Ethiopia: Ashenda Attention Grabbing Festival

The word Ashenda stands for the "tall green grass" which in the minimum has a 80-90 centimeter height. Making a miniskirt type of dress, girl, in the north, tie it around their waists while marking a special holiday - Ashenda - that derived its name from the grass .

In the northern part of Ethiopia, divided in groups, primed girls eagerly look forward to this cultural play on the eve of the sunny season . Following the heavy rain of the summer season(Kiremet) the grasses profusely grow longer and longer. This grass has a great value for those girls waiting for the actual day of the Ashenda ceremonial event. They unplug these long grasses from their surrounding and make a miniskirt out of them. Doing so is not the girls' final objective. Gathering in groups and going out into streets,they stage different traditional dances chanting heart titillating songs beating a special drum with their hands. This as well is not their ultimate goal. Rather they dream beyond the game, which facilitates good interactions with their peers. As they go out at their best they lure the opposite sex, with peeled eyes who are alert to choose their best. In most cases the girls win suitors.

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