Week of 10/05/2008: Oromo's Indigenous Religion - Waaqeffannaa

(Picture: Morning Prayers to Waaqa.)

This week marks the height of the Irreechaa celebrations among Oromos across the globe. Irreechaa is a religious thanksgiving celebration. Oromo's original religion (Waaqeffennaa) considers the organization of human, spiritual and physical worlds to be interconnected phenomena, and their existences and functions are regulated by their creator, God or Waaqa.

There are three Oromo concepts that explain the organization and interconnection of human, spiritual, and physical worlds: ayaana, uuma (nature), and saffu (the ethical and moral code). Through each person's ayaana (spiritual connection), Waaqa acts in the person's life. Uuma includes everything created by Waaqa, including ayaana. Saffu is a moral and ethical code that Oromos use to differentiate bad from good and wrong from right. The Oromo religious institution is called the qallu; the qallu is the center of the Oromo religious view. Qallu leaders traditionally played important religious roles in Oromo society. Source: Waaqa.org