Video Lesson

Learning Competencies: After learning this lesson, you will be able to:

• explain the main factor behind the population movement of the Afar, Somali and
  Argoba peoples;
• analyze the causes and consequences of the Oromo population movement in
  Ethiopia and the Horn;
• sketch out the major directions of the movement of the Oromo on a map;
• appreciate the internal structures of the Gadaa system and its roles in the successes of the Oromo during their movement.

Brainstorming Question

• What do you understand by population movement?

Key terms and concepts

The Movement of the Somali, Afar and Argoba Peoples

Somali: Before the 16th century, Somali sub-groups moved from coastal regions like Zeyla, Berbera, Benadir, and Mogadishu into the interior of the Horn of Africa, eventually settling in present-day Ethiopia and Somalia. During the conflicts between the Sultanate of Adal, led by Imam Ahmad, and the Christian highland kingdom under King Libne Dingil, the Somali played a significant role in Adal’s army. Additionally, some pastoral Somali communities moved to the eastern highlands during the war to find water and pasture.

Afar: Historical sources indicate that the Afar people have inhabited northeastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and southeastern Eritrea for centuries. Before the 16th century, drought and famine pushed them towards the middle Awash. During the conflicts between the Sultanates and the Christian highland kingdom, the Afar, relying on their pastoral economy, moved to safer areas to avoid the impact of the warfare. The Afar were influenced by the Sultanate of Ifat and later Adal. During Imam Ahmad’s period, they fought alongside the Imam and some Afar pastoral groups moved into the Ethiopian highlands.

Argoba: The Argoba are an ancient ethnic group in Ethiopia who embraced Islam early through Arabian missionaries. Their language is part of the Ethio-Semitic family. Historically, the Argoba played a significant role in trade, Islamic expansion, and the formation of Muslim states, with connections to Ifat, Walasma, Harar, and Hadya. Their strategic location along caravan trade routes and in conflict zones between the Christian highlands and lowland Sultanates made them particularly affected by these conflicts. This influence contributed to their spread across Southern Wollo, Harar, and other regions. Today, Argoba communities are found in the Argoba Zone of the Afar Regional State, as well as in Southern Wollo, Northern Shewa, and Hararge.

The Oromo Population Movement

The Oromo are one of the ancient peoples of the Ethiopian region and the Horn of Africa.
Linguistically, Afan Oromo belongs to the East Lowland Cushitic language family which consists of the Somali, Afar, Gedeo, Kambata, and so on. Available evidences show that the 16th century large scale Oromo population movement began from the Bale highlands.

Causes of the Movement

The movement of the Oromo people in the 16th century was driven by several factors. By the 14th century, a rising cattle population in the highlands of Bale led to a shortage of pasture. To find grazing land, young men moved their cattle to the lowlands south and southwest of Bale, particularly to the valleys of the Middle Awash and the Ganale River. Over time, these groups evolved into distinct Oromo sub-groups with a pastoral lifestyle. Additionally, sedentary Oromo communities already existed in the Sultanates of Sharka and Dawaro.

The Oromo movement accelerated during the 1520s, when the southern frontier of the Christian highland kingdom was vulnerable due to Imam Ahmad’s campaigns. Following Ahmad’s defeat and death, the Oromo movement intensified, leading to their rapid expansion into central, southeastern, western, southern, and parts of northern Ethiopia between the 1550s and 1580s.

Directions and Stages of the Movement

In the early 16th century, the Oromo were organized into two major confederacies: Borana and Barantu. The Borana confederacy included the Macha, Tulama, Guji, and Southern Borana Oromo, while the Barantu comprised the Karayu, Ittu, Marawa, Akkachu, Arsi, and Humbana sub-groups. As the Oromo expanded, the Borana moved towards the central and southwestern Ethiopian regions and even into northern Kenya. Conversely, the Barantu headed northeast, reaching the Awash Valley, Harar, Wollo, and neighboring areas.

The Oromo expansion began around 1522 with the Macha and Tulama branches of the Borana. They advanced northward between Lake Abaya and Mount Walabu, moving towards the Rift Valley Lakes region. During this movement, the Oromo launched attacks on several states, including Hadya, Bali, Sharkha, Dawaro, and Fatagar. The Christian highland kingdom, led by King Gelawdewos (r. 1540-59), was unable to stop their progress from its base near Lake Ziway, leading to the Oromo controlling these territories in the 1550s.

By the early 1560s, the Macha and Tulama established a new center at Odaa Nabee, near Dukam, where they held assemblies and continued their campaigns. They attacked the states of Wajj, Bizamo, Damot, and Gafat. Although King Sertse Dingil (r. 1563-97) achieved a victory over the Oromo in 1572, this success was short-lived. The Oromo continued their advances, and as a result, many inhabitants of Bizamo and Damot fled across the Abay River to settle in Gojjam.

In the southwest, the Oromo faced strong resistance from the medieval kingdom of Ennarya. Although the Oromo began their attacks in the early 17th century, persistent resistance continued throughout the century. It wasn’t until around 1710 that the Limmu branch of the Macha Oromo defeated Ennarya, renaming the territory Limmu-Ennarya. To the south of the Gojeb River, the kingdom of Kafa successfully repelled the Oromo, limiting their expansion in that region.

In contrast, the Barantu Oromo moved north and east. The Arsi branch moved from the Bale highlands to the Lake Ziway area, where they established their present territory. The Karayu moved east from the upper Wabi Shabale River to their current eastern lowland area. Meanwhile, the Ittu, Humbana, and other eastern Oromo groups settled in Hararghe. The Guji branch also moved south and established their present territory.

Consequences of the Movement

The Oromo population movement had significant and far-reaching effects on both the Oromo and the other states and societies in the Ethiopian region. The movement led to contact between various Oromo branches and other peoples, drastically altering the regional landscape.

Medieval kingdoms and sultanates were particularly impacted. The Christian highland kingdom was confined to the areas north of the Abay River, while the Sultanate of Adal was reduced to the city of Harar, surrounded by the Jugol wall. The Oromo expansion led to the destruction or significant influence over the southern and southwestern states, including Bali, Hadya, Fatagar, Dawaro, Damot, Gafat, and Bizamo.

The Oromo generally treated communities that accepted them with kindness, integrating them through the Moggassa institution, which allowed for peaceful adoption and integration into Oromo sub-groups. In contrast, communities that resisted faced plunder and displacement, as seen in the states of Damot and Bizamo.

The movement facilitated the exchange of socio-cultural values. Many non-Oromo groups adopted the Oromo Gadaa system, while the Oromo adopted various cultural elements from their neighbors. Oromo settlers in Christian areas sometimes converted to Christianity, while those in the eastern regions often adopted Islam.

However, the extensive movement led to the weakening of the indigenous Oromo political system. The Gadaa system, which functioned well in smaller, geographically limited areas, struggled to maintain coherence across the newly settled regions. This led to the emergence of multiple Gadaa centers with slight variations in practices, though the Gadaa federation system and its values persisted due to ongoing Muda ceremonies.

Finally, changes in the economic life of the Oromo also affected the Gadaa system. In the territories where they settled, the Oromo adopted a sedentary mixed farming economy that led to the formation of social classes. They were also involved in long distance trade. During the first half of the 19th century, acute competition and constant wars over the control of trade and trade routes led to the rise of powerful warlords who began to challenge the authority of Gadaa officials. The wealth from agriculture and trade enabled some Abbaa Duulaa to build their own private armies for further control of land, markets and trade routes. They imposed their authority on their own sub-groups and then on others. Step by step, the power of Gadaa declined to control the ambitious Oromo war leaders who stayed in power longer than what was set in the Gadaa cycle and eventually became Mootii (king).

The Gadaa System of the Oromo

The Gadaa system is an indigenous democratic socio-political institution of the Oromo. In the past, the system regulated the entire political, economic, social and religious life of the Oromo. The Gadaa system was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 as an intangible World Cultural Heritage of humanity at its 11th intangible world heritage. Under the Gadaa system newly born generations of Oromo children are expected to pass through a series of Gadaa grades that succeeded each other every eight years in assuming military, economic, political and ritual responsibilities. Each member of the Gadaa grade performed in different capacities to the society as a whole.

Grade	Age of Individuals
Dabale	0-8
Game-Titiko	8-16
Game-Gurgudo	16-24
Kusa	24-32
Raba-Doori	32-40
Gada	40-48

Table 7.1 Gadaa Grades of the Oromo

The Gadaa system was organized into ten grades, divided into two periods of forty years each. The first period, called the Gadaa of the father, covered the initial forty years and had specific names. The second period, known as the Gadaa of the son, also lasted forty years and had its own set of names. An infant boy entered the Gadaa system at a grade exactly forty years (or five Gadaa grades) behind his father, irrespective of the father’s age. This cyclical process repeated every eighty years.

The Gadaa government was organized through assemblies known as Chaffee, which operated at local, regional, and central levels based on democratic principles. Officials were elected based on skills such as oratory, historical knowledge, and military achievements. The highest authority, the Abbaa Bokku or Abbaa Gadaa, acted as the spokesperson and was considered the “first among equals.” Other key officials included the Abbaa Sera, the chief judge, and the Abbaa Duulaa, the army commander. Additionally, a council of retired Gadaa officials assisted in government administration.

The elected Gadaa officials ruled the Oromo in accordance with the laws of the Gadaa system for eight years. The government’s independent executive, legislative and judicial branches were a way of balancing power. Corrupt or dictatorial leaders would be removed from power through a process called “buqqisu” (removal) before the official end of their term.

In Oromo society, women’s participation in the Gadaa system is facilitated through the parallel institution known as Siinqee. This institution promotes gender equality and plays a crucial role in peace-making within the Gadaa system. Upon marriage, a woman begins to hold the Siinqee, a thin stick symbolizing fertility, production, and prosperity. The Haadha Siinqee (mother of Siinqee) is an active member of the Gadaa and participates in peace-making processes alongside legal experts and elders.

The Gadaa system, which had governed the Oromo for centuries, began to decline as the Oromo expanded throughout the Ethiopian region starting in the early 16th century. Various factors contributed to this decline, including the rise of powerful war leaders who became kings (Mootii), involvement in long-distance trade, the spread of Islam, interactions with monarchical Omotic states, and the influence of missionary activities and the hierarchical Ethiopian Empire.

As a result, the Gadaa system became largely reduced to ritual and ceremonial functions, though some of its expressions and psychological traits persist in current Oromo culture. Despite its decline, the Gadaa system remains a notable example of democratic governance in historical societies, demonstrating how the Oromo maintained unity and internal peace through its democratic principles.

Moggassa and Guddifacha

Moggassa and Guddifacha were the institutions practiced by the Oromo during their centuries of movement and expansion. Moggassa means adopting a new Oromo or non-Oromo sub-group or any other social group as a body (in mass) by a ceremony of oath held in the presence of the Abbaa Gadaa. Based on this institution various Oromo sub-groups adopted quite a number of people. Adopted Oromo sub-groups or any other group became collectively Ilma Gossa (sons of the sub-group) and were entitled to all the socio-economic and political rights adoption entailed.

The Oromo’s adoption of a growing number of groups of people expanded their numbers and, as a result, their military potential to battle the enemy. This significantly contributed to the success of the Oromo in attacking the enemy and controlling new lands in the highlands of the Ethiopian region. Through the Moggassa system, at the same time, the weak Oromo or non-Oromo groups gained both protection and material benefits from the members of the adopting Gossa. Likewise, Guddifacha was an institution for adopting others on an individual level. The adopted son was regarded as a real son, and he enjoyed all rights of a true son. Non-Oromo individuals were also integrated into the Oromo society through this institution.