Professor Asmerom Legesse in Abbaa Gadaa cloth.Gadaa flag
Gadaa[1] (Oromo: Gadaa; literally: era) is the indigenous democratic system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya.[1] It is also practiced by the Konso and Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. The system regulates political, economic, social and religious activities of the community.[1][2][3]
Under Gadaa, every eight years, the Oromo would choose by consensus nine leaders known as Salgan ya’ii Borana (the nine Borana assemblies).[4][5] A leader elected by the gadaa system remains in power only for 8 years, with an election taking place at the end of those 8 years.[6][7][8] Whenever an Abbaa Gadaa dies while exercising his functions, the bokkuu (the symbol of power) passes to his wife and she keeps the bokkuu and proclaims the laws.[9]
The Gada system has been inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2016.[10] It is the brainchild of Oromo from the Madda Walabu district of Oromia.[11][12] Oromo people regarded the system as their common heritage and as a major part of their cultural identity.[13] It is the system with which the Oromo people have been governing themselves in a democratic way for centuries.[14][15]
The Oromo governed themselves in accordance with the Gadaa system long before the 16th century, when major three party wars commenced between them and the Ethiopian Empire to their north and Adal Sultanate to their east and south. The result was that Oromo absorbed of the Christian and Islam religions. The Borana and Guji groups near the Ethiopian-Kenyan border were able to practice Gadaa without interruption. In the state of Oromia under the Federal system of Ethiopia, the Gadaa system started a renaissance across Oromia. In 2015, the Gadaa Center at Odaa Bultum was inaugurated and in 2018, the Gadaa Center at Odaa Hullee reinstalled after two centuries of interruption.[16][17] In 2019, Bule Hora University launched a master's degree program in Gadaa studies.[18]
^ abc"Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo". unesco.org.
^Intro to the Gadaa System
^Oromo Indigenous Philosophy (Gadaa System): The Case of 74th Gujii Oromo Gadaa Power Transition(PDF)
^Galla, Candace (2012). "Sustaining generations of Indigenous voices: Reclaiming language and integrating multimedia technology". {World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium Journal: 46–48.
^Tesema Ta'a (2006). The Political Economy of an African Society in Transformation: the Case of Macca Oromo (Ethiopia). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-3-447-05419-5.
^John Ralph Willis (2005). Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate. Routledge. pp. 122–127, 129–134, 137. ISBN 978-1-135-78017-3.
^John Ralph Willis (2005). Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate. Routledge. pp. 128–134. ISBN 978-1-135-78016-6.
^Ira M. Lapidus (2014). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press. p. 483. ISBN 978-1-139-99150-6.
^"The Gadaa System and Some of Its Institutions among the Booranaa: A Historical Perspective". ajol.info. pp. 91–92.
^"Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo". unesco.org.
^"A heroic send-off for Aliyi Cirri, a pioneer Oromo freedom fighter whose courage and bravery inspired generations". www.opride.com. 17 November 2017.
^"Historical Background". mwu.edu.et.
^"The Gada sysytem; full Dimocratical politics of Oromo;71stBorana BalliHand overing Day Febrawary 2009/20017:The Gada of Kura Jarso" (PDF). oromiatourism.gov.et.
^"Gada System inscribed in UNESCO as Intangible World Heritage". ethiopianembassy.be.
^"Briefing: What is Oromo's Gada system?". hornaffairs.com. December 2016.
^"The 2015 Commemoration of Odaa-Bultum (One of the Major Oromo Gadaa System's Administrative Centers)". Oromianeconomist.com.
^"A Journey to Revitalizing Gadaa at Odaa Hullee: Tracing Jimma University's Unwavering Commitment". ju.edu.et.
Gadaa (Oromo: Gadaa; literally: era) is the indigenous democratic system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya. It is also practiced...
Oromo people traditionally used the gadaa system as the primary form of governance. A leader is elected by the gadaa system and their term lasts eight years...
the same name, Boorana. The Boorana people are notable for practicing the Gadaa system without interruption. Through the Gadha system, the Boranas are believed...
Abdulkariem Ibrahim Hamid, more commonly known by his nom de guerre Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa, was an Ethiopian guerrilla commander and one of the first leaders of the...
well-developed age-grade system known as the Gadaa System. [Another example is that of the Maasai] Gadaa through history came to organize social life...
support the democratic Gadaa system of the Oromo. The Qaalluu/Qaalliti have the power to give or withhold blessings to the Gadaa leadership as they see...
Oromo forefathers, in the time of Gadaa Melbaa in Mormor, Oromia. The auspicious day on which this last Mormor Day of Gadaa Melbaa - the Dark Time of starvation...
in Siraha District, Nepal Gadha (album), a 1998 album by Chandrabindoo Gadaa, an Oromo self-governance system Garha/GADA, a Jain caste of India Gada...
homelands. Actual settlement of new territories would not begin until the Gadaa of Meslé. According to Bahrey, the earliest Oromo expansion occurred under...
of his contributions to Oromo literature, he was given an honorary name 'Gadaa'.[citation needed] Gebreab worked as a journalist before becoming a full...
attempt by the ENLF to enter the country was directed by Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa, but it failed when Somali security forces tracked down the militants and...
previously released singles as well as new songs, including the hit "Ya Gadaa" which was shot in Romania with the director Joe Bou Eid El Zoghbi was the...
society welfare through prayer and sacrifice. The Gadaa system has series of disciplinary rules where Gadaa officials are appointed in every eight years to...
Chief, Sheikh Abdulkarim Ibrahim Hamid, otherwise known as Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa. The group was politically and militarily based in eastern Ethiopia, controlling...
sets having a judicial function, for example. The Oromo people and their Gadaa System are also another good example of a society whose social organization...
Gadaa system with Tulama whose center (chaffe) was south of present-day Addis Ababa. But in the late 16th century, Macha established their own Gadaa with...
torture, mass killings and large scale slavery) during several successive Gadaa conquests led by Aba Gedas of territories located north of Genale river...
which they built a fort at Mega. The Abba Gadaa of Borena, Addi Doyyo, with the advice of the local Gadaa assembly decided submit to Fitawrari Habte...
Retrieved 2020-12-26. "The Birth of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)". Gadaa. 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2020-12-17. "የትግራይ...
carried a boku (usually connected with the abba boku, or headman of the Oromo Gadaa system) which when placed on the ground would cause the earth to tremble...
crater has an island Tulluu Irreechaa, said to have been founded by Abba Gadaa of Tuulama on the site of a hermitage used by Saint Mercurius. This monastery...
with Jawar Mohammed: Childhood, Faith, Ethics, Society". "Oromo | Oromia | Gadaa.com-FinfinneTribune". Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved...
Retrieved 2017-06-01. "::The Birth of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)::". www.gadaa.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2017-06-01. MarketScreener...
Arsi Oromo. Arsi Oromo were largely independent and ruling under their own Gadaa Republic until about the 19th century. The Arsi Oromo demonstrated fierce...
AD–present) (NSM in Ethiopia) Boorana (pre 16th century-early 20th century AD) (Gadaa system of governance; republic and gerontocracy (included due to its uniqueness...
Bale and Hararghe regions abandoned their traditional religions and the Gadaa system of governance in the 19th century, when they were converted to Islam...
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