“Furda” For Sale

“Furda” For Sale

Tedros Markos

In a society where omen is believed to be a prophetic sign of how somebody or something will fare in the future, traditional ceremonies and other social customs are strictly dictated by it. Of the nine Eritrean nationalities, the Kunama have made matriarchy the center of gravity in their social makeup. The dances they perform might look like the sole distinguishing aesthetic value of this society as per the common knowledge.

Dance composition of these people is not only what typifies the traditional African choreography and music, but each and every step arrangement of the Kunama is doubtless quite telling to which specific ritual or worship they are standing on ceremony. The Kunama, whose long-established customs have espoused varieties of step sequences and symbolic beauty to communicate the desired rituals, have also adopted reverence to good or bad signs. If signs foreshadow threats to come, the rituals such as social initiation would not be conducted. A crackling blaze, the fading of a bright moonlight, a laughing hyena, the breaking of a gourd or an earthenware jar with home-made fermenting local brew and so on would portend an omen that wedding days arranged long ago could be postponed. A certain Adadday is passionately

in love with a would-be young bride. His fiery personality has compelled him to conspire along with his friend against the date of matrimonial ceremony. The idea to snatch her and enter into a covenant upon elopement would not cross his mind given that the Furda would not allow him. In the final week leading to the wedding day, Adadday and his friend set under the cover of darkness to pose as a laughing hyena. So did they, and behold, and lo, the marriage ceremony is deferred for another day. But the traditional local cuisine and brew is consumed by fellow villagers.

Satisfied by their duplicity, both friends go out as the night falls to mimic once again an eerie call of the spotted or striped hyena in an attempt to baffle another wedding ceremony. This time, however, both friends fail to realize that they are pitting their wits against the entire village. Some of their fellow countrymen, who have already been observing the two friends during folk dances spoiling for nothing, are growing suspicious of their uncivil nature.

“Stand guard lest they might be coming nearer,” both friends overhear the youths warning each other out of sight.

“Who are you in the dark?” the two friends uttered. There and then, a spear is charged against them from the youths awaiting on the alert armed with swords, spears and shields. The spear knifes through the air by Adadday’s ear. What happens next? As its title implies, Furda has embraced answers to a number of cultural questions.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Information, Furda is now available on the market in both Kunama and Tigrinya versions. The book incorporates a vocabulary of birds, wildlife and natural vegetations, as well as customary laws. It is comprised of betrothal and matrimony, honeymoon, divorce, pregnancy, delivering twins, heroic feats, social initiations, circumcision and its rituals, funeral processions and mourning, quarrels and reconciliation’s, illnesses and traditional medication, annual classic rituals and worships, tone of discourses and agricultural activities.

Born on May 23, 1972, Santina Debesay was raised and educated up to the middle school level in the culturally diverse city of Barentu in the Gash-Barka Region. She then completed her secondary school in Asmara. The Tigrinya version is rather small with 110 pages, whereas that of the Kunama is bigger twofold with 244 pages. Why? The fact is, explains Santina, that it has nothing to do with the content but with linguistic equivalences of certain words, as well as literary aspects of folk songs that are poetized to sing the praises of heroic exploits or social initiations.

Santina Debesay, 39, attributes much of the accounts in her book to her mother. Hired in the Ministry of Information in 1992, she has been writing and presenting a cultural program as a radio journalist in the Kunama Service of the Voice of the Broad Masses since 1997. With the exception of a very few secondary sources, her 14 years of incessant endeavors for authorship have eventually spawned a must- read book counting upon primary and yet objective sources. Out of the distinctly matriarchal Kunama society, Santina has emerged successful to be the first woman author.

Desale Bereket prefaced her book: “When we get on to think of others’ cultures, we need to do it positively and rationally. Why are right the customs and practices that appear to us wrong? What is the wisdom behind their

traditions and customs? How did it all start and evolve? Had they been hurtful or wrong as we might perceive off the gourd, why have these long-established practices been cherished to date? We should meticulously examine the reason behind these and other corresponding questions...”

The book was launched on February 24 in the Hager Media Hall within the premises of the Ministry of Information. On the occasion, senior administration and department heads, a considerable number of staff members of the ministry and other invited guests took part. She is particularly grateful to her colleagues and the Ministry at large, who have cradled her work from inception to finalization with moral and financial support. As a single mother, Santina is without a doubt indebted to her child, whose time has been apportioned substantially towards the book. Mr. Livingstone presented a book review on the occasion on behalf of Endereas Zeynu:

“On top of the existing literatures, this book will enable readers become familiar with traditional customs, worships and rituals of the Kunama society. It will also serve as a reference for those who would like to conduct further studies on this ethnic group. Yet, the book is expected to invoke similar interests of the scholars in the respective society to follow suit for extensive intellectual pursuit. Above all, ‘Furda’ is translated by the same token into Tigrinya so that it could earn broader feedback upon wider readership.”

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