Constructing a New Imagined Space: Idioms ofAlien Cultures in
the Ayana Possession Cults of the Hor in South Omo
YUKIO MIYAWAKI
Osaka Prefecture University

This paper explores how new possession cults in an agro-pastoral society have appropriatedidioms from alien cultures and constructed a new identity based on a geographical image ofstate rule that had been repressed by their traditional ideology. The Hor is an agro-pastoralist
group residing in the South Omo Zone. During the1960s, the ayana possession cult, originating in Borana, was introduced to the Hor and spread rapidly. Despite oppression during the
Derg regime, this cult has steadily expanded its sphere of influence. Notable features of ayana
cults include: 1) their adoption of the cultural idioms of Ethiopian highlanders in rituals, eventhough these are considered as abhorrent according to aada (tradition), and 2) the fact that theirmembership consists of more than 80% women.
Although the cult has its own social organization constructed with idioms appropriated fromthe age system of the Hor, it violates such Hor patriarchal systems as lineage, clan, territorialgroup, and age. By holding seances, rituals, and divinations, influential female mediums andtheir followers can cross these traditional social boundaries. In the past, spirit possession had
been interpreted as possession by ancestral spirits and treated with rituals intended to sootheancestors, thus consolidating the patriarchy. However, most ayana spirits are reported to comefrom outside the Hor people. Indeed, reports of spirits of the Amhara (Sidaama) and of whitemen (Farenji) have been increasing recently. Thus, the ayana possession cult has offered an alternative interpretation of possession by introducing alien spirits and has restructured the imagined
space that represents the foundation of the Hor patriarchy.
These features are closely intertwined and give followers the basis for resisting tradition. The
cult provides not only a social space in which they are liberated from patriarchal rule, but also asymbolic space in which they can imagine the vast world outside of the patriarchal community.
Key words: Southwestern Ethiopia, Arbore, Hor, ayana, spirit possession, resistance, space

1. INTRODUCTION
This paper describes the organization and symbolism of the spirit possession cults followed by the
Hor in South Omo. Ayana possession cults came to the Hor from the Borana, the neighboring pastoral group to the east, in the 1960s and spread rapidly among the Hor.
Spirit possession has long drawn attention from anthropologists. loan Myrddin Lewis, for example, pointed out that this practice provides an outlet for social conflicts. He considers the spirit
mediums to be socially marginalized individuals who profit economically, in ways not available tothem otherwise, by expressing their wishes through the utterances of spirits. These spirits usuallydemonstrate ethically marginal characteristics attributed to outside groups that do not conform to
Nilo-Ethiopian Studies 13: 17-32 (2009)
Copyright© 2009.Japan Association for Nilo-Ethiopian Studies

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the social norms held by the society to which the possessed belong. The amorality attributed to suchgroups renders the sentiments expressed by the spirits permissible insofar as they are not attributed
to the possessed (Lewis 1971). Other studies have noted the relationship between spirit possession
and the construction of gender identity. Discussing a Sudanese possession cult, Janice Boddy argued
that spirit possession gives women who suffer from infertility not only the means to resist the rule oftheir husbands, but also the opportunity to defend their female identity by ascribing their infertility
to the actions of possessing spirits (Boddy 1989). Recendy, some scholars have attended to mimetic
aspects of possession. Paul Stoller pointed out that Hauka spirit possession in Niger embodies colonial memories and represents the integration of the power of colonizers (Stoller 1995).
Drawing on these insights, I focus on both the social and symbolic dimensions of the ayana possession cult and demonstrate that this cult enables the marginalized individuals of the Hor not only
to profit economically, but also to establish a social network with which to protect their freedom topursue non-traditional activities. I also show that the cult enables followers to claim a new identitythat mediates between their traditions and the culture of powerful outsiders, and that transcends
the traditional imagined space in which patriarchal rule is established. First, I introduce the social
background of the Hor and show that their patriarchal system is based on a spatial scheme that distinguishes the inside from the outside. Second, I describe the organization characterizing the ayana
possession cult. Third, I demonstrate how the traditional interpretation of spirit possession has been
appropriated and changed in the rituals of the ayana possession cult, and how the symbols of the cultare associated with the memory of Ethiopian state rule. Finally, examining the process of cult formation, I suggest that the ayana possession cult spread widely because it enabled the marginalized totrespass across the limits constraining the imagined space of tradition and to create a new identity byintegrating symbols deriving from indigenous traditions and powerful state rule.

2. BACKGROUND
2.1. Social Organization ofthe Hor
The Hor are Cushitic agro-pastoralists with a population of approximately 4,000. They subsist on
flood-retreat cultivation along the Weito River and on livestock-herding in the savanna grassland.
The Hor are divided into four territorial sections. The northern two territorial sections (Gandarab
and Kulam) refer to themselves as Arbore, and the southern two territorial sections (Murale andEgude) refer to themselves as Marle.
Each territorial section has its own chiefs and age organization. The k'awot is the pre-eminent
chief, who has the power of blessing and curse. The kernel is a subsidiary chief who mediates between
the k'awot and the elders. jaldaabs are elders who are appointed from within the dominant generation
cohort in the age organization. They support the k'awot and kernel and preside over their territorial
section. The Hor consider the k'awots of the Gandarab and of the Kulam to have stronger power than
the k'awots of the Marle. The Gandarab k'awot is reputed to control rain and harvest, and the Kulam
k'awot is reputed to control the fertility of livestock. People of the Hor, including the Marle, rely on
the power of the k'awots of the Arbore for good harvests and for proliferation of their livestock.
For the Hor, the k'awot serves as the symbol of ethnic identity and integration. Since the conquestof the Ethiopian Empire in 1897, the Hor have suffered from relendess governance by the state. They
have survived by constructing and maintaining their tradition (aada) (see 4.3). K'awots have been
the nexus of this tradition, and the Hor have tried to isolate k'awots from the political affairs of thestate (Miyawaki 2006).
The Hor tradition is based on patriarchy. Domination by the elders is justified by their role in controlling the ambiguous power wielded by the k'awot. The legend of the k'awot of Gandarab elucidates
this process. In Gandarab, the k'awot is said to have been an alien who came from the outside. He
had the power to curse and to control rain, and he subjugated the indigenous chief and inhabitants.
The indigenous chief became the kernet. Next, the stranger chief monopolized the women, the ivory,

MTYAWAKJ: Constructing a New Imagined Space19

and the flood plain, but the indigenous chief retaliated and finally succeeded in demoting the stranger
chief to the intermediary position of using rituals to induce the gods to grant fertility.
K 'awots are treated as if they are women and are strictly prohibited fro m gaining access to weapo ns. They are supported by the kernel andjaldaabs, who are appointed fro m indigenous clans. Thus,
the k'awot symbolizes not only ethnic integration, but also ambivalent alien power that had been
malevolent in tl1e past but has been domesticated and transformed into the power of blessing. 1hepatriarchal tradition of the H or is constructed according to a spatial scheme in which the power ofthe outside is incorporated into the inside.
I refer to this spatial scheme as the imagined space of tradition. In the imagined space of tradition, the roles of community members are prescribed by age and sex. Geographical space is classified
into such value-laden categories as inside and outside, and members are expected to act in accord
with their roles. Geographical space and social norms are thus intertwined in the imagined space oftradition.
2.2.lnter- ethnic Relationships, Patriarchy, and the l magi11ed Space oJTradition
Inter-ethnic relationships wi th neighboring groups reiterate mis spatial scheme. eighbors of the
H or include the H amar to the \11/est, the Waata and Borana to the East, and the Tsamako to theorth (Fig. 1). 1 he H or consider it good to kill some neighboring groups and bad to kill omers(Tadesse 1997). The Maale, Omotic agriculturalists who live in the northern mountainous area, andthe Kore (Samburu), Nilotic pastoralists who live in Kenya, are said to be fatal enemies of the Hor.
The Hor say that if one of them kills these enemies, the enemy's blood will bring the killer fertility inthe proliferation of his cattle, the growth of his crops, and m e fecundity of his wife. The Borana arealso considered as having "sweet" blood. In contrast, neighboring groups such as the H amar, Waata,
and Tsamako are believed to have "bitter" blood. If the Ho r kill members of these groups, theirblood will cause their crops to wither and their cattle and wives to become sterile. The H or regard
marriage to women from those enemy groups believed to have sweet blood to be preferable. These

Fig. 1. The 1-lor and their Neighbors

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women, once married, are said to bear many children. In addition, it is generally understood thatthose enemies whose blood is sweet to the Hor also consider the blood of the Hor to be sweet, andtherefore these desires are mutual.
The killing of enemies marks the first step in a series of ritual actions. Mter a warrior kills an
enemy, his close friend must sever the genitalia of the dead. The killer has to "buy" the genitalia in
exchange for a calf and wears a costume displaying his status as a killer. Mter the severed genitalia
are hung from an acacia tree outside of his settlement, the killer, the friend, and the acacia tree, which
symbolizes the dead enemy, enter into a taboo relationship known as agas. Those who became agas
must not hurt one another, and their lineages must not inter-marry. They must also salute the acacia
tree when they are near it, but resting under the tree represents a taboo for them.
The fertility of the enemy's blood can be "bought" by a third person through a ritual called mee
fok'in. The one who wants to become a "killer" proposes to buy the "genitalia" from the killer. During
the night, the killer and his agas friend, each armed with a spear, visit the house of the prospective
buyer. The purchaser waits with his friend and they pretend to fight with each other when the killer
and his agas friend arrive. This fighting ends with the purchaser defeating the killer, and the purchaser removing a piece of wood that symbolizes the severed genitalia of the killer. The purchaser
then gives a calf to the killer, and the purchaser, his friend, and the killer enter into a relationship ofagas. This ritual demonstrates the domestication of the violent power emanating from the outside.
The transformation and domestication of the power of enemies are completed by the ritual performed by the k'awot. A k'awot is considered perfect only when he becomes a "killer," but because
the Hor consider the k'awot as equivalent to a woman and as the symbol of peace and fertility, thek'awot cannot participate in warfare. Thus, the k'awot needs to perform the meefok'in ritual to becomea "killer." The killing of enemies by "commoner" warriors' providing the genitalia of the deceased isnecessary to increase the power of the k'awot.
We should note that the ambiguity of the k'awot is reflected in the image of enemies. The Hor
believe that the power of the k'awot is not only benevolent, but also dangerous. His curse is believed
to represent a fatal weapon against enemies and to result in disaster if directed against the Hor. Thus,
as manifested in the legend of the first Gandarab k'awot, this power should be contained within theframework of rituals that are appropriately conducted with the support of the elders in the age hierarchy.
According to the ideology underpinning the domestication of power emanating from outside, men
are considered to be essential to the prosperity of the Hor. First, men are essential as warriors who
direcdy transmit the fertility of the enemy's blood. Second, they are essential as warriors who bring
the genitalia of enemies, which are indispensable if the k'awot is to become perfect. Finally, they are
essential as elders who domesticate the power of the k'awot, and channel it appropriately.
However, the fact that the spatial scheme does not reflect the actual situation of the Hor, who havebeen under Ethiopian rule since the beginning of twentieth century, is noteworthy. They had been
ruled by the Italians during the Italian war, and many foreign NGOs, tourists, and researchers havevisited the Hor during recent years. However, the patriarchal ideology based in this spatial scheme
has been invisible to foreign visitors and rulers. As I describe in Section 4, foreigners and rulers havebeen deliberately excluded from the realm of Hor tradition. However, considering that the lives ofthe Hor are shaped largely by the state and the globalized world, this imagined space of tradition isseverely limited.
The organization of the ayana possession cult appropriates a portion of the idioms in this tradition,
but it also introduces idioms deriving from state and colonial rule that violate the schema of tradition
and transcend its imagined space.

MIYAWAKI: Constructing a ~ew Imagined Space21

3. ORGANIZATION OFTHEA~NA CULT
3.1. Organization

The highest rank in the ayana cult is the k'awot, derived from the title for pre-eminent chie£ During
my research, the ayana cult had four k'awots. Previously, two had been influential spirit mediums,
and the other two had been priests (mura). The female counterpart of k'awot is known as k'awote in
the ayana cult, a term that originally referred to the wife of the k'awot when the latter referred to thechieftainship of the Hor. However, the k'awotes of the ayana cult represent the four female spirit
mediums who belong to the first generation of the cults. All k'awots and k'awotes participated in theformation of the cult.
Highly influential spirit mediums are called k'alole. There are approximately 50 k'aloles among
the Hor. Having performed the bane ritual (see below, 2.2.3), they are permitted to treat clients.<O
K'aloles are regarded as seniors in the cults. (Fig. 2)
When possessed, mediums cannot control their own spirits. Priests, called mura, support themediums and negotiate with the possessing spirits. The term mura originally referred to the elders in
the age organization who organized distribution in the flood plain. However, the role of the mura inayana cults involves mediating among spirits, mediums, and clients and managing issues concerning
the cults. They are selected at a bane ritual by the spirits possessing the k'aloles. At present, there are
five muras, all males.
The mura is a coordinator of the cults. Anyone suffering from illness or troubled by difficulties canvisit a medium as a client to ask for advice. The mura participates in the treatment and transmits thewords of spirits to clients. He accepts offerings from clients and passes them on to mediums, arranges
the rituals of the cult, sends messages to participants, and administers the ritual process.
In partnership with a dozen mediums, the five muras become the nodal points of five regional cults.
(Fig.3) The process whereby cults are formed is closely related to the process whereby mediums are
initiated.
3.2. 1he Process ofInitiating Mediums
3.2.1. From Illness to Possession
Sickness is symptomatic of ayana possession. When a patient has a high fever, she is first treated withtraditional medicine. If she does not recover, she will be taken to a modern clinic in the town near thesettlement. If she does not recover, she will be brought to a diviner (moro).
The diviner may suspect a curse or some kind of trouble caused by indigenous spirits living underground. If the patient's sickness is caused by a curse, the diviner will tell his patient to soothe thesuspected person with a gift. If the trouble is caused by spiritual beings, the diviner will teach hisclient how to appease them, and the client will perform a ritual according to the advice (see 3.1).
If all these attempts fail to restore the health of a client, the diviner will suspect ayana possession

Ik ·awol/ k 'awote (chief of the cult)Ik 'a/ole (influential mediums)

mediumsclients
Fig. 2. Organization of the Cult

mura (priest)

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Tsamako----,
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Residence of a priest (mura)/regional cult lead by the
mura
Police station~ and lhe area covered by the,'*ErboreOGandarabTerritorial groups oflhe HorOKuileThe village ofTsamako chief

Tsamako

Neighboring ethnic groups,--::==::&Kula
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Fig. 3. H or Territorial Groups and Regional Distribution of the Cults

and recommend that his patient consult a mura. Mter consultation, the mura, accompanied by mediums, will visit the house of the client and hold a seance at which the participants chant and wait fora spirit to appear.
The seance sometimes continues for several days. If the client falls into a trance and starts murmuring, a sign that the person is possessed by a spirit, the mura asks the spirit to identify itself andwhat it wants. Mter identifying itself and revealing what it wants, such as some kind of shawl, coffee,
incense, or grass, the spirit is assured by the mura that its request will be fulfilled if it stops harming
the client. The client is then considered to be a neophyte medium.
Most spirits have established relationships with one of the k'aloles; in other words, the spirit of an
influential medium often possesses a neophyte. The spirit of the medium and the newly possessed
are considered to have a "parent-child" relationship. One medium produces several "children," and"children" produce "grandchildren."The Hor describe this process of expansion as a creeper extending
its vines. The members form a fictitious lineage (wari) and help each other during rituals.
3.2.2. Seance
Spirits may communicate their wishes to their mediums in dreams in addition to revealing them inseances. They may tell their mediums to offer such items as coffee, fragra nt wood, and shawls, andto entertain them with dance and songs. The medium must soothe her spirits periodically by holding a seance known as addar. Otherwise, the spirits harm the medium by making her/him sick or bymaking her/him meet with an accident, such as falling on a fire. The medium tells her mura to holda seance, and the mura informs the members of the cult to participate.

MIYAWAKI: Constructing a New Imagined Space23

On the day of the seance, the mura goes into the bush with some R.'aloles to collect a grass known as
ch'affe. Each ayana has its own favorite kinds of grass. For example, the favorite types of grass of one
ayana are zerante {Graminae spp.), R.ondate (Cyperus rotundus L.), mederte (Cordia sinensis Lam.),andgomicha (unidentified). The medium holding the seance prepares coffee and burns fragrant wood,referred to as et'an, in her house.
At night, the mura and R.'aloles enter the house of the medium, spreading the grass they have collected along the passage to the entrance of the house and on the floor inside the house. At midnight,
they start to chant. The mura beats a drum called a dibbe. Several dozen members participate, andseveral of them fall into trances. Most members are mediums, but some newcomers who are interested in the cult may also be included. When one falls into trance, the mura and R.'aloles put a shawl
on the possessed, and the mura asks the possessing spirit to express its demands. The spirit expresses
its wishes, usually in the Borana language. The demands made by spirits are not always identical andmay change according to the personal situations of the mediums they possess. A spirit may only ask
for what it wants, such as a certain kind of shawl; it may give advice about family matters, such as
whom a daughter should marry; and it may appoint a new mura, who is then expected to manage its
cult. The mura escorts the possessed to a spear called an ankase, which is planted in the ground at acorner of the house. Spirits are often said to enter and exit a house through this spear, and it seems
that the mura, judging the state of the medium and the duration of possession, allows the spirit toleave by escorting the medium to the spear. The mura pours water on mediums who lose consciousness after the spirits leave. Mter the medium recovers consciousness, the mura informs her of thewords spoken by the spirit.
The atmosphere of seances is characterized by merriment and laughter. Several spirits possessa medium sequentially. Some of these are animal spirits, and mediums imitate the movements ofsnakes, hyenas, and lions. Some mediums take fire from the hearth and put it into their mouths.
Others dance to the beat of the drum in a quick rhythm. Spirits that come from different countries
salute each other in foreign languages. Participants enjoy such comical behaviors enacted by thespirits.
In the middle of the seance, the mura's assistant boils a pot of water on the hearth. She then roasts
some coffee beans in a pan and lets participants enjoy the resulting smell by fanning the smoke withher hand. She serves coffee in empty tomato sauce cans instead of ceramic cups, and roasts maize ina pan, subsequently serving it.
The seance continues until two or three o'clock in the morning. Participants go home after the last
spirit has left a medium.
3.2.3. Rituals of Promotion and Retirement
When a medium has had sufficient experience, she performs a ritual known as bane.'2> Many mediums and clients are invited, and the climax of the ritual occurs during the second day when a small
animal is slaughtered as per the demand of the ayana spirit. The animal's throat is cut with one stroke
and the medium, in a trance, jumps at the throat and sips the blood. The shawl demanded by theayana spirit is placed on the medium's shoulders. Mter the ritual, the medium becomes a k'alole, thesenior of the cult, and is permitted to have clients and treat them in exchange for gifts.
When a medium gets old and experiences difficulties in enduring spirit possession, she performs
a ritual called hanfo. The structure of the ritual is similar to that of the bane. Mter the ritual, she isreleased by the spirits.
The cult of ayana spirits is characterized by a strict hierarchy. Mter joining the cult, mediums
must hold seances periodically to soothe the spirits. Even during these seances, the hierarchal orderis observed. When the senior members of the cult are possessed, the spirits that possess the juniors
leave them out of respect (joMo ). The cults share a common value with the age set of the Hor: adherence to the hierarchy and obedience to seniors:
A medium increases her experience and becomes a senior in the cult by performing the bane ritual.
She then starts treating clients, listening to their agony, solving their troubles, and curing their ill-

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nesses. The cults earn revenue to maintain their organization from two sources. One source involves
seances, through which mediums demand what they want through the words of spirits, shifting thefinancial burden for meeting these demands to family and kin. The other source involves gifts given
by clients in return for treatment. Some part of this revenue is offered to the seniors through suchrituals as the bane and is allocated for maintaining the organization of the cults.

4. THE POWER OFTHE INSIDE AND THE POWER OF THE OUTSIDE

Ayana has an ambiguous image and is often compared to wind, moving from one medium to another,and leaving each medium suddenly. Ayana is also said to be the wind of the god (hefer waaket), andthe errand of the god (erga waaket). The Hor consider the god to be benevolent, and the ayana isregarded as the spirit that brings affi.uence.
On the other hand, ayana is often associated with illness because it causes illness and, at times,
death when it comes to the medium for the first time. Ayana is thus dangerous and associated with
misfortune. This ambiguous image is related to the social and spatial images that are attached tospirits by the Hor.
·4.1. 1he Power ofthe Inside and Outside
The dangerous power of ayana is often associated with the power of other spirits. Malaika, the spiritof the dead, is feared by the Hor as the most dangerous spirit. When someone dies, the Hor hold afuneral (boi), and bury the body near the settlement of the dead. At this time, the spirit of the dead isbelieved to remain in the settlement, possibly causing illness to the inhabitants. The malaika ceases toharm the inhabitants of the settlement only after the performance of a ritual, sa/alto, which involves
arranging a pile of tombstones (sandoite) at the cemetery and thereby soothing the dead by offeringsacrifices. The structure of a cemetery is similar to that of the settlement, and the dead are regarded
as being buried in their own settlement. If an illness is caused by a malaika, a he-goat is slaughteredand its blood and mesentery are offered with some coffee and sorghum.
Other spirits, such as gando, zugru, and jano are also believed to cause illness. They are said toremain in the settlement, especially near anthills, which symbolize tombs. Possession by these spirits
is treated by constructing four arched gates, called hulko, from branches of mederte (Cordia sinensisLam.) and birile (Acacia spp.) trees and arranging these in a row near an anthill. The patient entersat the west, where a fire has been made, and moves eastward through the gates.
When a person dies, the Hor customarily make a fire that is kept burning for three days for awoman and for four days for a man. This fire is said to symbolize the hearth fire of the house to which
the dead belonged. The fire at the entrance to the hulko thus signifies that the fire of the patient's
house has been moved outside and is buried with the patient. The Hor consider east to be the direction of birth and west to be that of death. Hor settlements are constructed according to this symbolism, and important rituals, such as the transition ceremony of age grade, are performed according tothis scheme. The eastward direction of the patient's movement through the hulko thus indicates thathe or she is reborn after death.
Thus, this ritual of spirit appeasement using the hulko gate symbolizes the death and rebirth of thepatient. The head of the patient's family presides over this ritual and appeases the spirit with gifts.
These spirits are closely associated with the concept of the outside (ige). The outside is contrasted
with the inside (nab) of settlement (dirr), where important rituals are held. The space of the outside
starts at the circumference of the settlement and extends to the forests, river, and savanna, where
people meet wild animals, spirits, and enemies. Outside, they may encounter malaika, shadows of
their acquaintances (gaya), and the lost guardian spirit of k'awot (urgo). These spirits, which invade
the realm of the inside and cause illness, must be returned to the outside, where they belong, throughan appropriate ritual. Ritual appeasement of indigenous spirits thus demonstrates the reconstructionof social order of the inside under the authority of the head of the family. The spatial structure of theMIYAWAKI: Constructing a New Imagined Space25

ritual mirrors that of the patriarchal tradition that domesticates the power of the k'awot.
The spatial structure of ayana possession is also reflected in the initial stage of possession. Patients
possessed by ayana for the first time are often found in places referred to as the outside. The followingcase shows the close association of ayana with the spirits of the outside.
The mother of Shada Armar, <3> who was the k'awot of Kuile, became sick. <4> A medium of ananaya cult, Arniro Galano, was asked to treat her. He was told that she was possessed by thespirit called Jani Kooba, the spirit of a termite anthill. She recovered by after a hulko ritual washeld near an anthill, but the spirit then possessed and killed Shada's daughter. Next, the spirit
moved to Shada, and he became sick. Arniro treated him again, this time informing Shada thatthe spirit was dangerous and that it would change into a good ayana if Shada wanted to have an
ayana. He also informed Shada that he could not be a medium, since he was the k'awot of thepastoralists (zelan). Next, the medium allowed the spirit to possess Shada's wife. During the following night, a seance was held by the mediums of an ayana cult that was based in Kuile and thespirit revealed its name to be ''Allah." Shada recovered. (Dadi Dalacha, Gandarab, 8/8/2002)
In this case, ayana andJani Kooba were interchangeable. The dangerous power of ayana was associated with the indigenous spirits that remained on the outside. At first, Arniro Galano, the ayana
medium who was asked to treat the patient, advised holding a hulko ritual. Mter this ritual failed,
he reinterpreted the situation as involving possession by an ayana, and advised the patient to accept
the spirit if he wanted it to be benevolent. He subsequendy allowed other mediums in the cult tointervene and manage the situation.
It should be noted that Shada Armar, the patient, and the k'awot of Kuile were informed that the
Shada could not be an ayana medium because he was a k'awot of the pastoralists. <5> The source of this
episode could not explain in detail why a k'awot could not be a medium. (ll) However, it seems difficult
for any k'awot to become an ayana medium because ayana possession cults have introduced foreigncultural elements that have been stricdy excluded from the tradition in which k'awots are embedded.
In the next section, I show how ayana possession cults appropriate foreign cultural elements.
4.2. From the Power ofthe Outside to the Power ofthe World
Ayana spirits reveal their names and origins during healing rituals. Most come from outside of theHor, including from Borana, Konso, Somali, Amhara, Kenya, and European countries.
Most members who became mediums during the early development of cults were possessed byspirits of the Borana. These spirits identified themselves as Oda, Boru, and so on. Somali spirits
were also common. Their common names are Allah, Islaa, Alimara, and Hambla. Presendy, the mostpopular ayana are those of the Amhara. Grannyu, Adale, and Handulo are popular Amhara ayana
names. Recendy, foreign ayana spirits have been increasing. They are known as Manyorki, Marian,and Salian, and are reputed to utter unintelligible foreign words.
While dreaming, mediums often see the ayanas that possess them, and they can depict theseimages very vividly. The following represents a memory reported by Niro Korjale, who was possessedby an ayana during the period immediately following its introduction to the Hor.
"Grannyu comes to me in my dream. He wears a garment of red, green, and yellow. He orders
me to bring soap. Since he doesn't like filthy things, he orders me not to run out of soap.
He comes to my house at night riding on horseback. Then he enters my house and comes toan ankase. He repeats it four times and leaves. I don't know where he goes." (Niro Korjale,
Gandarab, 26/08/2002)
The garment worn by the spirit resembles the flag of Ethiopia and the Hor associate riding on
horseback with the Amhara officials in power during the rule of Ethiopian Empire. These officials
persecuted the Hor, and the Hor would flee when they saw a horse approaching. The odor of soap

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is regarded as the smell of the Amhara; this smell is contrasted with that of butter, which the Hor
women apply to their bodies. This ayana has possessed other eight mediums, all of whom were children of Niro Korjale.
This case shows how the experience of ayana spirit possession is closely associated with the memoryof state rule, an abhorrent experience for the dominant elders presiding over the Hor. The next casealso shows the association between state rule and ayana possession, but from a slighdy different perspective. Soti Argore is an influential male medium in Gandarab.
''At that time, I was in a militia and went to Kenya to attend a meeting. The Kenyan police
station included houses. Communications equipment was located in the first house, and thesecond house was used for lodging. In the latter house, there were many colorful clothes. I had
never seen such clothes. There were hairs from a giraffe tail. I bought these, and returned to
the Hor by car.
"I became sick five days later. I didn't eat or drink. I didn't know where I had become sick.
At night, the Kenyans came to me. They were the Kenyans I had seen at the meeting and they
wore the clothes I had seen in the police station.
"I had been in the house of my brother in Gandarab, but I went out and ran to Bilbilo (thesouthern area of the Hor). I said that I wanted to go to Kenya since my friends were in Kenya.
"Then, some ayana mediums came, and tried to let the spirits talk. But the language spoken
by the spirits was unintelligible. Then, a spirit named Walki came and started to translate. Fourayanas came out.
"I gave the spirits an ankase (a wooden stick with a point of steel), and I prepared gourds ofhoney wine and drank the blood of a slaughtered goat. I became a big medium." (Soti Argore,
Gandarab, 13/09/2002)
Soti went to Kenya during the period of Derg rule; he was accompanied by a cadre, Gino Sura,
who, at that time, was the most powerful mediator between the Hor and the government. They went
to a town bordering Kenya, near Lake Turkana, and discussed local security matters with Kenyan
policemen. There were many Gabra men among them, and they could communicate with each otherin the Borana language. Gino brought three jerry cans oflocal araqi (distilled spirits) for them, andSoti was impressed with the unrestrained way in which they consumed it.
The compound contained a bar, at which women entertained the policemen, as well as a shop thatsold many products that Soti had never seen.
During Derg rule, the younger generation was organized into militias by Gino. They were the first
generation to travel outside of the Hor area by car and to see the Amhara and foreign countries. The
spirit possession ofSoti seems to have been triggered by his amazement at seeing previously unknown
material abundance.
4.3. Symbols ofRituals
The images of ayana spirits represent the vast world outside of the Hor. The images of the Amhara
and the Ethiopian.empire, in particular, occupy a central position within this symbology. The addar

seance, for example, includes features appropriated from the coffee ceremony practiced by the
Amhara.
Ch'ajfe, which a mura spreads before a seance, represents an imitation of the grass spread by the
Amhara during their new year and ordinary coffee ceremonies. Amhara women roast coffee beans
and allow participants to smell its smoke in a coffee ceremony. The pot used for boiling coffee isknown as a jabana, and the cup for serving coffee is known as a sini. These words are derived from
Amharic. Roasted maize is called k'irs, which means breakfast in Amharic.
The method for cutting the throat of small livestock during the bane ritual is similar to the method
reportedly used by the Amhara to slaughter livestock. However, the Hor usually slaughter animals by
cutting their throats four times and disapprove of how the Amhara perform slaughters.

MIYAWAKI: Constructing a New Imagined Space

27

Offerings given by the clients of ayana mediums are identical to the goods brought to the Hor
during the Amhara rule: cash, bottles of honey wine, soap, and clothes.
The spear, known as ankase, represents an important ritual tool that serves as the site on which
ayana spirits descend. The ankase is a wooden stick, 1.5 m long, with a steel point on one tip. Threeor four branches emanate from the other tip of the stick. It is usually placed into the ground at acorner of the medium's house. Ritual tools such as gourds, fragrant woods, and offerings are hungon its branches.
Ankase is an Amharic word. <7l During the reign of the Ethiopian empire, officials of the empire
always carried this as a weapon for stabbing animals and humans. However, some of the Hor remember another purpose for this stick. When empire officials arrived, they ordered the Hor to offer themsmall livestock, which they slaughtered. They then cut the meat, hung pieces on the branches of theankase, and ate them raw with red peppers. If the officials did not have an ankase, they ordered theirfollowers to stand nearby and to keep the meat in their hands. For the Hor, the ankase signifies thegreed with which the Amhara appropriated and consumed the wealth of the Hor.

5. RESISTANCE AND DESIRE
5.1. 7he Hypothesis ofMarginality and Resistance

The symbols used in ayana cults are appropriated from Amhara rituals, and reflect memories of state
rule. Yet, considering the disgust with which most Hor view the Amhara culture, it is surprising thatthe ayana cults use such symbols.
According to Lewis, marginalized members of the society, such as women, are often possessed byalien spiri~s. Because they can attribute unreasonable behavior to the amorality of alien spirits who do
not conform to the norms of their society, the possessed can make extravagant demands that would
be prohibited in ordinary life (Lewis 1971).
Most mediums in the ayana cults are women, and those who fall into trance states during seances
are also women. Table 1 shows the number of influential mediums who have held the bane ritual
according to territorial section and sex.
This Table suggests that women outnumber men among influential mediums. Indeed, a substantial
number of women seem to participate in cults. The mediums I interviewed usually had more than six"children," but these numbers may represent an overestimate, as the most influential mediums served
as my informants. If one influential medium produced three children, mediums would number 192.
If86% of the mediums were women, female mediums would number 165. If half of the population of
the Hor (4,000) were adult, and half the adults were female, adult women would number 1,000. This
simple calculation suggests that one out of every six adult women has had the experience of being
possessed by an ayana.
The present status of the ayana possession cults of the Hor seems consistent with the hypothesis
proposed by Lewis. In the patriarchal society of the Hor, women are politically and economicallymarginalized. They cannot enter the politics of the age system, and they are denied the right to own

Table 1. Number oflnfiuential Mediums
Territorial Section

Male

FemaleGandarab

3

26

Total
29

Kulam

4

5

9

Murale

2

10

12

Egude

0

14

14

Total

9 (14%)

55 {86%)64 (100%)

28

Nilo-Ethiopian Studies

cattle and small livestock, the primary property of the Hor. However, if we consider the developmentof this possession cult from an exclusively economic perspective, that is, the desire of marginalized
women to own property, we will miss the important social significance of this cult. We will examine
this significance by briefly reviewing the history of a female medium.
5.2. Escape from Patriarchal Rule

Rufo Dadi, who is approximately 60 years old, is one of the most influential female mediums. She
was possessed by a spirit when she was in her late teens. She had been living with her uncle but
was told to stay with her father. She became ill when she returned to her father's house. Her father
asked a diviner to treat her, and the diviner determined that a malaika had harmed her. He told themto construct hulko gates that could be traversed by other members of the family but that she wasprohibited from entering. She rushed back to her uncle's house and fell unconscious in front of his
cattle kraal. Ayana spirit possession was suspected. At first, a medium ofWaata treated her, but thisapproach failed. Next, a medium ofGandarab, named Arniro Galano, treated her and a spirit known
as Oda appeared.
Mter marriage, Rufo Dadi continued to have intimate relationships with some of the ayana cultmembers. Her husband hated these activities and prohibited her from participating in the cult. As
a result, she put a curse on him, and the ayana spirits visited many misfortunes on him, leading to his
eventual capitulation.
Rufo's case has some interesting features in common with other ayana possessions. Behind theprocess of sickness, diagnosis, and spirit possession lies a negotiation between a father and a daughter.
Rufo had an intimate friend, named Bala Baje, when she lived in her uncle's village. When her father
tried to control her, she became ill and her father interpreted this as originating from a malaika. A
malaika is an ancestral spirit, and the healing ritual involved in its treatment strengthens the integration of the family by using the authority of the head of the family to soothe the spirits. If the daughter had acquiesced to the ritual, she would have been under the control of her father and forced tomarry someone chosen by her father. Instead, Rufo found shelter from her father in the ayana cult.
The priest (mura) of the medium (Arniro Galano) who treated her was Bala Baje, who later became
one of the ayana k'awots. Rufo Dadi was able to maintain her relationships with her male friends inthe cult, and she herself became one of the central figures in the formation of the cult.
In general, girls are often possessed by ayana before marriage. Although it is difficult for womento escape from marriages arranged by their parents, the cults empower women after marriage by
providing a safe haven for covert extramarital relationships. It is not uncommon for married Hor tohave such relationships, but these sometimes end violently when revealed. These cults, cross-cutting
lineages, clans, territorial sections, and even ethnic groups, provide places in which women can act
freely. Furthermore, a female medium can even reverse the power balance in her family by mobilizing
her ayana "lineage" and placing a curse of ayana spirits on her husband.
Recently, cults have started to interfere in the relationships between mediums and fiances before
marriage by mandating that the groom of the medium swear in front of the "father" (the influential
medium) of the medium (the bride) that he will not interfere in the ritual activities of his wife. All
the members of her ayana "lineage" attend this ritual and threaten the future husband with dire punishments inflicted by spirits if he does not obey.
Thus, interpreting ayana cults as mere means for the marginalized to profit economically is insufficient. Rather, this phenomenon represents a movement to construct a new social network byinterrupting traditional rituals, and allowing the possessed to join an alternative social organization.
However, one question remains: Why do the cults appropriate the disdained symbolism of Amhara
rule? Lewis, for example, suggests that possessing spirits are alien because the possessed can attribute
their unreasonable behavior to the amorality of the alien spirits who operate outside the norms of
their (Hor) society. Contrary to Lewis, I will show that the alien spirits of the ayana cult represent
desires that the Hor have hidden while under state and colonial rule. Furthermore, these desires are
not only economic; they are also ideological and are based on the conceptualization of space. Because

MIYAWAKI: Constructing a New Imagined Space29

alien spirits subvert the spatial scheme of the traditional patriarchal ideology, they have been adopted
by those who are frustrated with the oppressiveness of tradition and who want to change how they
imagine their community.
5.3. Constructing a New Identity
Ayana cults first appeared among the Hor during the early 1960s when young woman became sickand her husband took her to the Konso with two Waata men. The Waata are a small hunting group
who live between the Borana and the Hor. A conflict between the Hor and their western neighbor,the Hamar, began during the mid-1940s and continued until the mid-1970s. This conflict caused
some of the Hor to migrate east, across the Wei to River, to the habitat of the Waata. The Hor immigrants had close contact with the Waata and became accustomed to their culture.
The two Waata men accompanying the sick woman had lived in the Borana area, knew ayana
practices well, and took the woman to the ayana medium of the Konso, the northern neighbors of
the Borana. Two young Hor men also made this trip to the Konso. They were friends, and one was ayounger brother of Grazmatch Sura Gino, the most powerful Hor mediator of that time.
Since the Ethiopian conquest, the position of influential local headman (ch'ik'a shum) of the Hor
had been inherited within the clan ofGandarab k'awot (Olmok clan). Though the Hor had despised
Amhara rule, the position of the local headman as a strong intermediary with the regime was attractive because it entailed considerable power over the Hor. Those who became local headmen were
eager to imitate the Amhara culture with displays of supremacy. They gave precious foreign goods,
such as guns and clothing, to relatives and age mates and enlisted these relatives and age mates asfollowers. K'awots, on the other hand, were segregated from the domain of state politics and presided over the people in the domain of rituals. People resisted the state by upholding the patriarchal
tradition, but a dilemma emerged. Olmok, which symbolized the authenticity of the tradition, also
represented the power and wealth of the state and epitomized the repressed desires of the Hor vis a
vis the power and wealth of the state (Miyawaki 2006).
In the 1960s, Sura Gino, a man from the Riis clan, distinguished himself as a mediator, gained thetrust of Amhara officials, and was awarded the tide of Grazmatch. However, the Gandarab elders,fearing that Sura might grow more powerful than the k'awot, did not accept him. Sura subsequendy
left the settlement of Gandarab and lived in the territory of the Konso with his kin. His home served
as a meeting place where people of various backgrounds gathered, and Amhara officials often visited
him. Fortune-tellers who offered apocalyptic prophecies came from the Hamar, Waata, and Borana,and Somali merchants came to trade. The two young men who went to the Konso to visit the ayana
medium lived in this area and had a close relationship with Sura.
These two young men were impressed with the performance of the Konso medium and wanted to
introduce the ayana cult to the Hor. One of them, named Bala Baje, met Somali ayana spirits in a
dream after returning from the Konso.
At that time, members of the Hor started to experience possession by ayana spirits. In Gandarab,
Gosha Arshal, Boru Arkulo, and Arniro Galano were possessed. Gosha was a member of the k'awot
clan but he could not inherit this position, which demanded a perfect body, because his arm had been
bitten by a crocodile. He became psychologically disturbed and began wandering naked in the forests. Boru Arkulo was a son of a strong local headman, who tried to inherit this position by offering
many catde to the Amhara officials as bribes. However, the elders of Gandarab did not allow him
to be a local headman because his close friends included Sura Gino. He finally lost everything andbecame sick. Arniro Galano was a marginalized man from the beginning. He was very poor, had nolivestock, dressed in rags, and spent his time wandering and begging for food from his neighbors.
Gosha lived among the Waata and became possessed by a spirit that originated in one of the two
Waata men who took the sick Hor woman to the Konso medium. Mter this incident, the same spirit
possessed Boru and Arniro. Bala became a priest of Arniro, and one of the spirits of Arniro possessed
Rufo Dadi. Bala and Rufo had been lovers.
Many young men and women gathered around Bala and Rufo. Most paired off as lovers, and30

Nilo-Ethiopian Studies

women became mediums and men became priests. The group went on tours, held seances, and spreadthe ayana cult. Because the leading figures were accustomed to the culture of the Amhara, it was notdifficult to appropriate its symbols to construct a new ritual system.
During this period of formation, men participated as eagerly as did women. Some male participants had lost in the local power struggle, and others had been affected by foreign culture under the
influence of Sura Gino. Young women distressed by patriarchal rule also joined the cult. In the cult,"losers" were able to become influential mediums and gain followers. Young men tried to create an
institution in which they could develop an alternative identity that could mediate between theirtradition and the powerful Amhara culture. Young women could find a place in which freedom of
behavior was assured.
During the Derg regime, the activities of the cults intensified. Many people were possessed andseances were held every night. However, the local government regarded the cults as frauds and began
oppressing them. Policemen and militia intruded on seances with searchlights. Priests were arrested
and forced to renounce their beliefs. Most men left the cults, but women continued to practice theirbeliefs. The memory of the Derg oppression is embodied as a spirit known as Cadre, symbolized as
the flash from a searchlight.

6. CONCLUSION
Since most mediums in ayana possession cults are female, one may expect, as Lewis suggested, thatwomen who are marginalized under patriarchal rule utilize spirit possession as a means to profit economically. This feature can be observed in ayana possession cults insofar as the possessed can makedemands through the utterances of spirits and influential mediums are offered many gifts by theirclients. Because Hor women are denied the right to own livestock, the only property that can be soldat markets and exchanged for commodities, such as coffee, soap, and shawls, becoming a medium
provides a rare opportunity for women to gain access to such commodities. Ayana possession cultsalso serve as pretexts for women to escape from the control of men. Indeed, Hor girls are expected tobe obedient to their fathers and cannot select their own husbands. Mter marriage, women are subordinate to their husbands and must get permission from their husbands to do anything other thantheir everyday chores. Ayana cults trespass the limitations set by lineages, clans, and ethnic groups
and provide places in which women can act freely.
The most notable feature of ayana cults are their symbolism. The idioms of rituals and the characteristics of possessing spirits are appropriated from the cultures of the Amhara and foreigners. The
implications of such items for the Hor can be understood from the perspective of their cultural resistance to state and colonial regimes, as such items are reminiscent of state and colonial rule. Whilestate and colonial power were exerted through strong indigenous intermediaries, most members ofthe Hor tried to keep their dignity and cultural identity by maintaining their tradition, which is basedon what I refer to as an imagined space in which geographical space and social norms are intertwined.
The imagined space is a schema consisting of such categories as the inside and the outside and ismaintained by rituals, legends, and practices, including waging wars against neighboring groups. The
space prescribes the roles of men and women and represents a foundation of patriarchal ideology andethnic identity. Considering their historical experiences with state and colonial rule, the imagined
space of the Hor tradition is severely limited and can function only by neglecting elements of stateand colonial power.
Ayana possession cults have had a strong impact on many members of the Hor insofar as such cults
have incorporated alien elements that had been rejected by the Hor tradition. Before the introduction of the cults, such alien customs and artifacts had been monopolized by a few men who were
granted power by the state. However, the fact that such items symbolize the inaccessible but irresistible wealth of the external world is noteworthy. The cults also appropriated the forms and values of
the hegemonic tradition, including its age system. The formation of ayana possession cults was, thus,

MIYAWAKI: Constructing a New Imagined Space31

an attempt by the Hor people to integrate their own tradition with the powerful alien culture. The
history of cult formation reveals that the pioneers of the cults were varied but had been economically,
politically, and culturally marginalized by the society. These included a girl who had escaped fromthe control of her father, a man who had to turn to begging because of his extreme impoverishment,
and a man who failed in his aspiration to become a local headman. During this incipient stage, cults
were comprised of both men and women.
During the Derg period, traditional values were minimized and violendy attacked, and during thisperiod the activity of the cults intensified. New spirits started to possess mediums, reflecting changes
in the political situation, and the local government started to oppress cults. Younger generations of
the Hor occupied the political scene and oppressed the cults not only because they regarded them as
fraudulent from a "socialist" perspective, but also because the cults loomed as potential rivals to theircultural and political hegemony.
During the Derg period, many men left the cults, but women remained, not only because women
were not targeted for oppression in the ways men were targeted, but also because the situation of
women had not changed. While men gradually gained status as they began participating in local
politics, women remained subordinate to men. The attempt to introduce women's education by aleading mediator failed due to strong opposition from men. Most men did not want women to be
educated because education seemed to free women from the control of men, thereby destroying thesocial order.
The cults enabled those experiencing the dilemma posed by patriarchal traditions and powerfulforeign cultures to construct a new identity connected to the world outside. That the majority of current mediums are women reflects the economic and day-to-day marginalization of women as well as
their strong desire to find an alternative way for imagining and acting in the wider world. Womenshould be urged to maintain and recreate this new tradition of the Hor.

NOTES
(1) If a medium treats a client without having performed the bane ritual, she is not only punished by the elders
of her cult, but is also believed to be harmed by her own spirits.
(2) Bane means "open" in the Hor language, and it indicates that the initiate steps up to the higher stage of thecult.
(3) All the names referred to in this article are pseudonyms.
(4) Shada was the k'awot of the Tsamako, and lived in a setdement called Kuile, located a few kilometers northof Gandarab. The Hor believe that the k'awot of the Tsamako has strong powers of curse and blessing, andtreat him as their own k'awot.
(5) The word zelan, which in the interview with Dadi Dalacha was used to refer to pastoralists, is an Amharicword connoting savageness. The Hor sometimes refer to themselves as zelan, and this usage reflects theirambivalent attitude toward their tradition and the modernity brought by state rule. If the Hor are zelan,
they live according to different norms than do the Amhara, and such norms are considered to be inferior
to those of the Amhara, at least from the perspective of the Amhara.
(6) Among the Hor, serving as a medium of ayana and a k'awot of a territorial group are considered to beincompatible. Gosha Arshal, a former k'awot of Gandarab, once served as a pioneering ayana medium (see4.3). When he became a k'awot, he resigned from the position of medium.
(7) This spear is calledjitifo in the Hor language.

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Stoller, P.
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YUKIO MIYAWAKI: School ofHumanities and Social Sciences, Osaka Preftcture University, Gakuen-cho 1-1,
Naka-ku, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531,]apan. miyawaki@fine.ocn.ne.jp