Gifaataa, Wolaita people New Year festival (Ethiopia)
Nomination: Representative List 2025
EN: Conflict resolution: No conflicts remain unresolved before the Gifaataa festival, including the one that happens between husbands and wifes. In this picture, partners are seen before the council of elders to reconcile.
EN: Friends sharing a local drink called Parswa from a cup made of small gourd. This symbolizes the unity and a promise of lasting relations.
EN: Guliaa ceremony: one of the major events at the Gifaataa festival is the burning of a pile of wood known as Guliaa at a Gutaraa venue in Areka district.
EN: Elders praying and blessing the family member. In this important occasion, raw meat will be served.
EN: After the bonefire ceremony known as Guliaa, young men line up shoulder to shoulder and dance back and forth while singing a popular Gifaataa traditional song known as bali helele.
EN: Traditional costumes: Wolaita women and men wearing their traditional dresses in the Gifaataa festival.
EN: Cishsha Gallassa: In the third day of Gifaataa festival, children visit their families and relations and they offer flowers; in return, they receive blessings.
EN: Singing and dancing at Gulia and Gaziya: This event is highly anticipated and appreciated by the youth. It gives them the opportunity to meet friends and find their future mate.
EN: Dyring a Gifaataa festival, a young girl expressing her feeling of love by throwing a lemon towards the one she is attracted to.
EN: Horse riding is one of the practices during the Gaziya ceremony that is the closing day of the Gifaataa festival.
