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Oromo Historian Prof Mohammed Hassen says "Oromos assimilated more than they were assimilated by others." thru moggaasa and Gudufecha

The Oromo of Ethiopia: A History 1570-1860 by Prof Mohammed Hassen page 21

"Thus moggaasa was inspired by political, military, and economic considerations on both sides. This may explain why the Oromo assimilated more than they were assimilated by others. After adoption, the concept of belonging was extended to include not only the clan that adopted, but also the tribe or confederacy to which the clan belonged. Through the new genealogy, the new members now became part of the Oromo people, counting their ancestors several generations back to the hypothetical founder of the confederacy."



According to Prof Mohammed Hassen assimilated not only none Oromo Individuals but also no Ormo tribes as a whole.


from the same book page 23

"The second stage in the process of migration was very important in a double sense. First and foremost, the evening surprise attacks were repeated on selected weak targets at intervals until the resistance of the opponents was broken. The opponents either evacuated their own territory, fleeing to safer areas, or they submitted to the pastoral Oromo, accepting their supremacy, which was more apparent than real. The defeated and subjected groups were turned into fighting units through adoption. Thus the conquered people joined the Oromo in the next attack on other groups. The conquered people increased the fighting capacity of the Oromo and widened their knowledge of the terrain. Adoption marked the loyalty of the vanquished and their eventual assimilation with the conquerors, while it assured safety, protection, and equal sharing of booty in the next raids."

Another Oromo historian, Asafa Jalata, says "the Oromos historically increased their numbers through the assimilation of other peoples they conquere."


"The Oromo view their original homeland as the southern highlands of present-day Ethiopia. It is known that between the 12th and 15th centuries, they were already organized into two confederations known as the Barentu and Borana federations. It was during this period that Oromos began their expansion from their homeland area in all directions.

Today, all Oromo subgroup trace their heritage to one of these federations. Rather than being a pure ethnic group, the Oromo are comprised of descendants of individuals who, even when they were not of pure Oromo stock, willingly accepted or were forced to accept an Oromo identity.

Jalata notes that the Oromos historically increased their numbers through the assimilation of other peoples they conquere. The assimilation process was facIlItated by the mstItutIOn of a" unique administrative system among the Oromo known as gada. Although there was historically no one, unified Oromo nation-state, there was a distinct Oromo nation, and that national identIty was intertwined with the institution of gada."


Taken from a book entitled "Oromo Nationalism And The Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy, 1998" by Asafa Jalata, pp 114 - 115