PI: Jira Mekonnen Choroke | Collaborators: Bikila Ashenafi, Melkamu Dumessa, Zerihun Kebebew | Project ID: 2022SG03
Location of Research: Jimma zone, Oromia, Ethiopia | Host Institution: Jimma University
This project documents the Endangered Traditional Handcrafts: Three-legged Stools (Barcuma) and Coffee Culture in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. It sets out to document the chaîne oparatoire of the indigenous material knowledge systems of tripod stool, barcuma, making in Jimma. The tripod stool production and consumption constitute an integral part of the life of the Oromo in southwest Ethiopia. The activities of the project focused mainly on the documentation of the production, carving process, harvesting, use, storage and disposal of the stool and its related knowledge systems. The project examined the forms, sizes, motifs and shapes, and associated social symbols of the tripod stool in the localities. In order to realise the intricate link between the past and the present, the project also documents the artefacts collections at Jimma Museum in Jimma city.
The project also documents the longstanding traditions of tripod stool and Oromo coffee ceremony in this part of Ethiopia. The project team conducted pre-field visits to three districts namely Kersa, Seka and Sokoru of Jimma zone. The general discussion with individuals from the three districts helped to generated preliminary information and plan consecutive activities. During the fieldwork the project team realized the severely depletion the Cordia africana tree and it was a challenging to get a matured Cordia africana that can be utilized for the purpose of the project. And then, the project team decided to focus on Kersa and Seka districts for documentation and data gathering.
The entire documentation of the chaîne opératoire of the tripod stool carving was conducted in Kersa district. In this district, few wood carvers are available due to coffee-growing traditions of the Oromo community. Cordia africana is the most preferred and abundant tree species in coffee farm in Kersa district. The farmers plant the seedlings of the Cordia africana every year as a succession plant, and this fact enables the relative availability of matured Cordia africana trees for carving tripod stools.
Methodology
Data was collected through ethnographic fieldwork between March 2024 and October 2024. The project participants were interviewed on general issues like woodwork and the current interest in the production of the tripod stools. Issues related to the social symbols of the stool, the mechanisms of disposing old and/or used ones, and the related roles of the barcuma were also addressed both through interviews and discussions.
Individuals from Kersa and Seka districts were interviewed on the history, culture and roles of tripod stool in the daily life of the Oromo people in Jimma zone. The interviews included individuals from the Gomma district as the knowledge system related to tripod stool carving and use, as well as coffee consumption traditions hold true for the majority of the districts in the zone. The traditional Oromo coffee ceremony in which villagers were invited to drink the coffee was documented at Seka district.
Selected Assets
The following assets provide an overview of the garden fence production process.
Tripod stools (Barcuma)
Chaîne opératoire of the tripod stool with backrest. By Lemma Wasihun Teshager.
Traditional tools used to produce the tripod stools. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
A carver smoothening a tripod stool.
By Bekele Tesema Tolesa.
The number ‘8’ design is marked on the stool using charcoal. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
A carver applying two or three coats of varnish on a tripod. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
Tripods constitute a significant part of the social life as well as of the coffee ceremony taking place in Jimma. By Bekele Tesema Tolesa.
Coffee ceremony
A woman pounding coffee beans in a mortar according to tradition. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
A woman washing coffee beans before roasting them. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
A housewife roasting coffee beans .
By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
Coffee being brewed following according to tradition. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
A woman adding coffee powder to a coffee pot called jabanaa. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
Coffee being served while incense burns on the censer, according to tradition. By Gela Milkessa Hunduma.
Acknowledgements from the Project Team
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the communities and individuals of Seka, Sokoru and Kersa districts, and staff of Culture and Tourism Offices of Seka District and Jimma Museum for their invaluable cooperation, wisdom, and dedication during the documentation of the tripod (barcuma) material knowledge and Oromo coffee ceremony. We hold a deep sense of gratitude for the master woodcarver and the cultural custodians who generously shared their knowledge and specialized skills during the documentation process.