Fichee-Chambalaalla is a
New Year holiday celebrated by
Sidama people
The Sidama () are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Region, formerly part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. On 23 November 2019, the Sidama Zone became the 10th regional state in Ethiopia ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. According to the tradition, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once in a year after her marriage and brings ''buurisame'', a meal prepared from false banana, milk and butter, and share to her neighbors. Therefore, it signifies unity among the people.
Fichee is a moveable festival that is determined by astrologers and announced by the clan leaders. Its celebration includes singing traditional songs and performing dance, which is celebrated among all community regardless of age, social status and gender. The festival is inscribed by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
as the representative list of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
in 2015.
Observances
Fichee-Chambalaalla is a
New Year holiday celebrated among
Sidama people
The Sidama () are an ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the Sidama Region, formerly part of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. On 23 November 2019, the Sidama Zone became the 10th regional state in Ethiopia ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. According to the tradition, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once in a year after her marriage and brings ''buurisame'', a meal prepared from false banana, milk and butter, and share to her neighbors. Hence, Fichee is a symbol for unity among Sidama tradition. Fichee is a moveable festival determined by astrologers and the date announced by clans. Celebrations include singing traditional songs and perform dance, and is observed regardless of age, social status and gender.
During the first day, children wanders house-to-house to greet neighbors, who served them ''buurisame''. The clan leaders advised Sidama people to work hard, respect and support the elders, and abstain from cutting down indigenous trees, begging, indolence, false testimony and theft. Overall, the festival promotes social cohesion, good governance and equality among the Sidama people and other
ethnic groups in Ethiopia
This is a list of ethnic groups in Ethiopia that are officially recognized by the government. It is a list taken from the 2007 Ethiopian National Census:[UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...]
as the representative
list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
[{{Cite web , title=Sidama People Celebrating Fiche-Chambalaalla , url=https://www.ena.et/web/eng/w/eng_4264327 , access-date=2024-09-28 , website=ENA English , language=en-US]
References
Public holidays in Ethiopia
New Year celebrations