THE JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES VOLUME 12, NUMBERS 1 & 2, JULY 2005 THE JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES Editor Guluma Gemeda, University of Michigan-Flint, USA Contributing Editors Getahun Benti, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, USA Taddesse Beriso, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia Asfaw Beyene, San Diego State University, USA Demissew Ejara, University of Massachusetts, USA Ezekiel Gebissa, Kettering University, USA Mohammed Hassen, Georgia State University, USA Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA Editorial Advisory Board Mario I Aguilar, University of St Andrews, Scotland Lemmu Baissa, SUNY Institute of Technology, USA Paul Baxter, University of Manchester, UK Mekuria Bulcha, Uppsala University, Sweden Bichaka Fayissa, Middle Tennessee State University, USA Bahu Gametchu, National Institute of Health, USA Mohammed Hassen, Georgia State University, USA Bonnnie K Holcomb, George Washington University, USA Jan Hultin, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Tesema Ta'a, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia Sidney Waldron, SUNY-Cortland, USA THE JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES VOLUME 12, Numbers 1 & 2, July 2005 The Journal of Oromo Studies Department of Africana Studies The University of Michigan-Flint Flint, MI 48502 The Journal of Oromo Studies (JOS) is multi- disciplinary international journal of the 01omo Studies Association. JOS publishes original research and book reviews on the Oromo and northeast Africa The journal welcomes contributions in all areas of Oromo studies and related fields All manuscripts fbr publication are anonymously reviewed by peer referees in the appropriate field Decision fbr publication is based on positive comments and recommendations of peer reviewers Whether we publish or reject a manuscript, it is our commitment to respond to authors with appropriate comments and feedback, Articles published in this journal do not necessarily represent the views of the Oromo Studies Association or those of its office~sIndividual authors carry full responsibility for the accuracy of the facts and for opinions expressed in their articles 0 2005 Oromo Studies Association All ~ightsreserved ISSN 1070-2202 Subscription: One yea individual, $30 00; one year institut~onal, $50 00 Single copies: $20 00 for individuals and $30 00 for institutions Add $5 00 for mailing Send all subscription requests or payment to: Oromo Studies Association, P 0 Box 7508, Silver Spring, MD 20907, USA The Journal of Oromo Studies Volume 12, Numbers 1 & 2, July 2005 Special Issue Dedicated to the Memory of Father Lambert Bartels (1915-2000) Guest Editors: Paul T..W..Baxter and Aneesa Kassam Contents Editorial Overview Introduction: Performing the Soodduu Ritual Paul r W Baxter and Aneera Kasram "Innocently Dateless": Lambert Bartels and the Making of Oromo Religion Paul T W Baxter "Mutual Inculturation": the Missionary Approach of Lambert Bartels and its Influence on Catholic Missionaries Paul Tablino The "God of the Oromo": A Religious Paradigm in the Work of Lambert Bartels Mario Aguilar The Oromo World View Gemetchu Meger ssa Oromo Religion, Ayyaana and the Possibility of a Sufi Legacy Thomas Zitelmann 80 Religious Sync~.etismin a Gabra Ritual Aneesa Kassam Buttaa Rituals of the Sayyoo 01omo Alessandro Trzulzz and Tamene Bztzma Pilg~imageto the Abba Muudaa Mohammed Hassen Realpolztzk in the Realm of the Sacled: Notes on the Succession of theQaallu Karrayyu of the Boorana Jan Hultrn and Abdullahz Shongolo 158 The 01omo Eschatology: the Prophecy of Areeroo Boosaroo,Narrated by Borbor Bulee and Guyyoo Dambii Marco Bassz and Boku Tache 174 Review Essay Review Essay on Oromiayan Befaraqa Ab,yssiniyocracy Weyes Democracy? (byMohammed Hassen) 223 Book Review Ibsaa Guutamaa, Prisioner of Conscience Upper Coumpound Maa'ikkalaawii, Ethiopian Terror Prison and Tradition (by Paulos Assefa) Short Notice Tilahun Gamtamilahun Gamtaa, Comprehensive Oromo- English Dictionary, Ibsaa Guutamaa, Qooqaa Addaa Afaan Oromoo Speical Oromo Dictionary (by Guluma Gemeda) NOTE ON CONTRIBUTORS Mario Aguilar, Ph.D is Director of Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, Scotland, Marco Bassi, PhD, is Adjunct Professor of Political Anthropology, University of Bologna, Italy Paul T.W. Baxter, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester, England Tamene Bitima, Ph D Linguist, he teaches Oromo language at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, Mohammed Hassen, Ph.D, is Associate Professor of History at Georgia State University, USA Jan Hultin, PhD , is Professor Emeritus, Department of Social Anthropology, Gothenburg, Sweden Aneesa Kassam, Ph.D, is Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, England. Gemetchu Megerssa, Ph D , teaches Anthropology at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa Unive~sity,Ethiopia Abdullahi Shongolo, is Senior Education Officer at Ministry of Education, Kenya Paul Tablino, Father, is Missionary at Maralal Catholic Mission, Kenya Boku Tache, MA, is Research Fellow at the Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway, Alessandro Triulzi, PhD, is Professor of African History at Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, Italy Thomas Zitelmann, Ph.D,, is Anthropologist at Institut fiir Ethnologie, Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany, . EDITORIAL OVERVIEW 111 finalize this project With Paul Baxter, she also meticulously edited all lead articles I also thank Dr Mohammed Hassen for accepting my invitation to write a review essay, in addition to his paper in this volume Hoping to see such enthusiastic collaboration in the future, I invite all of you to continue your subscriptions and contributions to this Journal Guluma Gemeda, Ph D Editor University of Michigan-Flint June 2005 EDITORIAL OVERVIEW This volume of the Journal of Oromo Studies is dedicated to the memory of Fr Lambert Bartels, missionary-anthropologist who had studied the Oromo religion for many years before he died in 2000 As the contributors to this volume clearly show, Fr,, Bartels' work is very important fbr understanding the rituals and symbols of Oromo religion Unlike some missionaries who worked in Africa, he did not judge the traditional religious practices of the people from his own Christian perspective, but tried to understand them on their own. Aneesa Kassam and Paul Baxter, guest editors of this volume, argue that Fr. Bartels' work is very different from other studies of African traditional religions. Other contributors also indicate how Bartels' training and earlier brief missionary service among the Indians in Brazil influenced his approach to the study of Oromo religion In many ways, his work is, indeed, unique, On the other hand, Fr Bartels' work is part of a tradition of missionary contribution to Oromo studies Earlier, some missionaries who contacted the Oromo were fascinated by their spiritual life and religious philosophies These missionaries wrote valuable accounts and documented aspects of the culture and history of the Oromo people In the seventeenth century, even the Jesuit missionaries who had very limited contact with Oromo people recorded some traditions In the second half of nineteenth century, while planting the first Catholic missions among the Oromo in Guduru and the Gibe region, Cardinal G Massaia studied the Oromo language and culture. His multi-volume work includes valuable information on Oromo religion and history His successors in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries continued similar work on Oromo culture. In 1901, for example, Fr Martial de Salviac made another major contribution to Oromo .Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol 12, Numbers 18.52 (2005) i ii JOURNAL OF OROMO STUDIES studies by collecting traditions and oral histories Fr Bartles and others continued the commitment in the second half of the twentieth century The field of Oromo studies owes a lot to these dedicated missiona~ies.It is in ~ecognitionof such commitment and distinct cont~ibutionsthat we dedicate this issue of the Journal oj Oromo Studies to the memory of Fr Lambert Bartels, This volume represents both o~iginal~esearch and analysis of FI. Ba~tels'works All contributors are specialists in Oromo studies and related fields Some personally knew and worked with FI Bartels; others knew him th~oughhis works Partly using the documents that Fr Bartels had collected or his approaches, the contributors examine various aspects of Oromo religion and culture They also used their own data to analyze some key issues in Oromo religion in comparative perspective Obviously, the contributors do not agree on several issues in the field Rather, they suggest different conclusions that encowage and inspire further research As editor, I welcome such diversity of ideas and conclusions because, I believe, it is through a vigorous debate that we can establish the Oromo studies on solid foundations, Contributors profusely use Oromo terms, short and long texts in their articles But, in some cases, ~.eadersmay encounter different spelling styles fo~the same words Both the guest editors and I have made some effort to minimize the confusion by adhering to the qubee system which is currently used more widely But realizing that standardization of the spelling of Oromo language is still wo~kin progress, we largely retained the spelling system used by the authors instead of imposing the qubee uniformly We hope the differences are relatively minor and would not cause much confusion to the readers,, Finally, I would like to thank