149-840: The Macha Oromo Confederation , also known as the Western Oromo Confederation or simply as Macha Oromo , was an Oromo separatist movement in Abyssinia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . The movement sought to split off from Abyssinia and become a mandate of the United Kingdom , but gained no international recognition. Captain Esme Nourse Erskine was the British Consul at Gore from 1928 to 1936. During
298-443: A netela around the formal dress. The netela or netsela is a handmade cloth many Ethiopian women use to cover their head and shoulders when they wear clothing made out of chiffon , especially when attending church. It is made up of two layers of fabric, unlike gabi , which is made out of four. Kuta is the male version. An Ethiopian or Eritrean suit is the traditional formal wear of Habesha men. It consists of
447-828: 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 the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have
596-523: 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
745-551: A patron saint . Ethiopia has often been mentioned in the Bible . A well-known example of this is the story of the Ethiopian eunuch as written in Acts (8: 27): "Then the angel of the Lord said to Philip, Start out and go south to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian. This man was a eunuch, a high official of
894-778: 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
1043-724: A few decades at the time of the inscriptions. Both the indigenous languages of Southern Arabia and the Amharic and Tigrinya languages of Ethiopia belong to the large branch of South Semitic languages which in turn is part of the Afro-Asiatic Language Family . Even though the Ethiosemitic languages are classified under the South Semitic languages branch with a Cushitic language substratum. Munro-May and related scholars believe that Sabaean influence
1192-540: A heavier emphasis on Old Testament teachings than one might find in the Roman Catholic or Protestant churches, and its followers adhere to certain practices that one finds in Orthodox or Conservative Judaism . Ethiopian Christians, like some other Eastern Christians , traditionally follow dietary rules that are similar to Jewish Kashrut , specifically with regard to how an animal is slaughtered. Similarly, pork
1341-544: A long sleeve, knee-length shirt, and matching pants. Most shirts are made with a Mandarin, band, or Nehru collar. The suit is made of chiffon, which is a sheer silk or rayon cloth. The netela shawl or a kuta is wrapped around the suit. The Habesha empire centered in Aksum and Adwa was part of the world in which Christianity grew. The arrival of Christianity in Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea happened around
1490-636: 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
1639-570: 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
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#17327943781411788-707: 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
1937-544: 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
2086-539: 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
2235-597: 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
2384-420: A single introduction of early Ethiosemitic from southern Arabia approximately 2,800 years ago, and that this single introduction of Ethiosemitic subsequently underwent quick diversification within Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is also evidence of ancient Southern Arabian communities in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea in certain localities, attested by some archaeological artifacts and ancient Sabaean inscriptions in
2533-459: 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
2682-401: A spongy flat bread, served with wat , a spicy meat sauce. Houses in rural areas are built mostly from rock and dirt, the most available resources, with structure provided by timber poles. The houses blend in easily with the natural surroundings. Many times the nearest water source is more than a kilometer away from the house. In addition, people must search for fuel for their fires throughout
2831-430: Is kitfo (frequently spelled ketfo ). It consists of raw (or rare) beef mince marinated in mitmita ( Amharic : ሚጥሚጣ mīṭmīṭā , a very spicy chili powder similar to the berbere ) and niter kibbeh . Gored gored is very similar to kitfo , but uses cubed rather than ground beef. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church prescribes a number of fasting ( tsom Ge'ez : ጾም , ṣōm ) periods, including Wednesdays, Fridays, and
2980-474: 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
3129-471: Is also 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,
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#17327943781413278-400: Is an integral part of the culture. The church buildings are built on hills. Major celebrations during the year are held around the church, where people gather from villages all around to sing, play games, and observe the unique mass of the church. It includes a procession through the church grounds and environs. Coffee is a very important ceremonial drink. The "coffee ceremony" is common to
3427-613: 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
3576-402: Is known of the time period between the mid-1st millennium BCE to the beginning of Aksum's rise around the 1st century CE. It is thought to be a successor kingdom of Dʿmt , a kingdom in the early 1st millennium BC most likely centered at nearby Yeha . The Kingdom of Aksum was situated in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital city in Northern Ethiopia. Axum remained its capital until
3725-429: Is made from shredded injera or kitcha stir-fried with spices or wat . Another popular breakfast food is fatira. The delicacy consists of a large fried pancake made with flour, often with a layer of egg, eaten with honey. Chechebsa (or kita firfir ) resembles a pancake covered with berbere and niter kibbeh , or spices, and may be eaten with a spoon. A porridge , genfo is another common breakfast dish. It
3874-542: 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
4023-416: 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
4172-436: Is prohibited, though unlike Kashrut, Ethiopian cuisine does mix dairy products with meat - which in turn makes it even closer to Islamic dietary laws (see Halal ). Women are prohibited from entering the church during their menses ; they are also expected to cover their hair with a large scarf (or shash ) while in church in keeping with 1 Corinthians 11 . As with Orthodox synagogues , men and women are seated separately in
4321-529: Is the first known use of this term to describe specifically the region known today as Ethiopia (and not Kush or the entire African and Indian region outside of Egypt). There are many theories regarding the beginning of the Abyssinian civilization. One theory, which is more widely accepted today, locates its origins in the Horn region. At a later period, this culture was exposed to Judaic influence, of which
4470-571: 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
4619-676: Is used instead of bebere for a milder alicha wat or both are omitted when making vegetable stews, atkilt wat . Meat such as beef ( Amharic : ሥጋ , səga ), chicken ( Amharic : ዶሮ , doro ) or Tigrinya : ደርሆ, derho ), fish ( Amharic : ዓሣ , asa ), goat or lamb ( Amharic : በግ , beg or Tigrinya : በጊ, beggi ) is also added. Legumes such as split peas ( Amharic : ክክ , kək or Tigrinya : ኪኪ, kikki ) or lentils ( Amharic : ምስር , məsər or birsin ); or vegetables such as potatoes ( Amharic : ድንች , Dənəch ), carrots and chard ( Amharic : ቆስጣ ) are also used instead in vegan dishes. Another distinctively Habesha dish
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4768-417: Is usually served in a large bowl with a dug-out made in the middle of the genfo and filled with spiced niter kibbeh . Wat begins with a large amount of chopped red onion , which is simmered or sauteed in a pot. Once the onions have softened, niter kebbeh (or, in the case of vegan dishes, vegetable oil ) is added. Following this, berbere is added to make a spicy keiy wat or keyyih tsebhi . Turmeric
4917-639: 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
5066-451: 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
5215-551: The nəgus ("king") GDRT of ḤBŠT. The term appears to refer to a group of peoples, rather than a specific ethnicity. Another Sabaean inscription describes an alliance between Shamir Yuhahmid of the Himyarite Kingdom and King `DBH of ḤBŠT in the first quarter of the third century. However, South Arabian expert Eduard Glaser claimed that the Egyptian hieroglyphic ḫbstjw , used in reference to "a foreign people from
5364-500: The Afroasiatic family. Among these tongues is the classical Ge'ez language . The kingdom of Dʿmt wrote proto-Ge'ez in Epigraphic South Arabian as early as the 9th century BCE. Later, an independent script replaced it as early as the 5th century BCE. Ge'ez literature is considered to begin with the adoption of Christianity in Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as the civilization of Axum in the 4th century BCE during
5513-1049: 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
5662-912: The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in the 1950s, although the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church has recently reforged the link. A number of unique beliefs and practices distinguish Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity from other Christian groups; for example, the Ark of the Covenant is very important. Every Ethiopian church has a replica of the Ark. Also, the Ethiopian Church has a larger biblical canon than other churches. Church services are conducted in Ge´ez,
5811-710: The Gulf of Aden , south to the Omo River , and west to the Nubian Kingdom of Meroë . The South Arabian kingdom of the Himyarites and also a portion of western Saudi Arabia was also under the power of Aksum. Their descendants include the present-day ethnic groups known as the Amhara, Tigrayans and Gurage peoples. After the fall of Aksum due to declining sea trade from fierce competition by Muslims and changing climate,
5960-775: 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 ,
6109-703: 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
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6258-638: 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,
6407-561: The Oromo people , their land was appropriated by the Abyssinian colonizers coupled with hefty taxation which led to a revolt in the 1960s. Some scholars consider the Amhara to have been Ethiopia's ruling elite for centuries, represented by the Solomonic line of Emperors ending in Haile Selassie I . Marcos Lemma and other scholars dispute the accuracy of such a statement, arguing that other ethnic groups have always been active in
6556-469: 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
6705-454: 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
6854-462: The Sabaeans together with the Ḥaḍramites ." The region of the Abasēnoi produce[d] myrrh, incense and cotton and they cultivate[d] a plant which yields a purple dye (probably wars , i.e. Fleminga Grahamiana ). It lay on a route which leads from Zabīd on the coastal plain to the Ḥimyarite capital Ẓafār . Abasēnoi was located by Hermann von Wissman as a region in the Jabal Ḥubaysh mountain in Ibb Governorate , perhaps related in etymology with
7003-403: The Tigre , the Gurage , the Argobba and the Harari people. In antiquity Ge'ez -speaking people inhabited the Aksumite Empire ; the ancient Semitic-speaking Gafat inhabited Eastern Damot ( East Welega ) and Western Shewa ; the Galila clan of Aymallal ( Soddo ) inhabited Southwest Shewa ; the Zay inhabited East Shewa ; the Harla who are the ancestors of Harari lived in Somalia ; and
7152-638: 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,
7301-456: The burning bush , is commanded to remove his shoes while standing on holy ground). Furthermore, both the Sabbath (Saturday), and the Lord's Day (Sunday) are observed as holy, although more emphasis, because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ , is laid upon the Holy Sunday. Islam in Ethiopia and Eritrea dates to 615. During that year, a group of Muslims were counseled by Muhammad to escape persecution in Mecca and migrate to Abyssinia , which
7450-470: The 20th century, elites of the Solomonic dynasty employed the conversion of various ethnic groups to Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity and the imposition of the Amharic language to spread a common Habesha national identity. Within Ethiopian and Eritrean diasporic populations, some second generation immigrants have adopted the term "Habesha" in a broader sense as a supra-national ethnic identifier inclusive of all Eritreans and Ethiopians. For those who employ
7599-412: The 4th century. The Aksumites, in fact, had been converted to Christianity hundreds of years before most of Europe. Many of their churches were cut into cliffs or from single blocks of stone, as they were in Turkey and in parts of Greece , where Christianity had existed from its earliest years. The church is a central feature of communities and of each family's daily life. Each community has a church with
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#17327943781417748-546: The 7th century. The kingdom was favorably located near the Blue Nile basin and the Afar depression. The former is rich in gold and the latter in salt: both materials having a highly important use to the Aksumites. Aksum was accessible to the port of Adulis , Eritrea on the coast of the Red Sea. The kingdom traded with Egypt, India, Arabia and the Byzantine Empire . Aksum's "fertile" and "well-watered" location produced enough food for its population. Wild animals included elephants and rhinoceros. From its capital, Aksum commanded
7897-524: 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,
8046-428: 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
8195-403: The Dahlak islands through the port of Adulis and destroyed it, which was the economic backbone for the prosperous Aksumite Kingdom. Fearing of what recently occurred, Axum shifted its capital near Agew In the middle of the sixteenth century Adal Sultanate armies led by Harar leader Ahmed Ibrahim invaded Habesha lands in what is known as the "Conquest of Habasha" . Following Adal invasions,
8344-436: The Ethiopian church, with men on the left and women on the right (when facing the altar). However, women covering their heads and separation of the sexes in the Church building officially is common to many Oriental Orthodox , Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christians and not unique to Judaism. Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers remove their shoes when entering a church, in accordance with Exodus 3:5 (in which Moses , while viewing
8493-465: The Ethiopians and Eritreans. Beans are roasted on the spot, ground, and brewed, served thick and rich in tiny ceramic cups with no handles. This amount of coffee can be finished in one gulp if drunk cold; but, traditionally it is drunk very slowly as conversation takes place. When the beans are roasted to smoking, they are passed around the table, where the smoke becomes a blessing on the diners. The traditional food served at these meals consists of injera ,
8642-429: The Ge'ez language and Ge'ez script . Linguists have revealed, however, that although its script developed from Epigraphic South Arabian (whose oldest inscriptions are found in Yemen), Ge'ez is descended from a different branch of Southern Semitic, Ethiosemitic or Ethiopic sub-branch . South Arabian inscriptions does not mention any migration to the west coast of the Red Sea, nor of a tribe called "Habashat." All uses of
8791-456: The Great. The decline in the prestige of the dynasty led to the semi-anarchic era of Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Princes"), in which rival warlords fought for power and the Yejju Oromo enderases ( Amharic : እንደራሴ , "regents") had effective control. The emperors were considered to be figureheads. Until a young man named Kassa Haile Giorgis also known as Emperor Tewodros brought end to Zemene Mesafint by defeating all his rivals and took
8940-403: The Habashat were a tribe from modern-day Yemen that migrated to Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, the Sabaic inscriptions only use the term ḥbšt to the refer to the Kingdom of Aksum and its inhabitants, especially during the 3rd century, when the ḥbšt (Aksumites) were often at war with the Sabaeans and Himyraites. Modern Western European languages, including English, appear to borrow this term from
9089-408: 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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#17327943781419238-535: The Italian invasion 1935-1936, Erskine helped the Western Oromo Confederation chiefs with their application, which he probably drafted, to the League of Nations, in which Oromo chiefs asked “to be placed under a British mandate … until we achieve self government”. He forwarded the applications to the British Foreign Office. The British government declined to forward these applications to the League of Nations. Oromo people The Oromo people ( pron. / ˈ ɒr əm oʊ / ORR -əm-oh Oromo : Oromoo ) are
9387-412: The Kandake (Candace) Queen of Ethiopia in charge of all her treasure." The passage continues by describing how Philip helped the Ethiopian understand one passage of Isaiah that the Ethiopian was reading. After the Ethiopian received an explanation of the passage, he requested that Philip baptize him, which Philip obliged. Queen Gersamot Hendeke VII (very similar to Kandake) was the Queen of Ethiopia from
9536-412: 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
9685-399: 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
9834-438: 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
9983-425: 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
10132-507: 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,
10281-414: 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 the Gibe regions and dynasties in Abyssinia . The Oromo people traditionally used the gadaa system as
10430-422: 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
10579-402: 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,
10728-435: 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
10877-524: 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
11026-528: 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
11175-456: 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
11324-541: 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 ,
11473-744: The ancient language of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Ge´ez is no longer a living language, its use now confined to liturgical contexts, occupying a similar place in Eritrean and Ethiopian church life to Latin in the Roman Catholic Church . Other Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox practices include such things as fasting, prescribed prayers, and devotion to saints and angels. A child is never left alone until baptism and cleansing rituals are performed. Boys are baptized forty days after birth, whereas girls are baptized eighty days after birth. Defrocked priests and deacons commonly function as diviners, who are
11622-573: The best-known examples are the Qemant and Ethiopian Jews (or Beta Israel ) ethnic groups, but Judaic customs, terminology, and beliefs can be found amongst the dominant culture of the Amhara and Tigrinya. Some scholars have claimed that the Indian alphabets had been used to create the vowel system of the Ge'ez abugida , this claim has not yet been effectively proven. Abyssinian civilization has its roots in
11771-400: The breasts up, with tiny glass beads of various colours strung so as to make a band two fingers in breadth around their necks. The habesha kemis is the traditional attire of Habesha women. The ankle length dress is usually worn by Ethiopian and Eritrean women at formal events. It is made of chiffon , and typically comes in white, grey or beige shades. Many women also wrap a shawl called
11920-499: 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
12069-575: The country's politics. This confusion may largely stem from the mislabeling of all Amharic-speakers as "Amhara", and the fact that many people from other ethnic groups have adopted Amharic names . Another is the claim that most Ethiopians can trace their ancestry to multiple ethnic groups, including the last self-proclaimed emperor Haile Selassie I and his Empress Itege Menen Asfaw of Ambassel . The Habesha developed an agricultural society, which most continue, including raising of camels , donkeys , and sheep . They plow using oxen. The Orthodox Church
12218-868: The country. Islam in Ethiopia is the predominant religion in the regions of Somali , Afar , Berta , and the section of Oromia east of the Great Rift Valley , as well as in Jimma . Islam in Eritrea is the predominant religion of all the ethnic groups except for the Tigrinya people, the Bilen people , and the Kunama people . The most important Islamic religious practices, such as the daily ritual prayers ( ṣalāt ) and fasting ( Arabic : صوم ṣawm , Ethiopic ጾም , ṣom – used by local Christians as well) during
12367-533: The early 1st millennium BC as the main factor of state formation on the highlands. Rock inscriptions in Qohayto (Akkala Guzay, Eritrea) document the presence of individuals or small groups from Arabia on the highlands at this time." It was first suggested by German orientalist Hiob Ludolf and revived by early 20th-century Italian scholar Conti Rossini . According to this theory, Sabaeans brought with them South Arabian letters and language, which gradually evolved into
12516-502: 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
12665-535: 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
12814-568: 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
12963-510: The entire Lenten season; so Habesha cuisine contains many dishes that are vegan . According to Leo Africanus , a greater number of the Abyssinians historically wore sheep hides , with the more honourable wearing the hides of lions , tigers and ounces . Duarte Barbosa also attests that their clothes being of hides as the country was in wanting of clothes. Pedro Paez , a Spanish Jesuit who resided in Ethiopia, described that
13112-406: 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 ). 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
13261-437: 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
13410-424: 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
13559-512: 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
13708-412: The form of wat (also w'et or wot ), a thick stew, served atop injera , a large sourdough flatbread , which is about 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. People of Ethiopia and Eritrea eat exclusively with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes. Fit-fit , or fir-fir, is a common breakfast dish. It
13857-522: 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
14006-579: 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
14155-562: 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. Habesha peoples Habesha peoples ( Ge'ez : ሐበሠተ ; Amharic : ሐበሻ ; Tigrinya : ሓበሻ ; commonly used exonym: Abyssinians ) is an ethnic or pan-ethnic identifier that has been historically employed to refer to Semitic-speaking and predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christian peoples found in
14304-779: 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
14453-731: The gradual integration of 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
14602-481: The highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea between Asmara and Addis Ababa (i.e. the modern-day Amhara , Tigrayan , Tigrinya peoples) and this usage remains common today. The term is also used in varying degrees of inclusion and exclusion of other groups. The oldest reference to Habesha was in second or third century Sabaean engravings as Ḥbśt or Ḥbštm recounting the South Arabian involvement of
14751-567: The incense-producing regions" (i.e. Land of Punt ) by Pharaoh Hatshepsut in 1450 BC, was the first usage of the term or somehow connected. Francis Breyer also believes the Egyptian demonym to be the source of the Semitic term. The first attestation of late Latin Abissensis is from the fifth century CE. The 6th-century author Stephanus of Byzantium later used the term "Αβασηνοί" (i.e. Abasēnoi) to refer to "an Arabian people living next to
14900-493: 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
15049-543: 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
15198-747: The longstanding presumption that Sabaean migrants had played a direct role in Ethiopian civilization. Scholars have determined that the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia was not derived from the Sabaean language . Recent linguistic studies as to the origin of the Ethiosemitic languages seem to support the DNA findings of immigration from the Arabian Peninsula, with a recent study using Bayesian computational phylogenetic techniques finding that contemporary Ethiosemitic languages of Africa reflect
15347-603: The main healers. Spirit possession is common, affecting primarily women. Women are also the normal spirit mediums. A debtera is an itinerant lay priest figure trained by the Church as a scribe , cantor , and often as a folk healer, who may also function in roles comparable to a deacon or exorcist . Folklore and legends ascribe the role of magician to the debtera as well. A small number of Abyssinian Christians adhere to various forms of Pentecostalism or Anabaptism , collectively known as P'ent'ay . The Ethiopian church places
15496-681: The majority of the Muslim world , hence the beliefs and practices of the Muslims of Ethiopia and Eritrea are basically the same: embodied in the Qur'an and the Sunnah . There are also Sufi orders present in Ethiopia. According to the 1994 census of Ethiopia (with similar numbers for the 1984 census), about a third of its population is adherent of Islam and members of the Muslim community can be found throughout
15645-796: 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
15794-405: The modern Ethiopian state were formed by a migration across the Red Sea of Sabaean -speaking South Arabian tribes, including one called the " Habashat" , who intermarried with the local non-Semitic-speaking peoples, in around 1,000 BC. Many held to this view because "epigraphic and monumental evidence point to an indisputable South Arabian influence suggesting migration and colonization from Yemen in
15943-423: 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
16092-609: 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,
16241-484: 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
16390-489: The northern Ethiopian Highlands were ancient foreigners from South Arabia that displaced the original peoples of the Horn has been disputed by Ethiopian scholars specializing in Ethiopian Studies such as Messay Kebede and Daniel E. Alemu who generally disagree with this theory arguing that the migration was one of reciprocal exchange, if it even occurred at all. In the 21st century, scholars have largely discounted
16539-594: 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
16688-575: The northern Habesha. Predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the Eritrean Highlands such as the Tigre have historically opposed the name Habesha; Muslim Tigrinya-speakers are usually referred to as Jeberti people . Another term for Muslims from the Horn of Africa was '"Al-Zaylai"' , this applied to even the empress Eleni of Ethiopia due to her ties to the state of Hadiya . At the turn of
16837-495: The old South Arabian alphabet . Joseph W. Michels noted based on his archeological surveying Aksumite sites that "there is abundant evidence of specific Sabean traits such as inscription style, religious ideology and symbolism, art style and architectural techniques." However, Stuart Munro-Hay points to the existence of an older D'MT kingdom, prior to any Sabaean migration c. 4th or 5th century BC, as well as evidence that Sabaean immigrants had resided in Ethiopia for little more than
16986-440: The other ancient Argobba and Harari inhabited Shewa , Ifat , and Adal . Throughout history, various European travelers such as Jeronimo Lobo , James Bruce and Mansfield Parkyns visited Abyssinia . Their written accounts about their experiences include observations and descriptions of the Abyssinian customs and manners. Habesha cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes, usually in
17135-410: The peasant women wore skins like their husbands and, in some areas, some woollen cloths five or six cubits long and three wide that they call " mahâc ", and they could quite fairly call it haircloth because it is much rougher than what Capuchin monks wear, as in Ethiopia they do not know how to make cloth, and the wool is not suitable for it as it is very coarse. They all go barefoot and often naked from
17284-483: The periphery. According to Gerard Prunier, one very restrictive use of the term today by some Tigrayans refers exclusively to speakers of Tigrinya ; however, Tigrayan oral traditions and linguistic evidence bear witness to ancient and constant relations with Amharas. Some Gurage societies, such as Orthodox Christian communities where Soddo is spoken, identify as Habesha and have a strong sense of Ethiopian national identity, due in part to their ancient ties with
17433-478: The post-classical form Abissini in the mid-sixteenth century. (English Abyssin is attested from 1576, and Abissinia and Abyssinia from the 1620s.) Historically, the term "Habesha" represented northern Ethiopian Highlands Semitic speaking Orthodox Christians , while the Cushitic-speaking peoples such as Oromo and Agaw , as well as Semitic-speaking Muslims/ Ethiopian Jews , were considered
17582-469: The power base of the kingdom migrated south and shifted its capital to Kubar (near Agew). They moved southwards because, even though the Axumite Kingdom welcomed and protected the companions of Muhammad to Ethiopia, who came as refugees to escape the persecution of the ruling families of Mecca and earned the friendship and respect of Muhammad. Their friendship deteriorated when South-Arabians invaded
17731-482: The pre-Aksumite culture. An early kingdom to arise was that of D'mt in the 8th century BC. The Kingdom of Aksum , one of the powerful civilizations of the ancient world, was based there from about 150 BC to the mid of 12th century AD. Spreading far beyond the city of Aksum, it molded one of the earliest cultures of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Architectural remains include finely carved stelae , extensive palaces, and ancient places of worship that are still being used. Around
17880-660: The pre-Aksumites had begun trading along the Red Sea. They mainly traded with Egypt. Earlier trade expeditions were taken by foot along the Nile Valley. The ancient Egyptians' main objective in the Red Sea trade was to acquire myrrh . This was a commodity that the Horn region, which the ancient Egyptians referred to as the Land of Punt , had in abundance. Much of the incense is produced in Somalia to this day. The Kingdom of Aksum may have been founded as early as 300 BCE. Very little
18029-402: 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
18178-584: The reign of Ezana. While Ge'ez today is extinct and only used for liturgical purposes in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . Ge'ez language is ancestral to Tigre and Tigrinya languages. Some historians in the past have labelled the Ethiopian Semitic languages as the Abyssinian languages . They are mainly spoken by the Amhara , the Tigrayans ,
18327-529: 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
18476-425: 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
18625-487: The single largest non-Arab ethnic group who were Muhammad's companions. Among these was Umm Ayman who cared for Muhammad during his infancy, a woman that he referred to as "mother". Abyssinia was thus the earliest home outside of Arabia for the dispersal of the Islamic world faith. One third (34%) of Ethiopia's population are Muslims by last census (2007). Most of Ethiopia and Eritrea's Muslims are Sunni Muslims, much like
18774-408: 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
18923-579: The southern part of the Empire was lost to Oromo and Muslim state of Hadiya thus scattered Habesha like the Gurage people were cut off from the rest of Abyssinia. In the late sixteenth century the nomadic Oromo people penetrated the Habesha plains occupying large territories during the Oromo migrations . Abyssinian warlords often competed with each other for dominance of the realm. The Amharas seemed to gain
19072-538: 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
19221-480: The surrounding area. The Habesha people have a rich heritage of music and dance, using drums and stringed instruments tuned to a pentatonic scale . Arts and crafts and secular music are performed mostly by artisans, who are regarded with suspicion. Sacred music is performed and icons are painted only by men trained in monasteries. Abyssinians speak languages belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch of
19370-507: The term date to the 3rd century AD and later, when they referred to the people of the Kingdom of Aksum. Edward Ullendorff has asserted that the Tigrayans and the Amhara comprise "Abyssinians proper" and a "Semitic outpost," while Donald N. Levine has argued that this view "neglects the crucial role of non-Semitic elements in Ethiopian culture." Edward Ullendorff and Carlo Conti Rossini 's theory that Ethiosemitic-language speakers of
19519-510: 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
19668-454: 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
19817-440: The term, it serves as a useful counter to more exclusionary identities such as "Amhara" or "Tigrayan". However, this usage is not uncontested: On the one hand, those who grew up in Ethiopia or Eritrea may object to the obscuring of national specificity. On the other hand, groups that were subjugated in Ethiopia or Eritrea sometimes find the term offensive. European scholars postulated that the ancient communities that evolved into
19966-551: 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 ,
20115-554: The throne in 1855. The Tigrayans made only a brief return to the throne in the person of Yohannes IV in 1872, whose death in 1889 resulted in the power base shifting back to the dominant Amharic-speaking elite. His successor Menelik II an Emperor of Amhara origin seized power. Upon Menelik's occupation of the Harar Emirate and other neighboring states, a considerable number of natives were displaced and Abyssinians settled in their place. In Arsi Province , mainly inhabited by
20264-461: The time that the Aksumite empire began to decline, the burgeoning religion of Islam made its first inroads in the Abyssinian highlands. During the first Hijrah , the companions of Muhammad were received in the Aksumite kingdom. The Sultanate of Shewa , established around 896, was one of the oldest local Muslim states. It was centered in the former Shewa province in central Ethiopia. The polity
20413-473: The trade of ivory . It also dominated the trade route in the Red Sea leading to the Gulf of Aden. Its success depended on resourceful techniques, production of coins, steady migrations of Greco-Roman merchants, and ships landing at Adulis. In exchange for Aksum's goods, traders bid many kinds of cloth, jewelry, metals and steel for weapons. At its peak, Aksum controlled territories as far as southern Egypt, east to
20562-543: 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
20711-487: The upper hand with the accession of Yekuno Amlak of Ancient Bete Amhara in 1270, after defeating the Agaw lords of Lasta (in those days a non-Semitic-speaking region of Abyssinia) The Gondarian dynasty, which since the 16th century had become the centre of Royal pomp and ceremony of Abyssinia, finally lost its influence as a result of the emergence of powerful regional lords, following the murder of Iyasu I , also known as Iyasu
20860-425: 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
21009-663: The year 42 to 52. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was founded in the 4th century by Syrian monks. Historically, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church have had strong ties with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria , the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria appointing the archbishop for the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They gained independence from
21158-657: The ḥbš Semitic root ). Other place names in Yemen contain the ḥbš root, such as the Jabal Ḥabaši, whose residents are still called al-Aḥbuš (pl. of Ḥabaš ). The location of the Abasēnoi in Yemen may perhaps be explained by remnant Aksumite populations from the 520s conquest by King Kaleb . King Ezana's claims to Sahlen (Saba) and Dhu-Raydan (Himyar) during a time when such control was unlikely may indicate an Aksumite presence or coastal foothold. Traditional scholarship has assumed that
21307-642: 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
21456-839: 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,
21605-459: Was minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century. It may have represented a trading colony (trading post) or military installations in a symbiotic or military alliance between the Sabaeans and D`MT. In the reign of King Ezana , c. early 4th century AD, the term "Ethiopia" is listed as one of the nine regions under his domain, translated in the Greek version of his inscription as Αἰθιοπία Aithiopía. This
21754-410: 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
21903-418: Was ruled by, in Muhammad's estimation, a pious Christian king ( al-najashi ). Muhammad's followers crossed the Red Sea and sought refuge in the Kingdom of Aksum, possibly settling at Negash , a place in present-day Tigray Region. Moreover, Islamic tradition states that Bilal , one of the foremost companions of Muhammad, was from Abyssinia, as were many non-Arab Companions of Muhammad ; in fact, Abyssinians were
22052-407: 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
22201-412: Was succeeded by the Sultanate of Ifat around 1285. Ifat was governed from its capital at Zeila in northern Somalia . Throughout history, populations in the Horn of Africa had been interacting through migration, trade, warfare and intermarriage. Most people in the region spoke Afroasiatic languages , with the family's Cushitic and Semitic branches predominant. As early as the 3rd millennium BCE,
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