Thread by @bek_boru

**A little about Irreechaa**

When we say #Irreechaa is a thanksgiving, we are not trying to make it what it is not. Irreechaa is merely a thanksgiving and here is what you need to know.

Irreechaa also called Irreessaa literally means a sacred gift.

*THREAD*

What the #Oromo do on Irreechaa is thanking GOD by giving him a gift. The gift they give him is a wet GRASS.

I will explain why grass out of all the precious gifts they could give him. But first why they thank him?

They thank God for a ‘means of life’ that he provided them.

What they consider a means of life is GRASS and WATER. This is because the life of the Oromoo used to majorly depend on their cattle.

Oromo believes grass is the most sacred life sustaining gift God gave people.

But there is something that comes before grass though, RAIN or WATER.

According to the Oromo RAIN is something very sacred that directly descends from God to sustain life.

No rain/water no grass, no grass no cattle, no cattle no life.

So Rain/Water is believed to be the medium or the way God give its people a life or a ‘means of life’.

But when rain comes it comes with a lot of terrible things like flood.

Rivers will get full and families, neighbourhoods will be disconnected for the entire rainy season.

Now, Irreechaa or thanksgiving comes in Birraa/Spring right after the end of the rainy season.

So in addition to the ’means of life’ that he provided them, they also thank God for enduring them through the difficult rainy season and let them re-united with their loved ones.

That is when they come together for Irreechaa/thanksgiving, handful of GRASS and march towards MALKAA, a river bank or shore of a lake or a stream singing and praising GOD.

To give him back a little of what he gave them in abundance the way he gave it to them through waters.

It is all to say thank you for giving us rain so that we can sustain our lives. And also for surviving us through the rainy season.

Today, we celebrate Irreechaa for same reason. We thank god for the means of life he provided us and for surviving us through our difficult times.

FYI nothing else is done at the river banks or the lake shores. Of course it was mixed with some idolatry (if i may call it) over the past years.

There were group of people who slaughter animals and throw them into the lakes, put butter on trees etc.

But that is strange and now all that sort of things are banned by the council of Abbaa Gadaas back in 2017.

Some people think Irreechaa belongs only to Waqeffatas and wonder why Christians or Muslims take part on Irreechaa.

That is not the case. Irreechaa is for everyone who believes in God. It doesn’t matter if you are Christian, Muslim or any other religion.

You can come out and thank your God for the means of life that he provided you and for enduring you during your difficult times.

Cheers!