oromothoughts

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An encouragement of boldness and hardiness to adventure that by such a conspicuous mark, the sluggish and cow-hearted should be distinguished from the bold and daring. In their banquets and feasts the best bit is always set in the middle and he that takes it must be the first in any perilous undertaking; nor is there any long consideration; every one person prepares to win honour to himself, ambition stimulating their fortitude ... But their most prevailing encouragement in battle is that because no man should be thought to fight for base hire, or out of servile obedience for another man's honour, but only for his own reputation, the plunder is equally divided among them all. They go to war, as if they had devoted themselves to victory, with a certain resolution, either to overcome or to die. From whence proceeds great obstinacy in battle.

Hiob Ludolf talking about the factors that made Oromo cavalry such a formidable military force.

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Reppin my #Oromo roots #EastAfrica ❤️

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I AM FROM OROMIYA.

I am Oromo. From Oromiya. We were a nation of our own before the Abbysinian expansion- which is now know as Ethiopia. We had our own political and egalitarian system known as the Gada system. That’s how we ruled for a long time before the British empire allied with Abyssinia to kill off my people and recreate the borders of Abyssinia. That’s how Oromiya was colonized. Now think about the bullshit Ethiopians have been telling you about the only country in Africa to never have been colonized.. Think about it. It’s so sick how they boast about that shit so proudly knowing what my people went through for them to make this sick ass claim. This means we were ALWAYS Oromo and STILL are OROMO. India was colonized by the British but did they conform and claim to be British? Nah. Not only that, but we are oppressed- jailed (Oromos make up the largest prison population in Ethiopia), raped, tortured, displaced from our homes and farmlands, our language- an indigenous people’s language was banned up until 1992. Yet, the ignorant of ignorants paint us as Ethiopians, habeshas, etc. They claim that Oromo is a “tribe”.. Bihh.. Oromiya is made up of more than ELEVEN tribes. Afaan Oromo- the Oromo language spoken by Oromo people- is in the top ten most spoken languages in the whole CONTINENT of Africa. We make up the SINGLE LARGEST ethnic population in East Africa. The erasure of my people is too real. It’s no accident that majority of the world has never even heard of the word Oromo let alone its people. That’s how oppression and colonization works. Tuh.

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oromo gyall 

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lmao I find it so dismissive when articles will discuss the Oromo protests, the oppressive nature of the current regime, and the dispossession of Oromo peoples as if it’s only in relation to the master plan?? like loll I’m sorry but the oppression of Oromo people didn’t start two years ago? and whilst the current protests are in response to the master plans, they’re also, in a broader sense, in response to years of subjugation and the erasure of cultural identity? like lol my dad had to change his name to a non Oromo sounding one and pretend to be someone else’s child just so he could go to primary school, and growing up in Addis of course meant that he was encouraged to reject all cultural connections to his Oromo heritage and embrace an Amhara-centric cultural identity

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Love me some Baadiyyaa, Oromia

“Oromiyaa tiyyaa naa misoomi”

“My Oromia, flourish for me”  As in keep on developing, growing, expanding… 

I know the video quality is poor but, all that beauty in one video

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Top compliments in Afaan Oromo

bareeddu/bareedaa-beauty

goota-hero

leenca -lion

faaya -jewel

arjaa -kind

nama jabaa- a great person

cimtuu/ cimaa- intelligent

warqee- gold

ilillii- flower

mootii- king

giiftii- queen

…

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PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ETHIOPIAN

Do not clap for Ethiopians because they weren’t colonised by the white man. They worked with the Brits to colonise the Oromo people that make up majority of Ethiopia. DONT GET IT TWISTED. ETHIOPIA HASNT BEEN COLONISED BECAUSE THEY ARE THE COLONISERS. PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN. They still hold colonial power and exercise that power brutally. 600+ people day within three days. Peaceful people celebrating a cultural celebration.

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Ethiopia, My indigenous Oromo blood looks familiar splattered on your soil. Canada, My black body’s blood looks familiar splattered on your sidewalks.

“Displaced Diaspora” - Timaaj Hassen (via vibes-art-justice)

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The problem with Ethiopia and the Abyssinianist narrative that misleads so many people into accepting imperialist propaganda as real history. The image of Ethiopia that is projected to the world and to diaspora kids is so inaccurate. Go study and understand what identity politics is about in Ethiopia instead of dismissing it with vague calls for unity that make no sense. 

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Woman from Borana tribe carrying her baby. The Borana Oromo are a pastoralist tribe living in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenyahttp://bem.2be.pl/IS/ethiopia_380.jpg #jadwisinpl http://dlvr.it/KmLb1v

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Umar Suleeymaan.L.8.

These tunes drive hard.  Listen to this one.  It’s from this album but they used the cover of a different album in the video.  Oromo people love this guy - read the comments on that video.  His voice is unbelievable and I’m guessing the lyrics are pretty powerful in a political way.

Lest you be confused, this isn’t the Syrian artist with almost the same name who was popular in the US a few years ago.  Umar Suleeymaan is Ethiopian, specifically Oromo.  Also he doesn’t play guitar anywhere on this album, despite posing with one on the cover.

Here’s a track from a different album, and some more info.

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Attended the Oromia @ Federation Square festival yesterday. It’s always lovely to witness the community spirit amongst the Oromo people here in Melbourne despite the hardships that many of their fellow countrymen face back home.

I really enjoyed watching their performances and excellent dance moves.

To learn more about the Oromo community, head to oromocommunity.org.au

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Oromo woman from Tulugulu, Ethiopia.

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A short story for a Documentary Portrait assignment. With the permission of the family, here’s their story: In April 2004, Ethiopian security forces arrested former ETV journalist Dhabasa Wakjira. After three years in prison without trial, Dhabasa fled the country to escape further persecutions. His wife, Lelisee Wodajo, was then arrested and sentenced to 10 years without parole in Ethiopia due to her identity. Lalisee was later on released on 8 July 2011 and finally reunited with her family and friends in Melbourne on 8 August 2013 after more than 8 years of separation. More info: http://www.opride.com/oromsis/news/horn-of-africa/3698-jailed-oromo-journalist-lalise-wodajo-reunited-with-family-after-8-years http://ayyaantuu.com/horn-of-africa-news/oromia/lelise-wodajo-an-oromo-journalist-finally-free/ The Waaqjiraa Family - Dhaabasaa, Lalisee, Seenaa(not in photos) , Jiituu, Boonsan.

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Odaa Nabee, galataa kee, Odaa Bultum, galataa kee, Odaa Bisil, galataa kee, Odaa Robaa, galataa kee, Burkaa Buluq, galataa kee, Gadaa Oromo, galataa kee, ??Ganyaa?? fardaa, bareeda kee, Yaa missiroo, galataa kee, Amamotee, nagan galee

Jirenya Ayana’s take on a traditional Wallaggaa Oromo wedding song.

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Self-Respect

“To respect the law, in the context in which the American Negro finds himself, is simply to surrender his self-respect” –James Baldwin

I saw this quote and it made me think about the Oromo situation and the way suppressive societies demand that you conform. If I were to rephrase it for the Oromo scenario it would go;

“To categorize oneself under the Ethiopian identity, in the context in which an Oromo finds himself, is to simply surrender his self-respect”

To explain, the Ethiopian identity as it currently stands is ethnocentric and exclusive despite being presented as diverse and inclusive. Most of the well-known “national” symbols of Ethiopia revolve around the Amhara- and to some extent Tigray- identity. So much so that components of these cultures have become markers of how Ethiopian someone is. When Oromos introduce themselves as Ethiopian, people associate them with these markers and this takes away opportunities to make Oromo culture more visible in the world. The way I see it, unless there is a fundamental change in what it means to be Ethiopian, Oromos cannot call themselves so without undermining their own self-respect.

I know there are many Oromos who self-identify as Ethiopian who do so to work within the system and change the status quo in Ethiopia. These people are usually making an informed decision to self-identify as so.

Then there are the historically illiterate and hype-seeking Oromos who are usually uninterested about the politics of their identity. I bid this group to grow out of the apathy and anti-intellectualism that western youth culture glorifies and go read a book.