A cluster of Cushitic-speaking peoples of Ethiopia and N Kenya; the largest group in Ethiopia, their former name Galla (Amharic: slave) is no longer in official use. Traditionally pastoralists, the groups in N Ethiopia are farmers, while the S Oromo are still cattle herders. The S Oromo have preserved much of their traditional social organization and religion; the N Oromo have mostly become Christian or Muslim.
| Oromo | |
|---|---|
| Total population | 25 Million |
| Regions with significant populations | Ethiopia |
| Language | Oromo |
| Religion | Sunni Islam, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, Protestant, Traditional |
| Related ethnic groups | Somalis, Sidama, Afar, Agaw, Amhara, Hadiya, and Beja |
The Oromo, formerly known as Galla (now considered pejorative, but widely used into the 20th century) are an indigenous African ethnic group found in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent in Kenya and Somalia.
History
The Oromo are one of the Cushitic speaking groups of people living in Eastern and North Eastern Africa.
While further research is needed to precicely comprehend the origin of Oromo people, it is well known that Oromo people come from a line of pastoralist/nomadic group and/or semi-agriculturalist
group.
During the 16th century, following the wars between the kingdom of Ethiopia and the neighbouring Sultanate of Adal, which resulted in the exhaustion of both countries the Oromos moved north into their territories. The Ethiopian monk Bahrey, writing in 1593, attributed the Oromo success to the existence of too many non-fighting classes in the ruling Ethiopian hierarchy, as opposed to the Oromos, whom he described as having a homogenous warrior class. Particularly Emperor Iyoas I (1730-55) favored his mother's Oromo kinsmen and allies, and in his era, the Oromo language was the language of the court in Gondar.
This era, known in Ethiopia as the Zemene Mesafint, the Oromo dynasty of chiefs of Yejju were the most important continuous line of warlords to dominate the figurehead emperors of Ethiopia.
Other tribes and chiefs of the Oromo people were also prominent, such as lady Menen of Wollo who became Empress in 1800's; From west to east, these subgroups are:
The Welega Oromo, who live in the Oromia Region west of the Didessa River; The Tulama Oromo, who live in the Oromia Region around Addis Ababa; The Wollo Oromo, who are the northernmost subgroup, and live predominantly in the Oromia Zone of the Amhara Region, as far north as Lake Ashenge; The Ittu Oromo, who live in the Oromia Region from the Awash River east to a line drawn south of Dire Dawa; The Afran Qallo Oromo(Daga (Jarso,Nole and Hume);Obora;Babile and Ala Oromo, living west of the city of Harar and the Erer River, and between the Ittu and Ania Oromo; The Babille Oromo, who are one of the easternmost subgroup, living east of the Erer River in the Oromia Region, and south of the other easternmost subgroup, The Jarso Oromo, who live in the northeastern corner of the Misraq Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region; The Arsi Oromo, who live in the part of the Oromia Region named for them, the Arsi Zone; and The Borena Oromo, who are the southernmost subgroup of the Oromo, and live in the southern parts of the Oromia Region and in Kenya. The Oborra Oromo The Qallu Oromo, who live between the Awash River and Dire Dawa. The Guji Oromo, who are the southern part subgroup of the Oromo, inhabiting neighboring the Borena Oromo.Religion
In the 1994 Ethiopian census in the 85% Oromo region of Oromia, 44.3% were Muslims, 41.3% Orthodox Christians, 8.6% Protestants, 4.2% Traditional, and the remaining 1.6% constitute other religious groups. Later groups include the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), 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) and others. Another group, 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 considered by many Oromos a creation of TPLF (the most dominant organization in the coalition). However, these Oromo groups do not act in unity: the ONC, for example, was part of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces coalition that challenged the EPRDF in the Ethiopian general elections of 2005. This proposed nation would share its name and borders with the current Ethiopian region of Oromia where the majority of Oromo people live.
Nomenclature
The Oromo were historically called Galla, therefore one may encounter this name in older texts, but Oromos do not use this term to refer to themselves. The etymology of the word is still disputed and unsolved, but Cornelius Jaenen offers possible roots derived from words in the Oromo language:
The Galla who call themselves Oromo, are as uncertain about the origin of their name as are the anthropologists. Orma means a foreigner who is not a relative; galà means a stranger who is a guest, galla is a stranger who joins a tribe; gala, an imperative, means 'go home'; gala a noun, means one who goes home, also provisions for travelling. Now they have found that home but they are still designated as guests (Jaenen 1956:172).
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