Oromo Gadaa System
Oromo have a history that is fostered by their high population number and large land areas with different climatic conditions. The Gadaa system is a self-sufficient system that has influenced all facets of Oromo culture. This system divides the Oromo culture into seven to eleven classes or sets that have different roles in the society over an eight-year period (Jalata 2012, p. 128). The Gadaa regime governs Oromo religious, political, economic, and social life, as well as their culture, literature, philosophy, and timekeeping methods. The system guides all the activities and life of an individual member in the society, which makes it be taken as the society's law, or system used by Oromo to manage, defend their rights and territory, sustain and guard their economy and fulfill all their aspirations in life (Jalata and Schaffer 2013, p.278).
Oromo Gadaa System - Popular Ritual and Institution
Oromo Gadaa system is a popular ritual for its mechanism and moral aspect. It is a general interconnected socio-political institution of Oromo's nationhood like the governing institution such as the women's equality Siiqqee institution and Irreecha Oromo festival of significance of culture and religion (Dewo 2008, p.152). The system of Gadaa has for years served as the foundation of egalitarian and democratic political system, whereby under the system, the power to administer the nation's affairs and the power to establish and maintain laws belong to the people. Each society's male member that is of age and of a grade of Gadaa possess complete rights to elect and get elected, and every person has the right to air his or her opinion without fear even in public gathering. Gadaa class passes through the Gadaa grades, which are states of development that vary in number and name in various parts of Oromo, but the functions are similar. These grades include Dabballee that constitute members between the age of 0 and 8 years, Gamme Titiqaa between the age of 8 and 16 years, Gamme Gurgudaa between the age of 16 and 24 years, Kuusa from the age of 24 to 32 years, Raaga Doori aged from 32 to 40, Gadaa, between the age of 40 and 48 years, Yuba1 aged between 48 and 56, Yuba II from 56 to 64, Yuba III aged from 64 to 72 years, Gadamojjii aged from 72 and 80 years and Jaarsa that is aged from 80 years and above. Each of the Gadaa class has its specific duties as it passes through the eleven grades in life (Doyle 2015, p.4).
Irreecha - Thanksgiving Celebration
Irreecha is one of the unique thanksgiving celebrations in Oromo's traditional religion. During this day of thanksgiving that falls at the end of the month of September or at the start of the month of October, many Oromos gather at the river, sea, or a lake with an outlet that has been chosen from history as a place for the celebration of thanksgiving. In the Oromos' traditional religion, the spirit is the power that the almighty God or Waqaa uses to govern the entire world (Kassam 1999, p.486). Therefore, the belief of Oromos is that each God's creation possesses its individual spirit. The Waqaa's spirit wallows over the great rivers and seas of the world. Moreover, the Oromos' believe that the mountain peaks are naturally holly and the Waqaa's spirit inhabits there, which is why the Oromos go to the mountain or the rivers and the seas in the times of their worshiping rituals and in celebrations of Irreecha. The ceremony is not only a cultural and religious ritual but is also seen as an opportunity for the Oromos to express their dismay and grievances with the principal political governance system.
References
Dewo, T. (2008). The Concept Of Peace In The Oromo Gadaa System: Its Mechanisms and Moral Dimension. Journal of Oromo Studies, 15(1), pp.139-79.
Doyle, L.R. (2015). Oromia: The Oromo Heritages: Gadaa, Siiqqee and Irreecha.# Africa.
Jalata, A. (2012). Gadaa (Oromo democracy): an example of classical African Civilization. Journal of Pan-African Studies, p.126.
Jalata, A. and Schaffer, H., 2013. The Oromo, Gadaa/Siqqee democracy and the liberation of Ethiopian colonial subjects. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 9(4), p.277.
Kassam, A., 1999. Ritual and classification: a study of the Booran Oromo terminal sacred grade rites of passage. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 62(03), pp.484-503.
