Original Research Original Research - STAR Journal

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96opposition songs against the then oppressivegovernment policy (Asafa Jalata, 1993;Mohammed Hassen, 1999).The movement of Oromo Cultural Troupesunder the Imperial RegimeIn the history of their political struggle, theOromo made courageous attempts to performmusic, drama and theatre in their language towithstand the assimilation policy of the Ethiopiangovernment (Bariisa, 1991). Although there wereinformant reports reflecting religious drama andsinging of psalms on the bases of written themesby Protestant Christian Missionaries in Wallagga(Informants: Admasu Birehanu, Hailu Disasa,Kebede Firrisa), the written secular music anddrama for the purpose of cultural movement werepresented on stages by the Afran Qalloo culturaland musical bands (Bariisaa, 1991).OromoGariin ilma namaa yaada gabaabbataaQottuu jechuu se’aa arrabatti fudhataaWaa arraba mitii maqaa tarkaanfataaUmmanni wabaree qonnadhaan dhadataaDafquma isaa nyachuuf hojiidhaan bututaaHojjetee mullisee bilchesse oomishaateeDinagdee ol kaasuf qutudhaa hidhateeHalkanillee hirafuu hojidhaan bututeeAkkasumaan naminni itti dhaadateeRoorroo keessa darbe yoom irranfatee.The song dictates the ignorance of the peoplewho called Afran Qalloo Oromo pejoratively“Qottuu” (Farmer) forgetting the importance offarming for the sustenance of the life of thepeople and for the development of the country.For the learned and those who have understoodthe world, farming is the bedrock of developmentfor those who used to live on their products whichis achieved not through dependence but throughhard work. The song also taught people torecover their displaced names in the process ofthe imperial assimilation policy.Nonetheless, according to Asafa Jalata, theimmediate cause for the establishment of thecultural band was the refusal of Harare musicalband on certain marriage of Oromo coupleresponding that their musical instrument couldnot produce Oromo language musical tone. Theentire group of the nuptials who requested for theOromo songs was Oromo language speakers.OromoKa’aa hirribaa kottaa walbarrannaaDardara alagaa if cina hingartaaniiAmeta sadii dura maaliin wal faarsaniiAmeta sadii dura walleen Afaan keenyaasaan nijijjirratan nut immoo inteenyaaDurbumaan keenyallee kan karaa yaatulleenWanuma wallisan tan jaraati walleen B(Bariisaa,1997)Afran Qalloo musical and cultural band, whichwas established in Dirree Dhawaa in the early1962, was the first Oromo troupe to appear in anorganized manner for preserving Oromo cultureand reflecting multifaceted subjugation of theOromo (Ibid.). The name Afran Qallo was torefute the pejorative name “Qottu” given to themby the newly Amhara settlers for the four sons ofQalloo: Alaa, Babbillee, Dagaa and Oborraa (BadirKabir, 1995). Afran Qalloo began the oppositionagainst the Oromo with the early naming of thecultural band itself. The band posed their objectionto this name “Qottuu” by the following songscomposed by Abubakir and later on presented byHalloo Dawwee on the Oromo cultural show of1977 in Addis Ababa( Alfia, 2007). It reads asfollows:GlossSome people are narrow-mindedConsider farming as insultNot insult but advancementCivilized people take pride in farmingStrive hard to live on his workBy showing practically and working exhaustivelyFor development has to farm without reservationNever slept even in the night being exhausted by workPeople roared at him without reasonHe never forgets the tyranny passed through(Asafa, 1993). However according to Bariisa onthe marriage ceremony of the Oromo the Harareand Somali musical bands were invited withcompensation. The then privileged band playingin Amharic was not willing for they had low honorfor the Oromo. It was on this circumstance thatcertain Hassan Omar Tarree forced to advice theOromo youngsters to establish their own culturalband. The advised youngsters were IsmailMohammed, Abdulhaji Mohammed, AbubakriMusa, Abdurrahman Yusuf, and others.Consequently, Afran Qalloo Musical and culturalband was established by eighteen members in1962(Bariisa, 1991). Whatever the argument isthe immediate causes for the establishment ofAfran Qalloo Musical and cultural band was inresponse to the Oromo subordination to theHarare language. The Afran Qalloo musical andcultural band responded to the Harare band by itsfirst song as follows.GlossWake up, let us understand each otherWhy you do not see the alien youthThree years before in what they sang?Three years before, our language songThey changed but we quittedOur girls who travel along the roadSing the songs of the others (Harari and Amharic)89

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96The song indicates that while the Harare hasresumed their songs against the assimilation, theOromo were kept quite. The Oromo youththemselves even began undermining their ownvernacular and began singing in others language.It informs the Oromo the decisiveness havingtheir own cultural bands. Thus, it clearly showsthat the main objective of the Afran Qalloocultural and musical band was to protect andpreserve the Oromo language. It also advisethose who undermine their vernacular andpraised those who were proud of it.The band also performed dramas thatmirrored the situation of the period. As in thedrama both the male and female representativeshad to be represented in order to reveal thesituation in which both genders were living, themale also acted like female since the period didnot allow Muslim female actors on the stage. Oneof the artists who represented female characterswas Abdurrahman Yusuuf. Separately seeingtheir Oromo culture from religion, immediatelythey recruited females into the cultural troupealthough the females were still separatelyorganized from the males (Informants: HalloDawwee, Abdullah Mumme Ibrahim Haji andHamid Mude).To direct all activities towards thedevelopment of Oromo culture and language aswell as to give protection for the band, thecommittees were organized from the elders. Thecommittees were named based on their dutiesand work divisions in the cultural band. Therewere koree tikstuu (caring committee), Koreegargaartu (aiding committee), and koree goristuu(advising committee). The members of thecommittees were Yusuf Abdullah (Gurachoo),Hassen Omar Turee, Ismail Galmoo, MohammedRabsaa, Idris Abdulle, Mohammed IbrahimWooday (Shantam Shubbisaa), Mohammed AbdiOmar, and Abdi Mohammed (Bariisaa,1991)The Afran Qalloo cultural band had differentbranches based on their age groups. The divisionand decisions were given to the committee sothat recruitments and assignments were made onthe basis of the determination andunderstandings of the recruits. The divisionbased on the ages of the members was topresent Oromo arts according to age relevance.This was because in Oromo culture elders did notinterfere in youth matters and vise versa. Theeldest group was named Urjii Bakkalchaa (Bigstar), Hiriyaa Jaalalaa(Teenagers), TokummaaJaalalaa( love for Unity) Biiftu Ganamaa(Morning sun) and Mascob (Alfia, 2007).All the members of the groups made divisionof labor among themselves based on theirabilities. Those who were good singers wereassigned to sing, those who had goodcomposition ability were assigned to composesongs, those who could play musical instrumentswere assigned to it, those who had goodknowledge in cultural elements were assigned tocollect and write on Oromo culture. Since therewas not organized training and no freedom to doso, the division of labor was based on the naturalgifts of the participants. Adaptation to modernways of dancing, singing, playing musicalinstruments, writing suitable poems and mixingwere acquired through trial and error. In such away, the cultural band became much moreplanned and monolithic than for what it wasintended at the beginning (Informants: AbdallahMumme, Musa Ahmad, Abdi Bu’iand IbrahimHaji) .Initially, the cultural troupe began singing anddancing with traditional musical instruments.Later on the Harar well-to-do Oromo elderssponsored them with harmonica, radio players,accordion, tambourine, sacs-phone, trephine,jazz and others. The committee hired a trainer inmusical instruments from the Catholic Church inHarar. Ali Tuuchee and Abdullah Mohammedimmediately naturalized the procedures andbegan training the others by themselves. In thecomposition of the songs, Ayub Abubakir becamea renowned Oromo poet like his teacher BakriiSaphaloo. Later on, Abubakir Musa and AbdiBohi followed him (Ibid.).After they were well established, the AfranQalloo Musical and cultural band attempted to getlegal recognition from the emperor through thearbitration of the elders. Until the officialestablishment of the Maccaa-Tuulamaa Self HelpAssociation in 1963 and the Somali invasion, theEmperor gave permission for the Afran Qalloosingers to transmit one song over the Radioevery Monday at four o’clock in the afternoon ifthe band could pay 30 Ethiopian Birr per song forthe radio station. The permission was obtainedbased on a sample song presented to theemperor by Ali Shabboo one of the member ofcultural band. The song praised the glories of theemperor achieved over the Italian invadingforces. It reads:90

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96OromoMootii biyya keenyaa yaa Hayilee SillaaseeXaaliyaaniin si’agarraan dheeffaa dhokkee kaasee(Ibid.)Although the permitted time was not convenientfor listeners since it was the time when they wentto bed, the Afran Qalloo were able to break theestablished stereotypical attitude that “the Oromolanguage would break a radio”.On the other hand, when the Oromo nationalconsciousness was transformed into armedinsurgency as what happened in Baalee, all thesongs of Arfan Qalloo failed under a strongcensorship. Order was passed to hunt dawn all themembers and the committees of the band. Somewere imprisoned, and some of them becameinsane because of the severe torture they hadundergone. The others like Ayuub Abubakir,Abubakir Musa, Yonis Abdullah, Abdullah Arsi,Shantam Shubbisa, and Suleyman Yusuf wereexiled to Somalia, the then deadly enemy ofEthiopia. In such a way, the band was forced tocease its movements under the name of ArfanQalloo cultural and Musical band and wasdisintegrated into village based minor groups whosustained the already started musical cultureclandestinely (Alfia, 2007). Yet, the village basedmusical band produced large number of musicalpoems and theatrical essays in Oromo language.Most of the songs and theatrical essays wereloaded with covert opposition to the imperialregime (Alfia, 2007).Out of Hararge, there were also individualsinserted into the bands of Amharic language topresent their songs occasionally. Such singerswere mainly found in the imperial militaryorchestra. Ababa Tesemma, Wasanuu Diido,Birratuu Lammaa and Tilahun Gesess÷ weresome of them. Informants assert that suchsingers were allowed just only one Oromolanguage song at one occasion in order to avoidOromoBilisummaan aannanii nama beekutu dhugaaKan bilisummaa hi beeknnee bira taa’ee mugaa.Bilisummaan bilisummaan gaaridhaYaa obolleeyyan ka’aa hirribaa .Baasa hinjirree nuutti as baaseeHaqa keenyaa addaan facaasee.Dachee keessan masinoo keessanKan irra taa’u adawwii kessanMaa callistanii teessan?(Ibid.)The song expresses the need of freedom foroneself to live as a human being and agitates theHarar Oromo to stand against the naftagna whotook their land, properties and destabilized theirGlossO! Haile Sillasie our kingTerrified by you the Italians had run away and escapedidentity question to be posed by the Oromo in themilitary forces of the emperor. Even withpurposive participation, some of the singers like,Wasanuu Diidoo and Birraatuu Lammaexperienced a disrespect reception and werereported to have been repeatedly imprisonedsimply for singing in afaan Oromo. Moreover, asthe political inspection on the Oromo becamestrengthened, doing such activities in groupsgradually declined.The exiled members of Afran Qalloo beganserving as singers and journalists in radioMogadishu which began transmission in Oromolanguage in 1963. Although the Somaligovernment used the radio for its warpropaganda against Ethiopia over the Ogaden, italso became good advantage for the exiledOromo to address their cases to their people. Thetransmission was conducted in the name ofexposing the marginalization policy of theemperor against the Oromo and Muslim societiesof eastern Ethiopia. The Oromo language songsand drama transmitted over Mogadishu radioserved for such purposes although its primaryaim was to create pan-Oromo movement againstthe burdens imposed on them by the naftagnaadministrators( Abduselam, 2008; Informants:Ibrahim Haji, Musa Ahmad and Ali Dima).Most of the songs broadcasted over the radioMogadishu were composed by Ayyub Abubakirand Abubakir Musa in Somalia. Informants alsoreported that Shayk Bakrii Saphaloo was sendinghis revolutionary poems to be broadcasted andthe songs were transmitted without mentioningthe name of the author (Ibid.). One of the samplesongs sang by Yonis Adullah over the radioMogadishu is transcribed bellow.GlossFreedom is milk and who knows drinks itWho does not know it catnapped being asideFreedom, freedom is goodO! Brothers do not sleep, be awake.Tthey brought up on us which does not existThey disturbed our rightYour land, your farmIs taken off by your enemyWhy do you sit keeping quite?cultural treatment of fairness. In doing so, it wasable to withdraw many Harar Oromos andMuslims to the side of Somalia, besidesaggravating the Baalee peasant rebellions. The91

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96message of the song had historical connectionthat it is said to have provoked the Harar andBaalee Oromo who went beyond control(Informants: Ibrahim Haji, Mohammad Qophe,Mahadi Mude). The fact that the Somaligovernment allowed to broadcast Oromo songsthat expressed their deep feelings in theirlanguage, the Harar and Baalee Oromoadmiration for the Somali governmentoutweighed that of Ethiopian.While the Oromo cultural movement waswithin such circumstances, the reign of theemperor began to be challenged by all cornerspolitical turmoil. The combination of theestablishment of different ethnic based liberationfronts, peasant rebellions, university students callfor land reform, establishment of Machaa-Tuulama Self Help Association, objection oneducational sector reviews, and the likesoverthrown the Emperor and shifted power toDarg(Markakis, 1994, Bahru,1992).The movement of Oromo Cultural Troupesunder Darg. As soon as Darg came to power, ithad understood the importance of communicatingthe mass through the media. (Informants: HamideMude, Kebede Firrisa and Ibrahim Haji). No lessthan the socialist propaganda, by design ordefault, the Oromo proverbs, folklores, songs,glories of culture and history were broadcastedthrough the Oromo language mass media (Olana,1993; Informants: Mahadi Mude, Ibrahim Haji).When the broadcast educated people about theirculture and language, inadvertently the peoplelearned the glories of their language, culture, andhistory. The Oromo of border areas like Harar,Bale and Wallagga, who could get easy access toradio through smuggling, were the mostinfluenced areas. The regions became the areaswhere armed insurgency operated unlike theother parts of Oromo land (Informants: AliMohammed, Hallo Dawe and Adimasu Berhanu).With the revolutionary regime which presenteditself as people’s government, any forms ofwritten Oromo language literature includingdrama and songs got some outlets. In 1975 thesecond generation of the Afran Qalloo culturalband; Ali Birraa, Ibrahim Haji Ali, Himee Yusuf,Adam Usuman, Mohammed Umar, AbubakarAddawwe, Ahmad Yonnis and others werereorganized under Biiftuu Birra Band(AutumnSun) and began their performances in differentnight clubs in Addis Ababa. In doing so, theyenabled Oromo music to see the light of the dayin the country’s capital. They also made theOromo language the source of income(Informants: Ibid., Mahadi Mude, Ibrahim Haji).This band was also able to play their songsand perform dances over the Ethiopian Televisionand popularized the Oromo musical band of AduuBirraa. The members of Maccaa-Tuulamaa SelfHelp Association and Oromo students who heardthem either on musical shows at hotels or onTelevision began encouraging them to go to theprovinces where the Oromo population wasdominant. In 1976, they went to Wallagga andpresented their cultural show almost in all themajor towns of western Wallagga. On thatoccasion, one of campaigners of thedevelopment through cooperation, AbtawKabada, disserted the campaign and joined theband. At Harar Abtaw also producedrevolutionary songs which revealed Oromofeelings for the Darg administration. They alsoencouraged the Oromo youngsters of the regionto establish their own cultural bands to expresstheir feelings. Based on that GuddattuuWallaggaa, Burqaa Boojji, Biqiltuu Mandii andLalisaa Najjoo in Wallagga were establishedimmediately following the cultural shows (Ibid.)In the organization of the Wallagga culturalbands Tesemma Nagarii played amazing rolesbeing within the highest officials of the Darg.According to my informants, he saved the lives ofmany singers from the guns of the Darg. He alsocomposed many songs which express thecondition the Oromo had experienced underImperial regime and what they going to test underDarg covertly. Majority singers originally fromWallaggaa were the unreserved works ofTesemma Negeri (Gada, 1998).The government also employed some Oromosingers in the National Theatre, Hager Feqer(Love of the Country’s Theatre), Addis AbabaCultural Theatre and in the military divisions. AliBirraa (For some Time), Hailu Disaasaa, AdmasuBerhanu, Taddasa Cuqee, Daraj÷ Zamadu,Sahela Dagaagoo were among the employedartists. However some of the peoples whom Iinterviewed claim that they were rarely invited onpeople’s gatherings and were only allowed tosing only one or two Oromo songs at occasion.They claimed that abroad cultural shows wererarely permitted for the Oromo singers. Non-Oromo speakers, who did not know both thecultures and language of Oromo, were invited topresent Oromo songs by trial. According to theinformants, such kind of maladministration hadtwo impacts. The first, since the imitators couldnot show the real culture to which he did notbelong, it reduced the entertaining elements ofthe culture. Secondly, it also affected the moralsand economic aspects of the singers the culturesbelong (Informants: Hailu Disasa, AdmasuBerhanu, Mahadi Mude, and Ibrahim Haji).92

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96The composition of Oromo language songs ofthis period proved the abilities of Oromo poetsand singers. The composers made great effortsto include the songs that teach Oromo peopleabout right, importance of using their vernacular,importance of their unity and how much theOromo language is powerful to convey messagesboth covertly and overtly. The cultural songscomposed by the Oromo peasants to oppose theexploitation of proprietors were also electronicallyrecorded with their original rhythm and werepresented to the listeners by cassettes (Ibid.).Thus, the contributions of Oromo songs indeveloping Oromo political struggle and evenincorporating Oromo oral folklores into writtenforms is beyond one’s expectation. They alsoassisted the struggle of the Maccaa-Tuulama SelfHelp Association in the recovering of Oromoidentity through Oromo cultural and musicalgroups in many parts of Oromia. The Maccaa-Tuulama Self Help Association established aOromoQeerroon mataa tuutaa hinjarjartuu suutaaAduun takka dhiitee takka nuubarteeKan akka keenyaa hinjiruu kan garbummaan miiteeOsoo biyyaa qabnuu biyyaa keenyaa dhabneeOsoo Heera qabnuu heera keenya dhabneeOsoo aadaa qabnuu aadaa keenyaa dhabneeOsoo Afaan qabnuu Afaan keenyaa dhabneeAkkaa baala mukaa faffacaanee hafneeIn his song Gadisa acknowledged the Dargregime overtly for its little improvement of plight ofthe Oromo language and culture. Two of thelines of the song connoted the Darg as the risingsun, which gives light to darkness within the thenpolitical view of the composer of the song.Nevertheless, he was covertly informing whatwas going on with the suspicion on the continuityOromoOwwalamnee turree jiruun nu sabni ballaan durattiiNama yartuu cunqurstuu harkattiiMeeqatu bayee bade biyyaa ari’ameeMeeqatu karaamalee cubbudhaan qalameeHaqa isaa himachuuf meeqatu fannifameeOsoo Afaan qabnuu irraa ugguramneeAfaan biraa baruuf qawween dirqamneeKunoo har’dha ijaarrachuufQaawwaa xinnoo arganneeDhiiraa fi dhalaa if booda akka hinjenneeBiyyaa teenyaa tiruu maqaa jijjiraniiAfaan nut hinbeennen meeqa moggasaniiWarri cunqurstoonni yoom nudamdamaniiIn his song, Shantam comments on themaladministration of the nasftagna in which themass had no right to raise their grievances, andcommittee that facilitates such activities. Withencouragements of the committee and thesupports of other Oromo, six cultural and musicalgroups from Baalee, Arsi, Hararghe, Shawa,Ilubbaaboora and Wallagga came together andprecipitated the Oromo cultural, social andpolitical movements at the hall of EthiopianNational Theatre for two days in 1977. In thecultural show, 150 singers and actors were takenpart. The bands of Guddattu Wallagga, BiftuuBirraa and Biiftuu Biyya Kenyaa (Our Counry’sSun) were actively participated. Thousands ofOromo from across the country attended theshow( Bariisaa, 1977; Asafa Jalata, 1993).The songs of the cultural show analyticallypresented the contemporary and past regimessuppression of Oromo culture, language, history,and traditional practices. Some of the songspresented on the show by Gaaddisaa Abdulah,Shantam Shubbisaa, Zerhun Wadajo and IlfinashQannoo are read as follows.GlossBachelor with thick hairs do not be in hurryThe sun darkened and then rose for usNo one was enslaved like usWhile we have a country deprived off itWhile we have constitution forbidden to use itWhile we have a culture we are deprived of itWhile we have language we are without itWe remained dispersed like shaded leavesof the little outlets. However, the central idea ofthe song is about the attempt of replacing theOromo language with other and the failure of theOromo to unite and lift the imposition burdenedon them. As the following song indicates,Shantam Shubbisaa also presented cultural showwith a song that has both historical and linguisticsignificance. The song reads:GlossPreviously all people were suppressedIn the hands of minority oppressorsMany were forced into exile from the countryMany were slaughtered illegallyMany were hanged for expressing their problemWhile we have language we were deprived of itWe were forced at a gun point to learn other’s languageToday to reconstructwe find little outletBoth males and females do not hesitateThey changed the name of our beloved countryThey named us in the language we do not knowThe oppressorsonly lived to fulfill the interests of their lords.According to the song the then Oromo had noright of speaking their language and no right to93

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96refuse what they could not bear or offend them.He inserts in his song that failure to accomplishthe need of the naftagna was followed bypunishments. The song describes that the Oromowere forced to lose their language, culture,country, constitution, and failed into an oppressedsituation comparable to serfdom. It also givesadvice that their contemporary Oromo should notinherit the enslavement of their fathers. He alsocommented on the attempts of replacing thenames of Oromo towns, places, and animals bythat of the Amhra’s.The singer of this song tried to highlight whathappened to Oromo language during the imperialregime. According to the singer, many Oromowere forced to learn other language being forcedat the gunpoint. Because of fear of such actions,a few Oromo lost their language and culture anddeviated to others opting to be assimilated(Gada, 1988). The singer also condemned suchpeople and advised his then Oromo audiences tostand for their right to speak and sing in theirlanguage in public. He also attacked thoseegotistic individuals denied their ancestors.OromoGargar gargar baanee teenyeee bara baayyee turreeWaan isin gaafadhaa akkamiin walbarreeKun Arursii jedhanii kun qottuu jedhaniiIlmaan hadha tokkoo addan nubasaniiMee hayadannuu nu cunqursaa jiruuMaqaa laffallee nigeggederuAdaamaadhaan Naziret jedhaniiTolasaa fi Badhaasaa Kirstinnaa kaasaaniiKann darbellee hindarbeeDhaamsan sitti dhaamaa Yajoollee OromootaaAkkamttiin baddii seenaan kan dhalootaaSafuun keewoo baddee bara dhibba baateeUtuu ati maalitti jirtuu aramaan sinyaateeNurratti jigee turee ba’aan innii guddaan isaaQawwee malle maaltu bilisa nubaasaaSimilarly, from Wallagga, Elifinesh Qannooand Zerhun Wadajoo gave comments on thesuppression of the Oromo language by the rulersof the imperial regime. Ilfinesh cited some of thetowns and persons names changed into Amharicin order to erase Oromo names even from thewritten literature of even written in otherlanguages. In her song, she opposed thechanging of Adaama to Nazerete, theChristianization of Tolasaa and Badhaasaa. Shealso commented on the giving of Oromoprovinces as it was intended to eliminate Oromoidentity in order to assimilate them after they hadbeen evolved into independent ethnic groups.According to the intention of the song, this andothers similar incidents were not only to snatchAfaan Oromo from the mouths of the speakersbut also to avoid even the terms of Oromolanguage from the literature written in otherslanguages. As the following song indicates, shealso pointed out how Christianity played its ownmajor role in the displacement of Oromo names.The last line of the song calls for an armedstruggle and thus it seems that she was neversatisfied with the development seen under theDarg regime.GlossWe remained in isolation for a long timeLet me ask you how we acquainted with each otherThey named this Arusi that QottuuThey isolated the offspring of one motherLet us remember they are oppressing usEven they changed the name of the placesThey named Adaamaa NaziratThey Christianized Tolasaa and badhasaaThe past is pastI send you a message the children of OromoHow our ancient history is destroyed?Since you lost your culture a century agoWhile where you are you are the weeding ate youO! heavy load was pilled on usIt is only gun that will make us free.Thus, both songs clearly show that theliterature of Oromo language played a significantrole in informing, teaching and initiating theOromo so that they should protect their right ofusing their cultural naming system, their languagein particular and the spiritual and materialcultures of their fathers in general. Theyrepeatedly demonstrated with their songs anddramas at the gatherings of the Maccaa-TuulamaAssociation.In the song Zerhun presented at his 15 yearsold, he was pointing that still the remnants of thepast were in drag that it needs the Oromo to fightagainst such individuals. The song wasmetaphoric that it was not easy to capture themeaning easily. The song reads:Kottaa harama haramnaMidhaan keenya keessaaTuufoo bubuqsnaCobasaatu ballessaaLafasaatu borqiidhaKanaaf tuufoo baasaalet come to weedfrom our farmingwe will uproot wild flowerwhat dangerous is its dropletthe soil is infertilethat is why it grows wild flower94

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96Unlike the songs of the period, this is ironicaland its meaning is covered. It also indicated howthe Oromos were challenging the maladministration by using the language which wasconsidered shameful to speak in a public.After the major Oromo cultural show of the1977, songs and traditional dances werepopularized and were performed at every Oromogathering. The Oromo resistance againstoppression through songs of cultural groups hadgrown rapidly when different Oromo politicalparties got the support of the singers. The songswere either part of communal or personalcreations. It also served as a strategy of revivingOromo culture and language (Informants: MahadiMude, Mohammed Qophe, Zerihun Wadojo).In the attempt of addressing the Oromoquestions which were reverberating during theimperial regime, Darg permitted regular broadcastin Afaan Oromo. Singers were invited to broadcastthe songs that could expose the serious corruptionand exploitation which characteristics of theemperor’s regime. The songs were even made tohave the contents to educate, disseminate scienceand technology within the main stream ofsocialism.No less than the socialist propaganda, bydesign or default, the Oromo proverbs, folklores,songs, glories of culture and history which werebroadcast through the Oromo language massmedia inadvertently taught the people about theglories of their language, culture, and history. Thehistorical injustice, like the continuous aggression,suppression and exploitation inflicted on theOromo nation during the imperial regimes wererecited. Based on the examples of the radio, manyOromo began composing songs in the Oromolanguage for their kebele (village administration),Wored (sub district), Awraja (district) and Zonalmusical shows. (Informants: Mahadi Mude,Ibrahim Haji, Kebede Firisa).At the kabala level, the youth who wereorganized under the ideology of socialist Dargpropaganda began composing songs that praisedthe socialism in Oromo language. Dramas werealso prepared and presented at the annualanniversary of September 12. Sometimes suchsongs and dramas were broadcast over the radio.Many of the Oromo youth who were the membersof Abeyotawi Ken÷t (Revolutionary Troupe) wereable to write impressive types of songs andbecame the known singers from the Oromo nation.Those who heard the songs of their friends overthe radio attempted to do so by themselves (Ibid.).Thus, after these pioneer singers, many Oromomusicians had come to the scene and publicizedOromo culture, language, political consciousnessand others aspects of Oromo life to the world. Thesongs for the musicians were composed andorganized by Oromo elites. In connection with thisSahile Dagaagoo, Abubakir Musa, TesemmaNegeri, Mohammed Qophee and some othersplayed a leading role. In one way or another,almost all the songs composed in Oromo before1991 were directed towards the expression ofOromo life situation under the ruling classes. Thecovert implications of the songs were moresignificant than the overt. The singers braved topresent these songs to the masses under heavysecurity pressures. They attempted to reviveOromo culture, songs, and traditional danceswhich they performed and popularized at everyOromo gathering (Ibid.). Thus, the majority ofOromo songs during this period can becategorized as revolutionary songs.They became one of the rallying points in thedevelopment of written Oromo language literature.Many Oromo Youth made great efforts to recordsongs embodying political, cultural, and socialresistance against the policies of the Ethiopianregimes. Some such songs remained unpublishedeither because of strict censorship or because oflack of money. Informants report that many ofsuch songs are still in circulation in the hands ofmany people being copied into cassettes in theform of manuscripts. Some of them werepublished after 1991 and distributed to the peoplewho were interested to have them (Ibid.).Generally, since the beginning of singing inAfaan Oromo, two categories of Oromo singerswere emerged. The first group which constitutesthe largest members was the bands of extremenationalists. They took revolutionary songs asmajor instruments of fighting to manifest theirgrievances and to awaken the Oromo so that theystood for their rights. The second are those whoventured and were able to bear the politicalimpositions of the period and courageously sangOromo songs on the stages although theirmeasures were not from the Oromo nationalisticperspectives. Among such singers TilahunGesese was worth mentioning as he neverforgotten sing at least one Oromo song in all hisAmharic Cassettes. My informants even argue thatTilahun taught the possibility of singing veryinteresting songs in Afaan Oromo to the Ethiopianofficials beginning from the emperor’s period. Heattracted their attention to listen to entertainingAfaan Oromo songs together with that of Amharic(Ibid.). Producing or singing such songs was notwithout risky. When the Darg regime began facing95

Tesfay Tolessa Bessa STAR Journal, July-Sep 2012, 1(3): 88-96serious opposition from students and theinsurgents, it imposed stringent restriction andcensorship policy on any products of the nations’mass media. Thus, all these struggles wereexpected to pass through politically unforgivingcensorship of the Darg. If politically opposing casewas proved and reported what would expectedfrom the doer was execution in public or flight intoexile. The assassination of Mustafa Abdi, FatumaAhimad and Abubakar Musa and theimprisonment of Elfinesh Keno, GaadissaAbdullah, Zerhun Wadajo were was part of suchmeasures (Ibid.).CONCLUSIONThe cultural song in Oromo partially madeparadigm shift to resistance songs with theconquest of the region by the Abyssinianexpansion. It was made the main breathing wheelto comment on the mal administration of theneftegna (gun bearers of the conquerors).Children, youths and elders used to convey theirfeelings through songs in any circumstances.After more than half a century, the urbanizedOromo transformed arts into an organized form ofmovements. The establishment of Afran Qallo,the firs organized Oromo cultural troupe, was onesuch organized movement. The Afran Qallopioneered Oromo of the others areas. Thecultural bands of Guddattuu Wallaggaa, BurqaaBoojji, Biqiltuu Mandii and Lalisaa Najjoo werethe results of the movements. Under taking suchmovements were not without risky. When thesongs they were singing was discoveredsubversive, the discovered composers andsingers were either exiled or executed orimprisoned. It was under such circumstance thatthe Oromo cultural troupes were resisting themaladministration of consecutive administratorsof Ethiopia.REFERENCESAduselam Hajii (2008). Interview with Yonis AbdullahIn: Radio Program Qillensarraa Walbaradhaa(Introducing Through the Air), Radio Harar, Harar,April, 15/4/2008.Alifia Hajii Yusuuf. (2000). Interview with the Founderof Afran Qalloo, Sulyman Yusuf” In: The RadioProgram, Qilleensarraan Walbaradhaa (IntroducingThrough the Air), Radio Harar, Harar, November15/ 3/2000.E.C.Asafa Tefera (2004). Theorizing the Present: Towarda Sociology of Oromo Literature. Addis Ababa:Branna Printing Press.Bahru Zewde. A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855-1991, Second Edition. James Carry, Athens: OhioUniversity Press, Addis Ababa: Addis AbabaUniversity.Bariisa (1991). 22(4), February 26/ 1991.Bariisa. (1977). 2(4). February 29,1977.Bariisa. (1991). 2(13), May,29/1991 E.C.Echeruo and Michael, J. (1975). The Dramatic Limits ofIgbo Ritual” in Bernth Lindfors (Edn.) Criticalrepresentative on Nigerian Literatures. London:Three Continent Press.Gada Melba (1988). Oromiya: An Introduction.Kartoum: NP.Markakis, John (1994). Anatomy Of Traditional Polity.Addis Ababa: Shama, Book Printing Press.Mohammed Hassan (1999). A Short History of OromiaColonial Experience, 1970’s-1090’s. Journal ofOromo Studies 6(1&2).Olana Soga (1993). Gizit Ena Gizot: Mecha-TulemaMeredaja Mahiber (Oath and the Banishment:Maccaa-Tuulamaa Association). Addis Ababa, NP.Shantam Shubbisaa (undated). Owwalamnee Turre(We Have been Buried), Radio Cassette DirreDhowaa: Nägaret Music shop, Serial, 3.Teshal Tibebu (1995). The Making of Modern Ethiopia,1896-1974. Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press.Tuohy and Sue. (1991). Cultural Metaphors andReasoning: Folklore Scholarship and Ideology inContemporary China. Asian Folklore Studies 50(1):189-222.96