Pilgrims’ motives

Pilgrims travel to the shrine of Sheikh Hussein during the two major periods of pilgrimage, as well as any time of the year, for a variety of reasons. These motives can be inferred from testimonies made by pilgrims at the waaree ritual where pilgrims bear witness (hikmaa) of the miracles performed by invoking the name of Sheikh Hussein. These motives will be discussed in the following section.

154 Interview on 6 November 2011 in Anajina.

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Seeking Sheikh Hussein’s barakaa (beneficent force/holy virtues) is one of the most important motives for pilgrims to flock to his shrine any time of the year and especially during the two major pilgrimages. All the other motives that will be discussed below are all somehow related to Sheikh Hussein’s barakaa and karaamaa (charisma/spiritual power), which are believed to fulfil diverse wishes of pilgrims.

One of the most important motives of pilgrims to the shrine of Sheikh Hussein is related to healing. Many pilgrims travel there either to fulfill wishes related to their health (statement 1 and 2) or to pray for their health (statement 3).The following are quotes from interviews with pilgrims.

1. I am here to tell hikmaa. I was sick. I had pain in my belly and it was very painful. My family and my relatives wanted to take me to a doctor. I told them that I did not want to go to a doctor because Sheikh Hussein is my doctor. I could not work and I was not able to farm my land. Within three days of asking Doctor Sheikh Hussein to cure me, I regained my health completely. Then my eyes became sick and I could not see. I started using ointments but it was not helping. Then I asked Sheikh Hussein to treat me and I regained my sight…

2. I was sick and I was in bed for four months. I visited many hospitals and I spent a lot of money but no medicine could heal me. Then I called Sheikh Hussein. He came to me in my dreams and told me that dirree is the place to get my health back. He told me to come here and not to go to hospitals anymore. I came here last year and I prayed and I was also blessed. I am healthy since then. I am here now to thank Sheikh Hussein and to tell this hikmaa.

3. I have had a kidney problem for the last five years. I have gone to health centres and hospitals but I am still sick. I came here so that you could pray for my health.

Pilgrims also travel to the shrine of Sheikh Hussein for their family members’ health, as the following pilgrims personal statements indicate:

1. This is my son and he is deaf. I came here to ask our father to return his hearing. I have also brought fifty birr with me.

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2. I made the second vow in the name of my wife. She was sick for many years. Her belly was as big as a pregnant woman and I was told to take her to a hospital for an operation. I refused to take her to a hospital before asking the father of Bale for help. She also refused to go to a hospital before asking Abbiyyoo (our father) for his help. Then I came here carrying a flag and begged Abbiyyoo to make me and my wife healthy again. I made a solemn vow to bring a bull in return. Now both of us are healthy and my wife is also here with me. We never went to a hospital as other people suggested. We just came here and prayed, asked for Sheikh Hussein’s help and drank johaaraa (holy soil).

There are also pilgrims who travel for issues related to their cattle, as the following two testimonies indicate:

1. I lost eight of my animals for unknown reasons. I came here to pray for the health of the rest of my animals.

2. One of my cows gave birth to a calf but refused to feed it and the calf had no other choice than death. I called Abbiyyoo to make the cow feed the calf and I promised that I would bring a sewing needle if this happened. Now the cow is standing in one place and feeding the calf and I came with the needle I promised.

The other motive related to health that attracts large number of pilgrims is healing. The first method of healing is a prayer invoking Sheikh Hussein’s name whose barakaa (beneficent force) and karaamaa (spiritual power) is believed to have a healing power.¹⁵⁵ In this case a sick person tells of his sickness to the spiritual leaders who in turn tell the crowd. The leaders then start to pray for the health of a sick pilgrim and the other pilgrims repeat the prayer as the following testimony from a sick pilgrims indicates:

May her health return to her! May she be healthy before she returns home! May Sheikh Hussein’s karaamaa rid her of her sickness!

The other popular healing method is the use of jawaaraa, also called johaaraa. This is a soil found in the shrines of Sheikh Hussein, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, the tomb of the imaams, as well as the son and daughter of Sheikh Hussein. It is brought from a place called ija Dinkuree (eye of Dinkuree (pond of faith)). It is a pond about one kilometre from the shrine.

During the time of Sheikh Hussein, Qur’an was taught on a wooden board and after the end of

155 Sheikh Ahmad, 06 November 2011 in Anajina.

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the lesson the wood was washed in this pond. The soil (kotoora) is dug there and brought to the shrine by the local people (men, women, and children) after performing ablution and becoming clean. Once it is in the shrine, it is referred to as johaaraa. Referring to it as soil once it is placed in the shrines is a mistake and considered an insult.¹⁵⁶ A few days before the major pilgrimages, new soil is always brought to the shrine and placed in all the tombs, especially in the tomb of Sheikh Hussein so that pilgrims do not dig and take all the soil inside which might destabilise or even destroy the shrines.¹⁵⁷ Johaaraa serves as medicine because Sheikh Hussein prayed to God to turn the soil in the places he stayed into medicine and heal the sick.¹⁵⁸ Confirming the medicinal power of johaaraa, Sheikh Ahmad states the following:

The healing power of johaaraa is proven and I am a personal witness.

I am a man of the book and I know what is haraam (forbidden) and halaala (permissible). But I do not doubt the power of johaaraa.

About thirty years ago, a Christian from Dire-Dawa (Southeast Ethiopia) came here. He had had belly pain for a long time and had visited various hospitals but his situation got worse to the level of not being able to eat. He finally came here. I mixed johaaraa with a glass of water and gave it to him to drink. The next morning, six big snake-like creatures came out of his belly. He started to eat immediately and he became fully healthy again.¹⁵⁹

Pilgrims also attest to the healing power of johaaraa. I met a woman I will call Sophia in the shrine of Sheikh Hussein while she was painting her face and her child’s face, legs and body with the johaaraa and at the same time saying, “my father, reach for me”. She rubbed his body so hard that the baby started crying. She told me that she came from Awash, a town about 800 kilometres from the shrine. She had travelled to the village to seek help for her four year-old daughter who was lame and could not walk. She said that she had tried every modern medicine without success. She had also tried tsabal (holy water), and emet (holy ash) in various churches, but to no avail. She said that she had heard about Sheikh Hussein a year before and this was her second pilgrimage to the shrine. She told me that her daughter is now walking, albeit slowly.¹⁶⁰

Another pilgrim I will call Almaz is Christian. She came from a village called Jaarraa, situated about 64 kilometres from the shrine. She was sitting in the shrine of Sheikh Hussein

156 Abdulnasir, 05 November 2011 in Anajina.

157 Sheikh Ahmad, 06 November 2011 in Anajina.

158 Abdulnasir, 05 November 2011 in Anajina.

159 Interview on 06 November 2011 in Anajina.

160 Informal discussion on 03 November 2011 in Anajina.

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with her six year-old son. Both of them painted their faces with the johaaraa and they were also eating it. She was crying deeply but out of joy in a visible way. She said that she was crying out of happiness for all the good things the karaamaa (spiritual power) of Sheikh Hussein did to her nine years ago. Her husband became insane and he had to be tied to restrain him from hurting himself as well as others. She said that no medication could help.

Finally she brought him to the shrine and she made a vow that she would walk to the shrine on foot every year if her husband became healthy again. A prayer was made for him and he drank the johaaraa mixed with water. He became healthy immediately and since then she has been walking on foot to the shrine twice a year.¹⁶¹

The healing power of johaaraa is also reflected in the following popular hymn sung during the pilgrimages:

Baalee fi sayidiin amaanaa jedanii Bale and Seid (Sheikh Hussein) greets you Marfee kuma caalaa jawaarrii jedhanii The one they call jawaaraa is better than a

thousand injections

Biyya teenya tana jawaaratu qoorsaa It is jawaaraa that heals our country

Aduun Anaajiinaa Jawaaratin qoorsaa The light of Anajina¹⁶² (Sheikh Hussein) heals with jawaaraa

Haroo tokkotu jira ka Lukkuu jedhanii There is a pond known as Haroo Lukkuu (pond of Chicken)

Nama meeqatu fayyee ka Lubbuu jedhanii Many dying people have been healed

Aduun Anaajiinaa haadhufu jedhanii The light of Anajina (Sheikh Hussein) invited them

Jawaara isaanii haa dhugu jedhanii He told them to drink his jawaaraa

Drinking or washing with the water from the pond of Haroo Lukkuu (pond of chicken) is the other method of healing. The water of the pond is believed to have a healing power and pilgrims even refer to it as Zemzem. The healing power of the water is attributed to Sheikh Hussein’s prayer and blessing that the water and the soil from places where he stood up and/or sat down and prayed should heal his followers from all sorts of sicknesses¹⁶³. After he dug the pond, he recited the Qur’an at the place forty times. There are many pilgrims who claim to have been cured of their sicknesses by drinking the water or washing themselves with

161 Informal discussion on 03 November 2011 in Anajina.

162 Anajina is the name of the village where Sheikh Hussein’s shrine is situated and “the light of Bale” is the other name of Sheikh Hussein.

163 Abdulnasir, 05 November 2011 in Anajina; Sheikh Ahmad, 06 November in Anajina.

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it¹⁶⁴. Pilgrims who suffer from various internal sicknesses such as belly pain, drink the water, while those with external problems such as wound, blindness or lameness, wash the sick part of their body with it.¹⁶⁵ There are also people who take the water to their home. They keep it in their house and use it when their family member or cattle became sick. They mix it with normal water and wash with it or simply drink it.¹⁶⁶ During the pilgrimage, a man from the bureau of culture and tourism was distributing water-purifying tablets for free, but so rarely do pilgrims accept this, instead stating that it is not necessary to put medicine into another medicine. The healing power of the water of Haroo Lukkuu is also narrated through hymns, as the following excerpt of an Oromoic hymn indicates.

Itti ha deebinu gandda haroo birraa Let’s return to the village of the haroo (pond) Dhibee isin malee hinfayyineetu jiraa (2X) There are sicknesses that cannot be healed

without it

Taking part in the hadra ritual is also an important method of healing. It has already been discussed that this ritual takes place at dhooqoo Karraa and Dinkure (pond of faith) and that hadra is similar to baharo (hymns in praise of Sheikh Hussein), the only difference being the beating of dibbee (drum) during the hadra ritual. The sound of the drum is said to have healing powers, especially for people who are said to have been possessed or attacked by djinni. It is widely believed that the attacking and/or possessing djinni releases the person upon hearing the sound of the drum.

The other motive attracting pilgrims to the shrine is related to wealth. Many pilgrims ask Sheikh Hussein’s karaamaa to endow them with wealth while some pilgrims to the fact that they have acquired the wealth they desired. The latter is shown in the following testimony shows:

I asked Sheikh Hussein to give me wealth and he did. Now I have four buses and every year I transport his pilgrims for free.

Issues related to fertility are other important motives that attract large numbers of Pilgrims to Sheikh Hussein’s shrine, as best illustrated by the following testimony.

I came here to ask for a child. I have been married for a long time but have not managed to get my own offspring. The people in my village gossip about me that I am no more than a man. They have

164 Informal conversation with pilgrims, 04-06 November 2011 in Anajina.

165 Sheikh Ahmad, 06 November 2011 in Anajina; Abdulnasir, 05 November 2011 in Anajina; Sheikh Idris, 04 November 2011 in Anajina.

166 Informal conversation with pilgrims, 04-06 November 2011 in Anajina.

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also nicknamed my wife maseena (barren, sterile). I ask Sheikh Hussein to give me a child and remove this name from us.

For this request, the leaders and the other pilgrims blessed him as follows:

Sheikh Hussein fulfils every wish. The barren are endowed with children and the sick regain their health. May Abbiyyoo give him as many children as he wishes! May the karaamaa of Sheikh Hussein give him a child before this year is over! May his wish be fulfilled and may he come next year with an offering! May the nickname to him and his wife be henceforth removed!

There are also many pilgrims who travel to the shrine to ask for forgiveness. These are mainly individuals who previously made a vow to visit the shrine and bring an offering during the pilgrimages in exchange for some sort of favour invoking Sheikh Hussein’s name.

However, once their wishes are fulfilled, some either forget or face other personal problems and fail to deliver personally or send the promised gifts. When something happens to what they received or to any one of their family members, they associate this to their failure to hand over the gifts as promised, so they travel to the shrine to ask for forgiveness. The following testimony by a Christian pilgrim is a case in point.

I came from Wollo to Bale during the reign of Haile Sellasie. I was only eighteen years old. I was pregnant when I was young but I lost the foetus. After that I could not get pregnant. Once, my husband and I went to the forest to collect firewood. When we returned home we were both tired. My husband wanted me to wash his feet.

I told him I would not do it because I was also tired. For this he replied sarcastically and asked me in which month of pregnancy I was to complain of tiredness. I told him that pregnancy is not a cotton that I can weave or a basket than I can knot and I refused to wash his feet. Then I cried to Sheikh Hussein of Bale and I asked him either to send me back to my country or give me an offspring.

In the night Sheikh Hussein came to me in my dreams. He called me in the Oromo language. I did not understand so I kept quiet. He called me the second time and I still kept quiet. Then he called me in Amharic and I replied. He gave me two small pieces of metal. I accepted that and put it on my head. Then I woke up suddenly and I felt that Sheikh Hussein was going to give me a child and I cried.

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My husband called me mad. He complained that I was crying in the evening and now late in the night. He said I should let him rest in peace. I did not tell him about my dream. There was a respected man in our village and I decided to tell him about my dream. After listening attentively, he told me that it is a miracle that I was able to see Sheikh Hussein in my dream. He told me that Sheikh Hussein does not reveal himself often, even to his staunch followers. He interpreted my dream and he said that I am going to give birth to two daughters. He told me that I should come here to his shrine. I came here carrying barley and wheat. I entered his shrine and asked him to give me a child. I told him that I would not trouble him for richness. Within a year I gave birth to my first daughter. She grew up and before I manage to bring her here there was a revolution and I was afraid to come here during the turmoil. She then left Ethiopia and travelled abroad where she died at a young age. Now I have other children as well but they are sick and no medicine can heal them. I am here to ask for Sheikh Hussein’s forgiveness.

Some pilgrims also visit the shrine of Sheikh Hussein and ask for his favour to help them in their legal dispute. This case is illustrated by the following testimony.

I came from Harar and I am Sheikh Hussein’s devotee. Whenever I have had problems, I have turned to Sheikh Hussein for help and he has helped me on a number of occasions. Now an individual has accused me falsely for something I have not done. I have to appear before a judge tomorrow but I came here, abandoning that order. I came here to ask you to pray for me that the case against me would be dismissed.

Pilgrims travel to the center to ask Sheikh Hussein’s karaamaa help them find the whereabouts of their lost relatives as indicated by the following two cases

1. My son joined the army and I have not heard from him for two years now. If Sheikh Hussein’s karaamaa helps me find my son, I will come back next year and bring ten birr with me.

2. My son joined the federal police and I have not heard from him for two years. I came here so that you pray for the safe return of my son. I know that every wish expressed at this gate is

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fulfilled. I came here so that Sheikh Hussein searches for my son. His name is Amin.

Some pilgrims who travel to the shrine of Sheikh Hussein to seek success for members of their family as the following testimony shows:

I am here to bring wareega (offering). I promised Sheikh Hussein that if my son became a medical doctor I would bring a bull with a flag of Ethiopia tied to its horn. Now my son has become a doctor

I am here to bring wareega (offering). I promised Sheikh Hussein that if my son became a medical doctor I would bring a bull with a flag of Ethiopia tied to its horn. Now my son has become a doctor

Im Dokument Pilgrimages and syncretism: Religious Transformation Among the Arsi Oromo of Ethiopia (Seite 119-127)