Cultural, economic, and symbolic value of the enset crop in Sebat-Bet Guraghe, Southwest Ethiopia: a qualitative study

Enset is a herbaceous plant related to the banana family in morphology but distinct in utility and life cycle. It is known by different names among Ethiopian ethnic groups and is predominantly cultivated in southern Ethiopia due to favorable conditions. Communities in Wolayta, Sidama, Keffa, Hadya, and Chaha Woreda are highly attached to enset cultivation and consumption. Culturally, enset serves multiple purposes in Ethiopia, including as daily food, for curative uses, as a status symbol, and in house building, with production and consumption shaped by social and cultural environments. Prior literature on the Gurage largely emphasized political organization and social structure, with limited focus on enset’s economic, cultural, and symbolic significance. Although studies have investigated production, cultivation, consumption, and biological/geographical aspects of enset, they have not sufficiently addressed its economic, cultural, and medicinal importance as a distinct focus. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining the socially constructed indigenous knowledge around producing and consuming enset and its economic, cultural, and symbolic value among the Gurage people, particularly in Chaha Woreda.

Existing studies (e.g., Tsegaye and Struik, 2002; Yemataw et al., 2016; Zewdie et al., 2008; Addis et al., 2010; Boyana et al., 2018; Mekonnen et al., 2020; Ashenafi et al., 2020) document enset production methods, cultivation practices, biological and geographical distribution, and its role in subsistence agriculture. Research on the Gurage has often focused on political organization and social structures (Gemechu et al., 2021; Kassahun Sadessa, 2015), with limited attention to enset’s economic, cultural, medicinal, and symbolic dimensions. Some works note enset’s role in food security, mixed farming systems, and drought resilience (Negash and Niehof, 2004; Sahle et al., 2021), but few analyze wealth stratification, socialization, ritual uses, and symbolic representations. This study targets those gaps by exploring enset’s economic value (wealth/status, income generation), social value (bonding, socialization, labor organization), and symbolic value (life symbol, feminine character) in the Chaha Gurage context.

Design and approach: Qualitative, phenomenological research design to explore lived experiences and socially constructed knowledge regarding enset’s economic, social, and symbolic value in Chaha Woreda (Sebat-Bet Guraghe). Fieldwork took place February 16–April 1, 2021. Study area: Gurage Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS), southern Ethiopia; 13 Woredas and two city administrations. Focus on Chaha Woreda among the Sebat-Bet-Gurage. Agriculture is the economic backbone; enset is a key staple and cultural crop. Data collection: - Non-participant observation of daily interactions, farming activities, enset fields, market activities, rituals, house construction, and environmental settings. - Key informant interviews: 18 participants (farmers, elders, women, youth, officials, professionals), unstructured/in-depth, ~45 minutes each, audio-recorded with consent (see Table 1 in paper for profiles). - Focus group discussions: Two two-way FGDs, each with 8 participants, 45 minutes per group, purposively selected to supplement indigenous knowledge on socio-cultural and symbolic value. Ethics: Approved by ESSSWA-IRB; further reviewed by Wolkite University (ref. no. SOCI/799/2021). Informed consent obtained; confidentiality assured; participation voluntary. Field experience: Researchers traveled to Welkite and Yefetereq; engaged with local officials and communities; observed market days (Wed/Sat) and trade items including enset products; documented household and communal practices around enset, coffee ceremonies, and social gatherings. Data analysis: Thematic qualitative analysis in six steps: familiarization (transcription/translation), initial coding, theme development, theme review/refinement (including sub-themes), reporting (analysis with illustrative extracts) and discussion integrating prior findings. Manual analysis guided by study objectives.

- Centrality of enset: Enset is indispensable in economic, social, and cultural life; most arable land is dedicated to enset. - Wealth stratification: Economic status is indexed by the number and varieties of enset and land for enset plantation. Ownership of special/medicinal varieties (e.g., Guarye, Astara, Qebnar) is associated with wealth and status. High-status foods (Yawatarye, Brambrate, bulla) are mainly found in wealthier households and served on special occasions. - Income generation: Enset products (Wussa/kocho, bulla, Qancha, mats from dried midribs) are sold to cover household expenses, taxes, school fees, and social obligations (Edir, Equb, Shengo). Observed market price for a bundle of Wussa: 250–300 Ethiopian Birr depending on quality and season; prices spike in rainy months (June–August) since enset is harvested in the dry season. Women primarily handle sales and household purchasing; men assist in transport and uprooting. - Labor organization and social bonding: Enset cultivation and harvesting are carried out via reciprocal labor groups (Jege) for men and Wusacha for women, fostering knowledge sharing, songs, jokes, and social cohesion. Hired labor is used by households lacking family labor (e.g., widows, elderly, sick). Payment shifted from kind (enset/Wussa) to cash, with meals provided during work. - Socialization: Youth learn enset cultivation/processing through participation. Girls engage in specific harvesting tasks (e.g., Amichoo/corm smashing) and compete in Amichoo-smashing contests that are linked to social recognition and prospects for marriage. - Migration and ties: Urban migrants return seasonally (e.g., Meskel/Arefa) to maintain enset fields; neglecting enset is stigmatized as being rootless. - Protective beliefs: A deliberately planted tree in enset fields is believed to protect against the evil eye/spirits; enset failure threatens livelihoods. - Symbolic value—feminine character: Enset reproduction is anthropomorphized; destroying the corm “eye” and filling with soil/dung at the Hiba stage frames the plant as losing virginity and becoming ready to ‘give birth.’ Failure to sprout is labeled Wurush (becomes male). - Symbolic value—tree of life: Enset is regarded as ‘life’; consumed from childhood to old age; preferred over other cereals that are often grown for market. Daily care (e.g., manuring, protection) reflects its central role. Sayings and practices glorify enset and Wussa (enset bread). - Spatial practice: In Chaha, enset is cultivated near houses for protection and due to origin myths; unique transplant spacing called Mara allows airflow and human passage between plants. - Sample and process facts: 18 key informants; two FGDs with 8 participants each; interviews ~45 minutes; market observed biweekly; Wussa bundle price 250–300 Birr; seasonal price variation noted.

The study addressed gaps in the literature by documenting how enset’s economic, social, and symbolic dimensions structure daily life among the Chaha Gurage. Findings confirm prior work on enset’s role in livelihoods and food security while extending understanding to wealth stratification mechanisms tied to enset quantity, variety, and medicinal value. The research illuminates collective labor systems (Jege/Wusacha) as key institutions that both enable enset production and serve as loci of social bonding and cultural transmission—elements less emphasized in prior accounts. Symbolically, enset is construed with feminine characteristics and as a ‘tree of life,’ framing cultivation and reproduction in human terms and reinforcing its sacralized status; these symbolic meanings motivate careful stewardship and help maintain strong rural ties even among migrants. Distinctive Chaha practices, such as cultivating enset near homes for protection and the Mara spacing during transplantation, underscore local innovations and beliefs that integrate agronomic, social, and spiritual rationales. Overall, the enset complex functions simultaneously as an economic asset, a social institution, and a symbolic system, directly addressing the study’s objectives regarding wealth/status, socialization and bonding, and symbolic representation.

This study confirmed that the enset plant among the Cheha communities has social, economic, and symbolic value, and their livelihood depends on it. Economically, the study's findings revealed that enset is a factor in wealth stratification for the study people; those who own many enset in terms of size, variety, and ability to heal various forms of the disease are considered wealthy and gain respect in society. Also, enset plays a significant role in socializing the study population in various ways during the period of cultivation and transplantation, which allows them to share various issues during a specific period while doing their work. It also allows the youngsters to practice and experience their culture. Besides the socializing effects, enset in Cheha communities is considered a symbol of life because they linked their lives with the plant. Despite our efforts to investigate the economic, cultural, and medicinal symbolic value of enset in its production and consumption in Chaha Woreda, Gurage Zone, South of Ethiopia, the researchers recommend a more in-depth study, focusing on the medicinal, disease, or frost tolerance, pest, and pathogen incidence importance of the Enset plant in Chaha Woreda.

Participant shyness limited the depth of information obtained, potentially affecting credibility in this qualitative study. Although participation was voluntary and consented, some objectives could not be fully explored. The researchers recommend complete participant observational research that does not reveal the researcher’s status; in this study the researcher’s status remained anonymous.