In this brief communication I submit that dreams comprise a notable aspect
of the Shaykh Husayn tradition. The idea was inspired by a visit, on an
ethnographic fieldtrip with faculty and graduate students of the Addis
Ababa University Anthropology Department, to Shaykh Husayn’s tomb in November
1993, during one of the two large-scale annual pilgrimmages there. My hope
is to call attention to and encourage research on the topic. To that end
I raise questions which I judge to be potentially important, but which
I cannot answer myself. I view the Shaykh Husayn tradition as a local manifestation
of a global religion, a spiritual movement whose contours are shaped by
perceptions and lived experiences of both universal Islamic and local cultural
practices.
Dreams and visions of the Prophet Muhammad and other important Muslim
personalities are common across the Islamic world. Throughout history dreams
inspired non-Muslims to convert, led Muslim students to particularly well-suited
teachers, and legitimized ruling elites’ policies. In the African context,
Humphrey Fisher has proposed that the long tradition and importance of
dreams in Islam and African traditional religions makes dreams "an excellent
point of contact, providing good opportunities for that syncretism and
religious mixing which has so often been the beginning of conversion."
(Fisher,
p. 217) Among the followers of Shaykh Husayn of Bale, a major Muslim
saint in Ethiopia, the presence of both Islamic and Oromo traditional religious
beliefs and practices and the plethora of dream tales make dreams a phenomenon
worth investigating. Tales of dreams past and present illuminate the Shaykh’s
sainthood, shed light on a possible personal quality of his which aided
his proselytization efforts, and ensure continued veneration from his devotees.
I believe that analyzing these dreams will also reveal important features
of the Shaykh Husayn tradition which are as yet unstudied.
According to an Arabic document, first published in 1927 and apparently
based on oral traditions, the Prophet Muhammad announced Shaykh Husayn’s
birth in advance. The Prophet appeared to Abal Qasim, a notable shaykh
living near Husayn’s birthplace, and announced "the coming of Hussein,
the greatest among the saints." Abal Qasim was instructed to look for a
house that "was illumined by a strange radiance sent by the Prophet," and
to perform some rites once Husayn was born. (Andrzejewski,
p. 20) Other, more recent oral traditions maintain that Shaykh Husayn’s
father was in Arsi when he received a vision (of whom is not specified)
that he was soon to have a son named Nur Husayn. (Eshetu,
p. 2) Thus, the narration of certain dreams has aimed to establish
the sainthood of Shaykh Husayn even before his birth.
A later edition of the same Arabic hagiography discusses Shaykh Husayn’s
role as an interpreter of dreams. The episode is worth quoting:
This episode may take on deeper meaning if one follows Fisher’s argument
that important aspects of African life are accessible through dreams and
the Muslim dream interpreter is in a unique position to relate Islamic
themes to those of African traditional religions. (Fisher, p. 223) Did
Shaykh Husayn’s interpretation of dreams contribute to his success in converting
non-Muslims?
Devotees of Shaykh Husayn continue to dream about him and to assess
importance to these dreams. During the pilgrimage to Shaykh Husayn that
I attended, interviews and conversations revealed that a number of pilgrims
had seen Shaykh Husayn in a dream or knew someone who had. For example,
Shaykh Husayn, dressed in white, carrying his forked stick and accompanied
by a camel, appeared to one Oromo woman and instructed her not to miss
the pilgrimage unless she wanted something bad to befall her family. A
young man from Moyale, Kenya, reported seeing the Shaykh in his dreams,
and loving him. He believed that the Shaykh can know one’s heart, and he
comes in the shape of a human, speaking any language, to call people to
the pilgrimage. The man said these dreams occur only as the pilgrimage
time nears, or during times of special need. A group of pilgrims from Jimma
claimed that these dreams are not common, but only come to the more pious
devotees. The one pilgrim in the group who had seen Shaykh Husayn reported
that it was a "special" dream and it frightened him. Though his other descriptions
were vague, he said that Shaykh Husayn’s face was bright, "like moonlight."
Two other individuals reported that Shaykh Husayn only comes to those of
superior intellectual capacity. When he appears, he comes by the "usual
face that we know," such as that of a close friend. He is distinguished
from the individual whose face he adopts because Shaykh Husayn radiates
a special light.
These few dreams can hardly form the basis for a detailed study, but
they do point to a few common features of Shaykh Husayn visions. First,
there is the incidence of bright light or whiteness, like that reported
to have occurred during his birth. This color theme could easily be associated
with purity or holiness, as a means of setting Shaykh Husayn apart from
ordinary people, or as a "guiding light," illuminating the true path to
heaven. In either case, Shaykh Husayn is represented as spiritually unique,
perhaps as somehow "chosen."
Second, Shaykh Husayn encourages people to visit his shrine. Would they
not go otherwise? Does he only request his followers to make this voyage,
or does he also also call upon others to do so? Does his prior appearance
to them alter the nature of their pilgrimage? Further knowledge of this
aspect of Shaykh Husayn dreams may lead to a better understanding of some
pilgrims’ motivations and experiences.
Third, some people reported that these dreams do not come to just anyone,
but only to gifted or pious persons. If this is so, the stature of the
recipients and the infrequent occurrence of these dreams is likely to increase
the impact they have on their home communities. It would be interesting
to know if having a dream about the Shaykh changes the way in which these
individuals express their devotion, or the way in which they view their
own relationship with the Shaykh, or if these dreams affect their local
prestige and/or their ability to bring others within the fold.
Fourth, these dreams may be accompanied by threats or an element of
fear. I found these reports surprising since pilgrims spoke often of their
love for Shaykh Husayn and his love for his followers. They portrayed him
as a caring, giving figure upon whom they could depend when in need. Most
people with whom I spoke said they were visiting his tomb to show respect
for him or to ask him for assistance. Despite Shaykh Husayn’s apparent
threats, no one gave fear of Shaykh Husayn as a reason for making the pilgrimage.
This possible contradiction between love and fear might be analogous to
the Judaeo-Christian view of god as both nurturing and threatening. In
any case the element of fear expressed in these dreams may shed light on
devotees’ feelings toward Shaykh Husayn which are not revealed in other
contexts.
Finally, what is the effect of dreams/visions on the beliefs of Shaykh
Husayn’s followers? Do they contribute to Islamic conversion or to adjustments
in religious practice(s)? To what extent do they encourage the veneration
of Shaykh Husayn? How do they shape this veneration? Are they restricted
only to Muslims or Shaykh Husayn devotees? Presently, I am not in a position
to answer these questions. But the prominence of dreams in the Shaykh Husayn
tradition—both living and past—seems undeniable to me. Surely they are
an important aspect of the tradition, and as such research on them should
contribute to a better understanding of the Shaykh, his followers, and
their beliefs.
References
Andrzejewski, B. W. 1972. 'Allusive Diction in Galla Hymns in Praise
of Sheikh Hussein of Bale' African Language Studies, XIII.
Eshetu Setegn. 1973. Shaikh Hussayn of Bâle and His Followers.
Senior Essay in History, Haile Selassie I University.
Fisher, Humphrey J. 1979. 'Dreams and Conversion in Black Africa'. In
ed., Nehemia Levtzion, Conversion to Islam. New York: Holmes &
Meier Publishers, Inc., pp. 217-235.
Ibn Khaldun. 1989. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History.
Translated by Franz Rosenthal. Edited and Abridged by N. J. Dawood. Princeton
University Press: Princeton, NJ.
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