April 4, 2009

Confrontation in Dorbo Meadow

Posted by: Toby McLeod

In October, six new brides paraded through a green meadow,  the tops of their heads covered with  a yellow headdress made of butter. A throng of women beat drums, sang and danced. The four-day Mascal ceremony in Ethiopia’s Gamo Highlands was drawing to a close as the rainy season gave way to planting, harvesting and prayers for fertility and happiness.

On the hillside above, young men known as callonitis (cowboys) prepared to descend an ancient pathway, an initiation ritual for the 12-year-old boys, who were surrounded by a group of young men chanting encouragement. Suddenly, in the middle of the meadow directly beneath the callonitis, a large crowd gathered and began erecting a circle of poles in the center of the meadow. The brides’ attendants began pointing and yelling. A delegation of elders gathered and climbed up the hill. Tense negotiations followed and we learned that fundamentalist Protestants were building what they described as “a building for a conference” directly in the path of the young boys’ final ritual procession. The crowd around the Protestants grew into the hundreds. Police arrived. My Ethiopian friends would not allow me to go up on the hill to film the confrontation.

Dorbo is sacred and its surface may not be pierced. This is a very old rule, known to all. The fact that a road and power lines have bisected the huge meadow has not diminished the importance of the place. Its ritual use and cultural meaning go back thousands of years.

“That building is meant to be a church,” said Nathaniel Wolde, our young production assistant, angered that the final ritual was being disrupted and communal land taken by zealots before our eyes. “It’s a provocation”

“It is illegal,” answered Metasebia Bekele, the Ethiopian anthropologist who was traveling with us, as we watched the melee unfold on the hillside above us.

With a surge, the two big crowds began to move toward each other and gunshots boomed as the police tried to keep the traditional people from advancing on the Protestants. People screamed, cried and ran as gunshots continued. The police were firing into the air.

A few final gunshots rang out as the crowds swirled and ran from the police. Rocks flew through the air. Through the viewfinder in the camera I could see three policemen with Kalashnikovs chasing people, and others waving big sticks as they ran. More stones rained down.

Later, as the black of night set in and the stand-off continued, we drove away on the only road out of town, which took us right past the two crowds lingering on the hilltop. In the dark there was one last frightening BOOM and a rock smashed the windshield of our car.

A new bride wearing a yellow headdress made of butter parades through Dorbo Meadow, taking part in the four-day Mascal ceremony.

Director Toby McLeod filming the elders of the Gamo Highlands.

Dorbo Meadow in Ethiopia's Highlands.

Haleka Malabo, a sacred site guardian in Ethiopia's Gamo Highlands.

The riot in Dorbu Meadow errupted into chaos and gunfire as police tried to keep the traditional people from advancing on the Protestants.

As the black of night set in and the stand-off continued, we drove away to one last frightening BOOM, as a rock smashed the windshield of our car.

The Rift Valley in Ethiopia.