The Oromo of Harerghe: Some Remarks on “Galamso”, “Aw-Seid” and “Oda Bultum”

By Afendi Muteki

The town of Galamso has historical significance in the tradition of the Oromo of Harerghe. Yet its name is very odd; it has no exact meaning in Afan Oromo and other languages. No town or village in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world is called by this name except the single town which is situated at the heart of Carcar province. So what does “Galamso” mean? The answer to this question takes us to some interrelated topics which can show us the impressiveness of the ancient tradition of the Oromo people.

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The Ittu Oromos, who are native to “Carcar” province, say that the name “Galamso” came from a compound noun “Galma Usso” which was to mean “Usso’s hall” or “Usso’s worship house”. The name refers to a small mosque built by a man called “Usso”. Basically “galma” refers to a worship house of the ancient “Waqqffannaa” religion of the Oromo people. However, the Oromos used to call a worship house of any religion by this name. An interesting point here is not the way the name was derived but how the mosque could be built on the Oromo land where the law of the time didn’t allow it.

The Ittu Oromos say the man who built the mosque at Galamso was actually “Aw-Seid”, a saintly figure who tried to Islamize the Oromos of Carcar province in ancient times. His given name was “Seid Ali”. Latter on the public added a prefix “Aw” to his name to indicate his sainthood (this is done in the manner of the Somalis and the Hararis who call their saints and national heroes so).

The elders say when the Oromos were reformulating their constitution and workings laws (“Heera” and “Seera”) at “Odaa Bultum” in early 13^th century, they asked “Sheikh Abadir” of Harar to send with them a scholar who would assist them by giving legal advices. So Sheikh Abadir send “Aw Seid” to Oda Bultum up on certain agreements; that “Aw Seid” would live and act according to the law of the Oromo land, that he would assist the Oromos in drafting the laws; that he would remain as a legal adviser of the people, that the Oromos take care of him and his family; that he would practice his religion freely and build his mosque at his place of residence, that he can work and own properties.

Based on the aforementioned agreement reached between the Oromos and Sheikh Abadir of Harar, elders say, “Aw Seid” came to the Oromo land and built his residential house at Galamso. He was officially adopted to the Oromo citizen and made “ilma gosaa” (adopted son) of the Warra Qallu clan (one of the ten clans that make up the Ittu Oromo). On the adoption ceremony, the Oromos gave him the name “Usso”.

When “Aw Seid” built his mosque short time later, the Oromos started to call it “Galma Usso” just to mean “mosque of Usso”. The newly built structure became a sign that would indicate the place and its surroundings. And in the long period of time, the Ittu elders say, the name “Galma Usso” evolved to “Galamso”.

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The Oromo elders say “Aw Seid” became a chief legal adviser of the “Caffe Gadaa” assembly of “Oda Bultum and the “Mana Bokku” of the Ittu Oromo and he lived on this service for many years. He also became a chief traditional healer of the era since he had wide knowledge of Arabian and African medicines. Because of his preaching efforts, few people accepted Islamic faith.

As time passed, dispute rose between the Oromos and “Aw Seid”. The origin of the dispute is narrated in different ways; some elders say “Aw Seid” has changed many of the traditional working laws of the Oromos and thus the land of Oromos was attacked by serious drought that persisted for three consecutive years. The people felt that they became sinful for altering the traditional law of their forefathers. The leaders of those dissatisfied people gathered and asked for the return of the ancient Oromo laws. The Caffee Assembly called an extra-ordinary congress and reformulated the laws according to the ancient tradition of the Oromo people. And at the end, they sent back “Aw Seid” to Harar where he passed the rest of his life and died. 

Contrary to the above, other elders say that a son of “Aw Seid” was killed by certain Ittu man but the Oromos paid the blood money of the dead as though the he was “amba” (non-citizen). “Aw Seid” asked for higher payment arguing that his dead son was already a “lammi” (citizen) because he was born in the Oromo land. He couldn’t reach an agreement with the Oromos so that he became frustrated and returned back to Harar where he came from.

These two views are widely narrated in different story lines. But the writer of this essay observed that the latter view has many supporters. An act that strengthens this view happened in 1991 when the renaissance of “Caffee Gadaa” assembly was celebrated at Oda Bultum after its disappearance for more than hundred years. At that time, thousands (and this writer as well) attended a ceremony on which the Oromos gave many cattle to the family (clan) of Aw Seid as unpaid blood money of his dead son. The Oromos say when their land was conquered by Emperor Minilink’s army, their forefathers told them that the trouble was happened to them because they annoyed a big saint which contrary to the Oromo ethical code (the ancient Oromos used to pay a respect to saints of any faith and they wouldn’t attack the shrines and worship houses of those religious figures) and that they established a tradition urging the future generations to pay the blood money of Aw-Seid’s son whenever they will get their freedom.

On the other hand, the interrelation between “Aw Seid” and “Oda Bultum” can be expressed by one vital fact; throughout the life experience of the writer of this article, “Oda Bultum” is also called “Aw Seid” and many people continue to call it by this name.

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The history of the mission of “Aw Seid” partly appears in scholarly written records, many hagiographic documents as well discuss it. On the other hand, the name of “Aw Seid” appears many times in the list of the saints of Harar (in his full name “Aw Seid Ali”). Accordingly, the validity of the above Oromo oral traditions is unquestionable. However, the time is disputed. Many scholars including Professor Ulrich Braukamper say that the mission of Aw-Seid was probably a phenomenon of 16^th Century. This view makes good historical sense on two grounds. First, many written sources agree that the Eastern Oromos established their separate Caffee Assembly at Oda Bultum only after the second half of 16^th Century. Second, the Ittu elders say that it’s 69 Gadaas  (i.e. 552 years) since the Oda Bultum assembly was founded separately to serve the eastern Oromos; prior to that the Oromos of Harerghe held their Caffee Assembly at Oda Walabu (found in Bale) together with Arsi and Karrayu Oromos.

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“Aw Seid” is a saint associated with Galamso town. An establishment of permanent settlement on the current site of the town is ascribed to him although its urbanization process took many years (few centuries). On the other hand, a perennial river that rises from the western side of the town is called in the name of “Aw Seid” which can show the strong bond existing between the saint and the town. In the last century, a small “galma” (prayer house) and a shrine was built at a place thought to be a sight of the ancient “Galma Usso”.

Why “Aw Seid” selected the site of Galamso town and built his mosque there is still unclear. Some say Galamso was the seat of “Mana Bokku” (President’s Office) in ancient times and Aw-Seid settled there in order to be close to the administrators of the time; others say he’s residence was decided by the Warra Qallu clan who adopted him as their son. As the town is surrounded by two places called “Caffee” which are regarded as the remnants of ancient local “Caffee”s, as a place like “Halaya Buchoro” where the Oromos used to execute criminals by throwing to a chasm is located in its vicinity, and as the town was the only one which had seven “karra” (gates) in the Oromo tradition (five “karra” according some sources consulted recently), then it seems to the writer of this essay that the former story can tell us the most likely reason. That is, Galamso might had been the seat of “Mana Bokku” of the ancient Ittu Oromo tribal administration and that could be a reason for which “Aw Seid” settled there and built his mosque (“Galma Usso”).

Written by Afendi Muteki
February 8, 2013
Harar, East Ethiopia

Consulted Works

1. አፈንዲ ሙተቂ፡ ፉጉግና የሀረርጌ ኦሮሞ ፣ በአዲስ አድማስ ጋዜጣ፣ አዲስ አበባ፣ ሰኔ 20/2001
2. አፈንዲ ሙተ: ኦዳ ቡልቱም  በሀረርጌ፣ በአዲስ አድማስ ጋዜጣ፣ አዲስ አበባ፣ ሰኔ 27/2001 
3. Bahru Zewde: A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991, Addis Ababa University Press, Addis Ababa, 2007
4. Mohammed Hassan: The City of Harar and the Spread of Islam Among the Oromo in Hararghe, A Paper Presented on African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November 11–14, 1999
5. Mohammed Hassan: Minilik's Conquest of Harar and its Effect on the Political Organization of the Surrounding Oromos, in D.L. Donham and W. James , Working Papers of Society and History in Imperial Ethiopia, The Southern periphery up to 1900s, School of African Studies, London, 1980
6. Richard F. Burton፡ First Footsteps in East Africa or The Exploration of Harar, Longman, Green, Brown and Longman, London, 1856
7. Ulrich Braukamper: Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays: Lit Verlag Münster, Munster, 2004

The Oromo of Harerghe: On the Evolution of Urban Centers (Part I)

By Afendi Muteki 

 Most of the urban centers of Harerghe are of short ages. Harar is the oldest one in the whole of East and Southern Ethiopia (In his book written 160 years ago, Sir Richard Burton also claimed that Harar is the only permanent settlement in East Africa) . It was the capital of Adal Sultanate up to 1577 and an independent city state (Amirate) from 1648-1887. Harar was the main market place for the Oromos as well as other peoples of East Ethiopa.

 Next comes Funyaan Biiraa (Gursum) which is said to be a remnant of a nearby town. Professor Ulrich Braukemper says that it had been a capital of an old time Amirate. Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim Al-Ghazi was born at a place called “Hubat” which was near to Funyan Biiraa (as recorded in Fat’hul Habasha, the chronicle of Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim).

 With the exception of these two towns (Harar and Funyan Biiraa), no urban center is said to be an extant of the medieval age. However, there is a high speculation that the towns called with a prefix “Biyyoo” (such as ”Biyyoo Kharaaba”) are old aged as the Oromos have been calling the long-lived Harar by a name “Biyyoo Adaree” meaning “the city of Adaree” (“biyyoo” is to mean “town” in Mahdi Hamid Muudee’s English-Oromo Dictionary and information I obtained from elderly people).

 There is an oral tradition that the town of Balbalettii (in West Harerghe, 25 kms south of Gelemso) have also a long age. But I doubt this information is true because no old time documents mention about it. Rather than Balbaleettii, we can see the names like Gelemso and Hirna in the books and travel accounts of many writers.

 As trading activities increased in the Harerghe region, certain important religious and cultural centres started to show some urban features. The spread of Islamic preachers among the Oromos also intensified the urbanization process because these preachers came with new house building and furnishing skills in addition to their religious knowledge  Eventually  important cultural places like Gelemso, Qunnii, Hirna, Watar, Babille etc changed to true urban centres.

 The last quarter of the 19 century brought the most remarkable effect on the urbanization process in Harerghe. This happened in two ways. After the defeat of the Oromos by the army of emperor Minilik, many garrisons was established for the administrative purposes and as a living places for the conquering army which had responsibility of watching over the conquered lands. With construction of living houses, churches, water wells etc, these garrisons were transformed to true urban centres. Gurawa, Dadar, Komona, Anchar etc were founded in this way.

 The construction of Ethio-Djibouti Railway Line was the other factor that fastened the urbanization process in Harerghe. Dire Dawa, Erar, Mieso, Bikke, Afdam etc were the direct results of this process.

The urbanization process in Harerghe hasn’t stopped. More urban centres are coming, and the old ones are expanding in all direction.

On the Tradition of “Oda Bultum”

The Oromo of Harerghe
(Part Three)
On the Tradition of “Oda Bultum”

By Afendi Muteki

As it was the case in other parts of Oromiya, the Oromos of Harerghe had a traditional self administration system. The highest body of the administration was the “Caffee Gadaa” assembly which used to hold its congress at Oda Bultum every eight year. The center called “Oda Bultum” was located at a place called “Hora Baaduu” which is found at 15 Kms distance from Baddessa town. Since the Oda Bultum is surrounded by the Ittu Oromos, some people wrongly assume that it was serving the tribal assembly of Ittu Oromos only. But both oral and written records show that originally “Oda Bultum” was the common assembly of the three tribes of the Harar Oromo (Ittu, Afran Qallo and Anniya). It was only in the 18^th century that the three groups install their own local assemblies; however, Oda Bultum remained an important cultural and administrative center for all of the three groups and they regarded it “the well-spring of Oromo wisdom” (Mohammed Hassen:  cited from Encyclopedia Aethiopica, 2004, pp 244)

 The congress of “Caffee Gadaa” assembly, called “Kora Gadaa” or “Yaa’ii Gadaa”, which was held at Oda Bultum would be undertaken for eight consecutive days and it had been attended by delegates called “luba”. Each “luba” must had a minimum of 40 years age and he would be elected by a local assembly of sub-clan. Then all “lubas” would gather at Oda Bultum and they would elect the future leaders. The congress was hosted by a group of appointed deputies which was lead by “Abbaa Caffee”. The “lubas” would stay in eight huts made from hay. (The “number eight” indicates the eight years of one cycle of “Gadaa”).

Under the instruction of “Abba Caffee” the “lubas” would elect “Abba Gadaa” who would be the future ceremonial head of state. Under “Abbaa Gadaa”s moderation and the participation of every “luba”, the assembly would evaluate the pervious performance of the administration and issue new laws and make strategic decisions. At the end of the congress, the assembly would form a new administrative through democratic election. The election criteria were bravery, oratory skill, knowhow of the society’s norms and customs, good discipline, good health etc… (Handicapped people wouldn’t be elected). On the whole, all nominees must had passed through the five cycles of “Gadaa”; that is, they must be of 40 years of age but under 48 years.

The assembly would elect six people who would fill the administration. The six people would be lead by “Abbaa Bokkuu” (the president) who was the head of the government; the other five would be members of his cabinet and each of them had ministerial position. The five ministers were called “Abbaa Biyyaa” (which was roughly equal to Minister of Land and Administrative Affairs), “Abbaa Duulaa” (equal to Minister of War), “Abbaa Horii” (equal to Minister of Economy), “Abbaa Seeraa” (equal to Minister of Justice) and “Abbaa Diidaa” (equal to Minister of Transport and Foreign Affairs). Generally, the five ministers were called “Shanan Gadaa”. The office of the governor (president) was known as “Mana Bokkuu” (House of the President). It was these two houses that would run the day to day administrative affairs of the state in the forthcoming eight years.
In all of its activities, the administrative body was supported by a council called “Mana Hayyuu” which was filled by a group of skilled and scholarly people called “Hayyuu”. These “Hayyuus” were usually people who reached the age of “Gada Moojjii” (meaning “retired from Gadaa” or “retired from administrative age”). “Hayyuu” can be re-elected but “Abbaa Bokkoo” and the five ministers (“Shanan Gadaa”) serve only one term.

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The laws and rules issued at Oda Bultum would be ratified at “Garbii Darrabbaa”, a place located at two Kms north of Oda Bultum. There, a congress of lawyers would study the laws and strategies issued by “Caffee Gadaa” assembly on the constitutional basis; unconstitutional law would be called “Heer malee” and rejected, and the constitutional laws would be accepted as the working directive of the state. The member of “Garbii Darrabbaa” congress would be called “Abbaa Heeraa” and he was also elected by lower (local) assembly. A man who was elected as “Abbaa Heeraa” would be called by this title until the end of his life. (Note: “Abbaa Seeraa” is different from “Abbaa Heeraa”. The former was “Minister of Justice; the later was member of the law making congress. In modern term, we may call the latter one “congressman”).

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 It is also noteworthy to mention “Raabaa Dorii” which was the “Council of Defense”. This council runs the military affairs of the state and it was lead by “Abbaa Dulaa” (Minister of War).  Military campaigns and defense programs would be implemented only after they have got good support by the “Raabaa Dorii”. On the other hand, the budget of the army and mandatory military service programs would be decided by this military council.

The army was called “Raayyaa”. The most trained and best equipped section of “Rayyaa” was known as “Qeeyroo” or “Qeerroo” (to mean “fierce and fast as leopard”). According to the information obtained from different sources, the chain of command of the army looks like the following.

1.      The smallest unite of the army had nine personnel and it was called “Saglii” /Seylii. Each “Seylii” was commanded by “Abbaa Seylii”.

2.      Three “Seylii” form “Muraasa” which was lead by “Abbaa Muraasaa”.

3.      Three “Muraasaa” form “Buttaa” and it was lead by “Abbaa Buttaa”

4.      Three “Buttaa” form “Cibraa” (Cifraa) and this was commanded by “Abbaa Cibraa”

5.      Three “Cibraa” form “Gubbaa” and this was lead by “Abbaa Gubbaa”

6.      Three “Gubbaa” form “Hoomaa” and this was “lead” by “Bobbaasaa”

7.      Three “Hoomaa” form “Raayyaa” which was commanded by “Abbaa Duulaa”.

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In the latter half of 19^th century the power of “Mana Bokkuu” and “Shanan Gadaa” offices shrinked while the “Raabaa Dorii” became the most powerful body in the state. The “Abbaa Duulaa” started to exercise full authority over the state. On the other hand, wealth became the most important criteria to be elected as a leader. Skilled and wise people lost a chance to serve the society at any position. This had created a leadership crisis and the Oromos of Harerghe lost their common strength. Up on the arrival of foreign invaders, their ancient and democratic administrative system totally collapsed.

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Written by Afendi Muteki
January 15, 2013

Harar, East Ethiopia

“Haralla”- The Legendary People of Eastern Ethiopia

By Afendi Muteki

Whenever you travel in the countrysides of East Ethiopia, you would see ruins of ancient buildings. If you ask about these remnants, the local people would tell you that their builders were the “Haralla” people. In oral traditions of the peoples of East Ethiopia (Oromo, Harari, Somali and Afar), it is said that the “Haralla” were a tall and gigantic race.  The Ittu Oromos who occupied the western part of the Harar Pltaeu say that a “Haralla” farmer would till a plot of land located around Asebot town while his house was located further south around Belbelti town; so each day, he had to travel a distance of more than 200 kilometers on his two ways trip.

It is said that the “Haralla” were eradicated by disasters because of their disobeying God’s order. The Ittu oral tradition tells us that when a “Haralla” used to marry a woman, breads would be spread on the path that links the bridegroom’s house with the bride’s home. The people invited for the wedding ceremony would wash their hands with milk. These inhuman acts of unconditional extravagance have displeased God so that He sent his rage up on the corrupted “Haralla” people. Earth quake, volcanic eruptions and drought attacked their land. On that, the “Haralla”, the legendary race of extra ordinary length, ceased to exist on the surface of the earth.

One account of the eradication of “Haralla” people is associated with the volcanic eruption happened around Metehara town in ancient times. It said that the “Basaqaa” lake which is found closer to the Metehara town was created when a nearby volcano was erupted on a huge crowd of “Haralla” people who were holding an extravagant weeding ceremony on the spot.

Once, the “Haralla” legends and the gigantic race itself have never been considered a realistic case by the scholars.  But recent studies show that the legendary people of “Haralla” were the original inhabitants of the land that stretches from East Shoa to Jijjiga. The scholars add that even though the disaster stories were modified and composed to fairy tales, the annihilation of the “Haralla” by other neighboring population was a true phenomenon. For scholarly approach on the “Haralla” people and their legends, the book of Professor Ulrich Braukamper which is titled “Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia” (see photo) is an awesome reference. 


By Afendi Muteki
November 20/2012

Harar, Ethiopia