Oromo people explained

See also: Cushitic peoples and Horn of Africa.

Group:Oromos
Native Name Lang:Afaan Oromo
Region1:
Pop1:25,489,000 (2007)
Ref1:[1]
Region2:
Pop2:739,839 (2019)
Ref2:[2]
Region3:
Pop3:105,000 (2022)
Ref3:[3]
Region4:
Pop4:41,600 (2000)
Ref4:[4]
Region5:
Pop5:40,000
Ref5:[5]
Region7:
Pop7:4,310 (2021)
Ref7:[6]
Region6:
Pop6:5,890 (2021)
Ref6:[7]
Langs:Oromo
Religions:Islam (55–60%), Christianity (40–45%), Traditional religion (Waaqeffanna) (up to 3%)[8]
Related Groups:Somalis • Sidama • Gabra • Rendille • Iraqw • other Cushitic peoples[9] [10]

The Oromo people (pron. [11] Oromo: Oromoo) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya.[12] They speak the Oromo language (also called Afaan Oromoo), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family.[12] They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population.[13] Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.[14]

The Oromo were originally nomadic, semi-pastoralist people who later would conquer large swaths of land during their expansions.[15] [16] After the settlement, they would establish kingdoms in the Gibe regions[17] [18] and dynasties in Abyssinia.[19] [20] The Oromo people traditionally used the gadaa system as the primary form of governance.[21] [22] A leader is elected by the gadaa system and their term lasts eight years, with an election taking place at the end of those eight years.[23] [24] [25] Although most modern Oromos are Muslims and Christians, about 3% practice Waaqeffanna, the native ancient Cushitic monotheistic religion of Oromos.[26]

Origins and nomenclature

Historical linguistics and comparative ethnology studies suggest that the Oromo people probably originated around the lakes Lake Chew Bahir and Lake Chamo.[27] They are a Cushitic people and prior to their expansions, they inhabited only the region of what is now modern-day north Kenya and southern Ethiopia.[28] The aftermath of the sixteenth century Ethiopian–Adal war led Oromos to move to the north.[29] [30] While Oromo people have lived in the region for a long time, the ethnic mixture of peoples who have lived here is unclear. The Oromos increased their numbers through assimilation (Meedhicca, Mogasa and Gudifacha), as well as the inclusion of mixed peoples (Gabbaro).[31] The native names of the territories were replaced by the name of the Oromo clans who settled on it while the indigenous people were assimilated.[32] [33] [34] Subsequent colonial era documents mention and refer to the Oromo people as Galla,[35] which has now developed derogatory connotations, but these documents were generally written by members of other ethnic groups.[36] [37] [38] According to Herbert S. Lewis, both the Oromo and the Somali people originated in southern Ethiopia but the Somali expanded to the east and north much earlier than the Oromo, and the Oromo lived only in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya until the Oromo expansion began about 1530. Historical evidence suggests that the Oromo people were already established in the southern highlands in or before the 15th century and that at least some Oromo people were interacting with other Ethiopian ethnic groups. According to Alessandro Triulzi, the interactions and encounters between Oromos and Nilo-Saharan groups likely began very early.

The term Galla was in use for Oromo people by the Abyssinians, Arabs, and Nilotic people.[39] The original meaning of the term is heavily disputed. An outdated but popular theory among European historians during the 19th century regarding the origin of the term was the belief that it derives from the Hebrew (חלב) and Greek (Gála), milk, due to the outdated belief that the Oromos were lost white men.[40] [41] This name theory was especially popular among German historians who once believed that the Oromo were related to the ancient Gallic tribe in France.[42] Another outdated theory of its origin comes from the belief that the Oromos rejected the offer to convert to Islam by Muhammad as their official religion, thus the prophet giving them the name Qal la or هو قال لا meaning "he said no".[43] [40] Some sources claim it was a term for a river and a forest, as well as for the pastoral people established in the highlands of southern Ethiopia.[44] This historical information, according to Mohammed Hassen, is consistent with the written and oral traditions of the Somalis. Others, such as the International African Institute, suggests that it is an Oromo word (adopted by neighbors), for there is a word,, meaning 'wandering' or 'to go home' in their language.[45] [46] Canadian philosophical professor, Claude Sumner, stated that the French explorer and Ethiopian traveler, Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, claimed that the term had derived from an Oromo war cry whilst the Oromos were fighting on battlefields. The word Oromo is derived from meaning '[The] Children of Orma',[47] or 'Sons of Strangers',[48] or 'Man, stranger'.[49] The first known use of the word Oromo to refer to the ethnic group is traceable to 1893.[50] [51]

History

See main article: History of Ethiopia.

The earliest recorded mention of the Oromos comes from the Italian (Venetian) cartographer Fra Mauro, who notes a Galla River south of the Awash River, in his famous Mappomondo, or map of the world, completed in 1460. This reference indicates that the Oromos inhabited this area of southern Ethiopia for at least a century and a half before their expansion north. As early as the 12th century, all aspects of Oromo life was governed by the Gadaa system, a political and ritual system based on an egalitarian ethos, age grade social organization and highly structured institutions. Under Gadaa, every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus nine leaders known as Oromo: Salgan ya’ii Borana (the nine Borana assemblies).[52]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf "Census 2007"
  2. Web site: 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200605222711/https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=2019-kenya-population-and-housing-census-volume-iv-distribution-of-population-by-socio-economic-characteristics&wpdmdl=5730&ind=7HRl6KateNzKXCJaxxaHSh1qe6C1M6VHznmVmKGBKgO5qIMXjby1XHM2u_swXdiR. 276,236 Borana, 141,200 Gabra, 92,086 Orma, 27,006 Sakuyye and 20,103 Waata . 5 June 2020 . 21 July 2024 . Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
  3. Web site: Oromo, West Central. Ethnologue. 27 September 2023.
  4. Web site: Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Somalia .
  5. Web site: Oromo Community of Minnesota | CareerForce. www.careerforcemn.com.
  6. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021, Census of Population and Housing: Cultural diversity data summary, 2021, 28 June 2022
  7. Web site: Census Profile, 2021 Census – Ethnic or Cultural Background – Canada – provinces & territories . 25 July 2024.
  8. Web site: Ethiopia and the Oromo People: Is it possible to determine whether an Ethiopian is an ethnic Oromo by the individual's last name? What religion or religions are practiced by ethnic Oromos in Ethiopia . United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services . 28 April 1998 . UNHCR Refworld.
  9. Book: Joireman, Sandra F.. Sandra Joireman. Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa: The Allocation of Property Rights and Implications for Development. 1997. Universal-Publishers. 1. 1-58112-000-1.
  10. The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans . 2009 . Sarah Tishkoff . et al. . Science . 324 . 5930 . 1035–44 . 10.1126/science.1172257 . 19407144 . 2947357 . 2009Sci...324.1035T . 2017-12-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170808191618/http://ihi.eprints.org/1568/1/Sarah_A._Tishkoff.pdf . 2017-08-08 . dead .
  11. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
  12. Book: 2010-04-06 . Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World . Elsevier . 978-0-08-087775-4 . 2023-10-25. en-GB.
  13. Web site: Table 2.2 Percentage Distribution of Major Ethnic Groups: 2007. 16. Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results. United Nations Population Fund. 15 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090325050115/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf . 25 March 2009 . Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia.
  14. Web site: Ethiopia . 16 October 2023 .
  15. Book: Mohammed, Hassen. The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia, 1300-1700. 19 May 2017. Boydell & Brewer, Limited . 978-1-84701-161-9. 962017017.
  16. Book: Pankhurst, Richard. The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. 1997. The Red Sea Press. 9780932415196. en.
  17. Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin, Alessandro Triulzi. "Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries'. Nordic Africa Institute (1996) pp. 123–124
  18. Described in detail in G.W.B. Huntingford, The Galla of Ethiopia; the Kingdoms of Kafa and Janjero (London: International African Institute, 1955), pp. 55ff
  19. Shiferaw Bekele, The State in the Zamana Masafent (1786-1853), p. 25
  20. Molla Tikuye, The Rise and Fall of The Yajju Dynasty (1784–1980), p. 199
  21. Web site: Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo – intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO. ich.unesco.org. en. 30 May 2018.
  22. Harold G. Marcus A History of Ethiopia. University of California Press (1994) pp. 55 Google Books
  23. Book: John Ralph Willis. Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate. 2005. Routledge. 978-1-135-78017-3. 122–127, 129–134, 137.
  24. Book: John Ralph Willis. Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate . 2005. Routledge. 978-1-135-78016-6. 128–134.
  25. Book: Ira M. Lapidus. A History of Islamic Societies. 2014. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-139-99150-6. 483.
  26. Book: Donald N. Levine. Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society . 2014. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-22967-6. 35–41.
  27. Book: Tesema Ta'a. The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia). 2006. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 978-3-447-05419-5. 17–19 with footnotes.
  28. Book: Library (U.S.), Army . Africa: Its Problems and Prospects; a Bibliographic Survey . 1967 . Headquarters, Department of the Army. . en.
  29. Gikes. Patrick. Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State. African Studies. 2002. 2. 89–102. University of Lisbon. 7 November 2016. live. http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20161107034322/https://cea.revues.org/1280. 7 November 2016.
  30. Frankfurter afrikanistische Blätter. Frankfurt University Library. 1. 24 July 2017. 1989.
  31. Book: . Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries . Nordic Africa Institute . 1996 . 978-91-7106-379-3 . Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin and Alessandro Triulzi. . 251–256.
  32. Book: Mekuria Bulcha, Jan Hultin . Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries . Nordic Africa Institute . 1996 . 978-91-7106-379-3 . Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin and Alessandro Triulzi. . 55–56, 55–56, 85–90.
  33. Book: Erwin Fahlbusch. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. 1999. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 978-90-04-11695-5. 157–158.
  34. Book: Tesema Ta'a. The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia) . 2006. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 978-3-447-05419-5. 22–24.
  35. Web site: 26. ETHIOPIA LESSONS IN REPRESSION: VIOLATIONS OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN ETHIOPIA.
  36. Book: Ta'a, Tesema . 2006 . The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation . . 17 . 978-3-447-05419-5 . 21 May 2015 .
  37. Ernesta Cerulli (1956), Peoples of South-west Ethiopia and its Borderland, International African Institute, Routledge,, Chapter: History & Traditions of Origin
  38. Lewis . Herbert S. . Herbert S. Lewis. The Origins of the Galla and Somali . The Journal of African History . Cambridge University Press . 7 . 1 . 1966 . 27–46 . 10.1017/s0021853700006058 . 163027084 . 0021-8537 .
  39. Juxon Barton (September 1924), The Origins of the Galla and Somali Tribes, The Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society, No. 19, pages 6–7
  40. Book: Tilstone Beke, Charles. 1848. On the Origin of the Gallas . London, England . John E. Taylor . 3 .
  41. Book: Markham, Clements. 1869. A History of the Abyssinian Expedition. London, England. Macmillan . 40 .
  42. Book: Kanno, Ayalew. 2005. An Ancient People in the State of Menelik The Oromo (said to be of Gallic Origin) Great African Nation . Michigan, United States . Ayalew Kanno . 373 . 9781599751894 .
  43. Mekonnen, Y. K. (2013a). Ethiopia: The land, its people, history and culture. New Africa Press.
  44. Book: Mohammed Hassen. The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300–1700. Boydell & Brewer (Originally: Cambridge University Press). 2015. 978-1-84701-117-6. 66–68, 85, 104–106.
  45. Book: Ethnographic Survey of Africa . 1969 . International African Institute. . en.
  46. Claude Sumner Ethiopian Philosophy: The treatise of Zärʼa Yaʻe̳quo and Wäldä Ḥe̳ywåt Addis Ababa University, (1976) pp. 149 footnotes 312, Quote: "D'Abbadie claimed that the name Galla was explained to him as derived from a war cry, and used by the Gallas of themselves at war."
  47. Book: Mohammed Hassen. The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300-1700. 2015. Boydell & Brewer. 978-1-84701-117-6. 109–110.
  48. "Gallas . 11 . 413.
  49. "Oromo " in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
  50. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Oromo Oromo
  51. Book: CF Beckingham and George Huntingford. 1967. Some records of Ethiopia, 1593–1646, being extracts from the history of High Ethiopia or Abassia (Series: Oromo Peuple d'Afrique). 195934. Kraus Nendeln, Liechtenstein. 1–7.
  52. Galla, Candace. 2012. 46–48. Sustaining generations of Indigenous voices: Reclaiming language and integrating multimedia technology. .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oromo people".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.