Thursday October 25th: Inauguration of the school in Dharrito.

On the way to Dharrito

Today we have breakfast at 7.30 a.m. At 8.30 a.m. we get in the car to go to Dharrito. Near Dharrito, we already see a lot of people in traditional costumes. They're on their way to Dharrito too.
At 9.30 a.m. we arrive in Dharrito. Father Vince and father Kenneth are already there. The headmaster and headmistress of the school take us round the village.

Meedicha

The people of Dharrito sacrificed some cows and goats. The skin cut from the sacrificed animals (= meedicha) are put on our arms. We're not quite used to these kinds of customs, but we feel very honoured by these gifts. It is a great honour to receive a meedicha from the Borana people.
meedicha: a strip of skin cut from a just-sacrificed animal worn, generally on the wrist, to get the blessings from, and show participation in the ceremony.
source: AADAA BORAANAA, A dictionary of borana culture, page 450; Ton Leus, Cynthia Salvadori

The ceremony

The ceremony starts. Joop cuts the tape and opens the school officially. Really a lot of people have come to the school to be present at the ceremony. All together we enter the "schoolyard".
At a rough estimate, I would say there are between 500 and 1000 people visiting Dharrito today. Iede introduces us to the Borana people. After this, there are many performances. A lot of dancing, singing, poems, speeches and more. It's very difficult for us to understand the words, but many times we hear the words "Abba Toon". So, we can understand the meaning of the words a little bit. Iede, Vince and Collette give us some short translations of some parts of the songs and poems.
Also Joop, says some words. He thanks the Borana for all the beautiful and lovely things they showed to us. We made a photo collage of the life of Abba Toon. We present this gift to the headmaster and headmistress. They're pleased with this gift.
As final performance there is a play. The key role is the role of Abba Toon. The student who fills this role, does this excellent. We recognize some characteristic features of Abba Toon very easy. It's very nice to watch.
After the ceremony we are invited to eat and drink. We're eating the cows and goats they sacrificed this morning. We visit some classrooms of the school and the church of Dharrito. After all these nice impressions we leave Dharrito. A very beautiful day. We saw (again) a lot of people who loved Abba Toon. The people are also very proud of and grateful to what Abba Toon has done in his life in Ethiopia.

Back to Dadim

On the way home, we drink some macchiato and some beer or soda. Back in Dadim, Collette tells us that the people of the village found a litte child. The child was only 3 years old. It probably died of malaria.
As every day, the diner is very good. After this we drink some coffee. For the ones who like, with a glass of brandy. After this, we play a game of Rummikub untill the lights go off (10.30 p.m.). It was another beautiful day in Ethiopia.