Customer Reviews

The Oromo of Ethiopia: A History, 1570-1860

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is original in the sense that there was never a book written about the Oromo nation of Ethiopia with good intentions. This book is novel since it offers a new perspective on Oromos history. It's also courageous for Dr. Hassan to write Oromos' history from a perspective unaccustomed in the mainstream Ethiopian historiography. Ethiopian historiographers for the most part have conscious since they portrayed the Oromos as people of no history. It surprises me than no other historian took interest to make their own research rather than relying on Abyssinian historiagraphers for their source.

This is the beginning; and the history of Oromos of East Africa as ancient people and descendants of Kush deserve to be studies in depth.

I give this book 4.5 stars, and I did read it, unlike the other fella who gave it a low rating while confessing that he/she has not read it yet.

The oromo of ethiopia is the third single largest nation in Africa yet strange to the world. Why? The history of oromo has been ignored. The language and the land has been abused. It was not by any direct international power but by royal family tribes of Amhara. Now It is time to tell the story which I call the hidden truth of one of Africas largest nationality-The oromo and their country Oromia.

The Book the Oromo of Ethiopia by Mr. Mohammed Hassen, is a wonderful start to introduce the rich but neglected culture and identity of Oromos. I thank Amazon.com for bringing this book up to my search result and many will benefit from it. I've never thought I will find a book like this one from Amazon.com.

Thanks a million.

Coming from an Oromo background myself replete with oral tradition I had hoped Hassen would at least provide some of this information in his ground breaking book. To date there has been little Oromo History recorded by Oromo's themselves. I am disappointed to say this book was full of mistakes and what I can only consider polemics and racism. Perhaps my coming from a mixed background of Oromo, Amara and Tigre parents has allowed me the luxury to seeing the good in all these wonderful compoents of the Ethiopian fabric. I was daunted to read the same extremist language and denial of contemporary historical accounts of Ethiopian historians of the time. Its also telling that Hassen's insistence of the existence of an Ethiopian/Axumite state that predates the Oromo state is not borne in our traditions. Anyone even moderately familliar with Ethiopian history know that today's Oromia was established after the Turkish invasion and enslavement of the previous nations that occupied those lands namely the Kingdoms of Enarya, Angot, Damot and the Sultanates of the Welasma and Ifat. The ruins of Abyssinia's pre-Oromo capital Bokan lie about 20 kilometres from present day Adama(Nazreth).
In this I find Hassen typical of liberation era ideologues who manifest non-existent realities diluting Oromo history with Egyptian and Somali rhetoric of the 70's to distill an Oromia that never existed. Hassen's entire premise of an Oromo State is not unlike Mohammed Siad Barre's insistence of an ancient Somali state that can not be found even in Somali oral tradition let alone the historical accounts of the region. The existence of the Ethiopian state during its various stages Proto-D'mt, D'mt, Proto-Axum, Axumite,D'mt resurgence,Solomonic Restoration, Era-of-the-Rases, 2nd Solomonic Restoration is well recorded and save when the destruction of records makes it necessary to rely on outside sources easily debunked.

Secondly the injured air Hassen takes for Abyssinia's counter invasion of lands occupied by the Oromo raises many questions chiefly about his role as a historian. The Oromo oral tradition does not lie but transmits truth from father to son. In this Hassen falls short. If Abyssinians, a term Hassen uses for Ethiopians though they consider it derogatory, were invaded, and enslaved many being sold to Turkish slavers by the Oromo themselves, why is unreasonable for the Abyssinians then to return in sufficent force to reclaim what was theirs. Why is Hassen's Oromia any more deserving of existence than the Sidamo, Enarya and Angotai Kingdoms that were devastated b y the Oromo's northern march.

Hassen's exposition on Oromo's is entitled "The Oromo's and confines itself to beginning in 1570" 46 years after Gragn's eastward and the Oromo's northward invasion of Ethiopia. IN this manner he completely avoids having to relate how the Oromo's served Gragn's war of attrition on Ethiopia, on the Enaryans, Angotay, Amhara and Sidamoans of the region through slave trading. This trickery is unworthy of real historians who are supposed to courageoulsy treat both past mistakes and triumphs. He is a passionate polemicist and champion for Islamic Oromo's he should stick to that and stop calling himself a historian for all Oromo's since he ill serves them.

Lastly if his name had not appeared on the book I would have assumed it was a book written by any number of propagandists to whip the Muslim or Oromo population into massacres. And its value in that regard is worthy of investigation. But as a historical reference setting down actual Oromo history and tradition I think we will have to wait a little longer. In the meantime Alequa Atsme's contemporary accounts of the Oromo still stand the test of time.

This book is the only comprehensive study of Oromo history available. To negate what the fellow below said about Dr. Hassen not carrying on oral traditions, he is wrong. Dr. Hassen is an Oromo who grew up in the Ethiopian city of Harar, where Oromo tradition is extremely strong and has played a strong role in the traditional feudal system during the era the book discusses. I've had the great opportunity of having Dr. Hassen as a professor at Georgia State University, and believe me, this field is his level of expertise, and most historians choose to cite his material for their own research regarding the subject.

As an Ethiopian (and as an oromo myself) I am aware of various grievances agains Ethiopia that are being raised by the Oromo people. I am trying to educate myself of these grievances and their validity. I have not yet read this book, and I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the Author's comments on his intentions of bridging the gap between the peoples of Ethiopia. Of late, I have been very discouraged by the level of negativity directed at Ethiopia from oromo's and organizations of such. I hope I will not be disappointed and that I will be able to write a good review of the book once I have read it.