Malkaa Soor, Oromia, December 7, 2025 — The vibrant festival of Irreechaa has commenced at Malkaa Soor, bringing together the community in a celebration of thanksgiving and renewal. Abbaa Gadaa (Gadaa leaders), Siinqee women, Qeerroo youth, Qarree elders, and residents from Mattu town and surrounding districts have begun their procession toward the ritual site.

Participants, adorned in traditional white (duudhaa) attire, emphasized the importance of the morning ceremony. “We are passing our heritage and culture on to the next generation,” one celebrant stated.

A Festival of Unique Timing and Profound Meaning
Like other Irreechaa celebrations across Oromia, the Malkaa Soor festival marks the end of the rainy season and the welcoming of the sunny, blooming Birraa (spring). What sets this celebration apart is its timing: while many zones observe Irreechaa earlier in the month of Fulbaanaa (September), Malkaa Soor’s festival is held toward the month’s end of November or beginning of December, a schedule traditionally adapted to local climatic conditions.

The core objectives of the celebration are twofold: to give thanks to Waaqa (God) and to pray for prosperity.

Thanksgiving to Waaqa is expressed through prayers such as: “Oh Waaqa, you heard our prayers, delivered us from hardship, made our crops flourish, and granted us peaceful times. For this, we give you thanks.”

Prayers for Prosperity include appeals for bounty and peace: “May you make us share abundant harvests with people and birds alike. May you make this a year of overflowing peace. May you fulfill our thoughts and hopes.”

A Celebration Reclaimed and Revived
Elders recount that, due to pressure from successive regimes, the Irreechaa festival at Malkaa Soor was suppressed for many years. Its revival began in the year 2000, and it has been observed annually ever since.

The festival gained further significance following the restoration of the Iluu Gadaa system in 2007. In 2008, Malkaa Soor hosted the first annual celebration of the restored Iluu Gadaa, attended by high-ranking officials in a grand and majestic ceremony, cementing its place on the annual cultural calendar.

Rituals and Blessings: The Heart of the Celebration
The rituals are rich with symbolism. Holding aloft fresh grasses (marga jiidhaa) and spring flowers (abaaboo birraa), celebrants proceed to the riverbank, singing praises:

“Ilil, yaa Mareewoo, Mareewoo…
May the outdoors favor us, oh ancestors…
Grant us forgiveness, oh ancestors…”

Following the main ritual, the Abbaa Gadaa and Siinqee women lead the community in profound blessings:

“Oh Waaqa, you who brought us with this spring, bring us also with the one to come.”
“Oh Waaqa, as you have grown and sustained the Odaa tree, so grow and sustain the Oromo people.”
“Oh Waaqa, we stand under the shade of the Odaa tree to pray to you; may your shade shelter us.”
“Oh Waaqa, as you have lengthened the life of this tree, so lengthen our lives.”

The festival at Malkaa Soor stands as a powerful testament to cultural resilience, spiritual devotion, and the unbroken bond between the Oromo people, their ancestors, and the natural world.