Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa
Ethnic group
Oromos Ethiopia 25,489,000 (2007)[1] Kenya 656,636 (2019)[2] Sudan 105,000 (2022)[3] Somalia 41,600 (2000)[4] United States 40,000[5] Australia 4,310 (2021)[6] Canada 3,350 (2016)[7] Oromo Islam (55–60%), Christianity (40–45%), Traditional religion (Waaqeffanna) (up to 3%)[8] Somali • Sidama • Gabra • Rendille • Iraqw • other Cushitic peoples[9] [10]
The Oromo people (pron. ORR -əm-oh[11] Oromo : Oromoo ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya.[12] They speak the Oromo language (also called Afaan Oromoo ), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family .[12] They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia .[13] According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population.[14] Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.[15]
The Oromo were originally nomadic, semi-pastoralist people who later would conquer large swaths of land during their expansions .[16] [17] After the settlement, they would establish kingdoms in the Gibe regions [18] [19] and dynasties in Abyssinia .[20] [21] The Oromo people traditionally used the gadaa system as the primary form of governance.[22] [23] A leader is elected by the gadaa system and their term lasts eight years, with an election taking place at the end of those eight years.[24] [25] [26] Although most modern Oromos are Muslims and Christians, about 3% practice Waaqeffanna , the native ancient Cushitic monotheistic religion of Oromos.[27]
^ "Census 2007" Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine .
^ "Population and Housing Census: Ethnic Affiliation" . knbs.or.ke . Kenya National Bureau of Statistics . Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2019 . 210,000 Borana, 110,500 Gabra,85,000 Orma, 45,200 Sakuyye and 20,000 Waata
^ "Oromo, West Central" . Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 September 2023 .
^ "Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Somalia" .
^ "Oromo Community of Minnesota | CareerForce" . www.careerforcemn.com .
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021, Census of Population and Housing: Cultural diversity data summary, 2021, 28 June 2022 , Archived 10 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census" . Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018 .
^ "Ethiopia and the Oromo People: Is it possible to determine whether an Ethiopian is an ethnic Oromo by the individual's last name? What religion or religions are practiced by ethnic Oromos in Ethiopia" . UNHCR Refworld . United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. 28 April 1998.
^ Joireman, Sandra F. (1997). Institutional Change in the Horn of Africa: The Allocation of Property Rights and Implications for Development . Universal-Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 1-58112-000-1 .
^ Sarah Tishkoff; et al. (2009). "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans" (PDF) . Science . 324 (5930): 1035–44. Bibcode :2009Sci...324.1035T . doi :10.1126/science.1172257 . PMC 2947357 . PMID 19407144 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017 .
^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook , Edinburgh
^ a b Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World . Elsevier. 6 April 2010. ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4 . Retrieved 25 October 2023 .
^ "Ethiopia" , The World Factbook , Central Intelligence Agency, 14 December 2022, retrieved 24 December 2022
^ Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia. "Table 2.2 Percentage Distribution of Major Ethnic Groups: 2007" (PDF) . Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results . United Nations Population Fund. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2023 .
^ "Ethiopia" . 16 October 2023.
^ Mohammed, Hassen (19 May 2017). The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia, 1300-1700 . Boydell & Brewer, Limited. ISBN 978-1-84701-161-9 . OCLC 962017017 .
^ Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century . The Red Sea Press. ISBN 9780932415196 .
^ Paul Trevor William Baxter, Jan Hultin, Alessandro Triulzi. "Being and Becoming Oromo: Historical and Anthropological Enquiries' . Nordic Africa Institute (1996) pp. 123–124
^ Described in detail in G.W.B. Huntingford, The Galla of Ethiopia; the Kingdoms of Kafa and Janjero (London: International African Institute, 1955), pp. 55ff
^ Shiferaw Bekele, The State in the Zamana Masafent (1786-1853) , p. 25
^ Molla Tikuye, The Rise and Fall of The Yajju Dynasty (1784–1980) , p. 199
^ "Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo – intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO" . ich.unesco.org . Retrieved 30 May 2018 .
^ Harold G. Marcus A History of Ethiopia . University of California Press (1994) pp. 55 Google Books
^ 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 .
^ Donald N. Levine (2014). Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society . University of Chicago Press. pp. 35–41. ISBN 978-0-226-22967-6 .