IHMS 700 Series
CELEBRATING ASHURA AND ITS SYMBOLISM IN HARAR
Written by Professor Abdi Khalil
In Harar, we celebrate the 10th of Muharam as ‘Ashura’ holiday. As I am reminded by friends and close relatives about this symbolic holiday, I was interested to know more about it to upgrade my historical and traditional Harari knowledge. I have done a bit of research and read some books on Harar’s History, and I would like to share with you what I have discovered for myself about Ashura and associated symbols and rituals.
According to Oustad Ali Naji, a prolific Harari author, Harar is a land of symbol, and symbol is a powerful entity, object to communicate feelings, history and culture. Similarly, Anthropologist describe symbols as ‘All words, all articulated utterances. A symbol may be a material object, it may be animal, a person, a rite, a ritual, an institution, or complex of material object together with ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and conventional actions associated with it. Generally, it is said that symbols sustain people’s thinking and its culture.
For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the day Moses and his people were saved from Pharaohs by Allah (SWAT). In spite of the different reasons why Sunni Muslims and Shias celebrate the 10th Muharam as Ashura in the Arabic calendar, I was interested to the ritual aspects of celebration in Harar. The main symbol during Ashura holiday in Harar is “Wirshatu”, a grand gathering of young boys singing, holding sticks to collectively break gourds.
According to Oustad Ali Naji in his book entitled ‘The Traditional Rationale and Inner Beauty of Harari People, Ethiopia’ (2015), the Harari intangible and tangible heritage contains aspects of objects and ideas to shape symbols. With global message, Wirshatu is performed on Ashura day with three events:
- Gourd smashing,
- Feeding people porridge, and
- Feeding Hyena porridge.
- Gourd smashing – once schoolboys gather gourds in Islamic school or ‘Quran gey’, the young boys go around household holding sticks, and singing the Wirshatu song while breaking the gourds (Quluea in Harari). The Wirshatu song alludes to best wishes for oneself and the community at large. Wirshatu song is rhythmic and a beautiful song with loaded messages for the young generation and Islamic households.
Accordingly to the Late Harari Prominent Writer, Kabir Abdulmuhmin Abdulnaser, “The boys smash the gourd with their sticks and make toys out of the broken pieces, an action to unfold the several benefits one drives by breaking bad habits.” As well, wishing good for the coming year.
For ritual purposes, the gourd is considered as a container of bad spirit, and hence breaking the gourd collectively symbolizes breaking bad habits, get ride bad behavior, or not to get involved in any. The smashed gourds to pieces is an attempt to paint an image in the mind of the boys as they grow not to get involved in developing bad habits like consumption of alcohol or as a serious warning to never and ever deal with addictive behaviors such as use of alcohol. Alcohol is a bottled disease, by all means devilish and the source of all evils. Alcohol, gambling and infidelity all are equally considered as the handy work of devil in Islamic faith.
- Feeding people porridge – Referring to Assistant Professor Ahmed Zakaria’s notes, the event of feeding porridge to people in sufficient amount goes with the belief that “who so ever does not manage to eat his/her portion that day, he or she is doomed to suffer from hunger for the rest of the year.” In wider perspective, however, the Late Kabir Abdulmuhmein Abdulnasir stated that the gourd for the boys and porridge for people symbolize “Ensuring abundance of sustenance and renewal of determination to break bad habits.” He further alluded that ‘Wirshatu’ song on Ashura day also implies the Hararis desire to extend in renewing their spiritual and physical nourishments for the coming year.
- Feeding hyenas porridge – the third of ‘Wirshatu’ event, which is feeding hyenas porridge, has something to tell the relationships and connections of humankind and the environment. It is an illustration of Harar’s capabilities in handling and taking care of the surrounding plants and animals. The meticulous preparations of the porridge and the manner the hyenas are feed symbolize the controlling, handling and caring to live in harmony with the environment to benefit all.
According to Professor Waldron (1975) article, the gist behind and significance of such localized symbols shows the integrity of Harar that comes from internal solidarity and high valued way of life. He concludes by saying that the Hararis are committed to such cultural self-awareness and social duties as part of ethnic identity, as a whole.
Aselam Aleykum