Sidama. A Tyrannized Nation´s Culture As Resistance Against Barbarous Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia) II
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Fast Disappearing Social Capital among the Sidama of Southern Ethiopia and its implication on Food (in)security
By Mulugeta Bakkalo Daye (17/06/2010)
The Continuity of disruption of Social capital and the struggle for survival
No matter how distractive successive Ethiopian governments policy to wards nations,, nationalities´ and peoples´ political, economic and social lives and livelihood that are located presently in southern, western, eastern parts of Ethiopia, those societies still have been preserving their social and political identities. This suggests that, successive regimes of Ethiopia unsuccessfully attempted to assimilate their subject into single Ethiopian political and social identity for instance Amharization, Emperor Menelick II and HaileSellasie´s version of "modernization" Mengistu´s imported communism, Meles Zenawi´s Revolutionary Democracy which new variant of democracy. Although the later attempted to promise relative autonomy, through Federal Structure, In the Case of Southern Ethiopia which the Sidamas forced to merge appears the experiment of Unitary State which in turn suggest simply single ethnic political identity, despite diversity of ethnicities forced to live in the state and mainly characterised by mono- language and culture on one hand, and rejection of assimilation on the other. The following section attempts to show surviving Sidama political and social structure, form bottom, to top starting from family.
The concept of ayidooma (familyhood) arises from the term ayiide, which literally means ´family´. It is the foundation on which the Sidama´s organic social practices and institutions are built, and is based on blood ties as well as proximity of residence. By organic social institutions, the researcher means a chain of social structures incorporating obligations to perform activities designed and planned within the framework of the objectives and goals entrusted to a particular office by the various levels of community within Sidama society.
The basic unit in Sidama´s institutional structure is the bosallo, which literally means ´fireplace´, where the household cooks and shares heating by sitting in a circle around the fire. The bosallo is also an assembling of the household, whose members are descended from common ancestors on the father´s side. Many bosallo form a mine, which literally means ´house´. Many mine form an ayiide, which literally means ´family´. The Sidama concept of family is quite different from the conventional concept of family as constructed by Murdock: ´The family as a social group is characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted, of sexually cohabiting adults´ (Murdock, 1949:1).
The next unit above the household is kacha, which is a kind of hamlet. The hamlet is the assembly of elders (chimeeye), including kinsmen and non-kinsmen (those related by proximity of their dwellings and neighbourhood). The duties and responsibilities of this office include settling quarrels over garden boundaries, the appealing of quarrels (qaxxaro) between husband and wife, and other issues that are not solved at household level but which represent matters of policy affecting the whole community: organizing and mobilizing the members of the community to participate in paving paths; putting small bridges across streams and small rivers; cleaning communal springs, wells and ponds; and informing other community members of abnormalities or crises affecting others. The assembly above the hamlet is that of the neighbourhood (olla). The duties and responsibilities of the office at this level are organizing assistance for those who are in need, particularly during crises such as death, settling cases of theft, addressing other deviant behaviours such as insults and physical abuse that may arise from interpersonal conflict, settling land disputes, and organizing and mobilizing people to participate in works for the communal good, such as the construction of bridging paths, if they are beyond the capacity of the hamlet (Hamer 1987: 112–13). The olla is the primary institutional level that co-ordinates sharing practices.
The third council above the ollaa is that of lineage: the council of sub-clans (bosaalo). This consists mainly of those sharing kinship who are dominant in a specific area. Others, who do not partake in that lineage but who share the common areas, are treated in just the same way as those who do belong. Those individuals violating the rights of others by virtue of their dominance will be punished. This punishment is known as boka, and is a kind of excommunication and exclusion. The duties and responsibility of this office consist mainly of maintaining the unity and solidarity of the community, and fund raising for communal religious rituals such as kakkalo (sacrifice).
The fourth type of council next to that of lineage or bosaalo is that of the clan (ga´re). This consists of the leading elders from each local community of bosaalos. The duties and responsibilities of this assembly involve reconsidering the judicial verdicts given at the lower levels of assembly in situations where someone feels their case has been misjudged and appeals against the judgment.
In addition to the councils of elders, there is the office of mote. This literally means ´king´, but in the context of Sidama society the mote is a kind of clan chief, appointed by the council of clan elders. The similarity of this office with that of a king is that the nomination for the office is hereditary and connected with only one bosaalo (lineage and sub-lineage), while the difference is that the mote is not regarded as different from other elders, but simply as a first among equals. Because he has not the authority to arbitrate on an issue that requires a decision without the consent of the council of elders, we can say that the council of elders has more power than the mote. Unless the council of elders has demanded his presence, he does not necessarily participate in its discussions. The important functions of the mote office are: symbolizing unity and solidarity in inter- and intra-clan relationships, mediating disputes between conflicting parties, and peace-making in relation to problems that have not been not solved at the lower levels. The decisions of the councils of elders are, most of the time, taken for granted by Sidama society. Not only do they have a kind of mystical power whose blessing enhances fertility and well-being, and whose curse brings calamities, but they also employ procedures and investigations for discovering the truth which involve democratic sharing and probing. These are known by the entire society, even nowadays, as de´affini, and the ´truth´ discovered by this system has a tendency to be acceptable to both offending and defending parties.
Halaale literally means truth, and justice has a deep meaning for the Sidama. The search for the truth is, according to their perception, not only a religious reality but also something which they apply in the social, political and economic areas of their existence. A common expression in the Sidama language is Halaalu maganaho, which means "truth is God". Consequently, applying the truth in the social and economic as well as the political sphere represents the real value of their existence. What this means in terms of famine prevention is that the organic social practices and structures of the Sidama are more than mere channels of food distribution; they are also elementary institutions of social justice. Justice, for the Sidama, is a core value that is rooted in every day life practices.
Kinship ties among the Sidama are concerned with cementing social relations in both good and hard times. ´Good´ times include the celebration of various successes, while hard times entail crises such as sickness, death and other crises which are unbearable for victimized individuals. Explaining how anthropologists perceive kinship, Robin Fox (1975) writes that ´[k]inship is about social relationships rather than biological relationships, even though in most instances they overlap. Thus the existence of a kin relationship depends on how the society defines kinship … It is not simply the existence of consanguinity, or "common blood", that makes for a kinship bond, but the use to which the society puts – or does not put – the fact of biological relatedness.´ Fox (1975:83).
This kind of bond reflects the social cohesion among the Sidama that is meant by kinship ties. Mutual assistance among the Sidama during crises does not necessarily reflect only blood ties, but also ´neighbourliness´, which depends on the proximity or distance of residences. If individuals are facing difficulties such as sickness or food shortages, it is neighbours, with whom those individuals may or may not have a blood bond, that provide assistance of various kinds. The Sidama saying ´Xeertote fiixxinni muli olliichi qarraho rahe iillano´ reflects this fact. A rough translation might be: ´A neighbour is quicker than a distant relative in hard times.´
Hard times include times when there is food insecurity and shortages. Seasonal food shortage, for instance, can be induced by drought, or by people not having enough money, and in this case neighbours and relatives share whatever they have with those who are in need. But it is those who are geographically nearer to the victims who can react first to such problems. Scott, stressing this point, writes: ´Kinsmen normally feel obliged to do what they can for a close relative in trouble, but they can offer no more than the pool of resources at their command´ (Scott 1976: 27). Therefore, even those societies possessing a strong social safety net and strong social networks can be affected by famine if it goes beyond their capacity to deal with it, as has been the case in the Sidama since 1999.
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Note
Picture: Map of the Sidama Land
Source http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/166750
From: http://www.sidacoop.com/map.htm
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