page_title: Oromo people
section_title: Origins and nomenclature
hierarchical_section_title: Oromo people / Origins and nomenclature
caption_attribution_description: Oromoo: Ayyaana Irrecha Bara 2014 English: Irrecha Festival 2014 አማርኛ: ኢሬቻ በአል ፪፻፯ This is an image of food from Ethiopia
context_page_description: The Oromo people are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to Ethiopia who speak the Oromo language. They are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and represent 34.5% of Ethiopia's population. Oromos speak the Oromo language as their mother tongue, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The word Oromo appeared in European literature for the first time in 1893 and slowly became common in the second half of the 20th century.
  Some Oromo people still follow their traditional religion, Waaqeffanna, and they used the gadaa system of governance. A leader elected by the gadaa system remains in power for 8 years, with an election taking place at the end of those 8 years. From the 18th to the 19th centuries, Oromos were the dominant influence in northern Ethiopia, during the Zemene Mesafint period.
context_section_description: The origins and prehistory of the Oromo people prior to the 16th century are based on Oromo oral tradition. Older and subsequent colonial era documents mention the Oromo people as Galla, which has now developed derogatory connotations, but these documents were generally written by members of other ethnic groups. The first verifiable record mentioning the Oromo people by a European cartographer is in the map made by the Italian Fra Mauro in 1460, which uses the term "Galla".
  Fra Mauro's term Galla is the most used term, however, until the early 20th century. The term, stated Juxon Barton in 1924, was in use for Oromo people by Abyssinians and Arabs. It was a term for a river and a forest, as well as for the pastoral people established in the highlands of southern Ethiopia. This historical information, according to Mohammed Hassen, is consistent with the written and oral traditions of the Somalis. A journal published by International African Institute suggests it is an Oromo word (adopted by neighbours) for there is a word galla "wandering" or "to go home" in their language.
  The Oromo never called themselves "Galla" and resist its use because the term is considered derogatory. They traditionally identified themselves by one of their clans (gosas) and now use the common umbrella term of Oromo which connotes "free born people". The word Oromo is derived from Ilm Orma meaning "children of Oromo", or "sons of Men", or "person, stranger". The first known use of the word Oromo to refer to the ethnic group is traceable to 1893.
  After Fra Mauro's mention, there is a profusion of literature about the peoples of this region including the Oromo, particularly mentioning their wars and resistance to religious conversion, primarily by European explorers, Catholic Christians missionaries. The earliest primary account of Oromo ethnography is the 16th-century "History of Galla" by Christian monk Bahrey who comes from the Sidama country of Gammo, written in the Ge'ez language. According to an 1861 book by D'Abbadie.
  Historical linguistics and comparative ethnology studies suggest that the Oromo people probably originated around the lakes Lake Chew Bahir and Lake Chamo. They are a Cushitic people who have inhabited the East and Northeast Africa since at least the early 1st millennium. The aftermath of the sixteenth century Abyssinian–Adal war led to Oromos to move to the north. The Harla were assimilated by the Oromo in Ethiopia.
  The historical evidence, suggests that the Oromo people were already established in the southern highlands in or before the 15th century and that at least some Oromo people were interacting with other Ethiopian ethnic groups. While Oromo people have lived in the region for a long time, the ethnic mixture of peoples who have lived here is unclear. According to Alessandro Triulzi, the interactions and encounters between Oromo people and Nilo-Saharan groups likely began early. The Oromos increased their numbers through Oromization (Meedhicca, Mogasa and Gudifacha) of mixed peoples (Gabbaro). The native ancient names of the territories were replaced by the name of the Oromo clans who conquered it while the people were made Gabbaros.
caption: Irreechaa celebrations
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