it's one of the largest festival in Africa, celebrated by 40+ million of OROMO people.
IRREECHAA has nothing to do with any religion.
IRREECHAA means THANKS GIVING DAY!!
which makes it the first Africans to celebrate Thanksgiving day.
Fact about waaqeffanna:
There is no belief in hell or evil spirit. It's believed to say everyone goes to "heaven". You get your punishment in this life. Waaqa is considered the " black God" because black represent origin and mystery.
There is no holy scripture, houses of worship, or prophets.
Only natural sites such as large trees, mountains, and lakes are considered sacred and closer to God.
It's an ancient monotheistic faith.
Important practices:
Following waaqa's laws not with the intent to secure life after death but rather to live happily while on earth.
Also while having an appreciation/connection with your ancestors.
All creation by waaqa(GOD) have "ayyaana"(spirit) the ultimate goal is to live up to the will of waaqa(God), which is to serve our purpose on earth. It is upto us to discover our purpose.
The devil doesn't exist and humans must take responsibility for their wrong doings by praying for and seeking wisdom in order to avoid making the same mistakes. Because waaqa created and keeps the balance of universe, humans are also expected to respect his Creation and produce creative work with their time on earth. We understand waaqa's identity can never be wholly comprehended by the human mind.
The faith is actually universal as waaqeffanna is believed to be the Oromo way of following the creator of the universe, and that other African traditional faiths are valid in a sense they are just following God with their God given culture.
