Mul-mul: the Special Bread on Buhhe
Of the many proceedings that make the Ethiopian Buhhe memorable, Mul-mul is on the forefront. It is oval-shaped and remarkably
large-sized bread. The children begin to sing their traditional songs a week
before the celebration day. They perform the songs at the door of every
resident in and around their village. Both as a custom and appreciation the
people in the village give the children these surprisingly huge breads. One Mul-mul would weigh from
500gms-to-750gms though some other times you possibly would find one weighing a
kilo or more. It is easily edible for it is made of neat wheat flour.
The procedure to bake such bread is a little
different from the usual way of baking. Mothers of the children bake this bread
in the way that can be considered as a traditional method. Once the dough is
ready they roll a large amount of it with wide leaves of false banana and they
put it on a circle but flat clay-made and tray-like object which, in the local
language known as mit’tad. Underneath
will be set a huge fire and the upper part will be covered with what is known
as akenbalo. After an hour or more the bread will be taken
out; its covering leaves pulled off and it will be left on any plate available
until it gets cool.
A man crossing by the village would definitely smell
the perfume-like odor coming out of the breads and become shameless to ask for
some for the scent is irresistible.
The
Tradition
Christian people take it very seriously for the
reason that Buhhe is not just a
traditional celebration but one with religious values as mentioned in the
preceding part of this writing. Therefore, everything that is done by the
people on this particular day, in one way or another is deliberate having
relationships with the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. One of the things that
are performed on this day is that when the sun goes down beyond the mountains
and the night begins to take place the people come out of their homes heading
to Churches. It comes to be dark by the time the people begin to head home. On
their way back home walking in the streets they light torches which create the
scene of being in that moment that the people from Mount Tabor once were in the
night of the Transfiguration. On the
night of the Transfiguration, when He showed to his apostles that the earth was
his footstool and the sky his throne, the light on the mountain and its
surrounding was so great as if the sun was up in the sky.
The Ethiopian people, on account of that moment,
today, burn a large amount wood sticks bunched together with few strings. As
the furnace becomes large the children sing the old traditional song named
‘Buhhebelu, Sewotchhulu’ to mean ‘say Buhhe
you all people.’ After a little while when the fire becomes weak the elders
bless the children and the village wishing the year to pass in peace and pray
to God to let them stay together.
Finally, the families depart from each other in to their own houses and
have something to eat together only to go to bed after some time since the hour
is close to mid-night.
