Ethnic interaction between the jimma oromo and the surrounding omotic states, 1880s -1974

Abstract

This study assessed the ethnic interaction between peoples of Kafa, Yem and Dawuro with Jimma Oromo in Jimma from 1880s to 1974. Jimma ethnic diversity and its neighbours are popular for their substantial diversity in religion, language, culture, socio-economic activities and traditional governance structures. Jimma on its own has been famous for diversity. Ethnicity can lead people to go back to their own culture as a last resort for resisting the pressure of the modern life and the repressive successive states governed them. On the other hand, the class manipulation and mobilization of the ethnic sentiments for purely narrow and self-serving interests of a small minority of the elites who continuously struggle for positionsand some other ethnic manouvers. Culturally, one ethnic group shares others’ language, religion, wedding, mourning ceremonies, dressing style, hair style, feeding style and others with other ethnic groups. Iddir, iqub and mahber are the natural outgrowth of a common historical background and the process of assimilation and acculturation among the diverse ethnic groups in Jimma. Jimma had experienced a process of special ethnic interaction since the 1880s due to the continuous influx of immigrants. This occurred because of coffee and other peasants, migration due to population pressure, famine and land degradation in the north in 1964/5. Jimma was the center of slave trade centers especially at the place called Hermata. Jimma and Kafa had substantial interactions through trade through local and long distance trade route. The conflict between Jimma and Kafa from 1880 to 1897 was very serious. The existence of Yem people in Jimma zone were due to geographical proximity, the effect of the elongated war between the two states, the absence of difficult natural barriers like big rivers, high mountains between the two states, the existence of cash crop like coffee in Jimma, and the existence of fertile land in Jimma that attracted not only the Yem immigrants but many others as well.