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The Oromo people are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia and represent 34.5% of Ethiopia's population. Oromos speak the Oromo language as a mother tongue, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The word Oromo appeared in European literature for the first time in 1893 and then slowly became common in the second half of the 20th century.
Oromo is an Afroasiatic macrolanguage which is primarily composed of four distinct languages: Southern Oromo which includes the Gabra and Sakuye dialects, Eastern Oromo, Orma which includes the Munyo, Orma, Waata/Sanye dialects, and West–Central Oromo. Like Arabic, Oromo is a dialect continuum so language varieties spoken in neighbouring regions differ only slightly, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties are not mutually intelligible.
Oromia is one of the nine ethnically based regional states of Ethiopia, covering 286,612 square kilometers. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benishangul-Gumuz Region to the north; South Sudan, Gambela Region, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region to the west; and Kenya to the south. The 2011 census reported Oromia Region population is 35,000,000; making it the largest state in population.
The Borana Oromo people, also called the Boran, are a subethnic section of the Oromo people who live in southern Ethiopia (Oromia) and northern Kenya. They speak a dialect of the Oromo language that is distinct enough that it is difficult for other Oromo speakers to understand. The Borana people are notable for their historic gadaa political system. They follow their traditional religions or Christianity and Islam.
The Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) is a political party in Ethiopia, and part of the alliance with the Amhara National Democratic Movement, the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front and the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front that forms the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). At the last legislative elections, 15 May 2005, the party was part of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, that won 327 out of 527 seats.
Onesimos Nesib was a native Oromo who converted to Lutheran Christianity and translated the Christian Bible into the Oromo language. His parents named him Hika as a baby, meaning "Translator"; he took the name "Onesimus", after the Biblical character, upon converting to Christianity.
The Oromo Liberation Front is an organisation established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against perceived Abyssinian colonial rule. The proponents of the movement hold that Amhara hegemony has been oppressing and suppressing the Oromo people and their culture. The movement is the culmination of over 70 years of uncoordinated resistance by Oromos against this condition. It has been outlawed and labelled a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government. The OLF has offices in Asmara, Washington, D.C. and Berlin from where it operates Amharic and Oromo-language radio stations.
The Siege of Barentu took place in 1977 in and around the town of Barentu in western Eritrea. It was jointly laid to siege by the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) against the forces of Ethiopia. This was a decisive battle during the Eritrean War of Independence and marked the beginning of Soviet involvement in the conflict.
Southern Oromo, or Borana, is a variety of Oromo spoken in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya by the Borana people. Günther Schlee also notes that it is the native language of a number of related peoples, such as the Sakuye.
Barentu Subregion is a subregion in the Gash-Barka region of western Eritrea. The capital lies at Barentu.
Yejju Oromo belong to the Barentu branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of the Oromo, who are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia.
Slavery in Somalia existed as a part of the Arab slave trade. To meet the demand for menial labor, Bantus from southeastern Africa captured by Somali slave traders were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to customers in Somalia and other areas in Northeast Africa and Asia. People captured locally during wars and raids were also sometimes enslaved by Somalis mostly of Oromo and Nilotic origin. However, the perception, capture, treatment and duties of both groups of slaves differed markedly, with Oromo favored because Oromo subjects were not viewed as racially jareer by their Somali captors.
The Great Oromo migrations, also known as the Oromo migrations, were a series of expansions in the 16th and the 17th centuries by the Oromo people from southern Ethiopia, namely the contemporary Borana and Guji zones, into more northerly regions of Ethiopia. The expansion had a profound impact on subsequent historical events occurring in Ethiopia.
The Oromo conflict was an armed conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Government of Ethiopia. The conflict began in 1973, when Oromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
The Oromo–Somali clashes began in December 2016 following territorial disputes between Oromo and Somali communities in Ethiopia. Hundreds of people were killed.
