The memory of ordinary, everyday intercultural or interreligious relationships, in brief
While a majority of the Gurage people has taken on Orthodox Christianity, and small minorities are Muslim and Protestant, much of the older generation has persisted in following their ancestral religion as well. This means Christians makes space for non-Christian rites, such that in one location, for instance, an Orthodox sacred grove and a grove dedicated to traditional Gurage religion are located side by side. This has drawn the attention of ethnobotanists who see the role played by this religious pluralism in protecting the region’s biodiversity, as Desalegn Desissa has pointed out.
The context in which these relationships made a difference at the time
Since medieval times, Orthodox Christianity has had a firm place in the life of the Soddo Gurage people, who give their name to this region south of the Ethiopian capital. Nevertheless, this has not overcome the traditional local religious and spiritual life, focused on the relationship with nature, nor the traditional forms of communal governance. Historically, the Gurage people faced many threats, including from Muslim invaders, and at the turn of the twentieth century they were still threatened with slavery at the hands of Oromo raiders. The region nonetheless hosts a small Muslim minority today, and Oromo people still live here, enjoying peaceful relationships and in many cases intermarrying with Gurage people.
What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable
Ethiopia has undergone a period of political and in some respects religious repression, and the continuity of a pluralistic religious practice here would be of wide interest for this reason alone. Moreover, the younger generation are said to be more engaged by Christianity, as a modern religion, and less by traditional religious activities, sitting at the sidelines during ceremonies. Collecting the memories of ordinary people would also offer another dimension than is presented in the narratives of local history which are shaped by political pressures and institutional developments.
How might the memory be used in bringing people together in practice now?
When does religious and cultural diversity contribute to conflict and the destruction of shared local ecologies, and when does religious and cultural pluralism promote more sensitivity to the surrounding enrivonment, and to the connections between humans and other parts of their ecologies? The work of Desalegn Desissa suggests that the experience of the Gurage people has much to offer discussions of the conditions in which cultural change, political conflict and biodiversity interact. The Memory Bank team will be very glad to hear from partners similarly interested in focusing on questions about the conservation of cultures and ecologies, and on the nurturing of diversity in conditions of stress and change.
Additional context/Some additional reading
http://www.mikepalmer.co.uk/woodyplantecology/ethiopia/sacredgrove/index.html
http://www.mikepalmer.co.uk/woodyplantecology/ethiopia/sacredgrove/gurage.html