Feature News: Amidst Sacred Forests, the ‘Dhibaayyuu’ Ceremony Echoes a Profound Spiritual Pact

TULA MEELBANA, OROMIA – In the hallowed shadows of the ancient Gaad’a trees and the sacred groves known as Eela, the Boorana Oromo community has concluded the profound spiritual ceremony of Dhibaayyuu—a powerful covenant of prayer and divine communion.

The ceremony, recently held in the Tula Meelbana district, is the apex of the Eebbaa, the Boorana’s intricate traditional prayer system. It is not a public festival but a solemn, collective vow where the community gathers in a sacred pact with Waaqa (God), seeking blessings, offering gratitude, and reaffirming their place in the cosmic order.

Unlike more widely known Oromo celebrations, Dhibaayyuu is characterized by its deep solemnity and structured, multi-generational participation. The recent observance saw the community assemble not in one location, but across the network of specific, consecrated Eela (sacred forests) that serve as their altars under the open sky.

A Prayer Across Five Sacred Groves

In a powerful display of unity and precise tradition, the people divided their supplications among five revered Eela:

• Eela Dhaayee
• Eela Noonichaa
• Eela Arusicha
• Eela Dubbannaa
• Eela Torbaan-Godoo

Each Eela carries its own historical and spiritual significance, with specific clans and Hayyus (spiritual fathers) responsible for leading the rituals at each site. The simultaneous prayers across these groves created a spiritual resonance believed to amplify the community’s collective voice to Waaqa.

“The Dhibaayyuu is our most serious conversation with Waaqa,” explained an elder, Hayyuu Gammachis Guyo. “It is when we, as a whole people—elders, adults, and youth—stand before the Creator in our most sacred spaces. We pray for peace, for rain, for the health of our livestock and children, and for the protection of our land and culture. It is the renewal of our covenant.”

A Ritual of Purification and Unity

The ceremony involves ritual purification, the sacrifice of livestock in accordance with strict tradition, and the chanting of ancient Eebbaa prayers that have been passed down orally for countless generations. The air is thick with the scent of burning unsuu (incense) and the murmur of earnest prayer.

In a world of rapid change, the completion of the Dhibaayyuu at Tula Meelbana stands as a monumental act of cultural resilience. It demonstrates the enduring strength of the Boorana’s indigenous governance system, the Gadaa, of which this prayer system is a spiritual cornerstone. The meticulous observance of the ritual in its designated sacred forests is a quiet but potent assertion of spiritual sovereignty and connection to the land.

“This is our identity in action,” said a community participant, Dhadacha Wario. “While others may build temples, our temples are these living forests. Our Dhibaayyuu shows that our law, our faith, and our environment are one. We have kept this covenant for generations, and by the grace of Waaqa, we will keep it for generations to come.”

The successful conclusion of the Dhibaayyuu serves as a powerful testament to the living, breathing depth of Oromo spirituality—a system not of rigid dogma, but of a living, ecological, and communal relationship with the divine, faithfully preserved in the sacred groves of Oromia.