Oromo history in one Paragaraph: "Saglan borana, sagaltama garba"
Posted: 16 Jul 2023, 03:13
Oromo history in one Paragaraph: "Saglan borana, sagaltama garba"
In the course of their expansion between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and also later, to a less spectacular extent they assimilated many alien groups, thus continuously enlarging their ethnic body. Until recently most of the Oromo groups were characterized by an internal dualism which found its expression in their social organization and in certain realities of everyday life. The clans (gossa) of the Oromo proper (borana) were usually outnumbered by those of the assimilated (mogasa or garba) with limited political rights and cultural peculiarities, such as, for instance, Islamic survivals. The popular saying: Saglan borana, sagaltama garba ("Nine are the Oromo proper and ninety are the assimilated.") shows that the Oromo were clearly aware of this phenomenon. The success of their great migration and conquest can to a large extent be explained by the expansionist ideology inherent in their age-grade system (gada).
In the course of their expansion between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and also later, to a less spectacular extent they assimilated many alien groups, thus continuously enlarging their ethnic body. Until recently most of the Oromo groups were characterized by an internal dualism which found its expression in their social organization and in certain realities of everyday life. The clans (gossa) of the Oromo proper (borana) were usually outnumbered by those of the assimilated (mogasa or garba) with limited political rights and cultural peculiarities, such as, for instance, Islamic survivals. The popular saying: Saglan borana, sagaltama garba ("Nine are the Oromo proper and ninety are the assimilated.") shows that the Oromo were clearly aware of this phenomenon. The success of their great migration and conquest can to a large extent be explained by the expansionist ideology inherent in their age-grade system (gada).
