The story
Fichee-Chambalaalla Gudumale Gathering in Hawassa/Soressa Gudumale
Fichee-Chambalaalla is the Sidama New Year, and the Gudumale gathering in Hawassa, also called Soreesa Gudumale, is where astrologers announce the year's date to assembled clan elders and officials before the wider celebration begins. UNESCO listed the festival in 2015 for its role in social cohesion. Visitors see the formal reading and proclamation stage rather than the household visits and songs that follow across the region.
Sidama astrologers known as ayyaanota read the position of the moon and stars each year to fix the date of Fichee-Chambalaalla, then send word out to the clans through elders who travel household to household.