Capacity Building in Northeast Africa (NEA):
The Oromo Challenge to Narratives of Power in the Horn

Before the European “Scramble for Africa” and the rise of the Abyssinian Empire, the Oromo people were independent and governed by the Indigenous Gada system, which featured Siinqee. They had the freedom to elect their leaders with egalitarian practices, sustainable relationships to land, and equitable gender relationships. However, with the backing of European colonizers, Abyssinia waged a prolonged war against the Oromo in the late 1800s, ultimately conquering and subjecting them to impose what was colonial rule but has not yet been widely acknowledged as such in mainstream discourse. Under the Gada system, the land was held collectively by the community. The colonial conquest transformed the Oromo people into serfs, stripping them of their rights and autonomy. Since this colonization and the transformation to an Ethiopian settler colonial system, the Oromo have been denied the right to self-determination.

The Oromos are indigenous to the Northeastern African Region (NEA). As members of the Cushitic ethnolinguistic family, the Oromo share genetic and cultural ties with the ancient Nubians, who introduced monolithic religious ideologies. Today, a significant number of Oromo individuals practice Islam and Christianity, often interpreting these religions as adaptations of their Indigenous belief system, referred to as “Waqeffanna.” Initially, their rejection of these faiths led to them being labeled as “pagans,” a term steeped in colonial and racist attitudes. To counter these racist narratives and empower the Oromo people, it is vital to engage in the preservation of their history and promote empirical evidence that affirms their indigeneity to the region and highlights their rich cultural heritage as both legitimate and valuable. As with other colonial processes, colonialist and racist narratives have profoundly influenced the policies implemented and sustained in the Horn of Africa, significantly obstructing the region’s social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental development. The foundations of contemporary instability, famine, and ecological degradation in the Horn of Africa are closely linked to these colonial legacies and their accompanying policies.