Gudumale
A sacred gathering ground of the Sidama people, where the New Year festival Fichee-Chambalaalla is celebrated each year; the festival is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
Gudumale is an open grassy square in Hawassa, regarded by the Sidama people as a sacred place and traditionally where elders gathered to deliberate. Each year the main celebration of the Sidama New Year, Fichee-Chambalaalla, takes place here. The date is set by elders according to astronomical calendars, usually falling between November and December. Thousands of Sidama people in traditional black-and-white striped clothing gather to sing, dance, bless the elders, and share the traditional food buraa, made with enset and butter. The festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015. The square is quiet most of the year and contains only memorial structures, so when no festival is on, it is worth a quick look if you are passing by.
Opening hours
All day (crowded during festivals)
Nearby sights
- Amora Gedel Park
- Hawassa Fish Market
- Mount Tabor
- Lake Hawassa
- Wondo Genet Hot Springs
- Shashamane Rastafari Community
- Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park
- Sidama Coffee Farms