Summer is the most difficult and coldest of all the seasons especially for herdsmen who endure disagreeable weather characterized by heavy shower, blood-curdling cold, fogy skies, among other natural yearly occurrences.
As opposed to this, summer is also a looked-forward season for herdsmen due to certain events that make them happy. For instance we could mention events like filseta (the fasting season known as the Dormition of Saint Mary), and Buhe; even they enjoy conducting different songs on fields or farms.
Filseta is the most famous or popular fasting season for children (especially herdsmen). I know this firsthand from experiences. I accumulated knowledge on it from where I was born and raised. The reason why friends and I, herdsmen, were eager to greet Filseta was not mainly to enjoy a green light to heaven. Rather it resulted from the happiness of carrying agelgil (a type of traditional Food Case) and dining in a large group. Our mothers in the provinces still now make agelgil from grasses of akirma and giramta. At times even it would be adorned or beautified by alela that contains green, yellow, red and other colors.
As there is a belief that shaving during Filseta turns the hair gray, true to the culture of my community, my mother had been shaving my hair before Filseta entrance into observance. In fact, as I felt pain when a razor touched my head I was strongly averse to getting shaved. My father forcefully made me squat, while my mother shaved me against my will. I recollect it was so painful! As it was excruciating I felt like as if she were cutting bushes grown on my head. Therefore, to lessen the pain, I was washing my hair before covering it with a piece of cloth for some hours. When the hair got damp it would be easy to shave it. Finally, more often, she would leave a circular patch on the front .This style is called gudiro.
The mothers of my age mates liked to leave a pair of similar patches that resembled horns on their sons’ head in addition to gudiro. But my mother refused to create such shape for me even if I implored her for it.
After finishing shaving my hair, always my mother smeared the butter on my gudiro. Smearing the bald head with a bit butter is a must-do practice after shaving. But, I disliked that, for the butter upon melting found its ways into my eyes. You see whenever the rays of the sun caresses the liquid butter the complication will create problem on my eyes.
Agelgil in Filseta was a fascinating moment for us. As such we celebrated it in a friendly manner. Mostly, loafs of home-baked bread (mulmul) and Injera(a flat traditional unleavened bread) with Shiro wot(a soup made of pea powder) are kept in our agelgil for lunch. The former, baked near the big bread, is put atop for us.
According to the culture of my community, sooner or later, a herdsman will carry agelgil, whip, during filseta. Heading to a field (moor) carrying agelgil and whip on one’s shoulder is our best boasting occasion that allowed us to experience pride on par with carrying a firearm.
Pertaining to Filseta, there is something that makes me amused to these days. Once when I was a kid, I ate half injera with a buttermilk early in the morning, and my mother kept the remaining half in my agelgil. Furthermore, I felt so hungry and eager to eat lunch as someone who underwent a trying fasting day not eating a bite. I didn’t touch the food in my agelgil though tempted. Because we presumed that the right fasting is abstinence from eating the food in our agelegil before the time is up. Consequently, we ate the food opening our agelgil before lunch time due to our eagerness to eat too.
We had eaten the lunch in a large group but anyone didn’t have the opportunity to join with the large group that there are our criteria to be joined with.
The major criterion is who had brought a delicious food in his agelgil. Injera with Shiro is the most common or staple food loaded on our agelgil. Mulmul and chibito are the most favorite food items kept in agelgil during filseta fasting days. Chibito is made from teff flour or flour of other crops. The baked ones are thicker than injera and thinner than bread. They will be broken into smaller pieces mixing pepper with butter or oil.
Among foods items brought by herdsmen and which we detested and disliked in our criteria are found injera with Ethiopian cabbage (gomen), telba or pepper even injera baked of flour other than teff. Warnings were given for all not to bring such kinds of food again. If someone persisted coming with such kinds of food in his agelgil again, he/she would be shunned by group members who often brought sought-for foods.
Serving the food on gabi(a flat cotton-made cloth) or lemid(a piece of goat or ship hide) encircling it we were dining together. Lemid is a kind of traditional cloth the especially for herdsmen.
Our agelgil should stay on our shoulder until we go back home at sun down. If any family member took our agelgil before we returned back home, we felt a strong discomfort. We felt that we didn’t observe the fasting day right.
At night, we liked reporting to our families whose child’s agelgil proved the favorite or delicious one. Our parents used to laugh.
This way after fasting for two weeks, we celebrated filseta fasika followed by buhe. The night of filseta fasika proves long for us, so eager to devour food with cheese, whey, or buttermilk served mixed with fantastic ingredients and spices like rue or Tenadam. In fact, our delicious food was injera with pemmican wot which our parents scrambled to make a dish called fifit. For us, fresh wot is not as delicious as scrambled Injera or fifit. Especially, Pemmican fitfit is really something mouth-watering and popular for us.
Reverting back to the tradition ceremonies in the community where I was born and grown up debire tabor and buhe celebrations show a bit differences from each other. The former is celebrated on Nehassie (August) 13 and the latter on 17. On the other hand, Buhe and filseta fasica may have a chance to overlap if Nehassie 16 falls on Wednesday or Friday.
Godmother/father will bring the bread for their godchild on buhe that makes both so happy. On the other hand, a child opts to remain tight-lipped if his godmother/father fails to bring the bread on buhe. The bread will be seasoned by coriander (dinbilal) and other spices.
The godchild, who has the right to eat more bread and serve some for his beloved ones, will be the hero of the day as the bread was offered to him by doting his/her godmother/father.
After a coffee is prepared, the bread will be broken in to smaller pieces using a knife. Breaking bread is given for elders after blessing and praying. Of course, children hate the man who liked breaking the bread into very smaller pieces. They would call down a curse on him “may your hands got broken!”
The daughter-in-law (especially the new one) will be visited by her parents and other close relatives. Often they visit her carrying such big bread. Unfortunately, if she is not staying at her husband when this ceremony draws neigh they will send her to him before buhe is celebrated. Therefore, her parents take a big bread to her in-laws house. Even they may bring her along with the bread on the exact day of buhe.
During our herding days, friends and I were cowherd, shepherd, and goatherd.
What will be an unforgettable event for us are also the lashings of the whips. The whip (giraf) has a sensitive cord in the hearts of herdsmen.
Our fathers made for us whips from barks of special trees, ropes, (sometimes leather) attached to a handle (made of small stick).It was used for making animals move. We enjoyed cracking it. We lashed the cattle with the whips to array them to the field where we want to lead them to. Really, we enjoyed cracking the whips and singing songs that lent colors to our adventuroes ventures. We feel proud in engaging in such adventures.
Sometimes, snatching away our whips, farmers lashed us to, while our heads of cattle encroached on their farming plots and caused damage on crops.
Due to the aforementioned mentioned reasons, whip, buhe, agelgil and filseta are still itched on my mind. The same is true with my age mates.
BY BAHIRU SETEGNE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 6 AUGUST 2023
