o - Aceh Books website

594 OROMO
Although there are so many different Oromo groups today, there are a few
Oromo values and styles of social behavior which are common to all. Oromo
values emphasize the importance of sociability and social solidarity, whether of
communities, districts, voluntary associations, gada units or kin groups. This
solidarity is manifest in an emphasis on the maintenance of peace and of reconciliation
among members of the group. Peace among the members may be
essential for ritual and religious as well as secular reasons.
Within such groups there is also a tendency to hold to a theory of the equality
of all male members. Even though they live near, and often under the control
of, the Amhara, who emphasize hierarchy and inequality, the Oromo value of
equality continues to be important. This is not an ethic of political and economic
levelling; various Oromo groups recognize and respect differences in wealth and
power, the presence of war leaders, land and cattle owners, powerful religious
leaders and even kings. Rather, it is an ideology which holds that any man's
(i.e. male) voice may be heard in council and no man need bow and scrape
before another. This principle is frequently upheld through the rotation of office,
election for limited terms and drawing of lots in many social contexts. Neighborliness
and friendship may be at least as important as kinship; cooperative
groups, voluntary associations for mutual aid and sociability are common features
in Oromo areas.
Oromo reckon descent patrilineally and speak in terms of named patrilineal
descent groups whose actual social importance varies considerably from place
to place. They also are noted for a distinct bias towards the male side and
masculinity in attitude, ritual and symbolism. Virility and male attributes are
evaluated positively, to the disadvantage of the female side and femininity. They
stress bravery and warrior ethos. The martial arts of riding, spear throwing and
fighting are emphasized, and men who have killed dangerous animals or human
enemies are honored and have the right to sing and boast of their exploits.
Whereas peace within the in-group is demanded, warfare against enemies is, or
was, highly honored. War between opposing Oromo groups was common.
Since their expansion, dispersion and differentiation in the sixteenth century,
the Oromo have never been united as a single people. The many local groups
have had different ecologies, economies, religions, social organizations, political
systems, involvements and interests. The degree of interaction with the Ethiopian
state has varied, too. The northerners of Shoa, Wallo and Tigre provinces were
deeply involved in Ethiopian state politics, as were the rulers and notables of
Wellega. Many of the other groups, including the Muslims of Harar, Arussi,
Bale and the Gibe states, were either antagonistic to the Christian rulers or, in
the case of the Borana, were far enough from the center to escape very much
involvement at all. Despite the weight of their numbers and strategic location,
their disunity and lack of common interest and identity resulted in their being,
for the most part, under the control of a culturally alien political elite and state.
In the late 1970s, after the fall of the Ethiopian monarchy and the entry of
revolutionary programs and ideas to Ethiopian, the potential for concerted Oromo