Afocha

Afocha is a Harari community neighborhood association. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

Afochas have existed for at least three generations within the Harari society. ^[4] According to Ethiopian historian Mohammed Hassen, the Afocha played a key role as a Harari defense measure, orchestrating national mobilization, which thwarted the city of Harar and its inhabitants from suffering the same fate as their kin, the now extinct Harla people. ^[5]

Aspects

An Afocha consists of the following:

Membership

The coalition is customarily based on age and gender. ^[6] Men's Afocha is generally complimentary, while the women's Afocha includes a charge due to high expenditures linked to the latter on special occasions. ^{[7] [8]}

Objectives

Some of its main focuses are to assist members financially during their funerals (amuta gar) and weddings. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Further reading

• Peter H. Koehn, Afocha: A Link Between Community and Administration in Hārar, Ethiopia. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, 1978

References

1. Baynes-Rock, Marcus. Among the Bone Eaters Encounters with Hyenas in Harar. Penn State University Press. p. 16.
2. Leslau, Wolf. Fifty Years of Research Selection of Articles on Semitic, Ethiopian Semitic and Cushitic. O. Harrassowitz. p. 386.
3. Weekes, Richard. Muslim Peoples: Acehnese. Greenwood Press. p. 318.
4. Afocha. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
5. Hassen, Mohammed. The Oromo of Ethiopia, 1500-1850: With special emphasis on the Gibe region. University of London. p. 213.
6. Hecht, Elisabeth-Dorothea. The Voluntary Associations and the Social Status of Harari Women. Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi. p. 303.
7. Ahmed, Yusuf. AFOČA. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. p. 126.
8. Stauth, Laura. Rethinking the Anthropology of Islam Dynamics of Change in Muslim Societies. In Honour of Roman Loimeier. De Gruyter. p. 103.
9. Pankhurst, Alula; Assefa, Getachew. Grass-roots Justice in Ethiopia The Contribution of Customary Dispute Resolution. Centre Français d'Études Éthiopiennes. p. 157.
10. Skutsch, Carl. Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Taylor & Francis. p. 548.
11. ABUBAKER, ABDULMALIK. THE RELEVANCY OF HARARI VALUES IN SELF REGULATION AND AS A MECHANISM OF BEHAVIORAL CONTROL: HISTORICAL ASPECTS. The University of Alabama. p. 235.