The dry easterly winds swept across much of Sugur parish as birds sang endlessly on top of trees that make a good canopy in Sugur parish, Amuria District. Despite a good tree cover, the five months without rain caused so much panic that the elders were approached to call on their traditional gods for mercy and rainfall blessings.
Numerous men and women, some with babies strapped on their backs gathered at Opaam village to perform an ancient traditional feat known here as “Ailelekek” loosely translated as rain making ceremony. Under the relentless glare of sunshine, these locals of Sugur parish sat on the parched and dry fields.
Tales from sages
From all directions of the gazetted fields where the ritual was conducted, distressed tales from elders in their 80s and 90s seated under shear nut trees could easily be heard as they sang and prayed sporadically to the god of rain to bring to an end the prolonged drought.
Features of men and women lifting sticks high, with their heads decorated with ostrich feathers, bangles on their legs and beads all over their bodies gave this rain-making ritual a similar look to the Ajosi dance.
In glory of the gods
The most distinctive features one could see was the unique wild grass adorned on women’s heads and waists, the calabash and ejak, a small wooden motor, traditional tool used for offering milk and blood to the gods in appeasement whenever a calamity befell a community.
Like in any normal Mass or church service every song sang at this ceremony, was in glory of their traditional gods.
Men pointed high their spear like sticks randomly to the sky as the women sprinkled the young with water drawn from swamps where the gods of rain are said to live.
This repeated activity involved dancing and chorusing songs “Papa apolor ebeli, Papa oinakina isu akiru,” loosely translated as, our god, famine is at hand, grant us rains.
The unwell and aged elders sat in pairs with their wives praying to the gods of rain to loosen the skies for showers to bless the land for the animals to drink from, and for their children to cultivate.
According to 91-year- old John Opio, the custom was performed whenever a calamity like drought befell a community. The gods that bring rain would be appeased by taking peas, sorghum, millet and at times ash from kitchen to any swamp, because that is where the gods of rain are said to be.
In the past, after such items were delivered to the swamps, men and women would be smeared with mud and everyone would be asked to run back home without looking behind by a clan head who was the mediator between the aggrieved gods and their subjects. “My hope is that the gods listen to our pleas that we have extended through this ritual for the last two days we have been here, this calamity has hit-hard Opaam village and Sugur parish, we hardly have food to eat,” Mzee Opio explained.
He hinted that the water weeds commonly found in the swamps, adorned on the heads and waists of the women, were used to entice the gods of rain to leave the swamps and make adventures upland, adding that it is then that the gods of rain would bless a community with rain.
Trusting in times of the past
Another elder, Mikairi Esimu, 88, revealed that always after such a ritual was performed, rain would return immediately, saying where they failed to return, it was understood that the gods of rain were still looking into the grievances of the calamity struck community.
“If a drought continued, the powers were vested in the hands of a clan head to continue with solitary prayers to the traditional gods to bring rain by revoking their punishment on their people,” he stated, adding that when that was followed, rain would finally re-appear.
Tina Akwii, 77, recounts a similar rite performed in Opaam in 1978, after rain took more than eight months without falling. On a chosen day, people gathered to perform the ritual and the next day, the gods of rain blessed Sugur with plentiful showers.
“Still vivid in me about that year, locals got huge harvests for that period after rain returned, I hope history gets to repeat itself, this time round,” she said optimistically. Steven Enyiku, 71, a former DEO Soroti District and chairman of elders in Sugur parish, said the ritual shouldn’t be taken lightly; “I grew up seeing elders perform this and the communities would be blessed with rain.”
The sacred Ebomo tree for rain rites
In such a rite, the centre of the prayers is “Ebomo tree leaves,” According to Steven Enyiku, a former DEO Soroti District and chairman of elders in Sugur parish, it is under such trees, that clan heads and other elders converged to pray to their gods at times of hardship. It is for this reason that in every Iteso ritual, the leaves from Ebomo, tree are used to usher in quick blessings including blessings, for rain, for which the community gathered in Sugur for two days.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment