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Abstract
The aim of this paper is primarily to investigate the significances of Odaa (the holy sycamore tree) in Gadaa System and to underscore the significance of Madda Walaabuu in the socio-political and religious life of the Oromo. In the history of the Oromo people, the general assemblies for socio-political and religious purposes are held at the Caffee under the shade of the Odaa tree. The whole set of Gadaa political activity including Gadaa rituals, initiation, the handover of power ceremony, revising and enacting customary laws and judiciary practices are held under the shade of Odaa tree. As a result of its significance Odaa tree is honored as symbolically the most important of all trees. The close examination of people’s oral tradition and the use of available written materials help us to reconstruct the history of such a theme. Written sources related to the theme were gathered and about fifteen elders of different regions in Oromia were interviewed to recollect reliable traditions related to the topic. The sources recorded were analyzed based on the historical research. The minor finding reveals that there is a deep rooted and wider range of socio-cultural and historical interpretation to Odaa (the sycamore tree). Odaa is customarily believed to be the most respected and the most sacred tree, the shade of which was believed as the source of tranquility. Shade of the Odaa was both the central office of Gadaa government where the Gadaa assembly met and was a sacred place for ritual practices.
... In Other hand there are humble worldview regarding water in Oromo culture. In the Gadaa rituals at the Gadaa centers three elements; water (rain), grass and milk) were usually available and aimed at interconnecting the natural and social order (Dereje 2012). Some scholars like Gemechu (1994); Lemu (1971);Dinsa (1975); Tesema (1980) relate the original water (Walaabuu) to out of which Waaqaa created all creatures. ...
... They believe that water exists before every creation. As agreed by previous social researchers like Megerssa (1993), Bartels (1990), Tesema (2006) and Dereje (2012), Oromo creation myth confirm that in the beginning there was Water. This water is called Walaabuu or Bishaan Ganamaa, was divided into the Bishaan Gubbaa (Water of Above) and Bishaan Goodaa (Water of Below). ...
This research dealt with hora (salty mineral water) and its ritualistic aspect among the Maccaa Oromo. It aims at exploring the hora (salty mineral water) and its ritualistic contents in social and natural environments of the Maccaa Oromo. The study areas were purposively selected based on its historical background and valuable information related with hora obaasuu and its ritual and there are some hora sites in West Shawa zone. Accordingly 13 respondents from three Aanaas (districts) participated in the study. The respondents were purposively selected depending on their age and experience in using the hora. This study revealed that the major hora used by the Maccaa Oromo were hora Sanqallee, hora Amboo, hora Weessoo, hora Gur’uu Fadii, hora Bilandoo and hora Baaduu. According to the Maccaa Oromo’s world view, hora (mineral water) is believed as clean and as extraordinary water with the purifying and curing power. However most of these horas and ritual which attached to them are being changed and under mind as well as they are being replaced by alien culture due to globalization spirit and its associative factors such as the introduction of foreign religion, modernization and bio medical drugs on cultural mix. So it is needed to conserve this natural resource with its cultural elements since hora is the indicator of indigenous people’s investigation, belief system, wisdom, philosophy and culture.
... Madda means 'spring water', but also 'source'. Wallaabuu, in this context, stands for water as the primordial substance (Megerssa 1993), and thus this place symbolizes the original source water from which all things were created (Hinew 2012). 31 ...
The increasing recognition that the Earth is deeply shaped by interactions between biophysical and social forces has resulted in a refrain for research that integrates biophysical and social sciences. The field of critical physical geography (CPG) offers one way forward, combining approaches from science and technology studies, political ecology, and environmental history with close attention to biophysical processes. This dissertation takes a CPG approach to examining the case of Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains and its national park, an internationally recognized area of endemism and the headwaters of several major rivers. The first section of the dissertation situates the science of the Bale Mountains, examining how socio-political histories extend into scientific practice. The second section explores alternative constructions of the landscape. The first section begins with a chapter on conceptual bridge-building, arguing why and how emerging network analysis and science mapping techniques should be adopted as core methods in CPG practice. Chapter 3 demonstrates this by using science mapping to identify the social, conceptual, and intellectual structures of the Bale Mountains corpus and how these have (re)produced the dominant framing of the landscape over time. Chapter 4 builds on this by scrutinizing the notion of the ‘Ethiopian Highlands’—a key element of how the region has been framed—and its associated metaphors. It traces the political-economic, biophysical, and epistemic factors by which this category came into use, and how these intersected to maintain a particular yet partial vision of the region. Chapter 5 highlights the region’s historical socio-cultural characteristics through an in-depth analysis of its placenames, challenging the dominant wilderness narrative perpetuated by the national park and conservation literature and pointing to the longstanding human presence and hydrosocial characteristics of the landscape. Chapter 6 uses remote sensing and geospatial data to explore the potential role of groundwater on the region's ecohydrology, proposing a new model of how water moves through the system. Collectively, this dissertation brings together socio-cultural and biophysical information to understand key overlooked aspects of the Bale Mountains including a reimagining of the region, while also demonstrating several mixed-methods approaches with relevance for CPG and related fields.
... Traditional Ethiopian civilizations practice traditional beliefs about items and living beings in their environment, as well as other imagined forces [41] and Some places were given due consideration as sacred. The sacred places are believed to have relations with the Supreme Being [25]. Activities like getting to sacred natural sites and killing and utilization of some species for the sake of protecting the sites from detrimental and despoilment interventions of local people [32]. ...
Traditional beliefs, social institutions, and cultural practices are performed in traditional communities of Ethiopia to harmonize interaction between the community and their natural environment. However, the positive effect of the communities on biodiversity was undermined and modernization erodes these traditional norms and their role in biodiversity conservation is not well known and documented. This review aims to evaluate the role of traditional beliefs and institutions in the conservation of biodiversity in Ethiopia. Traditional communities of Ethiopia believed that certain places and species are the ideal places to meet with their God and give special attention to them. Plant species like Ficus sycomorus, Podocarpus falcatus, Olea capensis, and Ficus vasta are regarded as a source of different spirits and have developed positive attitudes towards the plant species, and cutting them is immoral. Gada system, Kobo system, Gudo system, Jang system, Maga, Songo, and Baallee are traditional institutions that play a significant role in animal and plant species conservation in Oromo, Kaficho, Sheka, Majang, Gamo, and Gedeo community respectively. Taboos, oral declarations, social banishment, customary law, and punishment practiced by indigenous communities prohibit actions and activities that harm the welfare of biodiversity and their natural environment. Preservation of traditional beliefs and institutions is a form of biodiversity conservation, including registration as an intangible heritage of the community by the United Nations, Science, Education, and Culture Organization, because biodiversity and traditional community are intertwined (UNESCO).
... In Ethiopia, there are many sacred natural sites that are highly connected with local traditions in one way another. For instance, the sacred shrines like Me'ee Bokko, Adoola and Samarro in Guji Zone (Jemjem and Dhadacha, 2011), Caatoo forest in Horroo Guduruu Wollagga Zone (Lemessa, 2014), Wonsho sacred site in Sidaama area (Doffana, 2014), Madda Walaabuu, Haroo Walaabuu, Mormor, Liiban and Haroo Girjaa in Oromia region (Hinew, 2012) are commonly recorded sacred natural sites that are highly interlinked with local traditions. ...
This article explores the anthropogenic menaces affecting Me'ee Bokko and Daraartu sacred shrines among Guji Oromo, in Adoolaa Reeddee and Annaa Sorraa districts, Southern Ethiopia. This study employed qualitative approach, ethnographic research design, and methods of data production like in-depth interview; transect walk, and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that the expansion and teaching of Abrahamic religions (particularly Christianity and Islam), the implementation of unsustainable infrastructural project, modern educational system, waning of people's loyalty to customary laws of Gadaa system and encroachment of sacred land were anthropogenic menaces affecting the sacred shrines. Even though these threatening factors are formidable in their very nature and affecting the sustainability of sacred shrines, Guji people have century long indigenous mechanisms to maintain and preserve those sites. These mechanisms include the replacement of destructed sacred tree by ordaining another tree, occasional supervision on the status of sacred shrine by insisting local people to protect the sites, demarcating the sites, and enforcing customary punishment to sustain the sacred shrines. Generally, to mitigate the menacing factors and ensure sustainability of sacred shrines that are inextricably linked with Guji culture, and serving as biocultural diversity hotspot, the scholars, local people, government and non-governmental organizations have to collaborate on their preservation.
... It is a sacred site, where Gadaa assembles come together and formulate customary laws, and announce oral declaration. It is a tree dedicated to God and Gadaa system, being a center for socio-cultural, political and religious affairs (Hinew, 2012). The tree is associated with Oromo Gadaa system because of different myths, stories and belief system. ...
This article aims at investigating origin of tree symbolism and the cultural events embedded within this symbolism among the Guji Oromo. The study has opted qualitative approach, descriptive research design, and method of data production like interview, focus group discussion and transect walk. The finding shows that culture of tree symbolism in the area has been originated and developed from the long existing notion that trees are perceived as sacred gift of God to Earth and humankind. Particularly, some of native trees such as Cordia Africana, Euclea divinorum and Maesa lanceolata are symbolically connected to a variety of indigenous practices and events like ritual of avoiding inauspicious omen, ritual of idiotism, homicide case resolution, and mythical power expression. This allegorical link between indigenous practices and native trees has made the strong affinity between local practices and native trees in the manner that underpins conservation of native trees in spite of some anthropogenic menaces. Generally, culture of tree symbolism is indispensable to understand a long century’s environmentally friendly life of the people and to conserve native trees. Thus, this culture of tree symbolism has to be preserved by all concerned stakeholders to sustain environmentally benign practices among the people.
This review article is a historical narrative of the Doba people, who inhabited the Northeast Amhara region and Southern Tigray in what is now referred to as Raya, Ethiopia. The timeframe under consideration spans from ancient times until their eventual assimilation into the local communities. Despite the challenge of scant direct memory among the current residents of Raya, the historical traces of the Doba people are discovered through diverse sources such as chronicles, accounts from travelers, and church documents, either presented in translation or referenced within secondary materials. The article seeks to illuminate various aspects of the Doba people’s existence during the 15th and 16th centuries. This includes exploring their way of life, the geographical context of Raya, and the fluid nature of the Doba identity as it transformed interactions with other communities.
The demand for public relations professionals in Ethiopia is rapidly increasing, although its practice is still in its infancy. This chapter addresses the historical development and the contemporary status of public relations in Ethiopia. Historically, its manifestation is directly linked with indigenous communications of different communities in the country. The practices and roles of public relations in Ethiopia are less advanced, and the profession has not yet been well recognized by both practitioners and organizational managers. As a result, practitioners do not engage in organizational decision-making and rarely manage the profession strategically. This hampers the profession, and it becomes ineffective in maintaining the required objectives of the organization. This chapter argues for public relations practitioners to be involved in the organizations’ top management decision-making bodies to effectively interpret the policies and philosophies of the organization as well as execute public relations roles for mutual benefit at the organizational level and public interest. Hence, this chapter seeks to understand the following three main intentions: (1) to discuss the historical development of public relations in Ethiopia; (2) to assess the current state of public relations in the country; and (3) to explore the constraints and prospects of public relations in Ethiopia. The chapter utilizes secondary data through analyses of research articles, literature, books, and online resources related to public relations management.KeywordsPublic relationsIndigenous communicationPublic relations modelsEthiopia
The integration process associated with postcolonial African unification resulted in the establishment of several Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and two continental organisations, ranging from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union. This thesis begins with the premise that the integration approach has thus far been unsuccessful, encountering structural impediments in every facet of its political, economic, and sociocultural framework. Similarly, the structure of regional economic communities (RECs) has made little difference in terms of empowering African peoples, developing intra-African trade, or accelerating the unification project to its desired heights. Additionally, it appears as though the RECs are not structured or mandated to address the socioeconomic challenges confronting populations, to restore African identity, or to promote economic interdependence among member countries. As a result, many aspects of the original vision of free movement, free trade, open borders, and Africa-wide integration remain a pipe dream. This thesis argues that a narrow focus, as well as a lack of a common philosophy and model compatible with African socioeconomic and political aspirations in an African context, is at the heart of the continent's failed unification project. Despite numerous efforts since 1963, postcolonial Africa continues to suffer from balkanisation as a result of arbitrary borders, a phenomenon that has resulted in numerous, frequently protracted intra-national conflicts, economic stagnation, and governance challenges. In essence, the majority of African regional integration scholarship focuses exclusively on economic integration, omitting critical variables such as the political, sociocultural, and philosophical contexts for regional unification. Subsequently, there is a dearth of literature focusing on the restoration of African unity through a holistic approach. As evidenced by the research, I contend that focusing solely on the integration model underpinned by economic integration will not result in Africa's full unification. Additionally, this thesis responds to calls for contemplation of what an indigenous alternative architecture might look like in order to forge a common bond and responsibility based on shared consanguinity in order to reverse colonial architecture and reintroduce the African value system. The study employs a qualitative research approach to examine the challenges to Africa's unity. The purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of an alternative African unification theory based on indigenous knowledge systems, using the Horn of Africa as a case study.
This ethnographic study examines how the late nineteenth century Aanolee massacre in Ethiopia is remembered by the Arsi Oromo in gestures of amputation and memorial monuments. Haunted by vivid images of the amputated body, descendants of those who experienced this collective historical trauma have recast the past with implications for Oromo subjectivities. During recent periods of political violence, the dismembered bodies of the past have become reference points for Arsi Oromo seeking to reconstitute their collective social body. They literally “re‐member” their community by having larger families and meeting under Odaa trees that represent the traditional Oromo political system and social body. This research suggests that secondary hauntings constituted of memorializations of the violated body can remain so emotionally potent as to facilitate new political responses and imaginaries among peoples with historical trauma.
THIS study presents a reconstruction of the origins and major movements of the Galla and Somali of Northeast Africa which departs from most of the previous literature on the subject. The traditional view has been that the Galla occupied most of the Horn of Africa until the Somali, beginning about the tenth century, swept south and south-west from the shores of the Gulf of Aden driving the Galla before them.1 The pressure of the Somali has also been considered the major impetus to the Galla invasions of Ethiopia in the sixteenth century. It is the thesis of this paper that both the Galla and the Somali originated in southern Ethiopia, that the Somali expanded to the east and north much earlier than the Galla, and that the Galla lived only in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya until their migrations began about I530. These hypotheses were presented in brief form in 1962 and have since been strengthened by Fleming's work on the comparative linguistics of the Somali and by Haberland's rather similar conclusions about Galla history.2 The traditional reconstruction has a considerable corpus of supporting literature, however, and therefore I shall critically examine this literature as well as present further evidence in support of the new reconstruction. At the same time, I hope this will serve to emphasize the value of historical linguistic data and methods for the reconstruction of population movements.
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