**3. Results and discussions**

### **3.1. Participants' background information**

**Table 1** provides background information of herders who were approached to gather data for this research. Illiteracy is rampant, and attendances of primary school's first- and secondcycle education were 3.5 and 0.5%, respectively. Predominant majority of them (80%) adhere to the indigenous religion called Wake Feta followed by Islam and Christianity. Indigenous weather forecast system was the source of weather information for 96.5% of the respondents, while the rest had access to modern meteorological weather information. Herders have limited modern mass media weather information.

#### **3.2. Mode of acquiring the skill of weather forecast among the Borana herders**

Not all Borana herders possess the skill of different modes of indigenous weather forecasting, and there are different ways of acquiring the skill. Those who make astrology-based weather forecasting, known as *Urgii Elaltu*, teach the skill to their eldest son as they received it from their fathers, and the process goes on. A trainee masters the skill at about adolescent age and starts to read the alignment of celestial bodies for weather forecast. Thereafter, the title of *Urgii Elaltu* will be bestowed to him. The skill being highly guarded with secrecy, the possibility for others to acquire it is closed, although there are few individuals who reported to have acquired the skill from friends. In most cases, however, the skill of astrology-based weather forecasting is inherited from their own fathers.


**Table 1.** Participants' education, religion, and access to weather information.

Learning the technique of weather forecasting based on reading of animal intestine takes up to 2 years of training. A person who completed the training and started to make weather forecast based on intestinal reading is known as *Uchuu*. Intestinal exploration is used to forecast about the timing and intensity of drought, peace, conflict, the time of livestock mass death, and the timing and the place where good pasture will be available. In the study site, there were no female experts in astronomy and intestine reading. The result is cognate with previous findings in other parts of the world, i.e., indigenous knowledge is gendered and obscured the contribution and interest of women [22]. Weather forecasting based on a reading of the behavior and body language of animals and plants or observation of weather conditions is largely known by many people and is almost a tradition. For that reason, no special title is used to designate a person who makes weather forecast from the observation of weather conditions and the body conditions and behavior of the cattle. The same applies to the skill of weather forecasting based on observation of plant conditions. As is the case in some other cultures, vertical and horizontal skill transmission takes place orally which impedes seamless transfer of indigenous knowledge from generation to generation especially when experts die untimely [23]. The accurate transmission of oral indigenous knowledge of weather forecasting across generation is also influenced by both the teacher and capability skill receiver.

#### **3.3. Types of indigenous weather forecasting**

**3. Results and discussions**

138 Indigenous People

**3.1. Participants' background information**

ited modern mass media weather information.

forecasting is inherited from their own fathers.

**Item Participants (N = 200)**

Development agent

**Table 1.** Participants' education, religion, and access to weather information.

Source of weather information

**Table 1** provides background information of herders who were approached to gather data for this research. Illiteracy is rampant, and attendances of primary school's first- and secondcycle education were 3.5 and 0.5%, respectively. Predominant majority of them (80%) adhere to the indigenous religion called Wake Feta followed by Islam and Christianity. Indigenous weather forecast system was the source of weather information for 96.5% of the respondents, while the rest had access to modern meteorological weather information. Herders have lim-

Not all Borana herders possess the skill of different modes of indigenous weather forecasting, and there are different ways of acquiring the skill. Those who make astrology-based weather forecasting, known as *Urgii Elaltu*, teach the skill to their eldest son as they received it from their fathers, and the process goes on. A trainee masters the skill at about adolescent age and starts to read the alignment of celestial bodies for weather forecast. Thereafter, the title of *Urgii Elaltu* will be bestowed to him. The skill being highly guarded with secrecy, the possibility for others to acquire it is closed, although there are few individuals who reported to have acquired the skill from friends. In most cases, however, the skill of astrology-based weather

> 1–4 167 25 192 96 5–8 7 0 7 3.5 9–10 0 0 0 0

Christian 10 0 10 5 Muslim 23 8 31 15.5 Others 0 0 0 0

Indigenous 168 25 193 93.5

Relatives/friends 165 21 186 93 Radio 21 0 21 10.5 TV 0 0 0 0

52 0 52 26

**3.2. Mode of acquiring the skill of weather forecast among the Borana herders**

Educational level Illiterate M F Total %

Religion Wake Feta 142 17 159 79.5

Among the Borana herders, indigenous weather forecasting was made based on (1) a reading of alignment of celestial bodies, (2) a reading of the conditions of animal intestine, (3) a reading of plant and animal body languages, and (4) observation of local weather phenomena and shape and color of celestial bodies. How such traditional mechanisms and technical knowhows are used are discussed below.

#### *3.3.1. Reading of celestial body alignment*

In Borana, some stars' alignment with the moon, stars' apparent movement and location, and decent and cessation of some stars were used for weather forecasting purposes. Like other indicators of weather forecasting, there was no special ritual activity or any food or sexual restrictions. Celestial bodies, indigenous astrol *Urgii Elaltus* were able to forecast the upcoming rainfall onset, cessation, and volume at different time scales, i.e., ranging from a week to 3 years. The detailed techniques of the know-how are presented as follows.
