|
Ethiopia Indigenous Religions
Among indigenous religious systems, the names of certain
deities and spirits recur frequently, especially among
groups speaking related languages. Certain features of these
traditional belief systems are broadly similar--for example,
the existence of a supreme god identified with the sky and
relatively remote from the everyday concerns of the people
and addressed through spirits. Surface similarities
notwithstanding, the configuration of the accepted roster of
spirits, the rituals addressed to them, the social units
(some based on the territorial community, others on common
descent, generation, or sex) participating in specific
rituals, and the nature and functions of religious
specialists are peculiar to each ethnic group or subsection.
Common to almost all indigenous systems is a range of
spirits, some closely resembling in name and function the
spirits recognized by neighboring Christians or Muslims.
Among the Oromo, especially those not fully Christianized,
there is a belief in a supreme god called Waka, represented
by spirits known as ayana. The ayana are mediators between
the high god and human beings and are themselves approached
through the kallu, a ritual specialist capable of being
possessed by these spirits. The kallu is said to communicate
directly with Waka and bless the community in his name. By
contrast, some pastoral Oromo, such as the Guji and Borana,
are regarded as monotheists.
Data as of 1991
|
