Fichchee: the Original Ethiopian New Year begins!

In two earlier articles, we presented the origins and the historical background of the Abyssinian Gueze Calendar that has been fallaciously renamed ‘Ethiopian’; we analyzed the reasons for which this calendar differs from the Coptic, the Julian, and the Gregorian calendars (‘The Bogus-Ethiopian Millennium of Ignorance and Aberration’ / http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-bogus-ethiopian-millennium-of-ignorance-and-aberration.html and ‘Gueze – ‘Ethiopian’: the Counterfeit Millennium’ / http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gueze-ethiopian-the-counterfeit-millennium.html). 

In addition, we stressed the point that it concerns only a small minority in today’s Abyssinia. In fact, only the Monophysitic Christian Amharas and Tigrays are concerned; the Amhara and Tigray Muslims reject this calendar, as they observe the Islamic Calendar.

Furthermore, all the oppressed peoples of the dysfunctional and anachronistic tyranny, the Oromos, the Sidamas, the Ogadenis, the Afars, the Anuaks, the Kaffas, the Shekachos and others observe different calendars, be they original African of not. This means that Meles Zenawi’s dictatorial show ruined the impoverished country’s budget just for the sake of 15% of the entire country’s population.

In proof of the aforementioned, we refer here to the authentic Ethiopian case of the Sidamas, one of the Kushitic peoples that have been subjugated for more than 100 years by the Amharas and the Tigrays. The Sidamas have their own Calendar, a historical African system, composed and observed by the diachronic intellectual elite of the Sidama Elderly; just two days ago, on October 8, the Sidamas – frozenly indifferent to the alien pseudo-‘Ethiopian’ millennium of ignorance – started celebrating their New Year Day. This is called Fichchee in Sidamuaffo, their Kushitic language.

We are honoured to reproduce here a highly informative and truly pioneering article written by the Sidama Leader, Mr. Kambata Xola, Chairman of the Sidama National Liberation Organization; under the title "Sidama Nation Continues Celebrating its New Year, ‘Fichchee’ Defying Successive Abyssinian Brutal Rules", Chairman Xola speaks - for the first time at a global level - about the great and noble traditions of the Sidamas, a subject for which bibliography is still quasi-inexistent.

Chairman Xola’s descriptions offer valuable material for ethnologists and historians of religions, as among the beliefs and the rituals of today’s Sidamas survive five millennia long Ancient Egyptian, Khammitic and Kushitic rituals, religious traditions, and monotheistic beliefs. We will publish Chairman Xola’s paper in two consecutive articles.

Sidama Nation Continues Celebrating its New Year, ‘Fichchee’ Defying Successive Abyssinian Brutal Rules

By Kambata Xoola – SNLO Chairman

Historical Background

The Sidama New Year, named ‘Fichchee’ and celebrated this year on October 8, represents, amongst others, one of the most important cultural values inherited by today’s Sidamas. Fichchee celebration is underway in the occupied Sidama Land, in the ‘Ethiopian’ south. The event has been celebrated in Sidama Land since times immemorial. Fichchee is typically Sidama as social institution and religious - cultural tradition, therefore markedly characterizing the entire Sidama nation.

The Sidamas are one of the few nations in the world and in the Africa to have developed its own Calendar. The Sidama nation preserved its identity despite relentless tyrannical practices and continued pressure exercised by the occupying Amharas and Tigrays, the ruling tribes of Abyssinia, fallaciously re-baptized Ethiopia.

The colonial Amhara / Tigray administration pursued a purely racist strategy against the Sidamas, trying to obliterate Sidama Language and Culture since Day 1 after the Kushitic African nation fell under the Abyssinian colonial yoke, more than 100 years ago.

Despite the colonial oppression, the Sidamas rejected totally the imposition of the colonial values, and quite indicatively did not participate in the ridiculous, tyrannical pseudo-festivals on the occasion of the Abyssinian (Gueze) Millennium – that has been fallaciously called ‘Ethiopian Millennium’.

Like many other oppressed and tyrannized nations that have been erratically incorporated in the alien Abyssinian tyranny, the Sidamas find no value and no essence in the historically false Abyssinian Millennium that bears evidence to Abyssinian ignorance, confusion and barbarism, as the Axumite ancestors of the modern Amharas and Tigrays were not able to cope with changes introduced throughout the Eastern Roman Empire and Christian Europe before almost 1500 years!

Fichchee

This year, the Sidama New Year ‘Fiichee’ celebration started on 8 October, after midnight. A little before midnight, in all the districts and the neighbourhoods, in all the villages and the hamlets throughout Sidama Land, numerous families started gathering at an elder’s (Ciimmessa) house to welcome the New Year.

The ceremony has to be led by the oldest Ciimmessa (there may be many elderly Ciimmeyee) of the neighbourhood, according to tradition. Well organised and prepared for this special occasion, Sidama women from every household prepare a special meal made of ‘Waasuu Sagaalee’ (food prepared from ‘false banana’, the Sidama staple food), thus contributing to the elder’s wife’s preparations.

The festival meal is known as Shaffetaa, and is made of Waassu burissamee, a specialty prepared out of pure butter and a wide array of Sidama spices (namely ha’na’shsho, diikito, Enarie and others spices); Shaffetaa is always accompanied with specially prepared milk that is kept for days to make Sidama style sour and spicy yoghurt. The Sidama yoghurt is oak-smoked for at least a week (Ejjerisuni qadindonitaa). Finally, the Shaffetaa is brought in front of the elders and placed at a particular spot until it is uncovered and subsequently blessed by the elder.
 
A Sidama Ciimmessa leads the Ceremonials

The Ciimmessa starts the ceremony immediately after midnight with a conventional blessing, saying "Cambalaalla! Iille, Iille", which means ‘Happy New Year! Happy New Year!’; he does so in front of the gathered neighbours, both adults and children, who eagerly await the ceremony to take place in order to enjoy this mouth watering meal, and the other New Year festivities.

However, the children have to persevere!! The immensity of the blessing ritual conducted by the elderly is enormous. Before the meal is served, the elders thank primarily God and then their ancestors’ spirit for the New Year.

Then, the Elderly bless the children, families, neighbourhood, farm and its yields, livestock, district, region and the Sidama Land as a whole, and finally the entire creation of the world.
 
The Ciimmessa also prays to God asking Him to keep the Nation’s cohesion intact, and to protect the Nation from any form of man-made and natural disasters and catastrophes, and if there is war, victory over the enemy.

Fichchee and Social Concord

The Fichchee ceremony is also a noble opportunity for the neighbourhoods and the wider Sidama Nation to reconcile with one another and resolve whatsoever disputes. When the neighbours come in front of the elders for the celebration of the New Year, they need to forgive one another before they are ready to ritually receive the New Year. Such psycho-socially intertwined beliefs and practices of the Sidama nation maintain the balance between individual rights and community cohesion.

As it can be surmised from the aforementioned, Fichchee is truly everything for the Sidama Nation, having a direct impact on the social and national coherence. In their preaching, the Elders explain to the younger generations how Fichchee is culturally significant for the Sidama Nation, strongly emphasizing on the importance of its preservation.

After the elders have completed their blessings and made sure that not a single neighbour is left outside, homemade Shaffetaa with milk is served. However, before the formal meal, there is also another, short but very significant, final ceremony to be performed.

Shaffetaa distributed to the Four Corners of the Universe

The most ascetic elder takes a pinch of food from the top of the large specially made clay pot (Shaffetatee Xiiltee) that was filled with Shaffetaa, and disperses it into the Four Corners of the Universe to symbolize sharing with their ancestors’ spirits, thus bestowing upon them sacramental respect.

Then, one of the middle aged persons is assigned by the elder to equally distribute the Shaffetaa meal to the attendants, after all the elders have been served. As the distribution is hierarchical by age, the youngest get their shares last. As the meal is content-rich to an extraordinary degree, a handful served with milk (on the leaves of specifically prepared ‘false banana’) is more than sufficient to satisfy every one in the Elder’s house.

No meat allowed in Fichchee 

According to the Fichchee celebration related traditions, no meat is allowed to be prepared and/or served on New Year’s eve, on the actual Cambalaalla day, and during the following days. Several days before the Fichchee eve, in all the Sidama households, meat and all meat derived products are either consumed or stored outside the houses.

Note
Picture: Young Sidamas do not have the same opportunities as the children of free peoples and liberated nations.