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129-676: The Oromo people ( pron. / ˈ ɒr əm oʊ / ORR -əm-oh Oromo : Oromoo ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language (also called Afaan Oromoo ), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family . They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia . According to

258-569: A Gadaa office. Every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus nine leaders for the office. A leader elected by the Gadaa system remains in power only for eight years, with an election taking place at the end of those eight years. There are three Gadaa organs of governance: Gadaa Council, Gadaa General Assembly ( gumi gayo ), and the Qallu Assembly. The Gadaa Council is considered

387-499: A reciprocal pronoun wal (English 'each other') that is used like of/if . That is, it is inflected for case but not person, number, or gender: wal jaalatu 'they like each other' (base form of wal ), kennaa walii bitan 'they bought each other gifts' (dative of wal ). Like English, Oromo makes a two-way distinction between proximal ('this, these') and distal ('that, those') demonstrative pronouns and adjectives. Some dialects distinguish masculine and feminine for

516-420: A stem , representing the lexical meaning of the verb, and a suffix , representing tense or aspect and subject agreement. For example, in dhufne 'we came', dhuf- is the stem ('come') and -ne indicates that the tense is past and that the subject of the verb is first person plural. As in many other Afroasiatic languages , Oromo makes a basic two-way distinction in its verb system between

645-777: A dialect of Afaan Oromo, the Oromo language. Barentu/Barentoo or (older) Baraytuma is the other moiety of the Oromo people. The Barentu Oromo inhabit the eastern parts of the Oromia Region in the Zones of West Hararghe , Arsi Zone , Bale Zone , Dire Dawa city, the Jijiga Zone of the Somali Region , Administrative Zone 3 of the Afar Region , Oromia Zone of the Amhara Region , and are also found in

774-441: A first language by an additional half-million people in parts of northern and eastern Kenya . It is also spoken by smaller numbers of emigrants in other African countries such as South Africa , Libya , Egypt and Sudan . Oromo is the most widely spoken Cushitic language and among the five languages of Africa with the largest mother-tongue populations. Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of Ethiopia and

903-432: A lot in the details, but the following changes are common. Verbs whose stems end in two consonants and whose suffix begins with a consonant must insert a vowel to break up the consonants since the language does not permit sequences of three consonants. There are two ways this can happen: either the vowel i is inserted between the stem and the suffix, or the final stem consonants are switched (an example of metathesis ) and

1032-633: A major part of slaves sold in Gondar and Gallabat slave markets at Ethiopia-Sudan border, as well as the Massawa and Tajura markets on the Red Sea . There was also a large slave market at al Hudaydah on the coast of Yemen. The Oromo people are engaged in many occupations. The southern Oromo (specifically the Borana Oromo ) are largely pastoralists who raise goats and cattle. Other Oromo groups have

1161-568: A major role in the Weyane revolt, challenging Emperor Haile Selassie I 's rule in the 1940s. Simultaneously, both federalist and secessionist political forces developed inside the Oromo community. At present a number of ethnic-based political organizations have been formed to promote the interests of the Oromo. The first was the Mecha and Tulama Self-Help Association was founded in January 1963, but

1290-706: A more diverse economy which includes agriculture and work in urban centers. Some Oromo also sell many products and food items like coffee beans (coffee being a favorite beverage among the Oromo) at local markets. In December 2009, a 96-page report titled "Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of the Oromo Diaspora", compiled by the Advocates for Human Rights, documented human rights violations against

1419-538: A number of members of other ethnicities who are in contact with the Oromo speak it as a second language, such as the Omotic -speaking Bambassi and the Nilo-Saharan -speaking Kwama in western Ethiopia. The Oromo followed their traditional religion, Waaqeffanna , and were resistant to religious conversion before assimilation in sultanates and Christian kingdoms. The influential 30-year war from 1529 to 1559 between

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1548-420: A number of members of other ethnicities who are in contact with the Oromo speak it as a second language. See, for example, the Omotic -speaking Bambassi and the Nilo-Saharan -speaking Kwama in northwestern Oromia. The Oromo people use a highly developed oral tradition. In the 19th century, scholars began writing in the Oromo language using Latin script . In 1842, Johann Ludwig Krapf began translations of

1677-539: A period even change the official language of the empire from Amharic to Oromiffa during the rule of the half-Oromo emperor Iyoas I . They would establish dynasties such as the Yejju dynasty that would be de facto rulers of Ethiopian Empire from 1784 to 1853 during the Zemene Mesafint , they would particularly have control over the provinces of Begemder and Gojjam . Another Oromo dynasty that would rise in

1806-596: A political and military vacuum that allowed the Oromo to move relatively unhindered into both the Ethiopian Empire and the Adal Sultanate . Further, they acquired horses and their gada system helped coordinate Oromo cavalry warriors which enabled them to fight very effectively. Bahrey argues the success of the Oromos in battle was because all Oromo men were trained as warriors, while in Ethiopia only

1935-484: A small section of the population were warriors, the rest uninvolved in the defense of their country. The military discipline of the Oromos was noted by the Portuguese chronicler Joao Bermudes, who observed that during the invasion of Dawaro , the Oromos "did not come on without order like barbarians, but advanced collected in bodies, like squadrons." The early 16th and 17th century witnessed the gradual integration of

2064-438: A vowel (e.g. in word-final environments or as part of consonant clusters). The Arabic script has also been used intermittently in areas with Muslim populations. Like most other Ethiopian languages, whether Semitic, Cushitic, or Omotic, Oromo has a set of ejective consonants , that is, voiceless stops or affricates that are accompanied by glottalization and an explosive burst of air. Oromo has another glottalized phone that

2193-476: A word. This article uses ⟨c⟩ consistently for / tʃʼ / and ⟨ch⟩ for / tʃ / . Only the penultimate or final syllable of a root can have a high tone, and if the penultimate is high, the final must also be high; this implies that Oromo has a pitch-accent system (in which the tone need be specified only on one syllable, the others being predictable) rather than a tone system (in which each syllable must have its tone specified), although

2322-868: Is Milk) became a hit in Ethiopia. To combat Somali wide-reaching influence, the Ethiopian Government initiated an Oromo language program radio of their own. Within Kenya there has been radio broadcasting in Oromo (in the Borana dialect) on the Voice of Kenya since at least the 1980s. The Borana Bible in Kenya was printed in 1995 using the Latin alphabet, but not using the same spelling rules as in Ethiopian Qubee. The first comprehensive online Oromo dictionary

2451-447: Is a social group of pastoralists, whose way of life is based on pastoralism , and is typically nomadic. Daily life is centered upon the tending of herds or flocks. There is not an explicit form of the social organization associated with pastoralism. Pastoral societies are often organized in tribes , with the ‘household,' often incorporating the extended family, as a basic unit for organization of labor and expenses. Lineages are often

2580-559: Is a subject pro-drop language . That is, neutral sentences in which the subject is not emphasized do not require independent subject pronouns: kaleessa dhufne 'we came yesterday'. The Oromo word that translates 'we' does not appear in this sentence, though the person and number are marked on the verb dhufne ('we came') by the suffix -ne . When the subject in such sentences needs to be given prominence for some reason, an independent pronoun can be used: ' nuti kaleessa dhufne ' ' we came yesterday'. The table below gives forms of

2709-473: Is a sweeping repression in the Oromo region of Ethiopia. On 12 December 2015, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported violent protests in the Oromo region of Ethiopia in which more than 20 students were killed. According to the report, the students were protesting against the government's re-zoning plan named 'Addis Ababa Master Plan'. On 2 October 2016, between 55 and 300 festival-goers were massacred at

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2838-404: Is a two-way distinction between singular ('I', 'you sg.') and plural ('we', 'you pl.'), whereas for third person, there is a two-way distinction in the singular ('he', 'she') and a single form for the plural ('they'). Because Oromo has only two genders, there is no pronoun corresponding to English it ; the masculine or feminine pronoun is used according to the gender of the noun referred to. Oromo

2967-597: Is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including Oromia , Harari and Dire Dawa regional states and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region . It is a language of primary education in Oromia , Harari , Dire Dawa , Benishangul-Gumuz and Addis Ababa and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region . It is used as an internet language for federal websites along with Tigrinya . Under Haile Selassie 's regime, Oromo

3096-610: 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, gala , meaning 'wandering' or 'to go home' in their language. Canadian philosophical professor, Claude Sumner , stated that the French explorer and Ethiopian traveler, Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie , claimed that

3225-541: Is more common in southern Oromo populations and Christianity more common in and near the urban centers, while Islam is more common near the Somali border and in the north. The Oromos ' cuisine consists of various vegetable and meat side dishes and entrées. Pork is typically not in Oromo cuisine, as it is considered taboo for Orthodox Oromos and Muslim Oromos who make up over 90% of the population combined, unlike with Catholics among others. Oromo people are believed to be one of

3354-419: Is more unusual, an implosive retroflex stop , "dh" in Oromo orthography, a sound that is like an English "d" produced with the tongue curled back slightly and with the air drawn in so that a glottal stop is heard before the following vowel begins. It is retroflex in most dialects, though it is not strongly implosive and may reduce to a flap between vowels. One source describes it as voiceless [ᶑ̥] . Oromo has

3483-411: Is no relationship. The new year of the Oromo people, according to this calendar, falls in the month of October. The calendar has no weeks but a name for each day of the month. It is a lunar-stellar calendar system. Some modern authors such as Gemetchu Megerssa have proposed the concept of Oromumma , or 'Oromoness' as a cultural common between Oromo people. The word is derived by combining Oromo with

3612-571: Is the most beautiful in Africa; it is not originally from Abyssinia ; she came there by invasion , as we will see below in the history that I will give of the Kingdom of Choa ( Shewa ). The Gallas are, in general, well built, they have a tall figure, a broad and raised forehead, an aquiline nose , a well-cut mouth, a copper complexion rather than black; their hair is braided into small braids which float around their heads, and mix something graceful with

3741-535: Is the resurgence of pastoral nomadism . Taking the Kyrgyz people as a representative example, nomadism was the centre of their economy prior to Russian colonization at the turn of the C19/C20, when they were settled into agricultural villages. The population became increasingly urbanized after World War II, but some people continued to take their herds of horses and cows to the high pasture ( jailoo ) every summer. Since

3870-432: Is through unofficial channels and the unofficial trade of live cattle, camels, sheep and goats from Ethiopia sold to Somalia , Kenya and Djibouti generates an estimated total value of between US$ 250 and US$ 300 million annually (100 times more than the official figure). This trade helps lower food prices , increase food security, relieve border tensions and promote regional integration. However, there are also risks as

3999-566: Is to treat the "singular" form as unspecified for number. When it is important to make the plurality of a referent clear, the plural form of a noun is used. Noun plurals are formed through the addition of suffixes . The most common plural suffix is -oota ; a final vowel is dropped before the suffix, and in the western dialects, the suffix becomes -ota following a syllable with a long vowel: mana 'house', manoota 'houses', hiriyaa 'friend', hiriyoota 'friends', barsiisaa 'teacher', barsiiso(o)ta 'teachers'. Among

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4128-484: Is to use the noun meaning 'self': of(i) or if(i) . This noun is inflected for case but, unless it is being emphasized, not for person, number, or gender: isheen of laalti 'she looks at herself' (base form of of ), isheen ofiif makiinaa bitte 'she bought herself a car' (dative of of ). The other possibility is to use the noun meaning 'head', mataa , with possessive suffixes: mataa koo 'myself', mataa kee 'yourself (s.)', etc. Oromo has

4257-472: Is unclear. The Oromos increased their numbers through assimilation ( Meedhicca , Mogasa and Gudifacha ), as well as the inclusion of mixed peoples ( Gabbaro ). 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. According to Herbert S. Lewis , both the Oromo and the Somali people originated in southern Ethiopia but

4386-632: The Gabbaro (some 17th- to 19th-century Ethiopian texts refer them as the dhalatta ). Below these two upper castes were the despised castes of artisans, and at the lowest level were the slaves. In the Islamic Kingdom of Jimma , the Oromo society's caste strata predominantly consisted of endogamous, inherited artisanal occupations. Each caste group has specialized in a particular occupation such as iron working, carpentry, weapon making, pottery, weaving, leather-working and hunting. Each caste in

4515-449: 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 Salgan ya’ii Borana (the nine Borana assemblies). A leader elected by the gadaa system remains in power only for 8 years, with an election taking place at

4644-991: The Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society , the Seventh-Day Adventists , the United Presbyterian Mission of the US, the Church Mission to the Jews , Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen , Bibeltrogna Vänner , and the Hermannsburg Mission . In the mid and late 19th century, the Ethiopian emperors were faced with widespread rifts and disputes in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and crippling ethnic and religious divisions that plagued

4773-612: The Gibe regions and dynasties in Abyssinia . The Oromo people traditionally used the gadaa system as the primary form of governance. 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. Although most modern Oromos are Muslims and Christians, about 3% practice Waaqeffanna , the native ancient Cushitic monotheistic religion of Oromos. Historical linguistics and comparative ethnology studies suggest that

4902-614: The Oromia Bank (formerly Oromia National Bank) established in 2008. Radio broadcasts began in the Oromo language in Somalia in 1960 on Radio Mogadishu . Within Kenya there has been radio broadcasting in Oromo (in the Borana dialect) on the Voice of Kenya since at least the 1980s. Broadcasting in Oromo began in Ethiopia during the 1974 revolution, in which Radio Harar began broadcasting. The first private Afaan Oromoo newspaper in Ethiopia, Jimma Times , also known as Oromo : Yeroo ,

5031-701: The Oromia Region in central Ethiopia, the largest region in the country by both population and area. They speak Afaan Oromoo, the official language of Oromia. Oromos constitute the third most populous ethnic group among Africans as a whole and the most populous among Horners specifically. Oromo also have a notable presence in northern Kenya in the Marsabit County , Isiolo County and Tana River County totaling to about 656,636: 276,236 Borana , 141,200 Gabra , 158,000 Orma , 45,200 Sakuye , 20,000 Waata , and 16,000 Munyo Yaya . There are also Oromo in

5160-691: The Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), is one of the four parties that form the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. The ONC, for example, was part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces coalition that challenged the EPRDF in the Ethiopian general elections of 2005 . Several of these groups seek to create an independent Oromo nation, some using armed force. Meanwhile,

5289-595: The Raya Azebo Aanaas in the Tigray Region . Oromo is written with Latin characters known as Qubee . The Sapalo script was invented by the Oromo scholar Sheikh Bakri Sapalo (also known by his birth name, Abubaker Usman Odaa) during the 1950s. Oromo serves as one of the official languages of Ethiopia and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including Oromia, Harari and Dire Dawa regional states and of

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5418-563: The Rift Valley respectively. The Barento moved in an eastern direction, eventually settling in today's Arsi , Bale , Hararghe and Wollo regions. Whereas the Boorana trekked northwest, settling in the regions of Shewa , Illubabor and Welega . According to Richard Pankhurst , a British-born Ethiopian historian, this expansion is linked to the attempted conquest of the Ethiopian Empire by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim , which created

5547-696: The Tulama Oromo were among those who violently clashed with the Ethiopian expansion in the region in the 19th century and the empire's attempts at enforcing unity through the propagation of Orthodox Christianity, as the majority of these groups were not Christian but Muslims. In the 2007 Ethiopian census for Oromia region, which included Oromo and some non-Oromo residents, there was a total of 13,107,963 followers of Christianity (8,204,908 Orthodox, 4,780,917 Protestant, 122,138 Catholic), 12,835,410 followers of Islam , 887,773 followers of traditional religions , and 162,787 followers of other religions. Accordingly,

5676-660: The medium of instruction in elementary schools throughout the region, including areas where other ethnic groups live speaking their languages, and as a language of administration within the region. Since the OLF left the transitional Ethiopian government in the early 1990s, the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO) continued developing Oromo in Ethiopia. Radio broadcasts began in the Oromo language in Somalia in 1960 by Radio Mogadishu . The programme featured music and propaganda. A song Bilisummaan Aannaani (Liberation

5805-433: The ) with suffixes on the noun: -(t)icha for masculine nouns (the ch is geminated though this is not normally indicated in writing) and -(t)ittii for feminine nouns. Vowel endings of nouns are dropped before these suffixes: karaa 'road', karicha 'the road', nama 'man', namicha / namticha 'the man', haroo 'lake', harittii 'the lake'. For animate nouns that can take either gender,

5934-576: The Arabic term ummah (community). However, according to Terje Østebø and other scholars, this term is a neologism from the late 1990s and its link Oromo ethno-nationalism and Salafi Islamic discourse has been questioned, in their disagreement with Christian Amhara and other ethnic groups. The Oromo people, depending on their geographical location and historical events, have variously converted to Islam, to Christianity, or remained with their traditional religion (Waaqeffanna) . According to Gemetchu Megerssa,

6063-648: The Chinese, the Hindus and the Mayans. It was tied to the traditional religion of the Oromos, and used to schedule the Gadaa system of elections and power transfer. The Borana Oromo calendar system was once thought to be based upon an earlier Cushitic calendar developed around 300 BC found at Namoratunga . Reconsideration of the Namoratunga site led astronomer and archaeologist Clive Ruggles to conclude that there

6192-1180: The Enhanced Livelihoods in Mandera Triangle/Enhanced Livelihoods in Southern Ethiopia (ELMT/ELSE) as part of the Regional Enhanced Livelihoods in Pastoral Areas (RELPA) programme in East Africa, and the Regional Livelihoods Advocacy Project (REGLAP) funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHAO) . One of the consequences of the break-up of the Soviet Union and the subsequent political independence and economic collapse of its Central Asian republics

6321-538: The Ethnologue also lists 722,000 speakers of Borana and Orma , two languages closely related to Ethiopian Oromo. Within Ethiopia, Oromo is the language with the largest number of native speakers. Within Africa, Oromo is the language with the fourth most speakers, after Arabic (if one counts the mutually unintelligible spoken forms of Arabic as a single language and assumes the same for the varieties of Oromo), Swahili , and Hausa . Besides first language speakers,

6450-536: The Gospels of John and Matthew into Oromo, as well as a first grammar and vocabulary. The first Oromo dictionary and grammar was produced by German scholar Karl Tutschek in 1844. The first printing of a transliteration of Oromo language was in 1846 in a German newspaper in an article on the Oromo in Germany. After Abyssinia annexed Oromo's territory, the language's development into a full-fledged writing instrument

6579-581: The Haile Selassie regime. The Oromo have played a major role in the internal dynamics of Ethiopia. Accordingly, Oromos played major roles in all three main political movements in Ethiopia (centralist, federalist and secessionist) during the 19th and 20th century. In addition to holding high powers during the centralist government and the monarchy, the Raya Oromos in the Tigray regional state played

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6708-410: The OLF as a political force in Ethiopia. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , the Oromia Support Group (OSG) recorded 594 extrajudicial killings of Oromos by Ethiopian government security forces and 43 disappearances in custody between 2005 and August 2008. Starting in November 2015, during a wave of mass protests, mainly by Oromos, over the expansion of

6837-403: The Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region. It is a language of primary education in Oromia, Harari, Dire Dawa, Benishangul-Gumuz and of the Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region. It is used as an internet language for federal websites along with Tigrinya . More than 35% of Ethiopia's population are Oromo mother-tongue speakers, which makes it the most widely spoken primary language in Ethiopia. It is also

6966-436: The Oromia region is approximately 40% to 45% Christian (8,204,908 or 30.4% Orthodox, 4,780,917 or 17.7% Protestant, 122,138 Catholic), 55% to 60% Muslim and 3.3% followers of traditional religions. According to a 2016 estimate by James Minahan, about half of the Oromo people are Sunni Muslim, a third are Ethiopian Orthodox, and the rest are mostly Protestants or follow their traditional religious beliefs. The traditional religion

7095-423: The Oromia region, following the assassination of musician Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June 2020, leading to the deaths of at least 200 people. On 30 June 2020, a statue of former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in London was destroyed by Oromo protestors in response to the killing of popular singer Hachalu Hundessa and grievances of the Oromo language being banned from education, and the use in administration under

7224-422: The Oromo in Ethiopia under three successive regimes: the Ethiopian Empire under Haile Selassie , Marxist Derg and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), dominated by members of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and which was accused to have arrested approximately 20,000 suspected OLF members, to have driven most OLF leadership into exile, and to have effectively neutralized

7353-647: The Oromo into the Ethiopian Empire . Emperor Susenyos I , who came to power with Oromo support, did much to integrate them into the political establishment of the Christian state. Having grown up among the Oromo, he was fluent in their language and admired their way of life. He employed Oromo warriors, military tactics and combat formations against his rivals for the throne. Once in power, he filled high level offices with his Oromo supporters and settled various Oromo groups throughout much of Gojjam and Begemder . Under Susenyos's successors, many Oromos would continue to rise to positions of prominence in imperial service, and for

7482-447: The Oromo people probably originated around the lakes Lake Chew Bahir and Lake Chamo . 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. The aftermath of the sixteenth century Ethiopian–Adal war led Oromos to move to the north. While Oromo people have lived in the region for a long time, the ethnic mixture of peoples who have lived here

7611-432: The Oromo society had a designated name. For example, Tumtu were smiths, Fuga were potters, Faqi were tanners and leatherworkers, Semmano were weavers, Gagurtu were beekeepers and honey-makers, and Watta were hunters and foragers. While slaves were a stratum within the society, many Oromos, regardless of caste, were sold into slavery elsewhere. By the 19th century, Oromo slaves were sought after and

7740-418: The Oromo were a pastoralist people who began to move in large numbers into the central highlands of Ethiopia from their cradleland in the plains of southern Ethiopia during the 16th century. This large scale expansion is referred to as the "Great Oromo Migrations" . Prior to this movement, the Oromos were divided into two major confederations, the Boorana and the Barento , who lived in the west and east of

7869-414: 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

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7998-405: The Oromos have led some scholars such as Mario Aguilar and Abdullahi Shongolo to conclude that "a common identity acknowledged by all Oromo in general does not exist". Like other ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa and East Africa, Oromo people regionally developed social stratification consisting of four hierarchical strata. The highest strata were the nobles called the Borana ; below them were

8127-435: 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,

8256-484: The ancient Gallic tribe in France. 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". 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. This historical information, according to Mohammed Hassen ,

8385-421: The autobenefactive; in this case the s of the causative is replaced by f : deebi '- 'return (intransitive)', deebis- 'return (transitive), answer', deebifam- 'be returned, be answered', deebifadh- 'get back for oneself'. Another derived verbal aspect is the frequentative or "intensive," formed by copying the first consonant and vowel of the verb root and geminating the second occurrence of

8514-403: The basis for three derived voices, passive, causative, and autobenefactive, each formed with addition of a suffix to the root, yielding the stem that the inflectional suffixes are added to. The voice suffixes can be combined in various ways. Two causative suffixes are possible: ka '- 'go up', kaas- 'pick up', kaasis- 'cause to pick up'. The causative may be followed by the passive or

8643-520: The cases, there is a range of forms possible, some covering more than one case, and the differences in meaning among these alternatives may be quite subtle. In most languages, there is a small number of basic distinctions of person , number , and often gender that play a role within the grammar of the language. Oromo and English are such languages. We see these distinctions within the basic set of independent personal pronouns, for example, English I , Oromo ani ; English they , Oromo ' isaani ' and

8772-434: The class is not predictable from the verb stem. It is the forms that precede suffixes beginning with consonants ( t and n ) that differ from the usual pattern. The third person masculine singular, second person singular, and first person plural present forms are shown for an example verb in each class. The common verbs fedh- 'want' and godh- 'do' deviate from the basic conjugation pattern in that long vowels replace

8901-446: The collective achievement of the members of the Gadaa class. It is responsible for coordinating irreecha . The Gadaa General Assembly is the legislative body of the Gadaa government, while the Qallu Assembly is the religious institution. The Oromo people developed a lunisolar calendar ; different geographically and religiously distinct Oromo communities use the same calendar. This calendar is sophisticated and similar to ones found among

9030-417: The definite suffix may indicate the intended gender: qaalluu 'priest', qaallicha 'the priest (m.)', qallittii 'the priest (f.)'. The definite suffixes appear to be used less often than the in English, and they seem not to co-occur with the plural suffixes. Oromo nouns appear in seven grammatical cases , each indicated by a suffix, the lengthening of the noun's final vowel, or both. For some of

9159-455: The digraphs ch, dh, ny, ph, sh. Gemination is not obligatorily marked for digraphs, though some writers indicate it by doubling the first element: qopphaa'uu 'be prepared'. In the charts below, the International Phonetic Alphabet symbol for a phoneme is shown in brackets where it differs from the Oromo letter. The phonemes /p v z/ appear in parentheses because they are only found in recently adopted words. There have been minor changes in

9288-502: The eastern part of the country, especially in Arsi , Bale and Hararghe , the Oromo had remained predominantly pastoralists until the late 19th century. Only the Oromo who lived within the immediate periphery of the city of Harar adopted agriculture as their primary occupation, mostly to engage in trade with the inhabitants of the walled city. According to oral and literary evidence, certain Somali and Oromo clans fought each other throughout

9417-602: The empire and exposed it to the intervention and meddling of neighboring Muslims (especially Egypt and the Ottoman Empire) and European powers. The emperors that ruled in that period, Tewodros II , Yohannes IV , and Menelik II , thus strove to suppress disunion and schism both within and without the Ethiopian Church and were often intolerant towards other religions. The Wollo Oromo , the Arsi Oromo , and

9546-561: The end of those 8 years. Whenever an Abbaa Gadaa dies while exercising his functions, the bokkuu (the symbol of power) passes to his wife and she keeps the bokkuu and proclaims the laws. The first detailed history of the Oromo people comes from the Ethiopian monk Bahrey who wrote Zenahu la Galla , or "History of the Galla" in 1593. They are also mentioned in the records left by Abba Paulos, Joao Bermudes, Jerónimo Lobo , Galawdewos , Sarsa Dengel and others. These records suggest that

9675-437: The expressive and noble character of their physiognomy : accustomed, from their most tender youth, to ride horses, to carry the butcher and the spear, they are excellent horsemen and insensitive to the harshest fatigue; full of courage and valor in combat, they showed themselves, in their fields, skillful and laborious farmers: this great nation, because we can call it that could led by an enterprising leader, make itself master of

9804-424: The fertile and adequately watered land of the region. This increased the importance of agriculture and led to the subsequent rise of a land owning class. The rich natural environment produced commodities that were in high demand and lead to the rise of a strong merchant class. These changes allowed the gadaa officials to acquire more authority and convert their elective offices into permeant monarchical institutions. In

9933-561: The first to have cultivated coffee in Ethiopia and recognise its energizing effect. Oromo people have governed themselves in accordance with the Gadaa system long before the 16th century. The system regulates the political, economic, social and religious activities of the community. Oromo were traditionally a culturally homogeneous society with genealogical ties. A male born in the Oromo clan went through five stages of eight years, where his life established his role and status for consideration to

10062-522: The form of administrations that was subsequently set up in the newly conquered areas. In areas where the Shewans encountered resistance, such as Arsi, the conquering generals were installed as governors and the Amhara soldiers or neftenya settled the region in military garrisons known as katamas which later become the administrative centers for Shewan rule. These officials and soldier-settlers lived off

10191-574: The former Wollo and Tigray provinces of Ethiopia. The Oromo consist of two major branches that break down into an assortment of clan families. From west to east: the Borana Oromo , also called the Booranaa , are a semi- pastoralist group living in southern Oromia and northern Kenya . The Borana inhabit the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia and the former Northern Frontier District (now northern Kenya) of Northern Kenya. They speak

10320-462: The geminated consonants that would result when suffixes beginning with t or n are added: fedha 'he wants', feeta 'you (sg.) want', feena 'we want', feetu 'you (pl.) want', hin feene 'didn't want', etc. The verb dhuf- 'come' has the irregular imperatives koottu , koottaa . The verb deem- 'go' has, alongside regular imperative forms, the irregular imperatives deemi , deemaa . An Oromo verb root can be

10449-444: The gender of the modified noun). However, in the western dialects, the masculine forms (those beginning with k- ) are used in all cases. Possessive adjectives may take the case endings for the nouns they modify: ganda kootti 'to my village' ( -tti : locative case). As in languages such as French , Russian , and Turkish , the Oromo second person plural is also used as a polite singular form, for reference to people that

10578-611: The government responded with an abusive and far-reaching state of emergency, which was lifted in August 2017. During the state of emergency, security forces arbitrarily detained over 21,000 people. Oromo language With more than 41.7 million speakers making up 33.8% of the total Ethiopian population , Oromo has the largest number of native speakers in Ethiopia, and ranks as the second most widely spoken language in Ethiopia by total number of speakers (including second-language speakers) following Amharic . Forms of Oromo are spoken as

10707-777: The government's indirect role in the death of hundreds of Oromos in western Ethiopia. According to Amnesty International , "between 2011 and 2014, at least 5000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government. These include thousands of peaceful protestors and hundreds of opposition political party members. The government anticipates a high level of opposition in Oromia, and signs of dissent are sought out and regularly, sometimes pre-emptively, suppressed. In numerous cases, actual or suspected dissenters have been detained without charge or trial, killed by security services during protests, arrests and in detention." According to Amnesty International, there

10836-509: The initial consonant. The resulting stem indicates the repetition or intensive performance of the action of the verb. Examples: bul- 'spend the night', bubbul- 'spend several nights', cab- 'break', caccab- 'break to pieces, break completely'; dhiib- 'push, apply pressure', dhiddhiib- 'massage'. The infinitive is formed from a verb stem with the addition of the suffix -uu . Verbs whose stems end in -dh (in particular all autobenefactive verbs) change this to ch before

10965-487: The interactions and encounters between Oromos and Nilo-Saharan groups likely began very early. Subsequent colonial era documents mention and refer to the Oromo people as Galla , which has now developed derogatory connotations, but these documents were generally written by members of other ethnic groups. The term Galla was in use for Oromo people by the Abyssinians , Arabs , and Nilotic people . The original meaning of

11094-543: The land of the locals, who soon became serfs to the Shewan aristocrats. In the areas were the Oromos submitted peacefully, such as the Kingdom of Jimma , the indigenous rulers were made tributaries to the crown but were allowed to self-govern themselves with minimal interference from the central government. During Haile Selassie 's rule, many Oromos lost their autonomous status granted to them by Menelik, Haile Selassie abolished

11223-432: The last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000. The Oromo were originally nomadic, semi-pastoralist people who later would conquer large swaths of land during their expansions . After the settlement, they would establish kingdoms in

11352-794: The minority protest that took place in Oromia near Addis Ababa, 23 people were killed following the deaths of 43 Oromos in the Addis Ababa neighborhood of Saris Abo. Some have blamed the rise in ethnic violence in the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne on the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for giving space to groups formerly banned by previous Tigrayan -led governments, such as the Oromo Liberation Front and Ginbot 7 . Protests broke out across Ethiopia, chiefly in

11481-422: The modernization projects during the reign of Haile Selassie . This discontent emanating from the political marginalization, economic exploitation and the cultural domination of the Oromo led to the rise of the Mecha and Tulama Self-Help Association in 1963, ostensibly for organizing Oromo self-help, but in fact to promote Oromo identity and fight the marginalization of the Oromo. The Mecha and Tulama Association

11610-608: The most sacred and largest event among the Oromo, the Irreechaa cultural thanksgiving festival. In one day, dozens were killed and many injured. Every year, millions of Oromos gather in Bishoftu for this annual celebration. That year Ethiopian security forces responded to peaceful protests by firing tear gas and live bullets at over two million people surrounded by a lake and cliffs. In the week that followed, angry youth attacked government buildings and private businesses. On 8 October,

11739-461: The most widely spoken Cushitic language and the fourth-most widely spoken language of Africa , after Arabic , Hausa and Swahili . Oromo is spoken as a first language by more than 40 million Oromo people in Ethiopia and by an additional half-million in parts of northern and eastern Kenya. It is also spoken by smaller numbers of emigrants in other African countries, such as South Africa , Libya , Egypt and Sudan . Besides first language speakers,

11868-481: The municipal boundary of the city of Addis Ababa into Oromia, over 500 people have been killed and many more have been injured, according to human-rights advocates and independent monitors. The protests have since spread to other ethnic groups and encompass wider social grievances. Ethiopia declared a state of emergency in response to Oromo and Amhara protests in October 2016. With the rising political unrest, there

11997-485: The newspaper Bariisaa , Urjii and many others, were written in the traditional Ethiopic script. Plans to introduce Oromo language instruction in schools, however, were not realized until the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was overthrown in 1991, except in regions controlled by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). With the creation of the regional state of Oromia under the new system of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia, it has been possible to introduce Oromo as

12126-594: The northern Ethiopian highlands was the Islamic Warra Himano (1580–1916), which transformed Wollo into a veritable Islamic state in the heartland of Christian Ethiopia. The Warra Himano would convert many Amhara Christians to Islam during its rule, and at the zenith of its power, the Warra Himano had their hegemony accepted in the various parts of Wollo: Ambasel, Qallu, Borena, Wore-Illu and Amhara Sayint. Notable rulers such as Ras Mikael of Wollo and

12255-473: The orthography since it was first adopted: ⟨x⟩ ( [ tʼ ] ) was originally rendered ⟨th⟩ , and there has been some confusion among authors in the use of ⟨c⟩ and ⟨ch⟩ in representing the phonemes / tʃʼ / and / tʃ / , with some early works using ⟨c⟩ for / tʃ / and ⟨ch⟩ for / tʃʼ / and even ⟨c⟩ for different phonemes depending on where it appears in

12384-422: The other common plural suffixes are -(w)wan , -een , and -(a)an ; the latter two may cause a preceding consonant to be doubled: waggaa 'year', waggaawwan 'years', laga 'river', laggeen 'rivers', ilma 'son', ilmaan 'sons'. Oromo has no indefinite articles (corresponding to English a , some ), but (except in the southern dialects) it indicates definiteness (English

12513-1190: The other. Grammatical gender in Oromo enters into the grammar in the following ways: Except in some southern dialects, there is nothing in the form of most nouns that indicates their gender. A small number of nouns pairs for people, however, end in -eessa (m.) and -eettii (f.), as do adjectives when they are used as nouns: obboleessa 'brother', obboleettii 'sister', dureessa 'the rich one (m.)', hiyyeettii 'the poor one (f.)'. Grammatical gender normally agrees with natural gender for people and animals; thus nouns such as Abbaa 'father', Ilma 'son', and sangaa 'ox' are masculine, while nouns such as haadha 'mother' and intala 'girl, daughter' are feminine. However, most names for animals do not specify biological gender. Names of astronomical bodies are feminine: aduu 'sun', urjii 'star'. The gender of other inanimate nouns varies somewhat among dialects. Oromo displays singular and plural number , but nouns that refer to multiple entities are not obligatorily plural: nama 'man' namoota 'people', nama shan 'five men' namoota shan 'five people'. Another way of looking at this

12642-412: The particle hin ). For example, deemne 'we went', deemna 'we go', akka deemnu 'that we go', haa deemnu 'let's go', hin deemnu 'we don't go'. There is also a separate imperative form: deemi 'go (sg.)!'. The table below shows the conjugation in the affirmative and negative of the verb beek- 'know'. The first person singular present and past affirmative forms require

12771-400: The particular verb tense / aspect / mood , they are normally not considered to be pronouns and are discussed elsewhere in this article under verb conjugation . In all of these areas of the grammar—independent pronouns, possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns, and subject–verb agreement—Oromo distinguishes seven combinations of person, number, and gender. For first and second persons, there

12900-495: The personal pronouns in the different cases, as well as the possessive adjectives. For the first person plural and third person singular feminine categories, there is considerable variation across dialects; only some of the possibilities are shown. The possessive adjectives, treated as separate words here, are sometimes written as noun suffixes. In most dialects there is a distinction between masculine and feminine possessive adjectives for first and second person (the form agreeing with

13029-554: The proximal pronouns; in the western dialects the masculine forms (beginning with k- ) are used for both genders. Unlike in English, singular and plural demonstratives are not distinguished, but, as for nouns and personal pronouns in the language, case is distinguished. Only the base and nominative forms are shown in the table below; the other cases are formed from the base form as for nouns, for example, sanatti 'at/on/in that' (locative case). An Oromo verb consists minimally of

13158-496: The root for property rights. Mobility allows groups of pastoralists to leave and regroup as resources permit, or as sought after with changes in social relations. Sometimes pastoralists move their herds across international borders in search of new grazing or for trade. This cross-border activity can occasionally lead to tensions with national governments as this activity is often informal and beyond their control and regulation. In East Africa, for example, over 95% of cross-border trade

13287-475: The rules are complex (each morpheme can contribute its own tone pattern to the word), so that "one can call Oromo a pitch-accent system in terms of the basic lexical representation of pitch, and a tone system in terms of its surface realization." The stressed syllable is perceived as the first syllable of a word with high pitch. Like most other Afroasiatic languages , Oromo has two grammatical genders , masculine and feminine, and all nouns belong to either one or

13416-522: The ruling OPDO and several opposition political parties in the Ethiopian parliament believe in ethnic federalism . However, most Oromo opposition parties in Ethiopia condemn the economic and political inequalities in the country. Progress toward independence started in the 1960s and 70s, but progress has been slow aside from the creation of Oromo-focused banks, notably the Oromo-owned Awash International Bank in 1994 and

13545-425: The semi-independent status of many Oromo states and began to undergo a period of centralization. Pastoralists were evicted to make way for mechanized farming and the few members of the educated Oromo class were prevented from holding powerful positions, instead being held by assimilated or Amharized Oromo notables. Despite the great contribution of the Oromo regions to the Ethiopian economy, Oromos areas were left out of

13674-444: The set of possessive adjectives and pronouns , for example, English my , Oromo koo ; English mine , Oromo kan koo . In Oromo, the same distinctions are also reflected in subject–verb agreement: Oromo verbs (with a few exceptions) agree with their subjects ; that is, the person, number, and (singular third person) gender of the subject of the verb are marked by suffixes on the verb. Because these suffixes vary greatly with

13803-402: The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly near their eastern borders. The French traveler, Charles-Xavier Rochet d'Héricourt , visited Ethiopia in 1863, and was greeted by Sahle Selassie , the ruler of Shewa . During his time there, he observed the different ethnicities within Ethiopia, one of which were the Oromo people. He described them as such: "[The] Galla breed

13932-498: The speaker wishes to show respect towards. This usage is an example of the so-called T-V distinction that is made in many languages. In addition, the third person plural may be used for polite reference to a single third person (either 'he' or 'she'). For possessive pronouns ('mine', 'yours', etc.), Oromo adds the possessive adjectives to kan 'of': kan koo 'mine', kan kee 'yours', etc. Oromo has two ways of expressing reflexive pronouns ('myself', 'yourself', etc.). One

14061-536: The subjective reality is that "neither traditional Oromo rituals nor traditional Oromo beliefs function any longer as a cohesive and integral symbol system" for the Oromo people, not just regionally but even locally. The cultural and ideological divergence within the Oromo people, in part from their religious differences, is apparent from the constant impetus for negotiations between broader Oromo spokespersons and those Oromo who are Ahl al-Sunna followers, states Terje Østebø. The internally evolving cultural differences within

14190-431: The suffix -n to appear on the word preceding the verb or the word nan before the verb. The negative particle hin , shown as a separate word in the table, is sometimes written as a prefix on the verb. For verbs with stems ending in certain consonants and suffixes beginning with consonants (that is, t or n ), there are predictable changes to one or the other of the consonants. The dialects vary

14319-606: The suffix. Examples: dhug- 'drink', dhuguu 'to drink'; ga '- 'reach', ga ' uu 'to reach'; jedh- 'say', jechu 'to say'. The verb fedh- is exceptional; its infinitive is fedhuu rather than the expected fechuu . The infinitive behaves like a noun; that is, it can take any of the case suffixes. Examples: ga ' uu 'to reach', ga ' uuf 'in order to reach' (dative case); dhug- 'drink', dhugam- 'be drunk', dhugamuu to be drunk', dhugamuudhaan 'by being drunk' (instrumental case). Pastoral society A pastoral society

14448-505: The term had derived from an Oromo war cry whilst the Oromos were fighting on battlefields. The word Oromo is derived from Ilm Orma meaning '[The] Children of Orma', or 'Sons of Men',. According to an alternative interpretation provided by Hugh Chisholm , 'Ilm Orma' translates to "son of a stranger." Both interpretations are noted in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Company.. The earliest recorded mention of

14577-452: 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. This name theory was especially popular among German historians who once believed that the Oromo were related to

14706-605: The three parties – the Oromo who followed Waaqeffanna , the Christians and the Muslims – dissipated the political strengths of all three. The religious beliefs of the Oromo people evolved in this socio-political environment. In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, Protestant or Catholic missionaries' efforts spread Christianity among the Oromo. Organizations included the Sudan Interior Mission ,

14835-417: The two tensed forms, past (or "perfect") and present (or "imperfect" or "non-past"). Each of these has its own set of tense/agreement suffixes. There is a third conjugation based on the present which has three functions: it is used in place of the present in subordinate clauses , for the jussive ('let me/us/him, etc. V', together with the particle haa ), and for the negative of the present (together with

14964-483: The typical Eastern Cushitic set of five short and five long vowels, indicated in the orthography by doubling the five vowel letters. The difference in length is contrastive, for example, hara 'lake', haaraa 'new'. Gemination is also significant in Oromo. That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another, for example, badaa 'bad', baddaa 'highland'. In the Qubee alphabet, letters include

15093-491: The uncrowned emperor of Ethiopia, Lij Iyasu (1913–1916), descend from this ruling family. In the late 16th century the Oromos had settled in the territories south of the Abay river in western Ethiopia. Within 60 years of their arrival, five Oromo states would emerge in the Gibe region , such as Gera , Gomma , Gumma , Jimma and Limmu-Ennarea . These states arose through the transformation of pastoralism to agriculture due to

15222-511: The unregulated and undocumented nature of this trade runs risks, such as allow disease to spread more easily across national borders. Furthermore, governments are unhappy with lost tax revenue and foreign exchange revenues. There have been initiatives seeking to promote cross-border trade and also document it, in order to both stimulate regional growth and food security, but also allow the effective vaccination of livestock. Initiatives include Regional Resilience Enhancement Against Drought (RREAD),

15351-411: The vowel a is inserted between them. For example, arg- 'see', arga 'he sees', argina or agarra (from agar-na ) 'we see'; kolf- 'laugh', kolfe 'he laughed', kolfite or kofalte 'you (sg.) laughed'. Verbs whose stems end in the consonant ' (which may appear as h , w , or y in some words, depending on the dialect) belong to three different conjugation classes;

15480-424: The whole of Africa ." In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Oromo tribes and kingdoms fell under the rule of Menelik II of Shewa . Beginning in the 1870s, the Kingdom of Shewa annexed one Oromo territory after the other with unpreceded speed owing to the modern weapons acquired from the international arms trade and the disunity among various Oromo groups. The manner this conquest was carried out determined

15609-640: Was ethnic violence involving the Oromo such as the Oromo–Somali clashes between the Oromo and the ethnic Somalis , leading to up to 400,000 displaced in 2017. Gedeo–Oromo clashes between the Oromo and the Gedeo people in the south of the country and continued violence in the Oromia-Somali border region led to Ethiopia having the largest number of people in the world fleeing their homes in 2018, with 1.4 million newly displaced people . In September 2018, in

15738-717: Was an indigenous Oromo script invented by Sheikh Bakri Sapalo (1895–1980; also known by his birth name, Abubaker Usman Odaa) in the late 1950s, and used underground afterwards. Despite structural and organizational influences from Ge'ez and the Arabic script , it is a graphically independent creation designed specifically for Oromo phonology. It is largely an Abugida in nature, but lacks the inherent vowel present in many such systems; in actual use, all consonant characters are obligatorily marked either with vowel signs (producing CV syllables) or with separate marks used to denote geminated consonants or pure/standalone consonants not followed by

15867-533: Was banned in education, in conversation, and in administrative matters. Ethnologue (2015) assigns five ISO codes to Oromo: Blench (2006) divides Oromo into four languages: Some of the varieties of Oromo have been examined and classified. About 85 percent of Oromo speakers live in Ethiopia , mainly in the Oromia Region . In addition, in Somalia there are also some speakers of the language. In Kenya ,

15996-518: Was developed by the Jimma Times Oromiffa Group (JTOG) in cooperation with SelamSoft. Voice of America also broadcasts in Oromo alongside its other horn of Africa programs. In May 2022, Google Translate added Afaan Oromo as translation. Oromo and Qubee are currently utilized by the Ethiopian government's state radios, TV stations and regional government newspaper. Oromo is written with a Latin alphabet called Qubee which

16125-838: Was disbanded by the government after several increasingly tense confrontations in November 1966. Later groups include the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), the United Liberation Forces of Oromia (ULFO), the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia (IFLO), the Oromia Liberation Council (OLC), the Oromo National Congress (ONC, recently changed to OPC ) and others. Another group,

16254-550: Was formally adopted in 1991. Various versions of the Latin-based orthography had been used previously, mostly by Oromos outside of Ethiopia and by the OLF by the late 1970s (Heine 1986). With the adoption of Qubee, it is believed more texts were written in the Oromo language between 1991 and 1997 than in the previous 100 years. In Kenya, the Borana and Waata also use Roman letters but with different systems. The Sapalo script

16383-537: Was interrupted. The few works that had been published, most notably Onesimos Nesib 's and Aster Ganno 's translations of the Bible from the late 19th century, were written in the Ge'ez alphabet . Following the 1974 Revolution , the government undertook a literacy campaign in several languages, including Oromo, and publishing and radio broadcasts began in the language. All Oromo materials printed in Ethiopia at that time, such as

16512-456: Was recently established, but it has faced a lot of harassment and persecution from the Ethiopian government since its beginning. Abuse of Oromo media is widespread in Ethiopia and reflective of the general oppression Oromos face in the country. Various human rights organizations have publicized the government persecution of Oromos in Ethiopia for decades. In 2008, the OFDM opposition party condemned

16641-404: Was soon disbanded by the government, but its impact was significant. The movement raised the consciousness of the Oromo regarding the significance of their own cultural and historical contributions and their status as a people within the Ethiopian state. The Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia (35.8% of the population), numbering about 40 million. They are predominantly concentrated in

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