Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

Tabalas are used for healing purposes, especially for curing skin diseases but also for
expelling stomach parasites and for the flu.
Horas in the park are de facto common property resources with open access, maintained by
the communities that use them most frequently, generally the village located closest to it. They are
perceived as a gift of nature and every Oromo has the right to use them, independent of his origin.
Maintenance involves the construction of fences, the cleaning of the source by removing excess
mud, and the construction of bidirus and drainage channels. Access points, such as small bridges
must be maintained as well. Punishments are prescribed for users from the community that do not
take part in the maintenance activities. However, most of the maintenance operations are fairly easy
and conducted during use, without requiring specific agreements. This general maintenance is done
by most users, regardless of association with the local community. In this sense, the more a hora is
used, the more it is maintained, turning the open access of the resource into an advantage.
On the other side, use of the hora is seldom limited to the use of the spring alone but is
coupled with the use of other forest resources such as grazing, honey and coffee. Therefore, while
the use of the hora per se is recognized as an Oromo universal right, conflicts might arise due to
collateral activities involving other resources.
Seasonal migration
Generally, livestock are brought to drink at the horas every three months, and the length of the stay
depends on the origin of the users, varying from a week to four months in case of dry season migrants
from other areas. Horas affect the seasonal migration patterns of the pastoralists, although scarcity
of grazing ground during the dry season appears to be the main driver of movement. Five main
patterns of seasonal movement emerged during the discussions which can be grouped as movements
of outsiders and insiders.
Four main routes were identified for outsiders from Angetu and Dello Mena: 1) to Addeye
and hora Dokke’; 2) to Gebicho, hora Habire’; 3) to Hawo, hora Dofo and hora Waticha; and 4) to
the eastern forest and, hora Higan (Sankate and Alachera).
The main cause for seasonal migration of people from Angetu and Dello Mena into the forest
is the exhaustion of the grazing grounds in the southern areas outside the forest at the onset of the
dry season. Migrants move north into the forest seeking shade, grazing grounds and honey. The
availability of horas is considered secondarily in the choice of the place to settle, or the horas are
visited from more distant areas of the forest. Glades (“rasas” in the Oromo language) are abundant
in the Harenna forest, but their productivity is limited or exhausted during the dry season, and the
grazing shifts from grasses to trees. As long as they are productive, glades provide a buffer from
forest degradation by grazing, and places where glades are wide and abundant are preferentially
chosen for settlements. Rasas and horas must be considered in combination in order to understand
the dynamics of seasonal migrations.
Hora Dokke’ is particularly attractive due to the fine quality of its water but also because
of its proximity to rasa Challicho, a wide glade capable of hosting a large number of families with
their livestock. Addeye is appealing because of it is near hora Dokke’ as well as a number of large
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 233