Buhe is an Ethiopian Orthodox Festival held on August 19. It marks the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, Israël. It is celebrated in churches as well as in neighborhoods.
Buhe Celebrations in Neighborhoods
Young boys gather to sing the Hoya Hoye ሆያ ሆዬ song outside of people’s homes. They don’t knock on doors, they keep singing until they get their reward: a freshly baked special bread called mulmul ሙልሙል። Nowadays, they get few birr. The boys then bless the family of the home for the following year.
People of the neighborhood tie a bundle of sticks together to make a chibo ችቦ, it will be set on fire after sunset. Once it’s dawn, celebrations move to the streets. People light their chibos while singing and dancing around.
In the countryside, boys, usually shepherds, crack a whip known as ጅራፍ, this is to let people know that they’re getting close to a neighborhood.
Buhe's Religious Significations
On the religious side, each activity (the bonfire, the bread, the whip) has its own symbol. Wosanyu Zewdie, a deacon and teacher at St. Yohannes school explains as follows in an interview with Reuters by Reuters by Africanews: “The meaning of the whip being cracked is to imitate the sound of the thunder that was heard in the sky. We later light a bonfire to represent the light that was illuminating when Christ appeared. The bread signifies the fact that mothers took bread to their shepherd boys who stayed out late because they thought it was still daylight, but it was Christ’s supernatural appearance. So all the cultural activities you see in relation to Buhe have their origin in religion.”
I invite you to check this video on Youtube to get a full insight of the celebration from the church and the country side in Ethiopia.
Sing Along The Hoya Hoye Song
መጣና ባመቱ እንዴት ሰነበቱ? (2x)
ክፈት በለው በሩን የጌታዬን ! (2x)
ሆያ ሆዬ ሆ!
ሆያ ሆዬ ሆ!
እዛ ማዶ ሆ!
ጭስ ይጨሳል ሆ!
አጋፋሪ ሆ!
ይደግሳል ሆ!
ያቺን ድግስ ሆ!
ውጬ ውጬ ሆ!
ከድንክ አልጋ ሆ!
ተገልብጬ ሆ!
ያቺ ድንክ አልጋ ሆ!
አመለኛ ሆ!
ያላንድ ሰው ሆ!
አታስተኛ ሆ!
ሆያ ሆዬ ጉዴ ጨዋታ ነው ልማዴ
ሆያ ሆዬ ጉዴ ጨዋታ ነው ልማዴ
አመት ዓውደ-አመት ድግምና
አመት ድገምና
የማሚዬን ቤት ድገምና
አመት ድገምና
ወርቅ ይፍሰስበት ድገምና
አመት ድገምና
ያባቢዬን ቤት ድገምና
አመት ድገምና
ወርቅ ይፍሰስበት ድገምና
አመት ድገምና
This holiday is the marking of the end of year, as the next national holiday is Enqutatash: The Ethiopian New Year, falling on September 11th this year. It also marks the end of the rainy season. Buhe means revealed – cleared sky. After three months of rainy seasons and dark clouds comes in the spring. Young boys keep singing the Hoya Home during August. The following month, you girls take turn to sing for the spring and the new year.
Whishing you all a Melkam Buhe
መልካም ቡሄ!
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