Disrupted Wholesome Living that

Nullified Culture and Tradition

( A translation of an Afan Oromo essay based on facts of the lives of the Karrayyuu Oromo, Mataharaa, Fantaallee.)

Shaded with a green big tree, I was talking of the merits of these days together with my friends unnoticing the respected elder man who rock-pillowed his neck lied down on/under the other side of the tree. “‘Get lost! ’ he shouted. ‘What a nonsense are these talking. Don’t feel ashamed at all! Children of the time. Indeed, the time beset with difficulties which a son is disobedient to his father, the wife being reluctant to accept the order of her husband, instead pursues what she feels under taken. It’s in their era that we encountered confusion and misfortune, our livestock got hard finding pasture, and shelter. What an odd era it is! The God denied us rain, the cloud hang away of bright, the august (usually the major rainy season) with no rainfall, the February (short rainy season) lack any shower, never the December … ’ Murmuring, as if he wanted to show the need to make a limit the issue as is apparently inexhaustible told. He uttered, ‘May God’s mercy be on us!’ ”

Having a sort of resting pause, he then continued getting some what deeper into the issue. He continued “Listen carefully boys! Man being mortal to pass1.As the proverb goes, ‘The long you live, the more you happen to learn,’ We, In the course of time indeed encountered an utter upheaval when the son advises his father, the girl commence marriage at her own will without the consent of her parents, the needy is denied support, the poor is never shared, the kin never lend lactating animal to who lack nor contribute live stock for one required to pay wed presents, and fathers deny, regardless of our custom, the worth of his son at his wedlock. In fact a number of facts can be mentioned. Come may not, one’s clan, I am afraid may refuse to pay the life insurance of a person murdered by their member…”

while he is to break for rest, I asked “ Daddy, and Dad of my peer, what about the conditions in yours time ?” He replied, unhesitatingly from his reminiscence in order, as if he had it scripted, exclaiming, “our time? Time of abundance! Where should I begin?. In our time, the rainfall is ceaseless, milked and skimmed irrespective of the season, milk and butter constituted our entire consumption, and we seldom, if ever purchased the consumable ’the rubbish grains’. Believe you may or not, the skimmed milk is seldom consumed. It served as feed of the animals flooded out homestead. Cows gave birth year after year, people full of courteous, the short handed are helped, those lacking lactating cows are lent. A marrying girl adds to your livestock holding with those she obtains from the kin’s plus with those she is presented from the kin’s of her husband. A household never consume its animals slaughtered with out sharing with neighbors as neither does the one with milk yielding animals.

In general, a household would never fall short of resources or facilities possessed by any one of one’s neighbors though one may have none to share in turns. Marriage takes place in compliance with culture and tradition. Furthermore, Due consideration is given to facilitate the marriage link and to harmonize the wedlock. If a girl reaches her marriage age, her father apparently makes sure that she is married and married to the right person. He does so, in order to safeguard the values and reputation of the girl and thus that of her mother from being blurred due to the girl’s remaining in parent’s home despite her reaching marriage age. With regard to men, every one ensures getting engaged to a girl whose lineage is culturally acceptable to get married to the person, and the girl should be one that has neither been engaged to another person nor is a widow. She should be a courteous, virgin girl well-bred-culturally, and be from a family with traditionally sound background. One never accepts to get married to a girl with concealed background, who crossed rivers and arrived there and may have exposed herself to any premarital or extramarital relationship with other men. At wedding, there certain duties the family of the bride needs to fulfill like cows given to the girl family, and others. More over the brides family should make sure a favorable relationship is built and maintained over the years, beginning from the time of engagement, and all contacts between both families are carried out in a respectful manner and in conformation with age old norms, like sending respected and honored community elder whenever negotiation is required.

Generally speaking, unlike these days we lived a better life in compliance with our culture and traditions without facing drought and famine. In case occurs drought, lack of rain fall resolution ways made through appealing to the honored cultural and spiritual leaders. As soon as the public appealed to such honored leaders, and these transferred the appeal to God. It yielded rain from God with out waiting for another hours. These prayers to God were under taken with such respected persons in different posts, like nearly the river points on hills etc…

On occasions of heavy rainfall, we prayed saying “may the rainfall be, that which never harms the nature, that doesn’t cut off a leaf from a tree, and a single hair from the livestock, a cool and peaceful rainfall etc…

In our grand father time, the relationship between God and our nation was in order, when the body of respected spiritual leader was never buried, but was just garment-rolled put in the middle of cattle barn when after is taken away by God in a miraculous manner with minutes accompanied by clouds, such mysterious realities seems a folktale when narrated these days. In particular to you, the present generation to whom we never know any thing better than an infant. Yet, though I don’t say more on this, let me just recite what was articulated by ‘Gada’ singer on an occasion. It is said,

‘The honored Sune of the plain,

Gracious brother of the god,

Due January prayed you yielded rain

Flown wet come the dry gully

Gracious of the valley, you Gods descendant

Appealed to him, ever, denied you not.

We threw to him the next question while he was collecting his once used tobacco bolus from underneath his outer ear making a short break. We asked, “Daddy, so why have things gone ever worse generation after generation?”

He replied, “‘ Myriads of reasons.’ he exclaimed. Since and ever since the smooth relationship between God and our spiritual leaders disrupted, and the subsequent loss of the ritual leaders the special privilege they had apart from the ordinary people and met the fate of ordinary people, and the deterioration of the harmony between the ritual leaders and the ordinary people. More importantly, the grand factor is our eviction from our ancestral lands and denial of access to the critical environmental resources(dry productive and dependable grazing lands, numerous Water points on the Awash river etc)that retreated us to the periphery and ever shrinking resources by the government and its different campaigns aggravated by the subsequent expansion of urban towns, lake ‘Nogoba,’ and new nomads entrants to our land etc. These beyond impairing our livelihood as pastoralists gradually plunging us deeper in to an increasingly diminishing productivity and increasing impoverishment, languished our traditional governance system and nullified our customary grazing mechanisms for resources management system and much more. Therefore, if at all these mechanisms were to be thought of, it is impossible while all the retreat able lands are at hands of the government and its campaigns, and yet the meager left is abounded by non-native inhabitants. Therefore our mere abide by our culture and custom could no more function as a system to properly and fairly utilize our land and its resources, as well as properly manage its resilience, ever since and afterwards the borne of these counter forces. Moreover with the expansion of Islam and its unmatched principles with the elements and constituents of our traditional ‘Gada’ values and cultural assets, the introduction of the government judicial system- the public issues instead of resolving In a usual manner, begun addressed to the government court, etc had a significant bearings in curtailing the rest perspectives of our customary institutional system.

He further went on, ‘Lost we do our identities today, you children!’ He exclaimed. The traditional clan system to control misbehaving of its members has fade away. Today, in part of our land, Axes are clearing away trees. Brought are things which are contrary to our development, where the benefactors are outsiders. To wit, the “Arake ”-the local alcoholic liquor, the leading predator of our culture and tradition, as a consequence of which murder between Karayyu has come a recurring coincidence.”

To worse the matter off these sullied component of the multitude took as their resort for generating cash for such a rubbish purpose, the clearing of forest and provide for sale in the form of fuel wood or­­/and charcoal. It would have been less regrettable had the money generated in such an environmentally hazardous way served to support the household's insecure livelihood. Moreover clearing of forests is similarly adopted throughout the entire community, whereas the “JImaa ” consumption instead of the “ Arake ” (consumed by the ‘Dullacha’ clans federation settled north of the highway.) is common in dwellers on the other side of the high way..

Generally this leads to a conclusion that the people are getting irresponsible to their actions on their land. In the past, land was considered a collective property of the multitude. where as at present who possess the land now and in the future remains a question and is thus seem to be the cause for irresponsible intensified competition over its use. Analogous to a hired herder who never hesitate abusing the livestock he keeps whenever possible at any possible means. so is our land. Numerous are planning to grab as they or others did while others demanding to own it to put to their use. My children, I may pass away any time, it is therefore you who is answerable to the fate of our fatherland, and the generation now onwards.”

I then begun contemplating the validity of the issues raised. still, I conceived myself lazy, inarticulate and with minimal intelligence, and any other Personal qualities, call whichever you may, less than my father and much less than my grandfather regardless of the evolutionists theory as to the mental and physical developments of human being over years. I groaned to my self, Dwarf!

Reciting of what I heard and relating it with the practical world so far I know, I lastly came to a conclusion and told to myself that –practically true is all, the karayyu used to be nature lovers, nature nurturers. That is why they are naming their children with the names of their grazing land, trees, rivers, and so on. To wit the names Arolle, Eddo, Hawas, Fantalle, Bulga, Dhadacho, Lugo, Summa, Qurqura, Bosat,Ledi,Saphane, Rukessa, Wadessa, Jilo, Jajaba, Burqa, etc each corresponding to either of the mentioned natural resources category.

In the past, an Unfair use of natural resources is conceived as offending God, with a consequence of bad fates to one‘s family (people and livestock),and was a prohibited practice. Tree clearing caused a loss one‘s social image while putting him in to the rituals curse with a consequential loss soon or after. If in case one happens to make similar faults one is required to spend some stock expenditure to be forgiven by the ritual leaders…such I was reciting, when I fell asleep.

This being naked truth making an analysis of changes in livelihood status over years helps to make a valid and meaningful attitudes thus shaping ones actions in the future. Making use of resources without compromising the next generation’s share is what does normally un irresponsible being, where as make use of and manage resources in a way that safeguards and secures the fates of following generation is what a responsible being commences. succeed to the next generation, a comprehensive asset kit–A kit containing the cultural elements, the constituents of custom, humanity, graciousness, human respect, and all qualities that human being is bestowed to be a full person, plus the know how by which one enlightens his/her aspirations in economic and social development, so far as ,if not more so than what one acquired is a big leap to rescue vanishing in vain. That way one leaves his benign deeds and title aback.

So, We the present generation criticized may not for not keeping abreast of our parents in all accounts, But why do we ever then despise their status? Are we taking for granted being able to read and write, where as our education is indeed nothing to write home about and if at all, for the very sacrifices made by them?

“Moved to the highland, you reached not there, remain home not stayed in the lowland, the present boasting generation, these years will be found out your shame.” This is to mean that one has to master to a given field of life rather than leaping to two at a time thus no yielding achievement in either while confusing in between-like the current karayyu generation who is detached from the original lifestyle to and still not catching up with the other school of life-education based economic sustenance.

wish to realize progress, better we learn from parents than tempting to tell. What if we acquire the art of relating and integrating our purchased knowledge with the practical to be gained from our fathers, then use our intuition further to further organize, reshape and replenish them in an insightful manner so as to better utilize them in influencing the future? Here, it goes without saying that the very advanced foreigners knock our doors assessing knowledge from such people we look down on. had we not been immature, we would have followed the same track and would have not kicked off our traditional base while seeking to be seen intellects. We, who lack bread and to whom provide water, our starved sisters traverse miles back-carried reach home and fall sick, as if whom fathers apart from feeding and saving themselves did not spare for the beasts! Unsavory we being, involved in unwholesome practices like exposure to HIV-AIDS, various addictions, extravagance, etc. and to worse off, spoiled our families with all these acquired ills. So, cursing you never escape these unless you keep yourself aloof noticing that these and their deadly effects are not limited to you, nor are limited in space and time. Their threat, pass to generations to come unless are publicly fought- by the adult, the youth, and in particular by men.

We need to learn from our fathers acknowledging the successes of the predecessors. They do it on all occasions. Among, as articulated in one of the “Gada” celebration songs called “Dambale,”

“ Had lived my ancestors in place of me, my land would not have shrunk to so a … ” admitting being surpassed. Where as we deny what we inherited, allege the intangibles. We are not productive yet, consume up what is saved. In the era of our grand fathers, they kept a splendid mass of grazing land, where as our fathers a sole part of it, and at our hand now remained only a tip of it-implying that grand fathers are by far better than our fathers, as our fathers do than we.

“The riding stick of the cattle is made from the ‘Ledi ’ tree,

God, the truth is at your hands, may you forgive us !...” (As translated from verses some karrayyuu ladies' traditional song.)

Thanks,

Rukeelluu.