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Myth, Ritual and the Authority of Elders in an Ethiopian Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

John H. Hamer
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Extract

In this paper I discuss the mythological and ritual sequences honouring dead elders amongst two descent segments of the Sadama of Southwest Ethiopia. Myth and ritual will be described and an explanation offered regarding the persistence of both under changing conditions.

The participants in these rites are the men of the Holo-Garbičo clans, two of the most esteemed descent groups of the Cushitic speaking Sadama. The Sadama, located approximately 170 miles south of Addis Ababa, are estimated by a 1969 sample survey to number over 600,000 persons (Central Statistical Office 1972: 11). The institutions and culture of the Sadama have been described elsewhere. They have a mixed economy based on the cultivation of such staples as ensete-edulus and maize, cattle herding, and recently the production of coffee as a cash crop. There are a number of clans which are subdivided into patrilineages cross-cut by several generational classes (Hamer 1970).

Résumé

MYTHES, RITES, ET L'AUTORITE DES ANCIENS DANS UNE SOCIETE ETHIOPIENNE

Cet article décrit et analyse la mythologie et les rites liés au dieu principal du clan chez les Sadama en Ethiopie Sud Occidentale, Le mythe est considéré comme une base établissant un consensus moral entre les générations en ce qui concerne la conception de l'autorité, les limites du pouvoir, et la précédence des relations de lignage. Le rite consiste en ceremonies variées en l'honneur des anciens morts et vivants, mettant en jeu les croyances et les valeurs exprimées par le mythe. Bien que les Sadama aient récemment fait l'expérience d'une changement economique, politique et religieux percutant, le mythe et les rites continuent à ètre des moyens importants qui fournissent le courage moral et la confiance necessaire pour faire face à un avenir incertain.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , October 1976 , pp. 327 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1976

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References

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