Dimi is the name given by the Daasanach to a special season in a man’s life when he is celebrating the life of his eldest daughter and the significance of her life to his own status in the community. It is one of the most important individual and community events that the Daasanach observe. The fulfillment of various community expectations (for example, the requirement for each man to slaughter around 18 sheep or goats and six cows) is essential in order for a man to retain legal power over his own children. In light of this reality, Daasanach Christians have been praying about and discussing how they can celebrate dimi in a manner that causes others to consider the claims of Scripture and brings glory to God.

	Daasanach girls at a dimi celebration.

Korie and Lochuba are two such men who are making unprecedented changes in their observance of dimi. Instead of having songs written about them and their relatives which praise them and their past accomplishments (often ungodly things), they have had a fellow Christian Daasanach songwriter write a praise song to God instead, to be sung throughout their dimi celebration.

Instead of serving the local alcoholic brew to their guests so that they can become drunk and “vomit their blessings” upon the household, they plan to serve coffee with sugar to their many guests (the addition of sugar makes it a beverage for special occasions) and to invite their Christian brethren to pray prayers of blessing upon their households. They hope to use these months, when their homes are inundated by “well-wishers” who come to eat meat, as an opportunity to share the Gospel with their mostly unsaved guests.

Pray

Please pray God will grant these brothers in Christ and their wives much courage and grace to swim against the tide of their culture, and that God will bless their sacrifices with spiritual fruit. They have experienced opposition from unbelievers, and the whole endeavor will have a much greater personal cost to them both materially and emotionally as a result. It is also our prayer that their courageous example will be precedent-setting for other Daasanach believers, who will choose to follow in their footsteps.