a short history of oromo colonial experience (part one 1970-1935)

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A Short History

o

Orama ColonialExperience 1870 s-1990

s

A SHORT mST Y OF OROMO COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

1870 S 1990 S: PART ONE 1870 S TO 1935

MohammedHassen

Fourremarks are requiredbeforeI embarkonthe mainsubject First it

is not sy topresenttheOromo colonial experience fromthe 1870sto I990s

in an articleof appropriatelengthfor a singlejournal volume To avoid that

problemI havedivided this article intotwoparts The firstpart dealswiththe

Oromocolonial experience from the 1870s to 1935 The two dates that are

covered within the pages of this article are important because the 1870s

witnessed thebeginning of systematic conquest oftheOrorno byKingMenelik

of Shawa

while 1935 saw the replacement

of

the first phase of Ethiopian

colonialism in EthiopiawithItalianfascism Duringthe six decadescovered

in part one of this article the Oromo had two different types of colonial

experience underEgyptianand EthiopianArnhara administrations Egyptian

colonialism affected only a small segment

of

the Oromo popnlation in

Hararghie whilethe EthiopianAmharacolonialism affected

all

Oromowho

arenowin Ethiopia Part twoof the article which

will

be covered in the next

issue of

The Journal o

ro o

Studies will

deal with the Oromo colonial

experience from 1935

to

the 1990s

Myaiminwritingthis article is simple and my purpose is clear It is to

consolidate someof my own writings and the writingof others in order to

presentbrieflytheOrorno colonial experience and

to

suggesthowto dealwith

it The detailof my argument as to how to deal with the experience

will

be

presentedin part two of the article Hereit shonldbe adequateto say that if

historical

knowledge is to

beusefulas a

guide

forcreatinga trulydemocratic

federal

republic

of

Ethiopia the issue of decolonizing Oromia carmot be

dodged

but must be met head on Without a sound grasp

of

the Oromo

colonial experience whichlies behindtheir long struggle for freedom and

human

dignity

it isverydifficult

to

grasp theintensity anddepth

of

theOromo

questfor self determination

Second

my

discussion

oftheOromo

colonial experience

doesnotpretend

The

Journal

Orama Studies

Volume

Number 1 2 pp 109 158

109



T JOURN L OF OROMO STU IES

to be comprehensive Anyone who is interested in the subject can consult

among others Bonnie K Holcomb and Sisai Ibssa s The Invention oj

Ethiopia The Making of Dependent Colonial State in Northeast ftica

andAsafa Jalata s

Oromia n Ethiopia State Formation and Ethnonational

Conflict 1868-1992.

hese

two splendid books and severalother articlesand

book chapters including the many works of Drs Mekuria Bulcha

1

Abbas

Haji Paul Baxter Alessandro TriuIzi

esema

Ta aa and Getahun Delibo

adequately documentthe Oromo colonial

experience

Hopefully my article

makes not ouly a small contribution to the growing literatureon the Oromo

colonial experience but also suggests one possible scenario for finding a

lasting political solution to the Oromo quest for self-determination

Third I maintain that the decolonization of Oromia and the self

determination of the Oromo are compatible within a democratic federal

republic of Ethiopia. There are severalscholarswho argueforcefully that the

decolonization of Oromia and the self-determination of the Oromo are

incompatible within the framework of a nnited Ethiopia Basing their

reasoning on their analysis of the Ethiopian colonization of romiatheyargue

that the Oromoself-determination requires the construction ofa self-organized

Oromia independent from Ethiopia as a necessary part of decolonization

Ihis

is

one possible scenario for finding a lasting political solution to the

Oromo colonialexperience

However I believethat the self-determination

of the Oromo is possible

within a democraticfederal republicofEthiopia

I maintainthis position for

the following broad reasons I am an idealistwho believes in the nnityof fiee

people in a free country Todaythe Oromo are not free people and Oromia is

still a colony That is why I argue that the decolonization of Oromia is

absolutely necessaryfor peace economic development and democratization

in Ethiopia. However in my

mind

the decolonization of Oromia has to be

linkedorganicallywith current reality in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in

particular Io

me there is no better prospect for the futureof the peoples

of

Ethiopia

than

the establishment of a working

federal

system basedon freedom

withjustice peaceand equalityin that country. What is needed in effect is a

new social contract with freedomas its essence I believe that ouly a federal

system unites separate nations nationalities peoples and groups without

sacrificing the rights and vital interests of its members. I will discuss the

benefitsof a federal

systemin part twoofthis article; hereit shouldbe enough

11



A Short History a/Drama ColonialExperience 1870 s 1990 s

to say thata

federal

arrangement cannotworki it is designed and imposed by

the leadership o a single party as the Tigrayan People s Liberation Front

(TPLF)government did inEthiopia As it willbe demonstrated inpart twoof

this article, a federal arrangement workswhenit is designed by people and

their representatives whoare free andequal, and is implemented with their

freely

expressed consentfor its purpose and framework

,,3 n

short,what is

needed is auniversally designed agreement to establish a newstatethat is not

dominated by one ethnicgroupbut collectively owned by all its citizens in

sucha waythat all reaffirm theirfundamental equalityand retain theirbasic

rights

What ismore,it is nowbecomingpainfully

clear

to

anyone

who

follows

the sadrealities inAfricathatonlythoseAftican

societies

th t

areableto pull

together theirhuman,

intellectual,

spiritual, andmaterial

resources

willbe able

to survivein the twenty-first century Thetreesof a number o African states,

rotten by corruption, ethnicconflicts and political tyrannies, have withered

away The shadows of the Rwandan tragedy of 1994 hover over several

countries in Africa, including Ethiopia The

shadows

of collapsed African

states, fromSomalia to Liberia

hover

overmanyAfrican countries, including

Ethiopia. A Rwandan-type tragedywith the collapse of the state has to be

avoided

while

thereis timeto avoidit Oncea tragedy happens it is impossible

to undo it Weknowthat therearecompeting nationalisms in Ethiopia They

include, Oromo, Afar,Amhara, Sidarna, Somali and I igrayannationalisms

The danger s from competing nationalisms are real -- endless war

and

its

consequences -- disintegration into anarchy and chaos,collapseof the state,

and the deathofcivil society Suchdisintegration is not in the interesto any

nationor nationality in Ethiopia, including theOromo. nonewayor another ,

the peoplesof Ethiopiawillhave to

figure

out howcompeting nationalisms

can live together or side by side without destroying the materialbasis and

moral foundations of our societies Only a genuine federal arrangement

appears tomecapableofdoing that

It has been,said and rightly, that ideamovenations, Ideas also enable

peopleto seebeyondthe poisonous hatredplantedby thosewho flourishby

dividingand turuing the oppressed peoples against each other The TPLF

leaders, who are rightly blamedfor lack of vision are using the name of

federalism as a tool for theirmonopoly of state power

However,

there is no



THE JOURN L OF OROMO STU IES

a better systemthan genuine federalism fordevolution of power

lome

only

a genuine federal arrangement offers a etter prospect for all the peoplesof

Ethiopia

In

essence

a

federal arrangement

is oneof partnership, established

andregnlated bya covenant

[consent]

whose internal relationships reflectthe

special kind of sharing that must prevail among the partners, based on a

mutualrecognition of the integrity of eachpartnerandthe attemptto foster a

special unity among them li Whatis really at issueinEthiopia is thequestion

of finding a political structure (a federal arrangement) that guarantees the

survivalofnationalidentities,whichnurtures the flowering oflanguages

nd

the renaissance of cultures,

nd

above all, which allows diverse groups of

peopleto exercisetheir democratic rightswithoutinfringing upon the rights

of others?

Since the 1950s,Africanpolitical leadersopted for flag independence,

which

h s

so fill failed to deliver the promise of democracy and economic

prosperityin thepast forty years Ontheeveof twenty-first century, is it not

timeto venture outside the prevailing intellectual

climate

of flag independence

and to explore issues and articulate ideas that may deliverthe promise of

democracy andeconomic prosperity?At leastthe ideas of genuine federalism

enable us to see beyond the bitterness of what the successive Ethiopian

governments did to the Oromoandopenour visionabout a future, inwhich

the Oromo will never allow any Ethiopian government to oppress them,

control their resources, divide and turn them against each other How

this

conldbe donewill be addressedin part twoof this article

However, I must admit that the realization of self-determination of

Oromia within a democratic republic of Ethiopia will

be

fraught with

difficulties, Ethiopia lacks a tradition of tolerant political cnlture and the

Ethiopian

rn1ing

elites,thosewho are nowoppressingthe Oromoand those

who are so eagerto regaintheir lost power,will doeverything in theirpower

to monopolize political powerandcontrol theresources of Oromia

However

the Oromo nd othercolonized andoppressed peoples of Ethiopiamust stand

together to end the Abyssinian elites monopolization of state power in

Ethiopia As anoptimist, I havean

undying

dreamthat one

d y

theOromo nd

other peoples of Ethiopia will create a genuine

federal

arrangement in

Ethiopia, It is thishope andoptimismwhichinspiredmeto writethis article,

I believe

the

article will

servea

useful

purpose if it generates dispassionate

nd

livelyscholarlydiscussionof the two scenarios for findings solutionto the

Il



A Short History

o romo

Colonial Experience 1870 8 1990 s

Oromo colonial experience -- namely, independent Oromia separate from

Ethiopia or self-determination for

Oromia

within a

democratic federal

republic

of Ethiopia

At tbisjuncture,it is important to notethat

after

the 1880s,the

Medieval

Christian

kingdom known asAbyssiniawastransformed intoEthiopia, andthe

historic Abyssinians,

that

is,theAmhara nd Tigray people, weretransformed

into Ethiopians It was only in the Constitution 1931, that conquered

peoples of southern Ethiopiawere defined as Ethiopians. n this article for

the

time period covered I use Ethiopian and Shawan Amhara colonialism

interchangeably Afterall itwasMenelik

the

mh r kingof Shawa 1865

1889) and later the Emperor of Ethiopia 1889-1913)who conquered all

Oromo

who are now in Ethiopia and colonized their land The Egyptian

colonial

occupation

ofHararghie wasa short-lived phenomenon while

the

first

phase ShawanAmharacolonialismwasbrought to an end in 1935by the

Italian occupation, of Ethiopiawhichwill be discussed in part two of this

article

Fourth, Ethiopian elites and their supporters acknowledge Egyptian

colonization of part of easternHararghie but deny the EthiopianAmhara

colonization of theOromo. However I

will

demonstrate with evidence that

the social force behindShawanAmharacolonialismwas as economic as it

waswithEgyptian colonialism and Italian

fascism. What

is colonialism? At

its mostpowerful colonialism is a process ofradicaldispossession ..10For the

Oromo colonialism meant more than political, economic and cultural

dispossession. Itmeantlossof sovereignty and

independence

lossofland and

human dignity Once the Oromo lost their sovereignty, their culture was

exposedto attack; theywereno longerin control of their own

destiny;

they

werereducedtoobjects ofhistory ratherth nmakers of their ownhistory, and

their language was transformed from being a language of business and

government into

language

backwardness and darkness

Interestingly, formostof Ethiopian intellectuals the Oromo experience is

not a colonial

one.

It is the experience of national and cultural domination

Ethiopianintellectuals arriveat tbis conclusion becausetheydefinea colony

from a narrowperspective that limits its application only to those African

countries

that

werecolonized byEuropeanpowers For instance:

113




1 some have confined the definition of colonialism to the

phenomenon of industrialcapitalism;

2 some claimit is a whiteman s phenomenon;

3 others tie it exclusively to the 19th century Europeansearchfor

raw materials and thephilosophy that supportedthat search;and

4 somehavebecomeso specific that they restrict the definition

of

colonyformationto the crossingofsalt water.

However, For

the

purpose

of

this article, I adopt BonnieHolcomb s and

Sisai Ibssa s verybroad definitionof thephenomenonknownas colonialism

Colonialism is best viewed as one

of

several modes

of

interaction

among nations of people It does not occur between individuals or

groups

Rather, it involves a

change

in theentiresocialandproductive

life of people Each nation of people, through the process of living

together,develops a distinctivepattern

of

productionand a distinctive

setofrules orwhat couldbe calleda codeofconductfor safegoarding

that particular pattern and for managing its affairs within given

boundaries Colonialism

occur s

whenthoseboundaries arepenetrated

byoutsiderswhoareproducts

n

carriers

of

a differentsystemintent

upon forcefully changing the pattern of production and imposing a

different set ofrules Put anotherway, colonialismtakes place when

invaders useforce

to

takepossessionof elements vital

to

the economy

of the invadedsocietyofpeopleand

to

reorganizethose components

according

to

a new forcefully imposed system of production What

occurs is that a colonizing society violently seizes the economic

substructure of colonizedsociety and rearranges it

by

replacing its

organizingsuperstructure

In the abovelongquotation, three elements arerightlystressed Theseare,

first, conquest by force; second expropriationof the economic resources

of

the

conquered society

by

the conquerors; andthird,the impositionofalienruleon

the conquered society. Alltheseandmuchmorehappenedto the Oromo

After

his conquestand occupation

of

Oromoland, Menelikgave both the Oromo

peopleand their landto

his

armed-settlers knownas

neft ny

andestablished

the g r system(serfdom). Underthis system, the armed-settlers,the state



A ShortHistory romo ColonialExperience 187 ~ s 1 9 9 s

functionaries, the Orthodox Church establishment and the crown were

supported by the work and taxes the Oromo gabars serfs). In the

conquered Oromoterritory, fortified garrisontownswereset up as centersfor

colonial administration

The

fortified towns known as

katammas

were

separated

socially

fromtheir

surroundings

in

th t

theirinhabitants

were

mainly

Christiansettlers,whothoughtof themselves as superiorto anddespisedand

looked down upon the

Oromo whom

they kept under their control with

merciless use firearms

13

It

has

been said, and rightlyso that thecolonial

world is essentially a compartmentalized one, a world divided into two

mutually

exclusive

zones

There is

a zonefor the

colonizers

anda zonefor the

colonized

Ihis zoning-in both its geographical and socialmanifestations

ismaintained by a systemof coercion andbrute force.

14

In Oromia there was also a zone for the colonizers and a zone for the

colonized The contrast

between

the zone of the colonizers and that

the

colonizedwas striking.

There

were

power glory pride

wealth,

deeply

seated

feelings of superiority, pomp, arrogance and luxury on the side

the

[colonizers], while powerlessness, landlessness, rightlessness, suffering,

injustice,

poverty

all

manners

of abuse

n

dehumanization werethe lot of the

Oromo

gabars

whowere

physically

victimized, socially and psychologically

humiliated anddevalued as humanbeings Thepolitical, economic, military,

social and cnlturalprivileges of the [colonizers

I

werethe kernel of colonial

relationship in the conquered Oromoterritory

,,15

For Gebru T

areke

a prominent historian and a leading Ethiopian

intellectual, the superior-inferior complex that characterizes the relation

betweenthe Abyssinian conquerors and the conquered peoples of southern

Ethiopia had a cnItural connotation only

,,16

Paternalistic and arrogant,

Abyssinians lookedupon and treated the indigenous people as backward,

heathen, filthy deceitful, lazy, andeven stupid stereotypes that European

colonialists commonly ascribed to theirAfrican subjects. Both literally and

symbolically, southerners

became

the objectof scornandridicule. ?

Interestingly, the stereotype which the Abyssinians constructed for the

conquered people

southern Ethiopia, including the Oromo, was turned

against them by Europeans

For

instance,

Gerald Portal characterizes the

Abyssinians as brutal savages

I

For HenryDufton, the Abyssinians are

deceitful,

lying

insincere; their breasts are seldom stirred by generosity

115



T OURN L OROMO

STUDIES

towardsothers,or ingratitude forbenefits

received

,,19

TwoEnglishmen, who

saw the Abyssinian settlers in southern Ethiopia in their natural habitat

surrounded by slavery, conuption, intrigue and petty rascality,

,,20

characterized them as dirty, idle, and domineering [and] enslaving the

people

,,21

It is interesting to note in passing that for both the conquered

peoples

of

southernEthiopiaand for theAbyssiniansthe characterization as

backward was an alien image constructed for them It was European

observerswho ascribed the above-mentioned stereotype to theAbyssinians,

while it was the Abyssinianswho ascribed it

to the

conqueredpeoples

of

southernEthiopia

Teshale Tibabu, another prominent Ethiopian historian, stresses two

interestingpoints that have relevance to

this

discussion First, he argues, and

rightly, that [t]he rise

of

modern Ethiopia heralded the demise

of

Oromo

power ,,22 Thefollowing discussion demonstrates beyonddoubtthatMenelik s

colonial empirewasbuiltnot onlyupon thedemise of

Oromo

power,but also

the destructionof Oromo lives and plunder

of

Oromoproperty Secondly,

Teshale Iibabu succinctly expresses the essenceofcolonialism by sayingthat

Colonialism

is

based on an unequal relationship

power between the

colonizer and the colontzed Ihis is a most elegantone-sentence description

of

the relationship that developed in Oromia between the Abyssinian

conquerorsand the conqueredOromo.And yet for this scholar, the Oromo

question

is

not a colonial one It is rather a question

of

cnltural and class

domination. As far as I know(andI donot claimtohaveconsulted theworks

of

everyEthiopianintellectual)onlyAddis Hiwetwritesclearly andwithout

any obfuscation that Menelik built

his

empire through military-feudal

colonialtsm i in southern Ethiopia, According to Addis Hiwet, Menelik s

expansion into Oromia wasnot simple conquest for its own sake, or the

simplelureof empire-building, Themotiveswereprimarilyeconomic the

green and lush Oromo lands and their boundless commodities (gold, civet,

ivory,coffee)and theprosperousmarkets

WhileEthiopianintellectuals go to great lengthto characterizeMenelik s

conquestas

feudal

expansion,Meneliksawhimselfas a conscious participant

in the scrambleforcolonies

In

his famouscircnlarletterof 1891to the heads

of

state

of

Britain, France, Italy,Germanyand Russia,Menelikwrote, I do

not intend

to

remainsilentwhengovernments from distant countriescometo

divideAfrica amongthemselves ,,

7

mthe same circular letter, Menelik laid

6



A Short History Oromo Colonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

claimto all territories up to Khartoum and asfar as LakeVictoria, with all the

Oromo

In

his ownwords, [i]fGodgrantsmelife andpower,I wouldliketo

colonize the former Ethiopian territories as far as Khartoum, Lake Nyasa

[LakeVictoria] and all the Galla This

le ves

no

dou t

that Menelik saw

himself as a colonial empire-builder in his ownright, and indeedhewas

Discussiono colonialism

has

becomepoliticallychargedboth forOromo

and Ethiopiannationalists Whilerevolutionary Oromonationalistsarguefor

an independent Oromia, Ethiopian nationalists deny the Oromo colonial

experience For the Ethiopian nationalists, the very mention o the phrase

Ethiopian colonialism, more appropriately Shawan Amhara colonialism,

frightens and haunts themwith the specter o the disintegrationo Ethiopia

This is generated by the Ethiopian nationalists fear that the Oromo

will

declare an independent OromiaandbreakawayfromEthiopia

As

a colonized

nation, the Oromo have a legitimate right to self-determination. Like the

peopleo I igrayandEritrea,theOromohavea legitimate right to

decide

their

owndestiny. It is their own businessto decideabout their future andno one

will decideit for them

,,29

Thechallenge for

the Oromo is

to

m k

a clearchoice: whethertheywant

to establishan independent Orornia separatefromEthiopia, or an autonomous

OromiawithinEthiopia Thechallengefor the TPLF regimeis to allowthe

Oromotomake theirchoicethrougha referendum

r

believe

a referendum

wasto

be

held today themajorityo

the

Oromo would voteforan autonomous

OromiawithinEthiopia. Iwill discuss inpar two

o

this articlewhyI believe

that theOromowouldvote for an autonomous OromiawithinEthiopiarather

than for an independent Oromia Here it shouldsuffice to say that the key to

that endwill

be

th peaceful self-determination o the Oromo In the past few

years, the TPLFregimehas claimedthat the Oromo have alreadyachieved

their self-determination course,this is a cruel and a nasty joke upon the

Oromo

Today such a self-determination in Ororniaconjures up images

o

imprisonment, torture,disappearance, extrajudicialexecutions,confiscation

ofpropertyand forced exileforthousands o theOromoandplunder o Oromo

resourcesfor the development o

Tigray

Tome, rightingthe wrongsinflictedon the Oromoby the TPLFregime

will be the first challenge facing an autonomous Oromia The basis

o

that

autonomy will

be

the withdrawal o TPLF militia and securityforces from




Oromia andOromos right to be theirownmasters in their ownstate

n

other

words, Oromia must be as autonomous as Tigray itself. That is the

prerequisitefor the realization of the

ideal

of self-determination in Oromia.

As

is crystal-clear, such self-determination of the Oromowould not mean the

break up

of

Ethiopia.

t

would mean creating a genuinelyworking federal

system unlike the current federalism that exists mainly on paper aswill be

shown in part two

of

this article Tome, only a workingfederal system that

combines a self-rule (whichsatisfies the aspirationsof the Oromo and other

oppressed peoples) and shared rule (which takes into considerationthe unity

and economic interdependence of the peoples

of

Ethiopia) offers a better

prospect for the futureof all the peoples

of

that troubledcountry. As I stated

in 1966,

I sincerelybelieve that in a

truly democratic federatedEthiopia, the

Oromowill losenothingbut they

l l

have a great deal to gain What

is neededis to decolonize romia anddemocratize Ethiopia I consider

that the decolonization

of

Oromia is fundamental to the self

determination

of

the Oromo and one cannot be achievedwithout the

other. n short, the decolonization of Oromia

will

ensure self

determination for the Oromo, while democratization

will

create a

necessary political climate in the country in which conflict

will

be

resolved through dialogue, genuine searches for mutual benefit

characterizedby the spirit of tolerance, consensus and compromise

Thecreationof.a self-governing Oromostate

is

a necessarycondition

for the establishment

of

a federated democraticEthiopia. Because

of

their numbers, geographical position and rich natural resources of

Oromia,theOromoare destined to playan importantrole in the future

ofEthiopia and the HornofAfrica Consequently, Ethiopians should

make an earnest effort to understand the reasons for, and come to

terms with, the Oromoquest for self-determination.

It is with this goal in mind that I present the following short history

of

Oromo colonialexperiencefrom the 1870s to 1990s For that experience is

not w t was but alsowhat is As

already

indicated,my presentationdoesnot

pretend to be comprehensive However, whatever shortcomingsit may have,

it

is

based on facts that can be verifiedfrom the sources that were consulted

I




Interestingly, the available Ethiopianistliteraturedescribesth process

the colonization from the viewpoint

the colonizers; the Oromo are seen

merely as the object historicalprocess. While this literaturementions the

massive slaughter that accompanied the conquest, it maintains silence about

thesituation ft rEthiopiancolonialismwas imposed ontheOromo However

I

will

demonstrate fiuther in the presentation that the colonialism that was

imposedon the Oromoby forcewasmaintainedby violence

The Ethiopian elites, too often and too easily hypnotized by the sheer

mythsand legends of 3,000yearsofEthiopianhistory, ndstronglyassert th t

Ethiopia has existed as one united country in its present form for several

centuries This

is

historically incorrectto say the least AddisHiwetobserves

that [t]hedeep-seatedmyth

that

has for so longenshrinedEthiopia- boththe

name

nd

the country --

still

blursgenuinehistoricalunderstanding Ethiopia s

existence as a modemstate doesnot -- as theideologists

the

n ien regime

claim -- extend beyond the 1900s and into the limitless and ever-remote

milleunia The samehistoricalforces that created the GoldCoast , the Ivory

Coast , the SudanandKenya weretheveryones that createdmodernEthiopia

too Anda recognition this fact

m kes

modernEthiopiano older th n these

Africanstates ,,32

This means what existed before the 1880s for several centuries was

historicalAbyssinia,whichhas had a longand rich history, but formedonly

a small part of what

is

today Ethiopia. Most Oromo were not a part

historicalAbyssinia The Oromohave had their own long and rich history,

which was separate from that of Abyssinia in more ways th n one The

Oromo, theAbyssiniansandotherpeoples Ethiopiawerebrought under a

single administration with the creation of the present Ethiopia in the last

quarterof the nineteenthcentury, andonlyafter the conquestandcolonization

peoples whonowcomprisesouthernEthiopia. 33

Finally, the restof this articledealswith(I) the condition the Oromoin

the precolonial

period

(2) the beginning

theconquest

theOromo;(3) th

Egyptian colonization; and (4) the Shawan Amhara conquest and the

colonization the Oromo fromthe 1880s to 1935 I havestressed the latter

twopoints partly becausetheydemonstrate the Oromocolonialexperienceso

clearlyand partly becausetheyare the main focus of the article itself

119



THE JOURN L OF OROMO STUDIES

The ondition of the Oromo in the Precolonial Period

TheOromoconstitutemore

th n

fortypercentof thecurrentpopulation of

Ethiopia. They are the single largest national group in the Hom of Africa

They are also the second largest indigenous people of Africa The Oromo

played an important role in shaping the history of the region and

will

undoubtedly play an evenmorecrucialrole in the futureof Ethiopiaand the

Hom ofAfrica Ethiopianintellectnals nd Ethiopianist scholars, especially

Ullendorff has chosen to consign Oromo

history

to themargins ofAbyssinian

history

34

As

Ullendorff s distortion of Oromohistorywas not enough, the

Ethiopianrulingclass systematicallydepictedthe Oromoas peoplewithout

history, and belittled their way of life, and their religious and political

institutions.v And yet the Oromo have a long history, a rich culture and

fascinating political and religious institutions. As one the most ancient

peoples of Ethiopia,36 the Oromohave always beenpart of thehistory

the

peoples of the HomofAfrica The implicationthat they are peoplewithout

history is a caseof distortingand twistingfacts to justify military conquest,

politicaldomination andeconomic exploitation the Oromo

f n

Oromo, the Oromo language, is one of the forty or so Cushitic

languagesspokenin andbeyondtheHom ofAfrica Itmust

be

statedclearly

that the Cushiticlanguage-speaking familyof peoples livedfor thousands

years inwhat is todayEthiopia,predatingby amillenniumtheimmigration of

Semitic-speakinggroupsof peoplefromwhat is todayYemento Ethiopia after

500

e

This means that Cushiticlanguagespeakersme indigenous to the

regionnowcalledEthiopia andto the

HOIn

of

Africa.

t

hasbeen

rightly said

that more than half of the speakers of the Cushitic languages are Oromo

1

speak

f n

Oromo, the Oromo language, which is also the third largest

Afro-Asiatic language in the

world

afterArabicand

Hausa.

Thesignificance

of f n

Oromo

is

not limitedto the fact that it is the secondor third most

widely spoken indigenous language in Africa,40 but it has also a rich oral

literature deeply rooted in the ultur l heritage a uniquely democratic

Oromocivilization. f n Oromo embodies the spiritof thenation It

hasbeen

said that [i]t

is

the fountainof all the springs that givedynamism andvitality

to the Oromonation It is the most vital, the richest and the finest bond that

unites the Oromointo a singlehistoricalwhole ,,41

120



A Short History

of romo

Colonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

The Oromonow call their countryOromia, but this is not a totally new

name. The

earliest reference to this term in some form goes back to 1840

(almosthalfa century beforetheconquest

the Oromoin the l880s). Itwas

the

German

missionary, Krapfwho

lived

amongtheOromo

in

Shawa

between

1839 and 1842, who first mentioned the term Ormania (see his map on the

next page) as the name

the country of the Oromo Krapf mentioned

Ormania on the basis of the information he gathered from the Oromo

themselves.

Interestingly, Krapfprojected theOromonation s historicalrole

in Africa to be that of the Germannation in Europe

n

his own words, I

considerthem destined by providence aftertheirconversion to Christianity to

attain the importanceand

fulfill

the mission heavenhas pointed out to the

Germansin Europe.

,,42

However the Oromonot only failedto perform this

missionbut also became victimsof colonialism to be discussedbelow Here

it shouldsuffice to say that the term Ormaniawas already in the literature

around

1840.

Ormaniawas changedinto Oromia in 1974, by the men and

women who formed the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) The change of

Ormania to Oromia was a major landmark in the expression of Oromo

nationalism nd articulation Oromonationalists aspirationto create a self-

governing Oromia In this sense, . the nameOromiathus servesthe same

purposeandis asjustifiedas Ghana, Benin Mali, and Zimbabwe.v Since

the end of 1991, the Transitional Government

Ethiopia has

re ognized

Oromia as the officialname the Oromo regionof Ethiopia A briefglance

at theflowering literature on theOromo establishes conclusivelythat Oromia

has beenembraceduniversally Consequently, in this article,Oromiais used

interchangeably with theOromonationand its geographical locationwithin

Ethiopiaand the Hom of

Africa.

t is precisely for this reason that Asafa

Jalata titledhis famous book,Oromia

nd

Ethiopia

45

not onlyto emphasize

the

root causesof conflictbetween Oromia

nd

Ethiopia, but alsoto stressthe

strategicand economic importance of Oromia

in

the Hom ofAfrica

ll theEuropean travelers nd missionaries whovisitedOromia beforeits

conquest in general and Antoine d Abbadie46 in particular were greatly

impressedby theOromoculture andits

underlying

unity. D Abbadie wroteof

LesOromoGrandeNation

Africaine. 47

European travelers

nd

missionaries

were equallyimpressedwith the fertility of Oromia Therewere few regions

inAfricawhichwere sorich asOromia Its climate was ideal,waterplentiful

121



TH

JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES

~ d

- -_-

Sketch Map

of

East Africa in lb Mid.1850s

; r

.-

,;

I . . . . .

11 O.UL J t a.

i

:

.

-

l ~ i I - - - - - - - - ' 7 J l 1 ~ t - - - i - / ; ; ; : : ; = : ' ' ' ' - - t - : : ; - - - ; , : , - - - - : - - : , + +t -; -, S. ~ T ~ ~

....

llA;l;°Jl Al l ill CA

C ol l __

o J

...... v a

E.I l .

r c a

e - . - . . r : G . l I o . ~

ource J.

Lewis

Krapf. Travels R ~ s e a r c l u s andMissioNJry l bours in

st

frica

London:

funk Cas, Co

Ltd, 1968 Reprinted

with permission

122



ShortHistory

Orama olonialExperience

187

s 1990

s

andsoil so fertilethat it producedanythingwithminimal labour 48 InOromia,

like the rest ofAfrica in the precolonial era, production technologies were

simple. Thepeasants capital consisted

of

traditionalimplements. Power was

limitedto that providedby draught animals And yet the fertility

of

the land

combinedwith the intelligentactivityof its inhabitantsmade

romi

an area

ofgreat agricultural wealthin the Hom ofAfrica

In the precolonialperiod, the Oromohad their own rich history, culture,

religious and political institutionswhich flowered in patterns of their own

makingand nourishedthe spiritual andmaterialwell-beingof th Oromo49

For instance, by the 1840s, forty years before their conquest, the Oromo

society in the Gibe region was producing or capable of producing more

material goods than Menelik s Shawa According to Beke, who was in the

neighborhood of the Gibe Region in 1842 [t]he inhabitants of the [Gibe

region] enjoyed the reputation

of

being the most civilized and

manufacturing flourished here in a higherdegreethan anywhere else in this

quarter ofAfrica ,,50 In filet, more than Shawa(and probablymore than any

place in the Horn ofAfrica) the Gibe regionwas the most famous center of

trade by 1840s This was for three basic reasons.. First, all the major

commercial routeswhichconnected thenorthern and southern, theeastern and

westernparts

of

the Ethiopianregion led to the Gibe region,wheremost

of

export commodities wereproducedandtraded Second,morethan anywhere

in the Ethiopianregion, it was perhaps amongthe Oromo states in the Gibe

region, that

trading was a highly organized business in which government

played a key role. Third, the prosperity of Shawa nd that of the rest of

Abyssinia to a largeextentdepended on theproducts andlucrative tradeof

the

Giberegion,whichentirely

financed

the importsofAbyssiniaitself

This

was

the conclusion

of

Beke,whohad first knowledge about the trade

of

the Gibe

region. In fact the sole source of the foreign trade

of

Abyssinia,. . gold,

ivory,coffee,spices, andcivetwhichindependent

of

the slaves,may be said

to form the only articlesgiven in return for manufactures of Europe, [came

from the Giberegionl .

InsomepartsofOromo landsuch as

Wallo

the ibe region, andWallaga,

the Oromodeveloped a monarchial form of government For instance, they

established sixmonarchies inWallo

namely

the Arreloch theWarraHimano

the Yajjn, the Qallu, the House of Gattiroch, and the Borana 52 f these

123



TH JOURN L O OROMO STU IES

dynasties twowerethemostdominant TheyweretheYajju,whichformeda

relatively strongdynastyandtheWallogroupthatgaveits nameto the region

andformedthe longest-lasting Oromodynasty ofWarra Himano(ca

1700

1916).

WhiletheMuslim

members

of theYajjudynastywereassimilated into

theAmharaChristianpowerstructureat Gonda anddominated thepolitical

landscape of Abyssinia from 1756 to 1853, the Warro Himano dynasty

championed the cause of Islam in the region.

This

was because [flor the

OromoinWallo,Abyssinian domination andChristianityweresynonymous

As Christianitywas one of the pillars

Abyssinian unity, Islam becamea

major unifyingfactorfor the Oromoin Wallo Fromthe begiuning, Islamfor

the Oromo in Wallo was part of their cultural life and a mark of their

independence

was a powerful symbol

their identity as a people and a

reliable fortress againstAbyssinian

nationalism. 53

Itwasonlyafterthedefeat

the Oromo and the desttuction their Islamic establishments that the

regionof Wallowas incorporated into the rapidlyexpandingEthiopianstate

as will be shownshortly.

nthe Gibe regiou, the Oromoformed five kingdoms, namely, Limmu

Ennarya, Goma, Gomma, Jimma and Gem.

54

Of these, the kingdoms of

Lirnmu-Ennarya andthat ofJimma,werethe twomostimportant. Until

1860,

the former was the economic centerand political powerhouse

the Gibe

region, while fter1860 the latter eclipsed Limmu-Ennarya commercially,

politically, culturally and militarily earning the reputation for possessing

sufficientculture tohaveits capital nd its landandexample

prosperity for

all Africa to admireand imitate ,,55

n

short, the Oromo society

the Gibe

region witnessed a flourishing of trade,the spreadof Islam,the flowering of

cultureand the achievement of socialand economic progress unsurpassedin

ny

Oromoareas

ofEthiopia. 56 n

Wallaga, thereweretwoOromo

kingdoms

namely,LeqaNaqamte and Leqa Qellam,both ofwhichwererich in trade,

ivory and gold. Thewealthof the Oromokingdoms both in the Gibe region

andWallagaattractedthe envyof their

mh r

neighborsfromboth Gojjam

and Shawa,aswill be shownshortly,

Monarchic institutions developed among the Oromo in the regions

mentioned above,Outside these areas the vast mlliority of the Oromo lived

under a republicanform of government known as the d system,Here I

provide brief information about the

d

system not for the purpose of

aggrandizing Oromo democratic heritage,but ouly to emphasize that

d

124



A ShortHistory ojOromo Colonial Experience 1870 s-1990

still constitutes a sharedpolitical idiomthat has relevance to the future of

Oromo

society The

Gada systemwas a participatory form of democracy

which enabled the Oromo to

develop

a fascinating system of checks and

balances thatpreventedthe emergence of

despotism

One

the featuresof

all democratic governments is that not only the polity is differentiated into

many

components which

aregrantedsomemeasure of autonomous existence

but also power is

shared

Western democracies this pattern power

sharing rests primarily on a territorial basis and on the vast complex of

voluntary organizations that form the foundation of politicalparticipation

In

Oromodemocracy power sharingrestson territorial kinship nd generational

entitiesthat forms the basis

politicalparticipation.

Among

the Oromo the remarkable system

power-sharing was

developed by design and it was an integral part of the Gada system the

hallmark ofOromodemocracy

Gada is a complex concept that encompasses

the political religious military economic social and

cultural

aspects of

Oromo

society

According to AsmaromLegesse a noted authority

Gada

is

the termemployed throughout the

Oromo

nationintheHomofAfricato

refer

to the organization of the

Society

intogeneration setswho

succeed

eachother

everyeightyears in assumingpoliticalpower It is one of the universalsthat

bonds the entire nation into a coherent systemand gives people common

political basis for understanding eachother It constitutes a sharedpolitical

idiom

58

Evenamong theOromowho

developed

monarchic institution Gada

remained a sharedpoliticalidiom

59

TheGada systemenabledthe Oromoto

mobilize effectively their human material and spiritual resources for

maintaining law and order resolving conflicts peacefully nd engagingin

productive activities. Thiswas donethroughtheGada politicalprocess.

Trainingfor participation in theGada politicalprocesswas an essential

aspectof Oromo

democracy

Trainingstartedearlyin life and it took thirty

twoyearsbeforean

individual assumed

highestpolitical

office

Sixteenyears

out of the thirty-two were spent on the difIicult militarytraining while the

remaining

sixteenyearswerespenton

legal

political administrative andritual

training Exteusive election campaigns and election to political offices

completed them ny years

training60 Election for leadershipwasheldevery

eight years he criteriafor election to the political offices amongothers

included oratory knowledge

Oromohistory law custom and tradition

125



TH JOURN L OF OROMO

STUDIES

bravery,past

military achievement

andwisdomfor settlingdisputes61 The

electedofficials includedAbba Gada ( thefatherofthe Gada in power )who

was the president of the Chafe assembly, famous OromoParliament The

Abba Gada

was a singlepoliticalleaderof the nation. His residence was the

seatof the government andthe capitalof thenationfor eightyears. Theother

elected officialswereAbba Dula ( theminister of war ),Abba Sera ( the

minister of law and justice ), Abba Sa aa ( the minister of economic

resources ), Lemmi (messengers and ambassadors), whodealt with foreign

affairs andtraveledthroughout the territory to settledisputesamongvarious

groups has beenrightlysaid that [i]ntheGada systemcanbe observed

a genuine traditional African form of democratic government where the

executive, the legislativeand thejudiciaryfunctioned separately, but formed

part of a unitedbureaucracy 63 After the election, therewas a ceremony of

transfer of power, from the outgoing leaders to the incoming ones during

whichtime the losers

conceded

defeatandblessed thewinners.

The

winners

in

turn

praised their formerrivals in anunambignous manner, Theelection

and the transferofpower tookplace at the time

of rr

ceremony

rr

was the eventthat endedthe

ada

of thepreviouseightyears and started the

new one. It was the beginning of the new period, the building of the new

future

which

European travelers andmissionaries of thelast centwy

compared

withtheGreek

Olympiad 64

Thetrensferof powerwasa smooth andpeaceful

eventthat expressed thedemocratic valuesof theGada system Comparethis

withthe

history

ofmodemEthiopia thathasnot seena singletransferof power

which was not

drowned

with

the

blood of thousands of

victims,

Smooth

transfer of powerwas the strength of Oromo

democracy

as the absence of

peacefultransfer ofpower

is

the hallmarkof Ethiopianpoliticalculture.

As I havewritten elsewhere, [tjhe transfer of power took place at the

beginningof

the

OromoNewYear at which the winners and losers jointly

reinstated the moral order of the nation, and resolved internal disputes

peacefully The transfer of power ceremony was the time when the

achievement and fairness of thepast eightyears

mepped

It was thetimewhen

the well-springof Oromoyearning for spiritual satisfaction, for peace and

reconciliation were overflowed with prayers for peace, prosperity and

harmony 65

After

the transfer of power ceremony, the Chafe Assembly

(Oromoparliament)madelaws that lasted

for

the next eightyears The law

was issuedout of and evolved with Gada democracy Theone blended and

126



A Short History ofOromo Colonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

harmonizedwith the other so much that the history

of

the law is as well the

history of

Oromo democracy 66 The

Chafe Assembly

had the prerogative

of

making laws, declaringwar, and concluding

peace

The laws passed by the

assembly embodied thespiritof

unit

peace,

sense

of

identily

ode

of

conduct

and ~ moral standardof the society

The authority

of

the elected leaderswas based on the democratic will

of

the people. Under the Gada system, government was an embodimentof

populardemocratic

will,

andthosewho

wielded

powerwereaccountable to the

people Thesocietydelegates powerto a

luba

for a period

of

eightyears,but

that power is always subject to the higher authority

of

the assembled

multitudes. Power emanates from the people and if those to whom it was

entrustedfail in theirresponsibilities, theycanbe removed

Thelanguage they

use to describethis removal

of

incompetent or unjust officers is instructive.

They refer to it as buqqisu which means to uproot

67

Under Oromo

democracypower and authority wererelinquished aftereveryeightyears and

powerwas shared, not as a result

of

weakness on the part of the leaders,but

because power sharing was the ideal most manifested. In short, the Gada

system was a participatory form

of

democracy, in which the unusual

mechanismforpowersharingwasdeveloped by designandit was

the

premier

symbol

of

Oromopolitical institutions which articulated the richprinciples

of

democracy

of

which the Oromoare proud 68

Is the

Gada

system relevant to the current situation in Oromia and

Ethiopia? The answeris yes andno Yes,because

the Gada

system canbe the

indigenous basisfor building aworking democratic system bothinOromiaand

Ethiopia. No, because some aspects of the

Gada

system (whichcannot be

discussed in this article) that took shapemore than five hundredyears ago

cannotmeet the needs of a verycomplexandrapidlychangingsociety

Nevertheless, the Oromodemocratic principlesof the accountability of

leaders which also limits their tenure

of

office to a defined period, the

principles of checks and balances, the separation

of

power and authority,

extensive political discussion, the spirit

of

compromise, concession and

consensus, whichwere

the

h llm rk ofOromo democracy arethe treasures that

have to be exploited if democracy were to flourish in Ethiopia. The

democratization

of

Ethiopia in every sense of the term is the essential

precondition for the voluntary unity

of the

people[s and the countryin which

7




political oppression, cultural domination, physical destruction, perpetual

warfare, govemment-imposed famine andthe

misery

ofmillions will be things

the past ,,69

The eginning

the Conquest

the Oromo

For the greater part of their history, the Oromo led an independent

existence as masters of their owndestiny andmakersof their own history

Evensincethe 16thcentury, mostOromo livedas neighbors with,bnt beyond

theboundaries of;the Christian kingdom ofAbyssinia, whichconstituted only

a smallpart what is today Ethiopia. Some of the Oromowho settled in

Abyssiniaduringandafter the 16thcenturywereassimilated into the power

structure and played an important role in the history the Christian

kingdom, an aspectthat wasextensivelydiscussedbyMordechai Abir in his

thiopia The raofThe nnces Hereit shouldbe enoughto say that for

more than three hundredyears (from around the 1540s to the 1860s) the

Oromo remained powerful

inthe region

th t is

now

Ethiopia

Theirpowerwas

based on their formidable cavalry, effective war strategy nd firm

determination to remainfree

According

to a seventeenth centuryPortuguese

eyewitness historian, [w]hatmakesthe Galla [Oromo] much feared is that

theygo towar and intobattle

determined

firmly resolved to conqueror to die

The mperor [Susenyos

1

recognized thisquality inthemandinthemost ofthe

Abyssinians theexactopposite. To this heusedto ascribe thevictories of the

Gallaanddefeatsandroutes theAbyssinians.t ? Theadvent European

weapons of destruction (gunsandcannons in theEthiopian regionin the 19th

centuryundermined the traditional Oromowar strategyand accelerated the

defeatof theonce-mightyOromo

cavalry,

n

this, it was the Amhara princes of Shawawho first turned the tide

against their Oromo neighbors This occurred during the reign

Sable

Sellassie (1814-1848)whousedthe title ofNegus

King

and also acquired

a relatively largenwnber of European guns and cannons for the purpose

defeatingtheOromo73 SableSellassie acquiredweapons by writing lettersto

European powers and receiving giftsfrom them,throughmissionary assistance

andmost of all by expandinginto Oromoterritory, whichgeneratedfor him

ivOIY, gold andcoffee, withwhich

he

paid forthe quantities of annarnents he

required

7 For instance, on January20, 1840hewrotea letter to the British

128



A Short History Oromo Colonial Experience 1870 8 1990 s

Government requesting . .

may it please you to assist me particularly in

sendingguns, cannons and other things whichI have not in my country

7

SableSellassie was not disappointed, as Europeanmissionaries anddiplomats

whohadvisited

him

impressed upontheirgovernments the

need

to supply

him

with adequate weapons; so that he could spread the seeds

o

civilization

among the Gallas,,76 and in order for him to be absolutely superior to the

Galla cavahy, we needto providehimwith guns and cannons ,,77 When the

British diplomat,Major Harris, visited Sable Sellassie in 1840, he gave the

king a gift

o

300 muskets, two cannons and a thousand pistols, while the

French diplomatic mission led by Rochet d Hericourt brought him 140

muskets

Beforethe end

o

1840,SableSellassiehadmore

than

a thousand

muskets in good working order and several pieces

o

cannon, which were

carefullylooked after by the king s armorers, gun makers and smiths

The

king s firepower was

directed

against the Oromo,whowerevirtuallywithout

firepower, and the consequences were dramatic

•

19 Sable Sellassie led three

annualcampaigns g inst hisOromoneighbors, whichwerecharacterized by

burning, looting and extensive destruction. According to an English eye

witness report, the order was given ... to destroy and plunder Instantly

ensued a rush from all quarters at full gallop. Flourishing fields o wheat,

barleyandbeans, the produce

o

the toils

o

the . tribe, weresavaged, and

overrunbythe locusthordes,and inthe course

o

halfanhour, the soil being

strippedofeveryacreof cultivation

There commenced

a generalscramblefor

the rafters and ribs

o

houses,whereofthe skeletons werepresentlyconsigned

to the

flames. so

For morethan three decadesSableSellassie led annual raids against his

Oromoneighborsfor cattle and slaves. Duringthe raids, Women and girls

were tom frorn their hiding places old men and young were

indiscriminately slain andmutilatedamongthe fields andgroves, flocks and

herds were driven ofr in triumph and house

ft r

house was sacked and

consigned to the

flames ,,81

Thedestructive capacity

o

the kingwasenhanced

by the fact that hewas regardedas amorepromising tradepartner,

than ny

o

the other Ethiopianrulerswithwhomthe Europeanswere involvedin the

1830s and 1840s. ,,82

n

short, SableSellassieinitiated a policy

o

expansion

into Oromo territory for the purpose

o

acquiring commodities (which his

kingdom lacked butwithwhich heimportedmoreEuropeangunsandcannons

129



THE JOURNAL

OF

OROMO STUDIES

for conquering the Oromo Thispolicyof defeatingtheOromo withtheir own

resourceswasperfectedat the end of the centurybyMenelik, the grandson

of

SableSellassie

In 1840 Sable Sellassie boasted to the visiting British diplomat, Major

Harris, thathehad

already

conducted 84 raids against the

romo

According

to

Harris, in one

of

these regular expeditions in 1840, in which the British

diplomathimselfwas present, the king raidedMeta Oromo and killed 4,500

persons

of

all ages and took some 43,000 heads

of

cattle and more than one

thousandcaptives, chieflywomen andgirls83 Thispracticeset the pattern for

future Amhara Tigray leaders,who slaughteredthe Oromoindiscriminately,

plunderedtheirwealthand attempted

to

destroytheirpolitical,cultural,social

and religious institutions Sable Sellassie,who was able to field 30,000

to

50,000 peasant soldiers for

his

annual raids against the Oromo,was neither

ableto establishdirectAmhara political authority overthe romoin Shawa,84

nor able to break the backbone

of

the Oromo

cavalry.

Both tasks wereleft to

his grandson Menelik, the king

of

Shawa (1865-1889) who was able to

transform his campaigns from cattle and slave raids into conquest and the

colonizationofOromia However

before

1discussMenelik s conquest, and the

colonizationof Oromia, it is important

to

brieflymention; 1 the attempt of

Emperor Tewodros (1855-1868) to conquerthe Oromo,and (2) the Egyptian

colonizationof the Oromo inHararghie(easternOromia).

Tewodre s Campaign Against the Oromo

Tewodros, whowas able to destroythe YajjuOromopower inGondar in

1853, defeatedhis Amhara-Tigrayrivals,crownedhimselfEmperor in 1855

and fleetingly united historical Abyssinia on anti-Oromo and anti-Islamic

policies Hussein Ahmed writes that these efforts were supported by the

contemporaryProtestant missionariesfor three reasons:firstly, because they

hoped that the subjugationofWallowouldinauguratea periodof tranquility;

secondly,because they saw the struggle in terms

of

a confrontationbetween

CInistiauityand Islam; and thirdly, because theybelievedthat Wallowas the

spearheadofMuslimdrive to take overEthiopia

8

For the Emperor who called himself the slave

of

COOst 86 the Muslim

Oromo in the regionofWallo posed danger to his kingdom.For Tewodros,

accordingto Trimingham, ChristianityandAbyssiniawere synonymous

.,,81

130



A

h T

t History

ofOromo

Colonial Experience

87

s 1990 s

Consequently, he consideredit his religiousand politicalduty to destroythe

power the Oromo in Wallo by appealing to his Christian subjects to

eliminate the Oromospecter andthe Islamicmenace in keepingwiththe

attitude

Amhararulingelitesofhis

day.

Baxterhas observedthat since the

16th century, fears Islam and the Oromo have dominatedthe political

consciousness of the Amhara ruling elite, and the thought the two in

combination has been their recurring nightmare 9 What was new in

Tewodro s anti-Oromopolicywas his desireto either impose Christianityon

the MuslimOromo inWallo 90 or expel themfrom

the

region. However, as

far as his statedaim forcing MuslimOromos inWollo

[sic]

to eitheraccept

Christianityor leavehiskingdom

is concerned,

he utterlyfailed He,not they,

gavein. It

is

not an exaggeration

to

say that Tewodros committedsnicidein

1868,not only becausehehated to fall intoBritishh n s as a captivekingbut

also becausehewas virtuallyan Oromoprisoner in the mountain

fortress

of

Magdela Escapewaswellneighimpossible.

91

Nevertheless, ewodros anti-Oromo

stance, affected

the future

resistanceof the OromoinWalloin fiveways First, the extent physical

andmaterial destructionandpillaging theWallo countryside

affected

the

demographic, economic andpoliticalvitality the region,for the remaining

part of the century.

,,93

Second, it deprived the Oromo in Wallo their

leadership, as most their leaders were killed during the t n years of

I ewodros campaigninWallo94 Third,Tewodros anti-Oromo stancebecame

theworking modelfor EmperorsYohannes (1872-1889)andMenelik(1889

1913), based as it was upon the elimination

Oromo leadership, the

destruction Oromo culture and the complete subjugation

the

Oromo

masses to [Abyssinian] colonial

domination.

Fourth, it encouraged the

surviving Oromo leaders both inWallo and Shawa

to ally themselves with

Menelik, the king Shawa, and the future conqueror all Oromo in

Ethiopia And finally, Tewodros violence forcedthousands

Amharawar

victimsand famine-stricken people to seekrefugein Shawafueling Menelik s

policyof plunder Oromopropertyandoccupationof Oromoterritory.

131



THE JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES

The Egyptian Colonization ofEastern

romi

1875-1885

On the history of the CityofHararandits people, wehave a good dealof

information that cannotbe discussed in this article. Hereit shouldsuffice

to

say that the works of Sidney WaldrOn,91 EwaldWagner andDr Camilla

Gibb

99

have addeda greatdeal to our knowledge of the historyof Harar, its

dynamic peopleandtheirbrillianturbancivilization Until themiddleof the

nineteenthcentury, the City-State of

HlII lII

had its own Harari or (Adare)

administration whichhad supremeauthority withinand about20 kilometers

beyond the

city-wall.f

Outside this

limit

the Oromo led an independent

existence underthe d

system. Amir

Muhammad (1856-1875),a manof

Oromo

origin,

established

Oromo

political

supremacy within

thecityofHarar

itself. ?

Muhammad, a highly educated man and a distinguished military

leader,

rebelled againstthereigning

amir,

whomheoverthrewwith

his Oromo

support.

ft r

he seized power, Amir Muhammad followed a pro-Oromo

policy,whichwashatedby theHararisor theAdarepeople.

However, Oromo political supremacy was cut

short

by the Egyptian

colonization of thecityandthesurrounding areas ItwasinOctober1875that

Colonel RaufPasha, commander of the 5,000-manEgyptian army,invaded

Oromoterritory, defeated anOromoarmyat the Battleof Egu, capturedthe

cityof Harar,

executed

Amir

Muhammad,l02

and

established

Egyptian

colonial

administration

In

1876the Egyptian force defeated the Oromoarmyat the

battles of Dire Gofile, Mount Qundudo, and at Chircha, where Oromo

leadership was

decimatedi

An Egyptian army officer discussed Oromo

militarytacticsandbraveryin these

words: They

always advance in a great

lineoften on a dozenranks deep so that the first who fall are immediately

replacedbyotherfighters whocontinue to advance without beingin theleast

demoralized by thefallof theircomrades They arehardyandbrave,taking

deathwithgreatestboldness[;] their attackis terrible . It is necessaryfor

troops to havepresenceofmind

n

coolness in ordernot to be frightened at

the first approachand to resist

afterwards. ?

In

courage, theOromomight

wellhave been the equalsof the Egyptians, in numbertheyweresuperiorto

the Egyptians,

n

inknowledge andskillful use of the terrainthey surpassed

the Egyptians However, the

Oromo

lacked fire rms The Egyptianmonopoly

of modern destructive weaponry gave them decisive advantage at every

battlefield. TheEgyptians notoulyconquered theOromo but lso crippledthe

132




operation of their

Gada

system in that

region l05

imposed Islam on the

Oromo/

06

expropriated their land,

107

andreplacedelectedOromoleadersby

Egyptian-created hereditary chiefs 108 Andyet,becauseo Oromoresistance,

the Egyptians were never able to extend their authority more than

60

kilometers beyondthewallsof the cityo Harar. Evenwithinthe area under

their administration, the Egyptians werenot able to stop Oromoresistance.

This was so much the case that by

1884,

the Egyptian force that exceeded

8,000

menwasbesieged within the

w lls

of thecityofHarar

itself

Bythen the

Egyptiancolonial administration was even unable to collecttaxes from the

Oromo As a result, themaintenance ofEgyptianforce in Hararwas draining

the treasury inCairoby

33,000

English pounds annuall

y

l 09

Thefearof Oromo

attackon the city,

nd

theexpenseofmaintaining a besiegedforce

in

Harar,

togetherwith Egypt's problems in the

SUdan 110

led to the withdrawal of

Egyptian forces fromthecityin

1885.

Thatended theshortperiod of

Egyptian

exercise in thecolonization' ' of theOromo With thetermination of

Egyptian

administration, the Oromoregained their independence This was cut short

withKingMenelik's conquestofHarar andthe surrounding Oromoin

1887

Menelik and the Colonization ofOromia

Menelik

whowas a prisonerin Tewodros' mountain fortress in Magdella

fora decade escaped from it in

1865

withthe supportof the

Oromo

ofWallo

With their backing,

he

became the King of Shawa

(1865-1889).

When

Yohannes, a self-made Tigrayan

became the Emperor

o

Abyssinia

(1872

1889),

Menelik

becamehis arch-rival

After Yohannes defeated Menelik in

1878,

the two Abyssinian princeswere reconciled and decided to destroy

Oromopower nd

to

imposeChristianityupontheOromoinWallo In

1878,

the two claimants to the throneofWarra Himano Dynasty(ca

1700-1916),

nr m

Muhammad

Ali

nd

nr m

AbbaWatawwereconverted

to

Christianity

The former took the baptismal name, Mekael and his godfather was

Yohannes, while the latter becameHayla Maryam and his godfather was

Merrilek

n

ll

ThenWallowas

divided

intotwo parts, the northernpart came

underthecontrol ofYo

hannes while

thesouthern partcarneunderthecontrol

ofMenelik

1 33




It was the irony

history that Menilekwho escapedfrom Tewodros's

prisonin 1865,gaining the

throne

of

Shawa

withthesupportof

Wallo Oromo

nowjoinedwithYohannesfor theirdestruction ThetwoprincipalChristian

princes were quick to take cruel revenge on the Muslims who refused to

convert, and that revengereachedits climax in the

18805

at the time when

European-suppliedweapons of destruction enabledYohannes andMenilek to

create the most formidable

military

machine in

Africa.

As in the days of

Tewodros,massacre, plunder, burning, looting and wanton destruction of

propertybecame the lot ofMuslimsinWallo

AlthoughtheOromoinWallowereconquered byYohannes' attackfrom

thenorth,andMenelik's attackfromthesouth,the Oromoin Shawa the Gibe

region,Wallaga, Ami,Hararghie andSidamoweredefeatedby Menelikone

aftertheother In this hugeunde:rtaking

Menelik

hadEuropean arsenals athis

disposal, especially from France As early as 1875, Menelik was already

sayingthat the Frenchare

my

friends; it is upon

the:rn

that I shall base the

hope

my reign

TheFrenchprovidedMeneliknot onlywithweapons

destruction but also trainedhis soldiersinmorewaysthan one Menelik

operatedwithFrenchtechnicians, Frenchmap makers,French

advice

onthe

management of a standing army, and more French advice as to holding

capturedprovinces withpermanentgarrisons conscripted colonialtroops

TheFrench alsoarmedhis troopswithfirearms anddidmuchelse

to

organize

his campaigns Ihe Galla [Oromo] werethus conquered by the Abyssinians.

Without massive European help the Galla [Oromo] wonld not have been

conquered at all -us

Lateron

Menelik

boughthugequantities ofweapons fromthe Italians, the

Russians

n

otherEuropean nations Itwaswiththeresources plundered from

Oromia, including gold, ivory,coffee,musk, hides andskins and slaves

that Menelikpaid for this

mode:rn

Europeanweaponry. Thesecommodities

were initially obtained throughraiding, property confiscation, enslavement,

controlof traderoutes andmarketplaces, andtribute collection andexported

to Europeanmarkets,

118

Althoughthe Oromoput up heroic resistance, they

lackedfirearms and weredefeatedby Menelikone after the other,By 1878

GobanaDaache, Menelik's greatest Oromogeneral and e:rnpire builder,had

already conquered the Oromo Liban, Gulale, Yaka, Metta119 and other

groups for Menelik By 1882, Gobana by the policy of threat and reward,

134



A Short History

o romo

Colonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

persuaded alltheleaders of thefive

Oromo

statesin theGiberegionto submit

toMenelikwithout

resistance.

TheOromoleadersof the Gibe:

[F]ound justification for their submission without resistance in

Gobana s

promiseoflocal autonomy

n

ontheirbelief that,

whatever

theydid, ultimately thewell-armed andruthlessGobanawouldforce

them into submission. They saw their own salvation

in

their

submission withoutresistance Withhis ownsecretplan,Gobana

deceived and pulled the kings into

his

trap, without himself

understanding what the future

had

in store for him Theseshort

sighted leaders realized

only

whenitwastoolatethattheyhadsoldnot

onlythe

independence

theirpeoplebut alsotheirownindependeut

powel l2

n 1882,GobanawonforMenelik the famous Battle

of Embabc

over

thecontrol ofOromoresources inwhatis

to y

Wallaga TheOromoleaders

ofLeqa Naqamte andLeqa

Qellam

inWallaga submitted toMenelikwithout

resistance because of Gobana s promise of autonomy, which was more

apparent than real. By threat n persuasion,

Gobana

brought

under

Menelik s

colonial administration the Oromoof Shawa, the Gibe regionandWallaga,

and with the wealth obtainedfrom these regions, Menelik imported huge

armaments, whichaccelerated theconquest of therestofOromia Gobana, the

formidable warlord, brought the Oromo of the regions mentioned-above

under Amharain fiveyears-amissionthatAmhara kingsandwarlords tried

andfailedin fourhundred years. l22

For his spectacular services, Menelik entrusted Gobana with the

administration

oftheOromo Gibestates, andalso

appointed

himas the

gus

(king) of Kaffa,123theprovincewhichwasnotyet

conquered

124ButGobana s

appointrneut backfired

125

andeclipsedhis illustrious political

career.

Menelik

not only withdrew the title gus of Kaffa from Gobana but also

ingloriously removed himfromhis administration of the Gibestates

Gobana lost bothhispowerbase and

his

title. . . . H eexpected to be the king

of the Oromoconfederacy he

had

created. He

was

evendenied the title of

Negus of Kaffa n reality, he managed to destroy, disarmand diffuse the

135




Oromo forces, upon which his claim to kingly title would have been

established.,126

Likeall Oromoleaderswhofollowed his example inbetraying the interest

and the causes of their people, for their personal ambition, Gobana realized

what had happenedwhen it was already too late Itwas too late to rebel:

Menelik was powerful and Gobanawas old [to rebell 127 Like all short

sightedOromo leadersof the past andpresent,Gobanawas disgraced, only

afterhe had accomplished the major task of subjugatinghis own people.12.

fter his removal from the administration of the Oromo region, the

confederation he created in the Gibe regionwas aflamewith rebellion, for

whichtheOromokings andcommon peoplealike

were

put to the sword 29

This was the price of treachery, and even today Gobanais regardedby the

Oromoas an arch-traitor130

n

the

following

movingpoem Gobana, theSon

o

Dacche, is

referred to asmange dog,whobetrayed and

worked

against

the

interestof his ownpeople

It is strange,it

is

strange, it is strange

women donot raidhouses,

shewhogivesbirth to a dogis strange

Relatives do not burt eachother,

the haft of an axeis strange

peopleo onestock donot selleachother

that o the son ofDaccheis strange

131

sin the Giberegion, so inWallaga,Gobanadeceived MorodaBakare

(1868-1889),

the king ofLeqa Naqamte, and Jote

Tulln,

the king of'Leqa

Qellam,withthepromise of local

autonomy

which

turne

out to be deceptive

as Menelik's overseers.judges andespecially customsinspectors controlled

Leqa Naqamte's

finances,132

not to mention the heavy burden of imperial

tribute

1 33

n

oneofhis letters,

Moroda s

sonandsuccessor j zm ch Gebre

Igziabiherdeclared that the heavyburdenof tributewasruininghis territory;

the country is uncultivated this being the result of too much tribute, not

becauseof anywrongdoingonmy part Andnow,

l

orderthepeopleto give

the overduetribute,the countrywillbe completely abandoned.

n

Leqa Qellam (in southern Wallaga), indigenous institutions were

largelydemolished or graduallytransformed. Theindigenous leadership was

136



A Short History OromoColonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

. deprivedfrom taking independent actionon anycrucialmatters 135 The

hollowpromise

of

local autonomy, underwhichMenelik's soldierswent on

plunderingOromopeasants, gaveway to directAmhararule in 1908when

Jote Tullu was imprisoned on a minor pretext The region was then

[November 1908] entrusted to

Fitawrari

Sable Giyorgis, brother

of Ras

T

s m

theoverall rulerofthe

country

Peoplereacted sharplyto theAmhara

take-over and first rebellion took place in Gidami in February 1909,

apparently ledby Jote'sownsonMardassa,who

managed to scaretheAmhara

out

of

town ..

t

appears that on this occasion2000 gunswereissued to

the Oromopeasantswhowentto the forestand

started

harassingthe Amhara

who couldnot controlor

x the countryfor three

years

36

Ironically, it was with the heavy burden

of

imperial tribute ? that the

Oromo rulers of Jimma, Leqa Naqarute ndLeqa Qellaru bought illusory

autonomy TheseOromostateswerefairlycommercialized and locatednear

gold bearingareas Menelik, who personally controlledmost of the trade of

his state

[and]

was literallya merchantking,

,,138

receivedthe largest and the

richest tributesfromtheseregions,consistingofgold,ivory,

slaves 139

honey,

cattle andMaria Theresa Thalers[currency] TheDromo rulersof theabove

mentioned states were nothing but agents

of

indirectrule, who maintained

coloniallawandorderandcollectedcolonial

t xes

fromtheir

people

Unlike

the

Oromo

of

theGibe regionand Wallagawhoweredeceivedby

Gobana, the Oromo

of

southernand southeasternparts

of

Ethiopia resisted

Menelik'sconquest The longest

nd

most bloodyOromoresistance (1879

1886) was registeredby the Arsi, 4 whowere systematically slaughteredor

sold into slavery. n the

final

decisive battle, it is estimated that Menelik

conquered the

Arsi

Oromoouiy

afterki ing

tens

of

thousands, not to mention

that the hands of thousands

of

men that were cut off and the breasts of

thousandsof Oromo

women

whichweremutilatedby theorder

of

Menelikat

Annolein 1886.

141

n

Englishtravelerwho

p ssed

throughtheland of'Arsi

Oromo fouryears after its devastationhad this to say about it

Nowwas the time for the terribleGallas [Oromo] to appear Wherewas

the countryteemingwith /ustywarlikepeople?Certainlynot here What we

found as weprogressedwasoulya fewpoor villagesof a hundredhuts each

and the nativepresentingthemost abjectappearanceimaginable Ouly four

yearsago

they

musthavebeena

fine

raceofmen They lovedto tellus of

their

1 37



THE JOURN L O OROMO STUDIES

formerglory; their eyeswouldlight up, and theywouldforget for the instant

theirpresent condition. Now theAbyssiniansare themasters and thesepoor

people are ouly a remnant of a great tribe

The Arussa [Arsi] Galla

[Oromo] hereas elsewhere, wereregardedas slavesandwereeven soldin the

market as such The troops were thoroughly drilled and armed with

Remingtons01 Frenchrifles

142

Menelik captureda large number Oromoprisoners war duringhis

Arsi campaign. Hismercilessattackon the Ittu Oromoin Charchar,Western

Hararghie which preceded theoccupationof Harar,left tracts theirterritory

depopulatedand lands uncultivatedv On January 7, 1887 at the Battle

Challenqo, MenelikroutedtheMuslim force,which includedOromo,Adare

and Somali. A fewdays laterhe captured the city

Harar and became

t

master a rich,vast region,whichbroughthim closerto the sea fromwhere

hewas ableto importlargeamount

Europeanweapomywhichenabled

him

to create the largest armed force in BlackAfrica.

l44

Oromo captives the

Battle Challenqo weremutilatedby cutting off their hands or legs by the

order

Menelikwhomade everyresisting Oromofood for wild animals

5

Atrocities occurredas troops slayed [slain] adult men and women and

despatchedtheir children.into slavery herdedin groups by their captors,

enchained survivors marchedwithotherprisonerstowardHarar Thesoldiers

sold their surplus to slavers inmarkets in and aroundthe

city

.146

Thefate other conquered people

in

eastern andsouthernEthiopiawas

not

different from

that theOrOInO.,

Menelik s

forceplunderedtheirproperty,

burnedtheirhouses, slaughteredthem indiscriminately and sold into slavery

tens thousands war captives, Let me mention just two examples to

substantiate

this

statement First, when Emperor Menelik conquered the

Kingdom Walayta in

1894,

it was reported that almost

119,000

men,

women and children were killed or wounded? Menelik s army captured

18,000

slavesand

180,000

head

cattle,

8

Thevictoriousemperorreturned

to his new capital,Addis Ababa (Finfinne)with

18,000

head cattle and

1,800

war captives, his share the

booty149

Secondly, when Menelik s

soldiersconquered the Kingdom ofKaficho

in

1897, it was estimatedthat the

population of that landwas reduced almostby two-thirds

I50

It has beenrightly

said that Menelik s object was the permanent occupation the conquered

territories When they opposed him his policy was one ruthless

extermination, asmanydistricts whichhavebeenamongstthemost fertile and

138



A ShortHistory ofOromo ColonialExperience

1870

~ s 1 9 9 s

flourishing in allEthiopiabear

witness.

Thepopulationof Kaffa,for instance,

is estimated to have been reduced by two-thirds Thosewho succeeded in

escaping the slaughter weresold

into

slavery or reduced to the statusofgebbar

[serfS] 5

After the conquest and occupationof

Oromia,

Menelik gave both the

people and their landto his armed-settlers knownasneftanya

Theneftanya

whoplayeda pivotalrolein thepolitics

and

dominated thepoliticallandscape

of Oromia, ownedOromopeopleas they

owned

cattle

and

slaves

.152Since

the

neftanya

wereneitherpaid salarynor engagedin productive activities, they

were given Oromo

gabars

in lieu of salary The

gabars

worked for and

sustained the

luxurious existenceof the neftanya Burdensome andexhausting

obligationswereput onthe Oromo

gabar

Hehad to surrender a portionof the produce of the landto the landlordas

tribute.

The amountvariedbetweena quarter

and

a third but it was usually

more, as the legalceilingwas that it shouldnot

be

more

th n

three quarters

Besides hepaida tenthofhis totalproduce forthe tithe. Hewas

lso

expected

to providehis landlord withhoney meatand

firewood

dried

grass

andsundry

otheritems Labor service was an ddedburden he

had

to grindthe landlord's

shareofthe

gr in transport it

to

his

residence. build

hishouse

maintain

his

fences

care for his animals, and act as a porter, an escort or a messenger

Therewas an obligation to presentgifts on religious holidays andother social

occasions. Themultipleexactions imposedon the Oromogabars meant the

loss of a considerable portion of the

[gabar ;

production, onerous labor

serviceandmanifoldother impositions.

153

It must be statedclearlythat Menelikgave two-thirdsof the conquered

Oromolandto

his

colonial state,his armedsettlersand theOrthodoxchurch,

whilehe

allowed

one-thirdof the landto

be

used

by

the

indigenous

peopleon

conditionthey suppliedforced labor for the settlers and varioustaxes, dues

andtithes for

his

courtandthe

church. I54

n

the landof theirbirth theOromo

lost their rights, humandignity, and their landsand becamelandless

g rs

(serfs) who had no protection against the excesses of brutal and arrogant

neftanya (armedsettlers) Thehigherofficials amongtheneftanyahad their

prisons

and

theyweregovernments unto themselves

Theywere governors,

judges and jury at the same time They imprisoned, fined and tortured

S>

Oromogabars as theysaw fit n thewordsof Getahun Delibo, Gabars did

139




not have legal protection. It must be clear becauseEmperorMenelik, while

protecting

t

conquered l nds as theproperty

o t

crown, gavegabars

to

is

unsalariedofficers ndsoldiersasmaterialproperty

to

be ownedand used as

personalproperty

,,]56

Their position mad the Abyssinian conquerors to abuse arrogantly and

dehumanize theirOromog rs whowere physica1ly victimized, socially and

psychologicallyhumiliated

nd

devalued as hum n beings ,,157 Productive labor

was considered beneath the dignity o persons o social standing in t

Abyssinianhomeland o the settlers. To theAbyssinian conquerors t fruit

o victory is

leisure

Theyfought theirwars

g inst

theneighboring tribes,won

them

, .throughsuperiorarms

nd

organization, andfromthenonwards settle

back

to

a life

o

ease The ideaofconquering a countryin

order

to

workthere,

o treating an empire as a place to which things must be brought, to be

fertilized and cultivated and embellished instead o as a place from which

things could be taken,

to

be denuded and depopulated was something

whollyoutside their rangeofthought IS8

Brutal conquest

o

Oromia, the alienation

o

Oromo land and the total

subjectiono t Oromoto t whimso

the

new masters,andthe destruction

o Oromoculturalheritage weret price to he paidfor beingunderMenelik s

colonialempire Thus, contrary to the popular misconception which claims

that Menelikunited Ethiopia, he created a colonial empire

o

which all the

members weresubjectsrather than citizens, but inwhichalmostall

t

Oromo

were colonial subjects. S

Oncecreated,

Menelik s

empirebecameaprisono

nations andnationalities,with theminoritywhoformedthe Ethiopianruling

class oppressing and exploiting all, including the Amhara peasants and

workerswho did not come

to

Oromiaas settlers

Aswithall formso colonialism, the drivingsocialforcebehind Menelik s

colonialismwas economic.l Thesearch for gold, ivory,coffee, slaves, new

sources

o

food forMenelik s soldiers, the plunder

o

Oromoproperty,forced

Oromo labor and the alienation o Oromo land was the economicmotive

Some aspects of Menelik s colonialism have similarities with European

colonialism in other parts o Africa

As

European colonists dominated the

economicresources and controlledthe military,judiciary and the politics o

their

colonies, the

neftanya

(armed settlers)dominated

t

economic resources

o Orornia and controlled absolutely themilitary, judiciaryand political power;

institutionalizing the monopoly o their advantages. The political and

140



A Short History Drama Colonial Experience 1870 s 1990 s

economicprivileges the neftanya wereindicators,symbols

the colonial

relationship in Oromia

Thewriterwas born and brought up in the countrysidein the Hararghie

region where the

neftanya

settlers enjoyed unique privileges and excluded

totaIly theOromofrom participation

in

thegovernment evenat the lowestlevel

up to the 1970s nHararghie, theChristiansettlersdespisedand lookeddown

upon the Oromo as their inferiors The settlers thought highly

themselves

and acted as conquerors who were destined to rule with an iron hand, The

ideological aggression with which the settler-eolonists dehumanized the

Orornowas supported with the arsenal weaponryat their disposal, Up to the

1970s, the poorest settler, even a leper, thought himself or herself to be

superior to the colonized Oromo n short, in Hararghie, the Amharasettlers

believed and acted as colonizers while the Oromo knew the nature

the

colonialrelationshipwith theirmasters

161

Four definingcharacteristics

ShawanAmhara colonialismwerein th

field

culture, language, control

land and themonopolizationof political

power First, Amhara-Tigray culture was maintained to be superior to the

Oromoculture, andit was impose on theOrorno

people

TheEthiopian ruling

class demonstrated its deep-seated hatred for the Oromo, their cultural

institutions and their way oflife This rulingclass continuouslydepicted the

Oromo as people without culture and dismissed their cultural achievements

and democraticpolitical institutionas primitive relics

n

a frontal assault onOromocultureand nationalidentity,no stonewas

left untamed. Oromocultural andreligious shrines andplacesofworshipwere

replaced by those

the colonizers TheAmhara rulingclass introducedthe

policy not only of baptizing and Amharizing Oromo chiefs but also

baptizingandAmharizing eventhe land Oromovillage and townnameswere

replacedby Amharaones For example, F

infinn

becameAddisAbaba,Ambo

waschanged toHagereHiwat Haramaya toAlem

Maya

HadematoNazereth,

Bishofteu to DebreZeit, Wallisoto Ghion 162

Second, as Amharic was the language

Amhara rule, it was also the

languageof educationat the lowerlevelin the schoolsystem Everythingthat

was taught in the schools in the name

Ethiopianhistory, cultureorway

lifeeither enigr te the Oromoor totally enie

their

havingcreatedanything

value Ibis was to destroytheOromoyouths pride in the achievements



TH

OURN L

O OROMO STUDIES

their forefathers and foremothers and keep them chained, with no faith in

themselves or in their cultural achievements Sincethe entiregovernmental

bureaucracy, thecourt system, the industryandthemoderneconomic sector

used the Amharic language

alone

ouly Amharic-speaking Oromo were

employed in romi and

Ethiopia

evenas guards up to 1991 Third,in t rms

of the controlofland, the Amharasettlersand landlords, the churchand the

statedispossessed theOromooftheirlandsandmadethemlandless, rigbtless

g rs

(serfs)whowereabusedandbrutallyexploited Fourth,in

t rms

political POWeI , the Amhara elite monopolized the state power in its own

interestandbenefit forperpetuating the subjugation of the Oromo up to 1991.

Systematic efforts werem de to destroy theOromo

democratic

institution

-. the

d

system Menelik abolished the

ch fe

assemblyl63 The

ch fe

assemblywas the Oromo parliament which dealt with matters of highest

importance, themaking

laws,the declaration

war andtheconclusion of

peace Once

election

to Oromo political offices andthe gathering

the ch fe

assemblywereabolished, the d systemappearedto theEthiopianruling

class to havelostthe raisond etre(reasonfor existence) This is addressed in

the following shortmoving

poem

by a contemporary oral

po t

whodepicts

whathappenedto the Oromoin Gullallee

ft r

theyweredefeatedby one of

Menelik sgenerals

Inxooxxoo daabatani

caffeegadlaaluun hafe

Finfinnee loongeessani

horaobaasuunhafe

TulluuDaalattirratti

yaa iinGullallee hafe

Gafarsattidabrani

qoraancabsuunis hafe

Hurufa Bombirratti

jabbileeyaasuunhafe

barajarri dufani

loon teennas indurnani

iddaMasasaandufe

birmadummaanis hafe

142

Nomore standingon Intoto,

to

lookdownat the pasturebelow,

Nomore takingcattleto Finfinnee,

to water at the mineralspring.

NomoregatheringonTulluuDaalatti,

wherethe

Gullallee

assembly used to meet

NomoregoingbeyondGafarsa,

to

chop firewood

Nomoretakingcalves

to the

meadow

of HurufaBombi.

Theyear the enemycame,

our cattlewereconsumed

SinceMasasaa f came,

freedomhas

vanished lOS



A Short HistoryofOrama ColonialExperience 1870 s 1990 s

Thismeansafter theirconquesttheGullallee Oromolost their freedom of

movement,their chafe assemblywas abolished,and their cattle were looted.

Menelik s attack did not stop with the Gada system, which the Ethiopian

ruling class perceived as an important Oromo political institntion It was

extendedeven to traditionalOromoreligion.

By 1900Menelikhad evenbanned the famousOromopilgrimage to the

land

of

bba

Muda.

l 66

Bybanningthe pilgrimage,Menelikwasattempting

to

destroytheunityandoneness

of

theOromonation 7

bba

Muda ( the father

to whompilgrimageis due )was the OromospiritnaI leaderwho lived

in

the

region

of

Bale and Sidamoprovinces. BeforeMenelikofficiallybanned the

pilgrimage,Oromopilgrimsknownas Jila went

to

the land of bbaMudda

fromall corners

of

Oromia

Through

thepilgrimage

to bba

Muda

Oromo

in

the Hom

of

Africa,from the Somaliborder

in

the

East

to the Sudanborder

in

the West, from Wallo and Tigray in the North

to

Kenya in the South,

maintained contact with their spiritual father and with one another Their

regular pilgrimages to the land

of

bba

Muda

served as the focal point for

their spirit

of

unity andoneness

Menelik

nd

his successors justified their

rimes

againstthe Oromonation,

its cultural institutions, on what they called the mission to civilize the

barbarian

Gallas. 6S

ThedestructionoftheOromocultwalheritage, the looting

and burning of Oromopropertywere undertakenin the nameof a civilizing

mission . Thegabar system (serfdom) and slavery weremaintained in the

name

of

a civilizingmission The Ethiopian colonialruling class not ouly

invented themyth

of

civilizing the Gallas,but also elevatedit

to

the plane of

state ideology whichwas uncritically repeated

in

the name

of

scholarship

The Galla had nothing to contribute to the civilization

of

Ethiopia; they

possessednomaterialor intellectnaI cultureandtheir socialorganizationwas

at a far lowerstageof development

th n

ofthe populationamongwhomthey

settled l69

Thesewords

written

in 1960

by

a well-known scholar,demonstrate

that some foreign scholars who studied Ethiopia used the Ethiopian ruling

elites prejudiceagainst the Oromoas a cover for their own and took on the

perceptions of the Ethiopian rulers, and those perceptionswereprofoundly

anti-Oromo 170

For Menelik and the ruling class he headed, Oromo achievements in the

field

of

agriculture, industry, commerce ? and, above

ll

in the field of

143




democratic political institutions, were all categorized under the label

of

barbarism. However, in reality, the charge of Oromo barbarism was a

perverted

colonial inventionwhich

was

intended not onlyto denigrate Oromo

cultural achievements but also to hide the crimes the Ethiopian rulers

committedagainst the Oromopeople. The fact that, on the eve ofMenelik s

conquest and colonization, the Oromo and Abyssinian societies were at a

similarstage ofmaterial culturewasbrushedasideor denied. The filetthat the

products

of

Oromosocietymet some

of

theneeds

of

Abyssiniansociety n

entirely furnished its foreign

trade ?

was brushed aside or ignored

Notwithstandingthe achievements

of

Oromosociety,on the eve

of

conquest

andcolonization, themythof Oromo barbarism

h

to be fabricatedif the

crimes

of

the Ethiopianlulingclasswereto be hidden

Thus, the missionto

civilize the barbarianGalla wasa euphemismfor theEthiopian rulers plunder

of Oromo property, and their wanton destruction Menelik s colonialism

broughtnothingbut destruction to Oromia It had nothingto offer in the way

of socialprogress As

Evelyn

Waugh,a BritishwriterwhovisitedEthiopiaas

a journalist, observedin the 1930s, [t]he Abyssinians h nothing to give

their subject people, and nothing to teach them.

They

brought no crafts or

knowledge, no new system of agriculture, drainage or road making, no

medicine or hygiene, no higherpoliticalorganization, no superiority except in

theirmagazineriflesandbeltsofcartridges Theybuiltnothing,. dirty,idle

and domineering, burning timber,devouring crops, taxing themeagerstream

ofcommerce that seepedin fromoutside, enslavingthepeople ,,173

nOromia, Ethiopian colonialism was built on twin pillars: the

g r

system (serfdom) and slavery. The wealth created by the labor

of

Oromo

g rs constituted the backboneofEthiopia s economy. The overwhelming

majority

of

Ethiopia s export items were produced in Oromia Most

of

the

expenses of the Ethiopian governmentweremet by products and taxation

raised

from

Oromo territory

And yet the Oromo

g rs

did not have any

recourseagainst the excessesof arrogantmasters. ? hatis more,observers

have reported that whengovernorsand their followers weretransferredfrom

one region to another, they carried awaywith them their private g rs in

chains 7 n this sense, it is difficult to distingnishg rs as any different

from slaves.

This brings me to the question

of

slavery as the secondpillar

of

Shawn

Ambara colonialism must be said that slavery existed in the region long

144



A Short History ofOromoColonialExperience 1870 s 1990 s

beforeMenelikcreatedhis colonialempire However, during his long reigo,

slavery and the slave trade increased exponentially. This was for several

reasons. First nd foremost, Menelik's war of conquest nd continued raids in

southern Ethiopia yielded thousands

of

captives for the emperor and his

generals ,,176 Second and equallyimportant, MenelikwasAEthiopia's greatest

slaveentrepreneurand receivedthe bulk

of

theproceeds. ,,

1

Third,Menelik,

the Cluistian King

of

Shawa(1865-1889) was the great sponsor

of

the slave

trade,who collecteda

x of

two or 3 Maria Theresa Thalers pet head for

slaves sold in the market

of

Rogge Fourth, someofhis owngenerals and

soldiers were slavers who depopulated a number

of

areas 9 Fifth, while

passing a number of proclamations abolishing the slave trade, Menelik

togetherwithhiswife,weretherichest slaveownersin theempirepossessing

some 70,000 domestic slaves at the beginning

of

the twentieth century 180

Finally,it has been said that Menelikmaintainedslavery in colonies as a

meansof makingthe conquered subjectspay by their labour

all

the expenses

of his wars of aggressionagainst them Second,Menelik used slavery as a

method of evangelismto teach his captive aremouyan (pagans) Christian

virtue

nd

divinelove Third,Menelik issueda series

of

proclamations against

the slavetrade,whilehemaintained slavery as ameans

of

war reparations and

v ng lism

n

TheEthiopiancolonial rulingclassheadedbyEmperorMenelikdeveloped

a unique skill at deceiving and flattering foreigners with proclamations,

promisingto abolishthe slavetradewithoutthe intentionof stoppingit Such

gestureswere

intended

to mislead

foreign

critics ''TrickingtheEuropeanwas

a nationalcraft,evading issues,promisingwithoutthe intentionof fulfillment

trickingthepaid foreignadvisors,trickingthe legations,trickingthevisiting

international committeesBthese were the ways by which Abyssinians had

survivedandproSpered l82 Menelikdied in 1913, leavingbehindan empire

builtupon the gabar systemand slavery Inthe early 1920swhentheLeagne

ofNationsbombardedEthiopiawith a barrage

of

criticismfor thewidespread

practice

of

slaveryand the slave trade (thejoint successorswhodeposed j

Iyasuin 1916)EmpressZewditu nd Regent Ieferi (thefutureEmperorHaile

Sellassie)issuedthe following proclamation whichjustified the enslavement

of the conqueredpeople, saying, that let none sell or buy a

man

as a slave,

and since

then

many

othersuchlike proclamations have beenmade

he

cause

145




o

theseproclamations andthereasonwhysomemenweredeclared slaveswas

that

ert in

nations were at war with us, and this had caused money to be

spent] which thesenations had to repaywith their labour l83

This quotationmakes it clearthat

ten

years afterthe death

o

Menelik,the

colonizedpeoples

o

southernEthiopiawere still payingwith their labor for

their own defeat and subjugation. As colonial subjects, the Oromo were

subjected to total dominationin every aspect

o

life economic, political,

social, cultural and religious. n a fertile land, they were doomed to live in

abject poverty, under a crude system, inherently corrupt and incapable

o

improvingtheir

lot n

1935 a Britishdiplomathadthe following

to

sayabout

Ethiopian officialswho still practicedslavery:

As

their appearance and

manners, their useless grandiloquent promises

o

future reforms and

their

inability to tell the simplest truth,will completely deceive any Europeanwho

has not seen these same officials in their natural habitat. surrounded by

slavery, corruption, intrigue and petty rascality such as ouly these same

officialscan practice, whileprofessingv rtu fromtheEmperordownward. l

Finally, the

twin

pillars of ShawanAmhara colonial administrationwere

abolishedduringthe short-livedperiodofltalian occupation

o

Ethiopia

Part

two

o

this articlewill coverthe Oromocolonial experiencefrom 1935

to

the

1990s Here it is adequateto mention

th t

sincethe 1930sgovernments have

changed several times in Ethiopia Leadershave changed. Colonialpolicies

have changed Theideologies

o

the rulingeliteshave changed However, the

Oromo colonialexperiencehas continuedto

this

day

n

fact starting in the

early 1990s Oromo have again experiencedthe replacement

o

one form

o

colonial policy by another Leenco Lata observes that [t]he emerging

Tigrayancolonial policyresembles theBritishpolicyof {indirect] rule

to

the

same extent that the one pursuedby its predecessorsused

to

approximate to

the French

policy

o

assimilation

The

manners in which resources are

siphoned off from the colonialsouthernregions for the speedydevelopment

o

Tigraymakesthe newrelationevenmoreglaringlycolonialthanwhat used

to prevail ,,185

Endnotes

I Among others see Mekuria Bulcha s The Language Policies o Ethiopian

146



A Short

History

ofOromo Colonial Experience 1870

s-1990

s

Regimes and theHistory ofWrittenAfaanOromoo: 1844-1994,

The Journal oj

Oromo Studies Vol 1Number 2 (1994): 91-115

2. See

for instance,

r

ecolaW Hagos,Democratization: Ethiopia

(1991-1 994)?

A

Personal View (Cambridge,MA:Khepera, 1995): 27

3 MobannnedHassen, Ethiopia:Missed Opportnnitiesfor PeacefulDemocratic

Process, State Building

and

Democratization Africa Faith Hope

and

Realities

edited

byKidaneMengisteab and

Cyril

Daddieh

(Westport,

Connecticut

Praeger, 1999): 234.

4.

Ibid

4

5

ProfessorAsmaromKidane, see VisitEthiopiaon the Web atURL;http

p:

ll/www

EthiopiansCom

9-30-1998,

p

7

6 Daniell. Elazar,Exploring Federalism (Tuscaloosa:Universityof Alabama

Press, 1987): 5

7.MohammedHassen, TheMilitarizationof the Ethiopian State and the Oromo

Proceedings of5th International Conference on the Horn ojAfrica May26-28

1990, (New York,New York, 1991), p. 100

Seefor instance,ZewadeGebra Sellassie,Yohannes

IV

ofEthiopia A Political

Biography (Oxford: OxfordUniversityPress,

1975 288

9 AndreasEsbete, TheProblemsofRegionalismandReligion: SomeTheoretical

Considerations, Challenge: Journal ofthe World-Wide Union ofEthiopian

Studen ts vol.

X

no I (1970): 15. In the same issue, see

also

Hagos G. Yesus's

ProblemofRegionalismin Ethiopia ,p

22.

10 l Alamin M azruiThe PowerofBabelLanguage

Governance in

the Africa Experience (Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress, 1998): 34, citing

SemusDeane, inNationalism andColonialism and Literature

Eds

Terry

Eagletonet al (Minneapolis: UniversityofMinnesotaPress, 1990): 10

11 .See for instance,AbiyuGeleta, TheOromoPeople'sRight to Self

determinationand the InternationalLaw,

Proceedings ofEleventh Annual

Conference ojOromo Studies Association (UniversityofMinnesota,Minneapois,

August 9-10, 1997): 23

12 BonnieK Holcomband Sisai Ibssa, The Invention ojEthiopia The Making of

a Dependent Colonial State in Northeast Africa (Trenton,NJ: TheRed e Press,

1990): 11-12

13.MohammedHassen, Menelik'sConquestofHarar, 1887, and its Effecton the

147




PoliticalOrganizationof the SurroundingOromoup to 1900, Working Papers on

Society

and

History in Imperial Ethiopia The Southern Peripheryfrom the I88 s

to 1974,

ed DL

DonhamandWendyJames Cambridge: African StudiesCentre,

1980):237

14 Mazrui, The Power a/Babel p 58, Working Papers on Society and History in

Imperial Ethiopia; The Southern Peripheryfrom the 1880s to

1974,

editedby

DL

DonhamandWendyJames Cambridge: AfricanStudies centre, 1980):237.

15.MohammedHassen, TheMilitarizationof theEthiopianState and the Oromo,

p

94.

16 Gebru Iareke Ethiopia; P We and Protest PeasantRevolts in the Twentieth

Century

Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress, 1991):

72.

17 Ibid p 71

18 GeraldPortal, MyMission toAbyssinia London.Edward Arnold, 1892): 240

Quoted in I eshale I ibebu,The Making

of

Modem Ethiopia 1896-1974,

Lawrenceville, NJ: TheRed SeaPress,1995):

xix

19 Heory Duflon,Narrative ojA Journey Through Abyssinia in 1862-3, West

Port, Conn , Negro UuiversityPress, 1970reprint from 1867 publication):

92

Quoted

in

Tibebu,ibid.,

xix xx

20.

Ihe

British diplomat

N

Erskine, in a letterto the Foreign Officein 1935/36

F

0371150506

HN09582.

21 E Waugh,Waugh in Abyssinia London: Methuen, 1984, reprint): 25-26

22. I eshale I ibebu, The Making ofModem Ethiopia 1896-1974, Lawrenceville,

NJ:

IheRed

Sea Press, 1995):39.

23.

Ibid

40

24

Iibebu,

ibid 45

25. AddisHiwet,Ethiopiafrom Autocracy to Revolution London: Review

oj

African Political Economy

1975):3

26

Ibid

4

27. For the copy of the originalAmharicletter, seeBritish PublicRecord,

F 95n51. Ihe quotedtranslationis byAbdulMejidHussein, TheEthiopian

SudaneseBoundary: A Study

in

Historical

and

PoliticalGeography, PhD

University

of

London,1981, Vol. I, Appendix I a): 454 For a copyofthe Amharic

original,see Appendix I b): 456-457

Ibid t is important to notehere that in the 1880s and 1890sMenelik and his

148



A Short History

ofOromo

Colonial Experience 1870 s-1990 s

topEuropeanadvisorsbelievedthat Oromoterritorywasmuch largerthan it

actuallywas.

29 Mohammed

Hassen,

EritreanIndependence andDemocracyin theHorn of

Africa, in Eritrea ndEthiopia From Conflict To Cooperation ed Amare Tekle,

(lawrenceville, NJ: TheRed SeaPress, 1994): 106

30 MohammedHassen, Ethiopia: MissedOpportunities for PeacefulDemocratic

Process, in

State Building

and

Democratization in Africa

255.

31.MohammedHassen, TheDevelopmentofOromoNationalism,

Being

and

Becoming Oromo: Historical

and

AnthropologicalInquiries byP.LW

Baxter, JanHultinandAlessandro I riu1zi (Uppsala:Nordiska: Africa Institute,

1996):80

32

Hiwet,Ibid I

33 ee for instance,BonnieHolcombandSiasi Ibssa, The Invention Ethiopia

The Making

ofa

Dependent Colonial State in NortheastAfrica chapter3

34

ee

for instance,EdwardUllendorff,

The Ethiopians: An Introduction to

Country

and

People

(london: OxfordUniversityPress, 1 0): 73

35 MohammedHassen,

The Oromo

oj

Ethiopia. A History 1570-1860

(Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1990), 1-2

36.Darrel Bates,

The Abyssinian Difficulty: The Emperor Theodorius

and

the

Magdala Campaign

(Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1979),7

37.FeyissaDernie, Ihe Origin oftheOromo: AReconstruetion

of

the theoryof

the CushiticRoots, The Journal

Oromo Studies

VoL

5,

Nos.

I 2 (July

1998): ISS

38 MuriaBulcha, Checkered Contributions ofOromoLiteracy: Ihe Writingsof

OnesimosNasib andtheAdventofModernEducationinOromoland

Proceedings

of

the Conference on the Oromo Nation

held at YorkUniversityin

loronto, Canada,August4-5, 1990,

e ite

byBichakaFayissa. Murfreesboro:

MiddleTennesseeStateUniversity, 1991,51

39 GeneGragg,

Oromo Dictionary

(East Lansing,Michigan: MichiganState

UniversityPress, 1982), Introduction. xvi

40 MekuriaBulcha,

Language

EthnicIdentity andNationalisminEthiopia, The

Oromo Commentary vol l l no I

J

993): 8

4L IokkummaOromoo, TheGrowth of OromoNationalism,

Waldhans-so:

Journal

the Union

ofOromo

in North America

(Washington, DC) vol XII, no

9




2 (1988): 54

42

J. 1.

Krapf,

Travels andResearch in East Africa London

Frank Cass and

Co Ltd., 1860), 72

43. Paul Baxter,

IheProblemofthe

Oromoor the Problem for the Oromo?

Nationalism

and

Self-Determination in the Hom ofAfrica edited by I M. Lewis,

(London: Ithaca Press, 1983), 129-130

44. SurprisinglymostofAmharicnewspapers andmagazinessti refer to Oromia

simplyasRegion 4.

appears that the Amhara eliteshavenotyet accepted the

reality that Oromia

will

remain permanentname ofOromo country

45. Asafa Jalata,

Oromia andEthiopia; State Formation

and

Ethnonational

Conflict

1868-1992

46. Antoine d Abbadie lived in the OromoKingdomofLimmu-Enarya between

1843 and 1846.

47. Antoine d Abbadie, Sur la OromoGrandeNationAfricaine, Annales de 10

Societe Scientifique de Bruxelles

vol IV (1880): 167-192

48. H S.Landor,Across Widest Africa; n Accountofthe Country and the

People Eastern Centraland Western Africa as Seen During a Twelve Months

Journeyfrom Djibouti to Cape Verde

(London,1907), 120-121

49 MohammedHassen,

The Oromo

of

Ethiopia A History 1570-1860

p. 2

50. C.I Beke, Onthe Countries South ofAbyssinia, Journal ofthe Royal

Geographical Society

13 (1843): 258-59

51 C.L Beke,Letters on the Commerce ofAbyssinia andOther Parts Eastern

Africa Addressed to the Foreign Office

and

the

oard

ofTrade

(London: 1852):

15

52

Hussein

Ahmed, Clerics, Iraders and Chiefs: A HistoricalStudyoflslam in

Wallo (Ethiopia) with Special Emphasis on the NineteenthCentury, PhD

dissertation,UniversityofBirmingham,England, 1986,268-272

53. MohammedHassen, Islam

as

a Resistance IdeologyAmongthe Oromo

of

Ethiopia: Ihe Wallo Case, 1700-1900, In the Shadow Conquest Islam in

Colonial Northeast Africa ed. by SaidS. Samatar (Irenton,New Jersey: Ihe Red

Sea

Press, 1992): 84

54 On the Gibe states

see,

MohammedHassen,

The Oromo

of

Ethiopia A History

1570-1860

Chapter3,pp 93-113.

55. Max GruehI,The Citadel Ethiopia the Empire the Divine Emperor

translated by

D. Marron andL M. Sieveking,(London,1932), 166

150



A Short History

ojOromo

Colonial Experience 1870 s-1990 s

56 MohammedHassen, The Drama o fEthiopia, 196

57. AsmaromLegesse, OromoDemocracy a paper presentedat the Oromo

studiesAssociationAnnualConference, Toronto,Canada,Angust12-13, 1989, p

7 I am indebted to the authorfor givingme a copyof this paper.

58..Legesse, bid 1-2 See also his

Gada Three Approaches to the Study

of

African Society, London: Free PressMacMillanLimited, 1973):8

59. See for instance,MohammedHassen, The Oromo o fEthiopia A History 570

I860 pp. 94-96, 152-53

60 For literatureon the Gadasystemamongothers, see 1)AsmaromLegesse,

Gada. Three Approaches to the Study African Society

2) E Haberland,

Galla

Sud-Athiopiens

Stuttgart: 1963). 3)

K E

Knutsson,

Authority

and

Change: A

Study of the Kallu Institution among the Matcha Galla ofEthiopia, Gothenburg:

1967).4) E Cerulli,

Folk I iterature

of

the Galla

of

Southern Abyssinia

Harvard

Afiican Studies 3, 1922), 5. G WE Huntingford, The Galla ofEthiopia : The

Kingdom,

ofKaffa and

Janjero, London:

1955) 6 PaulBaxter, BoranAge-Set

and Generation-Sets: Gada,a Puzzle or aMaze? inAge, Generation

and

Time:

Some Feature

of

East AfricanAge Organisations,

edited

byP I W

Baxter and

Uri Almagor, London: C Hurst

Company, 1978): 151-182

61 Martial de Salviac, Unpeuple antique au pays de Menelik: Les Galla,

Grande Nation Ajricaine,

paris:

H

Oudin, 1901): 190-191.

62 MohammedHassen, The Oromo o fEthiopia: A History, pp 14-15.

63 Richard GreenfieldandMohammedHassen, Interpretationof Oromo

Nationality, Horn

of

Africa, vol 3, no. 3 1981): 5

64.

Quoted inMohammedHassen,The Oromo ofEthiopia p 15,from de Salviac,

s

Galla, pp 188-89

65.MohammedHassen, I raditioualMethodsof ConflictResolutionAmong the

Oromo

The Drama Commentary Bulletinfor Critical Analysis

o f

Current

Affairs in the Horn

of

Africa,

Vol 1,Number 1 1991): 19

66 VirginiaLuling, Government and SocialControlAmongSomePeoples of the

Hom ofAfrica, M A Thesis, UniversityofLondon 1966, 87

67. AsmaromLegesse, OromoDemocracy, p.

68

MohammedHassen, 1raditionalMethodsofConflictResolutionAmongthe

Oromo, The Oromo Commentary, vol I, no 1 1991): 19-20

69 MohammedHassen, IraditionalMethodsof ConflictResolutionAmongthe




Oromo, The Oromo Commentary p21

70 MordechaiAbir, Ethiopia:The Era OfThe Princes The Challenge Islam

and the Re-unification

of

the Christian Empire 1769-1855 (NewYork:Frederick

A Praeger,Publishers, 1968)

See

chapters V andVI

71 MohammedHassen, The OromoofEthiopia, 1500-1850: WithSpecial

Emphasison theGibeRegion, Ph D dissertation,UniversityofLondon, 1983,

158-160,250

72.M DeAlmeida, TheHistoryofHighEthiopiaorAbassia, in Some Records

ofEthiopia /593-1646 trans ed by C. Beckinghamand G W.B

Huntingford (London: HakluytSociety 1954), 136-137

73 Afrique Memoires et Documents Abyssinie 1838a

1850

ArchivesdesAffairs

Etrangers,Folio 231

See

alsoA I. A

Gem

16A IndiaOfficeRecords,Krapfs

Letterof3 July1840 fromAnkober,Folio 127-133.

74.BonnieHolcomb andSisai Ibssa, The Invention

Ethiopia p.83.

75. See for example,The Journals ofC W Isenberg

and

JL

Krapf (London:

1968): 197

76 Ibid 251

77. AfriqueMernoiresetDocumentsAbyssinie 1838A,1850,Archivesdes

AffairesEtrangers,no. folio,

281 See

alsoA I A

en

16A India OfficeRecords

Krapfs letter ofJuly 3, 1840

from

Ankoberfolio, 127-133

78. The Journal Isenberg andKrapf p 344

79 MohammedHassen andRichardGreenfield, TheOromoAnd ItsResistance

ToArnhara ColonialAdministration in Proceedings The First Intemational

Congress ojSomali Studies eds HusseinM Adam andCharles

1

Geshekter

(Atlanta:ScholarsPress, 1992): 550

80 W. C Harris,The Highlands ofAethiopia Vol

(London: Longmans,

1844),191

81 Ibid

82. S Rubenson,The Survival Ethiopia s Independence (London: Heineman,

1976): 145

83 Cited in GetahunD.elibo, EmperorMenelik sEthiopia, 1865-1916: National

Unificationor ArnharaCommunalDomination? PhD dissertation,Howard

University,1974,32

84 Ed Simone, Ihe Arnhara

Military

Expeditions againstthe ShawaGalla (1800

1850): A Reappraisal, Proceedings ofthe First United State Conference on

5



A Short History

ofOromo

Colonial Experience

87

s 1990

Ethiopian Studies

editedbyHaroldG Marcus, (EastLansing: MichiganState

University,

1973), 138

85

Hussein

Ahmed,

Ibid

331 See

alsoDonaldCrummey, Tewodros as

Reformer n Modernizer,

Journal

oj

African History

vol 10, no 3 (1969): 466

467

86 HusseinAhmed, Ibid 329

87. J S Irimingham,

Islam in Ethiopia London:

OxfordUniversity Press,

1952 ,118

88 M Abir,

Ethiopia: The Era ojthe

Princes

The Challenge afLslam

and

the

Reunification of the Christian Empire

J

769-

J

855, London:

FrederickA Praeger,

1968),

see

Chapter

VII

89 PaulBaxter, Ibid 288

90

Mohammed Hassen, Islam as a ResistanceIdeology amongthe Oromoof

Ethiopia Ibid 89

91. RichardGreenfield and

Mohammed

Hassen, Interpretationof Oromo

Nationality, Ibid

8

92 t

hasbeen correctly said that Tewodros' anti-Oromo stancesurvivedto his last

breathof life Atthe lastminuteofhis lifeTewodrosreleased lltheprisoners in

MagdelaexcepttheWalloand ShawaOromonumberingabout

1,000

Hekilled

llthe Oromoprisoners,notevena singleperson escaped hismassacre.

Waldhansso: Journal of the Unton ofOromo Students in North America

vol

3,

no. 3 (1979): 19-20

93.

Hussein

Ahmed,

Ibid

333 See

alsoDonald

Crummey,

TheViolenceof

Tewodros,

War

and

Society in Africa

ed byA Ogot

London:

Longman, 1972),

68

94 Waldhansso

Ibid

95

MohammedHassen, Islam as an Ideology ofResistance,

Ibid

91

Getahun elibo Ibid

35

97 Sidney

Waldron,

SocialOrganization

n

SocialControlin theWalledCityof

Harar, Ethiopia Ph.d dissertation, ColumbiaUniversity, 1975. See alsohis article

on

ThePolitical

Economy

of'Harari-Oromo Relations, 1559-1874

Northeast

African Studies vol

6,

nos

1,7,2 (1984): 23-39

98

Ewald

Wagner,

amonghismanyworks,

see his

ThreeArabicDocumentson

theHistoryofHarar. JournalofEthiopianstudies,Vol XlI,

No.

1(1974): 213-

5




222.

99 Camilla Gibb, Religion, Politics and Gender in Harar, Ethiopia Ph D

dissertation, University of Oxord, 1996

100

n

the history

of

the city

ofHarar

until about 1600, see MohammedHassen,

Ihe

Oromo

of

Ethiopia 1500-1850: With Special Emphasis on the Gibe Region,

24-36, 175-218

101 .MohannnedHassen, The Relation BetweenHarar and the Surrounding

Orurno, Thesis, Addis Abeba University, 1973, 10-11

102.

Ibid ee

also Richard Caulk,

Harar

and Its Neighbors in the Nineteenth

Century,

Journal African History, vol

18, no. 3 (1977): 381

103. MohammedHassen, Ibid 23

104 MuhannnedMoktar, Notes Sur LePays de Harar,

Bulletin de

La

Societe

Khediviole de Geographie,

(Cairo, 1877): 386-387

105 I aurin de Cahagne,

In

Der

Umgegenavon Harar,

Mitteilungen der

Geographischen Gesellschaft fuel Thuringen) zu Jena,

vol. 1 (1882): 81-82;

originally appearing as Auteur d Harar,

Les Missions Catholiques

(1882): 244

246,261-263,270-271

106 Mohannned

Hassen,

tu«.

28

107. London Public Record Office, F0403182, Folio 126.

108. Major F M. Hunter,

Reports on SomaliLand and the Harar Province,

Simla, 1885, 69

109. S. Rubenson,

The Survival ofEthiopia s Independence,

(London: Heinemann,

1976 ,348

110. As a result ofMuhammsd Ahmed s Mahdist uprising, the Egyptian army in

the sud n was defeated in January 1885 and an independent Mahdist state was

formed in the Sudan

11L Zewade Gebra Sellassie,

Yohannes

IV

Ethiopia:

Political

Biography,

208

112. Since the fall

of

the Axurnite Kingdom in the middle

of

the 11th century,

Yohannes was the

irst

I igrayan to become the Emperor ofhistorical Abyssinia

113 HusseinAhmed

,

Ibid

344

ee

also Harold G Marcus,

The Life

and

Times

of

Menelik

Ethiopia

1844-1913, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975), 58

114

Mohannned

Hassen,

Islam as a Resistance Ideology,

Ibid 93

115 HaroldMarcus, Ibid 44.

5



A ShortHistory ofOromo Colonial Experience 1870 s-1990 s

116

LordLytton,The Stolen Desert, (London: McDonald,

1966), 160.

117

AsafaJalata, Oromia andEthiopia, 52

118. Ibid

119. Ibid

120

Mohammed

Hassen

andRichardGreenfield, , Ihe OromoNation and Its

ResistancetoAmharaColonialAdministration, Proceedings ofthe First

International Congress ofSomali Studies, editedbyHusseinM Adamand

Charles

L Geshekter

Atlanta:ScholarsPress,

1992, 563

121.

AddisHiwet,Ethiopiafrom Autocracy to Revolution, 4

122

GetahunDelibo,Ibid.,

8

I

123

Bairn Tafla, IhreePortraits:

Ato

Asma

Giyorgis,

as GobanaDaci and

Sahafi I ezaz Gabra Selassie,

Journal

Ethiopian Studies,

vol. 5, no. 2 (1967):

148.

See alsoAlessandroTriuIzi, The Back-groundto

as

Gobana sExpedition

to WesternWallagain 1886-1888: AReviewofEvidence,

Proceedings

of

the

First United States Conference on Ethiopian Studies.Ibid., 143-156

124.

MaxGruehI,

bid 182.

125.

Bairn Iafla,Ibid

126

Hassen Greenfield, Ibid., 565

127 Ibid

128. Getahun

Delibo,Ibid, 82.

129.

assen Greenfield, Ibid., 566

130.

safa

Jalata,

Oromia andEthiopia, 53

131

I amindebted

to

1ameneBitimafor providingmewith this poem and several

others

132 Alessandro IriuIzi, Nekemte andAddisAbebe; DilemmasofProvincial

Rule,

The Southern Marches

Imperial Ethiopia, eds

DonaldDonhamand

WendyJames,Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress,

1986, 8

I

-82

133

bid 59.

I 34.. bid

135

Iesema Ia aa, The PoliticalEconomyofWestem CentralEthiopia: Fromthe

Mid-I6th to the Early20thCenturies, PhD dissertation, MichiganState

University,

1986,

56

155




136. Alessandro Iriulzi, 'Social Protest andRebellion

in

SomeGabar Songs from

Qellam,Wallaga,

Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference Ethiopian

Studies

ed Joseph

I

ubiana, (paris

1980),178

137 lriulzi, NekemteandAddisAbeba, Ibid 59

138 CzeslawJesman,

The Russians

In

Ethiopia

London: ChaltoandWindus),

1968,60

139 limothyD. Fernyhough, Serfs Slavesand Shefta: Modes ofPtoduction

in

SouthernEthiopiafrom theLate Nineteenth Centuryto 1941,' PhD dissertation,

University oflllinois at

Urbana-Champaign,

1986, 186

140

R

H.

Darkwah,

Shewa. Menilek and the Ethiopian Empire

(London:

Heinemann,

1975), 108

141 Jalata, Ibid

54

142.

A DonaldsonSmith, 'Expedition throughSomalilandto LakeRudolf;'

The

Geographical JournalI (1896) 123-127

Fordetaileddescription of the

conquest ofArsi Oromo, seeAbasHaji, 'The HistoryofArsi:

1880-1935,'

BA

thesis, AddisAbeba University, 1988,

J

8-43

143..

Femyhough,

Ibid

85

143.

See,

for instance,RobinLukham andDawit BekeJe,'Foreign Powell;and

Militarism in theHom ofAfrica,'

Review

of

African Political Economy

No 30

(1984): 8-20

145 L

Fusella

(trans.), Dagma

wiMenilek,'

Rassegna di Studi Etiopici

8

(1961): 37.

ranslationbyRichard Caulk, 'Menelik's Conquest andLocal Leaders

in Harar, mimeographedpaper, 1976,2

146 Femyhough,

Ibid

147 GetahunDelibo,

Ibid.

Jl3··114

148

RichardPankhurst,

Economic History

of

Ethiopia 1800 1935

(Addis Abeba:

UniversityPrinting Press, 1968), 105

149 J

G. Vanderhaym,

Une expedition de Negus Menilik

(New York: Negro

University Press, I

9;

reprint; Paris:LibrairieVivian, 18 ), 186

150

Jrimingham,

Ibid 28 29

5 Ibid

152 Mohammed assen

Ihe

Militarizationof the Ethiopian State and the

Oromo,

Proceedings 5th International Conference on the omofAfrica

(New York:MarsdenReproductions, Inc.,

1991),93

156



A Short History

Drama Colonial Experience 1870 s-1990 s

153 Abdul Mejid Hussen, The Political Economy ofthe Ethiopian Famine,

REHAB

Drought

and

Famine in Ethiopia ed Abdul Mejid Hussen, (London:

International African Institute, 1976), 14

154 GetahunDelibo,Ibid, 198-199

155 Hassell,

Ibid

156.

Delibo Ibid

213-214.

See

also A W Hodson, Seven Years in Southern

Abyssinia (London:

I

Fisher Unwin, Ltd.,

1927 ,253

157 Hassell, Ibid

94

158. E Waugh, Waugh in Abyssinia (London: Methuen, 1984, [reprint]), 248

249

159 Paul Baxter,

Ibid

288

160 Addis Hiwet, Ibid 4 See also Mohammed

H =

The Oromo ofEthiopia

198-199

161. See for instance, AlbertMemme, The Colonizer and the Colonized translated

from the French by Howard Greenfield Boston: BeaconPress, 1967, 106-107

162 Hassen

Greenfield, Ibid 576

163 See for instance.zlszac Giyorgis and

Hi

Work History the Galla and the

Kingdom of awa edited byBairn 1afla Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag;

Wiesbaden GMBH, 1987,134-135

164 Masasaa was one of the generals of Menelik who conquered the Oromo in

Gullallee

165 I amene Bitima, OnSome Oromo Historical Poems, Paideuma

Mitteilungen

Zur

Kulturkunde 2a (1983): 318-319

166 K

nutsson

Authority and Change: A Study the Kallu Institution among

the

Macho

Galla a/Ethiopia

(Goteborg, EtnografiskaMuseet, 1 7 , 147-155.

167 Mohammed Hassell,

Ihe

Militarization of the Ethiopian State, ibid. 95

168 Please note that Galla was the name by which the Oromo were known to the

non-Oromo until recently Galla is a term of insu1tand abuse which was

us

by

the Ethiopian ruling elites to belittle the Oromo and denigrate their achievements

The Oromo do not call themselves Galla and they resist being so called

169 E UIlendorf,

The Ethiopians An Introduction to Country

and

People

(London: Oxford University Press, 1960), 76

170 See discussion in

H =

Some Aspects ofOromo History

Ihat

Have Been

157



THE JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES

Misunderstood, The Oromo Commentary vol.

III

no. 2 (1993): 24

171 See

for instance, Hassen,

The

aroma

ofEthiopia 114-150

172.

Abir,

Ethiopia 88 See

also C 1. Beke,

Leiters

on

the Commerce

oj

Abyssinia

and

Other Parts

oj

Eastern Africa addressed to [the British] Foreign

Office and the oard

Trade (London, 1852),33

173 Evelyn Waugh, tua 25-26

174.

Delibo,

Ibid 213-214

See also Hodson,

Seven

ear

in Southern Abyssinia

253

175. Femyhough,Ibid, 181-182 See also H. Darley, Slavery and Ivory in

Abyssinia (London: H F G Witherby, 1926), 130-131.

176

Delibo,

Ibid 213-214 See

also Hodson,

Seven

ear

in Southern

Abyssinia 253

177. HaroldMarcus,

The Life and TImes ofMenelik11 73.

I

78

Delibo, Ibid

179. See for instance,R Darley, Ibid 197-199,201 et passim

180 Parkhurst, Economic History ofEthiopia 1800 1935 75

181

Delibo,

Ibid. 219.

182 Evelyn Waugh,

Ibid

27.

183.

Quoted inM. Perham,

The Government Ethiopia

(Chicago: Northwestern

University Press,

1969), 225

184. Ihe British diplomat E. N Erskine,

in

a letter to

the

foreign office

in

1935/36

F0I37I/50506HN09582

185. Leenco Lata,

The

Making and Unmaking ofEtbiopia s Iransitional Charter

in

Oromo Nationalism

and

the Ethiopian Discourse The Searcb For Freedom

Democracy

e by Asafa Jalata (Lawrenceville, NJ:

Ihe

Red Sea Press,

1998): 74