Documentation of the Wedding ceremony in Hadiyya
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Date
2014-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to document the wedding ceremony III Hadiyya and the
performances that are carried out during that ceremony including the use of the special language
of married women and traditional wedding songs. For this, participant observation, interview and
group discussion were used as data gathering devices. The informants were selected by
purposive random sampling.
There are five main types of marriage in Hadiyya: gosano 'abduction', herancha 'elopement',
illigana 'twinkly showing agreement' , lago ' levirate', and ladissha 'marriage by the agreement
of the couple and their families '. Only the latter includes all the processes from betrothal to
wedding ceremony.
As the study shows wedding ceremony and marriage practices in Hadiyya are interrelated to
other Highland East Cushitic family such as Kambaata, Sidaama, etc. In addition their custom
shares some features of Lowland Cushitic family, e.g. Oromo.
The role of community elders is very crucial in the wedding ceremony. The songs which are
sung during the ceremony have their own meaning to express the feelings of the people involved.
The study has shown that the wedding and cultural practices which related to marriage highly
endangered.
These wedding ceremony and cultural practices related to marriage are highly endangered. Therefore,
wedding ceremony among the Hadiyya is a ritual that should be further studied and documented to
transmit it to coming generations.
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wedding ceremony in Hadiyya