The Qaalu
The Boran-gutu ritual and religious leaders are qaalu, and there is one for each of the two Boran kinship groups. One is of human origin while the other one is descended directly from God. Theqaalu of the gona kinship group was created in the following way: once a certain gada class protected a Boran shrine through a time of hunger. All clans had been asked to take this responsibility but only the Dacitu and Oditu on its own. This clan placed guards all round the shrine and successfully protected it.
As a reward for this, a member of that clan was anointed qaalu. He was called Anna, and he was descended from the Oditu-hiddo sub-clan. There is a Boran proverb, obsan qaaloman, which means that only through endurance can one become a qaalu.
But the qaalu of the sabbo kinship group came from God, and was found by a Waat clansman who was out searching for honey. He had with him three black cows and a horned ram. He also had a mental armlet calledladu, which is now passed on from the qaalu to his heir when he dies. Today replicas of the ladu, called kallaca, are still made and worn for an important ceremony.
The first qaalu for the sabbo kinship group was called Gedo. People go on a pilgrimage to the qaalu and anoint him. When this happens he is called the father or anointment, and he blesses the pilgrims. He keeps snakes and has power over them. The spiritual leader of the gona group keeps puff-adders in his hut, while that of the sabbo group keeps cobras and other snakes.
The members of the two groups do not kill the snakes that are associated with their respective qaalus. The qaalu’s wife ‘bears only one son’, who is his heir when he dies. It is said that a long time ago the qaalu did not die a normal human death. Instead, a heavy mist descended on his home and his body disappeared with it.
But one day, people decided not to leave the home of the dead qaalu as was the custom. Since then the mist has never come back and all the spiritual leaders are buried in the normal way. Gabbra clans go on pilgrimages at regular intervals, about every eight years, each to a specific site. At these places, no plant or animal should be harmed and no bad language used. One such site is Mount Farole.