Oromo people: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 5:

|pop = c. '''38 million''' {{Citation needed|date=June 2016}}

|region1 = {{flagcountry|Ethiopia}}

|pop1 = 25,488,344 (2007 censusest.)

|ref1 = <ref name="census2007p66"/>

|region2 = {{flagcountry|Kenya}}

|pop2 = 227,674 (2009 census)

|ref2 = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |title=Population and Housing Census: Ethnic Affiliation |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website=knbs.or.ke |publisher=[[Kenya National Bureau of Statistics]] |access-date=21 May 2015 |quote=161,399 Borana, 66,275 Orma |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512071346/http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |archive-date=12 May 2013}}</ref>

|region3 = {{flagcountry|SomaliaCanada}}

|pop3 = unknown11,140

|ref3 = {{efn|<big>Figures among [[Ethiopian Canadians]] most likely does not include those who simply identify as [[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopian]]{{better source|date=February 2013}}</big>}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1=Statistics |title=Canada – Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2011 Census |publisher=2.statcan.ca |date=2010-10-06 |accessdate=2013-08-10}}</ref>

|region4 = '''Expatriates'''

|rels = [[IslamChristianity]] ~ 5048.2%,<ref name="Minahan2016p319"/> ([[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]] ~ 3330.5%,<ref name="Minahan2016p319"/> [[Protestants]] and17.7%); Traditional[[Sunni ReligionsIslam]] 47.5%; [[Waaq|traditional religion]] 3.3%▼

|pop4 = unknown

▲|rels = [[Islam]] ~ 50%,<ref name="Minahan2016p319"/> [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]] ~ 33%,<ref name="Minahan2016p319"/> [[Protestants]] and Traditional Religions

|langs = [[Oromo language|Oromo]] • [[Amharic language|Amharic]] • [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]

|related = [[Afar people|Afar]] • [[Agaw people|Agaw]] • [[Amhara people|Amhara]] • [[Beja people|Beja]] • [[Saho people|Saho]] • [[Somali people|Somali]] • [[Tigray-Tigrinya|Tigray]] • [[Tigre people|Tigre]] and other [[Cushitic|Cushitic peoples]].

|footnotes = {{notelist}}

}}

[[File:Oromia_in_Ethiopia.svg|thumb|left|Map of Ethiopia highlighting the [[Oromia Region]]]]▼

The '''Oromo people''' ({{lang-om|Oromoo}}; {{lang-gez|ኦሮሞ}}; ''’Oromo'') are an ethnic group inhabiting [[Ethiopia]], who are also found inand northern [[Kenya]] and [[Somalia]].<ref name=MW>Merriam-Webster Inc, Frederick C. Mish, ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'', (Merriam-Webster: 2003), p.876</ref><ref name=Teseme17/>With Theyaround are38 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic groupethnicity in Ethiopia and the wider [[Horn of Africa]], at approximately 34.537% of Ethiopia's population according to the 2007 census,.<ref name="census2007p66">{{Citation|author=Central Statistical Agency| contribution = TABEL {{sic}} 5: Population size of Regions by Nations/Nationalities (ethnic group) and Place of Residence: 2007| title = Census 2007| year = 2008| page = 16, Table 2.266| place = [[Addis Ababa]]| publisher=Central Statistical Agency| url = http://ecastats.uneca.org/aicmd/Portals/0/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf|format=PDF|authorlink=Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)}}</ref><ref name="afp2008-12-04">The CSA estimates a population growth of 7.6% between the time the census was conducted and the date of its approval: {{cite news |title=Ethiopia population soars to near 77 million: census |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i-WtiPcdGx83wuVl-kZ8ZT8tQGRg |agency=AFP |work=[[Google News]] |date=4 December 2008 |accessdate=5 December 2008 |quote='We carried out a census in May 2007 and it shows that there were 73,918,505 people at that time,' Central Statistics Agency chief Samya Zakarya told AFP.'But based on a projection of an annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, Ethiopia's population up to this month is 76,947,760.'}}</ref> while later estimates place them at around 40%.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Anthony Appiah|author2=Henry Louis Gates|title=Encyclopedia of Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC |year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|page=433}}</ref><ref name=Teseme17>{{cite book |last=Ta'a |first=Tesema |date=2006 |title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C&dq=isbn:3447054190&source=gbs_navlinks_s |location= |publisher=[[Otto Harrassowitz Verlag]] |page=17 |isbn=978-3-447-05419-5 |access-date=21 May 2015 }}</ref> WithOromos anspeak estimatedthe total[[Oromo Ethiopianlanguage]] populationas ofa overmother 102tongue million(also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' and ''Oromiffa''), which is part of the number[[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch of Oromothe people[[Afro-Asiatic exceedlanguages|Afro-Asiatic]] 35family. millionThe name was given as ''Ilm&rsquo; Orma'' ("Sons of Men" or an eponymous 'Orma') in Ethiopiathe alone.19th century;<ref name=ciaoromoEB>"[https[s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica//wwwGallas|Gallas]]" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' 11th ed.cia 1911.gov</libraryref> the present form is probably an obsolete plural of the same word ''orma'' ("person, stranger").<ref>"[http:/publications/the-worldwww.merriam-factbookwebster.com/geosdictionary/et.htmloromo Ethiopia:Oromo]" Peoplein &the Society],''Merriam-Webster CIAOnline Factbook (2016)Dictionary''.</ref>

Oromos speak the [[Oromo language]] as a mother tongue (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' and ''Oromiffa''), which is part of the [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] family. The name was given as ''Ilm&rsquo; Orma'' ("Sons of Men" or an eponymous 'Orma') in the 19th century;<ref name=EB>"[[s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Gallas|Gallas]]" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' 11th ed. 1911.</ref> the present form is probably an obsolete plural of the same word ''orma'' ("person, stranger").<ref>"[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oromo Oromo]" in the ''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary''.</ref>

==Origins==

Oromos are the largest [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]]-speaking group of people living in [[Northeast Africa]]. Available information suggests that they have existed as a community in the [[Horn of Africa]] for several millennia (Prouty et al., 1981).

▲[[File:Oromia_in_Ethiopia.svg|thumb|left|Map of Ethiopia highlighting the [[Oromia Region]]]]

[[File:Map_of_Ethiopia_circa_1420.png|thumb|200px||rightleft|[[Horn of Africa]] in 1420]]▼

The origins and prehistory of the Oromo people is unclear, in part because Oromo people lacked a written script, relied on [[oral tradition]]s and did not write their own history prior to the 16th-century.<ref name=Teseme17/><ref name=cerulli56/> Older and subsequent colonial era documents mention Oromo people as ''Galla'', but it was written by members of ethnic groups or missionaries generally hostile and at war with them. Anthropologists and historians such as [[Herbert S. Lewis]] consider these indirect literature as "full of distortions, biases and misunderstandings".<ref name=Teseme17/><ref name=cerulli56>Ernesta Cerulli (1956), Peoples of South-west Ethiopia and its Borderland, International African Institute, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138234109, Chapter: History & Traditions of Origin</ref><ref name="Lewis 1966p27">{{cite journal | last=Lewis | first=Herbert S. | authorlink=Herbert S. Lewis| title=The Origins of the Galla and somali | journal=The Journal of African History | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=7 | issue=01 | year=1966 | pages=27-46 | doi=10.1017/s0021853700006058 | accessdate=2016-11-18}}</ref>

While further research is needed to precisely comprehend their origins, the Oromo are believed to have originally adhered to a [[pastoralism|pastoralist]]/[[nomad]]ic and/or semi-[[agriculturalist]] lifestyle. Many historians agree that some Oromo clans (Bale) have lived in the southern tip of present-day [[Ethiopia]] for over a millennium. They suggest that a [[Great trade]]-influenced Oromo population movement brought most Oromos to present-day central and western Ethiopia in the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref>[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ethiopia/history#773329 Oromo population movement to central Ethiopia]</ref> Historical maps of the ancient [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]]/[[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinian Empire]] and [[Adal Sultanate|Adal]] empire indicate that Oromo people are newcomers to most of modern-day central Ethiopia.

Historical linguistics and comparative ethnology studies suggest that the Oromo people likely originated around the lakes [[Chamo Lake|Shamo]] (''Chamo'') and [[Lake Chew Bahir|Stephanie]] (''Chew Bahir'').<ref name="Taa2006p18">{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Tranformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C|year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=17–19 with footnotes}}</ref><ref name="Lewis 1966p27"/> They are [[Cush (Bible)|Cushitic]] people who have inhabited the East and Northeast Africa from at least the early 1st millennium. The traditional view, but one not universally accepted, is that the Oromo occupied most of the [[Horn of Africa]] and the coast of [[Gulf of Aden]] in the 10th century CE, until the [[Somali people]] arrived and pushed them out.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Tranformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C|year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=17 footnote 2}}</ref><ref name="Budge2014p341">{{cite book|author=E. A. Wallis Budge |authorlink=E. A. Wallis Budge |title=A History of Ethiopia: Volume II (Routledge Revivals): Nubia and Abyssinia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umMtBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-64897-0|pages=341, 364–370, 384–387, 413–419}}</ref>

The first verifiable record mentioning the Oromo people by a European cartographer is in the map of Italian [[Fra Mauro]] in 1460, where he marked "Galla". Thereafter, there is a profusion of literature about the peoples of this region including the Oromo, particularly mentioning their wars and resistance to religious conversion, primarily by European sea explorers, Christian and Islamic missionaries as well as regional writers.<ref name="Taa2006p18"/> Fra Mauro's term Galla is the most used term, however, through early 20th century. The earliest primary account of Oromo ethnography, and often cited, is the 16th-century ''"History of Galla"'' by Christian monk [[Bahrey]], written in Ge'ez language, who begins his treatise on the Oromo by prejudicing them as "bad people, ready to kill, brutal, pagan".<ref name="Taa2006p18"/><ref>{{cite book|author=CF Beckingham and George Huntingford| year=1967|title= Some records of Ethiopia, 1593-1646, being extracts from the history of High Ethiopia or Abassia (Series: Oromo Peuple d'Afrique)|oclc= 195934|publisher= Kraus Nendeln, Liechtenstein|pages=1-7}}</ref> The label ''Galla'' for them, in historic documents, is itself a stereotype and has been translated by other ethnic groups as "pagan, savage, inferior, enemy".<ref>{{cite book|author=Mohammed Hassen|title=The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300-1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fg1zCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |year=2015|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=978-1-84701-117-6|pages=2–3}}</ref> The Oromo never called themselves ''Galla'', and resist its use. They traditionally identified themselves by one of their over 2,800 clans (''gosas''), and in contemporary times have used the common umbrella term of ''Oromo'' which connotes "free born people".<ref>{{cite book|author=Mohammed Hassen|title=The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: 1300-1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fg1zCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |year=2015|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=978-1-84701-117-6|pages=3–4 with footnotes 14-18}}</ref>

▲[[File:Map_of_Ethiopia_circa_1420.png|thumb|200px||right|[[Horn of Africa]] in 1420]]

While Oromo people have lived in this region for a long time, the ethnic mixture of peoples who have lived here is unclear.<ref name=Oromo1/> According to Alessandro Triulzi, the interactions and encounters between Oromo people and Nilo-Saharan groups likely began early. Different groups have attempted to reconstruct a speculative origin theories, wherein either Oromo are presumed "heathen and expansionists who displaced another ethnic group", or the Oromo are presumed to be original people who were "displaced by others". However, persuasive evidence to support various speculations has been missing.<ref name=Oromo1/> The original Oromos increased their numbers through Oromization (''Meedhicca'', ''Mogasa'' and ''Gudifacha'') of conquered people (''Gabbaro'') from other ethnic groups, and in turn others conquered people from them and converted them to their side.<ref name=Oromo1>{{cite book|author=[[:it:Alessandro Triulzi|Alessandro Triulzi]] |editor=Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin and Alessandro Triulzi.|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xmp2lsKlqx0C&pg=PA253| title= Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries|publisher= Nordic Africa Institute | year= 1996| pages= 251–256}}</ref> The native ancient names of the territories were replaced by the name of the [[List of Oromo subgroups and clans|Oromo clans]] who conquered it while the people were made Gabbaros or ([[serfs]]).<ref name=Oromo1 /> This, in part, was a Oromo response to preserve their identity, as they as the third major group faced forced mass conversion by the conquering armies of Christian Abyssinians or Islamic Sultanates, often at war with each other.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mekuria Bulcha, Jan Hultin |editor=Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin and Alessandro Triulzi.|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xmp2lsKlqx0C&pg=PA253| title= Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries|publisher= Nordic Africa Institute | year= 1996| pages= 55–56, 55–56, 85-90}}</ref><ref name=fahlbuschoromo>{{cite book|author=Erwin Fahlbusch|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaecVMhMWaEC&pg=PA157|year=1999|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-90-04-11695-5|pages=157–158}}</ref><ref name=tesema23>{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Tranformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C |year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=22–24}}</ref>

Oromo'sThe areOromos believedincreased totheir havenumbers integratedthrough overOromization timeof withother people they conquered, adopting them to the peopleqomo from(clan) differentin a process known as [[Mogasa]] and [[Gudifacha]]. Through collective adoption, the ethnicaffiliated groups were given new genealogies and religionsstarted counting their putative ancestors in the same way as their adoptive kinsmen.<ref name=Oromo1>Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin, Alessandro Triulzi. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xmp2lsKlqx0C&pg=PA253&dq=%22the+oromo+increased+their+numbers+through%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAGoVChMImZrHhMr5yAIVwm8UCh0unweD#v=onepage&q=%22the%20oromo%20increased%20their%20numbers%20through%22&f=false Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries]. Nordic Africa Institute (1996) pp. 253–256</ref> Oromo's are believed to be integrated with the indigenous people of [[Damot|Kingdom of Damot]], [[Ennarea|Kingdom of Ennarea]], [[Sultanate of Showa]], [[Sultanate of Bale]], [[Gurage people|Gurage]], [[Gafat language|Gafat]], [[Ganz province]], [[Maya (Ethiopia)|Maya]], [[Hadiya Sultanate]], [[Sultanate of Arababni|Fatagar]], [[Sultanate of Dawaro]], [[Werji people|Werjih]], [[Gidim]], [[Adal Sultanate]], [[Sultanate of Ifat]] and other people of [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinian Empire]] after 16th century [[Oromo migrations|Oromo expansion]].<ref name=Oromo2>Richard Pankhurst [https://books.google.com/books?id=zpYBD3bzW1wC&q=Gafat&source=gbs_word_cloud_r&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century]. The Red Sea Press (1997) pp. 35–300</ref><ref name=Oromo3>Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir ʻArabfaqīh [https://books.google.com/books?id=YgIwAQAAIAAJ&dq=futuh+al+habasha&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=gafat Futuh Al-Habasha: The conquest of Abyssinia: 16th century]. (2003) pp. 1–417</ref> The native ancient names of the territories were replaced by the name of the [[List of Oromo subgroups and clans|Oromo clans]] who conquered it while the people were made Gabaros ([[serfs]]).<ref name=Oromo1 />

==Recent history==

{{Main article|Kingdom of Jimma}}

Historically, Afaan Oromo-speaking people used their own ''[[Gadaa]]'' system of governance. Oromos also had a number of independent kingdoms, which they shared with the [[Sidama people]]. Among these were the [[Gibe region]] kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Gera|Gera]], [[Kingdom of Gomma|Gomma]], [[Kingdom of Garo|Garo]], [[Kingdom of Gumma|Gumma]], [[Kingdom of Jimma|Jimma]] and Leeqa-Nekemte and [[Limmu-Ennarea]], as well as the kingdom of [[Jiren]].

BothHistorically, both peaceful integration and violent competition and integration between Oromos and other neighboring ethnicities such as the [[Amhara people|Amhara]], [[Sidama]] and the [[Somali people|Somali]] affected politics within the Oromo community. The northern expansion of the Oromos such as the Yejju and, in particular the Arsi, to ethnic Somali and Sidama territories mirrored the southern expansion of Amharas, and helped influence contemporary ethnic politics in Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/c3wollo.pdf |title=Oromo and Amhara rule in Ethiopia |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2013-08-10}}</ref> Also the great Somali expansion from the Ogaden plains west towards the Juba river led to conflicts with the Oromo.<ref name=Degu2002>W.A. Degu, [http://dare.uva.nl/document/66264 "Chapter 7 Political Development in the Pre-colonial Horn of Africa"], ''The state, the crisis of state institutions and refugee migration in the Horn of Africa: the cases of Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia'', Thela Thesis (Amsterdam, 2002)</ref> In some areas, Oromos and Somalis were in competition for fertile territory and natural resources. Additionally, Eastern Oromos, who had adopted Islam, were along with Somalis and Afars part of the Muslim [[Adal Sultanate]], which under Imam [[Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi]] led a conquest of the Christian Abyssinian Empire.<ref name=Degu2002/>

Historian [[Richard Pankhurst (academic)|Richard Pankhurst]] describes the complex regional socio-politicsstated that existed before the coming of European powers and the creation of Greatercentralized Ethiopia, nowthe area presently known as Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, as follows:

<blockquote>Constituted a galaxy of states and polities, each moving in its own orbit, but significantly affecting, and affected by, the other entities in the constellation. Each ruler kept a watchful eye on his neighbors but would often exchange gifts and courtesies with them unless actually at war. Dynastic marriages were made whenever practicable, though these only occasionally crossed barriers of religion. Commerce, on the other hand, made little distinction between faith, and trade routes linked traditionalist, Christian and Muslim localities. Ethnic and linguistic communities remained largely distinct, but there was much cross-fertilization of cultures. This was true not only off the Ethiopian highlands and the Red Sea coastlands, but also further south along the Somali-Oromo frontier where later nineteenth century travelers reported the existence of bilingual trading communities.<ref name=Degu2002/></blockquote>

Line 62 ⟶ 54:

The Yejjus have built churches, appointed bishops, gave military titles to the empire's army and appointed regional chiefs under the name of the powerless emperors whom themselves are also appointed by these nobles.<ref name=MenelikA1 /><ref name=MenelikA11>Fikre Tolossa [http://www.ethiopianreview.com/index/33633 Nobles of Oromo Descent Who Ruled Ethiopia]. Ethiopian Review (1992)</ref> [[Ali II of Yejju|Ras Ali II]], father-in-law of Atse Tewodros, did intervene in the Church when Abuna Salama excommunicated the Nigus of Shewa [[Sahle Selassie]] during the ongoing dispute over Christology that had split the Orthodox Church into a number of hostile factions. Despite the intervention of Imperial Regent, Ras Ali II, Abuna Salama refused to lift the interdict, and Ras Ali finally arrested the Abuna in 1846 and banished him from [[Gondar]].<ref>Abir, pp. 158f.</ref> Among the Yejjus, the great [[Gugsa of Yejju]] was briefly the most powerful political figure in Ethiopia, and it retained this status until 1889, when [[Menelik II]] was crowned emperor.<ref name=A120>Kim Wildman, Philip Briggs [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbBm2WpVwUkC&pg=PA312&dq=%22Ras+Gugsa+Mursa,+briefly+the+most+powerful+political+figure+in+Ethiopia,+and+it+retained+this+status+until+1889,+when+Menelik+II+was+crowned+emperor%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Ras%20Gugsa%20Mursa%2C%20briefly%20the%20most%20powerful%20political%20figure%20in%20Ethiopia%2C%20and%20it%20retained%20this%20status%20until%201889%2C%20when%20Menelik%20II%20was%20crowned%20emperor%22&f=false Ethiopia]. (2012) pp. 312 Google Books</ref> After the death of Ras Gugsa Mursa many of his descendants continued to hold key positions in the north and one of them is [[Taytu Betul]] who served [[Yohannes IV|Emperor Yohanes]] as his first minister after she helped him broaden his power base in northern Ethiopia through her family connections in Yejju Oromo area, Semien and Begemider. After her marriage with Menelik she served as an adviser and with her own 5,000 troops she went to the battle of Adwa.<ref name=MenelikA3>Chris Prouty [https://books.google.com/books?id=8bItAQAAIAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22emperor+Yohannes+and+the+broadening+of+his+power+base%22 Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia, 1883-1910]. Ravens Educational & Development Services (1986) pp. 25 Google Books</ref><ref name=MenelikA5>Chris Prouty [https://books.google.com/books?id=8bItAQAAIAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=her+cannoneers Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia, 1883-1910]. Ravens Educational & Development Services (1986) pp. 156 & 157 Google Books</ref> She also named the newly founded capital city as Addis Ababa.<ref name=A110>David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky [https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA384&dq=%22Her+family+was+from+Yejjo+in+Oromo+country+north+of+Shoa+Province%22+%22naming+Menelik+II%27s+capital+Addis+Ababa%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Her%20family%20was%20from%20Yejjo%20in%20Oromo%20country%20north%20of%20Shoa%20Province%22%20%22naming%20Menelik%20II's%20capital%20Addis%20Ababa%22&f=false Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]. Scarecrow Press (2013) pp. 384 Google Books</ref>

[[File:EthiopiaRAND1908.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A 1908 map showing Galla-land. ''Galla'' is a historical term for Oromo people, but in contemporary times considered a pejorative.<ref name=britoromo1>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oromo Oromo people] Encyclopedia Britannica</ref>]]

By the 1880s, Menelik, king of Shewa (the later Emperor [[Menelik II of Ethiopia|Menelik II]]) allied with Ras Gobena's Shewan Oromo militia to expand his kingdom to the South and East, expanding into areas that hadn't been held together since the invasion of [[Ahmed Gragn]].<ref>''Great Britain and Ethiopia 1897–1910: Competition for Empire'' Edward C. Keefer, International Journal of African Studies'' Vol. 6 No. 3 (1973) page 470''</ref> Another famous leader of Ethiopia with Oromo descent was Ras [[Makonnen Woldemikael Gudessa]], the governor of [[Harar]] who served as the top general in the First Italo–Ethiopian War, playing a key role at the [[Battle of Adwa]]. He is the father of Ethiopian Emperor [[Haile Selassie I]].<ref>Haile Selassie I, ''My Life and Ethiopia's Progress: The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie I'', translated from Amharic by Edward Ullendorff. (New York: Frontline Books, 1999), vol. 1 p. 13</ref> Other Oromo chiefs who allied their native clan's army to Menelik's Shewan central government includes [[Mikael of Wollo|Ras (Nigus) Mikael Ali]], [[Abba Jifar II|Sultan Aba Jifar]], [[Kumsa Mereda]], [[Habte Giyorgis Dinagde|Habtegyorgis Dinegde]], [[Balcha Safo|Balcha Aba Nefso]] and [[Jote Tulu|Jote Tullu]]; as an ally to the central government they also campaigned to the south to incorporate more territories.<ref name=MenelikA6>Paul B. Henze [https://books.google.com/books?id=gzwoedwOkQMC&pg=PA196&dq=%22Mikael%27s+artillery%22+%22machine-gunners%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjij76-46_MAhXIwBQKHWtIA6wQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=%22Mikael's%20artillery%22%20%22machine-gunners%22&f=false Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia] (2000) pp. 196 Google Books</ref><ref name=MenelikA7>Chris Prouty [https://books.google.com/books?id=6fFyAAAAMAAJ&q=%22went+to+arsi+with+Ras+Gobena+on+one+of+his+many+attempts+to+conquer%22&dq=%22went+to+arsi+with+Ras+Gobena+on+one+of+his+many+attempts+to+conquer%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDkpDNjK_MAhWrA8AKHfSFDW8Q6AEIHTAA Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia, 1883-1910]. Ravens Educational & Development Services (1986) pp. 45 Google Books</ref><ref name=MenelikA8>Paul B. Henze [https://books.google.com/books?id=gzwoedwOkQMC&pg=PA208&dq=%22Menelik+had+guaranteed+Jimma+autonomy+in+1882%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEsbDsjq_MAhXC7RQKHQJFB3IQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=%22Menelik%20had%20guaranteed%20Jimma%20autonomy%20in%201882%22&f=false Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia] (2000) pp. 208 Google Books</ref><ref name=MenelikA9>Gebre-Igziabiher Elyas, Reidulf Knut Molvaer [https://books.google.com/books?id=d2jjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22If+Habte-Girogis+is+with+us+and+Teferi+is+very+young%22&dq=%22If+Habte-Girogis+is+with+us+and+Teferi+is+very+young%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjOzNCqka_MAhUMchQKHU3MDrAQ6AEIHDAA Prowess, Piety and Politics: The Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia (1909-1930)] (1994) pp. 370 Google Books</ref><ref name=MenelikA10>John Markakis [https://books.google.com/books?id=yckMyLVh3oYC&pg=PA109&dq=%22minister+of+war,+fitawrari+habte+giorgis%22+%22the+old+warlord%27s+army+of+some+16,000+men%22+%22vast+estates,+stores%22+weapons+%22and+other+sources+of+wealth%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2wp28ma_MAhVI6RQKHavvBewQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=%22minister%20of%20war%2C%20fitawrari%20habte%20giorgis%22%20%22the%20old%20warlord's%20army%20of%20some%2016%2C000%20men%22%20%22vast%20estates%2C%20stores%22%20weapons%20%22and%20other%20sources%20of%20wealth%22&f=false Ethiopia: The Last Two Frontiers] (2011) pp. 109 Google Books</ref>

Menelik preferred one of his two grandsons to takeover the leadership of the empire after him. Both of them were conceived from his daughter's political dynastic marriage with his top Oromo generals namely [[Mikael of Wollo|Ras Mikael Ali]] and [[Gobana Dacche|Ras Gobana Dacche]]. Menelik saw his successor in W/Sagad Wadajo Gobena, his grandson from Ras Gobana's Son, and had him raised at the court as if heir to the throne. Wedajo Opposed the court education of his son and this dispute over child custody led to the divorce of his wife. This grandson of Menelik II was eliminated from the succession due to dwarfism.<ref name=A71>[https://books.google.com/books?id=t8VHAQAAIAAJ&q=%22had+him+raised+at+the+court+as+if+heir+to+the+throne%22&dq=%22had+him+raised+at+the+court+as+if+heir+to+the+throne%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib96Gz0vrMAhUGPBQKHQTOAzMQ6AEIGjAA "Encyclopaedia Aethiopica- Google Books"]: Siegbert Uhlig, 2010. p. 1066.</ref> [[Iyasu V|Lij Iyasu]], another grandson of Menelik conceived from his daughter Shoaarega and Ras Mikael Ali Aba Bula (also known as Mohamed Ali) became heir to the throne.<ref name=A72>David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky [https://books.google.com/books?id=WU92d6sB8JAC&pg=PA291&dq=%22MIKAEL+ALI+ABBA+BULA,+RAS+(1850%E2%80%941918).+Also+known+as+Mohamed+Ali.+Provincial+governor+and+father+of+Iyasu+Mikael%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5ncXHuvrMAhVE1hQKHZQKCBQQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%22MIKAEL%20ALI%20ABBA%20BULA%2C%20RAS%20(1850%E2%80%941918).%20Also%20known%20as%20Mohamed%20Ali.%20Provincial%20governor%20and%20father%20of%20Iyasu%20Mikael%22&f=false Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]: 2013. p. 291.</ref> After Menelik's death he will appoint his father as king of north Ethiopia.<ref name=A73>Harold G. Marcus [https://books.google.com/books?id=TAUwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22should+be+crowned+negus+of+the+north%22&dq=%22should+be+crowned+negus+of+the+north%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVosfZuPrMAhVLQBQKHS3yAK0Q6AEIGjAA The life and times of Menelik II: Ethiopia, 1844-1913] (1995). p. 262.</ref> However, within a few years of his reign, Lij Eyasu would be overthrown by Shewan Mekuanents led by prime-minister and war minister [[Habte Giyorgis Dinagde]], also an Oromo from Chebo clan; and they will make [[Zewditu|Zewditu Menelik]] as Queen and [[Haile Selassie|Teferi Mekonen]] (who also have Oromo decent through both his father and mother side) as heir and regent.<ref name="MenelikA9"/><ref name="MenelikA10"/><ref name=B16>Harold G. Marcus [https://books.google.com/books?id=jX7-0ROBfyIC&pg=PA111&dq=%22+the+emperor+established+the+office+of+prime+minister,+which+he+gave+to+Fit.+Habte+Giorgis,+who+was+also+the+minister+of+war+and+the+country%27s+most+prominent+general%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI_IDq3onNAhXF1hQKHSs1B3gQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%22%20the%20emperor%20established%20the%20office%20of%20prime%20minister%2C%20which%20he%20gave%20to%20Fit.%20Habte%20Giorgis%2C%20who%20was%20also%20the%20minister%20of%20war%20and%20the%20country's%20most%20prominent%20general%22&f=false A History of Ethiopia]. University of California Press (1994) pp. 111 Google Books</ref><ref name=A75>Messay Kebede [https://books.google.com/books?id=X-hyAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Habte+Giorgis,+became+the+king-makers%22&dq=%22Habte+Giorgis,+became+the+king-makers%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBx4GYvNDMAhVDrxoKHeQ0D5IQ6AEIGzAA Survival and modernization--Ethiopia's enigmatic present: a philosophical discourse]. Red Sea Press (1999) pp. 38 Google Books</ref> This decision angered Nigus Mikael and he mobilized about 120,000 soldiers, most of them armed with modern weapons, to invade Shewa and restore his son as emperor of Ethiopia, but his mainly Wollo army (composed mainly of Muslim Oromos) was defeated at the [[Battle of Segale]] in 1916.<ref name="MenelikA6"/><ref name=A78>Philip Briggs [https://books.google.com/books?id=gU_fCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA306&dq=%22Negus+Mikael+responded+to+this+insult+by+leading+120,000+troops+against+the+Shewan+monarchy+in+the+Battle+of+Segale%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE_oi6v_rMAhWJ1xQKHeHYDhEQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%22Negus%20Mikael%20responded%20to%20this%20insult%20by%20leading%20120%2C000%20troops%20against%20the%20Shewan%20monarchy%20in%20the%20Battle%20of%20Segale%22&f=false Ethiopia] (2015). p. 306.</ref><ref name=A80>Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong, Mr. Steven J. Niven [https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA3-PA214&dq=%22Muhammad+Ali,+the+future+Mikael,+descended+from+a+dynasty+of+imams+(Muslim+leaders)+of+the+region+of+Wello,+in+central+Ethiopia.+His+father+was+Imam+Ali+Liben,+also+known+as+Abba+Bulla%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6k72mw_rMAhUHOBQKHYUXBPsQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=%22Muhammad%20Ali%2C%20the%20future%20Mikael%2C%20descended%20from%20a%20dynasty%20of%20imams%20(Muslim%20leaders)%20of%20the%20region%20of%20Wello%2C%20in%20central%20Ethiopia.%20His%20father%20was%20Imam%20Ali%20Liben%2C%20also%20known%20as%20Abba%20Bulla%22&f=false Dictionary of African Biography, Volume 2] (2012) pp. 214 Google Books</ref> Nigus Mikael Ali, father-in-law of Teferi Mekonen, was captured at the battle and sent to prison (Gizot) in Chebo area by the hand of Fitawrari Habte-Gyorgis; Lij Eyasu, on the other hand was captured after 5 years. When he was captured by Dejazmatch (later Ras) [[Gugsa Araya Selassie|Gugsa Araya]] and his forces, it is significant that Dejazmatch Gugsa, the grandson of [[Yohannes IV|Emperor Yohannes IV]], knelt on the ground and kissed Iyasu's feet before arresting him.<ref name=A81>Gebre-Igziabiher Elyas, Reidulf Knut Molvaer [https://books.google.com/books?id=d2jjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22After+this,+King+Mikael+was+imprisoned+on+an+island+in+Lake+Dendi+in+Chebo+by+the+hand+%5Border%5D+of+Fit+aw+ran+Habte-Giorgis.+%22&dq=%22After+this,+King+Mikael+was+imprisoned+on+an+island+in+Lake+Dendi+in+Chebo+by+the+hand+%5Border%5D+of+Fit+aw+ran+Habte-Giorgis.+%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNoPrmxPrMAhXCWxQKHVofAOcQ6AEIGjAA Prowess, Piety and Politics: The Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia (1909-1930)] (1994) pp. 376 Google Books</ref><ref name=A82>Solomon Kibriye [http://www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk/pages/iyasu-hailu.htm The Plight of Iyasu and Ras Hailu of Gojjam] 26, March 2003, end of 1st Paragraph</ref>

===Ethiopian Civil War===

[[File:Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front.svg|thumb|The flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, founded in 1973]]

In 1973, Oromo discontent with their position led to the formation of the [[Oromo Liberation Front]] (OLF), which began political agitation in the Oromo areas. Also in 1973 there was a catastrophic famine in which over one quarter of a million people died from starvation before the government recognised the disaster and permitted relief measures. The majority who died were Oromos and Amharas from Wollo, [[Afars]] and [[Tigray people|Tigrayans]]. There were strikes and demonstrations in [[Addis Ababa]] in 1974; and in February of that year, Haile Selassie’s government was replaced by the [[Derg]], a military junta led by [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] (a mixed Ethiopian with ethnic Konso heritage); but the Council was still Amhara-dominated, with only 25 non-Amhara members out of 125. In 1975 the government declared all rural land State-owned, and announced the end of the tenancy system. However, much of the benefit of this reform was counteracted by compulsive collectivization, State farms and forced resettlement programmes.

In 1991, the Derg was replaced by the EPRDF. Initially, Oromo intellectuals and the OLF joined the transitional government alongside EPRDF. However, the TPLF branch of EPRDF created an Oromo party (OPDO) to marginalized the OLF and eventually expel it from the country. Despite increased harassment on Oromos, the OPDO presided over the advancement of Oromo language and culture over the last two decades. The TPLF is widely known to use this progress in Oromo cultural and linguistic empowerment as an achievement and a mandate for EPRDF rule the nation. However, most Oromos still do not believe they have political rights and many of them support the OLF and other opposition parties including the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC).

===Contemporary era===

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 the Oromo in Ethiopia under three successive regimes: the Abyssinian Empire under Haile Selassie, the Marxist Derg and the current Ethiopian government of 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 the OLF as a political force in Ethiopia.<ref>http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/uploads/oromo_report_2009_color.pdf</ref>

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==Demographics==

[[File:Kenenisa Bekele Berlin 17082009 cropped.JPG|thumb|Oromo distance running champion [[Kenenisa Bekele]].]]▼

[[File:Oromo dwelling.jpg|thumb|A rural Oromo dwelling.]]

[[File:Maryam Jamal Birmingham indoor 2010.jpg|thumb|Oromo track and field athlete [[Maryam Yusuf Jamal]].]]▼

The Oromo people are the largest ethnic groupgrouping in Ethiopia, estimatedwhich to be over 35 million people in 2016.<ref name=ciaoromo/> Their population is dispersed overhas a largetotal region. They speakof 74 ethnically diverse language groups.{{cn|date=November 2016}} About 95% are settled agriculturalists and nomadic pastoralists, practising archaic farming methods and living at subsistence level. A few live in the urban centres.

Oromos today are mainly concentrated in the [[Oromia Region|Oromia region]] in central Ethiopia, which is the largest region in the country in terms of both population and size. They are present in large numbers in other central, western and southern provinces of Ethiopia. Group members also have a notable presence in northern Kenya in the [[Marsabit County]], and in the Welo and Tigre regions of [[Eritrea]].<ref name=britoromo1/>

===Subgroups===

{{main article|List of Oromo subgroups and clans}}▼

The Oromo are divided into two major branches that break down into an assortment of clan families. From west to east. The [[Borana Oromo people|Borana Oromo]], also called the Boran, are a [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] group living in southern [[Ethiopia]] ([[Oromia]]) and northern [[Kenya]].<ref name=Ethnologue>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gax |title=Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji |publisher=ethnologue.com)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4200%28199602%2926%3A1%3C56%3ATEAMPA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage|title=The Eagle as Messenger, Pilgrim and Voice: Divinatory Processes among the Waso Boorana of Kenya|last=Aguilar|first=Mario|accessdate=27 October 2007|publisher=Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 26, Fasc. 1 (Feb., 1996), pp. 56–72 }}</ref> The Boran inhabit the former provinces of [[Shewa]], [[Welega]], [[Illubabor Province|Illubabor]], [[Kaffa Province, Ethiopia|Kafa]], [[Jimma]], [[Sidamo Province|Sidamo]], northern and northeastern [[Kenya]], and a small refugee population in some parts of [[Somalia]].▼

[[Barentu Oromo people|Barentu/Barentoo]] or (older) Baraytuma is the other [[Kinship and descent|moiety]] of the Oromo people. The Barentu Oromo inhabit the eastern parts of the [[Oromia Region]] in the Zones of [[Mirab Hararghe Zone|Mirab Hararghe]] or West Hararghe, [[Arsi Zone]], [[Bale Zone]], [[Debub Mirab Shewa Zone]] or South West Shewa, [[Dire Dawa]] region, the [[Jijiga Zone]] of the [[Somali Region]], [[Administrative Zone 3 (Afar)|Administrative Zone 3]] of the [[Afar Region]], [[Oromia Zone]] of the [[Amhara Region]], and are also found in the [[Raya Azebo]] woreda in the [[Tigray Region]].▼

==Language==

Line 99 ⟶ 83:

The Oromo language is divided into four main linguistic varieties: Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo, Eastern Oromo, Orma and West Central Oromo.<ref name="Ethnorm"/>

Modern writing systems used to transcribe Oromo include the [[Latin script]]. The [[Ethiopic script]] had previously been used by Oromo communities in west-central Ethiopia up until the 1990s.<ref name="Ethngaz">{{cite web|title=Oromo, West Central|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/gaz|publisher=Ethnologue|accessdate=10 December 2013}}</ref> Additionally, the Sapalo script was historically used to write Oromo. It was invented by the Oromo scholar Sheikh [[Bakri Sapalo]] (also known by his birth name, Abubaker Usman Odaa) during the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |author=R. J. Hayward and Mohammed Hassan |year=1981 |title=The Oromo Orthography of Shaykh Bakri Saṗalō |publisher=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |page=44.3, 550–566}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abyssiniacybergateway.net/fidel/ShaykhBakriSapalo/ |title=The Oromo Orthography of Shaykh Bakri Sapalo |accessdate=15 October 2010}}</ref> The [[Arabic script]] has also traditionally been used in areas with Muslim populations.

==Religion=Subgroups===

▲{{main article|List of Oromo subgroups and clans}}

Christianity was adopted in Ethiopia early in 340 CE by the [[Kingdom of Axum]]. [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]] was an early Christian kingdom that remained in power through the modern era. Islam arrived from the coastal region during the medieval era, across the Gulf of Aden, and led to the creation of warring Islamic sultanates such as Hadiya, Bali, Fatagar, Dawaro and Adal. These kingdoms and sultanates ruled or influenced the history of Oromo people.<ref name=fahlbuschoromo/><ref name=tesema23/> The influential 30-year war from 1529 to 1559 between the three parties – the Oromo, 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.<ref name=fahlbuschoromo/> In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, neither the Muslim controlled areas nor the Ethiopian Orthodox Church dominant areas would allow Protestant or Catholic missionaries to proselytize among them, and these missions focussed their efforts in the southern provinces of Greater Ethiopia where Oromo people following the traditional religions lived.<ref>{{cite book|author=Erwin Fahlbusch|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaecVMhMWaEC&pg=PA158|year=1999|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-90-04-11695-5|pages=158–159}}</ref>

▲The Oromo are divided into two major branches that break down into an assortment of clan families. From west to east. The [[Borana Oromo people|Borana Oromo]], also called the Boran, are a [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] group living in southern [[Ethiopia]] ([[Oromia]]) and northern [[Kenya]].<ref name=Ethnologue>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gax |title=Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji |publisher=ethnologue.com)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4200%28199602%2926%3A1%3C56%3ATEAMPA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage|title=The Eagle as Messenger, Pilgrim and Voice: Divinatory Processes among the Waso Boorana of Kenya|last=Aguilar|first=Mario|accessdate=27 October 2007|publisher=Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 26, Fasc. 1 (Feb., 1996), pp. 56–72 }}</ref> The Boran inhabit the former provinces of [[Shewa]], [[Welega]], [[Illubabor Province|Illubabor]], [[Kaffa Province, Ethiopia|Kafa]], [[Jimma]], [[Sidamo Province|Sidamo]], northern and northeastern [[Kenya]], and a small refugee population in some parts of [[Somalia]].

▲[[Barentu Oromo people|Barentu/Barentoo]] or (older) Baraytuma is the other [[Kinship and descent|moiety]] of the Oromo people. The Barentu Oromo inhabit the eastern parts of the [[Oromia Region]] in the Zones of [[Mirab Hararghe Zone|Mirab Hararghe]] or West Hararghe, [[Arsi Zone]], [[Bale Zone]], [[Debub Mirab Shewa Zone]] or South West Shewa, [[Dire Dawa]] region, the [[Jijiga Zone]] of the [[Somali Region]], [[Administrative Zone 3 (Afar)|Administrative Zone 3]] of the [[Afar Region]], [[Oromia Zone]] of the [[Amhara Region]], and are also found in the [[Raya Azebo]] woreda in the [[Tigray Region]].

In the 2007 Ethiopian census for [[Oromia]] region, which included both Oromo and non-Oromo residents, 48.7% of its population were Christians, 47.5% were Muslims, 3.3% Traditional.<ref name=censusrelioro>{{Citation | year = 2007 | title = Census | publisher = Ethiopia | url = http://www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20census/ETH-pop-2007/survey0/data/Doc/Reports/National_Statistical.pdf | format = [[Portable document format |PDF]]}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210140200/http://www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20census/ETH-pop-2007/survey0/data/Doc/Reports/National_Statistical.pdf |date=10 February 2016|page=111 }}</ref> Among the Christians, Orthodox Ethiopian was dominant (30.5% of total regional population), followed by Protestants (17.7%) and Catholics (0.5%).<ref name=censusrelioro/>▼

According to James Minahan, about half of the Oromo people are Sunni Muslim, a third are Ethiopian Orthodox, and rest are mostly Protestants or follow their traditional religious beliefs.<ref name="Minahan2016p319">{{cite book|author=James B. Minahan|title=Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGClDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA319|year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-954-9|pages=319–320}}</ref> The traditional religion is more common in southern Oromo populations, Christianity more common in and near the urban centers, while Muslims are more common near the Somalia border and the north.<ref name=britoromo1/>

Adherence to traditional practices and rituals is still common among many Oromo people regardless of religious background.{{citation needed |date= September 2015}} [[Waaq]] (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name of God in the traditional Oromo religion, which only about 3% of the population of Oromia follows today; those who do usually living in the [[Borena Zone]].▼

==Society and culture==

===GaddaGadaa===

Oromo society was traditionally structured in accordance with ''[[Gadaa]]'', a [[social stratification]] system partially based on an eight-year cycle of [[age set]]s. However, over the centuries, the age sets grew out-of-alignment with the actual ages of their members, and some time in the 19th century, another age set system was instituted. Under gadaa, every eight years, the Oromo would hold a [[popular assembly]] called the ''Gumi Gayo'', where laws were established for the following eight years. A democratically elected leader, the ''Abba Gada'', presided over the system for an eight-year term. Gadaa is no longer in wide practice but remains influential.

Oromo people were traditionally a culturally homogeneous society with genealogical ties.<ref name=tesema24/> They governed themselves in accordance with ''[[Gadaa]]'' (literally "era"), a limited democratic socio-political system long before the 16th century, when major three party wars commenced between them and the Christian kingdom to their north and Islamic sultanates to their east and south. The ''Gadda'' system elected males from five Oromo ''miseensa'' (groups), for a period of eight years, for various judicial, political, ritual and religious roles. Retirement was compulsory after the eight year term, and each major clan followed the same ''Gadaa'' system.<ref name=tesema24/> Women and people belonging to the lower Oromo castes were excluded.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Trevor William Baxter|author2=Jan Hultin|author3=Alessandro Triulzi|title=Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmp2lsKlqx0C |year=1996|publisher=Nordic Africa Institute|isbn=978-91-7106-379-3|pages=252–253}}, Quote: "gadaa government was a preclass institution based on democratic principles even though it did exclude caste groups such as smiths and tanners, and women (...)".</ref> Male born in the upper Oromo society went through five stages of eight years, where his life established his role and status for consideration to a ''Gadaa'' office.<ref name=tesema24>{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Tranformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C |year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=24–25}}</ref>

In a short article, Geoffrey W. Arnott described an Oromo [[rite of passage]] in which young men run over the backs of bulls surrounded by the village community.<ref>Arnott, "Bull Leaping as Inititation Ritual," ''[[Liverpool Classical Monthly]]'' 18 (1993), pp. 114–116</ref>

Under ''Gadaa'', every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus an ''Abbaa Bokkuu'' responsible for justice, peace, judicial and ritual processes, an ''Abbaa Duulaa'' responsible as the war leader, an ''Abbaa Sa'aa'' responsible as the leader for cows, and other positions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tesema Ta'a|title=The Political Economy of an African Society in Tranformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XwN2JdMYM4C |year=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05419-5|pages=26–27}}</ref>

===Social stratificationReligion===

▲Adherence to traditional practices and rituals is still common among many Oromo people regardless of religious background.{{citation needed |date= September 2015}} [[Waaq]] (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name of God in the traditional Oromo religion, which only about 3% of the population of Oromia follows today; those who do usually living in the [[Borena Zone]].

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 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.<ref>J. Abbink (1985), Review: Oromo Religion. Myths and Rites of the Western Oromo of Ethiopia by Lambert Bartels, Journal: Anthropos, Bd. 80, H. 1./3. (1985), pages 285-287</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Trevor William Baxter|author2=Jan Hultin|author3=Alessandro Triulzi|title=Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmp2lsKlqx0C |year=1996|publisher=Nordic Africa Institute|isbn=978-91-7106-379-3|pages=254–256}}</ref>

▲In the 2007 Ethiopian census forin [[Oromia]]the region, which included both88% Oromo andregion non-Oromoof residentsOromia, 48.7% ofwere itsMuslims, population31% wereOrthodox Christians, 4717.57% wereProtestant MuslimsChristian, 3.3% Traditional.<ref name=censusrelioro>{{Citation | year = 2007 | title = Census | publisher = Ethiopia | url = http://www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20census/ETH-pop-2007/survey0/data/Doc/Reports/National_Statistical.pdf | format = [[Portable document format |PDF]]}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210140200/http://www.csa.gov.et/newcsaweb/images/documents/surveys/Population%20and%20Housing%20census/ETH-pop-2007/survey0/data/Doc/Reports/National_Statistical.pdf |date=10 February 2016|page=111 }}</ref> AmongProtestant Christianity is the Christiansfastest growing religion inside the Oromo community. In urban areas of Oromia, Orthodox EthiopianChristianity wasconstitute dominant (3051.52% of total regionalthe population), followed by ProtestantsIslam (1729.79%) and CatholicsProtestants (017.5%).<ref>{{cite web | format name=censusrelioro PDF | work = Ethiopian Population Census Commission |title= Summary and Statistical Report of the Population and Housing Census | year = 2007 |url= http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |publisher= United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |accessdate= 28 July 2010}}</ref> But adherence to traditional practices and rituals is still common among many Oromo people regardless of religious background.{{citation needed |date= September 2015}}

In the Islamic [[Kingdom of Jimma]], the Oromo society's caste strata predominantly consisted of endogamous, inherited artisanal occupations.<ref name=lewis53/><ref name=haberland105/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Quirin | first=James | title=The Process of Caste Formation in Ethiopia: A Study of the Beta Israel (Felasha), 1270-1868 | journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies | publisher=Boston University African Studies Center | volume=12 | issue=2 | year=1979 | page=235 | doi=10.2307/218834 | accessdate=2016-11-18}};<br>{{cite journal | last=Haji | first=Abbas | title=Pouvoir de bénir et de maudire : cosmologie et organisation sociale des Oromo-Arsi | journal=Cahiers d'études africaines | publisher=PERSEE | volume=37 | issue=146 | year=1997 | pages=290, 297, context: 289–318 | doi=10.3406/cea.1997.3515|language=French | accessdate=2016-11-18}}</ref> Each caste group has specialized in a particular occupation such as iron working, carpentry, weapon making, pottery, weaving, leather working and hunting.<ref>Asafa Jalata (2010), [http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_socopubs/6 Oromo Peoplehood: Historical and Cultural Overview], Sociology Publications and Other Works, University of Tennessee Press, page 12, see "Modes of Livelihood" section</ref><ref name=haberland105>[[:de:Eike Haberland|Eike Haberland]] (1993), Hierarchie und Kaste : zur Geschichte und politischen Struktur der Dizi in Südwest-Äthiopien, Stuttgart : Steiner, ISBN 978-3515055925 (in German), pages 105-106, 117-119</ref>

The castes in the Oromo society have had a designated name, such as ''Tumtu'' were smiths, ''Fuga'' were potters, ''Faqi'' were tanners and leatherworkers, ''Semmano'' for weavers, ''Gagurtu'' were bee keepers and honey makers, ''Watta'' were hunters and foragers.<ref name=lewis53>{{cite book|author=Herbert S. Lewis|title=Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SE65P2Aj_wC |year=1965|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=978-1-56902-089-0|pages=53–54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Donald N. Levine|title=Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZHeBQAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-22967-6|pages=195–196|authorlink=Donald N. Levine}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Folk-Literature of the Oromo of Southern Abyssinia, Harvard African studies, v. 3.| author= Ernesta Cerulli| publisher=Istituto Orientale di Napoli, Harvard University Press |pages=341-355|year= 1922}}</ref> While slaves were a strata within the Oromo society, they themselves were also victims of slavery. By the 19th century, Oromo slaves were sought after and 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]].<ref>{{cite book|author=William Gervase Clarence-Smith|title=The Economics of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade in the Nineteenth Century| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsNcAgAAQBAJ |year=2013| publisher=Routledge| isbn=978-1-135-18214-4|pages=93–97}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ronald Segal|title=Islam's Black Slaves: The Other Black Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdh3GYnXvrAC&pg=PA154| year=2002|publisher=MacMillan|isbn=978-0-374-52797-6|page=154}}</ref>

===Calendar===

It is believed that the Oromo developed their own [[calendar]] around 300 BCE. The Oromo calendar is a lunar-stellar calendrical system, relying on astronomical observations of the moon in conjunction with seven particular stars or constellations. Borana Months (Stars/Lunar Phases) are Bittottessa (iangulum), Camsa (Pleiades), Bufa (Aldebarran), Waxabajjii (Belletrix), Obora Gudda (Central Orion-Saiph), Obora Dikka (Sirius), Birra (full moon), Cikawa (gibbous moon), Sadasaa (quarter moon), Abrasa (large crescent), Ammaji (medium crescent), and Gurrandhala (small crescent).<ref>{{cite web |first=Lawrence R |last=Doyle |authorlink=Lawrence R. Doyle |url=http://www.tusker.com/Archaeo/art.currentanthro.htm |title=The Borana Calendar Reinterpreted }}</ref>

The Oromo people developed a luni-solar calendar, which likely dates from a pre-16th century period and before the great migration because different geographically and religiously distinct Oromo communities use the same calendar. This calendar is sophisticated and similar to ones found among the Chinese, the Hindus and the Mayans. It was tied to the traditional religion of the Oromos, and used to schedule the ''Gadda'' system of elections and power transfer.<ref>{{cite book|author=Said S. Samatar|title=In the Shadow of Conquest: Islam in Colonial Northeast Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l4xeh4JcMTwC&pg=PA79|year=1992|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=978-0-932415-70-7|pages=79–80}}</ref> The new year of the Oromo people, according to this calendar, falls in the month of October.<ref>{{cite book|author=Afe Adogame|title=The Public Face of African New Religious Movements in Diaspora |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XB2gCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-01863-6|page=50}}</ref>

===Current===

==Contemporary issues==

▲[[File:Kenenisa Bekele Berlin 17082009 cropped.JPG|thumb|Oromo distance running champion [[Kenenisa Bekele]].]]

▲[[File:Maryam Jamal Birmingham indoor 2010.jpg|thumb|Oromo track and field athlete [[Maryam Yusuf Jamal]].]]

Most Oromos do not have political unity today due to their historical roles in the Ethiopian state and the region, the spread out movement of different Oromo clans, and the differing religions inside the Oromo nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+et0020) |title=Migrations profoundly affected the Oromo unity |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |date= |accessdate=2013-08-10}}</ref> 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 Tigray played a major role in the revolt inside the [[Tigray Province|Tigray]] regional state, known as "Weyane" revolt, challenging Emperor [[Haile Selassie I]]'s rule in the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/reports/pdfs/e/ethiopia/ethiopia.919/c3wollo.pdf |title=Raya Oromos inside the Weyane revolt of Tigray |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2013-08-10}}</ref> Simultaneously, both federalist and secessionist political forces developed inside the Oromo community.

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