The Abbaa Boku was also supported by a council, known as Shanee or salgee, and retired Gadaa officials. 12, No. Hence, the executive officers may put pressure on the conscripts to accept the offer. It is still able to preserve its structural values though various external challenges tested it to abolish or decline it through time. The Borana traditional religion is monotheistic; they worship Waaq (or Waaq, Waaqa or Wak). For instance, the archaic nomenclatures to these Gadaa class orders are Birmaji, Horota, Bichile, Dulo, and Robale. Broadly speaking, the age-set system of social organization is common to east African indigenous peoples. (LogOut/ Some of these old men may have also sat in the Borana Assembly, the Salgan yaa Borana. Both social groups pass from one stage of development to the next every eight years. 3 0 obj
The class in power is headed by Abba Gadaa in Borana, Abba Bokku elsewhere. Both sets of groups pass from one stage of development to the next every eight years. In addition to his Harvard PhD dissertation, Legesse has published a book[25] positioning Gadaa as an African democracy that could inform constitutional thinkers. Herds of cattle or camels were not allowed to go there unless there was an extremely severe drought. For instance, Haberland and Asmarom vary from the former model in that the fifth Gadaa grade (raba) takes five years and the seventh, eighth, ni1nth and tenth Gadaa grades (i.e. rules are determined by Abba Gada (the leader of Oromo democratic institution named Gada in which Borana is one of the branches) together with council of elders or messengers of Abba Gada. His eyes still shine with the rigors of his youth. However, for the purpose of this study, it refers to the intergenerational relationship but quite different from its common understandings. This begins when sons join the system as members of Gadaa class (generation class or set) forty years after their fathers and continue passing from one Gadaa grade to the next every eight years. For example, a thesis by Z. Sirna[29] entitled "Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State" explores how the system could be integrated with the contemporary federal structure of Ethiopia, serving as a governance mechanism for the Oromia Regional National State. xZmoF a>JX4z9/n}PlVW?#z[ 33~|&YiG['>{X__qH:AB)pMu}:\_n}HVg%/W|-CL;Ok#dmm6U%Y+Y%Vv8:'qS#{B\=y! Indigenous Environmental Knowledge of Borana Pastoralists Problems and Purpose The election process is known as lallaba (proclamation). Elementary age-sets are the basic sets not tied to other variables such as initiations, the interval between father and son and other elements discussed hereinabove. That is, unlike the case of junior gamme the senior gamme will be constituted into two institutions: age sets and Gada class. Their time cuts across two consecutive supreme leaders and they serve and take instructions from both. Since this Gadaa grade is the most essential stage. OLA and Addis open preliminary talks in climate of mistrust Keywords: Gadaa, indigenous institution, Oromo, conflict resolution, Awash River Basin, Borana. These were the Abbaa Cha a, the chair of the assembly, Abbaa Dubbi, the speaker, Abbaa Seera, the Memorizer of laws Abbaa Alanga the judge, Abbaa Duula, the army commander, Abbaa saa in charge of the economy. One is a system in which the members of each class are recruited strictly on the basis of chronological age. Guji Abba Gada leaders designate Shene armed group as "enemy of the In the Borana community, where many elements of the Gadaa system still exist, the assembly known as Gumi Gayyo (the assembly of multitudes) brings together every type of important living leaders, such as living Abba Gaddas, the qaallus, age-set councilors, clan leaders and Gadaa councilors, and other concerned individuals to make or amend or change laws and rules every eight years. Instead, they shall be disciplined verbally and psychologically. Even other children who take refuge to a home of daballe will also be excused from any form of punishment. Baallii is a process of transferring power from one Gadaa party to the next. U%.T syO
pvyc{CC7-uZ 1 G J6@H-##Ot@rDMp~ $tZ For the South American sub-language, see, Borana Gadaa system- a form of government that is in existence for the last 567 years, The Oromo of East Africa, Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. Though the nomenclature of each five cyclic Gadaa classes varies across the Oromo land, in essence, all are the same. Each of the semi-retired Gadaa grades bears eight years period and in sum covers thirty-two years (i.e. And the possession of the defining institutions of Qaallu (the spiritual leader) and the common Gadaa government seems to have been the special mark of the Oromo people. Councils like these have sat down under similar circumstances in the gentle late afternoon sun, for the last five hundred years. Each Gadaa class remains in power during a specific term (Gadaa ) which begins and ends with a formal transfer ceremony. Oratory, the art of public speaking, is highly valued in Oromo society; the forms of delivery, the wit of the speaker, his tone of voice, his posture, eye contact and ability to command the attention of the audience are skills to be honed and admired. Corporal punishment of dabballe is strictly prohibited. However, before traveling to different houses, they had to notify in advance the mothers of age-mates so that they will arrange the trip and feast for them. First and foremost, the term generation does not mean age-peers as understood in the West. >3
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e#ggm RvPuE2@+1oB2\$kWvctwF~EhJ6p,? A political party known as GSAP (Gadaa System Advancement Party) bases its ideology on the principles of Gadaa. The Gadaa system is an indigenous egalitarian democratic system practised among the Oromo nation of East Africa. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In his comparative analysis of East African age-sets system. The Abagadha and others of his age pass through an education system that will last for forty years after which he will take over the leadership as Abagadha. Borana. The other Gada assemblies, Gada Hawattu and Gada Konnitu, are the assembly of leaders from Hawattu and Konnitu clan of Goona moiety of the Borana society. In the state of Oromia under the Federal system of Ethiopia, the Gadaa system started a renaissance across Oromia. These councilors must pass through a rigorous training for years about the laws and the customs of Borana, and the wisdom of leading a society before they take the position of authority in Gada. The second is a system in which the members are recruited on the bases of genealogical generation. Below this assembly was the Kenyan MCA equivalent, the councillors, Hayyus who made the less weighty decisions. The assembly had the president, two vice presidents and six other very important officials who ran the Borana administration. Abba Gadas: The Ancient Borana Leadership SystemAcross the dusty plains, under the shade of acacia trees six old men can be seen sitting together. In incorporating the age-classification system, Gadaa is similar to age-sets practiced by the Masai, Kikuyu, and the Nuer. Both types of social groups are formed every eight years. Bonus information The decisions made by the traditional councils also affected the use of natural resources. The other point of exclusion was from attaining all Gada grades and age sets like males (Tesema, 2016). Accordingly, where the first five years of the senior gamme are characterized by joyful activities (singing, dancing and experience sharing) the remaining consecutive three years is the period of being considered as members of the Gada class rather than as a mere member of age-sets. Nevertheless, water resources scarcity in the country is to be understood in terms of its spatial and temporal distributions. Age grouping is combined with a generational mode of recruitment, in that a son gets introduced to a specific set correlated to the set of his father, and subsequently changes his status every eight years a member of his generation-set. Politically, it has a system of government where the overall leader is God himself and many unknown things are referred as 'Waqa Bekh', a sentence that can be equated to a Supreme Being knows. Participedia Contributors, "The Gadaa System of the Oromo People," last modified September 7, 2018, Retrieved from, This page was last edited on 2 January 2023, at 05:08. After a few minutes, the head of the council arrives, the Abba Gada or father of Gada as he was called in the Borana tongue. what is ward 4 altnagelvin hospital. This article is about East African ethnic group. startxref
4X8). There are five Gadaa parties known as shanan Gadaa Oromoo. One of the peculiar features of senior gamme is their tendency to be organized as responsible friends hariyya and mobilize themselves for a continuous five years, especially during summer time. The Gumi Gayyo assembly has the highest degree of authority than the Gadaa and other assemblies, and other assemblies cannot reverse its decisions. }}vk.p-!)Kzp5U`kU }rnJ^eV>U59#UKXs/Vr*Y%=:1E&eGFP*9yfpOiU*?h
U01|G})\_ $ hiM.^{& zDgA(_-S30`s/ar:Q`To{22L1_'=ak$yxrj}s2b7Q*O)`dkRRB5%L+LNkTbBBZ*JagM:MbgumA*EhQ6 There is no formal rite of passage to this Gadaa grade unlike the case of passage to junior gamme. For example, if a father belongs to the Gona moiety and he is at the fifth Gadaa grade and if he got a son at that stage, his son will be initiated to the same Gadaa class as a dabballe) like his father. Old and wise as his years, he trudges along, stick in hand. At Raba (Gadaa grade V) the basic organization of this executive organ (i.e. Like modern parliaments today this Borana parliament would summon sittings to make, repeal or ensure that the laws were being followed. Since they were semi-nomadic, their population growth did not match with those of their neighbors both in Kenya and Ethiopia, this put them at risk to lose much of their territories. Gadaa class refers to a segment of genealogical generations constituted by two cross-cutting elements: age-sets and moieties. Borana Indigenous knowledge on water resource management an Abba bokkuu or Abbaa Gada. It is reasonable to question the reason why do most indigenous peoples of East Africa including the Oromo did organize social structure based on continuous age-groupings and periodic rituals? what is joel riley doing now The status being a councilor in Gada Harboora is quite different from being a councilor in Gada Hawattu or Konniitu.The Gada system is not a system where authority is simply passed from fathers to sons. Education and enculturation occur through music. Despite the emergence of various autonomous Gadaa systems, the central principles of the system remained intact. Boranas also have special warriors that defend the community from any enemies. Abba Gada allows the Borana to estimate the stage their society has reached in its ritual progression through time (1973:188). This system is not only well developed and well preserved among the Borana [] This committee includes members of the PP party in Oromia, members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF, of which the OLA is an outlawed splinter group), the Abba Gada council, and religious leaders. Gadaa Grade is the stage of full political maturity and became the ruling party for the following eight years. But the OLA accused the Abba Gada, who are elders in the Oromo culture, of being hand-picked by the government. [2][3][4], Under Gadaa, every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus nine leaders known as Salgan yaii Borana (the nine Borana assemblies). 0000025790 00000 n
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However, in the case of the Gadaa political system, as long as they (semi-retired men) are not declared individually incapable due to factors such as incapacity (physical or mental) and not fully retired (traditionally known as yuubomu that is after completing the four yuuba period); they have duty to serve as legal experts and advisers to Gadaa council in power. Assessment of Indigenous Water Management System: A Case Study of 0000013416 00000 n
It is a simpler institution, called age-sets (hariyya) that was then introduced to serve as a subsidiary institution that supplements the social, maturational and military functions. [14] It is the system with which the Oromo people have been governing themselves in a democratic way for centuries. As a result problem in a relation to incorporation of late or early born children often arises. Hence when such event occurs, additional councilor (s) will be elected to fill the gap (serve as substitutes for deceased councilor (s). Defining the term generation is not an easy task especially in a relation to its socio-political relevance for peoples responsibilities and rights characterization. Nobody is above the rule of law in Oromo democracy. Accordingly, the rite of ceremony changes the social status of the child from being considered as girls to boys; it represents the birth of sons. Today we seem to have forgotten these important rules, and cattle invade and damage forests every dry season. Following the rite of passage, therefore, the junior gamme assume responsibilities such as looking after sheep and other simple duties. Herds of cattle or camels were not allowed to go there unless there was an extremely severe drought. As discussed elsewhere, the two groups are cross-cutting structural units that operate as complementary institutions as long as both are represented by living members. It is an indigenous system of government where leaders are elected to position of authority through the will and active participation of the people they represent.For people who have studied the system and worked with the Gada Councilors, it is absolutely clear that Gada is a functioning democracy. Among such concepts the following are notorious: age-sets, generation, generation-sets (also known as Gadaa classes or cohorts) and others. This is the reason why the Borana Oromo chooses to call the Abba Gada of Harboora Assembly Hayyuu Fiixe, or Adula Fiixe, which literally means the prime councilor. 185 32
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These forms of government have its own leader called Abba Gada, and Abba .
The Oromo Society is organized into two distinct but cross-cutting systems of peer group structures. Though the nomenclature of each five cyclic Gadaa classes varies across the Oromo land, in essence, all are the same.