Post on 20-Feb-2023
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Overview of Geographical and Historical Background of Kelelä Wärädä
This thesis examined the history of the shrine of Shäyh Shäräfädin from 1868-2013. The shrine
was established by Shäykh Shäräfädin. He was among the nineteenth century religious Ulämä of
South Wällo. He was born from the family of Borenä Negelē and notable religious leader of the
region who have genealogical line with Prophet Muhämmäd. His mother, Lomitä Wodi was born
from one of the immigrants of Borenä Negelē. As we will see in Chapter II, he was born from his
father Shäykh Ibrähim Tohä in Kelelä Wärädä. 1The term Kelelä, which literally means,
“shelter”, has strategic connotation for the area it referred. The elder people of present-day
Kelelä recall that the previous name of the area was called Gefersä. Gefersä is an Oromo word
which means wide. The name Gefersä was given as the name of the area by one of the immigrant
of Negelē Borenä chief known as Wodäje Ali Sēkotorē. At the same time, Ali Wodäje Boru, the
other notable chief of Borenä Negelē re-named it as Gefersä, name of his forefathers, as Kelelä.
The literal and contextual meaning of the word Kelelä mainly stands for the strategic location of
the area in defending and defeating his neighboring enemies. Ali Wodäje who was pleased by the
strategic location of the area coined the name Kelelä for the region.2
The town of Kelelä was established during the reign of Emperor Menelik II during the beginning
of the twentieth century. The capital of the district, Kelelä town, is located 562 Kilometers, 642
Kilometers and 162 Kilometers from Addis Ababa, the regional capital Bahr Dar, Dessē, the
1 Enku’an Le-2013. Ye-Däggär Mesjidel Shäräfädin Ametäwi Metäsebia Be’al Beseläm Aderesächihu! Be-Kelelä
Wärädä Bähil EnäTurism Şihfet Bet Ye-qirs Ťibeqä Enä Yetigberä Budin Yetezegaje, Tikimt, 2004, Manuscript, and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
2 Seid Yimer Ali, “Ye-Kelelä Ketemä Tärik” Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Bureau, 2002, pp. 4-5.
2
capital of South Wällo Zone respectively.3 As already stated above, Kelelä town was established
by Oromo chiefs who came to the area from Borenä Negelē. Ali Wodäje Boru, who succeeded
his forefathers‟ authority, was the administrator of the town during the period of Emperor
Tewodros. Shifäw Yimeru and his son Amädē Shifäw consecutively took power of Kelelä until
the invasion of Italy. The patriots of Kelelä Wärädä led stiff resistance against the invasion of
Italy. Dejäzmäch Geletä Qorgno, Fitäwräri Kidäne, Haile Selassie Abä Jebel and Dejäzmäch
Gubenä Amädē were among the noble patriots of Kelelä who bravely defend the region from the
invasion of Italy. After the withdrawal of Italy; Haile Selassie Abä Jebel, Geletä Qorgno and
Fitäwräri Kidäne successively administered Kelelä until 1942. In 1942, Dejäzmäch Gubenä
Amädē disentangled Mekäne-Seläm and administered it separately. In this time, Dejäzmäch
Mulugetä G/hiwot, Negus Michael Ali‟s grandson, succeeded Fitäwräri Kidäne. During the
reign of Emperor Menelik, the administrative structure of the country divided into Awräjjä and
Wärädä in 1943.4 In 1993, Wogidi, Borenä, Säyint and Kelelä were disintegrated and formed the
present day Wärädä structure of Western Wällo in their respective name respectively.5 Borenä
Awräjjä covered 5099 gäshä land.6
A preparatory school was built in Kelelä in 2008.7 The populations of Kelelä Wärädä are
dependant on agriculture. Some of the residents of the town of Kelelä also involve in trade
activities as one source of income. From 2003-2007 around 26% of the income of the town was
3 Be-Debub Wällo Mestedädir Zone Be-Borenä, Wogidi Enä Kelelä Wärädäwoch: Ye-Beto, Woleqä Enä Abäy
Sheleqo Täsäbi Biheräwi Pärk ye-Zirzir Ťinät Report, May 2012, p. 3.
4 Ye-Kelelä Ketemä Tärik, 2002 prepared by Seid Yimer Ali and found in Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism
Bureau, PP. 3-8; Birhän Asefä Arägäw, “Bähläwi Ye- Gidit Afetät Zedewoch Be-Wogidi Enä Be- Borenä Wärädäwoch” (MA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian Language and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 2002), p. 17. Informant: Ato Ayälēw Haile, Mubärek Mustefä.
5 Birhän Asefä Arägäw, pp. 5 and 17.
6 Teferä Mekonnen, “Bähläwi Gäbichä Be-Borenä Awräjjä,” (BA Thesis, Department of Theatrical Art School,
Addis Ababa University, 1981), p.III.
7 Seid Yimer Ali, “Ye-Kelelä Ketemä Tärik,” Kelelä Wärädä, Cultural and Tourism Bureau, 2002, p. 9.
3
generated from trade. However, the number of people of the Wärädä that have been actively
involved in trade activities increased through time. From 2008-2010, around 28.9% of the town
residents were actively involved in trade activities.8
8 Ibid., p. 10.
4
Figure 1 Adopted from Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, the Magazine of Kelelä Wärädä prepared in 2010
5
Kelelä Wärädä is bordered with Därä in the south, Lägä-Hidä in the west, Wogidi in the east and
Lägämbo Wärädä in the north.9 Kelelä Wärädä with its area 1767 Square Kilometers (146380
hectare) lies between 10020‟-10047‟N Latitude and 38042‟-39016‟E Longitude. The altitude of the
district ranges from 1227 meters around Beto River valley to Guyemä Mountain with a height of
2986 meters in the northern part of the district.10
The topography of the district is not uniform.
According to a research report of South Wällo Administrative Zone, Wogidi and Kelelä
comprise 10% flat and plain land, 20% River, 47% mountainous and the remaining 23% is
undulating hills. Moreover, highlands are concentrated in the northern part while lowland areas
are found on the periphery of south, south west and south eastern part of the district. There are
two rainy seasons in the district. These are the rainy season (June- August) and belg or period of
small rain (March- May) season. The Agro-ecological position of the area mainly comprises two
agro-ecological regions. Around 87% of Kelela Wärädä is found in Sub-Tropical (Woinä Degä)
and the remaining 13% is in the tropical (qollä) region. Similarly, the amount of rain fall
recorded during the rainy seasons of the district ranged from 700- 1200mm.11
Population in Kelelä Wärädä is characterized by fast rate of population growth in South Wällo
Zone. The total population of Kelelä Wärädä is 136,545. Among this, 67,929 are women and the
remaining 68,616 are men. Kelelä Wärädä is also one of the Wärädäs of South Wällo in which
its inhabitants with different religions lived in co-operation. Around 95% (130,313) of the total
population are Muslims, 4.43% (6,054) Orthodox Christians, 0.05% (67) Protestants, 0.047%
(65) Catholics, 0.03% (41) Traditional religious followers while the remaining 0.0037% (5) is
9 Zergäw Asferä. “Some Aspects of Historical Development in “Amhärä/ Wällo (ca. 1700- 1815), BA Thesis,
Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1973, p. 69; Ethiopian Road Authority, Afro-Consult and Trading ELT research paper, 2009.
10 Ethiopian Road Authority and Informant: Hägos Hailu who has been a Specialist in Safety Net and
Natural Resource in Kelelä Wärädä Agricultural Office.
11 Be-Debub Wällo Mestedädir Zone Be-Borenä, Wogidi Enä Kelelä Wärädäwoch: Ye-Beto, Woleqä Enä
Abäy Sheleqo Täsäbi Biheräwi Pärk ye-Zirzir Tinät Report, May 2012, pp. 3-5.
6
the followers of other religions. Among the total people of Kelelä Wärädä, 5.6% (7,640) of the
people live in towns. While 5,609 urban residences live in Kelelä town the remaining 2031 lives
in the other towns of Kelelä Wärädä. The remaining 94.4% (128,905) people lives in rural
areas.12
For administrative convenience, Kelelä Wärädä is divided into different Qebelēs
(districts). The district has 36 Qebelēs among which 33 are rural and the remaining 3 are urban
Qebelēs.13
During the second half of the last decade of the 1990s, the town of Däggär was
established in the southern edge of Kelelä at a distance of 26 kilometers from Kelelä.14
Most of
the people, particularly the residents of the northern part of the district speak Amharic language.
But, people who live in the Qollä parts of the district, due to their geographical proximity with
the Oromo speaking people of Därä, speak Oromognä as their second language.15
Introduction and Consolidation of Islam in South Wällo
There is a tradition among the people of Wällo which related the conversion of the people to
Islam with the coming of an Arab called Debelo. According to the tradition, Debelo was
identified with the Dibuli who were among the first Shirazi settlers on the Red Sea coast. This
was the justification for the Wärrä-Himäno ruling families to claim an Arab or Persian
ancestor.16
However, Trimingham has been skeptical about the tradition largely based on
etymological grounds. He argued that, Debelo is not an Arab name and tells us nothing about its
12 Seid Yimer Ali, p. 9; Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Statistical Report on Population Size and
characteristics of the 2007 population and Housing Census of Ethiopia, Results for Amhara Region, Vol. I (Addis Ababa: Branna, 2010, p. 11, 32 and 168.
13 Informants: Zeritu Hussein and Hägos Hailu, interviewed on Kelelä Wärädä Communication and Agriculture
Offices respectively.
14 Seid Yimer Ali, p. 9.
15
Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Kässäw Usmän, interviewed on the compound of the Shrine of Däggär.
16 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, Ethiopia: Revival, Reform and Reaction, (Leiden, Boston and
Koln:Brill, 2001), pp. 62-63 and informants: Shäykh Umär Därge Aräriso and Shäykh Seid Ťolhä, in Addis Ababa, in the Mosque of French Legation in Yeka Sub-City.
7
Arabic origin which makes the tradition spurious.17
Blundell‟s Royal chronicle was the exclusive
written material that substantiated this tradition. This royal chronicle, however, stated nothing
about the origin and the period of the coming of Debelo to Ethiopia.18
The introduction and consolidation of Islam in South Wällo was also linked with the arrival of
Arab preachers, political protester, teachers and individual settlers around south eastern Wällo
bordering the Islamic regions of the Sultanates of Ifat and Shewa. The arrivals of the descendants
of the Jäbärti (indigenous Muslim community of north and central Ethiopia) who carried Islamic
doctrine and who settled in the region were the other considerable means for the introduction of
Islam in the region. Local tradition relates that Shäykh Säbir and Shäykh Gäräd were the two
early Muslim preachers who settled around Kombolchä and Dessē. These were believed to be the
first preachers in the conversion of the surrounding Amhärä communities to Islam. These
Muslim Ulämä19
came from Harar. According to tradition, the present neighborhoods of
Shäshäbir and Gärädo in Dessē derived their names from the name of these two preachers.20
Traditions in Wällo also indicate that Asqäri (from the Arabic Asghär) and „Ad Käbirē (from the
Arabic Käbir) were responsible clans for the dissemination of Islam in Wällo. The „Ad Käbirē
clan in Tembēn claims to have originated from the Hijäz. The ancestors of the clan were two
brothers known as Käbirē (the eldest) and Asqäri (the youngest). The clerics of the clan later on
moved to Wällo and disseminated Islam. The offspring of Asqäri moved and settled in Borenä,
western Wällo. The local communities considered them as possessors of Kärämä (the power of
17 Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (London: Oxford University, 1952), p. 193.
18
H. Weld Blundell, the Royal Chronicle of Abyssinia: 1769-1840, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922), p. 511.
19 The plural form of alim, which means Muslim scholar
20
Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines in South Wällo,” (Proceedings of the Fifth Seminar of the Department
of History, Addis Ababa University, 1990), p. 62 and Informant: Shäykh Muhämmäd Säni interviewed in Dessē, South Wällo.
8
making miraculous deeds).21
These traditions, however, are not substantiated by written sources
and are less precise in chronology. But, these different traditions reflect the indigenous views on
the complex nature of the process of Islamization and also give prominence to the largely pacific
ways in which the people were converted to Islam by immigrant teachers and scholars.22
Though the exact date and mode of the introduction and expansion of Islam to South Wällo is
obscure, tradition of the region relates it with the emergence of the Sultanate of Shewä in the end
of the ninth century and the Sultanate of Ifat around the end of the thirteenth century. Thus, the
Islamization of Wällo can be traced back to the period between the foundation of the Sultanate of
Shewä and the Sultanate of Ifät between the end of the ninth and the twelfth/thirteenth century.23
The communities of South Wällo have geographical proximity, social, economic and cultural
affinities with the Muslim communities of northern and eastern Shewä. This situation gradually
resulted in the successful introduction of Islamic tradition to South Wällo.24
Kelklächew Ali
confirmed the introduction of Islam to South Wallo even before the period of the invasion of
Ahmed Gragñ. He argued that, during the period of Ahmed Gragn‟s conquest, in the first half of
the sixteenth century, a considerable size of the inhabitants of South Wällo had already accepted
Islam.25
Islam has long been established in South Wällo probably since the tenth century. Of
course as confirmed by Jan Abbink, the Ulämä of the Sultanate of Ifät came to missionize South
21 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, pp. 62-63.
22
Hussein Ahmed, “al-Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd: Muslim Reformer, Scholar and Saint in the 19th
Century Wällo, Ethiopia,” in Bertrand Hirsch and Manfred Kropp, eds., Saints, Biographies and History in Africa (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2003), p. 176.
23 Ibid. p. 175-176 and Gäshäw Mohämmäd, “A Biography of Shäykh ‘Abdu Kätto,” (BA Thesis, Department
of History, Addis Ababa University, 1994), p. 1.
24 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd, pp. 175-176.
25 Kelklächew Ali, “Religion, Rituals and Mutual Tolerance in Wällo: The Case of Käbi, south west Wällo”
(MA Thesis, Department of Sociology and Social Administration, Addis Ababa University, 1997), p.31.
9
Wällo inhabitants in the fourteenth century, a century after the introduction of Islam to south
eastern Wällo.26
The second decisive period for the expansion and consolidation of Islam in the region was
related with the wars of Ahmed Grägn in the first half of the sixteenth century.27
The Jihad of
Ahmed Grägn (1527-1543) strengthened the already established Muslim communities at the
expense of the weakened Christian institutions and activities. During the period of the invasion
of Ahmed Grägn, many non-Muslim communities of the region were forced to accept Islam.
Along with the invasion of Ahmed Grägn, the activities of Muslim preachers, who had joined the
Imäm in the course of his campaign, converted the people of the region and settled in Wällo to
propagate Islam.28
In the post-Grägn period, the Tulämä, a major division of the Borenä Oromo group settled in the
southern section of Amhärä region, which is presently known as Borenä, a region which roughly
lies between the Denqoro and Wälläqä Rivers, western part of Kelelä Wärädä. They were
established in 1682 in the region.29
Until the early seventeenth century, the highland of Wällo
was inhabited by Christian Amhärä.
However, the seventeenth century expansion and permanent settlement of the Oromo people in
highland Wällo facilitated the adoption of Islam in the region.30
As a result of the gradual
26 Jan Abbink, “Transformations of Islam and Communal Relations in Wallo, Ethiopia” in Benjamin F. Soares and
Rene Otayek, eds., Islam and Muslim Politics in Africa (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007), p. 67.
27 Ibid and Kelklächew Ali, p. 31.
28
Kelklächew Ali, p. 31 and Zergäw Asferä, , pp. 2-4.
29
Zergäw Asferä, pp. 2-4 and Muhämmäd Yesuf, “Islam and the Muslim Conditions in Ethiopia,” (BA Thesis, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Addis Ababa University, 1994), p. 4.
30Muhämmäd Yesuf, pp.1-2; Asnake Ali, “A Historical Survey of Social and Economic Conditions in Wällo: 1872-
1917,” In Taddese Beyene eds., Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Vol.1 (Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1988), p. 263 and Asnake Ali, “Aspects of Political History of Wällo: 1872-1916,” (MA Thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1983), p. 1.
10
settlement and Islamization of the Oromo both in the highland and lowland areas of Wällo, the
Christian society previously occupied the highland regions of South Wällo retreated to the
highland regions of Amhärä Säyint bordering Gojjäm and Begēmder to the west and north-west
respectively. As a result of this, the dominant inhabitants of the region of Borenä, Wärrä-
Himäno, Qällu and Ambässel are Oromo.31
As a result, from the beginning of the eighteenth
century on the Oromo became patrons of Muslim clerics and champions of Islamic expansion.32
Generally in the Islamic history of Wällo, immigrant families and clerics played a vital role in
the diffusion and consolidation of Muslim culture in peaceful mode of conversion.33
The establishment of the local Muslim dynasty of Wärrä-Himäno was the other decisive factor
for the expansion and consolidation of Islam in the region.34
This Muslim principality was
established in the last quarter of the eighteenth century in northern Amhärä, south of the Bäshlo
River35
, by Mohämmädoch family, who claimed an Arab noble ancestor. The origin of the
Mohämmädoch is obscure. However, local traditions considered the ancestors of the ruling
dynasty of Wärrä-Himäno came from Arssi around the turn of the eighteenth century. Bäbo
Nurädin is remembered as the forefather of the Mohämmädoch. Järi Täkile received the Muslim
Oromo spearheaded by him. Järi Täkile was an elderly man in 1682 that came to Gondar during
the period of King Iyäsu I so as to mediate him with Wućäle Oromo. He was the descendant of
the Arēloch who had a strong sphere of influence in north eastern Amhärä including the districts
31 Mohammed Yesuf, “Islam and the Muslim Conditions in Ethiopia,” (BA Thesis, Department of Political
Science and International Relations, Addis Ababa University, 1994), pp. 1-2 and Asnake Ali, Historical Survey of Social and Economic Conditions in Wällo, p. 263.
32 Asnake Ali, Historical Survey of Social and Economic Conditions in Wällo, p. 263 and Hussein Ahmed,
“Two Muslim Shrines,” p. 62.
33 Hussein Ahmed, “The Life and Career of Shaykh Talha b. Ja’far (c. 1853-1936)” (Journal of Ethiopian
Studies, XXII, 1989), p. 13 and Gäshäw Muhämmäd, p. 63.
34 Hussein Ahmed, “The Life and Career of Shaykh Talha b. Ja’far, p. 13.
35
Bäshlo River is an important River rising in the east of the central plateau, flows west and then south and joining the Abäy about latitude 10
o55’. See, H. Weld Blundell, p. 537.
11
of Ligot, Tähulädärē, Wärrä-Täyē, Wärrä-Abichu and Wärrä-Bäbo until 1842. He was actually a
friendly man to the incoming Oromo groups in different periods through different directions.
Täkilē, the priest of Wällo, also welcomed the new comers in the first half of the seventeenth
century.36
As indicated by Zergäw Asferä, Bäbo Nurädin is claimed to have been the descendant
of Shäykh Nur Hussein of Arssi. The immigrants were settled at a place called Mämmäd in Gärfä
in the present day Lake Ardibo in Wärrä-Bäbo, Ambässel-Tähulädärē Awräjjä.37
It was established by the descendants of Godänä. Godänä Bäbo was among a Muslim cleric who
came from Arssi and settled around Gärfä, east of Ćälläqä River around 1700.38
Godänä
succeeded in extending his influence over Tähulädärē, in Ambässel, North West of Gärfä. The
rulers of Gärfä adopted and pursued vigorous policy to consolidate and expand Islam to the
neighboring areas.39
The Wärrä-Himäno established a ruling family in South Wällo, Täntä,
which got some sort of predominance over the other Wällo clans of Jämmä, Lägä-Hidä, Lägä-
Gorä, Lägämbo, Ali Bēt, Abäy Bēt and Gimbä since the early ninetheenth century. These were
the original localities which constituted the so-called “Säbät Bēt Wällo (the seven houses of
Wällo).40
Beginning from the second half of the eighteenth century, the power of the
„Solomonic‟ Emperors continue to decline and their jurisdiction over Amhärä was confined to
territories north of the Bäshlo River and to Amhärä Säyint in north west Wällo. As a result, the
Wärrä-Himäno princes led armies that threaten the wellbeing of this area.41
36 Zergäw Asferä, pp. 10-11 and 73.
37
Hussein Ahmed. Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, p. 116; Zergäw Asferä, p. 20 and Addis Zemen, Lebheräwi Shengo Mirdä Yeqerebu Iduwoch Zirzir (45
th Year, No. 530, May 30, 1987), p. 10.
38 Hussein Ahmed. Islam in 19th Century Wällo, p. 27 and 116 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 12.
39
Hussein Ahmed. Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, p. 117.
40 R.A. Caulk, “Religion and the State in Nineteenth Century Ethiopia” (Journal of Ethiopian Studies, X, I,
1972), p. 31; Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, pp. 117-119 and Zergäw, p. 4.
41 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. 116 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 48.
12
The marked beginning of Wärrä-Himäno as an independent principality was carried out by Ali
Godänä. The reign of Muhämmäd Ali (r.ca. 1771-1785) was an important period in the further
expansion of the domain of the Mohämmädoch and the consolidation of Islam.42
Muhämmäd Ali
strengthened his power on the basis of Islam by seeking and obtaining the support and sanction
of Muslim scholars and jurists. He was also inclined to make Shäria the basis of the prevailing
legal system. This strengthened his friendship with the reformist and revivalist scholars like
Shäykh Ali Adäm (popularly known as Ali Jerru) who immigrated to Bilän in southern outskirts
of Dessē town from Northern Shewä and Shäykh Tälhä b. Jä‟fär, Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd of
Gätä and others.43
Bätto succeed Muhämmäd Ali (1785-90). After him, Bätto‟s brother and
Muhämmäd Ali‟s son, Amäde Kolläsē, or Amädē „the elder‟ took power. Amädē completed his
father‟s plan of territorial expansion by incorporating the districts of Amhärä into his domain.
The Imämäte of Amädē extended as far south, Wänćit and Jämmä Rivers, and as far west as the
Abäy River.44
This territory included the present day Kelelä Wärädä as part and parcel of the
Muslim principality of Wärrä-Himäno.45
Like his forefathers, Amädē was committed to
strengthening the position of Islam in Wällo. He coordinated the forces of Amhärä Säyint under
Berellē Ergo; Lägämbo, Lägä-Gorä, Wärrä-Ilu, Jämmä and Borenä under Billē Ali; Qällu and
Rēqqē under Endris Boru and Tähulädärē, Wärrä-Abbechu, Wärrä-Wäyyu, Wärrä-Täye and
Wärrä-Bäbo under the commandment of Märēyyē. The Muslim dynasty of Qällu had strong
hostile neighbors of Wärrä-Bäbo and Tähulädärē in the north. Qällu‟s constant claim of
controlling the strategic and commercially important district of Däwwäy led to frequent clashes
between hereditary chiefs of Däwwäy and the neighboring Muslim Dynasties including Qällu.
42 Hussein, Islam in 19
th century Wällo, pp. 117-119.
43
Ibid., p.121 and 176-177; Hussein, “The Life and Career of Shäykh Tälhä,” pp.17-21 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 70.
44 Hussein, Islam in 19
th century Wällo, p. 122 and Zergäw Asferä, pp.37-61.
45
Hussein, Islam in 19th
century Wällo, p. 233 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 69.
13
To the west of Qällu, Lägä-Gorä maintained and exercised some sort of indirect control over
Lägämbo, Lägä-Hidä and Jämmä. The ruling dynasty of Lägä-Gorä was known as the house of
Gättiroch, a term derived from the name of its center, Gättira. The Gättiroch also controlled the
independent chiefdoms of Ali Bēt, Abäy Bēt and Gimbä. However, the fourth local dynasty in
South Wällo, Borenä, was administered under Wodäjē Boru. While, Wärrä-Himäno, Lägä-Gorä
and Qällu assisted Räs Ali militarily, Adärä Billē, Tähulädärē, Borenä, Lägämbo, Lägä-Hidä,
Wärrä-Bäbo and Ambässel fought amongst themselves over the acquisition of territory and
tribute.46
The internal rivalry among the ruling houses of Wällo was resulted from the deliberate
policy of the lords of Begemder and the princes of Shewä to secure local allies amenable to the
expansion of their spheres of influence. Generally, political fragmentation characterized by
intense rivalry between some of the hereditary rulers and the attempts of the Wärrä-Himäno
princes to bring different chiefdoms under its control prevailed in Wällo in the first half of the
nineteenth century.47
There were dynamic and continuous interactions among the above ruling
houses. Constant warfare, intermarriages, economic reciprocity and movements of groups
characterized their relationship. The leader of Lägä-Gorä (Adärä Billē) and Qällu (under Berru
Lubo) maintained friendly relationship with each other through marriage from 1830s-1840s.
Berru gave his daughter, Fätimä, to Adärä for political reasons, i.e., to prevent Adärä from
allying himself with Shewä. Contrary to this, the Tähulädärē chief, Ali Märyyē and Imäm Färis
of Gärfä engaged in war with Qällu, Lägä-Gorä, Wärrä-Himäno, Wärrä-Bäbo and Ambässel.48
Amädē was died while he fought with the joint forces of the governors of Lägä-Hidä and Lägä-
Gorä in 1803 at a place called Yelälä in Wärrä-Himäno Awräjjä particularly in Lägä-Hidä, on the
46 Hussein, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, pp. 125-128.
47
Ibid., p. 128.
48 Ibid., p. 128 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 6
14
southern edge of the Awräjjä.49
The immediate cause for the battle of Yelälä was a rebellion
raised by the bäläbäts of Lägä-Hidä and Lägä-Gorä, after his return from the campaign of
Gondar, which resulted from the hereditary right of them to administer their successive regions.
The successor of Amädē, Libän devastated Lägä-Hidä and the neighboring districts as revenge to
the death of his father. He also subjugated the districts that rebelled against his father for a period
of seven consecutive years. After he assumed the title of Imäm, he encouraged the propagation
and expansion of Islam. He desecrated some of the local churches and turned them into
mosques.50
He died in 182551
in a campaign while fighting to convert a local Christian
community of Wädlä, Däläntä and Däwunt. In 1825, he was succeeded by his son Amädē Libän
who converted a large number of Christians in the principality of Wärrä-Himäno to Islam. He
died in 1838. He was succeeded by Libän who was renowned for his Islamic fervor. He was
considered as the defender of Islam. Before he assumed the hereditary governorship of Wärrä-
Himäno, he led an armed incursion into Gäyēnt that resulted in the burning down of churches in
May 1799.52
Libän was deposed by the order of Räs Ali Alula in 1841. Following this there was
intense rivalry for power among the offspring of Libän Amädē until 1855. The sons of Libän
Amädē; Ali, Bäshir and Abä Mijä Amädē divided the imämäte of the Mohämmädoch which
weakened it.53
Hence, the expansion of Islam followed the footholds of the continuously expanding Muslim
dynasty of Warra-Himano. The control of Amhärä Säyint after November of 1797 together with
the already consolidated territories of the south up to Wänćit River, found south of Kelelä
49 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wallo, p. 123 and Zergaw Asfera, pp. 51-53.
50
Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19th
Century Wallo, p. 124.
51 Asnäke Ali, “Aspects of Political History of Wällo, p. V and 2.
52
Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, 124 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 57.
53 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. 125 and Asnäke Ali, “Aspects of the Political History of Wällo,
p. 2.
15
Wärädä, signaled the predominance of the Mohämmädoch in the whole region of Wällo.54
Generally, around the turn of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, highland Wällo was
predominantly inhabited by Muslims with the exception of Amhärä Säyint and Wädlä Däläntä.55
1.1. Yejju Dynasty: Islam and Politics Entwined
As stated so far, the Wärrä-Himäno Muslim principality had strong and friendly relations with
Yejju Dynasty. The then Yejju Oromo leaders had assisted the clerics of the Imäm of Wärrä-
Himäno. Amädē was among the powerful leaders of a “Muslim Party” in Wärrä-Himäno. He was
a powerful man who ruled over Wällo and Wärrä-Himäno. He accompanied Räs Ali, son of
Wäyzäro Menen and Alulä, on several successful campaigns until his death in 1838. Amädē
engaged in the preaching process and travelled as far as Begemder to bear books of Islam and all
its laws. While he was on the road and was trying to join Räs Ali II, he died on the march.56
However, the specific place he died needs further research. Along with the establishment of
Yejju and Wärrä-Himäno Muslim power, large Muslim factions emerged in Wärrä-Himäno,
Wällo, central and northern Ethiopia.57
Before the coming to power of Amädē in Wärrä-Himäno
in 1825, there were many Christians in the region who were either forced or persuaded to convert
to Islam during his period.58
Wärrä-Himäno Muslim dynasty was even independent of imperial
control of Yejju dynasty in Gondar.59
The political and religious impact of Islam, however,
began to be felt throughout the region in the reign of Räs Ali II (1831-1853). Though he was
54 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. 116 and Zergäw Asferä, p. 48.
55
Gäshäw Mohämmäd, p. 2.
56 H. Weld Blundell, p. 488 and Seyuom Woldē Yohännes, “Räs Ali and Tewodros: the Position of Islam in
Central Ethiopia,” (BA Thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1968), p. 29.
57 H. Weld Blundell, p. 488 and Seyuom Wolde Yohännes, pp. 15-20.
58
W. K. Isenberg and L. J. Krapf, Journals of the Rev. Messrs., Isenberg and Krapf: Proceedings in the kingdom of Shewä and Journeys in other parts of Abyssinia in the Years 1839, 1840, 1841 and 1842(London: Frank Cass and Co.LTD, 1968), p. 362.
59 Zergaw Asfera, p. 13.
16
nominally Christian, he appointed his uncles, who were fanatic Muslims, governors of great
provinces where they introduced Islamic customs and made proselytes by persuasion and force.
Islam which had been closely tied with the political power of Yejju Oromo reached a stage
where it could threaten the interest of the Christian population. The number of Muslims in every
town of commercial importance increased from time to time. In areas where Ali‟s partisans
ruled, Islam had spread by forceful propagation.60
In 1840s, the throne at Gondar was closely dominated by Räs Ali and Menen in which Emperor
Yohannes III was only its nominal shadow king. Wällo and Wärrä-Himäno Muslim partisans
gave an impressive assistance for Räs Ali.61
Hussein Ahmed considered the struggle amongst the
warlords of northern and central Ethiopia of the Zemene Mesäfint (c. 1750-1855) as a clash
between Christian Amhärä and Tigrean elements and Yejju Oromo campaigns of Islam.62
However Abir, Who critically reviewed the works of Lefebvre, Harris and plowden‟s travel
accounts, confirmed the war of the period as the war of Christian Amhärä and Tigrean elements
and the Wällo Oromo so as to preserve their predominant position in the northern part of
Ethiopia. The religion simply utilized by both sides as a means to integrate the population of
occupied territories and to consolidate their own respective authority. Rather, politico-economic
factors emanated from the interest to control trade were the main cause of the continuous wars
between the Christian kingdom and the Muslim principalities.63
During this period, the
60 Ibid., p. 20 and Mordechai Abir, Ethiopia, the Era of the Princes: the Challenge of Islam and the Re-
Unification of the Christian Empire (1769-1855) (London: Longmans, Green and Co Ltd, 1968), p. 111-125 and Trimingham, p. 111.
61 Zergäw Asferä, pp. 20-24; Chichele W. Plowden, Travels in Abyssinia and the Gällä Country with an account
of a mission to Räs Ali in 1848, (London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd, 1968), p. 387 and Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, pp. 20-23.
62 Hussein Ahmed, “the Historiography of Islam in Ethiopia, Journal of Islamic Studies, III, 1(1992), p. 19.
63
Mordechai Abir, Ethiopia, the Era of the Princes, p. 112 and Mordechai Abir, “Trade and Christian-Muslim Relations in Post-Medieval Ethiopia,” in Robert L. Hess, ed., Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Ethiopian Studies, Session B, April 13-16, 1978 ( Chicago, 1978), p. 412.
17
Negädräses and most community towns had a privilege to built mosques and performed public
prayers. They were responsible for the spread of Islam in northern and central Ethiopia. The
wealthiest Muslim residents of Wärrä-Himäno made regular annual pilgrimage to Mecca.64
The
emergence of a core of Islamic leadership connected with the political power of Yejju revived
Islam in the first half of the 19th
century. The Muslim power in Wällo and Wärrä-Himäno had
strong relations with the house of Räs Ali II at Gondar. The religious leadership of Wällo
Muslims was firmly led by a relative of Räs Gugsa, Imäm Libän of Wärrä-Himäno.65
The
leadership position of Sebät Bēt Wällo tribes was held by a grand son of Libän through a
politico-religious title known as Imäm.66
The Sebät Bēt Wällo Oromo tribes were Wärrä-
Himäno, Wärrä-Qällu, Lägä-Gorä, Tähulädärē, Borenä, Lägämbo and Ćarso and Lägä-Hidä.67
The Sebät Bet Wällo considered Imäm Libän, son of Amädē, as a representative of Muslim
power in Ethiopia.68
Adärä Billē, ruler of the clan of Lägä Gorä, and Berru Lubo of Wärrä-Qällu,
who were educated at the court of Amädä, held important positions during the rule of Räs
Gugsä.69
The chiefs of a Muslim Yejju who controlled central and north western Abyssinia
including Gondar favoured their co-religious communities. An illustrious for this was the favour
of Räs Imäm (d.1828), son of Gugsä, blunt support of Islam against Christianity.70
Generally during the reign of Räs Ali II, churches were burned and were even said to have been
turned into mosques. Plowden stated that Muslims specially the Negädräses defended their creed
and also confidently preached their faith. These acts were committed by Beshir, governor of
64 Zergäw Asferä, pp. 24-25 and J. Lewis Krapf, Travels, Researches and Missionary Labours during an Eighteen
Year’s residence in Eastern Africa, (London:Trubner and Co.Ltd, 1860), p. 460 and Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, p. 25.
65 Zergäw Asferä, pp. 26-27.
66
Ibid., p. 27.
67 Isenberg, K. W and Krapf, j. L., p. 325.
68
Zergaw, p. 27.
69 Ibid., p. 28.
70
Trimingham, pp. 110-111.
18
Wädlä and the uncle of Räs Ali, Amädē of Wärrä-Himäno.71
Though the place of the tomb of
Ahmed Grägn is still controversial, Räs Ali revived the cult of Ahmed Grägn through initiating a
pilgrimage to his tomb in the area which is two kilometers far from the town of Degomä (Woynä
Degä).72
As stated by Teshome Birhänu, the Muslim community of the area re-built a tomb in the
hypothetically historical tomb of Ahmed Grägn in 1991 and the people visit it in February 23 by
slaughtering white bull.73
Räs Ali II was said to have embraced Islam around 1842. As a matter
of fact, Räs Ali and Menen were determined to preserve their rule through alliance with the
Egypt.74
The political and religious impact of Islam began to be felt more strongly during the
rule of Räs Ali II. It is also exaggeratedly stated that during his rule one-third of the population
of the central provinces of Abyssinia joined Islam. Although this could not be true, it does show
that there were numerous conversions.75
After 1841, Wube intensely forwarded anti-Islamic propaganda against Räs Ali. However, the
rise of Kässä (Tewodros) to power was a land mark for the decline of Muslim rule in central and
northern Ethiopia. By 1853, Kässä openly revolted and organized a Christian opposition group
against Räs Ali.76
Though previously the Muslims of Wärrä-Himäno burnt churches and
converted some others to mosques, Emperor Tewodros did not attempt to revenge the act.77
This
was because; Tewodros‟s official religious policy towards the Muslims of Wällo was not
dictated by religious considerations. Rather, political motives determined his policy of crushing
rebellious groups of Wällo and Wärrä-Himäno. Tewodros did not seriously antagonized Muslims
71 Zergäw, p. 29; H. Weld Blundell, p. 487; Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, p. 29 and Plowden, p. 111.
72
Zergäw, p. 30 and Trimingham, p. 111; Teshome Birhänu Kemäl, Imäm Ahmed Ibrähim (Ahmed Grägn), Second Edition (Addis Ababa: Alpha Printing Press, 2005), p. 178.
73 Teshome Birhanu Kemal, pp. 178-179.
74
Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, pp. 30-31.
75 Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, p. 44 and Trimingham, p. 111.
76
Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, pp. 32-40.
77 Ibid., pp. 41-42.
19
rather than strengthened his political power on the expense of the power of Muslim dynasties.78
However, following the coming to power of Emperor Tewodros, the progress of Islam was
arrested though Muslims were not forced to alter their faith in favor of Christianity.79
Around 1878, Wallo became the theatre to carry out the policy of baptizing Muslims. During this
time the two contenders of Wällo local leadership, i.e., Abä Wäťew and Mohämmäd Ali were
baptized as Christians.80
Beyond this, in 1881, Emperor Yohannes appointed Christian religious
teachers for the Muslims of Wällo. Muslim chiefs were also driven away from their leadership
position in which the appointees of the Emperor replaced them.81
Although office holders were
highly affected, Christianity did not become a popular religion in Wällo following Yohannes‟s
conversion policy.82
South Wällo: Center of Historical Mosques and Shrines
Shäykh Shäräfädin and the shrine of Däggär are not the only Islamic scholars and religious
institution in south western Wällo respectively. Rather South Wällo is the center of several
Awliyä. South Wällo was/is a center of prominent Shäykhs and Awliyä who had built historical
mosques in different parts of the region. Their mosques were centers of prayer and Islamic
teaching during their period after their death some of them changed into centers of celebration of
different rituals. The mosque of Jämmä Negus was among the first historical mosques of South
Wällo. It was established by Häjj Muhämmäd Shäfi Mujähidin al-Negusi in Sälmenē which is
capital of Albuko Wärädä in Ausä Awräjjä. The mosque is located 46 kilometers south east of
78 Ibid., p. 43 and Lewis J. Krapf, Travels researches and missionary labours, p.456.
79
Seyuom Wolde Yohannes, pp. 44-46 and Chichele W. Plowden, Travels in Abyssinia and the Galla Country, p. 148.
80 Mohammed Yesuf, p.17.
81
Ibid., p. 19 and Hussein Ahmed, “Trends and issues in the history of Islam in Ethiopia, eds., Nura Alkali and Adamu, Islam in Africa, (Ibadan [u.a]: Monographie Oder Zeitsch rift, 1993), pp. 211-212.
82 R.A, Caulk, p. 32.
20
Dessē. It was established in 1764. The festival of the anniversary of the birth day of the Prophet
Muhammad (Mäwlid) was celebrated here for the first time in the history of South Wällo. The
other historical mosque of South Wällo is known as Derbitu Däre-Seläm mosque. This mosque
was established in Wogidi Wärädä in Borenä Awräjjä in 1766. It was built by a prominent
Shäykh known as Shäykh Beshir. He was remembered by the Muslim community of South Wällo
in his teaching and expansion of Islam. Mäwlid ceremony is celebrated here annually in
February. Häjj Bushrä Said also established the mosque of Gätä in Ćorisä in Qällu Wärädä
during the reign of Emperor Tewodros. It is found 361 kilometers, 38.5 kilometers and 15.5
kilometers far from Addis Ababa, Dessē and Kombolchä respectively. The tomb of Shäykh
Bushrä and his family members is found around the mosque.83
The other historical mosque located in Kelelä Wärädä is Gerewä mosque. This mosque is found
in the local area of Muqeć with a distance of 190 and 25 kilometers far from Dessē and Kelelä
town respectively. The mosque was built in 1912 by Shäykh Hässän Muhämmäd Goli. This
mosque was used as a center of Quranic, Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Nehw (the study of the
classical Arabic, particularly its grammatical rules and usage) and Täfsir (exposition of the
Qur‟an) learning. The mosque trained about 800-900 Islamic students yearly. As compared to the
mosque of Shäykh Shäräfädin in Däggär, it was relatively a prominent center of Islamic teaching
to the Muslim communities of South Wällo. Kombolchä also possessed another historical
mosque known as Mejit Mosque. It was located in local area of Kombolchä known as Miťiqolo.
The other mosques which are found in Kombolchä particularly in Gälēsä were known as Jebelul
Nejä mosques. These mosques are found on the mountain of Nejä. What makes them unique
among other is that they were built underground. These mosques are so beautiful and have
83 Debub Wällo Enä Ye-Mesihib Häbtochwä, be-Debub Wällo Zone Bähil Enä Tourism Memria- Ye-Qirs Ťibeqä
Enä Tourism Limät Yesirä Hidet Yetezegäje, pp.47-51.
21
several rooms. The mosques had safely preserved their own historical heritage. Some of the
material heritages found in the mosques are; Luh84
(wood slate used to write Arabic letters and
texts), huge drum and coffee ceremony materials. There was a celebration of Mäwlid festival
celebrated in May of each year. There is also Zäwyä (the traditional house of the Ulämä that
have been used for congregational and individual ćät ceremony and other rituals) and Islamic
teaching center and mosque in Muťi Girär in Kombolchä. It was established in 1770. The tombs
of the successive Khälifäs of the mosque are found in its compound.
The shrine of Misläyē is the other historical and religious center found in Misläyē around the
historical battle field known as Arogē in Tentä. The battle of Arogē was conducted on April 10,
1868 between the forces of Britain and Emperor Tewodros before the battle of Mäqdälä and the
Emperor‟s suicide. In this battle, the forces of British were victorious.85
It is 170 kilometers and
30 kilometers far from Dessē and Tentä respectively. It was established by Shäykh Muhämmäd
Yäsin. He was a notable Wäli and strict follower of Islamic standard and ethics. In this mosque
there are two annual Mäwlid ceremonies in January and May and one weekly ceremony on
Friday. The other shrine established by a notable Wäli and Islamic teacher, Shäykh Hussein
Jibril, is found in Wogēsä in Meqdelä town, in Wärrä-Himäno Awräjjä. The tomb of Shäykh
Hussein Jibril is placed in by a newly built house and its doors covered by cloth. He remembered
in his brave fighting along with Shäykh Tälhä b. Jä‟fär, Mohämmäd Qänqē and Amädē Şädiq to
84 A Luh is a wooden plate made in different lengths and widths of about 1 cent meter thick. The surface on both
sides of it is made smooth. Then, the student prepared ink from fine charcoal from the back of cooking utensils and mixes it with water and adds cola like substance extracted from Acacia tree. After few days it ferments. Then, the student inserts pen that is made from thinner bamboo in the ink.
85 Bahru Zewde, A History of Modern Ethiopia (1855-1991), 2
nd ed., (Oxford: James Curry, Athens: Ohio
University Press and Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press), 2002, p. 41; Marcos Yeshänew, Aşe Tewodros: Yeshih Ametu Jeginä Adädir Terekoch, (Addis Ababa: HY International printing press), 2012, p. 136 and Tesfäye Akälu Abebe, AŞe Tewodros: Be-Sostu Qedemt Şehäft, (Addis Ababa: Far East Trading Press, 2012), p. 27.
22
abort the coercive religious policy of Emperor Yohannes.86
The mosque of Bäjä is also found in
Tentä Wärädä particularly in Bäjä area. It was established by Häjj Hussein Umär. The mosque is
located 176 kilometers and 36 kilometers far from Dessē and Ajibär town respectively. Apart
from these, Wärrä-Bäbo Wärädä has other mosques known as Ćällē, Deleymelē and Ťegehädi.
The mosque of Ćällē was established by Shäykh Yäsin Shäfi of Yejju. All of these mosques of
Wärrä-Bäbo were built during the period of Emperor Yohannes.87
It is too difficult to discuss about all mosques found in South Wällo. However, this section of the
thesis highlighted some of the mosques and shrines built by some of the contemporaries of
Shäykh Shäräfädin who lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Particularly the
relationship between Shäykh Shäräfädin and Shäykh Hussein Jibril was close in the Islamic
history of South Wällo in this particular period. Both of them also arrested by Emperor
Yohannes in Dessē due to their objection of their and mass conversion of Muslims to
Christianity during Boru Mēdia forcible conversion led by Emperor Yohannes.88
However, it is
difficult to get reliable written and oral source that explain the relationship of the above
discussed Ulämä and Shäykh Shäräfädin. All of the above mosques were major Sufi centers
established during the period of the development of the revival and reform of Islam in South
Wällo in particular and Wällo in general in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Tentä, the
center of Wärrä-Himano Muslim dynasty, has many mosques and religious centers that I will not
discuss here.89
Most probably, Tentä began to be the center of the Muslim Dynasty of Wärrä-
86 Jan Abbink. “Transformations of Islam and Communal Relations in Wällo, Ethiopia,” In Benjamin F. Soares
and Rene Otayek, eds., Islam and Muslim politics in Africa (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), p. 69.
87
Ibid., pp. 47-55.
88 Bogäle Teferrä Bezu, Tinbite Shäykh Hussein Jibril, (Nigd Mätemia Bēt, 2002), pp. 31-40 and Informants:
Shäykh Ahmed Abubu, Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Mekäne-Seläm-Borenä.
89 Debub Wällo Enä Ye-Mesihib Häbtochwä, pp. 54-55.
23
Himäno since 1771 which was considered to be the coming to power of Abä Jibo Muhämmäd
Ali (r. 1771-1783) who was the real founder of the dynasty.90
90 Zergäw Asferä, pp. 20-25.
24
CHAPTER II
LIFE HISTORY OF SHÄYKH SHÄRÄFÄDIN AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
SHRINE OF DÄGGÄR
Shäräfädin: Personality, Family and Educational background
In the nineteenth century, had several Islamic religious figures who were relentlessly involved in
the process of religious reform and revival of Islam and Islamic religious practices.91
These
religious scholars were highly engaged in the transformation of the social life of the community
and those who live in neighboring regions through preaching Islam and Islamic principles. As a
result of this, they got devotee adherents who established ceremonies and ceremonial centers in
different parts of Wällo so as to celebrate their miraculous deeds and to secure their assistance.
Shäräfädin Ibrähim was among the notable and the most celebrated Wäli in South Wällo. He
was also called by the name Shärif.92
Şigē Nigätu exemplified Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim as one
of the notable Islamic saints of Wällo who was celebrated by his adherents.93
He was born in
Minäyä Qebelē in Kelelä Wärädä, specifically in Woräfē area from his father Ibrähim Ťohä and
his mother Lomitä Wodi. His father‟s family line belonged to pious Muslim chiefly families who
have direct family line with the family of Prophet Mohämmäd. Shäykh Shäräfädin was born in
1841 in South Wällo, Kelelä Wärädä. Similarly, his Mother, Wäyzäro Lomitä Wodi, was born
91Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay- Muhämmäd, PP. 175-176.
92
Shärif is a name given for the great men in Islamic History. It has been a name given to those who have a lineage with prominent Islamic religious leaders like Prophet Muhämmäd. See, Birhänu Bogäle “Mesäle Bähläwi Ye-Gidit Afetät Sire ‘at Be-Anşokia Gemzä Wärädä,” (MA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian Literature and Folklore, Addis Ababa University, 2003), p. I and Ulrich Braukamper, “The Sanctuary of Husayn and the Oromo-Somali Connections in Bale (Ethiopia),” (Frankfurt: Frankfurter Africanistische Blȁtter, 1989), p. 120.
93 Şigē Nigätu Asdenäqi, “Ye-Shäykh Said Bushrä Te’amrät: Afetärik Enä Ye-Mäwlid Be’Al Akebäber Be-Gätä
(Wällo),” ( BA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian Language and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1990), p. 18.
25
from a well-known Arssi Negelē ethnic group.94
Shäräfädin, The well-known friend of Shäykh
Ibrähim, devotedly and repeatedly asked Allah to bless and give a son to his friend Shäykh
Ibrähim. He also asked Shäykh Ibrähim to call his name Shäräfädin. Hence, based on the request
and advice of Shäräfädin, the son and the later Wäli of the region was named as Shäräfädin
Ibrähim. Others related the source of the name with the contribution of the Wäli for the
expansion of Islam in the region by defining the Arabic meaning of the word „Shäräfädin.‟
Particularly the name „Shäräfädin‟ was coined to remember the contribution of this religious
teacher and leader for the expansion and consolidation of Islamic knowledge in and around the
area. Shäräfädin is an Arabic word that is defined as source of Islam and Islamic knowledge.95
Shäräfädin Ibrähim was called in different names that represented his religious, admirable,
miraculous and spiritual deeds. As Islamic religious leader and teacher accompanied by spirits,
some of Shäräfädin‟s names include: ye-Borenäw Gētä (the lord of Borenä Region), Shäykh
Shärif, and Gētäw Shähyē.96
This clearly indicates that Shäräfädin Ibrähim contributed more for
the introduction and expansion of Islam and Islamic knowledge in the region. By reviewing the
hagiography prepared by Fäqih Muhämmäd Ibn Säyf al-Häqq ash-Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko Ibn
Siddiq Bukko of Gättirä entitled as Misku‟l-Adhfär fi Mänäqib Säyful- Häqq ash-Shäykh Jä‟fär
(the Pungent Mask on the virtues of Shäykh Jä‟fär, the sword of truth) mentioned about not less
than 20 Muslim scholar saints, of which four of them were personalities who were very
distinguished in their own right. Among these distinguished scholar saints was Shäykh
94 Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin, manuscript, Organized and written by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä. He was a
contemporary of Shäräfädin Ibrähim and was Imäm of the Mosque of Märsä. Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä’s birth day has been celebrated annually in January 22.
95 Untitled Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim, manuscript, prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä of Märsä;
Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, October 2010, p. 11.
96 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, October 2010, p. 11 and Gētäw Shäykhyē Enä Asdenäqi
Tärikächew- A Manuscript prepared by Kelelä Wärädä Communication Office in 2013, p.4.
26
Shäräfädin Ibrähim of Däggär. His notable contemporary scholars were: Säyydul-Bäl97
, Shäykh
Muhämmäd Shäfi of Jämmä Negus, Fäqih Muhämmäd of Annä and Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko.98
Personality
As the two Mänäqibs99
indicated, Shäräfädin‟s personality was impressive. He used an Afro hair
style and used different traditional make-ups. He was highly interested in using Arti (Artemisia
Tilesii) as a means to make himself attractive to others. It is also indicated that it is used to clear
the nasal passage of the noise of the inhaler of it. He had a medium height and has bright color
face. Jänoyē Awole recited stanza that used to express the beautiful personality of Shäykh
Shäräfädin. She was a notable panegyrist who produced Menzumä about Prophet Muhämmäd,
Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä and Shäykh Shäräfädin. She was born in Märsä, in Abet Wuhä Qebelē, in
Kelelä Wärädä in 1934. She conducted häjj twice to Mecca in the period of Derg regime and
died in 2009.100
She recited the following stanza about Shäykh Shäräfädin.
መልካቸው ዝይኔ ራሳቸው ድምድም፤
ብቻ በቀል ናቸው እህት የላቸው ወንድም፡፡101
Shäräfädin has attractive beauty with impressive hair
he is lonely and has neither sister nor brother.
97 It was an honorific title of Al-Häjj Bushra Ay Muhämmäd of Gättira. Hussein Ahmed, “Introducing an Arabic
Hagiography from Wällo,” in Taddese Beyene ed., Proceedings of the 8th
International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 1, p. 194. See Note No. 19.
98 Ibid., p. 186.
99
Two important Mänäqibs (equivalent with the Christian Hagiography) were available in the hands of individuals. These Mänäqibs were prepared by two different personalities. The first was prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä who was with Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim in every moment. The other equally important Mänäqib was prepared by the then Quranic Student of Jämmä called Kerem Shäykh Yäsin.
100 Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu, Mubärek Yimäm and Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
101
Assefa Mamo, “Some Prominent Features of the Menzumä Genre in the Wällo region,” (MA Thesis, Department of Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1987), p. 65.
27
The voice of Shäykh Shäräfädin, however, was too thin which was somewhat boring to hear. He
was very generous and supporter of the needy. He was not only the supporter of human beings
but was caring and protecting of animals such as dogs and fed them daily. Domestic and wild
animals got food items and got friendly protection from him.102
For this behavior of Shäykh
Shäräfädin Ibrähim, Jänoyē103
attributed the following couplets:
ባቄሎ ጌትዮ መልካም የኔ ጌታ
ሇጧት የመጣውን አይለም ሇማታ
ቀኝ እጅዎን ሲይዝዎት ግራዎ አይገታ
በጣሙን ይገርማል የርሳቸው ስጦታ፡፡104
My loved lord in the area of Bäqēlo
who did not save the gift came in the morning for the evening
though the right hand arrested, his left hand never interrupted to give
the nature of him is surprising.
There is an indication that, Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim received one Shäykh with his 200 Quranic
students who were travelling in his area in a period of drought. He gladly and wholeheartedly
received them and provided his hospitality for over two years until their area recovered from the
periodic drought.105
Shäykh Shäräfädin also supported and helped the unprivileged classes. He helped the Ulämä,
orphans, divorced women and other destitute in his society. As he was standing for the problems
102 Mänäqib prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä of Märsä.
103
Jänoyē was a notable woman panegyrist in Kelelä Wärädä who constructed unpublished Menzumä that narrated the history and miraculous deeds of Shaykh Sharafadin.
104 Assefa Mamo, p. 65.
105
Informant: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu of Däggär, who was a notable Shäykh and the one who owns the Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim written by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin who was a Quranic student in 1870s and 1880s .
28
of the needy, Shäykh Shäräfädin, once, provided the matured Sorghum which was ready to be
harvested to Shäykh Beshir Qillē. He was a poor person in Däggär. It is said that six persons
protected the matured sorghum from bird.106
As was stated by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin in the
Mänäqib, Prophet Muhämmäd taught that generosity and good feeling to the disadvantaged
social classes are the features of the Awliyä107
The most generous Wäli, Shäräfädin taught that:
giving for the poor, religious discussion with friends and rain are the only three valuable and
important things to humans. He took nothing from the gifts brought to him. Rather, Shäykh
Shäräfädin provided it to the needy: such as the poor, the divorced women, orphans and other
disadvantaged sections of the community. He was host of the divorced and orphans in which he
arranged marriage among them and strongly advised them to be devotee followers of Islam.
Shäykh Shäräfädin never tried to hurt his enemies in his life. Rather, he approached them
friendly and provided gifts if they were among the needy. His reaction to those who were jealous
against him was positive. Shäykh Shäräfädin kept grain for the birds outside of his house. The
writers of the Mänäqib and the Ulämä of the period compared the character of Shäykh
Shäräfädin with Prophet Muhämmäd.108
Shäykh Shäräfädin was an uncompromising religious
man who strictly abided by the rules and regulations of Islamic law. He taught and insisted that
Muslim communities should be strict followers of Islamic law by practicing prayer, providing
regular alms to the needy, assisting human beings and animals in trouble and living in peace with
others. Shäykh Shäräfädin was also remembered in his good personality of respecting others,
unbiased decision, benefactor, transparent, tender hearted, unassuming, generous and loyal
106 Mänäqib Prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä, manuscript, and Informant: Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä who
was/is a tailor and religious man in Kelelä Wärädä and who has also a Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin prepared by Mehdi Khelifä.
107
Awliyä refers to the Plural form of Wäli, See, Alula Pankhurst, “Indigenizing Islam in Wällo: Ajäm, Amharic
verse written in Arabic script.” In Bahru Zewde et al, eds. Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies Vol.2, Addis Ababa University: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, p.259.
108 Mänäqib prepared by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin.
29
character.109
His generosity and care included animals which were in trouble. According to one
indication from his servant (Kädäm), Shäykh Umär Gällo, Shäykh Shäräfädin bravely cured a
male lion in trouble in Filboter in Beto River by pulling out a piece of wood from the lion‟s leg.
After successfully pulling out the piece of wood, Shäykh Shäräfädin treated the leg of the lion
until it got cured.110
During this time, Shäykh Umär Gällo assisted his master by holding fire,
blade, butter and meat and regularly traveled with Shäykh Shäräfädin. After pulling out the piece
of wood, Shäykh Shäräfädin fed the lion with meat and repaired its leg through the available
materials. The devotee adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin expressed his saintly intercessory power
and declared that „nothing was difficult for him.‟111
Genealogy
Shäykh Shäräfädin had a blood relation with the family of Prophet Muhämmäd and was the 37th
generation of the prophet. The family line of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim with Prophet
Muhämmäd is stated as follows:
Seidnä Ali → Said Hässen → Hässenel Musenä → Abdelläh → Abduläziz → Yäkob → Sualih
→ Däwud → Abu Bäker → Musä → Häshim → Abdel Nur → Ahmed → Ismä‟el → Hämid →
Ibrähim → Abdul Käsim → Idris → Näsir → Muhämmäd Amin → Sulehimän → Said Ahmed
→ Said Abdelläh → Abädir Ali → Said Umär → Ibn Fäqih Muhämmäd → Fäqih Ismä‟el →
Fäqih Musä → Adem Sualih (Khebir Sualih) → Said Ibrähim → Said Gimbäro (Adem Gudäm)
109 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, Manuscript, October 2010, p. 11.
110
Ibid.
111 Ibid., p.12; and Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib. The wroter got the information from Shäykh Umär Gällo
who was a servant of Shäykh Shäräfädin for two and half years and wrote by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin.
30
→ Said Muhämmäd Surur → Asqäri Usmän → Said Ťohä → Said Ibrähim → Shäykh
Shäräfädin.112
In this genealogical line, Seidnä Ali was the son of Abu Ťu‟alib. Abu Ťu‟alib was the uncle of
the prophet. Hence, Shäykh Shäräfädin had a family line with the Askäri.113
Shäykh Shäräfädin is
said to be the 37th
Askäri and since he had no son, he was the last Askäri of this particular family
line.114
More surprisingly, Shäykh Shäräfädin had neither wife nor children. This is basically
because; the community of the surrounding area called Shäykh Shäräfädin by the name „Abäbä‟
(Father) to notify their admiration and honor to him. As a result of this, Shäykh Shäräfädin
argued that he could not marry his children who called him Abäbä. He stated that all people in
the area are his children. So, he died as virgin.115
Religious Education
Shäykh Shäräfädin started his Quranic education from his father. Shäykh Ibrähim Ťohä, the
father of Shäräfädin Ibrähim, was a prominent Islamic religious teacher. This respected religious
teacher of the region provided good services to the people. Particularly his Quranic teaching of
the children of the neighboring community is well remembered among the people of the area. He
taught Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and Ilm (mastering of Islamic knowledge)116
. His
outstanding child, Shäräfädin, was among his students. Shäykh Ibrähim had six children. These
112 This genealogical family line was written by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin in the Mänäqib. Shäykh Kerem got this
information from Jä’fär Bukko Siddiq of Gättira. However, there is no consensus among the two Mänäqibs in which the Mänäqib prepared by Mehdi Khelifä considered Shäräfädin as the 34
th generation. However, the second
Mänäqib prepared by Shäykh Kerem listed all the 37 generations of the genealogical line properly; Teshome Birhänu Kemäl, p. 200 and 2003. Teshome Birhänu doubted the reliability of this genealogical line.
113 Askäri is a title of descendants of a holy family. See, Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th century Wällo, p. 204.
114
Informant: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, a notable Shäykh in Mekäne-Seläm.
115 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11, p. 12 and Untitled manuscript prepared by
Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä and Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript.
116 Ilm refers to knowledge about Astronomy, i.e., about the Moon, the Stars and the origin of other living
things on earth. See, Gäshäw Mohämmäd, p. 10.
31
were: Shäykh Shäräfädin, Khelifä, Ameley, Aťua‟uläh, Ťu‟amineh and Behjä respectively from
the old to the young. All of them were devoted Muslims who believed and regularly practiced
Islam. Behjä was a notable Wäli in Borenä Awräjjä.117
Shäykh Shäräfädin‟s mother was among
the devoted Muslims of the region. Her birth day is celebrated in the Mäwlid ceremony on
January 1 in Goro in Kelelä Wärädä. The Shrine of Lomitä was located in Goro area. There is an
indication that, Shäykh Shäräfädin displayed unexpected and extraordinary stand while his father
taught him with other Däräsä (local name given to the students of Quranic School) in the
Mosque. This incident that upset Shäykh Ibrähim was reaction of Shäykh Shäräfädin against the
beating measurement forwarded from his father. While Ibrähim, as a father and teacher, tried to
punish him to help him to re-adjust his misconducts, he seriously opposed his father. Shäykh
Shäräfädin defied by saying, “Don‟t beat me, I am older than you.”118
The father who was
surprised and shocked by his son‟s response asked his son how he could be older than him.
Shäykh Shäräfädin reminded his effort of how he saved oxen fighting on the banks of the river
which could have slide and down to the river while you and your wife were looking after them.
Shäykh Ibrähim undoubtedly understood his son‟s spiritual power.119
As soon as Ibrähim understood Shäräfädin‟s saintly power, he allowed him to go to another local
area to learn under qualified and better Islamic religious teacher. This was because Shäykh
Ibrähim understood the difficulty of teaching his son, Shäykh Shäräfädin, who was believed to be
more pious and conscious about what was happening.120
Shäykh Shäräfädin went to the mosque
117 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11 and Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin prepared by
Mehdi Khelifä.
118 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11 and A Letter Sent from Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and
Tourism Office to South Wällo Cultural and Tourism Office, No. ባ/ ቱ/ 66/ 2001፣ ቀን- 13/ 4/ 2001, p. 8.
119
Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11 and Ye-Däggär Gētäw Shäykhyē Tärik- A manuscript prepared by Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office, Unpaged.
120 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11and Ye-Däggär Gētäw Shäykhyē Ťintäwi Mesjid Adir
Tärik- A Manuscript prepared by Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office in 2013, p. 3.
32
of Shäykh Anbeso and was taught by Shäykh Muhämmäd Däggär.121
The account of his religious
education, his teachers and educational level after this period is not substantiated by sources.
Rather, both the Mänäqibs and traditions emphasize on his miraculous deeds rather than
narrating his involvement in teaching and learning process.
Shäykh Shäräfädin’s Relation with his Contemporary Ulämä and the Emperors
Unlike the long history of Islam in South Wällo, traditional forms of worship along with Islam
exercised until present day. This provided justification for those Ulämä who formulated and
executed Islamic reform movements of the previous four centuries. The effort of Southern Wällo
Ulämä for the reform of Islam and Islamic religious practices represents the intellectual
sophistication, vitality and breadth of vision of them for the development of the eighteenth and
ninetheenth century revival and reform movements in Islam.122
Shäykh Shäräfädin had peaceful
relations with his contemporary Ulämä and Ethiopian emperors. The relationship of the
ninetheenth century South Wällo Ulämä was shaped by: the presence of Imperial influence,
development of reform and revivalist movement and jealousy among them. These were
determinant factors for the relation of the Awliyä among themselves and the emperors of the
period. Shäykh Shäräfädin had a strong friendly relationship with emperor Menelik (1889-1913).
He also had positive relation with the Christian community of his region. He equally served all
Muslims and Christian guests who came to his house for different purposes.123
121 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11 and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh
Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
122 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. XIX and “Two Muslim Shrines in South Wällo,” pp. 69-70.
123
Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, October 2010, p. 11.
33
Shäykh Shäräfädin’s Relation with the Ulämä
Shäykh Shäräfädin‟s relation with his contemporaries had two facets. Due to his intercessory
power, some of his contemporaries gave recognition to his kärämä and provided gifts to him.
However, some of the Ulämä opposed some actions of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim which were
considered to be incompatible with Islam. (See chapter five about some of the incompatible
actions of him). Most of the Awliyä annually visited Shäykh Shäräfädin in recognition of his
Kärämä and also asked his help. As indicated in the Mänäqib written by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin,
Shäykh Seid Ahmed, a notable religious man of Neć Sar area, was among the Ulämä who
constantly visited Shäykh Shäräfädin. There was a special friendly relationship among the two.
Shäykh Shäräfädin went with him till the river of Aťťisa when Shäykh Seid Ahmed travelled
back to his home. Shäykh Shäräfädin continuously asked him to beg Allah to give him more
wealth to support the needy. Thus, Shäykh Seid had a great respect to Shäykh Shäräfädin. The
tomb of Shäykh Seid is found in Ejērsä Qebelē in Wärrä-Bäbo which is found far north of
Borenä.124
Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko b. Siddiq was the other religious man who had friendly relations
with Shäykh Shäräfädin. Shäykh Jä‟fär of Gättirä around Worgēsä (western Wällo) had
uncompromising stance on the fundamental questions of faith and practices. He travelled far and
wide to preach and to establish Islamic teaching centers in different parts of the region.125
Shäykh
Jä‟fär came to Däggär, while he was seriously ill by deadly abdominal disease. Shäykh
Shäräfädin received him gladly and discussed about Islam and Islamic religious practices in the
region. Later on, Shäykh Shäräfädin asked him to teach Islam in Däggär. He voluntarily accepted
the request and began teaching in Däggär. Shäykh Jämäl and Shäykh Musä, the first Khälifäs of
the shrine of Däggär after the death of Shäykh Shäräfädin, were among his Quranic Students. As
124 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript and Informant: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
125
Hussein Ahmed, “Al- Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd, p. 179.
34
stated in the Mänäqib prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä, Shäykh Jä‟fär did not consider Shäykh
Shäräfädin as the man of his century. He considered Shäykh Shäräfädin as a man of a century
long before them. This indicates that Shäykh Shäräfädin was unique among his contemporaries in
the view of Shäykh Jä‟fär. The influence of teaching of Shäykh Jä‟fär was felt until the end of the
period of Shäykh Musä (1906-1930) which characterized the strict observance of Islamic law in
the shrine of Däggär.126
A part from this, Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko was a panegyrist in the shrine of
Däggär during the time of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Thus, Shäykh Shäräfädin and Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko
lived together for expanding and consolidating Islam in the region.127
Shäykh Shäräfädin also had strong relations with the Shäykh of Märsä, Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä,
who was among the notable Ulämä of the period in Kelelä Wärädä. Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä had
passed most of his time with Shäykh Shäräfädin. Even, he was with him in the prison of Zegämēl
in the area of Fichē for six months during the reign of Emperor Yohannes (1872-1889). This
occasion and his day to day contact with the servants of Shäykh Shäräfädin assisted him to write
the Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin. He also ordered the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin to celebrate
his Mäwlid ceremony annually from October 22nd
-24th
. The beginning of the celebration of the
Mäwlid festival of Shäykh Shäräfädin provided an opportunity to his adherents to remember him
and his miraculous deeds.128
Almost all of the servants of Shäykh Shäräfädin were well-trained
Shäykhs who had non-violent relations with him. When they gave their testimony when the
Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin was written, they expressed that Shäykh Shäräfädin was a
sociable man with everybody in general and his servants in particular. Shäykh Umär Gällo,
Shäykh Ali Miskin (a blind servant), Shäykh Muhämmäd Buketu, Shäykh Muhämmäd Entälä,
126 The Untitled Mänäqib Prepared by Mehdi Khelifä and Informant: Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
127
The Untitled Mänäqib Prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä and Informants: Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä and Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
128 Ibid., Informant: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Däggär.
35
Shäykh Umär Abäyyē, Shäykh Aderä Abu, Abä Dändē, etc were among the servants of Shäykh
Shäräfädin who reported about his friendly approaches to every one.129
Jämäluddin Al-Anni of Räyyä was the contemporary of Shäykh Shäräfädin who largely
acknowledged the intercessory power of Shäykh Shäräfädin. He was born from his father Robso
Bäbbo and his mother Häwwä Shäykh „Abd al-Qädir in 1200 A.H. (1783) at Räyyä Gogolo
village. He was a notable teacher of Qädriyyä order in the Sufi chain of Islam in Ethiopia. His
tomb is fund in Korem (Yejju) which was said to be chosen by Shäykh Nuriyyē Umär to be an
appropriate tomb place for their religious hero. As was confirmed by Hussein Muhämmäd, no
one writer had written so many manuscripts as Shäykh Jämäluddin at that period.130
He wrote
letters to the then Awliyä of Wällo to respect the saintly power of Shäykh Shäräfädin and
requested to introduce the Shäykh to ordinary men. Anni also sent gifts to Shäykh Shäräfädin in
respect to his Kärämä. Moreover, Anni was very much inclined to compare Shäykh Shäräfädin
with a notable Wäli known as Ibrähimul Mubtely. It is said that the birth place of Ibrähimul
Mubtely is Iraq specifically in Kusä. The history and personality of Ibrähimul Mubtely is
obscure. However, some of my informants considered him as a prominent Wäli of his period. As
cited in the Mänäqib written by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin, Shäykh Shäräfädin repeatedly called the
name of this Wäli. Here again, Jämäluddin Al-Anni and Shäykh Shäräfädin had cheery relation
129 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, untitled Mänäqib prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä and Informants:
Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
130
Hussein Muhammad Ali, “Sufism according to Shäykh Jämäluddin Al-Anni based on his manuscript Al-
Khuläsät Al-Näqiyyä Fi Täriqät Al-Sufiyyä Al-Zäkiyyä Al-Näqiyyä,” (MA Thesis, Department of Philology, Addis Ababa University, 2007),pp. 6-19.
36
among them. Anni once referred Shäykh Shäräfädin as „Ante Selämun Awliyä‟ (The grand Wäli
of the Awliyä). The tomb of Jämälun Anni is found in present day Yejju specifically in Korem.131
However, there were occasions that brought about violent relations among the Awliyä of South
Wällo, mainly caused by jealousy over the inheritance of the Kärämä of Ahmedel Bedewi and
Ibrähimul Mubtely. They were among the four132
prominent, contemporary and notable religious
leaders in Islam. They were known as the representatives of the Awliyä. Though, my informants
did not know about the birth date and place of Ahmedel Bedewi, they believed that Egypt
particularly the place of Täntä was center of his teaching and the place of his tomb. He died in
1268. He had more than one thousand Qur‟anic students in Egypt. He learnt the rifä‟e Täriqä
from Ahmed Ibn Ali Rifä‟e of Iraq who died in 1244. After the death of Ahmedel Rifä‟e, he
returned to Egypt and expanded the order.133
He was also the Imäm of the Mosque of „Mesjidel
Jämi‟i‟ (the mosque of the Awliyä). Only the Awliyä would conduct prayer and religious
discussion under the leadership of Ahmedel Bedewi.134
The study of their religious achievement
and miraculous deeds needs further research. According to tradition of South Wällo, the kärämä
of Ibrähimul Mubtely and Ahmedel Bedewi was relatively powerful which intensified the
jealousy of the eighteenth and ninetheenth century Awliyä of South Wällo. They were the twelfth
and thirteenth century Awliyä. They were the contemporary of Abd al-qädir al-Jiläni (1077-
1160), who was considered as the founder of Qädriyyä Täriqä. Abd al-qädir al-Jiläni was born in
131 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib and Informant: Shäykh Umär Juneyid, who is a student of Ilm and
particularly of the eighteenth and ninetheenth century Awliyä and their religious contributions. He became my informant when I met him in a bus in January 28, 2014 while I was in a journey to Dessē from Addis Ababa for field work. He oriented me about all the Awliyä of the 19
th century in South Wällo.
132
According to traditions of Wällo Muslims, Ahmedel Bedewi, Ahmedel Rifä’e, Ibrähimu Disuqiy and Abd al- Qädir were the prominent and notable religious leaders in Islam, Informants: Shäykh Umär Juneyid and Shäykh Umär Däräriso.
133 Teshome Birhänu Kemäl, p. 147.
134
. Informants: Shäykh Umär Därgē Aräriso, Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole and Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
37
the Persian province of Gilän (Iran).135
The overlapping interests of the Awliyä over the
inheritance of the Kärämä of the above two Awliyä led them into temporary clashes. As was
stated in the Mänäqib, Shäykh Shäräfädin was responsible to the transmission of the Kärämä of
the deadly Wäli in the form of dress to the other. Jä‟fär Bukko asked Shäykh Shäräfädin to wear
the Kärämä of Ahmedel Bedewi. Initially, Shäykh Shäräfädin refused to do so by justifying it as
Ahmedel Bedewi‟s Kärämä was above the capacity of Jä‟fär Bukko to wear it. Shäykh Jä‟fär,
however, hopefully and repeatedly came to him with the same question seven times. Finally,
Shäykh Shäräfädin allowed him to take the kärämä of Bedewi with a serious warning that
prohibit him from going to the ritual of the other Awliyä which was not the character of Bedewi.
Shäykh Shäräfädin reminded him to behave like Bedewi. So, the question of the inheritance of
the Kärämä of the deceased Awliyä was one factor that created occasional clash among Shäykh
Shäräfädin and his contemporaries.136
Not least of the attractions of it, the transmission of
kärämä in Wällo was started in 1789. In this time, Fäqih Häshim of Dännä in Northern Wällo
transferred his Kärämä to Shäykh Zubäyär through letter. Needless to say, devotion and family
relations were the determinant factors to the transmission of Kärämä in Wällo Islamic Culture.137
As long as ninetheenth century was a period of reform and revival of Islam in South Wällo, some
issues became subjects of reform movements and sources of violent relations among the Awliyä.
Shäykh Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd, whose long stay in Sudan and Saudi Arabia was inspired to have
strict and uncompromising position in enforcing the observance of Islamic ethical and religious
standards. He travelled to Sudan from Grägn Ambä in Arťummä. There is no written source that
135 Hussein Muhammad Ali, p. 25; Teshome Birhänu Kemäl, p. 148 and Informants: Shäykh Umär Juneyid and
Shäykh Umär Därgē Aräriso.
136 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh Umär Juneyid.
137
Informant: Mubärek Yimäm who is young official in Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Bureau, who is well-informed about Islamic history and religious doctrine.
38
confirmed the specific date of his travel to both Sudan and Saudi Arabia. But, Hussein Ahmed
substantiated that Häjj Bushrä travelled initially Sudan and then to Saudi Arabia respectively.138
He spent twenty five years in Sudan. He travelled to Däggär to discuss about religious matters
with Shäykh Shäräfädin. Both Mänäqibs indicated nothing about the time when he travelled to
Däggär. While he was in Gätä, he heard about the corrupting influences of traditional beliefs and
practices in the ritual and ceremonial celebrations in the mosque of Däggär under the supervision
of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Shäykh Shäräfädin was accused as a guilty of allowing the mixing of
women and men in the annual Mäwlid ceremony and in the Friday De‟wä ceremony after the end
of the public prayer of Friday. He also accused of being extravagantly dump crops in the
compound of the mosque in the name of feeding birds. As a result, Shäykh Bushrä went to
Däggär to ascertain whether what the people talked about was true or not from Shäykh
Shäräfädin himself. Both of them frankly discussed about the issue and Shäykh Shäräfädin
miraculously convinced him about the unsubstantiated issues raised by him. After the coming of
Shäykh Bushrä and heard his questions that reflected the above supposed guiltiness, Shäykh
Shäräfädin dump crops as he did. Shäykh Bushrä observed that the dumped sorghum in the
compound was immediately consumed by birds. Nothing left on the ground. Then Shäykh
Shäräfädin asked Shäykh Bushrä about whether what he observed was a crime or not. Then,
Shäykh Shäräfädin ordered his neighbors to come to the mosque. As said in the remorse, Shäykh
Shäräfädin sat between women and men. Then Shäykh Shäräfädin asked him to find him
between the convened women and men. But, it is said that Shäykh Bushrä could not see Shäykh
Shäräfädin in the convened Jämä‟a (People convened for religious recitation). Shäykh Bushrä
138 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay- Muhämmäd, pp. 182-183.
39
surprised by what was miraculously done. He returned to Gätä unsatisfied by what he heard and
observed in Däggär.139
The Relation of Shäykh Shäräfädin with Emperors of the Period
As so often is the case in Ethiopian Islamic history, the historical relation of Shäykh Shäräfädin
with the successive four emperors140
was obscure. Emperor Tewodros (1855-1868) personally
came to Kelelä Wärädä to force Ali Umär, a notable land lord of Kelelä, to pay tribute to him.
Emperor Tewodros was in Amhärä Säyint which is the neighboring Wärädä of Kelelä Wärädä in
1868. It is the probable period that Emperor Yohannes travelled to Kelelä to suppress the power
of Ali Umär of Kelelä.141
Due to his refusal, however, Tewodros beat and killed him in the area
called Ehil Mäfseshä in Gimbä, south west Wällo. During this time, Tewodros terrorized the
Muslims and intensified fear against Shäykh Shäräfädin and other Quranic teachers that forced
them to execute their religious duties secretly. However, he never led organized army against
Shäykh Shäräfädin and Islam in the region. The major cause for Tewodros‟s campaign was to
collect tribute and to ascertain the submission of local lords rather than religious conversion.142
Unlike Tewodros, Emperor Yohannes seriously forced Muslims of Wällo to convert to
Christianity.143
Bairy Täflä confirmed that Emperor Yohannes hated alien religions. He stated
that Emperor Yohannes was strong in faith. One of the most unquestionable desires of the
139 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Hajj Bushra Ay Muhammad,” pp. 184-185 and Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib.
140
Those four Emperors who lived during the Period of Shäykh Shäräfädin were: Tewodros, Tekle Giorgis, Yohannes and Menelik.
141 Tesfäye Akälu Abebe, p. 106.
142
Tesfaye Akalu Abebe, Așe Tewodros: Be-Sostu Qedemt Şehaft, (Addis Ababa: Far East Trading, (2012), pp.54-76 and 86 and Informants: Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä and Ato Ayälēw Haile, who was a notable land lord in Mekäne-Seläm during the period of Emperor Haile Selassie.
143 Zewde Gabre Sellasie, Yohannes IV of Ethiopia: a Political Biography, (London: Clarendon Press, 1975), p. 94.
40
emperor was to convert the Muslims of Ethiopia in general and Wällo in particular.144
Emperor
Yohannes ordered the Muslim prisoners of Wärrä-Himäno imprisoned in South Wällo to eat
meat slaughtered by Christians. Those who refused to do so were arrested, killed, beaten, and
removed from their position without their will. In October 17, 1879, Emperor Yohannes ordered
negus Menelik to force the Muslims of Wällo and Wärrä-Himäno to convert to Christianity.145
As Kerem Shäykh Yäsin stated in the Mänäqib, his refusal to be converted, Emperor Yohannes
arrested Shäykh Shäräfädin initially in Zegämēl in Fichē area for about six months. The two
Mänäqibs did not precisely indicate the period of his imprisonment in the Zegämēl. However,
the Mänäqibs indicate that Shäykh Shäräfädin was arrested in Boru Media with Shäykh Hussein
Jibril immediately after the prison of Zegämēl. Due to his persistent opposition of conversion,
however, he brought to the Boru media prison. Moreover, Bogälē Teferä stated that Shäykh
Hussein Jibril of Wogēsä was arrested immediately after the declaration of the coercive
conversion policy of 1878. Shäykh Shäräfädin was arrested in Zegämēl probably in the late
1870s.146
During this time Ethiopian Muslims exchange letters with the Mehdi of Sudan.147
It
was a time when Shäykh Hussein Jibril recited the following stanza:
የዮሐንስ በቅሎ ብረኪ ብረኪ፤
መተማ ሜዳ ላይ መጣልሽ ማራኪ ፡፡148
Please! The Mule of Yohannes lay down .
A strong power is coming to the plain of Matama to capture you.
144 Bairy Tafla, A Chronicle of Emperor Yohannes IV: 1872-1889, (Wiesbaden: Steiner Verlag, 1977), p. 49, see
foot note No. 56.
145 Teshome Birhanu Kemal, pp. 167-168.
146
Untitled Manaqib composed by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä of Märsä in late 1910s and Bogäle Teferä Bezu, p. 93.
147 Bogäle Teferä Bezu, Tinbite Shäykh Hussein Jibril, (Addis Ababa: Nigid Matemia Bet, 1992), p. 93, Kitäbu
Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, Manuscript.
148 Bogäle Tefera Bezu, p. 35 and Informant: Ato Ayälēw Haile, an old man in Mekäne-Seläm who is known in
narrating historical facts and was a notable land lord in the area and Hässän Negä in Fichē.
41
While Shäräfädin was in the prison of Boru Medä, Räs Mekonnen, Father of Emperor Haile
Selassie defended Shäykh Shäräfädin from further imprisonment by declaring falsely the
conversion of Shäykh Shäräfädin. That was how Shäykh Shäräfädin returned to Däggär without
conversion. During the period of Emperor Yohannes, because of his refusal to become Christian,
Shäykh Shäräfädin was arrested first in Zegämēl in Fichē, Shewä and later in Dessē. It is stated
in the Mänäqibs and also traditionally said that following the arrest of Shäykh Shäräfädin in
Dessē, there was an earth quake and angels came to him and asked his permission to destroy the
town by either water or fire. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin refused to accept their questions. This
was because Shäykh Shäräfädin was more concerned to the suffering of the community. But later
on, the father of Emperor Haile Selassie, Räs Mekonnen indicated that he had Christianized him
before. Thus, Shäykh Shäräfädin was released from prison and predicted the transfer of power
from Emperor Yohannes to Menelik of Shewä.149
However, there is no written source that
confirmed whether the tricky action of Räs Mekonnen was heard to Emperor Yohannes or
remained to be his secret. It is stated that Räs Mekonnen had positive relation with Shäykh
Hussein Jibril who had friendly relation with Shäykh Shäräfädin.150
Shäykh Shäräfädin, however, had friendly relations with Emperor Menelik (1889-1913).
Emperor Menelik had an alliance with Shäykh Shäräfädin even before he became emperor in
1889. While Menelik was administrator of Wällo, he made friendly relations with Shäykh
Shäräfädin. During the war of Emperor Yohannes with the Mahdists at Matama, Shäykh
Shäräfädin advised Menelik not to campaign together with Emperor Yohannes. Later after the
149Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib: as stated in the Mänäqib, Kerem Shäykh Yäsin got this information from the
Shäykh of Figo known as Hussein Abdellä who had personal contact with Shäykh Shäräfädin, Mänäqib prepared by Mehdi Khelifä. Informants: Ayälēw Haile, Shäykh Umär Juneyid, Shäykh Ahmed Abubu, Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä.
150 Bogäle Teferä Bezu, pp. 39-40.
42
battle of Matama Negus Menelik and Shäykh Shäräfädin were happy. Then after, Menelik and
Shäykh Shäräfädin had friendly relations until the death of the later in 1890. More over, Emperor
Menelik wanted to appoint the Shäykh in Kelelä Wärädä. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin refused to
assume the appointment. For such kind of humble Character of Shäykh Shäräfädin, Shäykh
Muhämmäd Awole composed the following couplet:
[ሸረፈድን] አባተዎ እብራሒም እናቱ ሎሚታ፤
ባባትም በናትም ነዎት ሙለጌታ፤
በአደኒያ አይተዋል የጀነቱን ቦታ፤
ይሸትዎት ነበር የጀነቱ ቪታ፤
ያንን ሲያዩ ጊዜ አደኒያን ጠሏታ፡፡151
Shäräfädin! The son of Ibrähim and Lomitä
both your father and mother are from known families
he saw heaven while he was alive
and also inhaled the smell of heaven
when he saw this, the hated this worldly life.
The above couplet indicates how much Shäykh Shäräfädin was unconcerned about worldly
power.152
But, it is said that he was more concerned with the life of paradise which was said to
be inhaled and smelt by him while he was alive.
151 It is a manuscript prepared by Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Mekäne-Seläm in Arabic script. It is Untitled
written material in 1970s while he became a Qur’an teacher in Lägämbo Wärädä.
152 Debub Wällo Enä Yemesihib Häbtochwä prepared by Wäyzäro Leilä Siräj who is Officer of Tourism
Development and Promotion in South Wällo Cultural and Tourism Bureau, 2004 ,p. 51; A manuscripts Written by Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Bureau and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu; Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Däggär
43
Miraculous Works and Popularity of Shäykh Shäräfädin
In any religion, miracles are instruments of belief that have serious influence on adherents.
Miracles are simply believed without questioning its truthfulness among the adherents of the
Wäli. Moral questions do not challenged miracles. Miracles are assumed as bridges between
believers and Allah.153
In the Islamic history of South Wällo, prominent Islamic religious
teachers came to be regarded as Awliyä, and several miracles were attributed to them. Their
tombs also became places of pilgrimage.154
In the culture of Sufi Islam, Shäykhs like Shäräfädin Ibrähim were considered religious leaders
favored by Allah in their earthly life. They were also involved in the mediation process between
Allah and the material world just after their death. Braukamper confirmed the justification of the
people to their need of mediator between Allah and them as: “Since Islam in its Orthodox
fashion is a rather abstract religion and does not leave any doubt about the extremely huge chasm
which exists between Allah and his creatures, it appears to many Muslims as a necessity to look
for such mediation of Awliyä (saints) in order to bridge the gap.”155
So, their interest of
shortening the distance between Allah and them obliged them to ask the assistance of their
Awliyä. As a result of this, they are honored even after death. Following their death, they are
considered having supernatural power, and the local center of their power was their tombs.156
Shäykh Shäräfädin did many miraculous deeds.157
This could only be due to his uncompromising
153 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, October 2010, p. 11.
154
Shimelis Habte, “The Faraqasa Pilgrimage Center,” BA Thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University,1989, p. 80.
155Ulrich Braukamper, “The Sanctuary of Shaykh Husayn and the Oromo-Somali Connections in Bale (Ethiopia),”
(Frankfurt: Frankfurter Africanistische Blȁtter, 1989), p. 125.
156
Trimingham, pp. 247- 248.
157 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, October, 2010, p. 11.
44
belief and unreserved effort in discharging his religious responsibility such as performing his
prayers scrupulously and conducting De‟wä.158
Miraculous Deeds of Shäykh Shäräfädin until his Death
The major sources of information about the miraculous deeds of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim
were: oral tradition, Menzumä, Mänäqibs and other oral sources. Particularly Mänäqibs
composed by the then „Ulama were important and more reliable sources. The writers of the
Mänäqib obtained their evidence from the servants (Kädäms) and other personalities who had
direct contact with Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim. Apart from this, their personal contact with him
enabled them to have reliable history or Mänäqib. Both of the Mänäqibs were written in Arabic
language. Almost all of my informants had the copy of some parts of either of the two
Mänäqibs. The two Mänäqibs differed in the areas of the genealogical lines of Shäykh
Shäräfädin. The Mänäqib written by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä considered Shäykh Shäräfädin as the
34th
generation of Prophet Muhammad. However, the Mänäqib written by Kerem Shäykh Yäsin
stated Shäykh Shäräfädin as the 37th
generation of the Prophet by precisely listed all the 37
generations of the genealogical line. All of my informants confirmed that Shäykh Shäräfädin was
the 37th
generation. So, in this particular issue, the Mänäqib of Kerem Shäykh Yäsin is
authoritative and valuable. Except this issue, the other anecdotes stated in the two Mänäqibs are
equally valuable. The first writer of the untitled Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim was the
son of his second elder brother called Mehdi Khelifä of Märsä. He lived with Shäykh Shäräfädin
Ibrähim until the death of Mehdi Khelifä. He was arrested with Shäykh Shäräfädin during the
period of Emperor Yohannes in the prison of Zegämēl for Six months. As a result, he simply
158 Ibid and Minako Ishihara, p. 83.
45
organized and arranged what he personally had observed, seen and heard in the form of the
Mänäqib in 1910s.159
The other writer of the Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin was Kerem Shäykh Yäsin of Jämmä.
There is no precise evidence that informed us about the period of the composition of the
Mänäqib. During the period of Shäykh Shäräfädin, Kerem Shäykh Yäsin was a Quranic student
in Jämmä, South Wällo. It is stated in the Mänäqib that he suffered from the deadly disease
while he studied Qur‟an in Jämmä. The medical doctors of the period were unable to cure him.
As a final chance, Kerem promised to write the Mänäqib of Shäykh Shäräfädin if Allah cured
him from the deadly disease through the intermediary and intercessory power of Shäykh
Shäräfädin He was cured and this encouraged Shäykh Kerem to write the Mänäqib of Shäykh
Shäräfädin entitled as Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib Saidi Shäräfädin Ibn Ibrähim al-Häbäshi
al-Borenni al-Däggäri al-Hässänänni al-Askäri al-Wohbiyyēl Umiyyē (the Hagiography of the
Son of the Ethiopian and the Askari Ibrahim of Borena particularly of Daggar, Shäräfädin who
sent for the wellbeing of the community). More surprisingly, Shäykh Kerem who was a devoted
Muslim and Quranic student of Jämmä acquired the required information from the servants
(Kädäms) of Shäykh Shäräfädin. He pointed out his sources of evidences in the Mänäqib. The
Mänäqib narrated the miraculous deeds of Shäykh Shäräfädin while he was alive.160
It is said that
Shäykh Shäräfädin opposed those who asked him to write Mänäqib of him. It is indicated that
Shäykh Jä‟fär Bukko requested him to compose his history. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin banned
him in a justification that the readers of his history probably be mislead. Thus, nothing was
written while Shäykh Shäräfädin alive. As a result, the Mänäqib composed by Kerem Shäykh
Yäsin was produced after 1890.
159 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib and the Mänäqib composed by Mehdi Khelifä, manuscript.
160
Ibid.
46
Shäykh Shäräfädin began to perform miracles while he was at the age of seven. In 1840, Shäykh
Ibrähim Ťohä, father of Shäräfädin, forgot his cups in Kelelä town. While Ibrähim reached his
home, he informed the incidence to his wife in the presence of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Normally, it
took four hours to travel and come back from Kelelä town. The seven years old boy, Shäykh
Shäräfädin, informed his father about his intercessory power by bringing the cups to him. Shäykh
Ibrähim angrily responded by asking how he did so. Shäykh Shäräfädin quickly asked his father
to temporarily interrupt his sight. The father did as he was ordered to do. As he opened his eye,
the cups were in front of Shäykh Ibrähim. This was the first miracle of Shäykh Shäräfädin
Ibrähim that greatly surprised Shäykh Ibrähim.161
As Kerem Shäykh Yäsin indicated, the source for his evidence was Hussein Muhämmäd who
was a Kädäm of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Based on this source, Kerem argued that wild animals
frequently came to Shäykh Shäräfädin and surrounded him. Birds also came to Shäykh
Shäräfädin repeatedly. Lions frequently came to Shäykh Shäräfädin and did not try to antagonize
him and other people with him. They resided friendly with the people. However, when they did
not find Shäykh Shäräfädin on their meeting area, they became angry and disturbed the other
people in the compound of the mosque. But if they saw the coming of Shäykh Shäräfädin, they
began to play with him. Animals also stopped their attack against other people when Shäykh
Shäräfädin ordered them not to do so. These cases convinced the people to believe in the
Kärämä of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim. Hence, both the Ulämä and the lay men began to believe
in the intercessory power of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim.162
161 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, the composer of the manuscript, Shäykh Kerem, got this evidence from
Hussein Muhämmäd who heard it from Shäykh Musä (the second Khälifä of the Shrine) and wrote it in the Mänäqib. Hussein Muhämmäd was the son of the servant of Shäykh Shäräfädin.
162 Ibid and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu, Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Däggär and Ato Kässäw Usmän
47
Though Shäykh Shäräfädin started his Quranic education with his father, he was later on, sent to
Shäykh Muhämmäd Buketu of Degy, in Kelelä Wärädä, for further education. Shäykh
Muhämmäd Buketu wrote Arabic text on Luh and ordered Shäykh Shäräfädin to read it. But,
Shäykh Shäräfädin asked his teacher where the text that he was going to read is. The Shäykh
received the reading material to check whether the text is available or not. There was nothing on
it. The Shäykh began to shock and re-write the text on the reading material and again ordered
him to read. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin again lost the letters on the reading material. Shäykh
Muhämmäd Buketu re-wrote the text three times for Shäykh Shäräfädin though Shäräfädin did
not read them. Finally, Shäykh Muhämmäd insulted him that he was mad man and refused to
teach him again. Shäykh Shäräfädin responded to his teacher that he did not want to insult his
teacher he would let his mule and wife be mad. Following this, the mule and wife of Shäykh
Muhämmäd Buketu became mad. This was one of the factors that increased the popularity of
Shäykh Shäräfädin.163
Shäykh Shäräfädin was the host of the disabled people and other disadvantaged sections of the
society. He had a visually impaired servant (Kädäm) called Shäykh Ali Miskin. However, he
could travel through every kind of landscape without any problem. Since he was a devotee
adherent of Shäykh Shäräfädin, Shäykh Shäräfädin informed his presence with his Kädäm. He
travelled with confidence through difficult and scratchy landscapes. Animals did not attack him
due to the presence of Shäykh Shäräfädin with him in his Kärämä.164
There was a Shäykh in Härewä, one of the present Qebelēs of Kelelä Wärädä Located to west of
Kelelä town, area who wanted to present his white colored bull as a gift to Shäykh Shäräfädin.
163 Ibid and Informants: Shäykh Mu’ahmud Hämzä and Ato Mubärek Yimäm.
164
Manuscripts including: Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib and the manuscript prepared by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä in 1910s.
48
However, after the fulfillment of his request, he and his uncle Nuryē Yimer took the bull to
Shäykh Muhämmäd Shäfi of Jämma Negus. They travelled for three days to Jämmä Negus. After
they reached there, they wanted to slaughter the bull. However, the bull was lost. After some
days, the owner of the bull came to Däggär to conduct pilgrimage to Shäykh Shäräfädin and he
saw his bull in the compound of Shäykh Shäräfädin. As he saw the bull, he began to shiver and
feared to meet Shäykh Shäräfädin. Shäykh Shäräfädin notified the guest that the bull was not the
property of Jämmä Negus, but his own. Shäykh Shäräfädin notified Jämmä Negus, by swearing
in the name of Allah, that he took the bull as a joke rather than jealousy or love of the meat of a
white bull. So, Shäykh Shäräfädin instructed them to take back the bull to Jämmä Negus and
slaughter it there. They were shocked by the incidence and took the bull to Jämma Negus. This
clearly shows the religious power of Shäykh Shäräfädin.165
Shäykh Shäräfädin had the power to hear what was said in far areas. Once up on a time, a woman
in Hararge promised to give her mule to Shäykh Shäräfädin as a votive offering for the
fulfillment of her wish through the intercessory power of him. Based on her promise, she sent the
mule loaded with money and other materials to Shäykh Shäräfädin of Borenä with no driver. Her
neighbors were confused and asked her about the distance from Härärgē to Borenä, Wällo. She
responded that it would take more than 20 days. She confidently informed that the power of
Shäykh Shäräfädin would safeguard the mule from any kind of challenges on the journey. As she
said, the mule safely arrived at Däggär. This intensified the popularity of Shäykh Shäräfädin not
only by the people of the area but also by the people who heard such miracles.166
165 Ibid. Hussein Muhämmäd was the source of this information and Shäykh Kerem put this in the Mänäqib.
166
Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript and Informant: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu who translated the Mänäqib to me from Arabic to Amharic Language was my informant.
49
Shäykh Shäräfädin knew the intention of every one who came to him, though they tried to make
it their secret. As was stated in the Mänäqib, Fäqih Jä‟fär Bukko dictated to Kerem Shäykh
Yäsin about the coming of three Awliyä from Yejju to steal the Kärämä of Shäykh Shäräfädin.
Shäykh Shäräfädin welcomed his guests, though he knew their intention. After providing food
and other basic needs, he furiously observed them during the night. After this time, nobody knew
how and where they went. Though they were seen while they entered to the Kelewä,167
nobody
was sure about their exit from there.168
It is said that there is clear evidence in Jämmä which indicates the intercessory power of Shäykh
Shäräfädin to do miracles. It is indicated that a person called Abä Kunē entered the house of
Shäykh Shäräfädin while he was eating food. Shäykh Shäräfädin gave injērä to him. But, Abä
Kunē threw the food towards his back. No one knows the reason why he did so, and the dog ate
it. Shäykh Shäräfädin who saw this told that he has no opportunity of becoming rich. During that
day the dog was attacked by forty dogs and passed the night at a place called Degy. As stated in
the Mänäqib of Kerem Shäykh Yäsin, the people slaughtered animals for the dog. It is further
related that those who welcomed the dog and gave meat to the dog become rich and others who
chased him away are poor. The dog was buried in Jamma and its tomb is still annually visited by
the people of the region on the first Friday of October.169
The Kärämä of Shäykh Shäräfädin was not only restricted to those who came to their Kelewä.
But Shäykh Shäräfädin went to the house of the needy either physically or spiritually. As Kerem
Shäykh Yäsin wrote in the Mänäqib, the son of one of the Shewä negus in Ankober whose name
167 Kelewä is a small Shelter within the Mosque only used by Shäykh Shäräfädin for different ritual purposes.
168
Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript.
169 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript: Kerem Shäykh Yäsin acquired this information from Fäqih Jä’fär
Bukko of Gättira who was with Shäräfädin for some months.
50
is not identified in the Mänäqib suffered from a deadly disease. As a result, the negus of
Ankober sent a message to Shäykh Shäräfädin to visit his ill son. Shäykh Shäräfädin travelled to
Ankober and reached there in five days journey. As he approached the royal compound, he
ordered the family to bring the sick son out of the house. The son caught by deadly disease was
miraculously cured. The Negus prepared food and invited Shäykh Shäräfädin participate in the
food ceremony. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin did not like to eat in the house of others. The
Negus was amazed and pleaded Shäykh Shäräfädin to take something. However, he preferred to
beg the Negus to bring his dog to Shäykh Shäräfädin and allowed to take it to Däggär. The negus
gave the dog and Shäykh Shäräfädin returned to Däggär with the dog.170
Shäykh Shäräfädin had a servant known as Aderä Abu. There is an indication that tigers
surrounded him in a valley while he travelled to his home. The servant, who was afraid, began to
call the name of Shäykh Shäräfädin to assist him through his intercessory power. We are told that
the Shäykh answered his prayer‟s question and tigers left the area. When Aderä Abu reached the
compound of the mosque, Shäykh Shäräfädin was waiting for him out side of his house. As
Shäykh Shäräfädin saw him, he informed Aderä that he accompanied every movements of him
which guaranteed his travel.171
It is difficult to express all the miraculous deeds of Shäykh Shäräfädin in this thesis. However, it
would be appropriate to indicate that Shäykh Shäräfädin was an influential Wäli of the century
who assisted all who asked his assistance. It is also indicated that Shäykh Shäräfädin brought
back a deceased boy to life near the River of Aťisa in Däggär town. The story relates that several
bar women came to Shäykh Shäräfädin from Debre Markos and asked him to give them child.
170 Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript.
171
Ibid.
51
We are told that giving child for the bar woman is one attribute of the Awliyä. Thus, Shäykh
Shäräfädin brought son to them. One of them returned to Debre Markos with her son.
Unfortunately, her son died in her town. As her neighbors came out to bury him, she refused and
began to travel back to Shäykh Shäräfädin. When she reached at the river that passed from North
West of the mosque to South West, She suddenly met Shäykh Shäräfädin and informed him
about the death of her son. Shäykh Shäräfädin notified her to give the son and committed
Wudu172
by holding the deceased son in the River of Aťisa. Then Shäykh Shäräfädin lay down
the son and began to conduct prayer on him. Then the son rose up and said Aťise (sound
produced by the son that announced his return to the worldly life). From then on, the river was
called Aťisä.173
Such works surprised the community and convinced them to believe in his intermediary power,
and gained him wide popularity. Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim is a popularly venerated Wäli in
Däggär. The people of the area considered him as their important religious leader. Jänoyē
composed the following couplet that expressed how much the people of Borenä attribute every
thing to Shäykh Shäräfädin.
የቦረና መሬት አትባልም በዯዉ
ሳሇ ሸረፈድን በላ እሚጋርዯዉ፡፡ 174
The land of Borena is not empty
as long as Shäräfädin is there who can save the land with its belongings from any
disaster.
172 Wudu is a process of washing part of the body as per the requirement of prayer (Sälät) from hand to leg.
173
Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib and Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscripts, October 2010, p. 11
174 Assefä Mämo, “Some prominent features of the Menzumä genre in the Wällo region,” MA Thesis,
Department of Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1987, p. 64.
52
As we can understand from the above couplet, Shaykh Sharafadin is the savior of Borena and the
residents are proud as his adherents. Shaykh Jemalun Anni of Raya disseminated letters to the
„Ulama of the period that acknowledged the eminence of Shaykh Sharafadin‟s virtue as the Wali
of Borena. Shaykh Jemalun Anni of Raya aptly expressed the greatness of Shaykh Sharafadin as,
„our spiritual father but our son in age.‟ Ibrahimul Mubtely was a notable Wali in Islam. He was
a devoted Wali who practiced religious obligations as per the rules and regulations of Islam. His
communication was with Allah rather than with other Awliya. Thus, Anni compared Shaykh
Sharafadin with Ibrahimul Mubtely and considered him as Ibrahimul Mubtely. Shaykh Jemalun
Anni also expressed his admiration to Shaykh Sharafadin through gifts at different periods.175
Miraculous Deeds after his Death
The Muslim „Ulama of south western Wallo believed that the deceased Awliya have three kinds
of features. The first group of the deceased Awliya included those who rose from their tomb and
comply with the orders of Allah. The second group was those who assisted their adherents who
promised to give property to their Shrines. The third group included those who were re-born
physically. Traditions as well as the Manaqibs stated that Shaykh Sharafadin was re-born seven
times. Shaykh Sharafadin also assisted his adherents in different situations after his death. Even
after the death of Shaykh Sharafadin, his adherents continued to request his karama to assist them
to bring them out from different hardships.176
175 Many Awliya were jealously fighting each other for a long period of time to inherit the Karama of Ibrahimul
Mubtely. After many ups and downs, Faqih Ja’far Bukko inherited the Karama of him which makes him confused and later became mad. Shaykh Sharafadin reminded him how much the Karama of Ibrahimul Mubtely was difficult for him and his contemporaries. See, Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and Informants: Shaykh Umar Arareso and Shaykh Umar Juneyid.
176 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Mu’ahmud
Hamza of Kelela Wärädä who own the untitled Manaqib of Shaykh Sharafadin written by Shaykh Mehdi Khelifa of Marsa.
53
Shaykh Sharafadin spread his Karama as fast as possible for those who called his name in their
anger, stress and infection. Mu‟ahmud Tamru brought a stone used as grinder from Donser
desert.177
When he prepared it for grinding grains, it broke into two pieces. Mu‟ahmud Tamru,
who felt sorry by the occurrence, called the name of Shaykh Sharafadin. He regretfully slept
without eating his dinner. While he was sleeping, he saw in his dream that Shaykh Sharafadin
repaired the grinder. In the early morning, after conducting Subihi Salat178
, he rushed where he
left the grinder. Surprisingly, it was repaired as he saw in his dream, through a very thin but
beautiful fiber like substance. It is said that the grinder is still found and safely preserved in the
compound of his son Mohammad Kemal Mu‟ahmud till now.179
More surprisingly, there was a relative of Shaykh Sharafadin, Ehlitu Hamid, in Degy in Kelela
Wärädä. She promised to slaughter a bull for Shaykh Sharafadin in the shrine. The promised bull
became fat. As a result of this, her relative, Nuru Beyan asked her to give him the bull to plough
in one harvest season. He took the bull beyond the River of Mereko to plough his land. During
the night, he left his four bulls beyond Mereko to eat grass and went back to his house. All the
bulls began to go to their house. However, Mereko River was over them and took three of the
Oxen. However, the bull that was promised to the Shrine of Shaykh Sharafadin safely came out
of the flood.180
The above case is an illustration of his intercessory power. This paper could not discuss all the
miraculous deeds attributed to Shaykh Sharafadin. The annual Mawlid ceremonies and the
177 Donser desert is a desert not far from Daggar and located south of it.
178
Subihi Salat is among the five obligatory prayers in Islam which is conducted in early morning of each day before the sun rises in the east.
179 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Ahmed Siraj, who saw the preserved grinder in the
compound of Kemal Mu’ahmud.
180 Informant: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu. He reminds me that this Incidence took place when he was matured. He
also remembered how much the people of the surrounding area were surprised by the Incidence.
54
weekly ceremonies and the large number of people that attend these ceremonies indicate the
regular help of the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin to the adherents. I had an opportunity to
observe the annual Mawlid ceremony of Sharafadin Ibrahim which was held from October, 22nd
-
24th
in 2013. As I had observed the pilgrims were vey diversified and had different problems
informed for the Karama of him by surrounding his tomb. There were pilgrims who came with
gifts due to the fulfillment of their question by Shaykh Sharafadin. These are factors for the
expedition of a large number of people with many problems towards the shrine of Daggar each
year.181
The Role of Shaykh Sharafadin in the Expansion and Consolidation of Islam in the Region
There were religious leaders who contributed to the expansion and consolidation of Islam
through their committed effort and intercessory power in different parts of the world. These
Islamic saints had a strong belief and had a power to do miraculous deeds. Their historical
achievements were commemorated in ceremonies held in their shrines whereby their devotee
adherents came from different parts of the country to take part in the ceremony.182
As the other
parts of the world, Ethiopian Muslim communities have good reputation for their distinguished
saints. This societal respect for saints were/are expressed in the Mawlid ceremonies celebrated
around their shrine.183
Several mosques and tombs in Harar, Wallo, Arssi, Tigray, Kaffa,
Massawa, Bale and other areas are annually visited by people that came from different corners of
the country to get the Baraka of the religious leaders. In this occasion, the pilgrims expressed
181 Informants: Ahmed Ali, Muhe Tegegn and Gashaw Yimer were some of the Pilgrims who came with gifts
due to the fulfillment of their interest by Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim. As they stated they always came to the Shrine of Daggar. They are devotee attendants of the annual Mawlid ceremony celebrated on October 22
nd- 24
th. All of
them came from Borena Wärädä, which was located west of Kelela Wärädä.
182 Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, “Ye-Shaykh Said Bushra Te’amrat: Afetarik Ena Ye-Mewlid Be’al Akebaber Be-Geta
(Wallo),” BA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian Language and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1990, p. 16.
183 Ibid; Minako Ishihara, pp. 81-82; Jan Abbink, p. 68.
55
their respect to their saints; narrate their miraculous deeds and intercessory power.184
Among the
well-known and celebrated saints of Wallo: Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko of Gattira, Shaykh Sharafadin
Ibrahim of Daggar, Faqih Mohammad of Anna, Shaykh Mohammad Shafi of Albuko, al-Hajj
Bushra of Gatta were/are remembered in Islamic history.185
One of the religious duties and responsibilities of a famous Shaykh, like Shaykh Sharafadin,
was/is to disseminate Islamic doctrine and practices among the local Muslim community.186
Though Shaykh Sharafadin himself was not a Quranic teacher, he invited different religious men
to teach the people in different Quranic learning stages. The traditional Quranic school system
had two major stages that were practiced in the teaching and learning process in different
mosques. The first stage is the Tahaji or Majlis which involved the learning of the Arabic letters
and the reading of the Qur‟an. Students in Quranic schools had to pass through various stages to
master the Arabic Alphabets. The first stage is related with identifying Arabic letters.187
The next
important stage is learning and identifying the signs or dots that are kept on the Arabic letters.
These signs or dots are very important symbols when we need to join letters to form a word. The
next equally important stage in the Quranic school system is learning and mastering the Harakat
(the vowels as applied to each letter). Students are expected to know the four vowel signs of
Arabic letters.188
184 Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, p.17; Hajji Beshir Dawud Abdulqadir, Be-Hiwote Hidet Zuria, (Addis Ababa: Nejash
Printing Press, p. 2011, pp. 27-28. 185
Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, p.18; Hussein Muhammad Ali, “Sufism according to Shaykh Jamaluddin Al-Anni based on his manuscript Al-Khulasat Al-Naqiyya Fi Tariqat Al-Sufiyya Al-Zakiyya Al-Naqiyya,” (MA Thesis, Department of Philology, Addis Ababa University, 2007), p. 60.
186
Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, p. 34 and Manuscript, Getaw Shahye Ena Asdenaqi Tarikachew prepared by Kelela Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office in 2013.
187 Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, p.3 and Gashaw Muhammud, “A Biography of Shaykh Abdu Katto,” (BA Thesis,
Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1994), pp. 3-4.
188 Şige Nigatu Asdenaki, pp. 3-4.
56
Though Shaykhs and their students do not engage in the productive activities for the community,
they highly involve in the services of supervising over religious affairs, wedding, mourning,
prayer assemblies and mediate disputes, etc.189
The numerous Muslim shrines located in different
parts of the country are very important centers of learning. The notable examples are the shrine
of Dire Shaykh Hussein and the shrine of Ahmed Nejash which is located in the northern part of
the country.190
Shaykh Sharafadin invited Shaykh Ibrahim Qasim to teach Fiqh (Islamic
Jurisprudence) and Faqih Ja‟far of Gattira to teach Quran Tafsir (Commentary of the holy
Qur‟an). All the Quranic teachers engaged in the teaching and learning process got necessary
goods from Shaykh Sharafadin. This was because traditional Quranic school systems was not
institutionalized or sponsored by central powers. So, the responsibility of covering the allowance
of the invited Shaykh to Daggar was left to Shaykh Sharafadin.191
Shaykh Sharafadin started a public player known as Jama‟a in Daggar. He instructed all Muslims
to participate in the public prayer and reminded them that it is a responsibility of all male
Muslims. However, the coming of Muslim women to the mosque also welcomed though it is not
obligatory for them. Moreover, those men who were absent from public prayer were punished in
terms of giving services and materials like coffee. He also reminded the people to remember the
prayer time and to conduct their obligatory prayers on time. Apart from these, Shaykh Sharafadin
also provided Islamic training in his mosque concerning the observance of religious obligations.
He became a model to Muslims of the area through preaching and committing religious
obligations seriously and by observing the ethics and standards of the religion. This was the
189 Haile Gabriel Dagne, “Qur’an school system in Ethiopia,” A paper prepared in advance for the
interdisciplinary seminar of the Faculties of Arts and Education, Haile Selassie I University, 1971, p. 17.
190 Ibid., p. 18; Trimingham, pp. 249-256.
191
Gashaw Mohammad, pp. 3-16 and Informant: Shaykh Sharif Mehdi Khelifa who is a notable Shaykh of Marsa. He is a grand son of Shaykh Sharafadin’s brother Khelifa, and the son of Mehdi Khelifa, who wrote the Manaqib of Shaykh Sharafadin.
57
reason that forced his contemporaries to consider him as „Mujedidel Sharia” (strict observer of
the Sharia).192
Shaykh Sharafadin advised divorced women and men to marry each other and to be strict
observers of Islamic religious obligations. There were many orphans, divorced women and men
and other disadvantaged sections of the local community who used this occasion for their
religious and marriage life. So, this was the other mechanism of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim for
the consolidation of Islamic knowledge in the area. In addition to these, the recognition of
Shaykh Sharafadin by his good personality and Karama made him an influential personality in
the region. As a result, people accepted his instruction and religious advice.193
The Establishment of the Shrine of Daggar in 1868
The shrine of Daggar was founded by Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim. It was/is is located about 26
kilometers south of the town of Kelela, in the area of Baqelo in 1868. This shrine was established
in the area where Askari Usman was buried. Teshome Birhanu stated that Askari Usman was a
resident of Laga-Hida, South Wallo. Laga-Hida bordered Kelela Wärädä in the east. He was the
father of Shaykh Sharafadin‟s grand father, Said Toha. This religious leader probably was buried
in Daggar where the shrine of Shaykh Sharafadin was established. There is old tomb in the
eastern direction of the Shrine which is indicated to be his tomb. It is found in the lowland area
of Kelela Wärädä. The shrine was initially established as a center of prayer and a seat of higher
Islamic learning. During the time of Shaykh Sharafadin, there was only a single house used as a
mosque in the compound of the shrine. It was made up of wood and mud. However, following
192 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Sharif Mehdi and
Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza.
193 Informants: Shaykh Mohammed Awole of Daggar, Kassaw Usman, Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Sharif
Mehdi.
58
the death of Shaykh Sharafadin, his tombs and tombs of his successors were established in the
northern direction of the already established mosque. After the death of Shaykh Sharafadin, the
mosque was renewed by the community of Daggar in the beginning of 1980s. As I personally
observed, the tombs of Shaykh Sharafadin and his successors buried around him, are surrounded
by a high stone and mud constructed wall.194
The shrine is surrounded by Cactus, Warka (Ficus
Vasta), Yeqolla Wanza (Piliostigma thonningii), Attate (Maytenus) and Acacia. The people who
come to visit the shrine in the two annual Mawlid ceremonies get shelter during the dry season.
After the death of Shaykh Sharafadin in 1312 Hijra or 1890 G.C, the shrine became a center of
the celebration of his birth day and other ceremonies attributed by different rituals.195
Successive Guardians of the Shrine of Daggar since 1890
In Sufi Islamic culture, the election of the Khalifa of the religious centers sought the approval of
the Imam of the mother order. Although the hereditary principle has not been necessary or
invariable, the Khalifa should be chosen from his son(s) since they were considered to be
inheritors of their father‟s Karama. Trimingham clearly explained the appointment of Khalifa
and the inheritance nature of Karama as:
The successor is never chosen by the actual Shaykh of the mother order, though if
the link has not been broken his approval is usually sought. Although the
hereditary principle is not necessary or invariable the khalifa will normally be
succeeded by one of his sons since he is supposed to have his father‟s Baraka
194 Birhanu Gebeyehu, “Islamic Oral Poetry in Wallo: A Preliminary Descriptive and Analysis,” (MA Thesis,
Department of Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1998), pp. 10-11; Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines,” p, 10, 32 and 132; Debub Wallo Ena Yemesihib Habtochwa, manuscript, p. 51 and Teshome Birhanu Kemal, p. 203 and Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole and Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
195 Birhanu Gebeyehu, p. 10;Inga Hedberg and Sue Edwards, p. 624, 653, 655 and Informant: Shaykh Ahmed
Abubu and
59
dormant in him which, once the khalifa has chosen him, whether in the flesh or
from the tomb and he is formally installed, becomes active.196
As stated in the above quote, whether he was a son or a relative, the one who is considered to
have inherited the Karama of the deceased saint become the Khalifa of the shrine. In Ethiopian
Islamic culture, the descendants of saints‟ formed holy families, who live under the shadow of
their saintly ancestor, inheriting his Baraka and exploiting it. Some remained as small families
attached to the shrine and thrived on the gifts of the pilgrims.197
Following the death of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim, due to the absence of his own son, he was
succeeded by his nephew. The first successor of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim was, Shaykh Jamal,
who was a son of Ameley (the third elder brother of Shaykh Sharafadin). He learnt his Quranic
education from Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko of Gattira. Shaykh Jamal as a strict follower of Islam, He
admired Ilm (knowledge) of Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko than the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin. He
was the Imam (the leading Shaykh in the public prayer) of the community. His inquisitiveness to
Ilm was special. Following the departure of Shaykh Ja‟far to Gattira, Shaykh Jamal said that, if he
could steal Ilm, he would have robbed the Ilm of Ja‟far Bukko. While Shaykh Jamal was a
student, Shaykh Sharafadin ordered him to learn a Quranic verse with Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko of
Gattira. Shaykh Sharafadin indicated Shaykh Jamal to learn a Quranic verse known as
“Eleyhiyuredun” with Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko.198
Shaykh Jamal had an attractive personality like Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim attributed by his
friendly character and impressive speaking style. Like Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim, he fed himself
196 Trimingham, pp. 236-237.
197
Ibid., p.248.
198 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript; untitled Manaqib prepared by Shaykh Mehdi Khelifa,
Manuscript and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza, Kassaw Usman, Shaykh Muhammad Awole of Daggar and Mubarek Yimam.
60
from only his own produces. This was the reason for him to be “Minkesbi Yedihi”199
(fed himself
by his own produces). He took nothing from gifts that came from the adherents of Shaykh
Sharafadin Ibrahim in different ceremonies other than ćat and meat which was communally
consumed in the mosque. Unlike Shaykh Sharafadin, his sound was so powerful and heavy. He
was a farmer. Though Shaykh Jamal married many wives, he had no children. He led the
adherents of Shaykh Sharafadin based on the ethics and standards of Islam. The ceremonies
celebrated during the period of Shaykh Jamal were Salat (individual and public) and De‟wa. He
and his followers practiced Islamic principles as per the rules and regulations of the religion
conscientiously. He did not allowed the ceremonial practices incompatible with Islam. (see
Chapter Five). He died in 1906.200
Immediately following the death of Shaykh Jamal, Shaykh Musa, the son of the second elderly
brother of Shaykh Sharafadin, Khelifa, came to power. His father‟s birth place was Worafe. His
Quranic teacher was known as Shaykh Ibrahim.201
Shaykh Musa was a reserved man. Shaykh
Sharafadin reminds Shaykh Musa to learn the Qur‟anic verses from Suretul Ehlas to the end of
the Qur‟an from Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko.202
Unlike the Quranic verse given to Shaykh Jamal, the
Quranic verses given to Shaykh Musa were too short. It is said that the status of the Quranic
verses given to them had direct relation with the length of their period of supervision. It is said
that Shaykh Sharafadin wanted to notify the two Khalifas period of supervision through the
above Qur‟anic verses. Thus, Shaykh Sharafadin informed the short administration period of
199 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and Informant: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Muhammad
Awole and Shaykh Jamal Bahru.
200 Manaqib Prepared by Mehdi Khelifa, manuscript and Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, Manuscript.
201
The name of the Qur’anic teacher of Shaykh Musa was similar with the name of the father of Shaykh Sharafadin. In addition to this; the Father’s name of Shaykh Musa’s Qur’anic teacher is unknown. But what must be clear here is that though the name was similar with the name of the father of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim, he was a different Person. So, we need to differentiate these two religious men.
202 Manaqib Prepared by Shaykh Mehdi Khelifa, manuscript and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh
Mu’ahmud Hamza.
61
Shaykh Musa by ordering him to learn relatively the short verses of the Qur‟an. Shaykh Jamal
also ordered to learn relatively the longest verse of the Qur‟an so as to notify him about his long
period of Supervision in the Shrine. As Shaykh Jamal, he was a student of Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko
and from him he learnt the above indicated Quranic chapters. He liked to read Qur‟an day and
night. He also provided gifts to the needy in secret as per the principle of Islam. He was a rich
man and prided himself as Negus. He wore beautifully. He had friendly relationship with the
„Ulama and strengthened his positive relation with them through religious gifts. Shaykh Musa
gave 83 Maria Theresa dollar to Shaykh Ali Wujigra, 33 Maria Theresa to Idris, Kemal Workie
and Shaykh Hamid for each. There were no rituals and ceremonies incompatible with Islam
during his period. He died in Wednesday night, April 1930. He was buried in the western
direction of the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim.203
Shaykh Hashim was the third Khalifa of Shaykh Sharafadin‟s Shrine in Daggar. Unlike the
previous two successive Khalifas‟ of Shaykh Sharafadin, Shaykh Hashim was a lay man who was
not acquainted in Ilm.204
This resulted in the development of more rituals and ceremonies that are incompatible with
Islam and Islamic practices. Shaykh Hashim became a Khalifa in 1930. He was succeeded by his
son Muhammad Hashim. There is no available written and oral source that indicates the period
of Muhammad Hashim and his successors. The period of the death of Muhammad Hashim and
the coming into power of Gebeyehu Muhammad sought further studies. It is said that their
203 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, Manuscript, the Manaqib, Manuscript, prepared by Shaykh Mehdi Khelifa
and Informants: Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza and Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
204 ‘Ilm refers to mastering of Islamic knowledge in all eight branches of Islamic knowledge. These were: Fiqh
(Islamic Jurisprudence), Nehw (the Study of the Classical Arabic, particularly its grammatical rules and usage), ‘Arud (is the study of prosody), Tawhid (branch of Islamic studies dealing with the unity and power of Allah as well as the basic doctrines of Islam), Sarf (deals with commentary mainly on the Qur’an), Mantiq (is an advanced field of study about logic), ‘Usul (is the foundation or the basis of ‘Ilm) and ‘Ilm al-Hayat (is learning about Astronomy).
62
achievement during their periods of Khalifa was negligible. He was succeeded by Gebeyehu
Muhammad. He died on Tuesday, 17, 1992. He was succeeded by Seid Aliyye in 1992 and
unfortunately died in 2007. Following the death of Seid Aliyye, Shaykh Jamal Bahru came to
power in 2007. He is still in power. All the successive Khalifas who came to power after the
death of Shaykh Musa were relatively Waxy Muslims. They were considered as ordinary persons
who lacked the necessary knowledge of Islam. This situation pushed the people to focus mainly
on rituals and ceremonies incompatible with Islamic religious ethics and standard.205
The tombs
of the above deceased Khalifas of Shaykh Sharafadin are found in the compound of the tomb of
Shaykh Sharafadin. They were buried around the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin.
205 Manuscripts including untitled Manaqib Prepared by Shaykh Mehdi Khelifa of Marsa and Kitabu Tajumuhibin
Fi Manaqib and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Muhammad Awole.
63
CHAPTER III
PILGRIMAGE: RITUALS AND CERMONIES IN DAGGAR
The Development of the Notion of Pilgrimage
Before the advent of Islam and Christianity most of the people of Borena Awrajja were followers
of traditional religions. As an adherent of traditional religious practices, the people continuously
conducted pilgrimage to their man-made and natural religious symbols. They went to mountain
ranges to ask the blessing of the mountains and also went to the tomb of their elder to ask their
assistance. The people of each village had their own common place of prayer. Caves, tombs of
elders, mountains and old and large trees were places of prayer and at the same time places of
sacrifices. They convened in these areas weekly, yearly and also provided sacrifices that they had
promised to come back with it in the previous ceremony. Such beliefs and practices were highly
internalized and accustomed by the people. It also passed from generation to generation with
strong experience of sacrifice and scrupulous practices of prayer. Hence, the site remains alive in
the memory of the old folks and the cult is being practiced in secret even after the introduction of
both Christianity and Islam.206
After the introduction of Islam, the common people continued to believe in their traditional
forms of religion. They looked at the impressive ceremonies of the Muslims as just another
curious religious cult given from the Muslim clerics. The pre-eighteenth and nineteenth century
Ulama, as the early Christian settlers, also continued to depend on pre-Islamic prayer centers as a
means for preaching Islam and its ethics. They went to Gobedens (site of a ritual, usually under a
206 Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Shaykh Seid Muhammad, Shaykh Umar Abas, Shaykh Musa
Mebriate.
64
tree) where the people of the surrounding area convened to teach them about Islam. This was
because; there was no other option for them to preach the people about the newly expanding
religion. As a result, Islamic religious practices and old traditional beliefs intermingled with each
other. The lay people of the area justified their Shirk (association of Allah with other worldly
creatures) practices by narrating what the introducers of Islam had done with them in different
local prayers and sacrificial places. They strongly argued that those who introduced Islam and
led our prayer on our forefathers‟ prayer center and you too came to teach us about Islam. But,
unlike them you were intolerant of our traditional practices.207
Quiet early in the history of Islam, it has to be noted that requests and supplications were
addressed by the believers to their dead religious heroes. Unlike Islamic ethics and standards, the
Sufi Muslims considered their Awliya as highly respected and highly positioned in the societal
hierarchy of the Muslim community. According to Islam, Awliya means those who believe in
Allah and fear Him. But according to Sufism, the Awliya have different meanings as highly
respected and highly positioned. Moreover since the Sufis gave more value to Wali than the
messenger of Allah, i.e., Prophet Muhammad, they considered them as perfect and very absolute.
So, this belief forced them to celebrate their Awliya through conducting pilgrimage to their
tombs.208
As a matter of fact immediately after the death of the Prophet, drought took place in Medina. As
a result of this Aisha, one of the Prophet‟s wives, ordered the people of the area to stand on the
207 Taddesse Tamrat, State and Church in Ethiopia: 1270-1527, (London: Oxford University Press, 1972), pp. 156-
158 and 231-235 and Informants: Shaykh Umar Darge Ararso, Shaykh Seid Tolha and Shaykh Muhammad Awole. They expressed that they were relentlessly engaged to purify Islam from its incompatible elements inherited from the old societal traditions. However, the people were not in a position to hear them. Rather, the people preferred to remember their heroes who tolerated their traditional practices and also decided to follow them as their models and gave their deaf ear for the contemporary revivalist and reformist religious leaders.
208 Hussein Muhammad Ali, p. 60; Informants: Shaykh Umar Abas, Shaykh Seid Muhammad and Ato Ayalew
Haile.
65
tomb of the Prophet by forwarding their face to the sky. After the convened people accomplished
the order of Aisha, the rain came.209
This is repeatedly narrated by the Sufi „Ulama of South
Wallo as a justification for the request of deceased men for help. In relation to the development
of the cult of saints Foucher argued that;
As time went on and with the help of popular stories narrating miraculous
interventions which struck the imagination, the first four caliphs, the prophet‟s
companions, other famous persons honored in earlier Islam, some “Sufis,”
local saints canonized by popular choice, numerous holy women, and even
common people became powerful intercessors and benefactors.210
As can be seen from the above argument of Foucher, popular stories that were used to transmit
the miraculous deeds and intercessory powers of devoted saints from generation to generation
resulted in the development of different pilgrimage centers that were used to ask the benefactors
of the deadly saints. As a result, pilgrimage became a world wide phenomenon and pilgrims
from different parts of the world have gone to different shrines. The idea and practice of
conducting Pilgrimage was widespread and frequent in many parts of Ethiopia including South
Wallo.211
Pilgrimage is among the common religious observances among the followers of both
Christianity and Islam. Hence, pilgrimage is a notable pan-Ethiopian cultural trait. This means
taking part in pilgrimage is a feature common to Ethiopian people.212
209
Emile Foucher, “The Cult of Muslim Saints in Harar: Religious Dimension,” eds., Bahru Zewde et al, Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies Vol.2 (Addis Ababa University: Institute
of Ethiopian Studies, 1994),p. 71.
210
Ibid., p. 71
211 Alula Pankhurst, p. 934 and Emile Foucher, p. 71.
212
Alula Pankhurst, p. 933.
66
Sufism represents Islamic response that was left unfulfilled by Orthodox Islam. Belief in Sufism
intends to relate the knowledge of Allah to veneration of saints. Sufi Islam and its religious
leaders accommodate and tolerate customs and traditions experienced by pre-Islamic
communities of South Wallo. Most Sufi shrines of South Wallo were established from the late
eighteenth to early nineteenth century.213
Custom, here, can be defined as the special way in
which a group of people did something. Among such community, the celebrations to remember
and honor an event or a person were fixed by custom rather than law of the country. One
community might have one special day to commemorate and celebrate the intercessory power
and miraculous deeds of their saints. In Ethiopian history, some holidays were celebrated to
remember famous peoples in political, religious and socio-cultural aspects. Such celebrations
took place on the birth day of the person being remembered. This argument reminds us that, the
celebrations celebrated in different parts of Ethiopia to remember and honor Islamic religious
saints emanated from customs rather than Islamic religious law. The officially recognized
holiday celebrations in Ethiopia are; Id Al-Fater (Ramadan), Id Al-Adha (Arafa) and the birth
day of the Prophet (Mawlid).214
As the other Muslim shrines of South Wallo215
, Daggar was a
seat of higher Islamic learning, center of training and initiation into the mystical orders and a
shrine where the prophet‟s annual birth day celebrations held in pre-1890 period.
The Development of Rituals and Ceremonies
Unlike Islamic religious beliefs and practices in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or Indonesia, the people of
South Wallo venerated saints and conducted pilgrimage to their tombs (Ziyara), celebration of
213 Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines,” p. 61 and 64.
214
Trimingham, pp.247-253 and Informants: Shaykh Umar Darge Arareso, Shaykh Muhammad Awole of Daggar
215 Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim shrines,” p.64.
67
Mawlid, Wodaja (communal ritual prayer gathering), devotion to Sufi Mystics and Panegyrists
and rituals for ordinary believers. The Muslim people of the area honor the dead through
conducting ritual of post-burial remembrance called Sedeqa. Some Wallo Muslim „Ulama also
considered themselves as the one who threat people to be cured from terrible discomforts
through their possessed Karama. Most of the people of the countryside practiced popular form of
Islam.216
The introduction of mystical orders (Turuq) and the mode of mystic scholars applied to the
introduction and expansion of Islam to Wallo were partially responsible for the development of
rituals and ceremonies in the region. The Muslim scholars who understood the deep-root and
persistent traditional values and customs of the Muslim community of South Wallo forced to
devise new mechanism to make their effort of reform effective. Thus, religious leaders called the
people to come together to celebrate the anniversary of the birth day of the Prophet. The people
began to use the occasion to commit traditional rituals and ceremonies which were previously
observed under trees and other popular places. It were Tariqa teachers who called on Muslim
communities to participate in a feast celebrated for the anniversary of Prophet Mohammad‟s
birth day, and also asked the people to pay something towards the expenses. Though the Tariqa
teachers intended the feast as an occasion for teaching, the community used the occasion to
conduct their previous popular rituals and ceremonies through the rituals of litanies and other
panegyrical songs in the evenings. In some feasts they beat drum to make it exciting. It was after
the end of the rituals and ceremonies that Shaykhs discuss the tenets of Islam. As the people
observed ceremony, their hostile attitude towards Tariqa teachers changed and they began to
216 Jan Abbink, “Transformations of Islam and Communal Relations in Wallo, Ethiopia,” In Benjamin F. Soares
and Rene Otayek, eds., Islam and Muslim politics in Africa (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), p.71.
68
confirm to the teachings of Islam.217
Hence, the veneration of local saints and performing ecstatic
dance and song emanated under the guidance of Tariqa teachers in eighteenth and nineteenth
century Wallo.218
The number of shrines varied from place to place based on the number of Muslims on the region.
It is basically true that both Muslims and Christians travel to the shrines for annual
celebration.219
The shrine of Guna Gannate shrine in Arsi, Taba and Liben shrines in Gojjam,
Shaykh Abrar shrine in Gojjam (Motta), Shaykh Hussein shrine in Bale, Gata Hajji Bushra in
Wallo (Kombolcha), Getaw Sharafadin shrine in Wallo (Borena), Asqari shrine in Gojjam
(Berenta), Feqi Yasin shrine in Gojjam (Debre Markos), Abba Shaykh Yebre shrine in Gojjam
(Wereqo), Shaykh Ali Giru shrine in Wallo (Dessie), Shaykh Mohammed Shafi (Yejemaw Negus)
shrine in Wallo (Jamma), Ahmed Nejash shrine in Tigray, Sof Umar shrine in Bale, Shaykh
Ahmed Omer shrine in Wellega, the Dana Shaykh shrine in Wollo (Sekota)220
, Shaykh Ali Yimer
shrine in Gondar, the Abret and Qatbare Shrine in Gurage are some of them where all peoples
and nationalities with diverse religion visit and worship annually.221
Shaykh Sharafadin‟s death in 1890 and the death of Khalifa Musa on Wednesday night April,
1930 marked a decisive stage in the transformation of Daggar from a Sufi teaching center to a
major shrine which attract several thousands of pilgrims from the surrounding areas and from
217 Hussein, Islam in 19
th Century Wallo, p., 82.
218
Trimingham, pp. 233-234.
219 Mohammed Yesuf, “Islam and the Muslim Conditions in Ethiopia,” (BA Thesis, Department of Political
Science and International Relations, Addis Ababa University, 1994), p. 36.
220
Teshome Birhanu Kemal stated that there is a shrine known as ‘aw sa’ido’ in Sekota specifically in Birbir area, p. 185 and Muhammed Yesuf, p. 36.
221 Mohammed Yesuf, p. 36 and Terje Ostebo, A History of Islamic and Inter-religious relations in Bale, Ethiopia,
(Uppsala: Universitetstryckeriet, 2005), p. 29.
69
some far away place. Hussein Ahmed stated that most of the rituals practiced in different shrines
of Wallo are similar.222
Though Sharafadin died in 1890, the people who learned under him gave a great honor next to
Allah and considered him as a mediator between Allah and them. The people are still judged by
his name, and celebrated his Mawlid at Daggar Getaw Shahye Mesjid in commemoration of him,
and to get his support. The people of the area blessed to each other in the name of Sharafadin
(Getaw Shahye Mejen) and swear by his name. This reflects the identity of the people of Borena
region.223
Conducting pilgrimage and bringing gifts to the shrine is not the only way to secure
Sharafadin‟s support. Rather, it is believed that repeatedly calls his name at home and asks his
spirit for any kind of assistance was another way of rite.224
Through out the year, people with any kind of difficulty in their life and social relationship visit
the shrine to request the spirit of Shaykh Sharafadin to solve their personal and social problem.
The annual ritual ceremony celebrated from October 22nd
to 24th
is unique in terms of the
number of people convened in the compound of the shrine. In this Mawlid ceremony people went
to the shrine either individually or in group. The guests of this ceremony came to the shrine two
to three days before the main holiday. As I have observed, in my field work conducted in
October 2013, the pilgrims started their ritual by visiting the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim.
They gather around the tomb and speak their multifaceted problems to the spirit of the dead
Shaykh. Others stand there promising to bring rich gifts the following year if their problems will
be solved. Other pilgrims stand around the tomb to give the previously promised votive
222 Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines in South Wallo,” p. 66 and Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib,
manuscript.
223 Mohammad Yesuf, p. 12 and Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh
Mu’ahmud Hamza.
224 Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza, Ato Muhe Tegegn, Ato Mitiku Yimer and
Wayzaro Workinesh Sigat, interviewed in Daggar during the Mawlid ceremony held in October, 2013.
70
offerings. People convened there to pray to get cure from their disease, to pray for the well-being
of the country, etc. It also creates an opportunity to appreciate the miraculous deeds of Shaykh
Sharafadin Ibrahim.225
Rituals and Ceremonies in the shrine of Daggar from 1868-1930
Rituals and ceremonies held in Daggar from 1868- 1930 were compatible with the religious
ethics and standards of Islam. Rituals and ceremonies observed during this period were; Jama‟a
and annual festival of Mawlid of the Prophet and De‟wa226
were well-known and practiced
ceremonies. In this period, Shaykh Sharafadin obliged the Muslim community of the surrounding
area to conduct public prayer (Jama‟a). In this weekly ceremony, those who came to the mosque
simply conduct their public prayer and return to their home after finishing it. In addition to these,
five obligatory prayers were conducted either individually or collectively in the small mosque.
However, Shaykh Sharafadin advised the Muslim community to conduct the five obligatory
prayers of the day together in the mosque. Apart from this, the Mawlid ceremony of the Prophet
was celebrated communally in the compound of the mosque. But, there was not exorbitant
dancing and other rituals that were considered as incompatible with Islamic ethics and standards.
The pilgrims convened in Daggar recited ramsa (a collection of pious songs recited in religious
gathering) either in Amharic or Arabic and also narrated anecdotes concerning the life and
achievements of Islam and its expansion to the world.227
Moreover, since the period was a period
of Islamic revival and reform movements, the mosque of Shaykh Sharafadin hosted religious
225 A manuscript, Ye-Daggar Getaw Shaykhye Mesgid Achir Tarik and Informants: Ato Gashaw Yimer and
Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
226 De’wa refers to the Islamic call usually signifies propagation and preaching with the objective to bring a
person to Islam (to the correct observance of Islam). This program is mostly led by prominent ‘Ulama of the religion.
227 Informants: Shaykh Sharif Mehdi and Shaykh Ahmed Abubu. Shaykh Sharif Mehdi, who was a grand son
of Shaykh Sharafadin’s younger brother expressed him as ‘Mujedidel Sharia’ which means strict follower of Islamic Orthodoxy.
71
discussions of prominent „Ulama of South Wallo concerning the expansion of Islam and how to
combat the incompatible practices amalgamated with Islamic practices (see below). The other
important ceremony conducted in the pre-1930 mosque of Daggar was traditional Quranic school
system. Thus, there was Quranic school system in the mosque of Daggar until 1930. Shaykh
Sharafadin and the people around the mosque in the village of Baqelo were main sponsors of the
school system.228
Rituals and Ceremonies in the Post-1930 period
During the period of Shaykh Sharafadin, rituals and ceremonies held in Daggar were compatible
with Islamic ethics and standards. The two Khalifas continued the rituals and ceremonies
practiced during the period of Shaykh Sharafadin. However, the coming to power of Hashim in
1930 was a turning point to the development of rituals and ceremonies incompatible with Islamic
ethics and standards. Juma‟a prayer, Qur‟an teaching and regular discussions concerning the
expansion and survival of Islam were interrupted. Praying near the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin
developed as an important ritual of the period. The pilgrims took off their shoes before entering
the sanctuary. Then, they burnt incense when they go around the main tomb which filled the
compound by pleasant odor. They prostrate themselves before the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin
and kiss the walls of the main building. They express their gratitude to the Shaykh‟s intercession
and Baraka divine grace. As an expression of their thanks to their deceased Shaykh, they put
votive objects like money, cloth, carpets, coffee and others in the small enclosure of the tomb.
The irrational behaviors reflected in the ritual practices of the pilgrims were expressed in the
form of exorcism, they cry and fell into a trance. These were the followers‟ physical
228 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Yesuf
Hassen
72
manifestations to confirm their respect to the deceased Shaykh and his Karama. The intercessory
power of the Shaykh might expel the Zar cult and the trance as a physical symbol of the struggle
of the evil spirit resisting expulsion. Ritual of ecstatic dancing and other related ceremonies of
the Zar cult were expressions of their sense of being “possessed.”229
They fail into frenzy,
shouting and uttering esoteric phrases which are considered as well-established and traditional
forms of exorcism practiced by both Muslims and Christians. They also smear butter and blood
on the door of the shrine. It is traditionally said that smearing butter and blood on the door are
expressions that intended to notify sacrifices for the Karama of the deceased Shaykh. They also
drink the blood of the slaughtered animals in the compound of the shrine. This is because the
pilgrims perceived that the blood has the power to cure them from diseases. Along with this,
pilgrims conduct a formal visit to the representative, family of Shaykh Sharafadin and custodian
of the shrine in the mosque which is located south of the tomb. These people gave personal
votive gifts either to the custodian or the family of the deceased Shaykh. The gifts were made to
either in cash or in kind after kissing their hands. The gifts are considered as a physical medium
through which the Shaykh‟s blessing was transmitted to the pilgrims.
On the first day of the festival, a large number of sheep, goats and bulls brought by the pilgrims
were slaughtered and the meat cooked and freely distributed to the pilgrims. Before 1994, the
pilgrims offered animals to the family of Shaykh Sharafadin. Some of the animals were
slaughtered and cooked to the pilgrims and the others saved for later sale. Because of this, the
pilgrims began to slaughter their animals in the compound of Shaykh Sharafadin and distributed
229 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript; Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim shrines of Wallo” pp. 76- 79 and
Abdo Adem, pp. 20- 21. As I have personally observed in the Mawlid ceremony of October 22-24, 2013, the space around the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin was filled by exorcist people who cried and lie on the ground and kick their body with whatever they got around them. They never allowed others to pass to the tomb along their side and Informant: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
73
the meat among their group members. This seriously minimized the income of the family of
Shaykh Sharafadin. As a result, they purposely formed a committee that managed such kinds of
unacceptable actions along with the police force of Kelela Wärädä. However, the increased
number of pilgrims made it difficult to manage. Thus, those people who vowed to bring animals
to the shrine slaughtered them in two different ways. Those who were conscious about the tricky
action of the family and custodians of the shrine slaughtered their animals themselves in the
compound of Shaykh Sharafadin but distributed the meat to their group members. However,
those pilgrims who did not know the problem, and those who seriously fear Shaykh Sharafadin
and considered their action as offending him simply submitted their animals to the family of
Shaykh Sharafadin.230
Apart to this, there was another version of gifts. In one of the versions the
volunteer pilgrims gave money to those notable „Ulama who settled in their tent out side of the
mosque. As others did in the mosque with the representatives, custodian and family of Shaykh
Sharafadin, they gave gifts to them in cash or in kind after kissing their hands in the tents around
the compound of the shrine.
In the afternoon of the first day and throughout the nights of the three successive days, people
formed small groups around which they constructed temporary shelters covered with cloth and
leaves of trees, and they began the proper celebration. They formed small circles around the
main shrine and performed an impressive collective worship. The proper celebration started with
consumption of ćat. People enjoyed a climax of physical and spiritual frenzy throughout day and
night of the three successive days. The days and nights of the Mawlid ceremony of October were
filled with occasional outbursts of the overzealous, music of chanting, fragrance from the
230 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Ato Gashaw Yimer and Shaykh Muhammad Awole. Some informants from
the pilgrims who slaughtered their animal on their own criticized the actions of the family of Shaykh Sharafadin and the custodians. The family of Shaykh Sharafadin and custodians on the other hand criticized those who slaughtered their animals on their own as offenders of Shaykh Sharafadin.
74
burning of incense and other aromatics and sprinkling of perfume. All these gave a pleasant odor
to the environment. It also increased the excitement of the pilgrims and the intensity of their
emotions. At the end of the festival, the pilgrims would promise to come back with expensive
gifts if their problem were solved with the help of the Shaykh‟s intercessory power.231
The other annual ceremony celebrated in the shrine of Daggar is the Mawlid of the Prophet. Most
of the time, those who actively participated and invited to participate in the Mawlid ceremony of
the Prophet were the prominent „Ulama of Daggar, the family of Shaykh Sharafadin, and the
known personalities of the surrounding region. However, the participation of lay men at the
Mawlid festival of October was not common in this festival. Due to the social composition of the
pilgrims, the rituals and ceremonies practiced in the Mawlid festival of the Prophet were
somewhat different from the rituals and ceremonies of the October Mawlid festival. Unlike the
October Mawlid festival, the „Ulama were engaged in the recitation of litanies and panegyrics
about the Prophet. They narrated anecdotes from the lives of the Prophet and Shaykh Sharafadin.
The whole ceremony was preceded by the chanting of ramsa (a collection of panegyrical poems
composed in either in Arabic or Amharic language in praise of the Prophet). After ramsa, the
recitation of several didactic poems (Manzumat) composed in either Arabic or Amharic was
conducted. The chanting was led by recognized and respected panegyrists. Harmony between
bodily movement and collective chanting of the praise songs took place in the ritual.232
Apart from the above annual ceremonies of the shrine, there is/was a weekly ceremony
celebrated on Friday. In this weekly ceremony, the custodian, the committee representatives, the
231 I had personally observed all the above rituals held in the Mawlid ceremony of October 22
nd -24
th of 2013.
More surprisingly, I had observed several women, men, young and old who enjoy excitement and frenzy who expressed it by shouting and uttering esoteric phrases. Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Ahmed Ali and Shaykh Muhammad Awole.
232 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Shaykh Umar Abas, Shaykh Seid Muhammad
and Kassaw Usman.
75
family of Shaykh Sharafadin and the surrounding neighbors and some people who came with
gifts from far area participated. As I have observed in my field work, this ceremony was opened
by sprinkling Buqri233
on the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin. After this, the kadam distributed the
Buqri to the people in the mosque. Then immediately began to recite ramsa, didactic poems
composed in either Arabic or Amharic. This was led by a recognized panegyrist. In the middle of
the recitation of ramsa, they distributed a piece of bread and ćat (catha edulis). Initially, they
narrated anecdotes about the lives and works of Shaykh Sharafadin. After this, they immediately
recited ramsa that praised Shaykh Sharafadin. Unlike the ramsa recited to the Prophet, the
ramsa, in praise of Shaykh Sharafadin, were recited in a standing position. The panegyrist began
to praise Shaykh Sharafadin by reciting a song of the following Amharic poem:
አባባ ያቁጥበል ሀበሻ፣ አባባ ያቁጥበል ሀበሻ፣
ሸህየ የኛ መሸሻ፡፡234
Father! The representative of the Habasha, Father! The representative of the Habasha
You are our Shaykh and protector.
While the panegyrist led the praise songs of Shaykh Sharafadin, the other participants chanted
the song repeatedly by standing in front of him with a pleasant bodily movement associated with
the rhythm of the praise songs. More surprisingly, it was on this day that the barren women took
a white stone from the place where Shaykh Sharafadin had blessed it in the hope of bearing child.
Women, who came to take the white stone, are advised to repeatedly touch her stomach with the
233 Buqri is a local drink made up of the mixing of roasted corn and water. It is non-Alcoholic local drink that did
not disturb the users. This is because the elements added in Buqri are alcohol free corns and other elements.
234 I had personally heard the musical intonation and pattern orally recited by Shaykh Ahmed Abubu in the
Mosque on the weekly ceremony of Friday. The praise songs were recited in Amharic with a harmony between bodily movement and collective chanting of them. Though the panegyrist, Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, was old, his musical intonation and pattern was interesting.
76
stone along with incense. The Kadam advised them to return it after she bore her child.235
The
above rituals and ceremonies provided an occasion for social interaction between people of
diverse socio-economic backgrounds. There was also a regular visit on Thursday evening, and
the shrine remained active during the dry season (the end of September to the second week of
June). As stated by Berhanu Gebeyehu, the shrine of Daggar is different from other shrines of
Wallo for two reasons. In the first place, the shrine did not function as a seat for higher Islamic
learning since 1930. Rather, it was simply left as a center of rituals and ceremonies practiced in
Daggar after the 1930. The second distinguishing factor of the shrine of Daggar was related with
the bi-annual festivals held at this shrine. It was largely dominated by rituals of dancing,
exhortation and other related ceremonies of the Zar.236
The Social Composition of the Pilgrims
The shrine was the center of interaction of community members, the Murid (disciple), and the
Awliya which makes the location, identity and significance of the saint known in its history.237
The families of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim were the prominent and active participants of the
ceremony. All pilgrims came from different parts of Ethiopia were their guests. They waited for
their guests in the mosque with the Khalifa and the prominent Islamic scholars. The pilgrims
came to Daggar with different gifts. The beneficiaries of the gift were the family of Shaykh
Sharafadin Ibrahim. Until the pilgrims return to their home, they accept and receive greetings
235 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Siraj, Ato Kassaw Usman and Ato Aliyu Yimam.
236
Berhanu Gebeyehu, pp. 10-11. As I have personally seen in the Mawlid ceremony of October 22nd
-24th
, 2013, particularly the night of the second day, I. e., October 23 seems a dance program of nations, nationalities and peoples of South Wallo. The male and female youth came to Daggar on the night of October 23 and began to dance and chant songs in group. They wear cultural clothes of their local area and chant their song in their respective language. Most of the groups chant their song in Oromigna language. This incidence attracted all the pilgrims to see the dancing by making circles around the youth.
237 Camilla. C. T. Gibb. “In the City of Saints: Religion, Politics and Gender in Harar, Ethiopia,” (PhD Thesis,
Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, 1996), p. 208.
77
and gifts of the pilgrims for four days. They were the first to enter the mosque to accept the
earlier comers of the ceremony. After all pilgrims left the mosque and its surrounding, they
shared the collected gifts. Thus, the family of Shaykh Sharafadin came with empty handed but
return with some gifts.238
Apart from this, the devotee followers of Shaykh Sharafadin came to the shrine from the local
and far areas. This section of the pilgrims was the majority after 1890. The devotee adherents,
who made the pilgrimage ceremonies warm and interesting were: Christian and Muslim lay
people who benefited by the miracles of Shaykh Sharafadin, those peoples who were possessed
by Zar, people who permanently and occasionally affected by disease, economically destitute
people, and those who got cures from the spirit of the deceased Shaykh. These sections of the
pilgrims were the majority but not the only source of income to the family of Shaykh Sharafadin
Ibrahim. They were involved in ecstatic dancing that led them into a frenzy of shouting and
uttering esoteric phrases. These were considered as well- established and traditional forms of
exorcism practiced by both Muslims and Christian pilgrims.239
The other section of the social group on the ceremony was those who intended to refresh
themselves by observing the ritual and ceremonial practices. Some „tourist‟ pilgrims from
different parts of the country travel to the site as a form of day or weekend outing. More often
they were members of the youth coming as couples and/or as groups of friends. Much of the
238 Informant: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, who produced Menzuma that narrates the life history and achievements
of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim, his family and his contemporary Islamic religious leaders of South Wallo. He is a devotee follower of Shaykh Sharafadin.
239 Informants: Ato Ahmed Ali, Ato Gashaw Yimer and Wayzaro Workinesh Sigat (a Christian participant of the
Mawlid ceremony held in October, 22, 2013), and Ato Muhe Tegegn.
78
excitement was sight-seeing with friends. This section of the pilgrims engages in joking in their
temporary shelter while others participate in ecstatic dancing.240
Well-known Sufi Islamic scholars were members of the pilgrims. They had special status as
compared to the other sections of the pilgrims. They stay in a mosque surrounded by the family
of Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim and the Khalifa. The Sufi Islamic Ulama who came to the shrine
of Daggar were visited by their admirers. Along with the presentation of gifts to the family of
Shaykh Sharafadin, some pilgrims request the convened „Ulama to solve their social, personal
and economic problems. They provided gifts either in the form of cash or kind to gain special
concern for their problems. Due to the narrowness of the mosque, some notable Shaykhs, who
came from different corners of Wallo, constructed their own temporary shelter (tent) around the
compound of the mosque. The Shaykh in the temporary shelter was responsible to the start of
ritual and ceremonial practices. They also narrated anecdotes about the achievements of Prophet
Mohammad and other local religious leaders including Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim.241
One
important occasion for the production of Ajäm was different shrines of Ethiopia.242
The
responsible sections of the pilgrims for the production of Ajäm were the „Ulama. The whole
ceremony was preceded by the chanting of ramsa.243
Following the ramsa, the program is
followed by the recitation of several didactic poems (Menzumat) composed in Arabic and
Amharic. This is common in all Mawlid ceremonies of Wallo led by the „Ulama.
240 Alula Pankhurst, p. 950.
241
Informants: Shaykh Mohammed Awole and Shaykh Ahmed Abubu. I had seen and met different notable ‘Ulama in different temporary shelters in the Mawlid ceremony of October, 22, 2013.
242 Alula Pankhurst, p. 259.
243
Hussein Ahmed defined ramsa as a collection of panegyric poems in praise of the Prophet, see, Hussein, “Two Muslim Shrines in Wallo.”
79
The Votive Ideology
One of the prevalent notions associated with pilgrimage centers is the idea of a reciprocal
relationship between the individual and supernatural forces. In the process of pilgrimage, this
notion is known as a transactional ethics. In the world of Awliya and their adherent relations,
there were two transaction items. These were Karama and vow. More often the pilgrims promise
to give votive offering to the shrine if their request would be fulfilled in the immediate future due
to the intercessory power of the spiritual leader. The promised material or property that would be
given to the spiritual leader is known as votive offering.244
As usual, adherents facing challenges
promise to visit the shrine in the near future if their problem would be solved. They also express
what they intended to bring to the shrine as a response to the fulfillment of their interest through
the intercessory power of the Wali.245
As usual, those who came for the first time to the
pilgrimage center inform their problem by walking around the tomb of the Wali and promise to
come with gifts in the coming year. Most of the pilgrims come to solve their infertility problem.
In case of infertility, Shaykh Sharafadin is said to have blessed a particular stone in the
compound of the shrine and people believe that this blessed stone is important for those who
wanted to bring children. The pilgrims could take stone from this particular area only on Friday
so as to bear a child. This special place is found between the tomb and the mosque of Shaykh
Sharafadin. After they took a stone they usually promise to come back with gifts. They smear the
stone with incense and touch their stomach with it repeatedly.246
After they got a child, they are
expected to return the stone to its original place. The votive offering ranged from incense to any
some of money in thousands, and from hen to bull. Others also promised to provide any kind of
244 Alula Pankhurst, pp. 948-949.
245
Ibid and informants: Ato Kassaw Usman and Ato Muhe Tegegn.
246 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Muhammad Awole and Ato Kassaw Usman
80
material that would give service permanently to the shrine. However, the most accustomed
votive offerings were animals and money. Large number of animals would be slaughtered on
Friday and in the annual Mawlid Ceremony in October. Some pilgrims drink and some others
painted their body with the blood of the slaughtered animals. This is because the people believed
that the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin would visit them and they would be the advantageous
section of the society.247
In the votive ideology, those who required the support of the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin,
relate their problem either by physically coming to the shrine or by calling his name in their
home. They would also identify the votive offerings that they would offer. Then they hopefully
wait for the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin until their requests are met. They would notify their
problem relentlessly and continuously until Shaykh Sharafadin answered it. After the fulfillment
of their requests, they are obliged to bring the votive offerings to the shrine. They would only
bring what they had promised to bring. The adherents believe that, changing the promised item
of votive is unethical in the transaction ethics. As they reach to the shrine with the promised gift,
they express the fulfillment of their request by the Karama of Shaykh Sharafadin. Hence, votive
ideology is an attribute of pilgrimage, in which the Awliya and their adherents exchanged their
mutual benefit.248
The Essence and Purpose of Pilgrimage in the Religious and Social Life of the Pilgrims
In Ethiopia in general and in Wallo in particular, those tombs known as a center of cult and
pilgrimages are/were an integral part of the life of the people. Pilgrims carry out scriptural
Islamic practices such as; hearing liturgical chants and litanies led by panegyrists, expressed their
247 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Ato Kassaw Usman and Ato Gassaw Yimer.
248
Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole, the current chairman of the committee of the shrine, Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza, Ato Kassaw Usman and Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
81
admiration to their Prophet, religious discussions in small groups and others that convinced them
they are performing religious deeds. However, each shrine has its own unique practices.249
Religious Dimensions of Pilgrimage
Pilgrims come to any shrine to get the support of the spirit of the deceased saint and to get a
chance to communicate with Allah.250
As a result, devoted religious experience motivated the
pilgrims to conduct pilgrimage. It is considered as a „poor man‟s hajj‟ in which a life time
spiritual fulfillment could be done. Conducting pilgrimage to the shrine of Shaykh Sharafadin has
valuable benefit in the religious life of the pilgrims. The pilgrims underscored the support of
Shaykh Sharafadin and their communal interaction with the other people while they travel to
Daggar. The adherents of Shaykh Sharafadin considered pilgrimage as a religious obligation. For
them, conducting pilgrimage is one way of discharged religious obligations. Hence, the
psychological make up of the pilgrims convinced them they are performing religious deeds. They
considered the shrine of Daggar as a destination of Hajj for the poor. They heard ramsa,
menzuma and to some extent Qur‟an in the Mawlid and weekly Friday ceremony of the shrine.251
The process of visiting shrines was also considered as an act of piety. Most of the time observing
visions and dreams motivated the pilgrims to visit pilgrimage centers. Even those who were not
lucky to participate on the occasion rush to exchange greeting and hand shakes with their
neighbors who came back from Daggar so as to share the blessing that his/her neighbors
249 Trimingham, p. 249.
250
Tsige Nigatu, p. 46.
251 Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Shaykh Muhammad Awole, Wayzaro Semegn Hassan and Ato Gashaw
Yimer. The later two are devoted and active participants of the Mawlid ceremony held in October 22nd
-24th
. I met them in the Mawlid ceremony of 2013. They said that, “this is an Islamic religious center and all what they did was religious.”
82
acquired from the shrine.252
This is because, according to their argument, Allah preferred and
recognized them as His adjacent slave. By calling the name of the deceased saint, the pilgrims
gave their votive offerings with thanks to his/her God. It is also an important occasion to forward
their problems and to perform prayer for Allah.253
In the history of Islam, the Muslim society expressed their admiration and the gracious
contributions of Prophet through celebrating Mawlid ceremony that commemorates his birth day.
The Muslim societies of different regions have their own local religious figures that need to be
remembered for their contributions for societal life. As a result of this, the people accustomed the
culture of celebrating the deeds and Karama of their local religious leaders at a ceremony of
annual Mawlid.254
Various Muslim communities of Ethiopia have little interaction due to geographical and cultural
barriers. Apart from these the feudal state maintained a hostile and belligerent attitude towards
indigenous Muslims. In 1668, in the reign of Yohannes I (1668-82), a religious council was held
in the then imperial capital, Gondar, which called on the Muslims to reside in a separate quarter
of the town. In addition to this, at the council of Boru Meda, Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-89)
decreed that Muslims, particularly those of Wallo, were to be baptized or suffer banishment.
These were the other factors that negatively affected the closer contacts of Muslim communities.
As a result of these, religious festivals such as the annual anniversary celebration of the
Prophet‟s Mawlid and visits to local shrines were occasions that provided options for
252 Alula Pankhurst, p. 947 and Informants: Shaykh Umar Abas, Shaykh Seid Muhammad, Shaykh Musa
Mebri’ate and Shaykh Mu’ahmud Hamza.
253 Alula Pankhurst, P. 947 and Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Ali, Ato Muhe Tegegn, Ato Mitiku Yimer and Ato
Gashaw Yimer.
254 Tsige Nigatu p. 36 and Informants: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu and Shaykh Muhammad Awole.
83
interaction.255
These local centers of pilgrimage were local centers that recruited converts to
Islam.256
Apart from these, the other section of pilgrims was those who were possessed by the Zar cult.
They engaged in orgiastic dancing by rounding the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin. They shouted
and frenziedly lay on the ground. Some times they ask Shaykh Sharafadin why he made them as
such. At other time they criticized Allah why He did so. Shaykh Ahmed Abubu argued that, the
bale Zar pilgrims used the occasion as an opportunity to charge their spirit. This section of the
pilgrims considered pilgrimage as a religious act.257
Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim was among the well-known Ulama of the nineteenth century whose
Mawlid ceremony is celebrated annually from October 22nd
to 24th
in his shrine. According to the
belief and myth of the adherents, this event is celebrated in commemoration of the death of
Shaykh Sharafadin Ibrahim.258
The celebration of the Mawlid festival of Shaykh Sharafadin is
considered as a means to get the help of the karama of Shaykh Sharafadin and the blessing of
Allah.
Social Dimensions of the Pilgrimage
It is a public ceremony in which people raise their problems and ask Allah to solve their common
problem.259
Faith healing is/was one of the social values of pilgrimage. Ethiopian traditional
medicine-men of various sorts rendered curative services through out the history of the country
through their medical knowledge combined with their fame and far-reaching reputation. This
255 Hussein Ahmed, “The Historiography of Islam in Ethiopia,” Journal of Islamic Studies, 3:1 (1992), p. 19; Tsige
Nigatu, p. 64 and Informants: Shaykh Yesuf Hassen and Shaykh Muhammad Bekele.
256 Tsige Nigatu, p. 71 and Informant: Shaykh Ahmed Abubu.
257
Ibid.
258 Berhanu Gebeyehu, p. 32.
259
Tsige Nigatu, p. 46.
84
helped patients to get cures through psychological and spiritual assurances they obtained from
the healing practices of the traditional medicine men.260
Demon-pullers and spirit mediums
were/are among the traditional medicine men. They are/were believed to be a medium to assist
people in their relation with super-human powers.261
The Amhara, in particular and Ethiopia in general, believe that catastrophic epidemics are sent
by God as punishment to man‟s transgression of His commandments.262
The hungry appealed for
help to a human institution or power. They convened together in religious institution and cry out
to Allah, who they thought sent drought and famine to punish their irreligious practices. Most of
the pilgrims, in the period of the 1984/85 believed that lack of devotion to Allah was a major
cause of drought and famine. It is said that the propaganda of the Derg regime (1974-1991) was
anti-religious. The period was also said to be terrible for the people of the region. Thus, they
expressed their feeling collectively in and around the shrine of Daggar by composing couplets.
ዝናብን ስሇምን [ፀሓዩ] ቅርት ይላል፤
[ፀሓዩን] ስሇምን ዝናቡ ይቀራል፤
ሐይማኖት ከሇሇ ፀሎት ምን ያዯርጋል፡፡ 263
when I pray for rain, the sun remains set;
when I pray for the sun, the rain fails to come;
what is the use of prayer without faith.
260 Abraraw Tesfaye, “Traditional Medicine in an Urban Center: Beliefs and Practices: the Case of Dessie Town,
Northern Ethiopia),” (MA Thesis, Department of Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa University, 1998), p. 30.
261 Ibid., p. 31.
262
Ibid.
263 Informant: Ato Gashaw Yimer a devotee old man and participant of the annual pilgrimage in Daggar. I got
him in the pilgrimage ceremony of October, 22/2006.
85
The above couplet clearly stated that some pilgrims attributed the famine of 1984/85 to the lax
behavior of believers of Islam in the area. 1984/85 was not the only period when rain fails to
come. Demillie Mollaw confirmed that the people of Wallo considered the 1984/85 famine as the
punishment sent by Allah due to their sins. Rather, the above couplet recited during the famine of
1984/85 when religion and government seems anti to each other. Thus, they also wanted to
express this situation which might force them to surrender to famine.264
Still others related the
famine of the period with the guilty of committee members and leaders of peasant association
(PA) formed under the Derg Regime since 1975. The pilgrims criticized the abuses of Derg
petition as:
አስራ አምስት ኮሚቴ ሲያናፋ ሲያናፋ፤
በሰማይ ዯመና [በምድር] ዝናብ ጠፋ፡፡265
Clouds faded from the Sky,
Rain vanished from the earth, as if angered by the braying of committee.
The pilgrims recited different couplets in group which reflected their responses towards different
problems in the following way.
አንሳና ድንጋይ ድንጋይዉን፣ አንሳና ድንጋይ ድንጋይዉን፣
አስማማዉ ቆላ ዯጋዉን፡፡266
Take away the stone, disturbers of our friendship
264 Demillie Mollaw, “The 1984-85 Famine in Wallo with particular Emphasis on Yejju Awrajja,” (BA Thesis,
Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1997), 23 and Informants: Shaykh Muhammad Awole of Daggar, Shaykh Ahmed Abubu, Ato Kassaw Usman and Ato Ayalew Haile.
265 Informant: Shaykh Seid Mohammed who was a member of the peasant committee and now regretted by
what he had done with his colleagues have done on the surrounding community.
266 I recorded this in the October 22
nd-24
th Mawlid ceremony held in 2013 at the Shrine of Daggar. The pilgrims
who recited this and other kinds of couplets participated in Daggar. Informants: Ato Gashaw Yimer, Ato Mitiku Yimer, Ato Muhe Tegegn and Ato Muhe Assen.
86
create consensus in the desert and the highland regions.
As my informants indicated, they feared local wars and clashes which were enemies of peaceful
relations. They asked their creator, Allah, to pacify the desert and the highland regions to the
common advantage. This occasion was important to the pilgrims to express and discuss different
occurrences that happened in different periods that had a devastating effect on the community.
The recently developed agenda in the shrine was to pray for the migrants, and criticizing mass
migration of Ethiopians to different parts of the world. They chanted hymns that reminds us
about the predetermined nature of life which could not be rearranged by personal effort.
According such beliefs of the pilgrims, Allah is omnipresent and no one would escape from His
anger. They chanted as:
ዉጭ ሐገር ይመኛል ዋ አበሻ ሞኙ፤
እዚያ አላሀ የሇም ወይ ከዚሀ የሚያወቀኙ፡፡267
Ah, the silly [Ethiopians] are eager to go abroad
But, Allah who knows me here is also there.
Therefore, those who believe that illness or diseases are sent by Allah and saints; they appeal to
them in prayers and travel in pilgrimages to famous religious institutions and shrines. They gave
alms to the poor in line with the demands of their faith, thereby hoping to gain relief and
recovery.268
For centuries, Ethiopians had used traditional health-care system and prayers to
overcome such problems.269
Belief systems played a vital role to the understanding and
267 Abraraw Tesfaye, p. 31 and Informant: Shaykh Seid Mohammed.
268
Abraraw Tesfaye, p. 32.
269 Ibid., p. 33.
87
interpretations with regard to health and disease.270
Pilgrimage centers often attract the people
possessed by Zar cult.271
Accommodation
As the case in Jemma Negus272
, temporary shelter was constructed in the open area around the
Mosque, the house where the deceased saint and the successive guardians of the shrine were laid
to rest. The Mosque was used for ćat ceremony every weekly from Thursday night to Friday
mid-day and in annually Mawlid ceremonies preserved only for the family of Shaykh Sharafadin
and the notable religious men of the surrounding area. As a result, most of the pilgrims were
obliged to construct their own temporary shelter in group. They came with necessary materials to
build temporary shelter. They bring cloth, thread, sack and other materials as much as they
could. They also gather leaves and wood items to stretch their clothes to protect themselves from
sunlight and other hardships.273
Those pilgrims who regularly conducted pilgrimage brought
wide cloth to construct tent for them. This kind of shelter is particularly used by the Awliya, who
have several followers, and who collect gifts from pilgrims.
Charity and Alms Giving
Pilgrims not only give offerings to the shrine, but also to large number of beggars. Large
numbers of beggars flock to the area to get alms from pilgrims.274
Religious teachers instruct the
people to give to the less fortunate people for the welfare of the alms contributor and of the
270 Ibid., p. 40.
271
Alula Pankhurst, p. 948.
272 Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines,” p. 66.
273
Informant: Shaykh Muhammad Awole who is the chairman of the committee interviewed in Daggar. I had also observed pilgrims equipped with different materials to construct temporary shelter and also climbed on trees to bring leaves in the Mawlid ceremony held in October 22
nd 2013.
274
Ibid.
88
society. Thus the less fortunate sections of the society often travel to pilgrimage centers.275
Beggars come to Daggar and appeal to the generosity of pilgrims. The beggars remind the
pilgrims to give alms if they wish to get the favor of Allah both in the worldly and heavenly life.
The beggars of Daggar asked the pilgrims in the name of Shaykh Sharafadin. Beggars recite
different poems to express their suffering and to remind the people that such charity is a religious
work in Islam. They also repeatedly call deceased saints of South Wallo including Shaykh
Sharafadin. The pilgrims gave generously without considering its amount. As I observed in my
field work conducted from October 22nd
-24th
in the compound of the shrine, the pilgrims
provided gifts to the needy either in terms of cash or in kind.276
275 Nora Groce and Barbara Murray, “Disabled beggars in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Geneva: International Labour
Office, 2013), p. 10.
276 Informants: Ato Kassaw Usman, Ato Aliye Yimam and Shaykh Muhammad Awole of Daggar.
89
CHAPTER IV
VALUES OF THE SHRINE OF DÄGGÄR
The shrine of Däggär has the following values for its adherents in particular and the whole
community of Borenä Awräjjä and its neighbors in general.
Ye- Amärē Qunä
In the African culture; elders, traditional leaders, healing and religious leaders are highly
involved in resolving conflict among local people.277
Ye-Amärē Kunä was a traditional
negotiation system developed particularly by Amhärä tribes of Northern Shewä. Ye-Amärē Kunä
was widely used from the reign of Emperor Yohannes (1872-1889) onwards. Before the
development of modern legal system, traditional negotiation system emanated from common
consensus was commonly practiced among the people of Northern Shewä, Kelelä and Jämmä.278
The word Amärē‟ refers the Amhärä ethnic group lived in Northern Shewä, Kelelä and Jämmä.
The ancient residents of Kelelä were identified as Amärēch and AbēŤoch. Amärēch and AbēŤoch
were ancestral peoples of Kelelä region in Borenä Wärädä. They were divided into two by the
River of Märēko, in present day Kelelä Wärädä. The people lived near to northern Shewä were
known as Amärēch while those who lived to the west of Märēko were AbēŤoch. The people of
Amärēch had their own strong social administrative principle. They had strong family bond
among themselves. They had a culture of defending their common benefit, defend their people,
and are not biased to benefit one by hurting the other. The people of the Amärē were/are critical
277 Solomon Teshome Bāye, “Yegdyā Gdt Bāhlāwi Afetāt Be-Sirē Oromowoch Enā Amārāwoch- Nșșrāwi Ťnāt,”
(MA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 2010), p. 29.
278
Brhän Asefä Arägäw, “Bähläwi Ye-gdt Afetät Zedewoch Be-Wogd Enä Be-Borenä Wärädäwoch,” (MA Thesis,
Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 2002), p.31; Kelelā Enā Yāltenegeru Tārikochwā, manuscript, p. 13 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole and Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
90
in their negotiation process. Specially, their negotiation system was carry out based on
commonly agreed upon unwritten principles which make it unique and unbiased.279
Apart from
these, they were uncompromising in their belief particularly their belief in Shaykh Sharafadin
was/is strong.280
Like today‟s contemporary system of administration, Amäre Qunä had legislative and executive
bodies composed of prominent elders and religious men. The legislative body was known as
Qunä Sefi while the executive body was Qunä Seći. The legislative and executive bodies of
Kelelä, Northern Shewä and Jämmä Wärädä convened together annually on November 13
around Beto River at a place called Merbäbä to hear petitions. Apart from hearing petitions, they
revised their traditional law so as to make their decision justifiable. Amare traditional law
revised annually. The Amärē Qunä was initially drafted by Amärē legislative body. After that,
the law drafted by the legislative body would be disseminated to the community of Kelelä,
Northern Shewä and Jämmä, south western Wällo for amendment. People add new legislation
and delete what they did not like. It would then be returned to the legislative body for approval.
The law of the Amärē was more concerned with all societal issues.281
During the period of Shäykh Shäräfädin, a woman who was employed in the house of a rich man
in Degy, south western Wällo came to the mosque of Shäykh Shäräfädin with informal petition.
In her petition, she told Shäykh Shäräfädin himself about the refusal of her employer to pay her
salary for 30 years service. They had only oral agreement to pay her one Maria Theresa per day.
After hearing her problem, Shäykh Shäräfädin sent to her employer with mediators. The
mediators negotiated with her that the employer to pay her half of the money promised on the
279 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13 and Brhän Asefä, pp. 31-32.
280
Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13.
281 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13 and Brhän Asefä Arägäw, pp. 31-32.
91
oral agreement. The employer paid her salary of 30 years. After that Shäykh Shäräfädin blessed
the Amäre-Qunä traditional negotiation system. Even after the death of Shäykh Shäräfädin in
1890, Abäbä Shifäw, the lance, represented the endeavor of Shäykh Shäräfädin for the traditional
negotiation system. From then on the conflicting parties negotiated in front of Abäbä Shifäw. The
conflicting people never refuse to abide by the negotiation done in front of Abäbä Shifäw. They
also promise not to raise the issue again. Those who did so were obliged to slaughter a bull in the
compound of the shrine of Däggär. However starting from 1974, the government began to see it
as threat for the economic wellbeing of the people. As a result, the Derg regime prohibited the
slaughtering of a bull in the compound of the Shrine of Däggär to punish the offender.282
“Abäbä Shifäw”- ye-Shimäglēwoch Shimäglē
In Borena Awräjjä blood feud was deep rooted in the traditional culture. This problem was
negotiated by prominent local religious and non-religious leaders who reconcile people with
local tradition and knowledge of Islamic doctrine.283
Shaykh Shäräfädin was a notable mediator
of Kelelä Wärädä. After 1890, as it would be explained below, Abäbä Shifäw became the main
negotiator. There are two views concerning about Shaykh Sharafadin‟s affirmation of Abäbä
Shifäw to engage in the negotiation system. The first view related it with the death of Shaykh
Shäräfädin‟s assistant negotiator called Shifäw. Tradition indicates that Shifäw was confirmed by
Shaykh Shäräfädin to negotiate over some part of the surrounding community while Shaykh
Shäräfädin was engaged in negotiating the other part of the region. Shifäw was a servant /Kädäm
of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Unfortunately, Shifaw died unexpectedly after while the community was
still in need of him to see their day to day issues. He died due to his infection by deadly disease.
282 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, pp. 13-14 and Informant: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of
Daggar.
283 Gäshäw Mohämmäd, p. 36 and Informants: Ato Kässäw Usmän and Shäykh Muhämmad Awole.
92
The period of his death is not substantiated by sources. Thus, the community asked Shäykh
Shäräfädin to bear a son who will supervise the community and negotiate people‟s offensive
actions.284
The second view argued that the people wanted to represent Shäykh Shäräfädin by his own son
for the negotiation and other religious services. However, Shäykh Shäräfädin refused to have a
son due to his rigid stand that considered the whole community as his children. This was
because, the community considered him as their father and most of them called him by the name,
Abäbä (Father). Shäykh Shäräfädin argued that it is impossible to marry a child to bring another
child.285
However to answer the question of the community, Shäykh Shäräfädin gave his lance to
serve the community by representing him. The lance was his most praised equipment of Shäykh
Shäräfädin. It was given to the community as Shäfä‟a (an Arabic word which means medicine).
According to informants, Shäykh Shäräfädin gave the lance as the savior of the community.
Shäykh Shäräfädin declared that those who will not respect their promise to the Shäfä‟a will be
punished. From that period onwards, the community called the lance as „Shifäw.‟286
The
Mänäqib written by Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä supported the second view.
But the common understanding that we can draw from the above two views concerning about
Shäykh Shäräfädin was that he died unmarried. The community of the surrounding area asked
Shäykh Shäräfädin to bring a son who have lineage with him. This was because having direct
lineage to Shäykh Shäräfädin would make inheritance of the intercessory and spiritual power of
Shäykh Shäräfädin straightforward. Shäykh Shäräfädin insisted that his lance which does not eat,
284 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 15 and Informant: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
285
Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13 and Informants: Ato Kässäw Usmän, Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh Hussein Ťuhä.
286 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13 and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh
Muhämmäd Awole.
93
drink, conduct corruption, immortal and ill would serve the community at the expense of lineage
representation. Based on the decision of the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrahim, Shifäw is kept
in the house of an old man near to the shrine. All my informants refused to tell the name of the
person who kept the lance due to fear of exposing this heritage to danger. However, when
problems arose in the area, Shifäw would be taken out by the order of the guardian of the shrine.
Shifäw would be moved by an old man who would be appointed by the family of Shäykh
Shäräfädin and the local community. Before the mobilization of Shifäw, the family of Shäykh
Shäräfädin would decide for how many days it would be out for accomplishing its task.
However, Abäbä Shifäw never returns to its place before accomplished its mission of negotiating
the conflicting parties.287
The main responsibility of Shifäw was/is to negotiate blood feud. In such cases the family of the
assassin would ask the mobilization of Shifäw. Shifäw would enter neither the house of the
assassin nor the family of the deceased. Rather, it would be kept in a temporarily constructed tent
or under a tree. Well-known local mediators, government representatives of the district or police
forces and the family of the deceased would convene around the tent or around Shifäw.288
The opening remarks would start by begging the family of the deceased person after notifying
them the coming of Shifäw to negotiate them. Shifäw would only return if and only if the family
of the dead person asked the mediators, in the name of Shifäw, to postpone the mediation day.
Unless and other wise, the mediators hear of the promise ritual of the two sides that expressed
their willingness to negotiation. After the end of the negotiation, the assassin would be ordered to
287 Kelela Ena Yaltenegeru Tarikochwa, manuscript, p. 13 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Shäykh
Ahmed Abubu, Shäykh Yesuf Hässen and Ato Sileshi Muhämmäd.
288 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript p. 13 and Informants: Ato Ashebir Ali, Ato Asenu Hussein and
Ato Hässen Ali.
94
give blood-money to the family of the deceased person. The amount of blood-money paid to the
family of the deceased was determined based on the level of guilty of the assassin and their
confession. Until 2008, those persons who killed a person and confess their guilty ordered to pay
3000 birr. But, those who killed a person and tried to disown and collusively opposed their guilty
of killing a person ordered to pay 3500 birr. Moreover, for those assassins who dismember the
body of the deceased person forced to pay 4500 birr. The punishment would be paid either in
cash or by providing services. The two sides would eat together from a common dish and would
promise no to raise their hostile relations again. Since the community is devotee followers of
Shäykh Shäräfädin, they do not refuse negotiation in front of Shifäw. This was because refusing
Shifäw was considered as upsetting Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrahim. As a matter of belief, the
community of the surrounding area alleges that those who refused to negotiate by Shifäw had
faced serious challenge in their personal and social life. They would also outcaste by the
community at large. Kerem Shäykh Yäsin obtained evidence from Shäykh Musä, the second
Khälifä of the shrine, and quoted in the Mänäqib that if some one falsely swears in the presence
of Shifäw, it would be considered as calling of death by his own initiation. Shäykh Shäräfädin
instructed and strongly advised to be truthful in front of Abäbä Shifäw to avoid danger. Shäykh
Shäräfädin had indicated that he had added spirit to Shifäw to punish the disobedient.289
After 1890, Abäbä Shifäw responsibly maintained the peace and security of the communities of
Därä, a Wärädä of the Oromo region which is located on the extreme south of Kelelä Wärädä),
Northern Shewä, ćäqetä, in Wogd Wärädä, in south western Wällo and Jämmä Wärädä and
brought back local bandits to home. Before 2008 Shifäw was paid two Märia Teresä birr per its
negotiation. However, after this year, it was paid 20 birr. From 2010-2012, the money paid to
289 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, p. 13; Kitäbu Täjumuhibin Fi Mänäqib, manuscript, and Informant:
Shäykh Ahmed Abubu of Daggar who is the nearest relative of Shäykh Shäräfädin.
95
Abäbä Shifäw grown up to 400 birr. The decision of payment to Abäbä Shifäw and its carrier was
decided by the community of the surrounding area. This money is used to buy coffee and incense
for the prayer ceremony conducted during the taking out of Shifäw for its intended purpose.290
Shifäw was/is a special gift of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim which is still a valuable property of the
community of Kelelä Wärädä and its surrounding. It was/is the main apparatus of the mediators.
Kelelä Wärädä and its people will continue to adore and respect Shäykh Shäräfädin and his gift,
Shifäw.291
Economic Values of the Shrine
The descendants of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim lived under the shadow of their saintly ancestor
through inheriting his Bäräkä and exploiting it for their survival.292
This is not an exclusive
economic investment of the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim. Such kinds of trends were
developed in different local shrines of Ethiopia like; Jemä Negus (Shäykh Muhämmäd Shäfi
Shrine in Jämmä), Gätä (häjj Bushrä shrine in Kombolchä) and others.293
Following the death of
Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim, his family members had attached themselves to the shrine and
thrived on gifts of the pilgrims.294
The family of Shäykh Shäräfädin got gifts in the form of cash
and animals. According to the statistical report of Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office,
the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin got 400 Sheep and Goats, 9 bull and 250, 000 birr in the festival
290 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p. 13 and Informants: Ato Kässäw Usmän and Ato Aliyu
Yimäm who were a Kädäm of the shrine for a long period of time. Ato Kässäw Usmän was a guard of the Shrine from 1983 to the present. Aliyu Yimäm was a carrier of Abäbä Shifäw and Kädäm of the Shrine since 1991 to the present.
291 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, manuscript, p.13 and Informants: Ato Tesfä Michä’el Legesse, Ato Aliyu
Hussein and Ato Usmän Abegäz.
292 Informant: Shäykh Shärif Mehdi, son of Shäykh Shäräfädin’s brother and now the Khälifa of Märsä Mosque
in Kelela Wärädä.
293 Triminghäm, p. 248 and Muhämmäd Yesuf, p. 36.
294
Informant: Shäykh Jämäl Behru, the present Khälifä of the Shrine and family member of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim.
96
of October 22nd
-24th
, 2013. Before 2013, organized statistical data of the amount of gifts was not
gathered properly.295
The shrine with its crowds attracted people with business motives. Several stalls were built in the
local market, and are rented out to people in the nearby areas who sell water, soft drink and food.
Bottled soft drinks, soap, cigarettes, matches, razor blades, pens, sweets, etc are sold here. A
market is held during the bi-annual ceremonies held from October 22nd
to 24th
and the annual
Mäwlid ceremony of the Prophet. The other important trade items sold here are printed religious
literatures and Quranic verses prepared by the local religious „Ulama. Both the market around
and in the compound of the Shrine of Daggar and gifts to the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin are
extremely increased through time.296
The votive offerings also indirectly reach the surrounding
communities. During the period of Derg regime, the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin provided sheep
and goats to representatives of the Peasant Associations who worked in Daggar Kebelē on the
weekly ceremony of Friday. Every Friday, the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin provides sheep and
goat acquired from the pilgrims to the representatives of Peasant Associations freely.297
Healing
Frances Westley argued that “Healing do not occur at every meeting, but are usually requested
by a member.”298
In healing, the adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin attach themselves with
memories of those done by their spiritual leader. It is said that the miraculous deeds of Shäykh
Shäräfädin that confirmed his intercessory power of curing the ill transmitted from generation to
295 Informants: Ato Mubärek Ymäm and Zeritu Hussein.
296
Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Beqele, Ato Usmän Abegäz and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole.
297 Informants: Ato Tesfäw Muhämmäd and Ato Kässäw Muhämmäd who had worked in Daggar as
representatives of the Peasant Associations in Daggar Qebelē during the Derg regime.
298 Frances Westley, the Complex Forms of the Religious Life: a Durkheimian View of New Religious Movements
(California: American Academy of Religion, 1983), p. 69.
97
generation through oral medium. Thus, his adherents asked him to cure from disease. Assefa
Balcha considered diviners and spirit mediums as traditional healing systems in Ethiopia.
Moreover, religious personalities went as far as institutionalizing healing system in different
parts of the country. Though traditional healers received a suspicion and unsupportive attitude on
the sides of the state, their effort was highly reflected in the area before nineteenth century and
continued to the present. The pressure of western medicine on indigenous healers started in the
immediate post-Menelik era.299
As stated so far, the social composition of the pilgrims of the shrine of Daggar includes those
who were possessed by the Zar cult. The belief in the Zar spirit had an ancient origin predating
even the introduction of both Christianity and Islam to Ethiopia. The Bale Zar, a person with Zar
spirit possession, served as a spirit medium and communicated with the spirit causing the
sickness. During this ritual-healing session, the Zar spirit through its human medium, would
identify the troubling spirit including Jinn (devil) and evil-eye spirits and also recommend the
solution. Spiritually-inspired healers used their mystical powers to recommend diverse sorts of
solutions to the physically ill, the psychologically disturbed and those who had personal and
social problems.300
However, the persons possessed by Zar cult had to participate in the rituals
and ceremonies held in the shrine of Daggar to update their sense of being “possessed.” They
think that updating their “possessed” status would be essential for improving their health. Zar
spirits do not only serve as guardian spirits of individuals, but also serves as patron spirits of
certain social groups. They cried out, fell into a trance, occasionally outburst, and conducted
orgiastic dancing around the tomb of Shaykh Sharafadin. They also fell into frenzy by shouting
299 Assefa Balcha, “Church based Medicine and the State in Ethiopia, 1900-1980,” (Ph.D. Dissertation,
Department of History, Emory University, 2008), pp. 4-28;
300 Ibid.
98
and uttering esoteric phrases. These were the mechanisms of the Zar possessors to update their
spirit and also to cure those who were ill.301
Apart from these, all people who had physical illness, psychological disturbance and emotional
problems come to the shrine of Daggar get cures from their disease. This was because, almost all
the pilgrims considered Shäykh Shäräfädin as a mediator between human being and Allah. As a
result, they came to Daggar for the purpose of using the mediatory power of Shäykh Shäräfädin
to get the assistance of Allah for their wellbeing. Apart from these, some religious students and
their religious teachers prepared prayer textbooks by quoting some verses from the holy Qur‟an.
They wrote prayer textbooks in Arabic by quoting some Quranic verses, some passage from the
known Hadiths302
and notable religious men. These are sold to the pilgrims by informing some
prescriptions about the use of the prayer textbooks. Most of them sold their produced materials in
secret.
301 Seťärgew Qenäw, “Spirit Possession as a Center of Health Education: A Case Study from Central Ethiopia,”
(Addis Ababa University: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1997), p. 428 and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu. Yerome Demisē, who was possessed by Zar and fell into trance in the Mäwlid ceremony of October 22
nd-24
th, 2013
in the compound of the shrine of Daggar. She responded to my question after she updated her spirit possession status. She felt better than before and she felt al right. Her outburst also came to an end.
302 Prophetic Tradition; See, Hussein Muhämmäd Ali, p. 7.
99
They also wrote a piece of paper and prescribed the users to keep it as an amulet on his/her
neck.303
Thus, the healing power of Shäykh Shäräfädin was one factor that attracted pilgrims to
the shrine of Daggar.
303 Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Ato Gäshäw Yimer, Ato Mitiku Yimer and Wäyzäro Workinesh Siggät.
The latter interviewee was a Christian pilgrim that I had got in the Mäwlid ceremony of October 2013. She reminds me that only by participating in the ritual of the festival day and night and informing health related problems to Shäykh Shäräfädin cured her. I had also observed some ‘Ulämä, who secretly tried to convince some pilgrims individually to buy their prayer text books and other forms of healing materials written in Arabic. Initially, they inform what they hold hidden either in their pocket or bag and gave it to any one if they considered the person they were talking was convinced.
100
CHAPTER V
DISCOURSE: VENERATION OF SHÄRÄFÄDIN IBRÄHIM AND CRITICISMS IN
POST-1930s
Concomitant Interaction between Islam and Traditional Beliefs and Practices
The traditional religious leaders of Islam could not force the ordinary men to be strict followers
of Islam. This was partially because traditional religious leaders had narrow intellectual pursuits.
In addition to this, the social distance maintained between traditional Islamic preachers and
commoners was the other factor that hindered their strong appeal to the society. Even their
educational activities did not extend beyond a small circle of young pupils and advanced
students.304
Pre-Islamic beliefs have more to do with the religious life of the people of Ethiopian Muslims in
general and Wällo in particular than either Orthodox or esoteric Islam. There has been a strong
symbiosis between pre-Islamic elements and Islam. The spread of Islam did not uproot all of the
traditional beliefs and habits of the people. Rather, Islam and Islamic practices were colored by
traditions of old beliefs and practices. Hence, Islam had some how assimilated some ineradicable
rites and beliefs of the pre-Islamic era. The foundation of Täriqä (order) was related with the
belief that communion with Allah is possible through intermediaries who have a special virtue
(Bäräkä) of Allah. The founders of Turuq have such guidance and also believed that their
Bäräkä was inherited by their religious descendants and continued their functions forever.305
Abdu Adem argued that Islam was understood considerably among the people of tropical Africa
304 Hussein, Islam in 19
th century Wällo, p. 81.
305
Trimingham, pp. 225-233; Abdu Adem, “Qubbä Abbä Aräbu: an Islamic Shrine in Jimmä,” BA Thesis, Department of History, 1992, p. 6 and Hussein Muhämmäd Ali, pp. 60-64.
101
in accordance with local conditions and habits. Moreover, the people accepted only the outward
form of Muslim religion, its simplest rituals, but maintained their old beliefs enthusiastically.
Abdu Adem stated that the Oromo traditional beliefs were familiar to a few of the concepts of
popular form of Islam. Thus, the transition from traditional Oromo religion to Islam was not
shocking but smooth and did not lead to the complete uprooting of old traditional values.306
The prevalence of certain religious practices incompatible with Orthodox Islam was the
characteristic feature of Islam in the region. Drinking local alcoholic drinks and the offering of
sacrifice were common among Muslims of South Wällo. The ordinary people compensated the
observance of religious obligations by seeking the blessings of saints and their forefathers‟ pious
clerics.307
The Development of Islamic Reform Movement in South Wällo:
The Late Eighteenth and the First Half of the Twentieth Century Movements
The revival and reform effort of Muslim preachers in Islam is a long tradition that waged
struggle against the introduction of local customs and innovations (bid‟a) into the Orthodox form
of Islam. The eighteenth and nineteenth century reformist and revivalist movement of Islam was
highly related with the introduction and propagation of mystical orders (Turuq). The Qädriyä
mystical order was the first Täriqä brought to Wällo in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. After that Sämmäni order was first introduced into South Wällo by Al-Häjj Bushrä.308
Following the opening of the port of Täjurä, which is relatively near to eastern Wällo, and the
opening of an inland trade route facilitated the contact of Muslims of Wällo in particular and
306 Abdou Adem, pp. 4-12.
307
Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, p. 129 and Kelklachew Ali, p. 99.
308 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd,” p. 175-177
102
Ethiopian in general with the holy places of the Middle East. This situation maintained closer
links of the local Ulämä with the Arabian centers of Islamic learning and pilgrimage centers.
This enabled them to acquire texts on the traditional disciplines of Muslim scholarship and on
contemporary intellectual trends, political events, and above all, to travel in order to receive
advanced training and acquire new ideas about the reviving mystical orders and Sunni Islam.309
This occasion facilitated pilgrimage to holy places in the Middle East and to buy theological and
instructional texts. Apart from the Muslim religious leaders, local chiefs also benefited from the
revenue generated from this trade route to build their power base. These clerical and religious
leaders were actively involved in the revival of regional Islam.310
Hence, the initiative of acquiring training in the mystical way and the will to disseminate it
locally emanated from indigenous Muslim scholars. Since different orders were introduced to
different parts of Wällo by the local „Ulämä, many orders were represented and co-existed in the
region. Mystical orders were disseminated by local scholars who were familiar with the existing
local customs and traditions. They were in a position to create favorable conditions in which the
orders could flourish. This avoided probable strong opposition from the established religious
notables and the political authorities. There was, except occasional friction, no intense rivalry
and clashes among the propagators and followers of each school of mystical tradition in the
region. The new mystical orders and the mode of their expansion were not threats to the existing
local and regional power structure.311
However, from time to time, difficulties began to emerge between some traditional religious
authorities, and chiefs and the Sufi leaders. This was because; the later some times questioned
309 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. 76.
310
Ibid., p.77 and Kelklachew Ali, pp. 93-94.
311 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, pp. 78-79 and Kelklachew Ali, pp. 31-32.
103
the religious commitment of the former. They also sought to abolish traditions amalgamated with
Orthodox Islamic beliefs. The new religious creations developed by mystical orders were related
with the development of literacy and scholarship along with spiritual insights and reflections, and
the venues for religious gatherings. They emphasized on educational establishments.312
The attributes of the Sufi scholars that glorified them as reformers and defenders of Orthodox
Islam were life of piety, holiness and the power to transmit Bäräkä. However after the
succeeding generations, the scholarly dimension of local Sufism began to be overshadowed and
eventually eclipsed by popular features. This character was reflected in the development of local
centers of pilgrimage. The major reformist and scholarly centers became centers of ritualistic and
ceremonial aspects of saint veneration. This was partially due to the inclusion of some elements
of traditional beliefs and practices undermine the Orthodox and revivalist agenda of the first
generation of scholar-saints. These beliefs and practices were giving sacrifices to shrines, saint
veneration, beating of drums in religious gatherings, consumption of ćät, mixing of women and
men in congregational prayers, and others. The scholars of mystical orders brought new spiritual
dimension to religious insight and experience. These were: the ritual of reciting and studying
dhikr (liturgical chants and litanies glorifying Allah) as a way to salvation, set high standard of
Islamic morality and devotion in their behavior. These were believed to be mechanisms to create
a sense of fraternity and equality between religious scholars and lay communities in regularly-
held religious gatherings. They intellectually criticized discrimination and hierarchy based on
occupation, ethnicity and regional affiliation.313
312 Ibid and Kelklachew Ali, p. 94.
313
Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd,” p.80.
104
Unlike the pre-eighteenth century traditional scholars, the Sufi teachers of eighteenth and
nineteenth century relied more on their reputation and preeminent position as a source and
transmitter of Bäräkä and possessor of Kärämä. Their teaching of dhikr and other ecstatic rituals
opened the hearts and souls of the faithful. While the traditional religious teachers concentrated
only on individual mastery of the knowledge of Fiqh, Täwhid, Nähw, Arud, Särf, Mäntiq, Usul
and Ilm al-Häyat, the Täriqä teachers additionally emphasized on the discharging of the
obligations laid down in the Qurʾan and Sunnä.314
Some of the religious obligations that need to
be seriously observed are; accepted and committed the five pillars of Islam, Avoiding Shirk,
scrupulously follow the Sunnä of the Prophet, performing the five daily prayers, fasting during
the month of Ramadan (fasting month), paying annual alms and if possible, to go to pilgrimage
to Mecca at least once in alife time and equally treat the poor and rich, and follow the Imäm.315
Mufti Däwud (1743-1819) who was trained in Zäbid and returned to Däwwäy in 1783 and
established his own center of teaching at Gäddo in Däwwäy. He observed certain traditional
practices like drinking of the fresh blood of slaughtered animals and worshipping under trees by
local Muslims of Däwwäy. Traditions confirmed that Mufti Däwud watchfully tried to demolish
these traditional practices. This scholar initially appealed to each family of the region to send
their children to him to learn. Later, the trainees of this Täriqä teacher informed their family to
suspend their unscriptural practices of traditional beliefs along with Islam. The earliest Muslim
reformer of Wällo was known as Shäykh Muhämmäd Shäfi b. Asqäri Muhämmäd. He was born
in Wärrä-Bäbo near Lake Häyq in 1743. He died in 1806/7. He argued that, Islam in a popular
314 Ibid., p. 81 and Gäshäw Muhämmäd, pp. 9-10.
315
Kelklachew Ali, p. 43 and Informants: Shäykh Umar Därgē Aräreso, Ato Mubärek Ahmed and Shäykh Seid Muhämmäd.
105
level was highly related with rituals and ceremonies than with discharging their religious
duties.316
Shäykh Muhämmäd Shäfi (1743-1806/7) tried to introduce Orthodox Islam compatible with the
Shäria among the Oromo and Amhäric speaking population of Borenä in south western Wällo.
Though there is no authentic source that tells us the specific period of his engagement in
purifying Islam in Borenä, Hussein Ahmed confirmed the period of his return to Albuko in
1795/6. So, he was in Borenä until this period. However, the time-span he lived in Borenä needs
further research. He then transferred the base of his activities to Jämmä in Borenä. The then local
chief, Jäwhär, gave him extensive Wäqf-land. He, then, built mosques, though the numbers are
unknown, in this area. The area as far as Aheyyä Fäjj317
on the frontier with Northern Shewä was
under his spiritual jurisdiction. He successfully established rigorous Islam in the areas under his
authority. He undertook the task of converting local Christians to Islam and also tried to reform
some already existing local customs of the Oromo inhabitants. He also launched military
campaigns and carried out his reform movements in different parts of south western Wällo.
While he was on an expedition against Christians in the neighborhood of Aheyyä Fäjj, his son,
Mujähid was killed in action.318
After the death of his son, he returned to Albuko and got wäqf-
land in the district of Errensä in Albuko in 1795/6. Shäykh Muhämmäd Shäfi also provided
several contingents of warriors to Abä Jibo Muhämmäd Ali while the later fight to repel an
316 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay Muhämmäd,” pp. 82-96 and Mohämmäd Seid Abdellä, “The Contribution
of Mufti Däwud (1743-1819) to Islamic Intellectual Development in Ethiopia,” (MA Thesis, Department of Institute of Language Studies, Addis Ababa University, 2007), pp. 20-24.
317 Aheyyä Fäjj is a hill found between Jämmä and Northern Shewä. The area was named as such because of its
difficult terrain and death of donkeys and traders who went to Northern Shewä from Borenä. My informant, Shäykh Umär Därge Aräreso expressed the area as a difficult path that challenged both weak and strong donkeys of traders. See, Beckingham C.F. and Huntingford (eds.), The Preseter John of the Indies, Vol.2, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961, P. 574 and Beckingham C.F. and Huntingford (eds.), The Preseter John of the Indies, Vol.1, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961, P, 29 map and 259.
318 Hussein, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, pp. 96-97.
106
invading army of Beggemder in 1783/4. His last expedition was led to Northern Shewä. In
Northern Shewä he fought against Christian forces of the region. Many Muslims and Christians
lost their life. On his way home, he fell ill and remind his survived forces to take him to Jämmä
Negus to be buried there. He also instructed them not to publicly disclose his death due to his
fear that the districts they pass through might want to have the body buried in their own territory.
He was finally died in 1806/7 immediately they reached in Jämmä Negus and was buried
there.319
The other distinguished mystic and reformer of Islam was known as Shaykh Jäʽfär Bukko b.
Siddiq (1793-1860) who was born in Gättirä (south western Wällo).320
Due to his relentless
effort for the reform and revival of Islam, he earned an honorable title Säyf al-häqq (the sword of
the truth) by Muhämmäd Shäfi. After accomplishing his early education, he undertook a
religious mission to various places in South Wällo. He waged an intensive struggle against
members of the Muslim religious establishments such as judges and those who recite the Qur‟an
because of their unlawful appropriation of the Zakat, and offerings made at funeral services. He
also opposed inappropriate hereditary principle of succession to the office of Qädi (judge). All in
all, he waged intensive struggle against ritual leaders, Muslim judges and officials to reform
Islamic practices of the region. One of the important legacies of early Muslim mystical reformers
was the continuing importance of the mystical orders in contemporary social and religious life of
the society of South Wällo. This fact was manifested in the annual visits to their shrines.321
319 Hussein Ahmed, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, pp. 95-101; Zergäw, p. 31; Abir, Era of the Princes and H. weld
Blundell, the Royal Chronicle of Abyssinia, pp. 60-61.
320 Hussein, “Al-Häjj-Bushrä,” p. 179 and Hussein, Islam in 19
th Century Wällo, p. 101.
321
Hussein, Islam in 19th
Century Wällo, pp. 101-114 and Hussein, “Al Häjj- Bushrä,” p. 180.
107
Wähhäbism322
: The Escalation of Criticism towards Saint Veneration
The renaissance of Islam in Ethiopia and the external influences felt in the country created three
types of local Islam after 1940s. The local forms of Islam that developed in contemporary
Ethiopia were; Radical Jihädi Islam, Fundamental Islam and Popular Islam. Fundamental Islam
is defined as Islam striving to redefine Ethiopian culture and working systematically, gradually
and determinedly to Islam‟s political victory in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, organized and individual
followers of this form of Islam with its aim of gradual empowerment of Islam were called
“Wahhabists.” Popular Islamic religious followers, however, are those who are proud to be equal
partners in a pluralist, multi-religious Ethiopia, maintaining a balance between local traditions
and innovations to the Orthodox Islam. The third one, Radical Jihad Islam, as we can also
understand from its name was intended to purify Islam by Jihäd (holy war). They are admirers of
the first half of the sixteenth century campaign of Ahmed ibn Ibrähim.323
Italy‟s pro-Islamic policy, under Italian colonial administration, and their program of
Islamization of Ethiopian peoples was partially responsible to the dissemination of Wähhäbiyä in
Ethiopian history from 1936- 1941. The Italian legation introduced Arabic news papers from
Libya; like Al-„Adl, Räqib al-„Atid and Bärid Bärqä. Education was also given in Arabic.
Pilgrimage to Mecca was encouraged. On May 10, 1936, around 1,900 Ethiopians made
322 Originally, Wähhäbiyä was a name given by the opponents to those following the teachings of Muhämmäd
‘Abdu al- Wähhäb (1703-1792), a hänbäli reformist who criticized local customs including the cult of saints (Awliyä), interpreted as Bid’a (innovation). In the Ethiopian context, the appellation, Wähhäbiyä, has become a general name referring to those people opposing the widespread local custom of venerating Awliyä and Sufistic practices. See, Minäko Ishihärä, “Beyond Authenticity: Diverse Images of Muslim Awliyä in Ethiopia,” (Nanzan University, Department of Anthropology and Philosophy, African Study Monographs, Suppl.41, March 2010), p. 88. However, the followers of the movement prefer to be called Säläfis, or Ahl al-Sunnä, or Täwhid-followers. See, Terje ØstebØ, “The Question of Becoming: Islamic Reform Movements in Contemporary Ethiopia,” (CMI Working Paper, WP 2007:8), p.4, foot Note No.8.
323 Erlich Haggai, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia: Islam, Christianity and Politics Entwined (Boulder and London:
Lynne Reiner Publishers, 2007), p. 211.
108
pilgrimage in Mecca, which might be a record in Ethiopian history of Imperial Ethiopia.
However, before this year, due to world economic depression, the number of pilgrims to Saudi
Arabia declined in the period of the first few years of the 1930s. The year 1933, in which only 11
Ethiopians conducted pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, was an illustrious evidence for this episode.
From 1934-1935, only 29 recorded pilgrims, made pilgrimage which successively went down to
7 in the period from 1935-1936. But, in 1936, Italians encouraged Ethiopian Muslims to make
pilgrimage to the holy place of Saudi Arabia by covering their expenses. Until Italian entry to
World War II, the number of pilgrims from Ethiopia slightly declined. Hence, the fascist
occupation proved to be significant in Wähhäbiyä history in Ethiopian-.324
The advocates of Wähhäbiyä Islam began to openly criticize Sufi-Islam and considered it as a
flexible and popular form of Islam capable of co-existing with other local cultures since 1990s.
Sufism revolved around popular cults of grave visitation and ecstatic ceremonies of saint
worship. It strongly based on the Sufi principle of Täwässul (using the Sufi Ulämä as an
intermediary), reaching Allah through intercession. However, the local Muslim religious leaders,
who have strong partnership with the community in ćät sessions, coffee ceremonies gained fame
among the community and were considered as a Sunni scholar and widened their circle of
admirers.325
The period between 1987and 1991 was a period during which direct Saudi Islamic involvement
began in Ethiopia. During this time, Saudi Arabia and the Muslim World League provided aid to
Ethiopia in the fields of education, social and humanitarian services as well as for the
implementation of various projects in the country. With a total cost of 3.75 million US Dollar of
324 Ibid., pp.67- 74.
325
Ibid., p., 84 ,176 and 225 and Medhäne Tädesse, Al-Ittihäd: Political Islam and Black Economy in Somalia, (Addis Ababa: Megä Printing Enterprise, 2002), p. 29.
109
aid from the Islamic Development Bank, schools were opened in Wällo, Härär, Addis Abäbä and
Debre Zeit.326
After 1991, however, the revivalist movement of Islam took an institutional form
in South Wällo following the arrival of Ustäz Mohämmäd Usmän in in Dessē from Pakistan. He
was born in Dessē in 1962. He travelled to Saudi Arabia in 1973 at the age of eleven. He stayed
seventeen years there and in Pakistan studying Qur‟an until he finally graduated from the Islamic
university of Medina. In 1990, he came back to Dessē where he established Mädräsä. In this
period a Qur‟an School directed by Ustäz Mohämmäd was established in Dessie town. The
school was named as Merkez Tähfizel Qur‟an and Tejweed.” This school was engaged in
preaching Islam in Dessē and elsewhere and out rightly condemned the traditional Islamic
practices including saint veneration. The students of this Qur‟an School got scholarship for
further education in Saudi Arabia and also began to win awards in international Qur‟an
competition. Large numbers of youth of the surrounding communities of South Wällo were
admitted to the school to either begin or update their Qur‟anic knowledge. Apart to this, those
Young Muslims who travelled to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries as immigrants came
with radically different views concerning about Islamic practice to their respective birth places in
South Wallo.327
However, there is no statistical data that confirmed the number of youths
travelled to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
Islamic Reform Movements and Rituals and Ceremonies of the Shrine of Daggar
The main point of difference among Wahhabist understandings of Islam and the local Sufi
understandings is that the former insisted on strict observance of the Qur‟an and Hädith,
doctrinal purity. The later stressed on spiritual experience and adherence to the basic organizing
326 Ibid., pp. 90-167.
327 Kelklächew Ali, “Religion, Rituals and Mutual Tolerance in Wällo: The Case of Kabi, South West Wällo,” (MA
Thesis, Department of Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa University, 1997), pp. 93-96.
110
ideas and ethics of the Muslim faith, they unscrupulously observed Qur‟an and Hädith.328
As
stated so far, in contexts of religious contact, older religious ideas incorporated traditional beliefs
that could not easily be disentangle or discarded. Muslim clerics critically opposed pilgrimage
conducted to local shrines. The wandering pilgrims are not even considered as genuine Muslims.
This opposition was partly caused by the amalgamation of some elements of traditional beliefs to
Orthodox Islam. The adherents Orthodox Islam believed and taught that drum beaters and
singers should be expelled from membership of the main stream of Orthodox Islam.329
As stated
so far, the rituals and ceremonies held in the shrine of Daggar mainly after 1930 were: beating of
drum, consumption of ćät, mixing of men and women in the ecstatic dancing, sacrificing animals
and slaying in the compound of the shrine, over frenzy, vow and others are considered non-
Islamic by the revivalist Muslim leaders.330
Unlike reformists, the popular Muslim leaders considered their Awliyä as figures and religious
models of the community. Their religious view was suitable to adapt the religion of old folk and
the culture of the region. It is clear that popular Islam tied up Islamic beliefs with earthly and
human values. As a result, the cult of saints helps in deepening and strengthening one‟s religious
feelings. This is because people are inclined to express their religious feelings by giving them a
certain experience of divine reality. They believed that religious sense of a Muslim not only
derived from his/her religion rather it has deeper roots buried in the collective unconscious of
mankind. People tried to associate religion with what they have sensed from their internal feeling
328 Jan Abbink, “Transformations of Islam and Communal Relations in Wällo, Ethiopia,” in Benjamin F. Soares and
Rene Otayek, Eds., Islam and Muslim Politics in Africa (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), p. 76 and ØstebØ, Pp.
8-9.
329Alula Pankhurst, pp. 942-946 and Medhane Tadesse, Al-Ittihad: Political Islam and Black Economy in Somalia,
(Addis Ababa: Mega Printing Press, 2002), p. 78.
330
Trimingham, Pp. 247-252; Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines,” p. 79 and Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Daggar.
111
even though they did not conscious about it. The people‟s primitive conscience has an inherent
desire for representing primordial thoughts by associating it with newly developed beliefs. They
could not justify their decision of amalgamating ancient beliefs with the newly developed Islam.
This is probably because they are unconscious about the source of the primitive believes that
they desired to represent in the ethics and standards of Islam. Primitive thoughts transmitted
from generation to generation through unbreakable oral media convinced people to accept it
without asking its rationality. It is clear that no one had a religious justification for his/her
decision of mixing traditions with the orthodox form of Islam in the process of discharging his
religious obligation. They probably said that it was inherited from their forefathers. Thus, these
primitive thoughts unconsciously resided in the collective memory of the people of South Wällo
forced to prejudice the scriptural form of the religion. Symbols are also used as an instrument for
the preservation and transmission of ancient thoughts and practices. Symbols were/are used to
express the mystery of man whose attributes are thus revealed, felt and sensed through them. In
Wällo, as a result, religious sense sprung from the pre-Islamic religion practiced by the people
before the introduction of Islam. the people never gave up their popular roots. The cult of Shäykh
Shäräfädin as the other saints of Wällo highly contributed to the deepening and strengthening of
Muslims‟ religious feelings in the past. People associate religious values with some cultural
experiences to express the divine reality. The veneration of Shäykh Shäräfädin emanated from
the pre-Islamic beliefs and practices as well as his miraculous deeds exposed his intercessory
power for his adherents. He was considered as intermediary between Allah and man who helped
to bridge the gap between man and Allah through providing a more concrete access to Allah.
What makes it different is, however, that the ancestral cult system was smoothly substituted by a
112
kind of veneration, which was acceptable to Islam in its period of introduction. He was
considered to be favored by Allah during his earthly life.
He is also considered as a link between Allah and the material world even after his death.
Following his death, he was endowed with mysterious power of the faith called Bäräkä.331
Though the cult of saints is relevant for the Islamization as well as for the strengthening of the
Islamic faith, it became unscriptural and intolerable to the strict and fundamentalist Orthodox
Muslims.332
The Development of Criticism against the Veneration of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim
The performance of the dhikr (liturgical chants and litanies glorifying Allah) and practices
connected with the worship of Awliyä is not supported by followers of Orthodox Islam.333
In the
period of Islam, the Muslim communities were accustomed to the culture of requesting and
supplicating to their dead Awliyä. However, the emergence of reformist and revivalist
movements in the eighteenth century developed critical opposition against these popular
practices. In Saudi Arabia, Wähhäbiyyä authorities ruthlessly suppressed the practices and tore
down the tombs and mausoleum where saints were venerated since the eighteenth century. This
was basically because the avoidance of equating the Wali to Allah could be tackled through
opposing the mere mention of Awliyä and their shrines.334
Worship of Prophets and Awliyä
331 Emile Foucher, “The Cult of Muslim Saints in Harar: Religious Dimension,” In Bahru Zewde et al eds.
Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Vol.2 (Addis Ababa University: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1994), pp. 72-74 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Hässen, Shäykh Ali Kässa and Shäykh Muhämmäd Säni.
332 Hussein Ahmed, “Two Muslim Shrines,” p. 64 and 78.
333 Spencer J. Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (London: Oxford University Press, 1952), p. 225; Emile Foucher,
p.78 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Säni, Shäykh Abdul Menän Umär and Shäykh Muhämmäd Hässen.
334 Emile Foucher, pp. 71-72 and Joseph Nevo. “Religion and National Identity in Saudi Arabia: Middle Eastern Studies, London: Frank Cass, 34:3(1998), p. 37.
113
recently become a religiously crime in which one is guilty of equating lesser beings with
Allah.335
Of course, criticism of saint veneration was not a recently developed agenda. Rather, in the
eighteenth and nineteenth century some Sufi religious leaders critically reminded their followers
no to venerate them and carry out rituals and ceremonies in their tomb. A notable example of
this was a contemporary of Shäykh Shäräfädin, Shäykh Tälhä b. Jä‟fär preferred to spent the rest
of his life in Eastern Ethiopia, amongst people who knew little about him. He feared that his
tomb would be turned into a shrine and a place of ritual sacrifice after his death. He knew the
deep-rooted culture of Muslims of Wällo who venerated of their religious leaders after their
death. So, this fear forced Shäykh Tälhä to leave his birth place to eastern Ethiopia. The point
that we can understand from this incidence is that venerating saints was wrong even in the eyes
of notable religious leaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, who were visited by their
adherents.336
Similarly, Shäykh Shäräfädin strongly turned down the question of Shäykh Jä‟fär
Bukko to write his miraculous deeds in the form of Mänäqib. He justified his opposition that the
local Muslims might venerate him when they read it. Shäykh Shäräfädin wrote nothing about
what he did and also opposed those who were devotedly inspired to write Mänäqib for him. But,
following his death, Shäykh Mehdi Khelifä and Kerem Shäykh Yäsin wrote two Mänäqibs. Their
devotion to him probably forced them to write his miraculous deeds unlike his favour. Apart to
this, Shäykh Adem Derqä of Dessē who was buried in Däwudo around Qidäme Gebeyä School
also reminded and begged the Muslims not to venerate him in his death bed. Shäykh Adem
Derqä was born in Tehulädärē Wärädä specifically in Derqä region. He was born in 1840s from
335 Camilla C. T. Gibb, “In the City of Saints: Religion, Politics and Gender in Harar, Ethiopia,” (Ph.D. Thesis,
Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, 1996), p. 138.
336
Hussein Ahmed, “The Life and Career of Shäykh Tälhä b. Jä’fär (c.1853-1936),” Journal of Ethiopian Studies, XXII, 1989, p. 16.
114
his father Shäykh Ahmed Hässen and his mother Wäyzäro Yeshi Wähilom. He was a notable
negotiator, ritual leader, religious teacher and Wäli. He died in July 22, 1962 due to old age
affiliated by disease.337
Hence, some of the already venerated but deceased Awliyä of Wällo also criticized their
veneration as an unscriptural. The revivalist and the reformist groups similarly led a significant,
massive and well-financed movement against popular Islam and struggle to bring them „proper‟
Islam since 1987. Lack of recorded sources and its informal nature of dissemination made the
investigation of the process difficult. However, its influence is widely felt through out South
Wällo. The religious leaders of different Mädräsäs (modern schools of Islamic learning) held a
regular religious discussion program with the urban youth for one or two days a week. A notable
Mädräsä of the revivalists known as Medresete al-Sunnä was established and began to provide
Islamic courses in Borenä Wärädä since 2001. This Mädräsä was established due to the joint
efforts of Shäykh Zubäyr Abdulmejjid, Dr. Abdurohmän ibn Abdelläh al-Jibri, Häjj Nesru Abdul
Khärim and Abdul Khärim Ahmed. Shäykh Zubäyr Abdulmejjid (d.2012) was a preeminent
Muslim scholar. He followed further education in al-Azhär University of Egypt. He had secured
Ijäzä (permission) from this university. According to the terminological definition of the Hädith,
Ijäzä means the grant of permission to teach, narrate to transmit religious knowledge, especially
anecdotes and deeds of the Prophet. It was a mark of great scholarly attainment and commitment
to teaching and endless inquiries into the ever-expanding Islamic knowledge. It also represents
the commitment of him to spread the true message of Islam to humanity and to demonstrate the
best ethical qualities.338
He was born in Wärrä-Himäno and was a director of the Mädräsä from
337 Kitabu Tajumuhibin Fi Manaqib, manuscript and Muhammad Ibre, “Shaykh Adem Derqa Ena Giťmochächew,”
(BA Thesis, Department of Ethiopian languages and Literature, Addis Ababa University, 1996), pp. 12-23.
338 Mohammad Seid Abdella, p. 24.
115
2001 to December 2012 until his death in December 2012. Dr. Abdurohmän ibn Abdelläh al-
Jibri on the other hand is an Arabian national who is a chairman of the store house of Zäkäh in
Saudi Arabia known as Betelmäl. As a member of the leadership of the center, he provided funds
for the establishment of the Mädräsä. Every allowance of the Qur‟an students and the salary of
Ustäzs are covered by Betelmäl store house of Saudi Arabia. Häjj Nesru is the Imäm of Mesjidel
Nur Mosque in Mekäne-Seläm. He is also director of Borenä Wärädä Islamic issues Bureau.
And his father, Abdul Khärim Ahmed was a notable and pious Muslim who established a historic
mosque in Däbät about 20 kilometers south of Mekane-Selam town. The mosque is one of the
nineteenth century mosques at which youths educated Qur‟an. It was/is also a center of
celebration of Friday public prayer and Mäwlid festival of the Prophet. He was a father of the
present Imam of Mesjidel Nur Mosque, Häjj Nesru Abdul Khärim. The co-ordinated effort of
these Ulämä and their power of convincing the municipality of Borenä Wärädä resulted in the
establishment of the Mädräsä. Particularly, as my informants relate, the popularity of Abdul
Khärim Ahmed and his son Häjj Nesru Abdul Khärim was instrumental to the establishment of
the Mädräsä. Shäykh Abdul Khärim Ahmed of Däbät and Shäykh Abdu Kemäl of Kätto were the
First Imäms who conducted pilgrimage to Mecca from Borenä Awräjjä 1964 and 1967
respectively.the lataers journey to Mecca was accompanied by Shäykh Abdul Khärim Ahmed.339
Starting from 2001, the Quranic School in Mekane-Selam invited volunteers from all regions of
South Wällo and other parts of the country. It began its work by registering about 60 students.
The students of the Mädräsä came from different Wärädäs of South Wällo and even from Belä
Shängul Gumuz and Afär regions. Not less than 40 Qur‟anic students are annually registered for
education. In 2003, about 11 students graduated by accomplishing Qur‟anic education. Austäz
339 Gäshäw Muhämmäd, p. 34 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Shäykh Umär Abäs, Shäykh Seid
Muhämmäd, Yimäm Hussein, Ustäz Muhämmäd Hässen, Shäykh Ali Kässä and Shäykh Abdul Menän Umär.
116
Muhämmäd Hässen is now the director of the Mädräsä after the death of Shäykh Zubäyr
Abdulmejjid in 2012. Muhämmäd Hässen is a grade 11 student in Borenä Preparatory school.
Jemäl Mengistu and Muhämmäd Umär were visually impaired students of the Mädräsä. The
other eight Qur‟anic students joined university education in different parts of Ethiopia. The
Mädräsä management obliged the Qur‟anic students to pursue their academic education and be
broadminded.340
All in all, 172 Qur‟an students graduated from Medresete al-Sunnä between
2001 and 2013. Among these, eleven graduates were students of Kelelä Wärädä who were
engaged in the dissemination of Orthodox Islam in Kelelä Wärädä. The Mädräsä had four Ustäzs
who engaged in teaching Qur‟an.341
The graduates of the Mädräsä were assigned throughout south Wällo to preach and conduct
de‟wä342
about Orthodox Islam as much as they could. Muhämmäd Säni, who was a 4th
year
computer science student in Gondar University, travelled to Kelelä Wärädä in 2003. He stayed in
Kelelä Wärädä for five years until 2008, and was actively engaged in Quranic teaching. Later,
Yimäm Hussein who is a 3rd
year student of Sociology department in Addis Ababa University
lived in Kutäber between 2009 and 2010. He provided Qur‟anic and Islamic education to the
surrounding community. Ali Muhämmäd, who graduated from Dillä University in Economics in
2012, travelled to Wogd for the same mission and stayed there between 2003 and 2008. Yimäm
Aregä, a student in Wällo University, was also engaged in providing Islamic courses in Aqestä,
the capital city of Lägämbo Wärädä, between 2004 and 2010. The Mädräsä also sent its
Qur‟anic students to different Middle Eastern countries for either International Islamic
340
Informants: Ustäz Muhämmäd Hässen, Yimäm Hussein, Shäykh Abdul Menän Umär, Mekin Sufian Adem. Graduates of 2003 were: Muhämmäd Hässen, Bushrä Säid, Yimäm Hussein, Muhämmäd Säni, Yimäm Aregä, Ali Muhämmäd, Kemäl Ashägrē, Ahmed Nuru, Muhämmäd Adäm, Jemäl Mengistu and Muhämmäd Umär.
341 Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Wäsē, Shäykh Yimäm Hussein and Shäykh Muhämmäd Hässen.
342
De’wä is the Islamic call which signifies propagation and preaching with the objective bringing a person to Islam (to the correct observance of Islam). See, Terje ØstebØ, p. 5.
117
competitions or for further studies. Bushrä Said, who was an outstanding Qur‟anic student,
travelled to Egypt and Saudi Arabia to participate in International Islamic competitions in 2008
and 2009 respectively. Finally, he went to Turkey for further education in 2012. In addition to
him, Abdulhämid Zubäyr went to Egypt and Saudi Arabia in 2007, Misbäh Säni Saudi and Dubai
in 2005 and 2013 respectively. These conditions are considered as opportunities for the
dissemination of revivalist Islamic movement in different parts of the country. Along with these,
the Mädräsä also invited the Ulämä of different parts of Wällo to participate in Islamic
education in summer programs since 2003. Thus, the contribution of Medresete al-Sunnä for the
expansion and consolidation of the revivalist trend of Islam is exceedingly pronounced in
different parts of Ethiopia.343
Betelmäl also sponsored the establishment of a mosque in Kelelä Wärädä in 2008. This mosque
was established by the joint efforts of the community of Kelelä Wärädä and Saud Arabian
individuals who made their association to sponsor its establishment. Around 25% of the
allowance to the construction of the mosque was covered by Betelmäl. The remaining allowance
was covered by the community of Kelelä town. Shäykh Said Hudä was/is the Imäm of the
mosque since its establishment in 2008. The teaching and learning process of the Qur‟an was/is
led by Ustäz Muhämmäd Ahmed. He learnt Qur‟an in Gerewä Mosque in Kelelä Wärädä. During
the period of the Derg, he travelled to Mecca for further education. Thus, this mosque is engaged
in training the youth so as to stamp out the unscriptural veneration of saints in general and
Shäykh Shäräfädin in particular.344
343 Informants: Yimäm Hussein, Ustäz Muhämmäd Hässen and Shäykh Ali Kässä.
344
Informants: Ustäz Muhämmäd Ahmed, Shäykh Said Hudä and Ato Mubärek Yimäm.
118
Different leaders of different Mädräsäs also preach the prayers after and before the completion
of Friday public prayer in which some voluntarily stay and hear them while others leave the
mosque as they saw them on the balcony for preaching.345
Both sides that were in the war of
word in western Wällo had a common understanding that visiting the tomb of the deceased is
religious observance if and only if they did it to remember death. Conducting pilgrimage to
tombs for such purpose is considered as Sunnä.346
However, slaughtering animals on tombs in
need of the assistance of a deceased person is unscriptural according to the ethics and standards
of Orthodox version of Islam. Hence, the revivalist groups teach the unscriptural feature of
slaying animals on the tombs in such a way that:
በሠላሣ ገዝቶ መቃብር ከማረድ
ዯስ ያሰኝ ነበር ሇሠላሣ ዘመድ
ሇዒሣም ቢታረድ ሇኛ ሙሀመድ
መብከቱ እንዯሁ አይቀር ሣይሆን ሇዋሂድ፡፡ 347
Rather than slaying animals that cost thirty on the tomb
better satisfied thirty relatives
slaying either for Jesus Christ or prophet Muhammad
it became valueless and nothing for Allah.
As indicated above, couplets repeatedly recited by the revivalists indicated that slaughtering
animals on the tombs have no value in the religious view. They insisted that slaying animals
should be in the name of Allah and every where without preferring places for sacrifice.
345 Jan Abbink, p. 75 and Informants: Shäykh Abdul Menän Umär, Shäykh Muhämmäd Hässen, Shäykh Ali Kässä
and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole.
346 Nejäsh Islamic Printing Press, Al-Fetäwä, (Addis Ababa: Nejäsh Islamic Printing Press, 1996), p. 25.
347
Hussein Ahmed, “The Life and Career of Shäykh Tälhä,” p. 16.
119
As usual, the pilgrims continued to beat drum to make the ceremony delightful and enjoyable.
However, the revivalist Muslims seriously opposed it and also considered it as un-Islamic. A
notable nineteenth century Muslim scholar, Häjj Bushrä, angrily reminded his followers to
discard the beating of drum in Mäwlid celebrations and other festivals. In other words, he
notified the un-Islamic feature of beating drums in whatever situations. As compared to other
shrines of Ethiopia, one distinguishing factor of the al-Häjj Bushrä shrine of Gättä, is the
prohibition of beating drums during the annual Mäwlid festival.348
According to my informant, Shäykh Umär Juneid, communicated to me on October 21, 2008, he
went to Daggar with his eleven friends. The objective of his eleven friends, unlike him, was to
publicly criticize the veneration of Shäykh Shäräfädin in Daggar. On their way, however, they
began to shout and shiver on the bus from Aqestä to Daggar. Aqestä is the capital city of
Lägämbo Wärädä which is about 95 kilometers far from Daggar. After they arrived to the
compound of the shrine, they immediately travelled to the place where animals were slaughtered
to drink blood. Rather than opposing others as they had initially thought, they themselves held
ecstatic dance and other un-Islamic rituals and ceremonies according to their own view. He also
indicated nine of them died after their return from Daggar due to illness. He was telling the truth
and it was no exaggeration of the story. Only Mohämmäd Seid, now in Addis Ababa, survived
from the hardship.349
We can understand from this that adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim
are responding to the opposition groups of the revivalist movements by relating such stories.
They terrorized Muslims who affiliated themselves with Orthodox Islam and engaged in
348 Hussein Ahmed, “Al-Häjj Bushrä Ay- Muhämmäd: Muslim Reformer, Scholar and Saint in the 19
th century
Wällo, Ethiopia,” eds., Bertrand Hirsch and Manfred Kropp, Saints, Biographies and History in Africa (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2003), p. 185 note 26.
349
Informants: Shäykh Umär Juneid and Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Mekäne-Seläm.
120
opposition movements by notifying the intercessory power of Shäykh Shäräfädin to injure them.
They tried to convince them by enumerating such stories.
The Reaction of the adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin to such Criticisms
Adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin believed that he could reward those people who showed respect
to him and his shrine and punish those who did not. They also believed that Shäykh Shäräfädin
used to work miracles when he was alive and also posthumously. More recently, wandering
pilgrims were not considered as sincere Muslims by the followers of the revivalist Muslims who
ear lie looked down on them. However, the adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin defended themselves
from criticisms by pointing such justifications. They defended their Wäli and their decision to
celebrate his annual birth day by enumerating his miraculous deeds of that should not be carried
out by ordinary man. They also argued that Shäykh Shäräfädin was a devoted Muslim who
scrupulously carried out Islamic obligations according to its ethics and standards. Thus, follow
him as a role model and respect him as an intermediary power between Allah and the community
to solve their problems. Moreover, Shäykh Shäräfädin was believed to be the medicine of the
community by Allah. As a result, they argued that they are abided by the will of Allah to
venerate Shäykh Shäräfädin, rather than abusing His order as the criticizers argued. They even
tried to terrorize those who criticized them by declaring the intercessory power of Shäykh
Shäräfädin to hurt them as a response for their offence.350
As was confirmed by Assefä Mämo,
Jänoyē recited the following poem to remind those who doubted the intercessory power of
Shäykh Shäräfädin to do miracles.
መሀባዉ አሇምን የሚያንሰፈስፍ፣
350 Informants: Shäykh Ahmed Abubu, Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Ato Kässäw Usmän and Shäykh Muhämmäd
Awole of Daggar.
121
በሱ የነገዯ አያል አሇዉ ትርፍ፣
አንድ ጊዜ ሲጠሩት የሚሆነዉ ዕልፍ፣
የበረካ ዛፍ ነዉ ሇሁለ እሚተረፍ፣
ፍሬዉ የሚበላ ስሩ እሚያሳርፍ፣
ዙሪያዉን ተጠምዷል የመዓናዉ[ከራማ] መድፍ፣
ተመዞ ይኖራል የከራማዉ ሰይፍ፣
እምትሰማም ስማ ያልሰማህ እረፍ፣
ይቆራርጡሀል ስትክሇፈሇፍ፡፡351
the one who is loved by the whole Community;
who adhered to him got enormous profit;
when called once he would be in thousands
could assist the needy without any problem of exhaustion;
his fruit is edible and we can live under his shade;
his intercessory power surround all of us;
and his kärämä is always stretched as a sword;
hear who was to hear and those who do not like to listen be quiet;
otherwise[Shäykh Shäräfädin] will injure you if you upset him.
As it is indicated in the above poem of Jänoyē, Shäykh Shäräfädin, still a boundless presence in
this world and could revenge against those who offend him by his intercessory power
represented by his Kärämä. The adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin thus reprimand and terrorize
offenders by notifying the capability of Shäykh Shäräfädin to reward his adherents and punish
offenders. To do this they compose different poems and oral presentations. Shäykh Shäräfädin
has an important place in the life of the Muslims of Wällo in which many Muslims swear in his
351 Assefa Mamo, pp. 67-68.
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name or brag saying “Ye-Shäräfädin Ashker” (the servant of Shäykh Shäräfädin). Unlike the
recent resurgence of revivalist and reformist Islam, the number of pilgrims to the shrine of
Shäykh Shäräfädin always increased. Thus, rather than surrendering to the new trend of Islam,
the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin invested their time and money on the pilgrimage ceremony
established a committee to strengthen their relations with the government and other concerned
bodies since 1994.352
Starting from 1994 some structural arrangements were done to respond to the newly developed
Islamic trends. This arrangement continuously increased number of pilgrims to the shrine of
Daggar and the income of the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin Ibrähim. Before 1994, this religious
center had no organized committee responsible to control activities related with ceremonial and
ritual celebrations, financial control, renewing the shrine, working on fundraising, and other
related activities. However during this period, control of financial fund, distributing it to the
growing family members of Shäykh Shäräfädin, and receiving guests of the Mäwlid ceremonies
became out of the capacity of Kädäms (servants) of the shrine. These factors also became the
concern of Kelelä Wärädä and Zonal officers. Based on some study and recommendation of joint
representatives from different offices, the committee of the shrine was established in 1994. The
name of this committee is known as Yegetäw Shäräfädin Yemesjid Limät Astebäbäri Committee
(managing and development Committee of the mosque of Shäykh Shäräfädin). This Committee
initially has nine members. It was established by the joint effort of Kelelä Wärädä parliament
and Cultural and Tourism Office. The first members of the committee were:
1. Shäykh Yesuf Hässen--------Chairman
2. Ato Sileshi Muhämmäd------- Vice Chairman
352 Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Daggar, Ato Kässäw Usmän and Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
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3. Ato Häsenu Hussein------------- Secretary
4. Ato Ashebir Ali---------------- Finance officer
5. Ato Hässen Ali---------------- Auditor
6. Ato Tesfä Michael Legesse--- Supervisor
7. Ato Aliyu Hussein------------- Supervisor
8. Ato Usmän Abegäz------------ Member
9. Shäykh Muhämmäd Beqele---- Member
Later on, due to some problems and disagreement that emanated from their large number and
varied views, the members of the committee were minimized to five. There was no election
carried out after 1994. But, the nine elected committee members informally minimized four
members. Thus, Ato Tesfä Michael Legesse, Ato Usmän Abegäs, Shäykh Muhämmäd Beqele and
Ato Ashebir Ali were minimized. In 2001, Shäykh Yesuf Hässen, the chairman of the committee
was replaced by Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole. He is the chairman of the committee still now. The
committee has its on seal and got recognition to the federal level of the administrative
structure.353
This committee was established with the intention of renewing the old religious center without
changing its original historical setting. It is intended to make it destination for tourists through
facilitating basic infrastructural buildings such as; construction of modern hotel, supermarket,
library, modern Mosque and other institutions. It has a program to built modern Museum to keep
the historical materials of the shrine that are kept in the house of individuals until now. As stated
above, Abäbä Shifäw and the Machete are kept in the house of unnamed Individuals. The
353 Official letter sent from Kelelä Wärädä to South Wällo Cultural and Tourism Bureau, No. አ-19/878/2003፣ ቀን
17/8/2003; and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, who is a chairman of the Committee after the dismissal of Shäykh Yesuf Hässen in 2001 and Ato Mubärek Yimäm.
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committee has a responsibility to divide gifts and money to the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin.
Before 1994, gifts from pilgrims in every ceremonial celebration, both weekly and annually,
were collected and distributed to the family of Shäykh Shäräfädin by the Kädäm, Kässäw Usmän.
The establishment of the committee improved the relationship of the shrine with governmental
and non-governmental organizations and individuals. After 1994, Kelelä Wärädä
Communication Bureau opened a temporary studio to make the annual Mäwlid ceremony
celebrated from October 22nd
-24th
impressive. Along with this, Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and
Tourism Bureau distributed brochures to the pilgrims which directly intensified their devotion to
their Wäli. The Wärädä police force is also involved to maintain peace and security in the annual
ceremony of October 22nd
-24th
. Along with the assistance of police force, the committee began to
arrange the structure of the temporary market during the Mäwlid ceremony starting from 2007.
According to this arrangement, food items and various types of incense were arranged in the first
row near to the temporary tents of pilgrims. The next row is reserved merchants of bottled water
and soft drinks. The next rows were arranged to clothes and other house-hold materials.354
Though the intentions of the committee were broad and valuable to the preservation of this
historical and religious center, they were criticized for their inept engagement to deliver.
However, based on the request of the committee, Shäykh Hämid of Bahr Dar started to re-build
the tomb in cement. Unfortunately, however, the Zonal Cultural and Tourism Bureau refused the
rebuilding process on the justification that it might lose its historical and cultural setting. But, the
354 Informants: Ato Mubärek Yimäm Musťefä, Cultural and Tourism development Officer in Kelelä Wärädä, who
was a graduate of Wild Life and Eco-Tourism Management, Ato Kässäw Usmän who was a servant of the Shrine for 30 years, and Muhämmäd Awole who has been Chairman of the Shrine.
125
interior part of the tomb was re-built by this individual in 2011.355
There is no source that
substantiated the short history of him. I could not find a person who can tell his full name in
Kelelä. The devotee adherents of Shäykh Shäräfädin also continued to provide valuable
equipments for the shrine established by their intermediary saint. A notable example for this
pious activity was Gētäyyē (Nächur)356
who provided power generator in 2005, which provided
light until 2013. He is a resident of Northern Shewä specifically in Midä. However, in the
beginning of 2013, the Ethiopian Electric power began to provide power.
Before 1998, no governmental offices gave much attention to the shrine of Daggar other than
occasional visit of some officers. However, following the establishment of Kelelä Wärädä
Cultural and Tourism Bureau, different brochures were prepared and disseminated to the people.
Moreover, this office sent a letter to South Wällo Zone Cultural and Tourism Office in 2009
requesting the office to give recognition to the shrine of Daggar as one tourist attraction center in
Kelelä Wärädä. Along with this letter, the office also sent short historical notes about the shrine
of Daggar.357
Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office also began to conduct statistical
observation on the number of pilgrims of the annual Mäwlid ceremony held from October 22nd
-
24th
. Kelela Warada Cultural and Tourism Bureau and Communication Bureau stated the number
of the pilgrims of 2010 about 30 thousand people. The number of pilgrims that the researcher
saw in the Mäwlid festival of October 2013 forced to accept the authenticity of the above
355 Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, the Chairman of the committee since 2001; Ato Kässäw Usmän, the
long years Kädäm of the shrine, and Ato Usmän Eshētu, who is the Construction and Heritage Preservation Officer in South Wällo Cultural and Tourism Bureau.
356 Nädur is the local name of a person who gave generator to the shrine. No one knows his full name. It is said
that he was a devotee adherent of Shäykh Shäräfädin in northern Shewa. Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole of Daggar and Shäykh Ahmed Abubu.
357 Letter sent from Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Office to South Wällo Zone Cultural and Tourism Office
“Beworedächin Yälu Qrsochin Mäsäwoqin Ymeleketäl, No. ባ/ ቱ/ 66/ 2001፣ ቀን- 13/ 4/ 2001.
126
statistical data.358
More importantly, the office along with the co-operation of Kelelä Wärädä
Communication Office, opened temporary studio in the compound of the shrine of Daggar. This
became an opportunity for the office to sale brochures that state the miraculous deeds and history
of Shäykh Shäräfädin. Brochures were/are prepared in Amharic. Pilgrims bought brochures and
also got support from studio members to find missed members of their family or friends through
their microphone. Pilgrims also got free services of the temporary studio to find lost belongings
and other items of property in the compound of the shrine. As I had seen in my field work held
from October 22nd
-27th
, 2013, in the compound of the shrine, they temporarily studio in the
compound of the shrine also gave free HIV/AIDS check up for volunteers. The office also count
and register the amount of the votive offerings in each annual Mäwlid ceremony both in cash and
in kind. According to 2013 office report, the votive offering of the Mäwlid ceremony of October
of this year, i.e., 2013 were 400 sheep and goats, 9 bulls and 250,000 Birr. As usual, due to the
continuous increase of pilgrims, the votive offering has also increased. The elected committees
of the shrine got recognition from the South Wällo Zone Cultural and Tourism Office in 2011. It
also took full responsibility to inform and report to the Zonal, Regional and Federal Offices
respectively through different mechanisms. In the post-2006 period, these offices, and the
committee, which represented the shrine, began to work co-operatively.359
The other governmental office that began to work with the shrine of Daggar, following the
establishment of its sisterly offices, Cultural and Tourism Office, was Kelelä Wärädä
Communication Office. Fortunately, this office began to publish a magazine entitled as “Kelelä
358 Ye-Bäqelo/Ye-Däggär Mäwlid, manuscript written by Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism Bureau in 2010
and Däggär Ye-Shaykhye Mender: Economiyawi Limätu Lemenfesäwi Häbtu Si’abr, manuscript prepared by Kelelä Wärädä Comminication Bureau in 2010.
359 A Letter sent to South Wällo Zone Cultural and Tourism Office from Kelelä Wärädä Cultural and Tourism
Office,”Be-Daggar Mesjid Zuria Siletequ’aqu’amew Yelmät Committee Ewqnä Mesťetin Yimeleketäl; No. አ-19/878/2003፣ ቀን- 17/8/2003 and Informants: Shäykh Muhämmäd Awole, Ato Mubärek Shäykh Yimäm and Ato Kässäw Usmän.
127
Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä” in 2010. This magazine became an important source of
information about the shrine of Shäykh Shäräfädin and the historical importance of the shrine.
Generally, these two sisterly offices of Kelelä Wärädä are involved in facilitating the renaissance
of the shrine.360
Glossary
The meanings of terms given below are those which obtain in the historical context examined in
this study.
I. Arabic Words/phrases
„ad kabire derived from the Arabic word kabir, which refers to the ancestor of the
clan who stated to be migrants from hijaz and settled in Temben
ajam texts written in Amharic but in Arabic script
alim Muslim savant, scholar
360 Kelelä Enä Yältenegeru Tärikochwä, a magazine prepared by Kelelä Wärädä Communication Office in 2010.
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amir commander, prince; honorific title of a member of a ruling house
ante selamun awliya the wali of the awliya, the representative of the awliya
asqari derived from the Arabic word asghar which refers to the title of
descendants of a holy family
awliya (see, wali) plural form of Wali
baraka divine favour, a chief characteristics of a wali
bid‟a reprehensible innovation
darasa a young student or follower of a Shaykh
de‟wa the Islamic call usually signifies propagation and preaching with the objective
to bring a person to Islam (to the correct observance of Islam)
dhakir one who is engaged in dhikr
dhikr liturgical chants and litanies glorifying Allah
eleyhiyuredun Qur‟anic chapter that Shaykh Musa taught from Shaykh Ja‟far Bukko
faqih jurist and theologian
figh Islamic jurisprudence
habasha pejorative word that represent Ethiopians
hadith prophetic tradition
hadiya offering made to a Shaykh or at a shrine
hadra sufi gathering for collective worship
hajj, al- tittle given to one who has made pilgrimage to Mecca
hajj the holy pilgrimage to Mecca
harakat represent the four Arabic vowel signs
hijra the flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
id al-adha annual festival of Muslims after two months of the end of fasting
id al-fatir official Muslims‟ festival following the end of fasting
ilm mastering of Islamic knowledge
imam leader of the obligatory Islamic prayers; title of the Muslim rulers of
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Warra-Himano in Wallo and those of Harar
Imamate a muslim dynasty administered by Imam
jabarti muslims inhabiting the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands
jama‟a congregational prayer
jihad efforts made „in the way of Allah,‟ which may or may not include holy war
jin devil
karama power of a wali to work miracles
kadam one who offers daily services to his Shaykh
khalifa (pl. khalifas) successor to a Muslim political office or to a founder of a sufi center
kelewa a sufi religious leader‟s center of ritual
luh wood slate used to write Arabic letters and short texts
madhhab (pl. madhahib) school of Islamic jurisprudence
madrasa modern school of Islamic learning
Manaqib (pl. manaqibs) virtues; a literary genre extolling the deeds of a saint: equivalent with
Christian hagiography
manzuma a didactic poem recited at religious festivals
mawlid the prophet‟s birth day anniversary festival. In this thesis, the anniversary
festival of Shaykh Sharafadin also called by this name
mesjidel jami‟i the mosque of the Awliya
minkesbi yedihi a person who eat his own produces
mujedidel sharia strict follower of the religious scripture
murid disciple
nahw the study of the classical Arabic, particularly its grammatical rules and usage
qadi judge
said an honorific title given to a recognized scholar or saint
salat official Islamic prayer
sayf al-haqq the sword of the truth
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sayydul-bal It was an honorific title of Al-Hajj Bushra Ay Muhammad of Gattira
sedeqa equivalent to the Christian tazkar
shafa‟a medicine
sharia the divine or revealed law
sharif a name given to the great men in Islamic history
shaykh scholar, cleric
shirk association of Allah with other creatures
Subihi salat among the five obligatory prayers in Islam which is conducted in early
morning of each day before the sun rises in the east
sufi mystic
tafsir commentary of the holy Qur‟an
tahaji/majlis is the first stage of traditional Qur‟anic school system that involved in the
learning of the Arabic letters and the reading of the Qur‟an
tariqa (pl. turuq) the sufi way; a mystical order
tawassul using sufi ulama as an intermediary
ulama (see, alim) Muslim scholars
ustaz teacher in madrasa
wali (pl. awliya) Allah‟s protégé; saint
waqf charitable property ( in Wallo, usually land)
wudu a process of washing part of the body as per the requirement of prayer (Salat)
from hand to leg
zakah alms tax
zawya hospice, a multi-purpose sufi center of teaching, a rural mosque
ziyara visitation made to a sufi shrine
II. Non-Arabic; Amharic, Ethiopiac and Kushitic
aba/ ababa lit.: father; as a title, it is used for an elderly man or priest; part of a
traditional „horse name‟; in local Islam it is used as an agnomen
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ababa shifaw the name given for the lance of Shaykh Sharafadin
abb gar a traditional leader of a ritual ceremony; assimilated into popular Islam
to mean a leader of religious gathering
abetech (see amarech)
alaqa title of a chief priest
amare the Amhara clan who lived in northern shewa, kelela and jamma
amarech the ancestral people of Kelela who separated the other ancestral people of
Kelela known as abetech by mareko river
arti Artemisia tilesii
așe title: emperor
ato a common title of respect used with a man‟s given name
attate maytenus
attise sound produced by the deceased son that announced his return to the
worldly life
awrajja an administrative unit within a province
balabat (pl. balabats) the hereditary owner of the land
bale zar persons possessed by zar cult
belg a period of small rain from march-may
buqri a local non-alcoholic drink made up of the mixing of roasted corn and
water
ćat catha edulis
darasa local name given to the students of Qur‟anic school
dejjach/dejjazmach military and civil title: general or governor
fuqra exorcist (a corruption of the Arabic, Fuqara (pl. of faqir: a sufi mendicant)
gasha an instrument used to measure the area of land
gefersa Oromo word which means wide
getaw lord
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getaw shahye the glorious Shaykh
getaw shahye mejen due to the intercessory power of the glorious shaykh
getaw shayhye mesjid the mosque of the glorious Shaykh, Sharafadin
gobeden site of a ritual, usually under a tree
injera a common and favorite food item of Ethiopians
kebele (pl. kebeles) the smallest administrative unit within a district
kelela refers the convienence location of kelela wärädä for defence and offence
lej lit.: child; honorific title of members of the high nobility
masfen (pl. masafent) nobleman, prince; also used as a title: governor
mohammadoch refers to the muslim dynasty of warra-himano who followed the religion of
the Prophet
negadras (negadrases) a customs of official: chief of long distance merchants
negus (pl. nagast) title: king
qallabi provider, patron of Muslim clerics and their students
qallacha ritual leader; Muslim cleric
qolla tropical area
quna seći executive body of amare quna
quna sefi legislative body in the amare- quna traditional negotiation system
ramsa a collection of pious songs recited at the beginning of a religious gathering
ras title: duke or governor
sebat bet seven house
sebat bet wallo refers to the seven house of wallo who antagonized each other to
dominate the region
Ťegera money
wodaja collective worship, supplication
warada (pl. waradas) district under the administrative structure of Awrajja
warka ficus vasta
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wayzaro a common title for married women
woina dega sub tropical region
ye-amare quna unwritten traditional law of the Amhara of Northern Shewa, Kelela and
Jamma
ye-borenaw geta the lord of Borena Awrajja
ye-qolla wanza piliostigma thonningii
ye-sharafadin ashker servant of Shaykh sharafadin
ye-shimaglewoch shimagle the name given for ababa shifaw
zemene mesafent the age of the princes: the period in the history of north central Ethiopia
zar cult of spirit-possession