The Faraqasa indigenous pilgrimage center. History and ritual practices.

Abstract

The Faraqasa indigenous pilgrimage center is one of the most popular pilgrimage centers in Ethiopia. It was founded by a woman named Ayyo Momina in the first quarter of the twentieth century and it is situated at a place called Faraqasa, in Arsi zone of the Oromia region in Ethiopia. It is important to study this institution since it shades light on one of the indigenous beliefs and practices in Ethiopia. Having said this, how did this indigenous pilgrimage center come to such dominance in Ethiopia? What are the factors that contributed to this? In order to answer these questions, a fieldwork has been conducted and existing literatures has been researched. There are some reasons that contributed a lot to the coming into dominance of the Faraqasa pilgrimage center in Ethiopia. These are, firstly, the belief in the spiritual power of the leaders of the center. They are believed to have possessed supernatural powers of healing the sick and performing various miracles. Secondly, the belief that taking part in ritual ceremonies at Faraqasa is one method of getting relief from these worldly problems, such as physical and psychological illnesses. The practices at the Faraqasa pilgrimage center demonstrate the tolerance that exists among some adherents of different religious, ethnic, linguistic, and political backgrounds in Ethiopia. Hence, this work is believed to increase peoples’ awareness of the values of tolerance and understanding.