Women's struggle against domination and oppression has taken different forms that have varied across time and culture. For Oromo women of precolonial times, the form was a collective struggle through building the siiqqee solidarity. Siiqqee is a stick symbolizing a socially sanctioned set of rights exercised by Oromo women. This paper uses a historical feminist perspective to explore what siiqqee is, what rights it symbolized, what sanctions enforced it, what factors contributed to its decline, how it is practised by contemporary Oromo women and the prospects of reviving the siiqqee principles on a new basis. As the study stretches over a century, and since there is a dearth of written material on the subject, a few methods are combined for data collection. In addition to conducting an extensive library research, I have interviewed anthropologists and custodians of Oromo oral literature. I have also used unpublished studies, e-mail messages and letters of personal correspondence with permission. The collected data are categorized and analyzed in three sections that also serve as precursor for the organization of the paper. The siiqqee institution before colonialism is expounded in part one, part two explores some survival patterns of siiqqee rights after colonialism, and prospects of reviving the principles of siiqqee on a new basis is discussed in part three. But first, a brief historical background of the people and their culture is in order.
The Oromo are an ancient people of the so called Kushitic stock who live in the Horn of Africa. Predominantly agricultural pastoralists, presently they inhabit large fertile areas on both sides of the Great Rift Valley -- the very point of origin of human beings. Balkanized during the European Scramble for Africa, today, they live in the present-day Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Constituting 25-30 million people, they are the most numerous among the nations of the region. In the Ethiopian empire alone, they constitute more than half of the population. Their language, Afaan Oromoo, is the second most widely spoken indigenous language in the whole of Africa. It is second only to Hausa (Melbaa, 1991; Kassam and Megerssa, 1994).
During their long history of egalitarian culture, the Oromo developed a uniquely democratic socio-political structure known as Gadaa (Cerulli, 1922; Huntingford, 1955; Legesse, 1973; Melbaa, 1991), and an extraordinarily accurate time-reckoning system, the Ayyaanaa calendar (Megerssa, 1993). Legesse (1973: 279) states:
The Gada System is keyed to a remarkably sophisticated system of time reckoning. The system is based on accurate astronomic observations associated with a complete day-month nomenclature. The total system is a permutation calendar the like of which has been recorded only three times in the history of mankind. It occurs among the Chinese, the Hindu, and the Mayans - three civilizations far removed from Borana [Oromo].
Gadaa, observes Melbaa, is an institution that governed the life of every individual in the Oromo society from birth to death. Under Gadaa governance, the Oromo created and sustained a powerful nation in the region for many centuries. "The Gadaa, as a political, economic, social, and religious institution, was the pillar of the Oromo culture and civilization" (Jalata, 1993:20). Every male Oromo was born into one of the five age-grade sets. In the political structures of Gadaa, power shifted among these five parties every eight years where the outgoing party moved into an advisory council handing power ceremonially to the next party. According to Megerssa, the event of power transfer is marked by a meritocratic election where the candidate lists his deeds of honour and bravery and is elected upon the agreement of the assembly. The next generation of the out-going party came to power only after 40 years, thus rendering power transference from parents to children impossible. The Gadaa politico-military structures actively excluded women. But women wielded power and control in the domestic scene where they had de facto control over the most important resources (Legesse, 1973; Bartels, 1983; Waqayyo, 1991).
Yet, this rich history and egalitarian culture notwithstanding, the Oromo are little known to the outside world. Anthropologists studied only branches of the Oromo. Historians wrote often about separate sections under different names and only seldom under one unified name, Oromo. Until two decades ago, they were rarely referred to as Oromo. In Kenya, the different gosa (clans) of the Oromo are referred to by the name of their gosa as Booran, Gabra, Garrii, Orma and Saakuyyee. In Somalia, they are similarly known as Jaarso, Anniyya and Gurgura. But it is Ethiopian historiography that introduced a distorted picture of the Oromo to the rest of the world by the derogatory name of Abyssinian invention, "Galla".
The Oromo were balkanized by European and Ethiopian colonialism in the late 1800s and artificial boundaries were created to keep them apart. But, unlike European guns that penetrated the area and tipped the regional balance of power, their "civilization" and "modernization" failed to reach the heart of Oromoland. In the newly-forged Ethiopian empire where the greater bulk of the Oromo population was incorporated, an out-moded Abyssinian social formation and peripheral capitalism were imposed. Gadaa was banned along with the teaching of Oromo history, and the official recognition of Oromo language and culture. Today, the Oromo in the Ethiopian empire live as oppressed majority fighting against Abyssinian colonialism (Jalata, 1993). A smaller section of the Oromo was incorporated into the then British empire, now in today's Kenya and Somalia. Forcefully separated from the main body of their Oromo kin, today these people live as marginalized minorities --economically exploited, politically dominated and culturally deg
Siiqqee leapt to my mind as I was pondering the symbolism around which Oromo women can organize. But I did not know much more than a very superficial meaning of it. In an attempt to come to grips with this handicap and get to a deeper meaning of siiqqee, I asked Oromos, women and men, what they knew about it. The response I got varied widely. To name just a few:
"Siiqqee is a stick, just a simple stick!"
"Siiqqee is a stick signifying the honour of Oromo women"
"Siqqee is a blessing."
"Siiqqee is a weapon of an Oromo woman."
"Siiqqee is a ceremonial marriage stick given to a girl."
"Siiqqee is a religious stick Oromo women used for prayer."
I was left more confused than when I began. But this did not cause frustration. Instead, it became an inspiration, and despite the daunting dearth of written literature, I attempted to frame some concept of siiqqee that might shed some light on the deeper meaning.
What, then, is siiqqee? Above, it is described as the elephant in the famous fable was described: as each part experienced by each blind man. Like the elephant, Siiqqee is also much more than the sum of all that has been said so far. Yes, physically siiqqee is a stick, but as the custodians of Oromo oral literature say, a deeper and richer symbolic meaning of it should be sought within the context of the history and culture of the people who defined, named and practised it. Apart from that, they say, the essential meaning is lost. Let me, therefore, try to trace siiqqee in history and culture to help us begin to understand the depth of its meaning. At the risk of making erroneous interpretations, but with the hope of breaking a path for future research to correct the mistakes I may make in my overenthusiasm, I will attempt to reconstruct siiqqee from bits and fragments of information.
During the period of Gadaa rule, women were actively excluded from the politico-military structures. Unlike men, they were not born into a Gada grade; they were only married into one (kelly, 1992:125; Legesse, 1973:19). Bartels (1983:284) says women were considered sources of life, and as they make life, for them, taking life was considered a taboo. Qumbi (1989) also observes that, "The very old, the very young and all women, in the Gadaa system, are considered innocent and peace-loving". Gadaa dictated a deep divide between the sexes where crossing the boundaries was made an intolerable taboo. But, despite its high gender-role segregation, gadaa was uniquely egalitarian because the two separate domains had a strong functional interdependence and one was not valued any less than the other (Legesse, 1973; Waaqayyo, 1991).
On the other hand, women were considered halaga (outsiders or strangers) in the gosa (clan). They were not members of the gosa into which they were born, or the ones into which they were married. They were rather bonds between the different families (Legesse, 1973). But Megerssa asserts that there was a check and balance mechanism built into the gadaa system by which siiqqee was institutionalized and women formed parallel organizations of their own which actively excluded men. Kelly (1992) also observes these parallel organizations known as gaas eyba among the Orma Oromo of Kenya. Although women were considered strangers, Megerssa states, they were also regarded as muka laaftuu (soft wood -- a depiction of their liminality) and the law for those categorized as such protected them. Siiqqee, he asserts, was the weapon by which Oromo women fought for their rights. Gadaa laws provided for them and society honoured it. Thus the siiqqee institution functioned hand in hand with the Gadaa system as one of its built-in mechanisms of checks and balances.
Gadaa was also a religious institution where the Oromo believed in Waaq (their God) which is one as a supreme being but also many as ayyaana which exist in everybody and everything in the universe. In the Oromo religion, then, Waaq creates and regulates the existence of all animate and inanimate as well as material and non-material nature placing them in a well-balanced cosmic order (Bartels, 1983). As an extension of this phenomenon, the Oromo believe that society collapses unless a balance is struck between the power of male and female and everything that surrounds them in the cosmic order of Waaq's wisdom. Thus, the interdependence of the dominant and the liminal is considered a precondition for peace and prosperity in the metaphysical as well as the practical sense (Kelly, 1992). The concept of this peace and order of Waaq, to which the Oromo generally refer as safuu, is extremely important in Oromo religious and political thought. If the balance is disturbed, it is said that safuu is lost. And the loss of safuu is the loss of seera Waaq (Waaq's law and order) which signals the reign of chaos and disaster.
To understand the significance of siiqqee in Oromo culture, we should first place it in the context of the traditional values and functions of sticks known by the generic name of ulee. We cannot understand siiqqee in isolation from ulee for it falls under this category of Oromo material culture. Ulee is a collective term the Oromo used to refer to those sticks that are purposely cut and fashioned for specific social, cultural and religious functions. Different ulee are made of different trees which specialize in different functions. The functions of the different ulee are, therefore, determined by the kind of tree from which they are made.
The two types of ulee that are cut and fashioned to serve as marriage sticks are called siiqqee and horooroo. Siiqqee is given to the bride and horooroo to the bridegroom on the day of their marriage. Except for Qottoo, who maintains that siiqqee and horooroo are made out of Odaa tree, other participants agree that both types of ulee are made out of the tree called harooressa. According to Megerssa, the name of this tree is a compound noun made of 'hara' and 'horeessa' (hara + Horeessa = harooressa). Hara means a body of water. In Oromo society, water is symbolically regarded as the source of all life. A nama (human being) deprived of hara is deprived of all the basic rights including the right to her/his life. Hara-horeessa, when traced to its roots in the traditional Oromo society, therefore, signifies the basic human rights to which an individual is entitled for as long as s/he lives. Participants agree that upon the death of the owners, the functions of both siiqqee and horooroo also come to an end when they are broken into halves and placed on the graves of the deceased. Thus siiqqee and horooroo are symbolic regulators of a healthy and balanced relationship of power between female and male Oromo for as long as they live.
This balance and justice is a part and parcel of the general cosmic order of seera Waaq that is conceptualized as safuu. The fact that siiqqee is cut and fashioned from harooressa, then, defines its purpose to be used as a weapon to fight against any force that threatens the basic rights of a married woman to her life. As participants note, siiqqee is never kept dry. to keep it wet, it is regularly anointed with fresh butter. When not in use, siiqqee is placed at boroo, a special place of honour in the house. After some time it turns a shiny dark red colour because of the butter and the smoke it absorbs. Kelly (1992:161) also finds that among the Oroma Oromo, the marriage stick is carefully protected and kept inside the house until brought out for ritual use. But, in her description, there is no distinction between women's and men's sticks and the name wodesa is used for both.
There is not much agreement among participants as to who gives the siiqqee to the girl on the day of her marriage. Some say it is the father, some say it is the mother, still others say they both do it together. But according to Megerssa, it is the mother who gives it to her daughter, and there is a symbolic meaning to this. The mother gives siiqqee to her daughter during the blessing ceremony. As she blesses her daughter in her turn, the mother holds one end of the siiqqee and the daughter holds the other. This symbolizes the tie between the mother and the daughter on the one hand, and the tie among all women who are considered halaga on the other. And, Megerssa asserts, Oromo society honours these female ties and sanctions them.
The using of siiqqee should be examined vis-a-vis the prevailing of safuu of Waaq. In times when safuu prevails, Oromo women take their siiqqee from boroo to use it for various economic, social and religious activities. They take it with them to all jila (ceremonial occasions) as a symbol of their honour and as an indication of their married status. They touch the property designated to them with the tip of their siiqqee signifying that they have owned it (Oromtittii, 1986). According to Fatoo, Oromo women use their siiqqee to mobilize jiga (collective labour) during seasons of hard work. He also notes that when they perform their solidarity ritual, women dip the tip of their siiqqee in the blood of the animal slaughtered for sacrifice and touch each others' foreheads as a sign of taking oath to support each other till they die. In religious ceremonies, when they pray to Waaq or to Ateetee, the female deity, they hold to their siiqqee, Birruu notes. He also observes that Oromo women support each other by using their siiqqee to "beg" for a child for women with no children. Oromo women who have no children are less respected and considered even more stranger and outsider halaga because they "failed" to produce the son that would tie them to their husbands' clans. But here also society has created a balancing mechanism of adopting a child widely known as guddifaccha. The "begging" of a child which Birruu explains is the ritual by which women go to the family with children, raise their siiqqee collectively, name a child and demand that s/he be given to the woman with no child. Upon the sight of the raised siiqqee, Birruu holds, no mother or family would deny the women their demand.
When there are special ceremonies of blessings, two elderly women hold their siiqqee in an inverted V form and the person should pass under this to get the blessings (Oromtittii, 1986). Fatoo agrees and adds that during Gadaa power transfer ceremonies, the newly-elected officers pass under such held siiqqee and get their blessings. Women raise their siiqqee both when they bless and when they curse. Because women are considered innocent and peace-loving, Birruu observes, they use their siiqqee to perform araara (reconciliation).
Participants agree on the only occasion when siiqqee is not used. Made of harooressa, siiqqee is involved with all the activities of life, not of death. Thus the only social gathering where women do not use siiqqee is at funeral and mourning. The breaking of siiqqee upon the death of its owner signifies the end of its functions with the end of life's activities. Siiqqee regulates the performance of nama in accordance with the safuu of Waaq's cosmic order, and within the life-span allotted to the woman. By the time of her death, siiqqee will have accomplished its mission of guarding seera Waaq (Waaq's law).
In times when safuu is lost and seera Waaq is violated, Oromo women use their siiqqee for a rather political purpose. On these occasions, Megerssa notes, siiqqee is used as a weapon to fight against violations of seera Waaq and loss of safuu. Infringement of women's rights is regarded as the loss of safuu. And, in these cases, women use siiqqee to fight for their own rights, and to stand in solidarity with other women whose rights are violated. Megerssa holds that these violations are very rare because both men and women often respect their boundaries. But when they do occur and a woman's rights are infringed upon, he notes, she grabs her siiqqee, bursts out of the house and screams. This is known as iyya siiqqee (siiqqee scream).
Property Rights: Land may be an important form of property in many societies, and especially so for the Oromo because they are farmers and pastoralists. However, Fatoo claims, the general belief among the Oromo is that land belongs to Waaq. So people only own and control the produce of tamed and untamed nature. Women build and own their houses, and have de facto control over the most valuable resources and activities in and around the house (Legesse, 1973). They control stationary property while men control the mobile (Waaqayyo, 1991). Tracing the origin of women's property, Godaana states, "We are given livestock by our gosa when we are married and when we go to our parents and relatives on siiqqee visitations. We are also given property by our husbands' parents and relatives when we give birth and perform religious rituals." In agreement, both Huqqa and Jilo note that women don't go to wars to conquer. They "fight" in peace, "conquer" with siiqqee and touch their property by the tip of it. The touch of siiqqee signifies their ownership over the property. According to Megerssa, women have the right to dispose of their property in any manner they deem fit. Interference of men is considered the loss of safuu and is a cause for siiqqee rebellion.
Control over their Sexuality and Fertility: In traditional Oromo society, even though marriage does not happen without the consent of the girl, it is indissoluble once it is consummated. Gadaa has no laws or institutions that deal with separation. Marriage is a social pact the purpose of which is to raise children and maintain continuity of society. Sexual gratification, however, is regarded as individual matter and society allows mechanisms of maintaining extramarital sexual relationships. Thus, sexual incompatibility cannot break up a marriage. This extra-marital arrangement seems a common response to the prevalent polygyny where men keep several wives and all the children born legally belong to the husband. Legesse (1973:18-32) argues that this arrangement is one of the important factors contributing to the stability of the families.
The scramble of men for the control of women's labour and reproduction is traced to its origin in the rise of private property. The purpose is to make sure that property passes onto biological heirs. Indeed, patriarchal societies seek access to female sexuality in different forms and in varying degrees. Only a few centuries ago, in Europe, the genital bodies of upper class girls and women were locked with "chastity belts" to prevent illegitimate children. But Oromo women of the same era seem to have had much more control over their sexuality and reproduction for there were no illegitimate children. All children born by the wife belonged to the husband by law. Although through "modernization" much of this control may have been lost, and many "modernized" Oromo men whose masculinity is threatened may have constructed mental "chastity belts", in areas where tradition still prevails, Oromo women still maintain control over their own sexuality and fertility. Father Bartels (1983:228) writes about a wise Oromo elder who, in no hypocritic terms, admitted to the fear that lurks in many men's minds by saying that, "Nobody knows who my father is unless it is my mother".
Bartels (1983:218) also states that it is to a woman's credit to have several extra-marital relationships so long as they are within the lineage and the various boundaries of incest taboo. And this is a prevalent practice that extends from among the Orma of Kenya to the Macca of western Oromoland. Holcomb and Kelly also observe this sanctioned freedom of Oromo women to take lovers. In Kelly's words, "The Orma practice institutionalized adultery [extra-marital relationship]" (1992). When a woman's garayyu (sanyo) visits, he leaves his coat and spear outside to indicate that the house is occupied (Legesse, 1973:26; Bartels, 1983:218). Legesse notes that if the husband comes and notices the signs of the visitation, he must turn around and go to his other wife's house or to his lover's. If he fails to do so and lingers about, it is a violation of the woman's rights. Holcomb says, "The house is her private space and should not be invaded." And Megerssa adds that such invasion of her privacy is regarded as opening the subba and peeking into her secrets. This is, in turn, regarded as loss of safuu. Thus, it calls for a siiqqee rebellion in order to restore the cosmic order of seera Waaq.
Women may regard it as their sacred duty to guard this balance of safuu Waaq in terms of sexual relationships. Why men acknowledge it, however, seems a bit more intriguing. Infertility in women cannot be hidden, and the mechanism to make up for the woman with no children is guddifaccha. But is there a parallel mechanism for male infertility? Why is male infertility rarely heard of? I argue that extra-marital sexual relationship of the woman covers for male infertility within the context of the traditional Oromo society. This is another factor contributing to the stability of families evidenced by Legesse (1973).
Social Rights: Married women have the right to get organized and form the siiqqee sisterhood of solidarity. Because women as a group are considered halaga and excluded from the Gadaa grades, they stick together and count on each other through the siiqqee which they all have in common. According to Megerssa, in the strange gosa where women live as strangers, siiqqee represents the mother and they even address each other as "daughters of a mother". They get together regularly for prayers as well as other important matters of individuals and communities. If men try to stop women from going to these walargee (meetings), it is considered against safuu. Kelly (1992:185) calls the Orma gaas eyba meetings "women's moot" and she discusses two factors that make many men ambivalent about this women's institution. First, she observes "women are recognized as having the right and even a sacred duty to attend these meetings, regardless of the opinion of individual husbands.... Secondly, men recognize that the gaas eyba provides women with singular opportunity for corporate action backed by ritual authority." Interfering with these rights calls for a siiqqee scream.
Religious and Moral Authority: Because of their liminality, women wield a special religious power where they draw an enormous moral and ritual authority. Men, therefore, try to avoid their curse and seek their blessings. Kelly says, "Women in general are symbolically and politically liminal and correspondingly enjoy special sacred power as a class" (1993:182). Some participants agree that people respect and revere a woman because Waaq made her to be respected and revered. "You are a spittle who became a nama (human being). I am a spittle who became a nama, all through the miracles of the woman. No one wants trouble with Waaq," says Huqqa hinting that interference with a woman's sacred authority is regarded as violating seera Waaq and safuu. These rights are also represented by siiqqee, the violation of which is a cause for trouble.
The laws and social sanctions that enforce siiqqee rights are all interconnected and interdependent. They range from mild to severe, the degree of their severity depending on the seriousness of the violation. And most of them are enforced stage by stage as the violation got more and more serious. Minor individual violations may invoke only the milder sanctions, but once they get to the point where the woman seeks support from fellow women, then the matter is of a serious concern to the whole community and collective action is required both on the part of women and on the part of men.
The Law of Muka Laaftuu: Participants agree that in Gadaa, law is not handed down to the people. The process of legislation goes from bottom up and the constitution is amended every eight years during the power transfer ceremonies. And, according to Megerssa, the law of muka laaftuu is no exception. The name muka laaftuu (soft wood) signifies that it is legislated to protect the "softer" and the weaker, segments of the population. This protection covers women because they fall under the category of the liminal. Thus, if a woman complains, additional witnesses are not required in order to punish the offender. Her words are trusted as truth and taken at face value.
The Abaarsa Siiqqee: In the traditional Oromo society, abaarsa (curse) is an important mechanism of social control (Bartels, 1983; Kelly, 1992). Megerssa notes that the more liminal an Oromo is, the more endowed s/he is with power to curse and bless. The weaker they grow physically, the more powerful they get spiritually. Kelly (1992:216) warns that the power of curse "reinforces patriarchal control, i.e. the control of men over women and that of seniors over juniors". However, she also attests that this power is strong in those who are socially most liminal. Thus women, the elderly and the very young have such power which the dominant groups revere and respect. To curse and to bless, women raise their siiqqee both individually and collectively. The collective act, however, is believed to be more powerful and effective than the individual. So fear of abaarsa siiqqee acts as a deterrent and people stay away from what they believe would trigger women's wrath.
The Iyya Siiqqee: According to Megerssa, iyya siiqqee was another deterrent. When the infringements upon her rights are serious and cannot be curbed by any of the above sanctions, an Oromo woman grabs her siiqqee, bursts out of the house, raises her siiqqee high and screams. Why does she scream? Who is out there? What kind of support is she seeking? Iyya siiqqee is a mode of communication between Oromo women. It is a way of telling each other that seera Waaq is disturbed and that safuu is lost. Women consider it their sacred duty to restore peace and order of Waaq. Thus, when her rights are violated, a woman fights a political battle and screams to mobilize support. Through iyya siiqqee, Megerssa maintains, the woman invokes the siiqqee solidarity by saying:
"Intala Aayyaa dhageettee? Oduun si geettee?"
"Mother's daughter did you hear? Did you hear? Did the news come to you?"
Megerssa asserts that all women who hear the iyya siiqqee, grab their own siiqqee, burst out of their houses, raise their siiqqee high and join in the scream. Because the restoration of safuu is a collective action, women must give up whatever they are doing. Even those who are breasted at the time of the scream should let the babies cry and leave the house to join in the scream. When safuu is lost and Waaq's peace is disturbed, it should be restored immediately before any kind of normal life activities can be resumed. Violation of a woman's rights is like breaking her siiqqee, asserts Megerssa. And breaking the siiqqee is regarded as killing the woman. Thus, in response to the first iyya siiqqee where women are called upon as daughters of a mother, each woman grabs her siiqqee and joins the scream saying:
"Eeyee dhagahee! Oduun na gahee!"
"Yes I've heard! Yes I've heard! I have heard the news!"
The Godaansa Siiqqee: Women get together and confer, Megerssa says, and if they decide that the case is a serious violation, they abandon their children and their homes and set on godaansa siiqqee (siiqqee trek). They leave the village and assemble under a qilxuu tree. Qilxuu is considered a female tree. Once assembled there, women hayyuu (leaders) recite the law of Waaq and the law of nama. They reiterate the whole philosophy behind siiqqee rights where a thorough session of consciousness-raising takes place. Events of old time violations and punishments are recited at the assembly by elderly women who may have witnessed or heard about them. They say, "During the Gadaa of so and so this and this happened and so and so was punished by such and such...." And they vow to cross the river, and to cross the water! According to Megerssa, water is the source of all life in the Oromo creation story and when women vow to cross the water, they mean they would rather all die than see Waaq's peace disturbed and safuu lost. They vow never to come back until the person who committed the violation is punished and Waaq's order and peace is set back on track --until justice is done and safuu is restored.
Back in the village, Megerssa maintains, hell breaks loose. Men say: "Ibiddi biyyaa dhaame [The fire of the whole country has gone out]!" Fire going out signifies the collapse of society and the perishing of life. It means disaster has struck. Megerssa says, in these rare situations, men quickly get together and elect a manguddo or a jaarsa (an elder) to make peace with the women on rebellion and to restore safuu of Waaq. Before he sets off, the elected jaarsa should take all metal ornaments from his stick and from his body as a sign of going in nagaya (peace). When he reaches the women, he does not greet them. The Oromo greeting is nagaya which means have you peace? Or are you in peace? But, because it is obvious there cannot be peace of Waaq when safuu is lost, Megerssa says, the jaarsa uses a purely ritual language instead of common greetings. This ritual phrase which Megerssa could neither translate into English nor find its meaning in Oromo is "Diltee dilnaa!"
If the women suspect the reputation of the Jaarsa, then they will not accept the peace talks. There are different codes of communication for acceptance and for refusal. In cases of rejection, they all sing in chorus in a line that rhymes with the ritual phrase of the Jaarsa, "Diltee Dilnaa!" In response they say:
"Didnee jirraa!" "We have refused!"
The Jaarsa will then turn around and go without a word. This, according to Megerssa, indicates that the matter is serious, and that men must send a more reputable Jaarsa immediately. But, if the women agree among themselves that the Jaarsa is reputable enough to mediate, their unanimous reply will be: "Hoofkali!" It means, "Be relieved!" or "Say what you came to say!" Then they spread leaves on the ground and invite him to sit among them under the female Qilxuu tree.
Women then begin to do the himata (complaint), Megerssa elaborates. As the wisest and the most revered and respected, elderly women whose breasts are wrinkled and crumpled and whose faces are filled with furrows get up one by one to talk of safuu Waaq. Each of the elderly women pulls down her katee24 exposing her wrinkled and crumpled breasts as a sign of supreme moral authority, dignity and wisdom. No individual cases are discussed. They do himata for Waaqa fi lafa (for heaven and for earth), marga fi bishaan (for grass and for water), ifa fi dukkana, (for light and for darkness), aadaa fi seera, (for custom and for law). They do himata to restore safuu. And, as a gesture of araara (reconciliation), the women announce their verdict on the present violation and the punishment it entails. The Jaarsa listens with a quiet reverence and takes the message back to the village. Society honours the verdict of its women by coming to the Qilxuu and taking part in the process of punishment and reconciliation. Together, community celebrates the restoration of Waaq's law and order. The guilty man, besides paying fine in property to the siiqqee sisterhood, is made to slaughter a sacrificial animal as a gesture of pledge to mend his way. He is also made to cook and feed the party at the feast as a gesture of reconciliation. He is humiliated before the whole community by performing the role taboo. Women dance and sing insult songs in obscene language. Megerssa recites only the chorus: "Gurbaan Waaq raatesse.
"Gurbaan Waaq raatesse Nu karaamesse!"
"The boy whom Waaq made a fool. Made us rejoice!"
Disqualification from Gadaa Elections: The women call him names and refer to him as a boy, not a man. Humiliation is part of the punishment. But the sanction does not end there. According to Megerssa, a man who has a record of siiqqee violations is considered nama gadi (below human) and is not elected in any of the Gadaa offices. Violation of a woman's rights is detrimental to his merits, and Gada elections are meritocratic. Therefore men are deterred from infringing upon women's rights, boundaries are respected and these kinds of extreme cases are incidents that take place rarely.
The Duula Kutaa: But what happens if they do take place and menfolk ignore the siiqqee trek or if they fail to send a respectable enough Jaarsa? Then, says Megerssa, people from the neighbouring clan will flood the place to receive the women on siiqqee rebellion into their homes. In the traditional Oromo society, women on a siiqqee trek are regarded with special respect and reverence as they set out to accomplish their sacred duty of restoring safuu. The clan which receives the siiqqee women sends for their properties and children immediately. If their men refuse, they will declare waraana kutaa (war between clans) to restore Waaq's order and peace. So men try their best to avoid violating the borders in the first place. But if it is violated, safuu is lost and women set out on siiqqee trek, they must make haste to fulfil women's demands and get them back to their homes before other clans declare war on them. But, even if no war is declared, Megerssa claims, a community minus its women has already collapsed as a community. It is not a community any more. But social sanctions do go as far as declaring war to protect women's rights in the balance of power Waaq created. Thus the siiqqee has been institutionalized in the traditional Oromo society of precolonial times.
By Kuwee Kumsa
(For full text, please see Siqqee; Journal of Oromo studies Volume 4, July 1997 )