Ethiopia: Hundreds of thousands of Oromo celebrate Irreecha in Addis Ababa and Bishoftu
Irreecha, the great thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people, brought together hundreds of thousands of people on the shores of Lake Hora Finfinnee in Addis Ababa on October 3, 2026, followed by a second celebration on October 4 at Lake Hora Harsade in Bishoftu, according to the Ethiopian agency Fana. It is one of the largest cultural gatherings on the continent.
A ritual linked to the cycle of seasons
Irreecha marks the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the harvest season. Dressed in their traditional attire, participants gather at the water's edge and submerge sprigs of fresh grass and flowers, gestures of gratitude, hope, and renewal. Songs, prayers, and dances accompany the day. The Aba Gada, customary authorities, opened the festival with blessings calling for peace and prosperity for the participants.
The Gada system, heritage of humanity
The festival is inseparable from the Gada, the Oromo system of social and political organization based on age sets and limited terms, which is inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Irreecha constitutes its most visible expression: an African institution of deliberation and transmission, kept alive by its own practitioners rather than preserved in a museum.
A highly anticipated message of peace
In Addis Ababa, Mayor Adanech Abiebie described Irreecha as a living expression "of thanksgiving, peace, love, and unity," reports Fana, inviting Ethiopians to translate these principles into concrete efforts for national harmony. The capital's celebration was themed around Irreecha in the service of national rebirth.
The voices of the participants
On the shores, the testimonies collected by the press revolved around the same word. "Peace above all," summarized a participant quoted in a report picked up by Ghana Eye Report; "when there is peace, we can work well," added another. In a country affected by several conflicts, the insistence of the faithful on reconciliation and dialogue is no mere formula: it speaks to the expectations of a population that has turned its greatest festival into a space for collective discourse.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.