Mereja.Forum

[Revelations]

[Masud]

[Za-Ilmaknun]

Mogassa is being experimented in addis and other cities in the so called Oromia region as we speak. The sweet talk about Ethiopiawinet and pull the rag under our feet. As Ja-war proclaimed, the Qerro government is now in operation disguised as ODP. Interesting time!! They seem to have picked up all the evils of TPLF and improved on it further.

[DefendTheTruth]

Mogassa is being experimented in addis and other cities in the so called Oromia region as we speak. The sweet talk about Ethiopiawinet and pull the rag under our feet. As Ja-war proclaimed, the Qerro government is now in operation disguised as ODP. Interesting time!! They seem to have picked up all the evils of TPLF and improved on it further.

Be a man and perhaps anwer the following question:

it is clear that there are people who live intermingling in each other in our country, as Ethiopia is a pluralistic society, as those of who don't deny the facts know.

The following is the question to you:

an Oromo living in Bahrdar will definetely learn Amharic and communicate with the society there in the language they understand and integerate himself (herself) to the dominant culture there.

What about an Amhara living, say in Asela, of the Oromo region as an instance do in reciprocity for the Oromo living in Bahrdar?

[simbe11]

Mogassa is a form of assimilation. With this system someone would leave his/her identity and take the host or, in most cases, the invaders tribal identity.
I don't hate Mogassa but it's never a democratic thing whatsoever. There are many people who lost their identity due to Mogassa and made Oromo. Funny staff Minilik is taking the blame for systemic assimilation. Whereas the Oromo are proudly stating it in public.
It's a shame !!!!

[Revelations]

Wellega & Illubabur belongs to Damot not to Oromia


By ABRAHAM Taye

Wellega & Illubabur belongs to Damot not to Oromia

PART 1 : Oromos’ expansion is responsible for the genocide of Gafat population
The current Wellega and Illubabar are not lands of Oromo rather they were part of the Damot kingdom once its Gafat population and rulers evicted to Gojjam by the Oromo aggression. In the 16th Century, the Gafat inhabited a long stretch of territory on the bank of the Abbay River, extending from the Wellega river in the northern Shewa into eastern Wellaga (historical Damot), up to the Didessa river, and beyond. Southwards, their area of settlement extended as far as the headwaters of the Awash river: lakes Chala and Zway. The available earlier data indicate that the Gafat had inhabited a substantial portion of this territory in the previous two centuries.

From 1574-1606, the Gafat were increasingly exposed to the pressure of the northwards migrating Oromo. Unable to resist their onslaught decisively, large numbers of Gafat left their ancestral homelands and migrated across the Abbay into Gojjam, taking with them many of their place names ( including the term Damot, which now came to designate a town north of the Abbay ). Once in Gojjam, they were incapable of resisting the Christian kingdom, but instead looked toward them for protection. Overtime thus the Gafat became loyal and inconspicuous subjects of the Christian empire. This development culminated in the linguistic and cultural annihilation by Amara, which was virtually complete by the mid-20th century, a process that began 150 years during the visit to the area by the Scottish explorer James Bruce in 1769. Those Gafats who did not take part in the trans-Abbay exodus, but remained in their erstwhile homes and were fortunate enough to survive the Oromo invasion, were rather quickly assimilated , thus disappearing from history as a distinct ethnic groupGafats, now confined in Gojam speaking Amharic used to occupy a large area, are close relatives of Gurage. Study of their language revealed that it’s a family with Sodo and Sebat Bet dialects of Gurage. In Chaha, Sebat Bet gurage, just southwest of Welkite near Gubrye town, there is a region called Gafat.

The main reason many of the people were wiped out was because of the “depopulation” or i.e. “Genocide” that took place in the 16th century that is painstakingly recorded by the Portuguese such as Alvarez, Bermudez and Arab Ayyan. The Amhara, Argoba, Gafat, and Gurage people occupied much of the North, South, west and central Ethiopia that is why they speak Semitic language because of living together in common boundaries in ancient times. It is the Cushitic invaders Oromo occupying Illubabur & Wellega and bloking the Gojjam Amhara from the rest of Southern, Shewa and Gurage land.

In a related story the Mislee Oromo tribe occupied the present time Gibe and Jimma towns in the period between1554- 1562.This area was known as Enarya land of the Southern nations as currently called. Untill this point we can conclude that expansion of the Oromo towards west and North West Ethiopia Oromonized the areas by large.The expansion not only changed names of Damot to Wellega, Enarya to Jimma, but also resulted in extermination of the Gafat Damot population.

When to redress the crime done to the Gafat? The Gafat people should be given back their land in Wollega and Illubaur or monetary compensation. These people did not leave Damot of their will or even peacefully, they were mass murdered, their women raped, children castrated. It is a crime of genocide made by the Oromo they should redress the Gafat people before they claim Minilik. Not all, the few moron Oromos should learn it is typically referred to as genocide no survivor is left after their horrendous holocaust of the Gafat and Enarya tribes.

If the former boundary is not violated by the Oromo the possible Semitic region map will be mixing Southern nations such as Gurage land with Amhara land as Illubabur , wellega and Jimma were part of their land before the Orommo aggression.


Map the Gala/Oromo/ aggression and genocide in the west and North West Ethiopia

[DefendTheTruth]

Mogassa is a form of assimilation. With this system someone would leave his/her identity and take the host or, in most cases, the invaders tribal identity.
I don't hate Mogassa but it's never a democratic thing whatsoever. There are many people who lost their identity due to Mogassa and made Oromo. Funny staff Minilik is taking the blame for systemic assimilation. Whereas the Oromo are proudly stating it in public.
It's a shame !!!!

It is only in your limited and shallow understanding of the practice:

It is about giving equal opportunity to those who would have been treated as second class citizens (war captives, slaves etc) in other society. This is an integeration of the minority into the majority and treating them as equals, and you of course can't appreciate what an egalitarian system means, because you never lived it and as such an alien idea to you. That is why your likes are hell bent even today on destroying their political rivals because they don't understand what it means to accomodate.

Does the word accomodate have a translation in Amharic?

I doubt.

[DefendTheTruth]

Oh, I forgot to add one thing: please don't try to use the word democracy in your daily parlance, which is an alien to your nature.

Learn from someone who understands the meaning of democracy and appreciate how alien that is to your way of life:

“democracy means all about having differences in the opinions of each other and still be able to live together without resorting to eliminate one’s political opponent but debate each other peacefully and legally to win one's cause without resorting to violence against each other”, Prof. Merera Gudina of Ethiopia.

[simbe11]

Oh, I forgot to add one thing: please don't try to use the word democracy in your daily parlance, which is an alien to your nature.

Learn from someone who understands the meaning of democracy and appreciate how alien that is to your way of life:

“democracy means all about having differences in the opinions of each other and still be able to live together without resorting to eliminate one’s political opponent but debate each other peacefully and legally to win one's cause without resorting to violence against each other”, Prof. Merera Gudina of Ethiopia.

Wow great lecture about democracy.
But I tell you that Mogassa is not democratic by your own definition. Because it does not respect differences but force assimilation to provide protection. That's going against your version of democracy. But guess what? I do agree with you the need for the system to exist. Because they save lots of lives from the invading forces. I am not trying to judge what happened then by today's scale of understanding.
Mogassa is never democratic, period.
Geda is never democratic,period.

[sun]

Mogassa is being experimented in addis and other cities in the so called Oromia region as we speak. The sweet talk about Ethiopiawinet and pull the rag under our feet. As Ja-war proclaimed, the Qerro government is now in operation disguised as ODP. Interesting time!! They seem to have picked up all the evils of TPLF and improved on it further.

hmm...

May be then it means that the rags are blood stained and virus infected in which case pulling them from under your feet amounts to be great service for your health and your wealth. Such wise services must be paid for since there can't be any free service for ranting hateful evil parrots.

[gearhead]

Why does Hailu Shawel's and allied institutions of corruption insist on nation building on the bases of some neo-movement? it is of course not because they believe that an old template can be used to solve new problems. No sir! It is actually the total reverse! They do so because they are exactly sure that any notion of living the past will brings a chaotic situation in the present, in which their corruption remains in the background while they remain economically thriving in the chaos!

All neo's are chaos pimps; an atmosphere that their parasitic nature loves!

People, beware!

[Revelations]

ማስተዋል የጎደለው ወጠጤ በአንድ በኩል የጋዳ ስርአት ይመልስ እያለ ይወተውታል በሌላ በኩል ከእሱ የተለየ የሚያስበውን በጭፍልቅ የድሮ ስርአት ናፋቂ ብሎ ይወቅሳል!

Why does Hailu Shawel's and allied institutions of corruption insist on nation building on the bases of some neo-movement? it is of course not because they believe that an old template can be used to solve new problems. No sir! It is actually the total reverse! They do so because they are exactly sure that any notion of living the past will brings a chaotic situation in the present, in which their corruption remains in the background while they remain economically thriving in the chaos!

All neo's are chaos pimps; an atmosphere that their parasitic nature loves!

People, beware!

[gearhead]

]But you are not a political agenda! You Never have been! Tidbits and fragments of irrationality happen in all societies; items of few weeks of shelf-life are replete in every country! What gives you out is that, Hailu Shawel inc. and c/o have made a career of hyper-sensationalizing each and every fading agenda into a smoke screen and/or would be political gain just so that they protect or expand their corrupt economic interests!

So long as you keep manufacturing chaos, chaos should be manufactured into your lot. fair game!

ማስተዋል የጎደለው ወጠጤ በአንድ በኩል የጋዳ ስርአት ይመልስ እያለ ይወተውታል በሌላ በኩል ከእሱ የተለየ የሚያስበውን በጭፍልቅ የድሮ ስርአት ናፋቂ ብሎ ይወቅሳል!

Why does Hailu Shawel's and allied institutions of corruption insist on nation building on the bases of some neo-movement? it is of course not because they believe that an old template can be used to solve new problems. No sir! It is actually the total reverse! They do so because they are exactly sure that any notion of living the past will brings a chaotic situation in the present, in which their corruption remains in the background while they remain economically thriving in the chaos!

All neo's are chaos pimps; an atmosphere that their parasitic nature loves!

People, beware!

[Revelations]

THE GALLA OF ETHIOPIA


HISTORY


The Galla belong to the stock commonly known as Hamitic (or, as some prefer,
Kushitic). They would seem to have been part of the Later Hamitic group, a group
to which belong also the Somali, Afar or Danakil, and Saho 1 . It is clear that the
first African homeland of the Galla was what is now British Somaliland and northern
Somalia, to which their own traditions bring them ; these traditions are confirmed by
the attribution to the Galla by the Somali of most of the cairns and other ruins in
Somaliland, and there can in fact be little doubt that the Galla occupation here
preceded that of the Somali. But as the Somali, settling in the Galla sphere, grew in
strength and extended their territory, they exercised such pressure on the Galla as
to drive them towards the west and south-west. The Galla migration from Somaliland
must have begun at least by the 12th century a.d., for the Arab historian Yaqut
claims the complete Islamization of the " Somali of the Zayla coast " by that time.
The Galla, thus dispossessed, travelled towards Lake Rudolf, from the neighbourhood
of which they entered the Abyssinian province of Bali from the west about the year
1 522. 2 (Map 4.)

The period when the Galla began their penetration of Abyssinia was one of
conflict and disaster for the Ethiopians, since it was in 1527 that the 15 years' war
began with the Moslems of Adal (the eastern lowlands) under the Somali leader
Ahmad Gran, " the left-handed." The condition to which the Ethiopians were reduced,
and their pre-occupation with repelling the Moslem attacks, prevented them both
from realizing how serious was the Galla menace and also from taking any steps
to oppose the Galla till it was too late. It was not in fact till 1569 that Sarsa Dengel,
the king of Abyssinia, was able to inflict upon the Galla their first major defeat.
But by that time the Galla had got well into Abyssinia ; they had crossed the Webi
Shabelle and occupied the present Arusi country and much of the Moslem trading
State of Bali, and had almost certainly begun to occupy the land between the Abay
and Gojeb rivers. The establishment of some sort of Galla domination over certain
of the Gibe States must also be placed as early as about 1550, for it is to this time
that the traditions of the Gibe peoples, expressed in terms of their gada-system with
its regular eight-year periods, refer. And before 1570 they had invaded not only Shoa
but Amhara as well, reaching as far north as Angot. While these predominantly
pastoral Galla were overrunning Abyssinia in the west, the eastern Galla, whose early
movements and history are somewhat uncertain, were penetrating Abyssinia from the
east along the Harar uplands, and by about 1590-8 some of them had crossed the
Basilo river and begun their occupation of the very heart of Ethiopia. The victory of
Sarsa Dengel in 1569 did not check their aggression, nor did successive defeats in 1572
near Lake Zeway and in 1578 at Wayna Dag'a in Begameder. By the beginning of the
17th century much of south-western Abyssinia south of the Abay was under Galla
control ; in fact, by this time they had become possessed of most of their present
territory, though it is not certain how early Wallaga in the extreme west was first
occupied. It was only the Sidama countries south of the Gojeb and extending east of
the lakes (Zeway, Abaya, Camo) that successfully resisted them, and the strange
beast called Liqimsa, " the swallower," that, according to one tradition, harried the
Galla settlers east of Lake Abaya, may typify a series of defeats inflicted by the Sidama.
At least we do know that the Sidama south of the Gojeb were never conquered by
the Galla. The pre-Galla population of the region between the Abay and Gojeb was
also Sidama, but they were perhaps not so well organized or determined as their
southern kinsmen, and entry into their country was easier, so that they fell a prey
to the Maca Galla, among whom they became eventually absorbed.

Much of the country between the Abay and the headwaters of the Gojeb before
the Galla invasion was comprised within two States named Bizamo and Damot, while
adjoining them was an intrusive settlement of people speaking an Ethiopic language
called Gafat. Bizamo lay between the Abay and the Angur, Damot between the
Angur and the Gibe, while Gafat was farther east, probably between the Gudar and
Mugar rivers. All three are reckoned as “ kingdoms " by Ludolf, whose map of 1683
continues to show all of them south of the Abay, as does Almeida's of about 1640.
Ludolf, moreover, claims that the king of Abyssinia still controlled Damot in the
middle of the 17th century ; this he may have done, but it was no longer a “ king-
dom," and was north of the Abay. Little is known of the earlier history of these
kingdoms. Damot is mentioned in the “ Hymns in Honour of Abyssinian Kings "
as existing in the reign of ‘Amda Seyon (1312-42), and it was certainly part of the
king's dominions in the reigns of Zar’a Yaqob (1434-68) and Ba'eda Maryam (1468-78).
Bizamo is also named in the “ Hymns ’’ as paying tribute in goats to king Yeshaq
(1412-27) ; later it was part of Damot. Gafat, too, occurs in a hymn of ‘Amaa Seyon.
But the first waves of the Galla invasion seem to have swept all three across the
Abay ; the destruction of Damot, according to indications in a passage of Bahrey,
seems to have taken place between 1578 and 1586. Once the dispossessed inhabitants
of these areas had crossed the Abay they lost all semblance of independence, and
though they took their names with them, they became mere territorial units in
Go jam.

In the southern part of the Abay-Gojeb region, the area of the Gibe, the five
Galla States eventually arose, and it was here that the stiffest resistance seems to
have been put up by the Sidama north of the Gojeb. The first of these Sidama dis-
tricts to be overrun was probably that called Enarya, which in the early 13th century
was part of Damot ; with the restoration of the Solomonian dynasty between 1268
and 1283 it became part of the dominion of the king of Abyssinia under a viceroy,
and early in the 15th century paid tribute in gold. When the war with Gran broke out
the viceroy, at that time a slave from Damot, submitted to the Moslems, and having
lost all contact with Abyssinia, Enarya became an easy prey to the Galla, who, under
a leader called Teso, conquered it between 1550 and 1570. Part of it was settled by
the Limmu Galla and became known as Limmu-Enarya to distinguish it from the
rest, which continued for a time under Moslem rule ; owing, however, to the efforts
of Sarsa Dengel, both Abyssinian over-lordship and Christianity were re-established
in Enarya till about 1632, after which Abyssinian influence, Christianity, and Islam
faded out, and the Galla acquired control over the whole State. Islam was not re-intro-
duced till early in the 19th century. The second district was Jimma, the earlier history
of which is somewhat uncertain, though it may be the Simi referred to by A1 ‘Umari
in the 14th century. The south-east part, BoSa, was, however, tributary to Yeshaq
of Abyssinia in the early part of the 15th century. The Galla settlement here was
drawn from six of the Maca tribes called Jimma, Jimma Gobo, Jimma Hine, Jimma
Horo, Jimma Arjo, and Jimma Rare, on account of which it was known as Jimma
Kaka, “ the confederacy of Jimma " ; later still it acquired the designation of Jimma
Abba Jifar, from the name of a famous king who flourished about 1840. In Gera, the
Galla occupation by various Maca tribes was probably later, and the Galla kings do
not seem to go back beyond the early 19th century. Guma, the fourth State, seems to
have been independent before the Galla took it over, and was ruled about 1770 by a
man called Adam, “ the hunter," who is said to have come from a Tigrean colony in
nearby Gurage ; and traditions indicate that Adam's line soon gave place to a Galla
dynasty. Gomma, the fifth State, became a Galla monarchy about the same time as
Guma. In all these States Islam was established early in the 19th century and took
a firm hold on the people.

The pagan Galla spent the early part of the 17th century, from 1605 to 1617,
in making raids on Gojam and Begameder, all of which, according to the Paris
Chronicle , were defeated by King Susneyos. In 1617 the Galla formed what was known
as the Borana League in an attempt to invade Gojam and Begameder with greater
success ; but Se'ela Krestos, the king’s general, defeated them again soon after they
had crossed the Abay. and the League collapsed. In 1620 the Wallo were defeated. In
1627 the Galla again invaded Gojam, trying this time to achieve their object by
[ deleted ] instead of mere strength of numbers. Finding the inhabitants on the alert
they retired in apparent disorder after a little skirmishing, giving out that they were
going to raid Enarya. The trick succeeded and Buko, the governor of Gojam, dis-
persed his forces ; whereupon the Galla swarmed back across the Abay into Gojam,
defeated the few men Buko had been able to recall, and retired with the loot to their
own country before the king could get his troops there to give battle.

In 1636 they were defeated by King Fasiladas after another big raid into Gojam ;
but this did not stop them, for the Paris Chronicle records what were probably major
attacks in the years 1639, 1643, 1649, 1652, and 1658. In the east, too, the Galla
were being troublesome to the Abyssinians. Fasiladas had to deal with the Warra
Himano in 1661 ; and the Yeju and Wallo who invaded Amhara were defeated by
Iyasu I, who at the time was hunting in western Abyssinia, and had to hurry eastwards
to meet them. In 1683 and 1699, however, the tide turned against the Abyssinians,
for they were defeated in those years by the Gudru Galla, and in 1709, in the reign of
Tewoflos, the Galla invaded Amhara. They looted and burnt the convent of Atronsa
Maryam and threw over a precipice the bones of King Ba'eda Maryam who died in
1478.

In 1719 Bakaffa, the third son of Iyasu I, became king. He had previously been
forced, for political reasons, to take refuge among the Galla, and had formed many
ties with them. It was in his reign that the Galla began to get a foothold in the
Abyssinian court, and to play an ever-increasing part in the domestic politics of the
country. Bakaffa was largely dominated by his Galla followers : he had in his service
a Galla regiment, his Master of the Household was a Galla named Kuco, and towards
the end of his reign he was completely surrounded by his Galla guards and accessible
to few. His son Iyasu II (1730-55) had a Galla wife, a woman of the Yeju tribe
among whom Bakaffa had hidden. lyoas, the son of Iyasu, who reigned till 1769,
naturally favoured the Galla and spoke nothing but their language. He filled his
court with them, gave them official posts, and soon after his accession fell completely
under the control of his maternal uncles. His Abyssinian subjects watched with hatred
and fear the growing influence and insolence of the Galla, an influence which has
persisted till modern times in spite of continuous enmity between the two peoples.

Throughout the 18th century there were minor wars between the kings of
Abyssinia and the Galla, especially during the chequered career of King Takla
Giyorgis, who lost and regained his throne no fewer than five times between 1779, the
year of his accession, and 1800. In the early part of the 19th century, King Egwala
Seyon (1801-18) owed a good deal to Galla help, for it was owing to the political
influence of a group of eastern Galla that he was enabled to retain his throne. None
the less, his kingdom was assailed by confederacies of Galla in 1804 and 1808. These
attacks were partly due to the machinations of a disgraced balamharas (Master of the
Horse), a Galla named Asserat, who had begun to seek his revenge by attacking
Walda Salomon (who reigned only in the year 1796-97). Asserat submitted to
Takla Giyorgis in 1798, but escaped from captivity and renewed his private war on
the king of Abyssinia some years later. He was defeated and sold into slavery from
which he managed to escape and took refuge in the west, where he stirred the western
Galla into action against Egwala Seon.

By 1837 it had become customary for the king of Shoa to make each year a
military expedition against the Maca and other Galla to ensure the collection of
tribute ; and the lands of those who refused were looted and devastated. Though
this may seem to imply that by now the Abyssinians had gained the upper hand, it
was not really so, for Krapf remarks that “ the rivers Chacha, Adabai, and Jamma
form a natural dyke against the incursions of the Galla from the south, who therefore
can never entirely subdue or even overrun the kingdom of Shoa, especially since
King Sahela Selassie founded Angolala at a point where the Galla might otherwise
have been able to break in." 3 In fact, it was not till the second half of the 19th century
that improved weapons (and greater skill in using them) enabled the king of Abyssinia
to conquer the independent Galla and bring them more or less under the control of
his government ; but even to-day it is doubtful whether he can claim complete control
in some of the more remote regions.

In the second half of the 19th century, Menilek, then king of Shoa, set out under
the orders of King Yohannes to conquer certain parts of southern Abyssinia. He
decided to bring back into the Abyssinian kingdom all the independent States which
at one time or another had been part of it. Harar and the surrounding country was
conquered in 1887 ; the Arusi were subdued ; and between 1886 and 1900 the Gibe
monarchies were reduced one after the other. It is thus a common practice to dis-
tinguish between Abyssinia, the ancient and historic kingdom of the highlands, and
Ethiopia, the much larger area which was incorporated in it after the conquests of
Menilek.

Sources. This very brief summary of the complex history of the Galla is based
on Abyssinian records and on Galla historical traditions. The Abyssinian sources
include : The Paris Chronicle (Basset, Etudes sur Vhistoire d’Ethiopie , 1882) ; the
Historia Regis Sarsa Dengel (Conti Rossini, CSCO., 1907) ; the Historia Gentis Galla
of Bahrey (Guidi, CSCO., 1907, and Beckingham and Huntingford, 1954) ; the Annales
Iohannes 7, Iyasu I, Bakaffa (Guidi, CSCO., 1907) ; The Royal Chronicle of Abyssinia
(Weld Blundell, 1922); and the Storia dei Mecca (Guidi, MSOS ., 1907). The main
sources for Galla historical traditions are : Cecchi ( Da Zeila alle frontier e del Caff a,
1885) ; Borelli (Ethiopie Meridionale, 1888) ; and Cerulli (Folk-Literature, 1922, and
Etiopia Occidental, 1932-3). For the summary given here I have made use of my
summary of these sources printed in Huntingford and Beckingham, 1954, pp. 1-xcii,
from which I have reproduced in full, with the kind permission of the Hakluyt
Society, paragraphs 5 to 9 above.

[gearhead]

kkkk,

In this day and age of two minute attention spans, do you believe that anyone will sit through Hailu Shawel inc. and c/o self serving history? KKK

And then, just in the case that they sit through it, they in the end wont have the brain to process that it is of ZERO efficacy to the political dialectics in the here and now?

You wont learn do you? You know why? It is because you have underlying reasons to really worry because you are built on a house of cards of corruption. A to Z!

Keep it coming, they will be closing unto you very soon!!

[Revelations]

Early Accounts of the Galla

Between the end of the 1 6th century and the end of the 18th century there
appeared a number of works in which the Galla are described. A native writer,
Bahrey, who wrote in 1593, has already been mentioned ; and between 1643 and
1790 three Europeans contributed to the study of the Galla.

The Jesuit Manoel (le Almeida wrote his Historia de Ethiopia a alta ou Abassia
during the years 1628 to 1643 ; he was in Abyssinia from 1624 to 1632. The only
complete text of his book was printed by Beccari in the Rerum Aethiopicarum Scrip-
tores Occidentales inediti, vols. V-VII, and the first English version is that by
Beckingham (Beckingham and Huntingford, Hakluyt Soc., 1954). Ludolfs Historia
Aethicpica was published in Latin at Frankfort in 1681, and in English (A New History
of Eihiopia) by J. P. Gent in 1684 (London : ed. 2) ; this was compiled in Europe
mainly from the information of a learned Abyssinian named Abba Gregorius. The
traveller James Bruce of Kinnaird published his Travels to discover the source of the
Nile in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773, in 1790.

DEMOGRAPHY

Population

There are no census figures, and only very approximate estimates on the basis
of ethnic groups ; the Italian estimates were by provinces. The western Galla were
included in the total figures for the Galla-Sidama province ; hence no separate
figures are available. Moreover, the Galla in Shoa are so intermingled with the
Abyssinian population that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to work out separate
figures for the two groups even if an accurate census was available. For smaller
areas, we have the estimates of Cecchi, who put the population of Limmu in 1878
at about 40,000, including slaves ; and of Gera at about 15,000 or 16,000. Paulitschke
estimated the total Galla population at perhaps eight million ; this is certainly in
excess of reality. In 1930 Zoli estimated the Galla population at 2,350,000/ and
de Castro estimated (1936) that the proportion of the various ethnic stocks in
Ethiopia was 1 2 :

Ethiopians

Galla

Sidama, etc.

Somali

Negroids and Nilotes

Afar

Grouping of Religions

Here again accurate information is lacking. While the principal Moslem areas
are more or less defined, there is much uncertainty as to the extent of Christianity
among the Ethiopian Galla, and as to how far groups nominally Christian or even
Moslem are in reality still pagan at heart. The nearest approximation seems to be :

Pagan : Leqa, most of the Wallaga and Arusi, some of the Maca.

Christian : some of the Maca, Wallaga, Tulama, and Wallo.

Moslem : the Raya, Yeju, most of the Wallo, the Gibe States of Jimma, Limmu,

Gera, Guma, and Gomma, the eastern Galla, and some of the Arusi.

[n some areas there are mixed Christian and Moslem tribes, as among the Maca in
tribes like the Nonno and Waliso.

In 1843 Beke wrote a short account of “ Christianity among the Gallas,” the
conclusions from which, while differing from those of more recent observers, show how
Galla paganism was to some extent permeated by distorted notions of Ethiopic
Christianity — to such an extent, indeed, that Beke considered the Galla entitled to
be called Christians, even though they did not profess Christianity. 3

Souncs: Paulitschke; Zoli; de Castro; Trimingham ; Cerulli, Etiopia
Occidentals'.


42-7%
101 %
6-0%
6 - 6 %
2*0 %


1 C. Zoli, Cronache litiopiche, 1930, p. 12.

2 L de Castro, L' Etiopia, Milan, 1936.

3 British Magazine, December 1 847.

[Revelations]

Almost as important as cattle are horses, farda (stallion, farda korma ; mare,
far da daltu), though the Galla did not possess any till after their invasion of Abyssinia
in the 16th century, for we have the explicit statement of Bahrey that they did not
adopt horses till the time of the Mesle gada- set in 1554-62. So high in their estimation
is the horse that people give themselves names derived from their war-horse, such as
Abba Jifar, “ father, i.e., owner, of a dappled horse.” In fact, from one aspect, the
horse was considered the equivalent of a man : killing a horse was punishable by
death, and in the scale of murder values 3 a horseman was worth two foot soldiers.
In some Galla groups, particularly the Arusi, every man has a horse, some more than
one ; and among the Arusi women ride when travelling. Having learnt to ride from
the Abyssinians, the saddles of the Galla are of the Abyssinian pattern, with a narrow
stirrup into which only the big toe is inserted. A bridle with a snaffle is used by some
Galla, but many ride with only a plain halter and no saddle. Terms for harness are :
bridle, nekato , lugama * 4 ; wooden bit, makama ; halter, fulo ; saddle, kora * ;
girth, arkissa ; stirrup, fana kora, “ foot-piece of the saddle.” Mules also are kept and
ridden by those who live near the Abyssinians, who use mules a great deal for this
purpose.

Of other stock the Galla in general keep donkeys, harre ; sheep, kola , white with
black heads and fat tails, and also with thin tails ; goats, re ; dogs, sarre ; cats,
adure ; fowls, handaqo ; and in some parts, civet cats, terehe. The Arusi had once a
cult of the [ deleted ], but after the Abyssinian conquest they took to killing the cocks
lest the crowing give away their position. 5 Civet cats, viverra civetta, from the [deleted]
glands of which a substance is secreted which is used as the basis of many perfumes,
are kept in the Gibe States and Wallaga in small huts. To extract the secretion they
are put in small narrow bamboo cages , the tail is held up and a spoon of bone or
horn put into the sac. It is considered unlucky to count the number of a man’s cats.
The Ethiopian Galla keep camels on the edge of the desert.

Main sources : Borelli, Ethiopie Meridionale ; Cecclii ; Paulitschke, Ethno-
graphic ; de Salviac ; Rey in JAS. XXlll, Cerulli, Folk- Literature , Azais ct
Chambard, Cinq Annees.

[Dawi]

kkkk,

In this day and age of two minute attention spans, do you believe that anyone will sit through Hailu Shawel inc. and c/o self serving history? KKK

What is real is real!

Let us look at another one of those, what you would call, "self serving" history in the following "comedy" by በዕውቀቱ ስዩም.

Notice folks are laughing their heads off!

Does it mean the "laugh" changes the truthfulness of the story? Nope!

የ "ብሄሮች" ጠላት ማን ነው? ሞጋሳ ነው ። For crying out loud!

[Za-Ilmaknun]

Mogassa is being experimented in addis and other cities in the so called Oromia region as we speak. The sweet talk about Ethiopiawinet and pull the rag under our feet. As Ja-war proclaimed, the Qerro government is now in operation disguised as ODP. Interesting time!! They seem to have picked up all the evils of TPLF and improved on it further.

Be a man and perhaps anwer the following question:

it is clear that there are people who live intermingling in each other in our country, as Ethiopia is a pluralistic society, as those of who don't deny the facts know.

The following is the question to you:

an Oromo living in Bahrdar will definetely learn Amharic and communicate with the society there in the language they understand and integerate himself (herself) to the dominant culture there.

What about an Amhara living, say in Asela, of the Oromo region as an instance do in reciprocity for the Oromo living in Bahrdar?

One doesn't need to be a man or a woman to answer your silly questions. This is sexism...

Your very simplistic assumption presumes that people are only capable of speaking one and one language. You can live anywhere and speak the local language as well as the language of your parents. Living in one geographic area doesn't necessary mean that one culture has to swallow the other like the Mogassa tradition. I think that we still are living in the same country where every citizen should have to have equal rights. You may speak your language and can decide not to speak the language I speak. I on the other hand I may prefer to be multi lingual. How could this be so difficult to understand?

Aba, the issue that we are fighting ain't at all about language and culture. It is about respecting differences and treating the citizens of the country equally. Some countries are afraid that some of the local languages may die through the course of assimilation and therefore, are trying to put in place mechanisms to save those languages. However, the reverse seem to be what is being tried in our country. We should encourage multi multiculturalism and learn to accept differences, instead of trying to force others be who they are not.Engaging in a futile attempt of creating a mono-cultural or mono lingual society in any give geographic area would only create chaos and eventual disintegration.
If you are subscribed to the TPLF kinda self-serving and shortsighted politics, then we are from different planets. I have no respect for thieves and those who try to manufacture false narratives to justify their evil deeds.

[Revelations]

Abandonment of Children

Bahrey attributes to the Galla of the 16th century the custom of abandoning the
children of uncircumcised fathers, adding that after being circumcised they reared
the boys but continued to abandon the girls for two or three years afterwards. 36
Almeida says " for the first six or seven years after they marry they cast away in the
open country all the sons and daughters born to them, and leave them to die of sheer
neglect. If it happens that someone wants to take care of one of these outcasts from
pity, and save its life, they consider him not merely as an enemy, but as an accursed
and devilish person.” 37 Recent statements about this custom are conflicting.
De Salviac says that children are not abandoned. 38 Guidi ascribes the abandonment,
mainly of the eldest child if it is a daughter, to the Borana and Arusi, as well as to
some of the Sidama (Walamo, Hadya). 39 Cerulli says that it was the custom, now
almost extinct, to abandon daughters whom the father considered superfluous. The
baby was called gata, “ thrown away,” and if not adopted by another family, was given
to the slave-traders. The father was allowed to abandon it at any time during the
first 40 days after its birth, or on its second birthday. 40 Prins suggests that the custom
may have been due to the rule of not allowing uncircumcised men, though married,
to have children. 41

Circumcision


Circumcision (mum ; dagna qabade ) seems in the 16th century to have been the
normal custom of the Galla, according to various statements by Bahrey. In the light
of modern records, it appears that where the gada-system is in force it is performed
towards the end of the eight-year period of government called luba (see below,
pp. 47, 53) ; this word means “ circumcised.” The rite is therefore not the entry to
manhood, but signals the departure from the governmental grade ; it is none the less
important, as the name of this grade indicates. Among the Moslem Galla, as in the
Gibe States, the introduction of Islam has changed the time of circumcision, and boys
are circumcised in their early years according to Islamic custom. 42 De Salviac, writing
of the eastern Galla, says that when the Abba Boku or tribal ruler retires, he and the
other two tribal magistrates are circumcised, that is, at the end of the luba period,
unless they were circumcised halfway through it ; but he states specifically that only
these three in each tribe are circumcised, this " honour ” being reserved for them
alone. 48 Though in parts of Galla land male circumcision is not now general, among
the western Galla south of the Abay, especially in the Leqemti region, it is common,
though more as a social than a ritual institution. 43A

Girls at the age of eight years and upwards undergo the operation of clitoridec-
tomy. This is stated in certain books as if it were common throughout Galla land 44 ;
but the evidence quoted is not satisfactory, and the matter requires further investiga-
tion.

The operation of infibulation, however, which occurs among the Somali and
Danakil as the sequel to clitoridectomy, is said to be common among the Galla of
Harar and those of Shoa, 45 though rare among the “ true ” (i.e., pagan) Galla. 46 [/b]