THE EASTERN OROMO (K'OTTUS) OF ETHIOPIA AND THEIR TIME-RECKONING « SYSTEM »

THE EASTERN OROMO (K'OTTUS) OF ETHIOPIA AND THEIR TIME-RECKONING SYSTEM Author(s): Seifu MetaferiaSource: Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dellIstituto italiano per lAfricae lOriente, Anno 33, No. 4 (DICEMBRE 1978), pp. 475-508Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40759054 .Accessed: 14/06/2014 08:58

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THE EASTERN OROMO 0 (K'OTTUS)(2) OF ETHIOPIA

AND THEIR TIME-RECKONING SYSTEM (3)

by Seif u Metaf eria ( * )

The K'ottu tillers (4) are the Muslim Oromo of Hararghe (5), one of the fourteen Kifla Hagars (6) province of Ethiopia. It is found

(*) Docente di lingua amarica nell'Universit di Addis Abeba e poi in quella di Khartum, studioso e letterato.

Grafia e trascrizioni di termini e testi in lingue non europee, contenuti nell'articolo, appartengono all'Autore, che non ha allegato all'articolo alcuna nota esplicativa al riguardo. La correzione delle bozze stata eseguita d'ufficio, per cura della redazione di questa Rivista sul testo presentato dall'Autore, cl quale non stato possibile stabilire succes- sivi contatti.

(1) The geographical term Eastern appears in the coinage, Eastern Cushitic, used in an African linguistic context, to mean the language family wich among others includes Galla [Oromo], as in Greenburg (1966), p. 49. It also appears in the coinage, Eastern Galla [Oromo] used in an Ethiopian linguistic context, meaning the Oromo (Galla) dialect spoken in Eastern Ethiopia, as in Briyan and Tucker (1949), p. 20. For the prominence the term took in such linguistic uses, the appellation Eastern Galla [Oromo] is advanced to replace the professional or merely regional name(s) K'ottu (see text, also note 4), as in Bender et al (1976), p. 131. Euphemistic regard, and pressure of wider use of the appellation compel one to opt for this advancement. However, this option must be done with the following cautionary understanding. Easter Galla [Oromo], as an Ethnic name would include, mainly, K'ottu and Karrayyu, in the case of which one would like to speak of one of these Oromo groups at the exclusion of the other, he would resort to the use of one of these terms. The term K'ottu, as against tis situ herd men , has special significance in the developmental history of Eastern Oromo, for which reason, with the pretext that it is professional etc., one should not dump it into oblivion. Thus motivated, I entitle the Article as a whole Eastern Oromo... but in the text, I exclusively use the term K'ottu.

{Z) Adapted transcription system tor, ejectives is a raised apostrophe, implosive, a hyphen crossing the symbole used and, glottalization, a raised comma. Doubling indicates length. G or g is velar while J or j is affricate. The digramme kh is guttural while ch, sh and all the other consonants retain their English phonetic values. Vowels are roughly as in Italian.

(3) This article is an enlarged and completely re-written version of an earlier article entitled The Time-Reckoning System of the K'ottus . This paper or any part of it cannot be used for any purpose without the author's permissions.

(4) A professional term, to my knowledge first mentioned in this sense, by Moktar (n. 5 e 6 see p. 476)


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between longitudes 43 to 48 East and latitudes 5 to 11 North (7). Other than K'ottu or Islama Muslims , they occasionally call themselves Oromo, but never Galla (8), a term they think pejoratively used against them by others. To my knowledge, the only time they use the name Galla, lexically, is in the word gallumma the Oromo culture prior to their conversion to the Islamic religion (9).

The language with which the K'ottu reckon time is the Eastern Dialect of Oromo (10), locally called Afan K'ottu (u) the mouth of the K'ottu or the K'ottu language (12). It is also called ajam (Arabic, for non-Arabic ) by the learned religious people. The following two verses taken from a religious poem (13) testified to the use of this last name.

(1876), p. 384: when he writes that Dans chaque tribu, les Gallas se subdivisent en deux classes parfaitement distinctes Tune de l'autres: les cultivateurs (Koutto or Argatta) et les bergers (Prontouma) .

(5) Today Hararghe is the province, and Harar its capital. Burton (1856) p. 304, mention it as Harar Gay and, M. Isenberg cited by Burton (ibid), as Ararge . Morphologically Hararghe goes with those place names found in Harar Awrajja sub province, which are suffixed by gey (Adare, the Semite Muslim inhabitants of Harar, town ) e.g. Langey, Harawegey.

(6) A term decreed (1975), by the Ethiopian Military Government to replace the former term, T'ak'laay Gizaat, which ment the same.

(7) L-Van Leer & Co. (March 1962). (8) The preference of the term Oromo to Galla, to my knowledge is first voiced

by Borelli (1889), p. 12. Today, it seems that this preference is taking root. The provenance and the use of the term Galla is discussed by Borelli (ibid),

Trimingham (1952), p. 187. Nt. 2; and Huntingford (1955), p. 11. The term Galla, (a) as it is evident from the work just cited, is a term that taxed certain amount of energy which is done to discover its origin, its use etc.; (b) at least, by one example: gallumma, though with reservation, it somewhat claim to be native Oromo word; (c) it figures in important and old documents such as Conti Rossini (1907) and Guidi in Conti Rossini (op. cit.). In view of these facts, I think it is too important a term to be thrown to disuse without due epitaph.

(9) Gallumma, for the K'ottu, is a perfect parallel of the Arabic Jahiliyya ignorance, paganism .

(10) Bryan (1974), p. 20 including Eastern Galla enumerates six dialects, the others being Mecca Tulamma and Arussi, Borana, Bararetta and Kafir of Tana land province .

(11) Afaan, Amharic af, as a term meaning language, goes along with the human tradition that calls its speech with one of the speech organs, e.g. lingua Latin; tongue , etc. Amharic, has one more term for this same purpose, viz. kuwankuwa also a mouth organism (Haile Bubaamo Arfic'o: conversation, Paris, 18-9-75) said to have come from sidaaminynya (for the -inynya see note 12), h'oonk'a'a organ of voice [speech organ] with distinction from leela'a throat . K'oonk'a'a is Oromo well, where we find it as k'oonk'o throat and oesophagus .

(12) Following the practice, the Amharic -mynya, marker or a language, is here in the paper suffixed to tribal names to mean the language of the tribe.

(13) The verses are the 112th and 113th of a poem in my possession.



THE EASTERN OROMO, ETC. 477

Text 1 Lugan Arabiyyaan yoo sitti jabaatte Ajamiin dubbanne uzrin waa siihafte.

Translation If the Arabic language becomes hard for you [to understand] There, we spoke in ajam, and you are saved the trouble.

The vocabulary of K'ottu time-reckoning system is supplemented by a good number of borrowings. Apart from the names of the days of the week (Table 5), which are all Arabic, we find such other Arabic words as umri age , amata, most probably from Amharic atnat year (14), zaya hour and zamana epoch, time etc.

The K'ottu, whose way of time-reckoning system is being presented here, are of two major tribal groupings: the Itu and, the Afran K'al'o (15). Both, as stated above, are found in Hararghe.

The Itu, vis--vis the Afran K'aPo are called warm gooro (16) olii those of the upper upland, or the upper homestead . They occupy the area of CarcVar, a habitat stretching South, up to the small town of Boroda, which is found at few kilometers South of Hirna (1?), on the carroad to Harar.

Vis--vis the Karrayyu (18) of gammojjji the low land area , stretching all along the Djibout-Addis Ababa railroad starting from the vicinity of Mieesso to a little South of Nazareth (both stations of this railway), the Itus are called wan a gara guraachcha those of the high- lands or the forested area .

The Afran K'al'o are warra gooro gadii those of the lower upland, or the lower homestead . They occupy the area stretching from Boroda to a little South of Jijjiga, in Ogaden. The Afran K'aPo of around Jijjiga are mostly Jarso-Giri (19). These, under cultural influence

(14) The commonly used Arabic term for year is not amat but sana (pl. sanawaat). Therefore, the borrowing could not be from Arabice but from Amharic for which amat is its standard term for the purpose.

(15) From afran the four, Afran Kal'o means the four sons of K'aPo. (16) Goro y together with khaarra (Nt 58) is a term that describes places, which,

other than being hilly, are conspicuous and well known because a main road passes through them. They could be a spot or a stretch of land. Such are Goro Guutu near K'obbo (on the carroad to Harar); Goro in Itou - Tchertcher (Borelli: 1890, p. 232).

(17) One of the main camps of Menelik's army during the conquest of Harar in 1887.

(18) Tubiana (1966) Un document amhara sur les Galla Karayu (sic) is too optimistic a document which must be accompanied by notes. The notes, however, the author retains for his ... tude d'ensemble sur les karayu .

(19) Among the Jarso clans, the adopting father of Giri is Warra Danka. For further information of Giri, however, see Lewis (1969), p. 23.



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of the Somalis, are bilingual, speaking both K'ottinynya and Somali- nynya. In their speech, Somali accent is detected.

The earliest Galla settlement in Harar is roughly indicated as being after the death of Mohammed Grago (1543) C20). This could be late sixteenth, or rather early seventeenth century of the Christian Era. And this chronology gives us some three hundred years of Oromo habita- tion in the region. This have been about enough time for the Oromo, (a) to have changed their life from complete nomadic herdsmanship to complete agricultural sedentarism, (b) (judging by the abundant and significant K'ottu place names in the region), to have produced such impressive cultural imprint on the land, (c) to have arrived at such complete Islamization and, (d) to have undergone visible influence on their language, their general pattern of life, and their time-reckoning. Of these, in the following pages, I concentrate on the last item, for it is the topic of the paper (21).

K'ottu time-reckoning can be likened to a camera on a tripod, where the podi legs (in Greek), are the seasons, the farming activities, and Islamic religion. In the light of this imagistic presentation, time-reckoning for the K'ottu, to-day, is nothing else but some sort of time measuring system which is made up to follow the movement of these three aspects of K'ottu life, and is used to better exploit them.

As the seasons, the farming activities and the different religious festivities come and go, the recurrence of this coming and going on one hand, and the more or less equal time lapse between two comings or two goings of any climatic condition, any farming activity or, any religious feast, made the K'ottu conscious of a kind of a seasonal or agricultural time-reckoning system. This system, whether, like the ancient Egyptian i22) and Babylonian 23) calendars is priestly in

origin, it is not clear. However, from its prevailing seasonal and agricultural characters we can presumably accept its farmer's origin. And in as much as it is believed that farmers are at the base of the idea of the earliest time-reckoning systems (24), this cannot be surprising.

(20) Littman (1927), p. 264, Col 1. (21) The material here presented is based on research carried in CarcVar Awrajja

during repeated visits I made in the summers of the time between 1969 and 1973. It can be taken as representing Itu - Afran K'aTo practice without including that of the Karrayyu.

(22) Thibault (1931), passim. (23) WELLAN (1932), passtm. (24) Thibault, op. cit., p. 7-8.




K'ottu, Muslims as they are, do not have priests; they have Ula- ma' religious teachers i25). These, while on one hand, often completely ignore or display imperfect knowledge of K'ottinynya names of the months, on the other, they diligently preoccupy themselves with a calendar which Mohammed Moktar presents as Persian 26).

Moktar gives us the calendar in tabulation, with the heading Les Harraris fixent leurs diffrentes poques de culture d'aprs le calendrier Persan, ainsi qu'il suit C27). Then in the text he adds few lines of agricultural remarks indicating the main sowing period. The table describes a calendar with a year of twelve months (Table 1) containing 365 days, which is divided into 28 named units of 13 days each. (See table 2).

The note on the calendar was taken by Moktar in 1875/6, i.e. exactly a century ago. It is surprising that Richard Burton who visited Harar almost three decades earlier to Moktar, did not come across this calendar. Could it have been introduced between the Harar visits of those two men? Now here are a number of brief remarks I make on this calendar, bearing on its aspects of background, nomenclatural comparison, use of it among the K'ottu, the significance of the list KK (Table 2) and the event of it as a clue to our understanding of K'ottu time reckoning system.

Moktar's names of the months of the Persian year (M) is similar to the ancient names of the months of the Zoroastrian year (Z) (28) and the months of the present official year of the Iranian Govern- ment (ZZ) 29), which is a popularized form of Z. The differences which (M) shows vis--vis Z and ZZ are in the order of the names in the list, in the structure of the corresponding names in the two lists and, the presence of the five underlined names in replacing the five underlined names in Z and, the frequent use of Mah in (M) which is one of the thirty names of the ancient Iranian deities (see further).

Now leaving out (ZZ) as superflous, I juxtapose below, lists (M) and (Z) only, to examine their affinity. Numbers in bracket, in front

(25) People in K'ottu religious education are known as ardada pupils , darassaa students , khabiir advanced student of fresh graduate who combines further studies and teaching functions and Sheekha Experienced and specialized teacher or, one holding important and regular nightly prayers .

(26) Moktar, op. cit., p. 372-373. (27) Ibid. (28) Christensen (1944), p. 169. (29) Wilber (1948), pp. 212-213.



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of the names in Z, are the serial numbers of corresponding names in (M), a method I adapt for cross references in all the tables in this paper. Also, single names in these tables are referred to by means of their list mark, followed by the serial number of the name concerned, e.g. M3 for Nir Man. The appropriate serial number is found at the extreme left hand of the tables, along the column of the names.

Table 1: Two lists of Persian names of the months

List M List Z

1 . Azdahichte Fravardin 2. Khourdaz Urdvahisht (1) 3. Nir man Khvardadh (2) 4. Mourdaz Tir 5. Chahrir Amurdadh (4) 6. Mihr mah Shahrevar (5) 7. Aban mah Mihr (6) 8. Almoustarikah Abhan (7) 9. Adir mah Adhur (9)

10. Zi mah Dadhv 11. Bihn mah Vahman 12. Isghandar Spandarmadh (12)

List (M) is more than 60% similar to list (Z). Each of the names in these two lists belong to the Persian calendar of 365 days. This is Zoroastrian calendar. The Zoroastrian calendar carry strong religious character, since, for example, with (Z), all the names are divinity i30) names, and so are the names of each of the days of the month: thirty names, including the names of the months (31). List (M) is religiously used also among the Adare and the K'ottu Ulema' Muslim religious teachers , a point I will come back to later. In spite of these similarities, however, (M) shows one serious difference with (Z).

Moktar's Persian calendar from Harar, as pointed above, gives names of twenty-eight units, dividing the 365 days of the year into

(30) Christensen, op. cit., p. 169 who writes: L'an zoroastrien se compose de douze mois, qui portent les noms des principales divinits... .

(31) Christensen, op. cit., p. 158 again writing Le mois zoroastrien comprend trente jours, dont chacun porte le nom d'une divinit.




parts of thirteen days each i32). These names differ from the thirty Zo- roastrian names of the days of the month, viz: Ohrmazd, Vahman, Urdvahisht, Sharevar, Spandarmadh, Khvardadh, Amurdadh, Dadiv/ Adhur, Abban, Khavar, Mah, Tir, Gosh, Dadhv/Mihr, Srosh, Rashn, Fravardin, Varhran, Ram, Vadh, Dadhv/Den, Ard, Ashtadh, Asman, Samdadh, Mahrspand, Anaghran (33).

The relation of these thirty Persian names of the days in the month, and Moktar's twenty-eight names of the parts of the year on one hand, and the place of the later, i.e. those of Moktar's names in the Adare - K'ottu calendar culture on the other, call for some explanatory remarks.

With regard to the relation of the first pair, one can mention the following two similarities. As seen above, they are both said to be Persians. Secondly the numbers of the names in each of the pair is much near to each other, the first being thirty and the second twenty- eight. In fact, even this difference can be eliminated if considered in the following manner.

Among the thirty Zoroastrian names there is one name Dadhv thrice repeated, which, if counted only once, would reduce the number of the names in this calendar to twenty-eight only. It is possible, for Moktar's list, to have undergone such a reduction of names, and to have remained with twenty-eight only. It is possible that Moktat's list be an offshoot of the first which suffered loss of the original names, and undergone the interpolation of new ones. Attempt to verify this, however, is beyond the scope of this paper. Therefore I leave this question at this joint and pass to consider the place of Moktar's names in the Adare - K'ottu calendar culture. For the purpose I juxtapose Moktar's list (MM), that of Abdurahman (A) and Khat'ab's two lists (K) and (KK), first the juxtaposed four lists as follows:

(32) Moktar, op. cit., p. 373. (33) Christensen, op. cit., p. 158. The bars appearing in the list separate the

four groups into parts the names are devided in the work cited, and to which devision special importance is given here.



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Table 2: Names of the 28 pars of the year

List MM List A List K List KK

1. Chcurtune Simaak * Ashurt'eyni (1) Deyti 2. Nassre Al-gafra* But'eyni (17) Bita** 3. Zaban Zubanaan (3) Asrayya (18) Henika 4. Iklil IkM (4) Dabran (9) Talboc'i 5. Kealbe K'alba (5) Hakaa (20) Soraa ** 6. Charlah Shawla (6) Han'a (A21) * Alkaduma ** 7. Naaime N'a'im (7) Zira (22) Arba ** 8. Boula Balda (8) Nasra (23) Weyla ** 9. Zabib Zaabikh (9) T'arfa (24) Basa **

10. Bouls Bula' (10) Jabaha (25) Basa Boda** 11. Saoud Sa'ud (11) Zubraa (26) Caarawa ** 12. Akbime Akhbiya (12) Sarfi (27) Dureyti 13. Mukadama Muk'addam (13) Awwa (28) Dullati ** 14. Mouakhar Mu'akhkhar (14) Simaak (Al) * K'ara Salbana ** 15. Batinhout But'eyn (17) Al-gafra (A2) * Al-gafra 16. Churrune Rashaa * Zubanaan (3) Ruruma 17. Bouteine Shurt'eyl (1) Iklil (4) Gardaaduma ** 18. Touraia Surayya (18) K'alba (5) Sonsa** 19. Doubran Dabraan (19) Showla (6) Ruruma

(repeated?) 20. Hafah Hak'a (20) Na'a'im (7) Lumasa ** 21. Hassah Han'a* Balda (8) Gidada ** 22. Zira Zira (22) Zaabih (9) Areeri ** 23. Nassira Nasra (23) Bula'i (10) K'ara Areeri** 24. Tarf T'arfa (24) Akhbiyya (12) Areeri Booda ** 25. Guibbah Jabha (25) Su'ada (su'ud) Su'ud 26. Zabir Khurasaan * Muk'addam (13) Adulawa Khora** 27. Barfah Sarfa (27) Mu'akhkhar (14) Adulawa Jabbi ** 28. Awa Awwa (28) Rasha' (A16) * Deebentic

As part of the investigation of the place of Moktar's Persian calendar in the Adare - K'ottu calendar culture, below I consider the relation of the lists to each other, the possible Arabic and/or Oromo influence, and finally any social significance of the calendar.

List (A) and list (K) are the same, except for the difference they show in the order of the names in each of them, and the slight structural differences there are between some of the corresponding names in the two lists as for example, between Bteyn (Al 7) and But'eyni (K2). Lists (A) and (K) vis--vis list (MM) show replacements of few of the names in it. Each of these replacements in both of the lists




are indicated by one asterisk. List (KK) vis--vis the other three lists stands completely Oromo.

The Oromo names, on the basis of the strong resemblance they show to Legesse's list (33a), they are 75% Borana. In the list, each of these names are indicated by two asterisks. These Borana names are most probably provided by the Borana background of the K'ottus, a background attested by Azis, when he writes, Les Oromo se divisent en deux groupes: l'un qui reconnat pour anctre Borana... i34).

This Borana background of the K'ottus is also attested by an aspect of the K'ottu time - reckoning system which should be re- corded here even for its own sake.

K'ottinynya names of week-days are 100% Arabic, while those names of the week-days in the other Oromo dialects, excepting Bora- ifitynya/ as? shown in (table 5), are mixture of Orominynya, Amharic and Arabic names. This to my mind has one explanation. Due to the Borana background already claimed for the K'ottus, the K'ottus, prior to their contact with the Islamic calendar culture, from which they have borrowed the Arab names, did not have names for the days of the week, a thing, recognized to the Borana time-reckoning system as a system that has no weeks i35).

Regarding the Arabic influence on Moktar's Persian calendar (list MM), first hand observation shows that the names numbered 4, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24 and 25, twelve names altogether, evoke Arabic words. List (A) and (K), together with these, contain six more names evoking Arabic word. These are names numbered 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 12, thus bringing the total number of the evoked Arabic words to eighteen. List (KK) contains only one Arabic name, number 15. On the basis of lists (A) and (K), list (MM) as it stands, and with gradual interpolation is made, approximately, 65% Arabic. Below I tabulate the evoked Arabic words which for the sake of precision, contrary to my practice in this paper, I use Arabic characters as well. I accompany the words with simple selective meaning mostly taken from Wehr (1966) 353). I attach no astrological significance to these meanings. Fol- lowing are the words.

(33a) Legesse (1973), p. 183 (fie. 72). (34) Azs etc. 1931), p. [12) JJEGESSE, Op. Cit., p. 18. (35a) Wehr (1961) see alphabetically.



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Table 3: The Arabie words in the first three lists of Table 2

XT -va Arabic forms Lexical Meaning of the XT Names in -va list A of ^ names Algbk Words

1. Simaak W- Arcturus and spica Veginis Astron

2. Algafra j"H Desert 3. Iklil Jfl The helo of the sun 6. Shawwaal J1V* Name of the tenth month of

the Muslim year 7. Na'a'im Town, village

12. Akhbiya *~>* Tent, husk grain 13. Muk'addam f^& Offerer 14. Mu'akhkhar P*P Rear part 15. But'eyn ^> Ventricle of the heart 18. Surayya Pleiades 19. Dabraan ob>a Name of a star 22. Zira **hj Cultivation of land 24. T'arfa ^> In the twinkling of an eye 25. Jabha Forehead 27. Sarfa a*j* Helf of camels

On the basis of the above mentioned Burton - Moktar relation to the Harar Persian calendar, probably, around the second half of the 19th century, merchants or religious Muslims might have taken list (MM) from one of the Persian influenced Near Eastern Countries, and had brought it to the Adares of Harar, where it underwent changes, and with more Arabic names replacing the Persian ones, becomes list (A). List (A) in turn, becomes die K'ottu list (K) practically unchang- ed, but subsequently receives substitutions of Oromo names to become list (KK).

The illiterate common farmer knows very little about this Persian calendar which, because it is hidden between pages of books, he cannot have direct access to, unless it be through the ulama' who make him pay for the service, they say, they are rendering him. Thus, this calendar, while among the Adares it still stands as a style of time calculation, among the K'ottus, has degenerated into remunerative astrological science.

For example, according to the science, marriage performed during




Dabran (K3) is said to be liable to divorce, while that performed during Sarfi (K12) is designed for wealthy future.

If there is anything the illiterate K'ottu particularly remembers about this Harar Persian calendar, it is the two names, viz: Muk'addam, and Algafra. The first is the sowing period of sorghum crop. It falls between the second half of April and the first half of May. The second is the period coming around November, during which time rain is most needed to get the sorghum crop, that is just sprouting ears, to get fully grown, leading to maturity. Lack of rain during this period is fatal to the inhabitants. Its importance is well reflected in the popular saying ascribed to a father of a young man who expresses his desire to get married. Here is the father's answer to what his son expresses:

Text 2 Algafra yoo roobe, si diisi anuu ninfuuda; Algafra yoo roobu- baatemmo, si [fuusisu] iisi haatetu ninhikaa [ja'a abbaan]

Translation If it rains during Algafra, not only you, but even I will get married [because then we will have abundance of harvest]; but if it will not rain during Algafra, let alone getting you married, but even your mother will I divorce [said the father].

from (table 5) and the few remarks there given. Lastly, this Persian calendar, as it stands today with the K'ottu

ulema', serves us as a clue to understand the development of the secular time-reckoning system of the K'ottu, which is described below. I call it secular, vis--vis the just mentioned Persian calendar, which historically was and still is religious. The suggested clue is simple: the K'ottu ulema' borrow this Persian calendar material, dress it K'ottu by substituting Oromo (Borana) names for the Persian names and make use of it for a socio-religious purpose. In the same manner, the K'ottu farmers, most probably, not without the help of their ulema', take foreign calendar material and adapt it, to their agricultural life and to their general concept of time.

When the newly migrated Oromo people adapted sedentarism, the regular recurrence of certain aspects of their life (i.e. agricultural activities, religious practices and environment) pressed on them for some kind of time-reckoning system. In response to the pressure, they develop an agricultural type of time-reckoning system which show to contain elements from the Persian , the Muslim or the Christian calendars.



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Basically, K'ottu time-reckoning system has a year of twelve months, with each month containing thirty days. This much could have been taken from any one of those three calendars. Then we find the system making use of the movement of the moon as a check object for time, particularly, for knowing the beginning and the end of their fasting month, Ramadaan, and the progress of all the other months in general. This much relates the system to the Muslim lunar calendar. Lastly, we find that, for agricultural reasons, the system includes k'aamme or more correctly pagumeen (Greek, epagomenon the addi- tional five or six days (when leap year) of the "Persian" or Christian calendars ). On the basis of the sources of the borrowed material (being from lunar and solar calendars), the K'ottu time-reckoning system can be called lunisolar 36).

Of the numerous time-units standing between a second and millennium , K'ottu time-reckoning system ignores all except the units guyya day , torbaan week , boati month , amata or bara year and, jaarra a unit of eight years . Bura and jazira however, have become obsolete and are found only in such expression as the following:

Text 3 Bara eengadda Barana Bara heegere

Translation last year this year next year or any of the years to come

Text 4 (eeyba) Warra barana, ivarra bara heegere nuhaagodu

Translation {invocation or blessing) Those of this year [that we are], may [he] make us those of the year to come.

Text 5 Abalu nama jaara kuaniiti Translation So and so is a man of ten [times] eight [years].

Therefore, for the K'ottu, the longest time-unit is a year of twelve months, while the shortest is a day. As to the units second and minute, on one hand, and century and millennium on the other, the K'ottu hasn't

(36) The term is taken from Nilsson (1920), p. 8.




even heard about. As to za'a (Arabic, hour ), it does not mean a sixty minutes duration of time (Webster), but simply a particular moment of the day, in which a habitual action is performed. These actions are detailed in Table 5.

Amata other than bara has one synonym: shanynyi both the sowing period and the seed sown of bis hin ga or mis hin ga sorghum . With this synonymy in mind, one desirous to know the age of an event, often asks:

Text 6 Shanynyi meek'a dabre eega waa sun tabe?

Translation How many sowing periods have passed since that thing has happened?

Here, there is one important question to be answered, namely, why include sorghum in the time-reckoning system? Answer: sorghum is here included because it is a crop between whose two successive sowing periods one full year passes, and because it is a vital staple crop to the K'ottus, whose coming to maturity is awaited with great expectation.

Climatic zones, viz.:. badda high land, or rather cold region , k'alajabara temperate zone and gammoojji (see above), and other geographical factors govern the sowing period of sorghum. In general, however, it is sown around April and is taken care of like a pet child for the next nine months, when it is harvested with joy and jubilation, around January. After the harvest, the land is left to rest for the next two or three months. If the land is waste, clearing and first hand ploughing could be done. Otherwise one awaits April to start anew the year's work, which extends from sowing to harvest. This series of work is detailed in (Table 7) below. Thus, by dint of its nature and use, sorghum becomes an excellent measuring stick for the time length of the twelve months of the year.

Sorghum, for the K'ottus is a multi purpose crop (37) in that, the grain is food 38), the leaf folder, the dried stalk building material for the thatch roofed round house, and also fuel, a, b and c combined are unfailing merchandise and, sorghum is the most durable of all the crops in the region, staying in bolla underground granary , for a number of years unspoilt. All these qualities of sorghum are amply

(37) Tesfaye (1967), p. 43. (38) Admasu (1956).



488 S. METAFERIA

expressed in the work poetry of the K'ottu of which I give the following example.

Text 7 Ifaatoon boola-ntaane sooran beegala-ntaane W ranni beegala-ntaane waan aya booda-ntaane

Translation Barley is not fit for boolla, and wheat cannot bear mould What cannot bear mould is not fit to be conserved.

From our knowledge of the stand of the crop among the K'ottus, what is here called mould-resistant is sorghum.

Sorghum, as a life sustaining crop, and at the same time, as a measuring stick for the time span of the twelve months of the year, becomes the centre of K'ottu time-reckoning system. As such, with all the other food crops grouped around it, it takes the place of the camera on the tripod, in the above given image. In the image, I repeat, each of the legs are imagined to stand for the seasons, the agricultural activities and, the Islamic religion separately. The under- lying idea is that suitable seasons, hard labour, and devoted religious practice contribute to the upkeep of the year's crop which, hopefully from the K'ottus part, could result into abundance of harvest. And this hopefulness is more cherished as it is looked at with the threat of draught, bad labour and resulting famine in mind.

These are life's events which repeat themselves every year. They are subjects to no plan, in the European sense of the word, for the K'ottus are not people who plan their yearly activities. That is to say, they do not organize their work with full knowledge of the past, assessment of the present and forecast into the future. True, for practical purposes they are heard saying khalee yesterday , ar'a today and boru tomorrow ; or ree fu a moment ago , amma now or booda after some time , at depth, however, they remain concerned with their present life only. The K'ottu neither worries about the year that is past and about all its arrears, nor die eager for the one to come. Instead, he intently gazes at the one that is current. This, so to say, existentialist sort of looking at time (stressing the tangible and that of the present only) is best expressed by the following piece of philosophy of the manguddo the elders . Ibraahim, an elderly K'ottu and knowledgeable in matter of tradition recited the following K'ottu wisdom for me, by way of demonstrating the deep rooted idea of their time concept I just stated.




Text 8 Dubbiin sadihuma - sadi - sodi: waan dabre, waan asdeema, waan daabbata. Dubbiiti sadeenuma suni ja'e. Wanni dabre, si-dabarteehuuyi - mall khuttehuuyi. Tan asdeemtu, hogguma issin auf tu afatan; tanuma daabbattu dubbatan ja'e - tanutna daabbattu

Translation Things are three - three - three: one that has passed, one that is coming, and one that is standing (at hand, actual). Things are those three only, said he. The one that has passed has passed you by already, of what avail [to think about it] - it has passed. The one that is coming, it is to be awaited for until it comes. Instead, one talks (gets concerned) with that which is standing - the one which is actual.

The foregoing piece of philosophy leads one directly into the heart of the sense of the time-reckoning system of the K'ottu. A man's life is lived by bits, measured to him, by the time length year, a duration during which sown sorghum germinates, grows into leafy stalk, buds, opens into flower, produces grain and comes to harvest: it is a long process that generally takes from six to nine months, depending on various geographical factors.

There are months of hope that are proportional to the success or failure of the crop. This hope is one of feeding and clothing, oneself. It is one of making family and multiplying. This one year of hope passes and the next comes. The next, however, is not the continuation of the one that has passed, but one that stands by itself.

What is said so far, I think, sets the perspective in which one should look at the K'ottu time-reckoning system. In order to bring the substance of the subject to the fore, to the so set perspective, the following characterization of the system must be added. Here are the characterizations: (1) As suggested above, the time-reckoning system in question is not continuous or perpetual C9); (2) visible items, such as shadows, sorghum, the moon, the sun and the seasons are used to make the reckoning; (3) the nature of these items that are used as means of time-reckoning, unlike man made instruments, do not help obtain sharp division between time-units and; (4) there appears to be little use for the K'ottu time-reckoning system to date

(39) Wellen (1932), p. 17 underlines perpetuity as a trait recognizable in the ancient and modern calendars, and as a trait which modern calendar reformes em- phasize .

33



490 S. METAFERIA

history. Nilsson calls time-reckoning systems with such characterization as the ones just enumerated, primitive C0).

Now in the three tenses scheme of time division referred to above, we know that the K'ottu patiently awaits for the future, gets fervently preoccupied with the present and tries to forget the past. But there occur times wherein, as a matter of conversation or otherwise, he is required to date certain past events. How does he go about this problem? I would like to answer this question before I go into the description of the time span year.

He uses memorable events such as drought, illness, wars or political disturbances. Thus, for example, for dating an event falling in the last one hundred years of the history of Harar, one of the following historical incidents are used, viz.: the Egyptian occupation of Harar (1875-1886/7), and the subsequent occupation of the same by Menelik II (1887 and since); the political disturbances under Lij Iyyaasu (1916/ 17); and the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1942).

In the use of these descriptive references the word gaafa in the days of, or in the time of is put before any one of the above mentioned historical references, thus consecutively giving way to the expressions gaafa Araba (Arab meaning the Egyptians), gaafa Calank'o lolaa (Calank'o lolaa being the place of the battle between Amir Abdullahi and Menelik II), gaafa girgiri Yaasuu and gaafa Talvaanii.

In case of complete ignorance of such historical landmarks, one would simply say dur in older days, or formerly . To indicate time immemorial one would repeat the word dur as many times as one would like to push back the time referred to, or simply say gaafa gadaa, gaafa gallummaa or gaafa jaahiliyya (see glossary for each word separately).

We just saw that the time-reckoning system of the K'ottus mis- ses the element of perpetuity (41). This means that time-units in the system are not conceived as being threaded on time, but are seen as self-sufficient portions of it, placed in a raw, each posing as time stretch in which one of the series of the stages of the physical development of sorghum plant is displayed. And the movement from one time unit into another is kept parallel with the crop's passage from one stage into the other. And in the life of the sorghum crop, one can count a number of stages, each standing for a period of time

(40) Nilsson, op. cit., p. 19. (41) WELLAN, Op. Ctt., lOC. Clt.




within the year. The stages are often cited as time markers. For example, one could easily say it was a sowing period then, or it was one of the other stages of sorghum growth, when such and such thing happened .

I am here pointing to the fact that the time-reckoning system of the K'ottu is built on a container - content pattern, where the container is whichever time-unit we think of, and the content is the physical stage of sorghum or any of the other crops shown within that given time-unit.

For this reason, in my description of the single year, which I give below, I take into account both of these components: the container and, the content. For the container, I describe the year and its sub-units and, for the content I give the material in tables five six, and seven taken from the agricultural life of the K'ottu. Now here is the description.

The Year. The year is divided into two parts: the shanan bona the five months of the dry season , and the torbban ganna the seven months of the wet season . The months of the dry season cover the period from the second half of October, then November, December, January, February and the first half of March; and the months of the wet season are the second half of March, then April, May, June, July, August, September to the first half of October.

Strictly speaking, K'ottu year cannot be subjected to straight numerical calculations, because it is neither backed by any astronomical calculation, or such other institutional methods as the gada system (42). Therefore, date calculation is a matter often found in a state of ap- proximation and overlapping, as pointed above. The absence of these elements makes the system based on seasons and the different stages of crop-growth.

The Month: This time unit, in its appellation is homonymous with the object moon, both being called boati. From K'ottu bahu to come out, to appear , means that which is coming out or appearing. The moon has one more other name: ji'a, from K'ottu jigu to fall , meaning to set, to disappear from sight. It is an imagistic term describing the waning of the ji'a goobene full moon over the horizon. Strictly speaking, boati is the moon in its first two weeks, and ji'a, the same, in its second two. Practically, however, these two terms are found freely exchanged in their usage.

(42) Legesse, op. cit., p. 189.



492 S. METAFERIA

With the ICottu time-reckoning system, the moon's role as time indicator is very limited. The system counts thirty days between two births of the moon. The moon, as one of the most visible time indicator, and quite romantic at that, is often talked about among the K'ottus in the following terms:

Text 9 Arr'a jiini meek' a bule? Translation Today, how many nights is it that the moon is visible?

This date asking is particularly made, when in one of the nights of the visible moon, clouds unexpectedly gather around a spot in the sky, with a sign of raining. Another group interested in this date asking business are the young men and women who travel to their nightly dances, making use of this free lantern .

When a K'ottu desires to mention a month by name, he can use one of the three kinds, viz.: Amharic (43), Arabic (Muslim) f4), or K'ottu (Oromo).

The Amharic names came into use among the K'ottus because Amharic has had long presence in Hararghe, a fact that could have made the K'ottu easily borrow names from it and, because such admi- nistrative affair as taxation, very easily made the K'ottu remember the names of the months in Amharic. As to the Arabic names, K'ottus got access to them through their Islamic religion whose source language is Arabic. The K'ottu use of the Oromo terms is a natural thing for they are theirs, and no further justification of this use is required. Of these three categories of names, the last is of particular interest here because it has direct bearance to the theme of this paper. With this in mind, in the following I pay special attention to it.

Now, here are the K'ottu names of the months (T), collected by me, and juxtaposed to two other similar lists of two other Oromo traditions, namely, a mixture of Central (Showa), and Western Wal- laga), Oromo (H), collected by the Harar Oromo Language Radio Station (45), and Borana (L), borrowed from Legesse (*). The sole pur-

(43) As K'ottu pronounce them, the Amharic names of the months are Maskarami, Tikimti, Hidaari, Tisaasi, T'irri, Yakkaatiti, Maggaabiti, Maaza, Gimbooti, Sanee, Hamlee and Nahasee.

(44) For the Muslim names of the months see lable . (45) I sincerely thank the office for putting this Amharic transcribed list, entitled

Makaa ji'oota the names of the months , at my disposal. (46) Legesse, op. cit., p. 183.




pose of bringing H and L here is, to provide a background material, in the light of which, each item of list (T) can be examined. This examination includes consideration of (a) semantic value of the names, (b) the poetic and phrase references to them and, (c) their relation to the juxtaposed two other lists. This last point however, will be given at the end.

Table 4: Three lists of Or orno names of the months List T List H (47) List L

1. Odoleeysa Birra (2) Birra (2) 2. Birra Olkololessa (*) C'ik'awa ( ) 3. K'oric'absa Sadaasa (4) Sadaasa (4) 4. Afraasa Afrasa (5) Abrasa (5) 5. Afraasa Ammaji (6) Ammaji (6) 6. Ammajji Gurrandaala (*) Gurrandala (*) 7. Badeeysa dura Bitotessa (*) Bittottessa (*) 8. Bedeeysa booda Odolessa (1) Camsa (*) 9. K'aamu C'aamaa (L8) Bufa (10)

10. Buufa Wat'abajji (11) Wat'abajji (11) 11. Wat'abajji Elbba (*) Obora Gudda (*) 12. Hagayya Hagayya (12) Obora Dik'a (*)

(* K'aamme)

Odoleeysa (Tl) enricher , is found figuring in the following couplet thus:

Text 10 Khaleeysa badda roobe gammojjiin odoleeysa Namayyuu sijabeeysa eega gurbba konfoleeysa

Translation Yesterday, the highland had rain, which enriched the lowland everybody conserve you well [sorghum], except the young bachelor.

Birra (T2) end of the rainy season , is most probably from the Amharic birra, itself from barra there come light , meaning that the clouds have cleared and the rains have ceased.

Birra is metaphorically represented as goramsa gaala heifer of

(47) One finds the following variants: for HI, K'ore thorn ; H3 Mudde trouble; H4, Furma relief.

Mudde for the Shawan Oromo is a hectic period of harvest; for which reason they say Mudden numudde Mudde put us into trouble ; the response is Hinrrakkatini Fur mi duraa si jira amma furamta Don't be troubled for, Furmma is coming towards you, and will soon relieve yon from your burden .



494 S. METAFERIA

camel . The idea is that, Birra, like the heifer, soon a prospectant mother of a young camel, is near bringing [harvest of sorghum etc.].

K }oric }absa (T3) a composite name from K!ori wooden plate and c'absa able to break , depicts the severity of the cold weather experienced during this month.

Sadaasa (T4) and Afrasa (T5), consecutively third and fourth , are so named from their positions in the list of the five months of the dry season. The etymological development here given, however, could be exclusively K'ottu, for climate is not always the same everywhere, and the earliest Oromo might have had other reasons for creating these names.

Ammajji (T6) is another composit name from amma now and ji'i say , meaning that, because, now, the farming activities are over, the farmer has time to say to his friend, now, say what you have to say; I listen . And, indeed, it is the month of extra farming preoccupation, during which the farmers can mend their fences, build their thatch roofed houses, go to the market, and even get married.

The two Beddeeysa (T7) and (T8) are two months marked by the first rains that interrupt the long dry season. These rains, called balg in Amharic, are quite cherished by the farmers, a feeling conveyed by the name Baddeeysa gladdening .

K'aamu (T9) nudity , also called Caamsa stopping of the rains is a time of strong sun, for which reason it is so called. The name indicates the bare cloudless sky.

Buufa (T10), also called Ebel Buufa means bellows, thus pointing to the strong wind prevailing during this month.

Wat'abajji (Til). An insolent phrase based on this name runs thus.

Text 11 Miila Wat'abajji goote Translation With your Wat'abajji like leg, meaning, thin and fragile; an

imagery taken from the rain of the month that falls in very thin lines and continuously.

Hagayya (T12) is some times spoken of as the two Hagayya: Hagayya duraa and Hagayya Boodaa. It could have taken its name from hagaay the act of loosening the earth at the foot of the just growing sorghum crop . Both the idea of the two Hagayya and the leafy state of sorghum during this period is pointed out by the first of the following two citations from the oral tradition and the demand for rain during the month is indicated by the third. Here are the' citations:




Text 12 Hagayya lamaan baala

Translation In the two hagayya [the crop] is in its leafy stage.

Text 13 Hagayya roo be Ebla diirama roo be Gaafa gaf lama roobe [bishinga], baallike baysa roobe.

Translation In Hagayya it rained in the evening and in Ebla in the morning. The day it rained twice, your leaf, [sorghum], glittered like purified butter.

Now in the comparison of lists (T), (H) and (L), one marks the following: the underlined names in (T) are not found in the other lists, names figuring in all the three lists show slight structural differences between them, e.g. Afrasa (T5) and Abrasa (L5) with K'ottinynya opting for the /f/ sound to /b/. Other example of this K'ottinynya option is the Arabic Al-sabt which is turned to Safti.

The asterisks in the brackets indicate those names not found in list T. Among these names Caamsa (H9) and Elbba (Hll) are found among the K'ottu as variants of, consecutively, Birra (T2) and Buufa (T10). Obora (Lll) as O borra, among the K'ottu, is a tribal name of one of the sons of K'al'o.

The Week: Torbaan, from K'ottu torbba seven is a self explanatory term. The K'ottu seven names of the days in this quar- ter unit of the month are given below (G), along with Oromo names of the same (GG), so as, through comparison, to be able to show the 100% Arabic origin of the K'ottu names. The Oromo names here given are of the Shawan or, central Oromo dialect.

Table 5: Lists of names of week-days

List G List G H 1. Isniina = (Monday) = Hojja dure 2. Salaassa = (Tuesday) = Lammaffo 3. Arba'a = (Wednesday) = Iroob 4. Khamisa = (Thursday) = Kamsi 5. Jim'ata = (Friday) = Jimaata 6. Safti = (Saturday) = Sambata dura 7. Alhada = (Sunday) = Sambata gudda

(48) Variants for (GGl) is Daafno, Wiittata and, for GG2, Abso, Fac'aasa and Baaka. These variants, however, could be from different Oromo dialects.



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The K'ottu are not strict observers of week-days holidays, and there wouldn't be any special reason for starting list (G) with one particular day, such as Saturday, coming after Islamic Friday, or Mon- day, coming, after Christian Sunday. As a matter of fact, such syste- matic enumeration of the days of the week has no practical purpose for the K'ottus. Therefore the arrangement here adapted is based on convention. Now following the same order as in (G), here are the Arabic names of week-days from which the K'ottu is derived: al-Ithneyn, ath-Thulathaa, al-Arbi'a, al-Khamiis, al-Jum'a, al-Sabt and al-Ahad.

For the benefit of the discussion raised above, I may make these remarks on list (GG). Here, with four Amharic names out of the seven, the list could be said Christian. It is even more so with Hojja dure first day of work (GG) coming after Sunday. But, in spite of such strong influence, there is failure, from the part of Amharic, to replace ]imaata (Arabic) and (GG1) and (GG2) (Oromo).

Guyya: In the absence of artificial time-measuring instrument, with the K'ottu, guyya is roughly indicated as being the time between sun-rise and sun-set. During the day, the K'ottu invests labour in his cultivation of sorghum, in his performance of prayers, and in his watch of the sky, which he does with expectation of a weather that would suit his farming activity.

Za' a: For the K'ottu farmer, as indicated above, za' a does not mean the twenty fourth part of a day, but a particular time of it, during which a familiar activity is carried out. Examples of such za' a are zaya laotiana breakfast time, za' a hirriiba bed time etc. More of such za' as are given in Table 6. Za' a in this sense is sometimes made synonymous with wak'ti Arabic; time also K'ottu; season.

In the container - content pattern of presenting my description of the unit year, and its sub-unit, I have finished the first part and now pass to the second. In the second I give tabulated material such as, (a) concordance of hours and activities in the day, (b) the year's calendar of work based on the life of sorghum and, (c) K'ottu calendar of Islamic religious feasts.

The possible impression that could be gathered from Table 4 namely, that the K'ottu runs his activities in hour to hour programme, should be corrected. For him anything less than a day is trifle a time to be taken into account. Therefore the addition of the hours column in this table has methodological reason only.



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498 S. METAFERIA

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Table 8: K'ottu Calendar of Islamic religious Feasts

Muslim names ?ate5.t Barnes of the

of ' the months festw%*s etc 54) feasts f^0 (55) description of the feasts ' etc 54) feasts (55)

Muharram 10th Ashuura the rescue of Noah

Saffar Rabal-awwal 12th Mowluuda the birth of Prophet Mohammed

Rabi al-tani

Jumad al-awwal

Jumad al-tani

Rajab 27th Mraajai56) Mohammed's going by night from Mecca to the Mosque in Jerusalem (bet al-Muqqadis) and from there to Heaven

Sha'baan

Ramadaan 1st - 30th Id al-fit'ri the month in which the Koran was revealed. It is a fasting period

Shwwaal lth - 6th fasting as compensation of the days missed during the previous Rama- daan

Zulqe'ida preparation for the hajj pilgrim- mage to the holy cities of Arabia

Zulhijja 9th or 10th Id al-adha Abraham's sacrifice of his son Ismai'il is celebrated. Those who fail to go to the pilgrimage fast during this month

(54) Though the day could change, these dates in the Muslim months are fixed. (55) Under the new Provisional Military Ethiopian Government Mowluuda, Id

al-filtri and Id al-adha are decreed national holidays. (56) More correctly Al-Ishaa'a wal-Miraaj.



500 s. metaferia

Appendix

K'ottu couplets composed on the theme of sorghum, are here given as evidence of the centrale place this crop is holding in the life of the K'ottu. Translation is free versification. The texts are from my own collection.

Texts and translations The central point of the verses

1. Bishinga jjannu maali, nu waliin haasownu maali Haasowni huji 57) diite, duuba, turri huji baleeyse warra huji baleeyse, abaar dabre baleeyse. Sorghum if we say, and talk about it, so what! the frreat mental pre- Talking trampled work and with time it spoilt it, occupation of the K' Those who spoilt work, them, the last famine ottus about sorghum,

destroyed.

2. Roobnileen roobu, duuba, dada jaarrannaa maali Y oo dukkanaan waldabnne, buuba, ji'a baafanna

maali If it rains, well, we will build ourselves a shelter, the K'ottu determin-

so what! ation to cultivate sor- If, because of the darkness, we see not each other, ghum.

we will wait for the moon to shine for us, so what!

3. Warrummaan diira daare, darr a bahee-ndageenynye nynye

Gurbaan diiraan uffate, numadaare-ndageenynye Biyya gabroon-njirre, nagayaa wa-ndageenynye A family longing for a hardworking member in the labour prerequi-

it its longing being satisfied, is never heard of; site of well-being. The young man who clothed himself through

hard work, ever going naked again, is never heard of;

And a country lacking sorghum and being in good state is never heard of.

(57) Huji (in Central Orominynya hojja) is less used in K'ottinynya than dalaga (K'ottinynya, work ) which in central Orominynya means, acting like one posessed by spirits .




4. Utuba Nabiin, sire Rassuulli daabe i58) Atummaan mar'imaani, sini Rabbiin nudaabe Bishinga wan a durs, G ab ani, wajjiin kharraa(59)

k'aaraa /O! / pillar, which the prophet and, /O! / bed, the importance of

which the messenger prepared sorghum to the phy- /O! / sorghum, you are the intestine itself with sical body of man.

which God sustains our bowl. Sorghum of worthy men, O! garment, together

we will go over the hill-top [to the market]. 5. Bishinga gabra O50) bita eenynyuu Saawil (61)

nuugeeysa Asittu nuufibita eenynyuu k'abe jabeeysa Bishinga baala kharraa ir ko hada hiyyeysa Sorghum, the slave buyer, who will take it for sorghum personificai

us to Saawil as the mother of Even here, it will provide us [with one], but the poor .

who will conserve it Sorghum, [with your] sword like leaf, [you

are] the supporter and mother of the poor. 6. Bishinga miila sire mootida

Dadeera waleen nyatti, jiga bittireen nyaatte Bittire mana-yeeysa boosoon laasima nyaatte Sorghum! [with] its leg like that of a king's bed a farmer's complaint The turtle dove ate the tall ones, and the small against the wasteful-

birds the fallen ones ness of [his] wife The stupid [wife], the small bird of the poor vis--vis sorghum,

family, she sats the unripe [sorghum]. 7. Darsaan 62) Jaaja 63) buute, buna ime garraani

Jartiin jarsaan kofalte boolla guutu garraani Jartiin jarsaan naadde boolla huddu garaanii

(58) Both Nabiin prophet and Rassulli messenger (of God) refer to the Prophet Mohammed.

(59) Khaarra, probably from Khara way is high way. Like gooro (note 15), is a raised place through which the high way passes. Place names in Hararghe, with kharra suffixed to them are khaarra k'orre also called kharra Farsho native drink , near Hirnna. The drink is used to be sold there. Khaarraa ziggitta, again near Hirnna; k'haarra Marra, a place at about less than ten kms. from Jijjiga.

(60) Sorghum is often called, in work poetry, gabra slave and diina enemy , to show its double character vis--vis the farmer who cultivates it: as object of cultivation it taxes all energy of the farmer in the manner of an enemy and, as object of sustenance it serves him like a slave.

(61) Saawil, is a name of a slave market, probably, between Djibouti and Dire Dawa.

(62) See Note 25 here. (63) Coffee growing area in northern Hararghe.



502 S. METAFERIA

The Koranic students went to Jaaja, attracted by sorghum as great con- the still green been of the coffee plant ditioning factor of

The wife, seeing the underground granary full of people's behaviours, sorghum, smiled to her husband.

8. Suuta deemu ningala, malayya kaniinkaaddu Ijaan arku nink'uufa, bishinga, malayya

kaniinynyaau .

By walking I reach my destination and how much the degue of K'ottus' more quickly by running attachement to sor-

By seeing [sorghum] I get satisfied and how ghum. much more deeply by eating it.

9. Bishinga jannu madi nuti waliin hasownu maali Bishinga ganna diira, gabriyyo ani jachchu wahiin

wallaale Ati wa gabra mitt, bishinga, jaalalaa gabro baase AH tua diina miti, bishinga, jaalal diini baase Kan Rabbiin biyaa baase, duuba, kadabee

midaan (M) baase What! if we say sorghum, and talk with each in substance this is

other about it a repetition of 1. Sorghum! the booty of worthy men and /O! /

slave! I know I can call you all that. But you are not slave, only, from love, you are

so called And you are not enemy, only, frome love, you

are so called The one whom God exiled from his land and

thus locked sorghum he called it midaan.

10. Bishinga, gaari maammo pannati maammo Hafuura nac'ic'ita alamaa name khaatu Sireen hirriiba dabe alamaa nama yaadu Tokichcha firi khumaa, baalli didima- ngenyny e Siifiin hirriiba dada tanaafiin bariitu-ntenynye O! sorghum, baby (?) nice, baby (?) paradise the great command Like a running man, I get out of breath of sorghum over the And like a worried man, I don't find sleep while mind and body of the

in bed ICottus. The one grain-head, with thousand grains [on

it], yet unripe For your sake, I lose sleep, and am found up on

my feet once it is dawn.

(64) Midaan , probably, from K'ottu mtidaawaa good, tasty is a name sprang, from K'ottu's liking for sorghum.



the eastern oromo, etc. 503

Glossary

Here given are some 300 K'ottinynya lexical items found in the paper, and in the form they appear. The intension is practical: facilitate reference and, give limited vacabulary aid to those who might desire it. For reason of this limitation the given meanings are minimal, and sometimes passed with references only, marked as, for source of borrowing: Amharic (Am), Arabic (Ar), Ge'ez (Gz) and for all these three, Semetic (S); other than these, K'ottinynya Text is marked as (Tx), Table (Tl), Appendix (Ap) and Note (Nt).

Aayaa (Ar) (Tx 7) Arr'a today Abaar famine Asdeema (Tx 8) Abalu so and so Asdeemtu (Tx 8) Abbaan (Ar) the father Ashaara (Ar?) (Nt 50) Adu sun Asittu even here Afatan if waited for Asri (Ar) (Tl 5) Afraasa (Tl 3) Ass here Agaaddi (Tl 6) Ati (S) (Nt 65) Ajam (Ar) (Tx 1) Atummaan you yourself Akhaafaa (Nt 52) Baafanna (Ap 2) Alaamaa (Ar) intention Baala leaf Al-gafraa (Ar) (Tx 2) Baalli the leaf Alhada (Ar) (Tl 4) Baallikhe your leaf Amata (Gz&Ar) year Baase named, put out Amma now Baati moon, month Ammajii (Tl 3) Badda highland Ammoo or mmoo be it that Baddeeysa booda (Tl 3) AniO*) I Baddeeysa dura (Tl 3) Annu even I Bahe came out Ar'a today Balleeyse spoilt Arabiyyaan (Ar) (Tx 1) Bara (Tx 3) Araarsoo conciliator Bara deengadda (Tx 3) Arba'a (Tl 4) Bara heegare (Tx 3) Ardada (Nt 25) Barana (Tx 3) Arku see, if I see Barc'c'a (Tl 5)

(65) As can be gathered from the list here below, ani (= ) I ati (= ) you isa (= ) he, it isi ( = ) she, it

the resemblance of K'ottu singular personal pronouns with those of Amharic, here enclosed between brackets, is quite close.



504 S. METAFERIA

Bariisa (Tl 5) Daare wished, desired Bariitu (Ap 10) Daddeera the tall ones Baybaak'a (Tl 6) Dagayuu hearing, listening Baysa purified butter Diira male person Beegala mould Diisi leave, let alone Birraa (Am) (Tl 3) Diite stamped, cicked Bishingaa sorghum Ebla (Tl 3) Bita buy Eega since Bitottessa (Tl 3) Eeyba (Tx 4) Bittire small bird Enynyu who Bittireen the small bird Firii grain Biyya land, country Fuusisu giving for Bobbaa (Tl 5) marriage Booda later Gaafa undefined day Boolla (Tx 7) Gaala camel Boosoon unskilful, Gaallummaa (Nt 8)

blundered Gaari good, likable Boru tomorrow Gabani (Am) clothing Bu'e descend Gabra (Gz) slave Bule passed the night Gabriyyo Buna coffee Gabroon Bura first Gadaa Oromo age Buufa (Tl 3) classification Buute descended Gala coming home for C'aamsa (Tl 3) the night Daara need of clothing Galgala evening Daare need clothing Gammojji lowland Dabarteehuuyi (Tx 8) Ganama morning Dabre passed Ganna wet season Daada temporary hut Garraani because one saw Dalaga'-kka'u (Tl 5) Girgiri (Am) political Darasaa (Nt 25) disturbance Darasaan (Nt 25) Goote did Deemu going Goromsa youth Didiima the red ones Gurbaa young man Diina enemy Gurbaan the young man Diirama morning Gurraandaala (Tl 3) Dubbannu if we speak Haada mother Dubiin the matter Hafuura breath Dukkanaan in darkness Hagayya (*) (Tl 3) Dur (Am?) by gone, your Hagayya Booda (Nt 66) Duuba then Hagayya Dura (Nt 66) Daabbata standing Halkan night Daabbatu one standing Harama weed, weeding Daabe Hasoowni the talk

(66) See the comment given for Hagayya (Tl 3).




Hasoownu if we talk Khofaltte laughed Hindageenynye did not hear Khonfoleeysa bachelor Hirriiba sleep Khudaniiti (Tx 5) Hiyyeeysa poor, needy Khuuma thousand Hogguma (Tx 8) Khuttehuuyi (Tx 8) Hojja (Nt 47) K'aamme (Tl 3) Huddu bottom, buttock K'aamu (Tl 3) Huji work, labour K'abe held Hunde buk'k'isu (Tl 5) K'alajabaraa temperate zone Ifaatoon (Tx 7) K'ara (Tl 6) Ijaan with bare eyes K'ara tuulu (Tl 6) Imaana (Ar) increase of harvest K'onna farming Imee unripe bean K'oric'absa (Tl 3) Irko supporter K'ottu Oromo farmers of Ishaa'i (Tl 5) Hararghe Isiin (Nt 65) Laak'ana main meal Islaama Muslim (morning) Isniina (Tl 4) Laasima unripe crop Ja'a he said Lama two Jaalala from love Lamaan the two Jaarra we boiled Leyli (Ar) night Jarrannu (Ap 2) Limaay grain Jaartiin the wife Lugaan (Ar) the language Jabaatte became strong Makhriiba (Ar) (Tl 5) Jabeeysaa conserve well Maal what Jachchuu to say Maali what is it? Jannatee my paradise Malayya (Ap 8) Jannu if we say Mammo (Am) baby Jarsaan (Ap 8) Mana house Ji'a moon, month Mar'imaan intestine Jiini the monn Meek'a how many Jiga falling Midaan (Ap 8) Jimaa (Tl 5) Miila leg Jim'ata (Tl 4) Mirk'aana (Tl 5) Khaarra hill Miti it is not Khaatu Mootida of the Kha'aba (Tl 6) Mudde (Nt 47) Khabiir (Nt 24) Muraa harvest Khadabe one lacking Nabiin (Ar) the prophet Khalee yesterday Nac'icVita (Ap 10) Khaleeysa yesterday Nagayaa being in well Khalk'i people Nama man, human being Khamisa (Tl 4) Namayyuu every one Khan the one, which Ni'aadde got angry (f.) Khaniikkaaddu While I run Ningala I arrive Khaniinynyaaddu while I eat it Nink'uufa I get satisfied Khashaa (Tl 5) Nu (Ar) sy we Khatamaa (Am) town Nuudaabe erected for us

34



506 S. METAFERIA

Ninhiikha I will divorce, Tanaafiin for that reason Nugeeysaa untie Tannma that is all Nuhaagodu take it for us Tokkichcha the only one

may He make it Torbbaan week for us Torbban ganna seven wet months

Numadaare lacked clothing Tumaa (Tl 6) Nuti we Ture tarded Nuufi for us, for our Uda'ggalchu (Tl 6)

benefit Uffate clothed himself Nyaatte ate Umri (Ar) age Obora dik'a (Tl 3) Uzriin (Ar) trouble Odoleeysa (Tl 3) Utubaa pillar Olkololessa (Tl 3) Waa indeed Oromo (Tl 3) Waan thing, that which Rabbin (Ar) God (Allaah) OFaan'ndageenynye did not hear Rassuulli (Ar) the Prophet Waare mornig Reefu a moment ago Waari evening Robuilleen (Ap 2) Waba (Tl 5) Roobubaate did not rain Wabaa dawu (Tl 6) Roobe rained Wabaa irra dawu (Tl 6) Roobu if it rains Wahiin (Ap 9) Safti (Ar) (Tl 4) Wac'a shimbirro (Tl 5) Sadaasa (Tl 3) Wajjiin together Sadeenuma (Tx 8) Waldabne (Ap 2) Sadi (S) three Waleen turtle dove Sadihuma three only Waliin with eachother Salaasa ( Ar ) ( TI 4 ) Wallaale lost the knowledge Shanan boona the five dry season Walleen I suppose Shanynyi sowing period Wanni that thing Sheekha (Ar) (Nt 25) Warra those of, Sidabarteehuuyi (Tx 8) Homestead Siifiin for you Warra badda highlanders Siini by you Warra gammojji lowlanders Sijebeeysa (Ap 5) Warra temperate zone Sireen (Ar) the bed K'aalajabara dwellers Sitti at or to you Warrummaan (Ap 3) Sooran wheat Wat'abajji (Tl 3) Subaat'a afternoon meal Yaadu worry Subi (Ar) early morning Yoo if Sun that Za'aa (Ar) hour Suni that Za'aa fat'ara (Tl 5) Suuta slowly Za'aa hirriiba (Tl 5) Tahe it become Za'aa lak'ana (Tl 5) Tan that which Zubri (Ar) (Tl 5)

Seifu Metaferia




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508 S. METAFERIA

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1948.

RIASSUNTO

Presso gli Oromo orientali (K'ottu) coltivatori musulmani del Harar in uso un calendario tradizionale lunisolare, fondato su tre elementi: l'alternarsi delle stagioni, i lavori agricoli e i precetti religiosi. In tale triplice struttura predominano i lavori agricoli. L'autore non si limita ad uno studio filologico del calendario, che presenta metodi e terminologie proprie anche dell'arabo, del persiano e dell'amarico, ma compie anche un'analisi etnologica, richiamandosi spesso alle attivit e alle usanze connesse con la sud- divisione del tempo.

RESUME

Les Oromo de l'Est (K'ottu), cultivateurs musulmans de l'Harar, utilisent un calendrier solaire et lunaire, fond sur trois lments: l'alternance des saison, les travaux agricoles et les prceptes religieux. Les travaux agricoles dominent en cette structure. L'auteur prsente une tude philologique du calendrier sur la base des mthodes et terminologies propres l'arabe, au persan et l'amharique, et en mme temps une analyse ethnologique, en se rapportant souvent aux activits et aux coutumes lies la subdivision du temps.



Article Contentsp. [475]p. 476p. 477p. 478p. 479p. 480p. 481p. 482p. 483p. 484p. 485p. 486p. 487p. 488p. 489p. 490p. 491p. 492p. 493p. 494p. 495p. 496p. 497p. 498p. 499p. 500p. 501p. 502p. 503p. 504p. 505p. 506p. 507p. 508

Issue Table of ContentsAfrica: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dellIstituto italiano per lAfrica e lOriente, Anno 33, No. 4 (DICEMBRE 1978), pp. I-II, 475-644Front MatterTHE EASTERN OROMO (K'OTTUS) OF ETHIOPIA AND THEIR TIME-RECKONING SYSTEM [pp. 475-508]GUERRA FREDDA E QUESTIONE DELLE EX COLONIE ITALIANE NEL 1947 [pp. 509-524]ELEMENTI COSTITUTIVI DELLA REGALIT TRA GLI ANYI-BONA E INDENI E GLI ABRON DELLA COSTA D'AVORIO ORIENTALE: Un complesso coerente? Abbozzo analitico di una ricerca [pp. 525-552]NOTE E TESTIMONIANZEPROSPETTIVE E NUOVE FORME DI COOPERAZIONE NEL SETTORE DELLE INFRASTRUTTURE DI BASE IN AFRICA [pp. 553-566]THE TRADITIONAL CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE AMONG THE GABBRA OF NORTHERN KENYA [pp. 567-578]LA MORT DE LIVINGSTONE REXAMINE [pp. 579-603]ENCORE SUR LE DIAIRE DE JACOB WAINWRIGHT: Corrigenda [pp. 603-604]ASPETTI DELL'ACCULTURAZIONE DEI LIBYI DI CIRENAICA [pp. 605-622]TESI UNIVERSITARE CONCERNENTI L'ALGERIA [pp. 623-623]

AFRICA E COMUNIT ECONOMICA EUROPEAGli avvenimenti registrati in questa rubrica vanno dal 1 luglio al 31 dicembre 1978 [pp. 624-626]

CRONOLOGIA AFRICANA [pp. 627-630]RECENSIONIReview: untitled [pp. 631-631]Review: untitled [pp. 631-632]Review: untitled [pp. 632-632]Review: untitled [pp. 632-633]Review: untitled [pp. 633-635]Review: untitled [pp. 635-636]Review: untitled [pp. 636-637]Review: untitled [pp. 637-637]Review: untitled [pp. 638-638]

BOLLETTINO BIBLIOGRAFICO AFRICANO [pp. 639-644]Back Matter

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THE EASTERN OROMO (K'OTTUS) OF ETHIOPIA AND THEIR TIME-RECKONING « SYSTEM »