Part of a series on |
Traditional African religions |
---|
Waaqeffanna is an ethnic religion indigenous to the Oromo people in the Horn of Africa. [1] The word Waaqeffanna is derived from Waaq which is the ancient name for the Creator in the Cushitic languages of both the Oromo people and Somali people in the Horn of Africa. [2] [3] [4] The followers of the Waaqeffanna religion are called Waaqeffataa and they believe in the supreme being Waaqa Tokkicha (the one God). [5] It is estimated that about 3% of the Oromo population, which is 1,095,000 Oromos, in present day Ethiopia actively practice this religion. Some put the number around 300,000, depending on how many subsets of the religion one includes. This number is still up for debate by many African religious scholars. [6]
O wonder! O wonder! . . . The wonders are six: The hornbill complains without
being sick; the plant flourishes without nourishment; the water runs without being
urged; the earth is fixed without pegs; the heavens hold themselves up without
supports; in the firmament He (God) has sown the chick-peas of heaven. These
things fill me with wonder. Let us all pray to God! O God, who hast caused me to
pass the day cause me to pass the night well!— The Waaqeffannaa song, in"The Folk-Literature of the Oromo." [7]
The main religious belief of Waaqeffanna is that Waaqa (the creator) is the creator of the universe and has many manifestations known as Ayyaana. [8] The Ayyaana serve as intermediary spirits between Waaqa and his creations. [9] The Ayyaana (spirits) are known to possess chosen men and women, who are then given the title Qallu and Qallitti respectively. [5] All Uuma (creatures) are believed to be assigned an Ayyaana by Waaqa for guidance and protection. [9]
Waaqeffataas live according to Safuu, the moral and legal principles that guide the interactions of humans with Waaqa. [10] The breach of Safuu is regarded a sin and is condemned by Waaqa. [10]
Waaqa is the supreme being and is omniscient, omni-benevolent and omnipotent. [11] He is also just and loving. [9] This supreme being is addressed through a variety of names in the different regions and many believe that the term Waaqa means 'the God with many names'. The Oromo people also use the term Waaqa Gurr'acha to address the creator, which translates as 'the God'. The term is believed to indicate that Waaqa is the origin of everything, is mysterious and they are the one that can not be interfered with. [10]
The Ayyaana are believed to be divinities that serve as messengers between Waaqa and their creations. [8] The Ayyaana are not capable of creation but provide communication. [11] They possess men and women and thus speak with the people. [9] Different regions of Oromo hold varying beliefs and understandings of what the Ayyanaa are capable of. While some argue that Ayyanna can't act alone without an order from Waaqa, others claim that the Ayyaana are able to directly affect all aspects of life. [4] Waaqeffataas believe that all creations of Waaqa have their own assigned Ayyaana. [11] The Ambo Oromo have identified several Ayyaanas by lineage and clan. There are power hierarchies within different Ayyaana. For example, the Ayyanna of a clan is stronger than the Ayyaana of a lineage which in turn is stronger than the Ayyanaa of an individual. It is very common for people to paint their skin with the local african bush species "aaasqaama". The followers will charr this bush and cover their skin with the charred paint, to devote themselves to Iinqqaama [11]
The Qaalluu is an important institution in the Oromo religious and social system. [12] It serves to protect the Oromo culture and tradition. Qaalluu is from the Oromiffa word qull, which translates as 'pure, holy, sacred, blameless, black'. [5] In the Qaalluu institution, the Qaallu (men) or Qaallitti/Ayyaantu (women) are believed to be messengers of Waaqa because they are attached to the Ayyaana. [10] The Qaalluu/Qaallitti serve as high ranked priests and ritual leaders that can officiate for Waqeffanna among the Oromo. There are a variety of myths on how the first Qaalluu (high priest) originated. While some believe they fell from the sky and others claim they were found with the first black cow, there is no consensus on their divine origin. [13] The Qaalluu and Qaallitti are believed to be the guardians of the laws of Waaqa. They live and perform ritual activities (dalalga) in the traditional Oromo ritual hall that is known as Galma. [14] A myriad of factors including seniority, acceptance in the community, moral qualification, social status and other leadership qualities are taken into consideration when a Qaalluu/Qaalliti is chosen. [4]
As the messengers of Waaqa, the Qaalluu and Qaallitti have a moral and social responsibility to uphold the highest standards of ethics and practice it. [13] The Qaalluu institution is expected to remain politically neutral and serve as a place of fair deliberation. Similarly, the priests are obliged to condemn tyranny and support the democratic Gadaa system of the Oromo. The Qaalluu/Qaalliti have the power to give or withhold blessings to the Gadaa leadership as they see fit. [13]
The phrase Abbaa Muudaa translates as 'the father of ointment'. In Waaqeffanna, the Abbaa Muudaa is regarded as the highest Qaalluu and a prophet. Waaqeffataas from all over the region travel long distances on pilgrimage to see Abbaa Muudaa. This travel entails honoring the Abbaa Muuda but also receiving a blessing and anointment. The Waaqeffataas that take on the pilgrimage are chosen by their clans and are allowed to perform religious rituals upon return to their homes. People who make the journey must pass the highest moral standards of the society. They must be married and also circumcised after forty years in the Gadaa system. [12]
The pilgrims bring a bull and sheep as a gift to Abbaa Muudaa. After anointment, the pilgrims are given the title Jila, which means 'saintly people'. The Jila are qualified to perform rituals and sermons in their clans and villages and they serve as a connection between the Abbaa Muudaa and the people. The Abbaa Muuda was usually located on the Ethiopia highlands of the middle south. [12] Before the 1900s, the Abba Muudaa's were located at Mormor in Bali, Wallaga, Wallal, Harro Walabu, Ballo Baruk, and Debanu. [12] Today, the Qaalluu institution still exists in selected parts of the region, including the Guji and Borana areas. [13]
The Maaram in Waaqeffana refers to the divinity of women. Maaram is another creation of Waaqa and is the mother of the ocean. Marram was believed to help barren women conceive a child and help pregnant women give birth without complications. [15] The Qaalluu pray for Maaram biweekly for fertility and children.
Irreechaa is a thanksgiving ceremony that is celebrated twice a year, in the spring (Irreecha Birraa) and the autumn (Irreecha Arfaasaa).[ citation needed ] This is the ceremony where the Oromo give thanks to Waaqa and admire and appreciate his creations and their interconnectedness. [16] The Irrecha Birraa, also known as Irrecha Melka, is held by Lake Arsedi. Lake Harsedi (Hora Harsedi) is a sacred lake found in Bishoftu. Millions of people travel every year to the lake to celebrate the Holiday. [17]
The Waaqeffataas believe that when a person dies, they will be reunited with former loved ones in Iddoo Dhugaa, which translates as 'place of truth'. [18] Waaqeffataas honor [believe in] the spirits of those who have died and they observe [pray to] ekeraa (the spirit of deceased person). Every year in December, they celebrate the Ekeraa with bread, cheese with butter, beer and honey. [8]
The Waaqeffanna religion has no scriptures or holy books that exist today. [1] The Waaqeffataas believe that Waaqa gave the Oromo a holy book, but it was swallowed by a cow. Because Waaqa was disappointed, he didn't provide a second book. The faithful who follow this religion hence look for the lost book in the intestines of cows. Where the religion is practiced, experts are called after cow slaughtering ceremonies to examine the lining of the intestines for meaning. [1] [19]
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Confucianism developed from teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), during a time that was later referred to as the Hundred Schools of Thought era. Confucius considered himself a transmitter of cultural values inherited from the Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE), Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and Western Zhou dynasties (c. 1046–771 BCE). Confucianism was suppressed during the Legalist and autocratic Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), but survived. During the Han dynasty, Confucian approaches edged out the "proto-Taoist" Huang–Lao as the official ideology, while the emperors mixed both with the realist techniques of Legalism.
The Oromo people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 41,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.
Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning philosophy. The field is related to many other branches of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, logic and ethics.
Vodun is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Dinka spirituality is the traditional religion of the Dinka people, an ethnic group of South Sudan. They belong to the Nilotic peoples, which is a group of cultures in Southern Sudan and wider Eastern Africa. The Dinka people largely rejected or ignored Islamic teachings, as Abrahamic religious beliefs were incompatible with their society, culture and traditional beliefs.
Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. The anthropology of religion, as a field, overlaps with but is distinct from the field of Religious Studies. The history of anthropology of religion is a history of striving to understand how other people view and navigate the world. This history involves deciding what religion is, what it does, and how it functions. Today, one of the main concerns of anthropologists of religion is defining religion, which is a theoretical undertaking in and of itself. Scholars such as Edward Tylor, Emile Durkheim, E.E. Evans Pritchard, Mary Douglas, Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, and Talal Asad have all grappled with defining and characterizing religion anthropologically.
The existence of God is a subject of debate in theology, the philosophy of religion, and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God can be categorized as logical, empirical, metaphysical, subjective or scientific. In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God involves the disciplines of epistemology and ontology and the theory of value.
Islam is the second-largest religion in Ethiopia behind Christianity, with 31.3 to 35.9 percent of the total population of around 113.5 million people professing the religion as of 2022.
The Boorana are one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people. A Cushitic ethnic group, they primarily inhabit the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia and the former Eastern Province in northern Kenya, specifically Marsabit County. They speak a distinct dialect of the Oromo language by the same name, Boorana. The Boorana people are notable for practicing the Gadaa system without interruption.
Gadaa is the indigenous democratic system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya. It is also practiced by the Konso and Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. The system regulates political, economic, social and religious activities of the community.
Waaq is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo language and Somali language.
Barento is one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people, a Cushitic ethnic group. They live in the West Hararghe Zone, East Hararghe Zone, Arsi zone, of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia while the other subgroup named Borana Oromo inhabiting Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Addis Ababa, West Shewa Zone, West Welega Zone and Borena Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
The Oromo Liberation Front is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. The OLF has offices in Addis Ababa, Washington, D.C., and Berlin, from which it operates radio stations that broadcast in Amharic and Oromo.
The Guji Oromo are an Oromo clan living Guji Zone in southern Oromia of Ethiopia. They are distinguished by their agro-pastoral lifestyle. According to a population projection from 2007, the total population of the Guji Oromo is above 5 million. The Guji have lived in their territory for many centuries. They claim that their cradle land is Girja.
The Chamba are a significant ethnic group in the north eastern Nigeria. The Chamba are located between present day Nigeria and Cameroon. The closest Chamba neighbours are the Mumuye, the Jukun and Kutep people. In Cameroon, the successors of Leko and chamba speakers are divided into several states: Bali Nyonga, Bali Kumbat, Bali-Gham, Bali-Gangsin, and Bali-Gashu. They are two ethnic groups in Ghana and Togo also called Chamba, but they are ethnically distinct. The Chamba are identified through their own language, beliefs, culture, and art.
The Konso, also known as the Xonsita, are a Lowland East Cushitic-speaking ethnic group primarily inhabiting south-western Ethiopia.
Somali mythology covers the beliefs, myths, legends and folk tales circulating in Somali society that were passed down to new generations in a timeline spanning several millennia in Somalia and Djibouti dating back 6000 years ago. Many of the things that constitute monotheistic Somali mythology today are traditions whose accuracy have faded away with time or have been gentrified considerably with the coming of Islam to the Horn of Africa.
The Gedeo are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. The Gedeo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR) is named for this people. They speak the Gedeo language, which is one of the Cushitic languages.
Arsi Oromo is an ethnic Oromo branch, inhabiting the Arsi, West Arsi and Bale Zones of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, as well as in the Adami Tullu and Jido Kombolcha woreda of East Shewa Zone.The Arsi are made up of the Sikkoo-Mandoo branch of Barento Oromo. The Arsi in all zones speaks Oromo share the same culture, traditions and identity with other subgroup Oromo.
Customary laws, in line with official state laws, are based on age-old community customs and norms in Ethiopia. They are noticeable in regional states and become influential in the life of people more than the formal legal system. For example, in Amhara Region, they are called "Shemagelle", in Tigray "Bayito" and "Abo Gereb", and "Luba Basa" in Oromia.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)