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MAPPING THE CHAINS OF SPIRITUAL BONDS CONNECTING THE AFAR WITH THEIR NEIGHBOURS: THE QADIRIYA SILSILA OF AWSA [Abstract ID: 0514-06]
The silsila ‘chain of spiritual forefathers’ of the Qadiriyya Islamic Sufi leaders settled in Awsa, the central territory of the Afar people. It is probably the most complete among Islamic communities in Ethiopia because its connections with the spiritual leaders of Arab countries is well established. This is not the case for the other Ethiopian branches of this transnational spiritual network. The study of the Qadiri silsila of Awsa also reveals trans-regional relations between Ethiopian Muslim peoples and territories, particularly early connections with religious training centers in northeastern Wollo and southeastern Tigray since this Sufi order was introduced in Awsa by Shaykh Ayfarah al-Shafi'i in the 17th c. of the common era (CE). The Qadiriya is also the most widespread Islamic Sufi order in the Horn of Africa region through the Qutbi Clan of the Shaykha-s of Ogaden, heirs of Shaykh Abdurahman al-Zeyla'i, who was a prominent figure of Awsa Qadiri spiritual and scholarly networks. Also, the spiritual chains of the Oromo of Harar and Borana are related to that of the Kabirto of Awsa, descending from shaykh Kabir Hamza, the celebrated author of a great number of religious texts in Arabic and Afar languages. This presentation will thus unfold the spiritual map through which the Afar have defined their interactions with their neighbours on a regional scale.