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TOP 10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE OROMO
1. The Oromo are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya in the Marsabit County, Isiolo County and Tana River County. They speak the Oromo language (also called Afaan Oromo), which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
2. Genetics
The origin of all Cushites is thought to be in southern Egypt and northern Sudan where they may have arisen through contact between proto-nilotes, Omotics from the Omo valley, Ancient Natufians who came into Egypt from the Levant and east African hunter gatherers. Their closest cousins are the Somali and Afar people. According to Y-DNA analysis by Hirbo 2,011, around 82.6% of Oromo in Kenya carry the paternal E1b1b haplogroup.
3. Origins.
According to oral history, the father of the Oromo people was Orma. The two sons of Orma, that is Borana and Barentu, gave rise to the two ethnic groups of the Oromo people. Barentu Oromo are found primarily in Ethiopia. The Borana Oromo live in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya.
Historical linguistics and comparative ethnology studies suggest that the Oromo people probably first settled around Lake Chew Bahir and Lake Chamo. They are a Cushitic people who have inhabited East Africa, specifically the area south and east of the Bale Mountains, since at least the early 1st millennium.
4. Beautiful women
Their faces are symmetrical, long and slim with wonderful eyebrows. Their complexion is a gorgeous caramel shade of melanin. Their smiles are enchanting and their movements are imbued with grace. When they smile, evidence of divine touch in their creation is clear. Many have long feminine hair and they proudly swish it in the air when they dance. Oromo ladies, like other Ethiopians are easily the most beautiful women on earth.
5. Their influence on the Somali is visible through the Garre tribe of Somalis who speak a Borana influenced dialect of Somali. Here is a sample of Garre language. Many Somalis and Oromo’s look indistinguishable due to decades of gene flow as well as common Cushitic heritage. The Gabra people of Kenya are another Oromo speaking sub-tribe with a heavy Somali influence.
6. According to the 2007 census 40 to 45 percent are Christian, 55 to 60 percent are Sunni and 3.3 percent follow the Ancient Oromo religion known as Waaqeffanna. Here is video of some Kenyan Oromo in church.
7. Oromo's largely live in the more fertile Southern, Central and Western Ethiopia, there is less food insecurity and basic needs are not as difficult to acquire as they are for Habesha's or Somali's. The majority of the Oromo people are farmers. Almost 90% of them live in rural areas and work in agriculture.
8. The Oromo people are known for their Gadaa system. It is a democratic highly developed system based on age-group with defined role system of governance in which a leader is elected for 8 years. It is one of the earliest examples of a fully developed democratic system.
9. Oromo language is an Afroasiatic language that is written in the Latin alphabet and has very complicated phonology. More than 35% of Ethiopia's population are Oromo mother-tongue speakers, which makes it the most widely spoken primary language in Ethiopia.
10. Even though they account for the biggest chunk of the population, they don’t have much political power in Ethiopia. For a long time, Oromo people have been persecuted and discriminated against for various reasons. There are documented human rights violations against the Oromo in Ethiopia under three successive regimes. Most of Oromo families had to change their names to Amhara to attend school.
11. The Oromo Liberation Front is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. The fundamental objective of the Oromo Liberation Movement is to gain self-determination for the Oromo people.
12. Did you know, Between the 12th and 19th centuries, the Oromo had one of the strongest militaries in the Horn of Africa. The military was well organized because of a strong political and social structure called Gada, which helped ensure power sharing and order among the people.
13. Lets talk about Oromo cuisine, shall we? The Oromos cuisine consists of various vegetable and meat side dishes and entrées. Pork is typically not in Oromo cuisine, as it's considered taboo for Orthodox and Muslim Oromos who make up over 90% of the population combined.
14. While slaves were a stratum within the society, many Oromos, regardless of caste, were sold into slavery elsewhere. By the 19th century, Oromo slaves were sought after and a major part of slaves sold in Gondar and Gallabat slave markets at Ethiopia-Sudan border, as well as the Massawa and Tajura markets on the Red Sea.