The coffee plant is a myth of the Oromo (Ethiopia) that aims to define the origin and meaning of death. It purports to describe the origin of life, when life and death of living beings spread from a primordial chaos.
The myth tells of when the god Waqa summoned a man to foretell the time of his death. The man, however, rebelled against this fate and asked to be allowed to stay by Waqa's side forever. But the latter in anger made the decision to have the man die immediately, and the man attempted to escape by reaching a place where he saw some individuals who had dug a grave, which was just reserved for him. In fact he died immediately and was buried there.
The god Waqa wanted to visit the grave: he was moved when he saw the man's lifeless body and his tears gave birth to a coffee plant. For this reason, coffee is prepared first in all rituals and is considered a great medicine.
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