable that enough research has so far not been done in this respect.
The universities and other higher institutes in the country need to conduct further sociological and anthropological studies on our intangible religious and cultural heritages like Buhe and others which have so far not been identified.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 18 AUGUST 2022
