{"id":2467,"date":"2026-08-20T12:44:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/?p=2467"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:44:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:44:30","slug":"shaday-is-our-symbol-of-peace-how-a-traditional-ethiopian-festival-is-helping-heal-trauma-and-foster-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/shaday-is-our-symbol-of-peace-how-a-traditional-ethiopian-festival-is-helping-heal-trauma-and-foster-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Shaday is our symbol of peace&#8217;: How a traditional Ethiopian festival is helping heal trauma and foster unity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"4\"><em>Addis Ababa (AMECO)-<\/em> <strong>Young women are gathering in Soqota town as celebrations begin for the annual Shaday festival under the banner <em>&#8220;We celebrate Shaday; we preserve our heritage&#8221;<\/em>, with regional leaders framing the cultural event as an active platform for peace-building and trauma recovery.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Against a backdrop of recent security challenges, local authorities and civil society are turning to the traditional festival\u2014long anchored by young women as a symbol of peace and renewal\u2014to foster social cohesion and support displaced residents. Performers wearing traditional Shaday leaves tied around their waists have arrived from multiple woredas (districts) to lead public displays of solidarity.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">Berhanemeskel Misgane, representing the Tsagbji Woreda Culture, Tourism and Sport Office, said the event offers a critical mechanism for psycho-social healing. He noted that the festival provides a vital opportunity to address the psychological impact on citizens forced from their homes by recent security problems while showcasing the region&#8217;s rich cultural heritage.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">For the young women participating, the festival serves as a direct medium for unity. Performers Gibtsat Khindi and Zewd Sefiw, who traveled from Tsagbji woreda, described Shaday as an essential forum where sisterhood is strengthened and peace is actively promoted. Both confirmed their preparations were complete to open the celebrations.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">Organisers are emphasizing cross-community inclusion, bringing together delegations from all surrounding districts and municipal administrations. According to Yirga Marye, head of the Nationality Administration&#8217;s culture, tourism and sport department, performers from woredas navigating sensitive identity questions\u2014including Korem, Zata and Wofla\u2014are participating and will present a joint public performance on the eve of the festival.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">Administrative leaders have called on the Soqota community to extend its traditional hospitality to visitors and performers, ensuring the cultural proceedings run peacefully from start to finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Addis Ababa (AMECO)- Young women are gathering in Soqota town as celebrations begin for the annual Shaday festival under the banner &#8220;We celebrate Shaday; we preserve our heritage&#8221;, with regional leaders framing the cultural event as an active platform for peace-building and trauma recovery. Against a backdrop of recent security challenges, local authorities and civil [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[97,88,81,699,696,914,1301,595],"class_list":["post-2467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2470,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467\/revisions\/2470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}