article on eastern oromo, their settlements, their lands, etc

[James Dahl]

I suspect the reason why the Somali age grades persisted when everything else fell away is that it has military utility for organizing the fighting men of the clan and blooding them against the clan's enemies. This gave clan leaders an incentive to protect the institution from islamic reform movements where similar incentives would not exist for protecting the age sets or moeities, or other elements of old Waaqist social organization.

 

[James Dahl]

Oromo conquests changed the culture and language of many people, but the population itself I suspect remained largely the same. The Gibe peoples for instance have largely disappeared but in their place are most of the Oromo population who live in western Oromia. Other populations like Hadiya people and many other tribes of the rift valley have become Oromo through cultural and political assimilation. Oromo itself is largely a modern national identity as Oromo simply means people or humans. There is little evidence that Oromo people hundreds of years ago considered themselves a single nation, any more than Somali people did.

 

[Moholin01]

Oromo originate in Mada Walabu, which is the western Bale mountains. The eastern Bale mountains was an Islamic sultanate and along the Shabelle south of here was the original homeland of the Garre. From here they conquered many peoples.

The Boorana, who have 8 year age sets as a highland pastoralist cushitic people, and their age sets are Mardida (1968) Darara (1976) Libasa (1984) Sabbaqa (1992) Moggaasa (2000) Makula (2008) Fullasa (2016). Boorana expanded southwards towards Kenya for the last 400 years. The Borana moeities are Sabbo and Gona.

Barentuma was a related but seperate tribe from Boorana and this you can tell in that they have different age sets. Barentuma age sets are Biifolee (1946) Michille (1954) Harmuufaa (1962) Roobalee (1970) Birmaji (1978) Mullataa (1986) Duulo (1994) Melbaa (2002) Muudanaa (2010) Kilollee (2018). Barentuma moeities are Ittu and Humbanna. Barentuma expanded northwards conquering many Somali clans and other unrelated tribes like the Maya, who are now a clan of Barentuma, as are various Somali and Gurage clans in what is now Oromo Hararghe. Prior to their conquest there was a powerful Jarso Dir kingdom here called Dawaro. Jarso are now a divided people with some speaking Somali languages and identify as a Dir clan, and others speaking Oromo languages and identify as a Barentuma Oromo clan.

The distinct origin of the different tribes that have been Oromofied over the centuries is revealed by the age grades. There is an ancient divide between the ancestors of Somalis and other lowland peoples from highland peoples. Lowland people have 7 year age grades (or none after they become Muslims or Christians) and highland people have 8 year age grades.

The Gujji for instance are an ancient conquest of the Borana, who were subjugated long ago. They were originally their own tribe of highland people, they have their own age grades. Guji age sets are every 8 years and are Mudana (1984) Robale (1992) Halchiisa (2000) Harmuufa (2008) Dhallana (2016). Guji will tell you of their history and how they were their own tribe originally.

Gabbra, as they are descended from the same population as Rendille and Somali, they have age sets of 7 years, but each set is every 2 sets of 7 years so they are 14 years apart. The sets are Waguura Wakhoora Gurjaba Affata Manguba Dambala. Gabbra moeities are Lossa and Jiblo. Gabbra is not the name they have for themselves the name means servant, this name was given to them by the Borana, they were originally a group of related tribes of lowland east cushitic descent that lived near the Borana, and are related to Rendille and Digil Somali clans like the Iroole and Dabarre.

Rendille like Gabbra have 7 year age sets, where the sets by custom only change every second 7 years so 14 years. Their age sets are Irbaangudo (1937) D'fgudo (1951) Irbaalis (1965) Libaale (1979) Irbaandif (1993) Dismaala (2007). Rendille moeities are Saale and Dubsahay. Due to their isolation due to their inaccessible location, Rendille have been left alone to maintain many ancient customs that have completely disappeared from Somali culture.

While many of these customs have disappeared from Somali society, some fragments remain. Some Somali clans still have age grades for instance, which in Somali clans is ilgir bobto bombi meggia mulli harkugif. Just like with Oromo and Rendille, Somali men become Ilgir when they are circumcized, so this I believe is a holdover of pre-Islamic social organization that continues in practice due to its utility. Traditionally, men could not become bombi until they killed an enemy tribe, which is also ancient custom shared with other tribes like Borana to graduate to a manhood grade.
If we assume that Somalis had 14 year age sets in pre-Islamic times, Rendille have the exact same number of age grades, 6 of them, and follow the same progression as the Somali age grades, though instead of bombi, meggia, mulli and harkugif rendille instead have four grades (junior, middle, senior and retired) of their full manhood grade of makhabal.

Interesting. What do the age sets mean? What happens every eight years? Is it like the Japanese who name their eras after emperors?

 

[James Dahl]

The way it works is your set is the years you are born in, so for instance if you are Barentuma you are born as a dabballee rank. When you turn 8 years old you are circumcised and become ittimakoo rank. When you are 16 you can become a warrior and join the foollee rank. Foollee are the junior warriors. When you turn 24 you become a senior warrior, a qondaala. At 32 you semi retire from being a warrior and marry, and join raabaa rank. At 40 you and your age cohort are put in charge of Oromo society as gadaa rank, who for 8 years are the leaders. Then at 48 you become an elder of yuuba rank, of which there are increasing grades of the longer you are alive.

Each of these 8 year age cohorts has their own name, which rotates. People born in 2018 were born into the Kilollee set. In 36 years they will be the gadaa, which will be the Gadaa of Kilollee.

 

[celidheere]

Somalis' are bigger expansionists than us lol, for sure, cause nomads tend to need water, grass, etc, more. settled farmers be chillin. lol.
don't worry guys, we'll unite and make it Oro-Malia, or Som-Oromia. Lol or something like that. The land is Allaah's, we are temporary guests on it.

very wise

that would've been great but unfeasible imo, only way it happens is if the whole horn were to integrate

 

[Moholin01]

The way it works is your set is the years you are born in, so for instance if you are Barentuma you are born as a dabballee rank. When you turn 8 years old you are circumcised and become ittimakoo rank. When you are 16 you can become a warrior and join the foollee rank. Foollee are the junior warriors. When you turn 24 you become a senior warrior, a qondaala. At 32 you semi retire from being a warrior and marry, and join raabaa rank. At 40 you and your age cohort are put in charge of Oromo society as gadaa rank, who for 8 years are the leaders. Then at 48 you become an elder of yuuba rank, of which there are increasing grades of the longer you are alive.

Each of these 8 year age cohorts has their own name, which rotates. People born in 2018 were born into the Kilollee set. In 36 years they will be the gadaa, which will be the Gadaa of Kilollee.

Very intriguing. I take it that it is democratic/egalitarian society?

 

[James Dahl]

Very intriguing. I take it that it is democratic/egalitarian society?

Sort of, it's a unique system that's for sure, but since only people who own cattle can be full members of Oromo society, and of course the system only includes men. It is not a democracy because there is no free vote to choose leaders, leaders are chosen semi-randomly as a group based on their birth year which is a type of government called Sortition, where government offices are neither inherited, elected nor designated but chosen entirely at random or by rotation.

Within the Gadaa, the 8 years span of those sortition leaders, decisions are made collectively so within that group it is a democratic republic of a sort.