Obscure Mythology Chapter 8: Holawaka

A messenger-bird from God, Ethiopia.

     Welcome to the eighth installment of Obscure and Rare Mythology from around the world. Today I had a real tough time picking between a few really good ones under H and of the four finalists I really couldn’t pick, so I put all four in a hat and drew one. I came up with the story of Holawaka, a messenger-bird from God according to the Galla tribe of Ethiopia. It’s a short entry in the Dictionary of Mythology but it was jam packed with all the symbolism we have come to expect from these ancient myths. This particular one has a biblical overtone and I do know that Ethiopia’s major religion is Catholicism and that they have been since the time of the Axumite Empire, around 331, A.D. In comparison, Rome wasn’t fully Christian until 325 A.D. only six years earlier!  I don’t know when this particular myth was started but I would imagine it was after the bible or at least biblical stories were being spread in the region, missionaries would often intermingle local myths with those of the bible to make the transition from “pagan” to Christian easier for all the new converts. I believe this was probably the case here otherwise this is a very large coincidence and I don’t believe in any size coincidence!  You’ll see what I mean after you read it. I would also like to mention that many, including most Ethiopians believe that the Arc of the Covenant (of Bible and Indiana Jones fame) is housed and guarded in a special Chapel named the Church of St. Mary of Zion, inside it houses the Treasury of the Arc and no one but one particular guardian-priest is ever allowed inside. Honestly the whole story of how the Arc got there is really fascinating and definitely worth looking into. Ok, so I shall stop rambling and introduce you all to Holawaka, the messenger-bird of God in Ethiopian lore.

Holawaka: This bird was sent by God to tell the Galla tribes that they could become immortal by removing their skins when they grew old but the bird, in return for food, gave the message to a snake who thereafter was able to grow by sloughing its skin. As punishment, God inflicted a painful disease on the bird. ( the Dictionary of Mythology an A-Z of themes, legends and heroes, J.A. Coleman).

 above image: A family from the Galla tribe of ethiopia

There seems to be an obvious connection to the snake and the story of Adam And Eve, except it wasn’t Eve that got tricked by the snake, it was the messenger bird of God. It would seem as if the person who started this myth didn’t want humans to be blamed for God’s decision to kick them out of the Garden of Eden and strip them of their immortality. The other cool thing about this myth is it explains why snakes shed to grow. Many ancient myths were created to try to explain why things existed the way they do in the Natural world. I would also assume that this snake myth probably pre-dated the arrival of Christianity and the missionaries in the area did in fact pepper the ancient Ethiopian myths with biblical messages. It was that very practice of intermixing Christianity with the local people’s cultures and beliefs that bring us every major Catholic holiday we celebrate from Christmas to Halloween and all of them in between (nice little rhyme).

For all intents and purposes, it would seem that this is the Galla tribes answer to why humans never became immortal and lost God’s favor.  I wonder what painful disease God gave the bird? Well that’s it for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter in our continuing look at Obscure Myths and I can’t wait to bring you guys the next chapter! Until then take care and as always: PEACE!

PS: I did a little research while searching for images of Holawaka and found out that his punishment was that all Holawaka birds were banished from the home of the Gods and forced to live on earth as punishment. I also found out that Holowaka was a demi-god who took bird form to relay the message and was forced to stay in bird form after his mess up. He was also sent by the Great Sky God, which was later replaced with the Christian God.

 above image: The Church of St. Mary of Zion, the building in the background is where the Arc of the Covenant is purported to be stored.