The term ateetee denote multitude of concept. It represent 1) a sacred ritual to commemorate the sacred maternal ancestors. In this sense ateetee refers to the waaqeffannaa spiritual society’s rite of remembrance of departed maternal ancestors. It is a ritual held every two years either in the month of September of birraa or in abraasaa to remember the ancestral women who gave birth to their descendant from where fertility and procreation sprout out. Ateetee is referred to in songs as ‘ayo’ that which literally refers to ‘the mother’ often with the diminutive ‘ayolie’ which mean ‘the little mother’. The term Ateetee is derived from the word haatee the derivative of the word Haadhaa (, or motherhood) in Afaan Oromo. In Oromo, when a father arrived home from outside, he usually ask his son or daughter as “haatee (, or haatikee) mana jirtii?” which literally refers to “Is your mama at home?” Therefore, the word ateetee is formed by combining the word haatee as (h) aateetee (intensive). Thus the word haatee and ateetee (intensive) are of the same origin.
Thus the waaqeffannaa spiritual society hold this ritual of ateetee as an ancestral commemoration ritual rite where it is held not asking for favors, but to fulfil one’s filial duties. This ritual of ateetee is a way to honor, respect and look after ancestors in their eternal life guaranteeing the ancestors’ well-being and positive disposition towards the living, as well as possibly seeking the ancestors’ wisdom, guidance or assistance for their living descendants. One has to pay respect and homage to the ancestors, honor the deeds and memories of the deceased, since the ancestors are the ones having brought the descendants into the world, nursed, nourished, cherished, gave warmth, cared for life of them and having prepared the conditions under which the descendants grew up, hence ancestor veneration is a pay back of spiritual obligations. This is due to all human life passes through the sacred bodies of the sacred ancestors. The ritual of Ateetee, a ritual held to commemorate sacred maternal ancestors, is a warraa (family) affair; and it is held in homestead and consists of offering of food and drink to sacred ancestors and Waaqaa. This sacred ritual serves as communication and greetings to, and offering of food and drinks to the deceased ancestors. In homes, the shrines can be an altar known as Utubaa dhibaayyuu Ateetee (pillars of sacred offering) a sacred structure erected for this sacred purpose. Thus this ritual is celebrated at the warraa level. The ritual is held to honor and respect the ancestral Ayyole by the Ayyolee. Therefore, ateetee symbolise the spiritual gateway to our physical existence; 2) a name of (Ateetee) the first daughter from the seed of the son of women and men. The Waaqeffannaa spiritual society believe that the first ever women, Hoortuum (Isii) is considered as the first ever mother who bore a child for the first time from the seed of man as hortuum and horoom gave birth to Booruu (son) and ateetee (daughter). And Ateetee become the first ever daughter begotten from the first man and woman in the primeval time. Ateetee, thus, signify this sacred blessing of the supreme being where the two primordial Isaa and Isii gave birth to a child (, or children) and help the generation of humanity continue as the Supreme Being blessed Yaayyaa and brought forth Isaa and Isii through which Booruu and Ateetee came into being. In Waaqeffannaa spiritual society’s mythology of creation, Waaqaa created the first form of beingness, the apical ancestor, from the “Bishaan Godaa” throught His divine Eye.
This first form of beingness, Yaayyaa, is brought forth through the divine will of Waaqaa at glance on the top of the mountain where this sacred primeval mound conceive the sacred conception and it gave birth to the first ever human being. Waaqaa then separated this sacred first ever human kind into two equal entities making this first generation of human being as Isaa and Isii where Isaa and Isii are later reunited and begot two children: Booruu and Ateetee. Therefore, in this discourse the term Ateetee stand for the first ever daughter and mother (woman) that brought forth from the seed of humanity. In Waaqeffannaa spiritual society cosmology, women are presented as the custodian of fertility and continuity of generation; 3) the sacred ayyaanaa that guard the fertility of creation. In this context Ateetee stands for the concept of guardianship. Ateetee, thus, is a ritual name in which the ancestral woman, the patrons of fertility or procreation, are remembered and Waaqaa is invoked for His generous gift; for guarding fertility, procreation and continuity of nature; and is held as a thanksgiving ritual for married woman. This ritual of Ateetee, a ritual organized to honor Waaqaa and motherhood divinity, is considered as a guardian in charge of fertility and cattle breading.
Therefore, Ateetee represent the sacred holy ayyaanaa in charge of guarding motherhoodness in the natural environment. Although Ateetee is referred as “Isii‘(she)”, Ayyaanaa (, or ‘spirit’) has no feminine form. The reason why Ateetee is referred to as ‘she’ is that because the holder of this sacred ayyaanaa is women. The waaqeffannaa spiritual society believes that Ateetee safeguards what Waaqaa had already created. This is reflected in the prayer the waaqeffannaa spiritual society women recite while holding the sacred ritual of facaasaa as:
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O Waaqa
(Yaa Waaqi)!
Give me a child
(Ilmoo naaf kenni);
O Ateete
(Yaa Ateetee)!
Care for me when I am pregnant
(Yeroo ulfaa Koo at Na tiksi),
Help me in delivery and
(Ciniinsuu na furi)
Protect me with my child after birth
(Anaa fi muucaa koo ati tiksi).
Amen
(Leel)
This implies Ateetee is a guardian in charge of homestead (qe’ee) and family (maatii). Nonetheless, Ateetee is a manifestation of one Supreme Being Waaqa Gurraacha-Tokkicha-Haqaa. She is respected because Waaqa embellished and blessed her with the power of guarding fertility. The above prayer also connotes the idea that Waaqa give a child; Ateetee helps and sustains the mothers during the months of pregnancy, who keeps the child healthy in mother’s womb and who assists her during birth. Her help is essential for any child to be safely born. For fertility to continue and for all people and things to grow and mature, the earth, the cattle and the woman must all be moist. Thus when the waaqeffannaa spiritual are giving reverence to sacred ancestors they are acknowledging the life force (soul, ayyaanaa, ekeraa), that exists within it; these properties have the capability to guard the progeny of the sacred ancestors. She is all in all safuu; and 4) the waaqeffanna spiritual society facaasaa (unction) ritual and institution. In this discourse Ateetee represent the ritual of facaasaa (, or sprinkling), a version of muudaa ritual where married women attend along with their daughters as women do not journey to the actual muudaa pilgrim. Therefore, Ateetee is the ritual women attends and held to honor fertility (hormaataa), abundance (soorummaa), respect (ulfinaa), reconciliation (araaraa) and peace (nageenyaa). The holder of this sacred ritual would be married and fecund women who have already given birth to a child or children. Therefore, the Ateetee ritual ceremony stresses the blessing of Waaqa and the continuity of peaceful orderly life and fertility in the household for both cattle and people. It symbolizes motherhood as custodian of procreation, breeding, fertility, and proliferation. Due to this Ateetee is praised and called on birth rituals. It is believed that Waaqaa will help barren women to beget children as He helped the first human couple to beget children, and help pregnant women to give birth to a healthy child. Among the waaqeffannaa spiritual society when a woman gives birth to child, women will gather and ululate (say ilili ilili…); and when someone visit a mother in labor, the person wishes her by saying “Ateeteen haatii cinqii siif haa birmattu (may ateetee the reliever of pain help you)”. They also prepare porridge (, or marqaa), and splash her neck with butter. On this occasion prayer is also held for the fertility of the environment, animals, human beings and crops.
As a result, this ritual of ateetee, a ritual held to commemorate sacred maternal ancestors, is held to remember and honor women ancestors as eternal life giving and caring mother. This ritual of Ateetee is held once every two years at Warraa level either in the month of September (Fulbaanaa) or Abraasaa in which the date is set by the time keeper (Dhaadhooftuu) and usually held on Tuesday (Kibxataa), Thursday (Kamisaa) or Saturday (Sanbataa) as set by the Dhaadhooftuu. The ritual is celebrated by sprinkling butter (facaafachuu) to the neck of woman and their daughters with coqorsaa. The ceremony is also called facaasaa which stands to signify the ritual of sprinkling the butter (liquid) prepared for this occasion on the neck of the attendant of the rituals (female one). On this occasion, blessings are offered by women, not male. They celebrate it so that the good deed and wisdom the ancestors enjoyed goes down to their daughters and granddaughters. The ritual constitutes three phase: Preparatory (pre-sprinkling), Sprinkling and post sprinkling ritual.
6.1. Pre-sprinkling phase
In this pre sprinkling phase, married women engaged in organizing all the necessary stuffs required for the ritual. As part of the pre-sprinkling ritual, soon after a women is married, the women and the family would select, anoint and assign an heifer (goromsaa), the symbol of ateetee, amongst the livestock the household own where this sacred heifer remain as ‘Ateetee’s Heifer (, Goromsa Ateetee)’ as long as the womb of the heifer remain moist (fecund). This ateetee cow is used as source of milk and butter will be used in the facaasaa ritual. Due to this, this sacred heifer neither sold (hin gurguran); slayed (hin qalan); nor exchanged (hin geeddaran). The milk and butter from the Ateetee’s heifer is given to no one until adequate amount of milk is collected, stored and shook in five rounds (hanga 5 raafamutti). After five rounds of milk collection, storage and shaking to make butter, the Heifer’s milk and butter will be open for feeding. At each episodes of milk shaking (aannan raasaa) portion of the butter collected from this milk shaking is taken and stored in muudaa, a container in which butter is stored for anointment ceremony while the remaining portion stored in sabaroo for the facaasaa ritual. This butter is mixed with flour of fenugreek seed (daakuu suunqoo) and kept or stored in a safe place for the sacred ritual of facaasaa. Other stuffs required for this ritual includes honey wine (bulbula), hydromel (daadhii), beads (callee), green grasses (coqorsaa) and the blood of the sacrificial animals (bull). Among the waaqeffannaa spiritual society these stuffs symbolize divinely provided prosperity, multiplicity, fertility and abundance.
A month before the ritual day, barley for porridge (marqaa), unrefined butter (Jifuu Ateetee) for unction, facaasaa and feeding, Qorxii, Sabraoo and other stuffs that needs to be fulfilled to hold the ritual will be organized and placed at a sacred center at the booroo section of the waaqeffannaa spiritual society’s hut. Thus all the way through the month, the necessary stuffs and resources required to hold this sacred and blessing ritual such as grain for porridge (marqaa), yoghurt (itittuu), butter (dhadhaa), cabalii Ateetee, beverage (farsoo, buqurii), animals for sacrificial offering (Dullacha Ateetee), cattles for slaying (horiin qalmaa) will be organized. In addition, starting from the first day of the month in which the Ateetee ritual is held till the Ulmaa day, milk, butter, sacred objects, household items, cattle and other household items should remain at home. It should not be lent or loaned to someone during the course this sacred month as it is believed it brought undesirable (hooda) consequences to the family. This month is considered as a sacred saddeeta ateetee month. The jar in which stuffs for drinking is being prepared would be covered with leaves of shrub [named Ulmay] and grass known as Coqorsaa. These stuffs for drinking could include beverage (farsoo, Buqurii), yoghurt, honey wine, cabalii ateetee, inter alia. In addition flour for porridge, a big bowl made of (okolee, vase) tick plaiting reed, and refined butter will be organized.
6.2. The sprinkling (facaafannaa) ritual
In this event, the mother invites all her married and unmarried daughters for blessing (eebbaa), facaasaa (sprinkling) and muudaa (unction). On this ritual day in the morning the mother holding the facaasaa ritual embellish herself dressing cultural costumes such as Wandaboo (qoloo), qomee and jeweles; holding items including sacred vessel for milk (, Okolee) , sacred stick (, Siiqee) made of waddeessaa tree and sacred grass (, Coqorsaa); and put Caaccuu on her shoulder and went to the river (malka) to fetch water, ambaltaa and other greeneries being escorted by the sprinkling mother (facaaftu). On their way back they sing as, “ambaltaa the one with sweet flavor (Yaa ambaltaa fooloo), O mother how fragrant you are (fooliikee yaa aayyoo).” On their arrival at home, they would hold thanksgiving ceremony at a sacred center located at back of the main house (boroo) where a vessel for serving porridge (, Qorxii ) and a vessel for collecting and storing unmelted butter (, Sabaroo ) are placed. This thanksgiving ritual is held by giving and placing the leaves of Ambaltaa or Mi’eessaa, Qunnii and Masarata as an offering to Waaqaa and sacred ancestors. With this they start the preparation of porridge (marqaa). To do this the sprinkling mother (facaaftu) would roast fenugreek seed (suunqo), smashed it, and use it for refining butter. When the sprinkling mother opens the Sabaroo to take butter for refining, she would recite as:
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Fenugreek
(Sunqoo)
Fenugreek, Fenugreek recites the Ateetee
(Sunqoo, sunqoo jette Ateeteen),
Dear Ateetee the time is up
(Ateetiyyoo waggaan ga’ee),
Thus we opened the Qorxii
(Waggaan geenyaan Qorxiikee furree);
Thus we opened the sabaroo
(Waggaan geenyaan sabarookee furree);
O Ateetee
(Yaa Ateete)
She who (sat) under oak tree
(Hoomii jalaa),
Under the foot of the cattle
(Kottee loonii jalaa),
Respond to me Ateetee
(Owwaadhu na jalaa)
While the attendant repeate the recitation behind here.
On this ritual day, the ateetee cow/heifer will spend the night of the ritual day in the house, not in the kraal. The ritual is commenced when the sacred cow pass dung towards the late evening, because the ritual is commenced by picking and putting the dung at the assigned sacred center at backyard (booroo) where the other ritual items placed. With this the sprinkling mother refine the butter, boils the porridge (marqaa), adds the cooked porridge (marqaa) into the appropriate vase or vessel (Qorxii), makes depression at the center and fills it with Itittuu (yoghurt) and / or refined butter and put at the sacred ritual center.
On this facaasaa occasion, the mother wear her cultural dresses qoloo faanaa (long loose dresses), qomee qomaa (t-shirt), and girdle with color Black-Red-White (sabata kuula gurraachaa, diimaa fi adii ) and headscarf (adda jalee) with black, red and white strips on the edge and gauze with the same strip as the scarf. The colors of the scarf have their own symbolic meaning where the Black (gurraachaa) represents supremacy of the almighty Waaqaa, seniority and prosperity; the red (diimaa) symbolizes maturity, heroism, climax and culmination; and the white (the adii) represents completion, nearing end point, and the symbol of conclusions, fading away. Ateetee costumes represent this meaning and they are kept separately from other cloths in a separated box. No one is also entitled to wear them except the woman who holds ateetee rituals. In addition to her daughters and brothers, she, the mother holding the ritual, also invites women in the village including barren couples where they spend the whole day with her, and hold ritual of blessing the ateetee mother before she hold ritual of libation under the pillar of dhibaayyuu ateetee erected at the sacred center in the booroo section of her house using milk collected for blessing.
On the moment facaasaa, after dhibaayyuu ritual the mother holding the ritual sits on a floor stretching her legs forward; put her hands together with her daughters on the jar containing the beverage expressing their wishes for one another as:
*****
This ritual is Ateetee ritual
(Jillii kun jila ateeteeti)
Ateetee (she who is) the owner of abundance,
(Ateetee ishee haadha hormaataa),
May the Ateetee gaurds you well
(Ateeteen hunda keessan haa tiksitu)!
The holder of this sacred ritual also adds:
*******
This ritual is Ateetee ritual
(Jilli kun kan ateeteeti);
O Waaqa
(Yaa Waaqi)!
(May you) help her to be a good guardian to all!
(Ati isheen tiksee gaarii akka taatu gargaarii)!
With this the sprinkling episode follows. To do so the mother holding this sacred ritual puts her hands’ fingers or the sacred grass (coqorsaa) in the jars of beverage and porridge simultaneously and sprays or sprinkles the liquids on her neck reciting the following:
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O Ateetee
(Yaa Ateetee)!
Be beneficent
(Toli, nu tolchi);
Give us health and peaceful life
(Fayyaa fi nageenyaa nuu kenni);
Help me long life
(Lubbuu nu dheeressi);
Give me serene life together with my children
(Ijoollee koo wajjin nagaan na jiraachisi);
Keep harm away from me
(Hamtuu nurraa eegi);
O Waaqaa
(Yaa Waaqi)
Make this ritual a blessfull and peaceful one
(Ateetee ateetee nagaa nu taasisi)!
Help us to do the same next year
(Kan baraa kan bara egeree nuuf godhi)!
Amen
(Leel)
After doing this for herself, the mother holding the ritual of facaasaa does the same for her children in their age order beginning from the eldest daughter. While sprinkling the liquid on her daughters’ neck, the mother blesses them as:
*****
Be blessed with plenty of cattle
(Hori),
Be blessed with several children,
(Garaan kee taadhii haa ta’u)
Be blessed with adequate wealth
(Qabeenyaan eebifami)!
Establish beautiful and peaceful family
(Bultii gaarii argadhu)
May your garden become full of honey and milk!
Happy life to you and your children
(Jireenya Gammachuu maatii kee waliin jiraadhaa)!
Have long life
(Lubbuu dheeradhu),
May you reach and hold this ritual
(Ateetee warra kee bulfadhu)!
The mother who is holding this sacred ritual not only sprinkles her daughters but she also anoints her sons, where she anoints them not on their neck rather on their forehead. While sprinkling she recite as;
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Be hero
(Goota tahi);
Hold the charisma of hero
(Addaa gootaa baasi),
May your charisma be that of lion
(Addi kee adda leencaa haa ta’u),
May you shine like a sun for the whole world!
(Addi kee biiftuu ta’ee adunyaatti haa ifu)”
In addition to blessing her sons and daughters, the mother holding the sacred facaasaa ritualbless and sprinkle the barren couples wishing them to offspring and asking Waaqaa to moist their womb. When she recites her wish for the barren couples and asks Waaqaa to moist the couple’s womb, it is not only the ateetee mother but the whole attendant of the ritual recites their wishes as:
*****
Haadha Ateetee Celebrant
O Waaqa
(Yaa Waaqa),
Listen to us
(Kana nu dhagahi)!
Yes listen
(Ee dhagahi)!
Waaqa who created the water above and below
(Waaqa dachii fi ruuda uumte),
Listen to us
(Nu dhagayi)!
Next year
(Waggaa dhufu), Yes listen
(Ee dhagayi)!
May she bear a baby son who inherits the homestead
(Ilma araddaa/qe’ee dhaalu haa baattu)! Yes may she bear
(Ee haa baattuu)!
So it be
(Tuni toltuu)! So it be
(Toltuu)!
Subsequent to this facaasaa, muuda and blessing ritual, the mother holding the ritual distribute the shoots of ulmay (for male) and coqorsaa (for female) to all attendants of the sprinkling ritual, and she also takes one for herself. The girls comb the grass into their hair while the boy tie the shoot of the ulmay to their head as headdress- a sign of attending the sprinkling ceremony and receiving blessings. With this the ritual of sipping beverage from the jar one by one will follow next.
6.3. Post sprinkling ritual
In this event the attendant of this sacred ritual would enjoy a feast prepared for the ritual where a variety of food including a food made from the floor of roasted and smashed barley and melted butter (cuukkoo), a food made from a bread of teff, chease and butter (cuumboo), porridge made of floor and butter (marqaa), qorii and many others, and drinks including daadhii, itittuu (yoghurt), bulbulaa. On this sacred ritual in addition to daughters and sons, the holder of this facaasaa ritual invites her brothers to attend the ritual so as to create more intimacy between the children and their uncles. Thus before eating the feast the attendant praises the cattle, the source of food and drink, with a melodious hymn as:
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O cow
(Eemmolee)
O cow
(Eemmole) (2x),
What shall it be?
(Maal wayya) (2 xs)?
It shall be the cattle
(Loon wayya) (2x);
Truly the cattle is good
(Dhuguma loon wayya)!
O cow
(Eemmolee) (2x),
Cows the life of old age (male)
(Saawwan jiruu jaarsaa),
The life of old age (women)
(Jireenya jaartiiti);
The life of youth
(Jiruu dargaggeessaa),
Truely, the livestock is good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x).
We use it as cosmetics
(Dibatan bareechuun),
When drunk satisfaction
(Dhugan qabbaneessuun),
Where cows are there
(Qe’ee saan jiruu)
Threshing floor is plastered
(Obdiin maragoodhaa),
Life is lovely
(Bulteen mararoodhaa),
The grain store is huge
(Mareen gurguddoodhaa),
Guest is the sacred one
(Keessummaan ulfoodhaa),
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x).
Cow with forked big horn/
(Saawwan gaafa taakkuu),
Without you we are not complete
(Yoo si dhaban hanquu);
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x)
O the white one
(Keessattuu yaa daalee),
The one not fork/ the soil/ground
(Isa biyyoo hin naanee);
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x)
Specially the one with spoty head
(Keessattuu yaa booqee),
The secrete of my strength
(Yaa jabeessaa moggee);
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x)
Especially O giiloo
(Keessattuu yaa giiloo),
O my robust force
(Yaa jabeessaa giidoo);
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya) (2x).
What is good?
(Maal wayya) (2x)
Cattle are good (2x)
(Loon wayya) (2x
Truly cattle are good
(Dhuguma loon wayya)
When they went to mineral water
(Yeroo hora dhaqu),
All are happy
(Martuu Ni gammadu),
To return backhome safely
(Akka dafee galu),
Pray to Waaqaa
(Waaqa isaa kadhatu)
What is good?
(Maal wayya) (2x)?
Cattle are good
(Loon wayya) (2x)!
When they went for the mineral water
(Yeroo hora dhaqu),
Keep away obstacles away from thier way
(Dhagaan jalaa dabi),
What is good?
(Maal wayya) (2x)?,
Good is the cattles
(Loon wayya) (2x).
How one can forget the cow
(Saawwan eessa gatuu),
We trust all
(Hundumaa abdatuu);
Cows, O the cow
(Saawwan yaa saawwanii);
All thier four nipples are full of milk
(Muchi arfan aannanii);
How one can forget the cattle
(Saawwan eessa gatuu),
Thier meet is for dinner
(Foon irbaata ta’aa);
The foot is for the cup
(Kotteen shiinii ta’aa),
How can we forget the cows
(Saawwan eessa gatuu),
Except peel of the horn
(Quum’oo gaafaa malee),
I return home safely
(Kunoo faanaan galee),
Be fertile
(Hin gaaniinii dhali);
Return home safely
(Hin badiinii gali)!
With this song (jeekersa), the mother invites the attendant to enjoy eating and drinking the banquet and she rations the porridge amongst the attendant (Marqaa Jafuree). When she rations the banquet, she say, “hoodhu jafuree (take jafuree),” where in return the participant (reciepiant) would say, “Ijaan buli (stay long with your eyes)!” In primeval time this ritual of ateetee was recited by his holiness Innoo, the sacred first born son of the qaallittias:
Ateetee nurtures the family; buttaa fosters the nation (Ateeteen warra tolchiti; gadaan biyya tolcha). This is true if the ritual of ateetee is held according to the sacred covenant of safuu and laguu (Kun, garuu, kan ta’u yoo jifuun ateetee akkaa safuu fi laguu guuteedha). If the ritual held against the sacred covenant of safuu and laguu, it will be negative life for husband and wife (Jifuun ateetee bulfannaa guutuu ta’uu baannaan abbaa warraa fi haadha warraaf hin tolu). They would loose thier sight, their livestock would not breed; and thier homestead will be devastated (ijjisaanii ni jaama; horiinsaanii hin horan; qe’eesaanii ni bada).
On this event, the head of the family kills grey or black Dullacha (, or Cow/Ox) in the kraal as an offering to appease Waaqaa for looking after their family and livestock and to honor sacred ancestors. In the waaqeffannaa offering unspotted animals symbolize presenting infront of Waaqaa with undivided heart and mind – the symbol of pristine quality. Thus Ateetee sacrificial dullachaa would be slayed to appease Waaqaa and sacred ancestors. Before eating the roasted meat of the slayed dullachaa, the mother holding (haadha warraa) the ritual will be dressed on her shoulder with Omentum (moora) taken from the sacrificial animals as the symbol of divine blessing with abundance of livestock and praise for divine provider for His gift, and elders make dadarbaa or dhibaayyuu and thank Waaqaa for safeguarding the family, livestock and greeneries. With this the attendant of the ritual resumes enjoying the feast including the meat of the sacrificial animals. Slaying animals as sacrificial offering is not mandatory on this rituals, it depend on the abundance of the family. On next day, the kids in the village would gather together and visit the house where the Ateetee ritual was organized to drink milk and feed marqaa. When they arrived at the house where the ateetee ritual was held, they ask for milk and porridge as:
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Heloo cows
(Hoo loonii),
O cows,
(Yaa saawwaa)
Where is the milk
(Mee aannan),
Where is the milk
(Mee aannan);
Where is the poridge
(Mee marqaa)!
Then the kids would be invited to site and provided with milk and marqaa so they would eat until they are satisfied and their stomach become full. After the kids left the houses, the youth boys will follow to visit the house where the Ateetee ritual was held to enjoy foods and drinks. When they arrive, these young boys invited to enter the house and site. With this after the boys get seated, the mother brings an Okolee filled with yoghurt to the brim (Mijuu) and put on the laps of the head of the family (Abbaa Warraa). Then the elder son of the family raises and stands in front of his father and would recite the following hymn five times where the other young boys escort him in praising the livestock reciting the same hymn as:
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Heloo cattle
(Hoo loonii),
On the field
(Furafaa)!
On the range/hills
(Gubafaa)!
Graze
(Dheedi)
O cattle
(Yaa loonii)!
Then he, the elder son of this family, kneels down and sips the yoghurt placed in front of his father five times, and passes to his father where he, the father, do the same and pass to the mother. With this the young boys invited to consume the Marqaa from the qorxii and a special drink prepared for young boys (Cabalii Ateetee) from Hubboo. Cabalii Ateetee is a drink prepared for young boys where it is prepared, filled into and stored in a three eared pot made of clay (hubboo) and placed at backyard with Qorxii and Sabaroo. Thus the cabalii drink is prepared for the young boys only.
The third day is the final day of the ateetee ritual and labeled as the day of Ulmaa ritual. On this day, early in the morning the women in charge of the sprinkling (haadha facaasaa) would visit the household where the ateetee ritual was being held to prepares porridge for the feast ritual where she prepares, added and filled into two okolees (vase), one for the feast ritual and the other one for herself to take it to her home. With this, the attendant of this ritual would escort the ateetee mother to the kraal of livestock where she release and lead them to pasture holding her siinqee and blesses the cattle as:
*******
Ateetee my mama
(Ateetee haadhookoo);
May you return regularly!
(Saddeeta saddeetaan naa naanna’i);
May the bull mate or copulate!
(Kormi cirri haa ta’u)!
May the embryo attach/stick to the womb!
(Rimaan haphee haa ta’u)!
May the vase be filled always!
(Okoleen haa marmaartu)!
May the milk vessel be full!
(Weessoon haa manditu)!
Help our newborn Grow!
(Dhalataa nuu guddisi);
May the womb be blessed!
(Dhala many’ee nuu qajeelchi);
Make the mother healthy
(Haadha irra nuu bulchi)!
With this, the ritual of ateetee is concluded and the family resumes their routine life events. The stuffs used in ateetee ritual including sabaroo and qorxii would not be kept empty rather small amount of barley or grain need to be added into the empty qorxii and sabaroo. They also put dung of the Ateetee cow with the sabaroo and qorxii. By these the sacred ritual of ateetee is concluded.