Abstract
This study mainly focuses on the Syncretized processes and practices of scriptural and local healing and its interlacement with extraordinary healing power of traditional cults that have been ubiquitous for centuries among the Gurage ethnic groups who mainly inhabit the south central Ethiopia. Following the introduction of Islam and Christianity into the Gurage Land, the newly converted into either of the two religions, especially those agents of traditional cults, were remained claiming that they have an extraordinary power to cure diseases which were previously believed to be healed only through performing traditional ritual rites. This study also intends to explore the extraordinary heal power of the traditional deities that are used to cure various kinds of diseases through their ritual agents. Thus, an ethnographic study on the processes and practices of spiritual knowledge of healing will be carried out and how ritually sanctified disease, which were defined under the frame of the Sufi Islam religious denominations, especially the Sufi shrine of Abret, are cured. The main data gathering tools that are opted for employing in the selected research area are unstructured and semi structured interview, focus group discussion and participant observation. DOI : 10.7176/JAAS/58-02 Publication date :September 30 th 2019
Highlights
With the downfall of the military government of Dergu in 1991, the Gurage people were politically organized as one of the fourteen newly established regions, with a newly coined name of region seven
As a result of the political administrative restructuring following the 1994 national election, the region seven was merged into the newly modified region of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, and it was reduced into the level of zonal administration
As it is mentioned above, currently the Gurage zone consists of the Eastern Gurage that comprises the Sodo Gurage who speaks Sodigna, the Masqan who speaks Masqanigna, the Dobi Gurage who speaks Dobigna and the Western Gurage that commonly named as the Sabat Bet Gurage, which includes seven tribal groups and is the focus of this study
Summary
With the downfall of the military government of Dergu in 1991, the Gurage people were politically organized as one of the fourteen newly established regions, with a newly coined name of region seven (kilil sebat). The main focus of this study is about the syncretization of spiritual healing practice, which is one form of traditional medicine, with local healing practice among the Sabat Bet Gurage people.
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