User talk:EYASU TADESSE

SIDAMA HISTORY

The Sidama live between Awasa town in the north and Dilla town in the south, spread out in a cone-shaped area of the middle of southern Ethiopia. A major asphalt road stretches from north to south in Sidama and the remaining roads are dirt/rock. Sidama is generally a fertile area, varying from flat land (warm to hot) to highland (warm to cold). Economically, most are subsistence farmers. Cattle especially, are a measure of wealth. Sidama is a major coffee growing area with it's prized coffee found on the world market. The false banana or ""enset"", along with maize, as well as fermented cows' milk and butter, are the major staple foods of the Sidama and are found in most yards. Awasa, the people group's as well as region's main center, is the largest city, with a population of about 300,000 people. Since the end of the Communist regime in 1992, the population has grown tremendously and there is a resulting considerable strain on schools and job availability. There is also a pattern of urban migration, especially to Awasa and even abroad, in search of education and jobs. The Sidama were evangelized in the early-mid 1900s by Kambata Christians and later, by Norwegian and Danish Lutheran and SIM missionaries. The first Kambata missionaries were martyred by the Sidama, but the Kambata persevered and finally, a small group of Sidama Christians resulted. Now, Sidama is estimated to be about 90% Christian including 15% Orthodox. Ten percent are Muslim, non-Christian cults, and traditional religionists. The main churches, in order of size are: Mekane Yesus (Scandinavian Lutheran roots), Kale Hiwot (SIM, Baptist roots), Orthodox, Hiwot Birhan (Swedish/Finnish Pentacostal roots), Mulu Wengel (Full Gospel roots), and Catholic. Over the past 10-15 years, most Protestant churches have adopted a charismatic/pentecostal, style of worship. Youth choirs are influential in the church and keyboards are the choice of musical instruments of church worship. Disciples (Matt 28.19): Scripture Status (Matt 28.20): Sidama New Testament only Primary Religion: Islam Churches: Population (date): 5,000,000 Item Name Item Note The Sidamo of Ethiopia

Have They Heard The Gospel? Profile Summary Comment (Churches) The main churches, in relative order of approximate size, in the Sidama area are: Mekane Yesus: 55 pastors, 1,600+ churches, 400,000+ members (Scandinavian Lutheran roots); Kale Hiwot (SIM, Baptist roots); Orthodox; Hiwot Birhan (Swedish/Finnish Pentacostal roots); Mulu Wengel (Full Gospel roots); and Catholic. The Mekane Yesus, Kale Hiwot, Catholic churches and other denominations have Bible Schools in the Sidama area. Relations between the various religious groups has been fairly calm but some resentment arises when people change church denominations. Is The Word Of God Translated? The Sidama New Testament is available in 2 scripts, Sabean (or Ethiopic) and Roman (or Latin). Jonah and Ruth per Bible Society of Ethiopia "easy readers" series in 2001. Abraham, ibid, 2003. OT completion estimated date in 2009 or 2010. Any Hinderance To Scripture Distribution? The physical distribution of books to all countryside areas is a big problem due to lack of adequate transportation and roads. There is also not a tradition of having or of buying books in the countryside so books are presently a low priority in the life of most Sidama people. Adult countryside women are often mono-lingual speakers of Sidama and illiterate in any language. Countryside girls generally have less access to school than boys. Though the Mekane Yesus church had 5 or 6 Bible schools in the Sidama area, only one remains. The Mekane Yesus synod Evangelism Department in the Sidama area, due to lack of finances and personnel shortages, is not able to adequately provide necessary spiritual teaching to its church members. Cassette distribution seems to be much easier to distribute and are more widely available even in remote countryside locations. There is a great demand for music cassettes. Tape cassette/radio players are seen even in remote countryside locations. Though the ""Jesus"" film is available in Sidama, and ""The Great Commission"" organization is present in Awasa town, I don't know how often and where the film is shown." Forms Of Gospel Presentation Available (Summary) Other forms of gospel presentations: 3 Old Testament easy readers: Jonah, Ruth, Abraham; a ""Family Life"" booklet; an Easter tract; the ""Jesus"" film in the Sidama language; 2 Sidama language radio programs--one by Mekane Yesus (6:30 am daily for 15 minutes), and one by the Sidama zone government on Sunday at 7am for 15 minutes; many Christian music tapes by local Sidama singers. What Kind Of Missionaries Are Needed? The national churches in Sidama say that they need cross-cultural missionaries from the West to work alongside of them. The national churches seem to be capable of leading themselves but are short of financial/material/technical supplies for their desired way of functioning. Countries Where People Group Lives Group Description Country Name Ethiopia Language & Linguistics Group Description Comments (Neighbor Languages) They are bordered by the Arsi Oromo in the north and west, Gedeo, Burji, Guji Oromo people groups in the south, Guji Oromo in the west, and Wolayta and Kambata language groups to the east. Literacy Group Description Adult Literacy Percentage 20.3% Religion & Response Status of Christianity Attitude To Christianity Very positive. Comment (Attitude To Christianity) Many young people especially, are coming to accept Jesus into their lives through the work of young evangelists working with a church. Churches are usually packed to overflowing on Sundays, for conferences, and for mid-week home/church prayer times. Attitude To Religious Change Receptive Comment (Attitude Religious Change) Young people and women make up a majority of the church congregations and especially value the emotional elements of Christianity. They expect miracles and have faith in God's goodness to them and their future. All the congregations enjoy singing original Christian songs, especially in their mother tongue of Sidama, and in Amharic. Singing makes up about half of the church services. History Of Christianity In Group Status of Christianity Item Name Item Note The Sidamo of Ethiopia Comments (History of Christianity) The Sidama were evangelized in the early-mid 1900's by Kambata Christians and later, by Norwegian and Danish Lutheran and SIM missionaries. Initially, the two Western missionary groups did not evangelize in the same areas but later, local churches representing both sprang up throughout the area. The first Kambata missionaries were martyred by the Sidama, but the Kambata persevered and finally, a small group of Sidama Christians resulted.Jun 23DeleteUndo deleteReport spamNot spam eyasu fitamo - To appreciate a people’s explanation of life and misfortune, one needs to have a general picture of the wider framework of their existence (Brøgger 1986:21) Little is known about the Sidama nation, its people, its history and culture. Sidama studies were virtually non-existent even for academic purposes. Th ere are many reasons for this. First and foremost, the emergence of enlightened nationalists and the promotion of Sidama nationalism were late and slow in comparison to other regions. Secondly, the Ethiopian historiography had no room for the promotion or development of non-Habasha cultures and peoples. Worse, still, it had circumvented and undermined knowledge production and dissemination of the latter. Th e combination of these factors engendered ambiguity about the past and uncertainty about contemporary developments. Th e ensuing lack of critical scholarship, as William Shack noted, had “distorted the human achievements of conquered peoples including transformations of their social, cultural and political institutions” (quoted in Jalata 1995: 95). A lot has to be done to reverse this scenario and to revitalize the Sidama studies. Without pretending to off er a defi nitive source of knowledge about the subject, this eff ort constitutes the onset of a multi-disciplinary research agenda. Th e Sidama people, like their counterparts in Africa, have rich historical traditions that remained largely unrecorded, a problem, which is being overcome with the advance of time and education.1 For the time being, informed debate on Sidama history is bound to rely on oral tradition, rituals, and symbols most of which remain matters for further inquiry. Written records are not only far and between but they are also fairly recent phenomena. From a scanty literature made available by expatriate scholars, diff erent names had been used to describe Chapter 2 The Sidama Nation: An Introduction Seyoum Hameso Arrested Development in Ethiopia 58 the Sidama people. A browse, for example, through the works of John Hamer, Jan Brøgger, Ulrich Braukämper, G. Hudsen, S. Stanley, Enricho Cerulli and Klaus Wedekind indicate the use of diff erent names at diff erent times. John Hamer (whose works on social anthropology I draw on heavily here) noted the problem of nomenclature in his later works and settled on the name used by the people themselves, i.e., Sidama. Other names mentioned by scholars in reference to the Sidama people include Sadama, Sidamo or one of the Cushitic-speaking people of Southern Ethiopia. Th e term “Sidamo” is also used to describe the Cushitic language groups which, in addition to Sidama proper, includes Hadiya, Kambata, Alaba, Gedeo and Bambala and sometimes to their neighbors to the west: the Ometo, Kafa, Gibe, and Janjero. Th e problem of nomenclature is not confi ned to scholarship; it is common in public perception as it is infl uenced by Ethiopian polity which imposed the term “Sidamo.” Th is term is no more than a geographic dispensation given to a southern region that included Sidama, Boorana, Gedeo, Burji and Wolayita nations. Such misrepresentation is undertaken to suppress Sidama identity and to dissolve the collective identity of the people. Th e misrepresentation of reality and the problems of nomenclature are related to the history of the conquest of Sidama nation.

THE CONQUEST Th e Sidama are one of the ancient human groups to live in their present environment with the inevitable internal and external population movements aff ecting their settlement. Th ey form part of the great Cushitic civilizations that produced signifi cant achievements in this part of Africa. Th ey share many similarities in terms of language, culture, values, and psychological make-up with their fellow Cushitic neighbors. Th ey also share the common history of conquest by the army of Menelik of Shawa in the late nineteenth century which is by far the most critical and perverse event in Sidama history. Th e conquest of Sidamaland in 1893 had impacted the Sidama world in many ways. It brought about the colonial system of tenant-settler relationship. It also resulted in the promotion of authoritarian ethos and the consequent demotion of the local systems of governance inculcated in halaale principle. It imposed a hegemonic system of rule by undermining the luwa system which was based on consultative decision-making. Th e values inherent in halaale or the principle of truth and the luwa systems have contemporary validity among Sidamas despite the assimilationist policies of subsequent Ethiopian governments (Hameso 2004). Th e political subordination of Sidama people caused their economic dispossession and inevitable resistance followed by severe coercion against dissent. Th e sense of consultative egalitarian underpinning of local governance Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 59 was replaced by authoritarian Abyssinian values. A unique combination of the actions of the Abyssinian state and the church caused physical, cultural and spiritual supremacy in the colonized lands.2 As the timing and the patterns of Abyssinian conquest coincided with European colonial rule in Africa, its eff ects were also similar. Like colonialism elsewhere, this one too undermined people’s culture and their tools of self-defi nition. It led to “the destruction or the deliberate undervaluing of their literature and the conscious elevation of the language of the colonizer” (Th iongo 1986:16). However, unlike European settler colonialism, which relinquished power and physically departed from the scene in the mid-twentieth century, the Abyssinian colonial rule remained in Sidama now over a century without creating the material foundation for progress for itself or for the subjects. Th e legacy of domination and exploitation were maintained by the “modernizing” autocracy of Haile Selassie. Th e collective memory of the Sidama nationals of this epoch was the modernization of oppression; namely the honing of the methods of tax collection, recruitment of coercive army and bureaucratic personnel. Th e period is characterized by land dispossession, feudalism, force, myth and external support—the means through which the spoils of the conquest were maintained. Th e impact of the Abyssinian conquest and domination were reinforced by tumultuous developments of the 1970s and 1980s. Th e relative backwardness of the imperial era meant that cultural impositions were resisted as much as they were repulsed. For example, Menelik’s direct attempts at forced baptism were ignored. Th e concern during Haile Selassie shift ed to economic exploitation and gradual consolidation of central power without undue confrontation on the cultural and spiritual arena. In the 1960s, while the imperial government encouraged the short-lived self-help associations to take over the local judicial and administrative functions, it actually re-centralized the controls and eliminated all creative autonomy (Hamer 1996:548-9). Th e same legacy of conquest was bequeathed to the military junta of the 1970s-1980s and the TPLF militia of 1990s. THE PEOPLE, THE NATION AND THE ECONOMY Th e Sidama nation3 is situated in northeastern Africa (Southern Ethiopia) where there is deep contest and confl ict over identity, including the population size. Th e Sidama population is estimated to be 4.5 million.4 Th e Sidama people believe they belong to Sidamigobba, the Sidama country. Th ey do not call themselves Sidamo, a term which confuses their name and suppresses their identity. Th e conquest and the suppression of their identity went hand in hand with underestimation of the nation’s numerical strength. Sidamaland has shared Arrested Development in Ethiopia 60 borders with Oromia in the northeast, Wolayita in the west and Gedeo in the south. Th e northern border extends from Lake Hawassa to Dilla town in the South. Th e eastern boundary starts at Mount Garamba and extends westward to Bilaatte River in the West. Sidamas had practiced mixed horticulture and cattle herding for the last several hundred years while for much of the twentieth century they were engaged in farming. Agriculture is still the mainstay of Sidama economy and society. Land is the most important asset to which the people have intense attachment. Before the colonial adventure, each member of the Sidama society was entitled to land ownership. Private ownership of land was buttressed by communal land or dannawu baatto earmarked for grazing and other collective purposes including reserves for new comers and young couples. Th e local councils or songo determined the use and distribution of community land. Th e land holding system based on egalitarian ethos helped maintain fraternity, peace and the moral order in society until it was replaced by feudalism during the introduction of the naft anya system from the north. Th e Sidama landscape involves lakes, rivers and diff erent climatic zones suitable for various fl ora and fauna. Sidama is home to indigenous plants like weese which resembles a banana tree. It is grown in the highlands and midlands where the climate conditions are characterized by high rainfall. It takes three to six years for the plant to mature and to be processed as waasa, a staple food item. Once it is properly planted, the weese plant does not require labor-intensive work. Planting and weeding is carried out by men while the task of readying the plant for consumption is fi nalized by women. Th e production techniques of waasa are anachronistic and labor intensive. Major technical change is required in the form of research and development if the situation of women is to be improved. Women are also responsible for the upkeep of milk and milk products. Cattle are reared for milk, meat or as symbols of status. Sidamaland grows several crops including coff ee. Th e production, exchange and consumption of coff ee has direct bearing on the socio-economic welfare of the people and political arrangements within and outside Sidama. While coff ee is the main cash crop and the biggest source of revenue for the Ethiopian state, the coff ee farmers are one of the least benefi ciaries. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Derg regime had adopted the policy of fi xed coff ee pricing which determined a rate well below the world market prices. On the other hand, farmers were forced to pay heavy taxes and rising prices for industrial products and services with perverse terms of trade. In an economy which is predominantly agricultural, the majority of people depend on this sector for their livelihood and employment. However, this sector and the rural population were neglected by Ethiopian policy makers who Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 61 emphasized the exploitation of land and labor instead of investment on both. Agricultural activity remains, by and large, rain-fed without proper investment and suitable land use policy. In the post-Derg Ethiopia, the skewed distribution of income against Sidama meant that revenues from Sidama are diverted to fi nance projects in the hometowns of the ruling elite, namely Tigray. Diff erent political and administrative measures discouraged Sidama entrepreneurs because of the regime’s fear of their potential political infl uence. More oft en than not, it is the members or supporters of the regime who had the opportunity to acquire economic enterprises as per the government’s “privatization” program. Despite their natural and human resources, the majority of Sidama people remain poor and susceptible to diseases and famine. Health facilities are inadequate in relation to the size of the population. Until recently, the capital city, Hawaasa (also called Awassa), had no hospital. Th e only hospital in Sidama was the Yirgalem Hospital built in the 1950s by foreign aid. Access to health services in general is extremely poor. Most rural communities do not have access to social amenities. In 1994, it was estimated that only 18% of school age children attended school which is one of the lowest rates in Ethiopian standards and considerably below the average for sub-Saharan Africa. Th e situation for girls was even worse. Th e government policy of education adopted in 2001/02 restricts access by rural residents and their children to higher education. Trade, industry and tourism and other social services are confi ned to urban areas. Unemployment and related benefi ts do not exist. Rural residents have no pensions where deprivation is extreme. Modern infrastructure such as transport and communication are undeveloped. Very few towns have electricity while most remote areas have no roads. Th e roads that exist are the ones designed to facilitate the transportation of coff ee export. Most of them are dilapidated due to lack of maintenance. Th ere is only one highway in Sidama which connects Addis Ababa and the town of Moyale in the South. Th ere are neither railway lines nor international airports. Th ere are barely industries. A textile factory, set up in the 1980s catering for external market, had little linkage to the local economy. Th ere are no modern coff ees processing plants except raw coff ee washing plants. LANGUAGE, CULTURE, BELIEFS AND INSTITUTIONS Sidama is a potentially rich nation impoverished by the culture of conquest and domination. It prizes of relatively distinct language and cultural entity. Th e Sidama language, one of the Cushitic languages, is spoken by most Sidamas. Arrested Development in Ethiopia 62 Like other comparable communities, the Sidama people trace their origins to common ancestors. Oral tradition had it that Sidamas descended from two ancestral fathers: Bushee and Maldea. Successive generations worshiped ancestor spirit, Annuwate ayaana. It is believed that the dead retain their individual identity and continue to play an active role in society. Like elsewhere in Africa ancestor veneration is important to religious beliefs and practices (Howard 1996:314). Sidama’s holy places associated with the founders of major groups are known as akaako darga. Some of these include Teellamo, Wonsho, Buunama, Aroosa, Hallo, Guushala, Beera, Goida, Bansa Illaala, Saafa and Cirfa. Th e followers of Sidama traditional religion emphasize that they do not worship Akaako, but a creator sky deity, Magano, who once lived on earth, but returned to sky aft er people complained about having to make a choice between reproduction and eternal life (Braukämper 1992:197, also Daye 2001). Since then, God is approached through the brokerage of lower level deities. In other words, Akaako is the mediator through whom the people approach the Supreme Being. Stanley (1966:219) noted that: Th e Sidama religion is basically monotheistic combined with ancestor worship.... Even the worship of the tribal forefathers is largely based on the belief that they are powerful protectors of the clans, as eff ective intermediaries between God and their people. Th rough ancestor worship, the living and the dead occupy interconnected worlds as the spirits of the dead visit the living from the realm of ideas, mainly through dreams. Th e notion of reincarnation and life aft er death that is actively sought aft er in other belief systems existed in Sidama. Diff erent sacrifi ces are off ered to “feed” the dead. Th e sacrifi ce of animals on sacred sites (such as burial places and forestlands), the prohibition of eating pork, and the responsibilities of the fi rst born to off er sacrifi ce at the funeral of one’s parents have similarity to other religions. Th e older persons being close to the dead, and thereby close to God, occupy temporal space between ordinary being and the supernatural. In Sidama worldview, old age commands respect and recognition, as the advancement of age is oft en associated with experience and wisdom. Th is is common to other cultures since the “values drawn from the past do ... have contemporary relevance and a hold in all our imagination” (Baxter 1983:183). Sidama’s monotheistic belief tendency in divine creation, kalaqo, augured well with the teaching of other monotheist belief systems, partly explaining the ease with which Christian missions were received in Sidama. Th e missions were aided by modern education and the tendency to expand their numbers by proselytizing and converting members of other faiths to their own followers (See also Braukämper, 1992:195-7). It has to be noted that the introduction of Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 63 cash crop economy and the spread of Christian values have undoubtedly infl uenced the activities, beliefs, and attitudes of the Sidama people (See Hamer and Hamer 1994:188). Th e pre-conquest Sidama society had rich and complex social and political institutions. Th e people had developed their cultural ethos on the basis of community life with complex moral codes, laws, conventions and sanctions with predictable mechanisms of enforcement. John Hamer pointed out that Sidama’s gerontocratic social structure is based on generational class system which tends to facilitate the implementation of elderhood authority. It contains a “group of specialist mediators who are leaders of the major clans (mote), the generational classes (gadaana), and a few esteemed old men who have survived two cycles of the generational class system (woma) (Hamer 1996:526; 1994:128). Jan Brøgger (1986:114) described them as the system of age-grades. In this system, age has important implications. For example, the division of labor is predicated on age meant old men and women are respected members of the community. From old men comes cimeesa, an equivalent of a ritual leader who is chosen according to his age while from old women emerges qarricho chosen again by age. Even though the society is largely paterlineal and women are not formally members of the luwa generational system, but they are integral to its survival through their responsibility for the reproduction of household and the management of much of its subsistence labor. Women do not participate directly in councils of elders, but they are represented before the council by a spokesman of their choice, whenever having grievance. Jan Brøgger cited an example where elderly women behave with self-assurance, even smoking water pipe which is regarded as the prerogative of male elders, consistent with the increase in their authority (Brøgger 1986:54). On the other hand, male elders are empowered to legislate, take administrative actions to meet emergencies, mediate disputes and enforce decisions. Th ey reach their position settling disputes of everyday life, making policy rules about production, assisting the government in collecting taxes, and performing the rituals that negotiate the changing meaning of the cultural code. Indeed, they are the ones closest to the infl uential dead elders who, through dreams, remind the living of their obligations to that code (Hamer 1994:128). Th e moral code referred above is known as the halaale code which plays an important role in religious and politico-cultural systems. Th e term halaale means “truth” or “a true way of life.” Th e code forms the foundation for halaale ideology defi ned as the principles of moral code governing the relationship between people (Hamer 1994, 1996). It involves specifi c values such as the importance of generosity, commitment to truth in confl ict mediation, fairness Arrested Development in Ethiopia 64 in delivering blame and punishment, avoiding disruptive gossip, responsible use of money, respect for property boundaries and avoidance of adultery and sexual promiscuity. Th e signifi cance of wealth acquisition relates to the status and esteem achieved through reputation for generosity by redistributing wealth through hospitality and the support of one’s kin. According to halaale moral code, greed and arrogance are not viewed favorably as they invite jealousy and fear. Th e task of guarding and interpreting the moral order and code resides in the hands of elders. Since life is a continual process, the halaale code does not end with the death of elders who continue to infl uence the living by reappearing in dreams. Th e latter are believed to remind the living elders not to fail in upholding halaale and not to neglect “feeding” them animal sacrifi ce at appropriate shrines (Hamer 1994). In the past, the halaale code worked eff ectively well through social sanctions. Th e code is also supported by interrelated administrative and cultural institutions of buude, jirtee and seeraa. Recourse to ultimate sanction takes the form of curse believed to be eff ective. From among such sanctions, the feeling of alienation will have a marked eff ect since the ostracization by seera leads to social rejection by both the social and supernatural worlds. A comparable phenomenon in the contemporary Western society is incarceration in prisons which is a complete physical removal of persons from society. Th e Sidama world knows no capital punishment; murder is punishable by guma or blood compensation. Neither do the elders and their council possess direct physical forces of coercion at their disposal. Jan Brøgger (1986:109, 111) noted that: the style of behavior and demeanor of everyday life .... is clearly not based on threat of physical force. It is not the cowed subservience based on fear of whips, gallows and dungeons which is displayed, but it clearly demonstrates a concern for public opinion and sensitivity to criticism. Without the use of physical force and violence, the moral order had worked well for centuries in preserving the institutions and the moral code itself. It linked a household to community, generation to generation, and men to women, on a complementary basis. Th e moral code also conformed to another side of Sidama ethos, that of decentralized decision-making and consensual rule. Hamer (1998b) compares the practice of community participation and rational discourse with the authority of the Western style polity devoid of justice whose alternative, he suggests, could be Sidama’s personalized and decentralized form of gerontocracy. Th ree institutions dominate the Sidama political and cultural space. Th ey are (a) kingdom (woma), (b) principality (mote) and (c) the Luwa systems. Th e woma institution is the earliest form of political institution in Sidama goverTh e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 65 nance. Th e term “woma” is associated with wisdom whose role in production and organization is considered to be sophisticated. Th e woma presides over a council or songo (what Brøgger compared to a senate with strong authority whereby “pressure on the individual is not exerted by the invisible hand of the market” (Brøgger 1986:108). Womu-songo, or the king’s council, is the senate chaired by a woma. Th e position of woma in society varied from place to place and from clan to clan. While the presence of a woma is essential in all parts of Sidama, as bees have a queen, the age and the method of electing him varied from region to region. In most parts of Sidama, including in Alata where there are several clans governed as federations, gerontocrats are elected from diff erent sections of society to the role of a woma. In other places, such as Holoo and Sawolaa, the woma institution is dynastic and familial, hence inherited. In this case, when a woma dies, his son replaces him regardless of the age of the latter. If the son is too young and unprepared for the assumption of authority, he is helped by regents and other advisers (Hoteso 1990:146-47). Th e mote institution is another form of authority relation with explicitly political role. Th e leader is called moticha and he is elected to the position of administration and leadership on the basis of age and knowledge. His election takes place aft er thorough consultation with members of several local councils. Mooticha is responsible to look aft er the national council which also subsumes independent units of local councils such as the ollaa songos. Members of the songo are selected from the body of “wise persons,” or hayoo, elected from diff erent clans. Th ese councillors are, mainly but not necessarily, gerontocrats whose job is to advise the songo, to represent a person in dispute, to take ones case or appeal to the songo of the higher order or to lobby for assorted causes. Th e councils are run according to customary laws. Members of the local council need to memorize the law by heart including the crime typology and the relevant punishment. While the most routine and relatively simple tasks were performed at the local level, the higher and controversial issues or disputes required the meeting of the moote songo. In such cases, the mooticha resorts to halaale and those persons who stand in front of his court to tell a lie were perceived to die. Th e fear of death compels suspects to reveal truth. Th e woma institution had experienced decline through time with the emergence of the feudal Ethiopian rule while the powers of the mote had waxed (Hoteso 1990). Th e role of the woma was reduced to the level of non-interference in political and administrative matters and consultation on cultural and religious issues. Today, the position of a mote itself is largely undermined by the existing political system and attendant changes. Arrested Development in Ethiopia 66 Th e Luwa system is an age-related institution performing ritual, cultural, and political roles. Th is institution has several similarities to the gada system of the Oromos.5 Writing from a Marxist anthropological vantage, Hamer (1998b:6) describes the luwa as the generational “class” system of structuring society. Each “class” consists of three sets of people—elders, initiates, and preinitiates— where all men are linked to one another in a junior-senior relationship throughout the life cycle. Age-grades are a compromise between chronological age and generation (Brøgger 1986). Th ere are fi ve rotating age grades: Darrara, Moggisa, Hirbbora, Fullaasa, and Wawaasa. Members of diff erent grades pass through time cycles (every seventh year) and their life status changes accordingly. Th e Luwa congregation takes place at sacred sites, usually camps where the initiates stay for two months fed by Luwa fathers away from labor and sex. (Luwa fathers are cultural fathers who are not necessarily the biological fathers of the initiates). Th e initiation follows the appointment of a leader gadaanna by a panel of eight individuals. Panel members conduct the selection under strict secrecy. As a matter of principle, they assume no prior knowledge of each other; neither should they have contact with the young man they choose. In the process of recruitment, they consult masalto (philosophers) and qalichas (fortunetellers) to identify the right person. Th e panel also sets the criteria (or the job description, so to speak) of the would-be leader’s character and physical features. Being the fi rst-born male, preferably from the fi rst marriage is an added advantage. Ideally, the person should be physically and morally fi t to symbolise the rituals of power on behalf of the group. Th e desirable qualities of leadership include ones wisdom, circumspection, and ability to mediate disputes. Th e fi nal selection is based on the elder’s majority vote. Th e gadaanna is appointed for the term of seven years. Th ese years are associated with his name since it is part of the Sidama culture that “the points in history will be identifi ed with reference to the gadaanna” (Brøgger 1986:114). Th e cyclical feature of the luwa system means that all males will progress from a youthful status of providing service to senior positions of redistributing wealth and knowledge. Initially, the youth learn skills by attending council meetings where elders make decisions. With unavoidable sense of paternalism and trusteeship of the moral code, the elders have a direct bearing on the youth who constitute the productive forces and the basis of wealth creation. All these reinforce the place of elders whose roles are as diverse as consultation, decision-making, confl ict resolution, monitoring social cohesion and the assurance of continuity amidst change. As for confl ict resolution and the elders’ role, it had been customary that land and property disputes occupy most of their time. Th e authority of the elders to solve confl icts and policy-making is stamped by resort to curse and to the supernatural involving heavy sanctions. Th e usefulTh e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 67 ness and the relevance of age-related systems in general and of gerontocracy in particular depends on its ability to positively contribute towards the economic, political, social, educational and belief systems of contemporary society. In times and in a society where story telling is a necessity, where spoken rather than the written word holds signifi cance, where illiteracy is widespread, where the economic base is confi ned to subsistence agriculture, the problem of informing or educating the youth remains in the hands of those who possess useful information at their disposal. From earlier stages in life, women teach their children in several ways. Th en, through rituals and meetings, old men pass on knowledge obtained from ceaseless struggle for survival in a harsh environment. Th e lessons add confi dence to the young generation about the wisdom of their past contributing to their effi cacy to solve contemporary problems. Several forces threaten gerontocracy in Sidama, both external and internal. Th ey include the expansion of the cash economy, the dissemination of religious missions, and ever present political pressure from Ethiopian empire state. It is reported that, elsewhere in Africa, age systems faltered in the face of external infl uences, modern education, capitalist cash economy, and state intervention (Kurimto and Simonse 1998:25). For example, in the Masai speaking Samburu of Kenya, gerontocracy was imperiled by external infl uences. Th e British colonial administration controlled the Masai peoples’ dispute settlement processes, imposed taxes, and required the sale of cattle through offi cial channels. But then the infl uence of an imposed colonial administration was limited and the Samburu continued their traditional gerontocratic authority over herding and community life since there was no other environmentally appropriate means of survival (Spencer 1965). In the case of Sidama, most external infl uences entered through Christian missionaries, the aid agencies and schooling. Th e expansion of Lutheran, Evangelical, Roman Catholic, and Adventist churches in the mid-twentieth century allured several social groupings to Christian preaching. Th e fact that the churches, particularly Catholic and Adventist, were based in the rural areas indicates their keenness to acquire more members by demonstrating their usefulness to the needs of the rural population. In most areas, these churches were accompanied by schools and health clinics off ering educational and health facilities. While competing with the local values, the churches have also played complementary role. Some preached in Sidama language or translated or wrote books in Sidama. In their works, the priests and the churches did not face insurmountable obstacles since the halaale code has messages that reinforce that of the Bible. Yet the task of interpreting truth shift ed from the Sidama wise men to learned priests who were keen to allure the youth, and through them their families to diff ering ways of life. Th e end result, either way, was to change the Arrested Development in Ethiopia 68 worldview of the would-be followers who no longer resort to local norms and practices including ancestral veneration. Th e work of aid agencies has never been prominent in Sidama until recently. For one, the self-suffi ciency ethos of the moral code precluded any tendency to be dependent on external alms. Begging is morally unacceptable and immediate support comes from the community itself when needed. Secondly, it is highly unlikely that aid agencies would be permitted to pass the Ethiopian centre and carry out development-oriented programs in Sidama. Neither has there been a widely publicized emergency situation worth attracting the attention for food aid as in the northern Ethiopia. Nevertheless, minor aid programs had fi ltered through church groups with a notable exception of Irish Aid which started its functions in the early 1990s. Th e social and economic eff ects of this and other externally funded programs are yet to be seen. Th e Sidama social organization and cultural underpinning was further undermined by the upheaval of military dictatorship.6 Th e role of customary sanctions were relegated and replaced by communist-structured, strictly hierarchical administrative units. Th e customary village council or ollaa was replaced by administrative units known as qebele (also spelt as kebele), while the roles of murichas (event organizers and informants) and cinanchos (work co-ordiantors) were taken by qebele administrators. Th e qebele administration instituted by the Derg had little to do with the Sidama customary law and procedures, seera. Qebele appointees became part and parcel of the Derg administrative apparatus. At the same time, the regime denigrated the Sidama belief system and it worked to undermine the Luwa system. Sacred forests and public assembly-point trees (gudumaales) were destroyed and replaced by cash crop plantation and draconian communist villagisation programs. Th e burden on the Sidama society was only worsened by economic oppression associated with heavy taxation and low fi xed coff ee prices. Given the centrist tendency of the Derg, the consensual authority of elders virtually ceased to exist except in conformity with government edicts and unless practiced clandestinely. Th e communist style of socio-political organization that spreads its tentacles from the core to the villages, and the physical force that accompanies militaristic bureaucracy distorted the politico-cultural airwaves of the Sidama world. It undermined the social complementarity between elders and youth as well as between genders. At the same time, the consensual authority of elders was transferred from local songos to corrupt imposition of qebele committees. Th e government policies of taxation and marketing controls became more oppressive, making life worse and destabilizing to the internal mechanisms of survival. Devastating were also the practices of collective farming Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 69 and villagisation coupled with forced conscription of youth into the army to fi ght endless wars with neighboring countries and nationalist insurgencies. Th e regime that replaced the Derg in 1991 was less enthusiastic in supporting elders’ councils fearing that they might undermine its authority. Th e problem is more than lack of enthusiasm since the TPLF regime introduced pervasive inter-generational confl icts. By selective and manipulative arming of the youth, the regime has exacerbated a generational divide. Upon assuming power, it promoted a decided minority of youth with the least knowledge and experience of the Abyssinian political machination while excluding those with a through knowledge of the system. Worse still, as soon as the less experienced youth gathered substantive knowledge and start asking the inevitable, they were sacked, imprisoned or replaced by far the less experienced ones or by those more cowed and confused. Th is practice enabled the TPLF regime, at least temporarily, to manipulate the overall process of governance. At the same time, attempts at co-opting the local leaders and elders were made possible at the expense of corruption and loss of respect to their moral authority. What happened then is the social disorientation and lack of moral direction. For example, politically motivated semi-religious fanatic groups covered the ground emptied of the moral code. Fundamentalist churches went on taxing the poor while taking the youth away from work, education and the protective shields of their parents and elders. Seemingly freed from the shackles of tradition, the youth roam around the country engaged in endless congregations. A generation that lost its initiation rites and rights recompenses itself by a new form of religious initiation. In personal communication to this author, John Hamer (1998b:7) noted that considering the experiences of youth in being removed from the land, impressed into confl icting military organizations, and losing the authority and instruction of the elders, it was not surprising that a condition of cynicism, even nihilism, engulfed much of the young generation. Similar pervasive role of state was also noted in the case of the Orma people, in Kenya. Th ere, state interference in production, marketing and distribution led to the stratifi cation of social life, favoring wealthy individuals, and a decline in the redistribution process. Competing interests were no longer negotiated through consensual agreement and the Orma increasingly came to rely on the sanctioning force of the state (Ensiminger 1990, 1996; See also Hamer 1998b:10). John Abbink opines that the Gada system of government, once graft ed on an agropastoral way of life, is susceptible to changes in social scale, economic life and external contacts. He further argued that the system “will not work in a stratifi ed society with economically specialized groups, such as modern society [and Arrested Development in Ethiopia 70 it] serves mainly as a symbol of Oromo political ethos and achievement, as well as illustration that there were traditional constitutional limits on the exercise of power.” In brief, the “traditions of political organization, customary law and cultural autonomy provide elements of a value system and a fund of collective memory and identity” (Abbink 1998:161, 163). Changes to tradition are also eff ected by education. Th e establishment of literacy in garrison towns initially aimed at educating the siblings of settlers later spread to the rural Sidama through Christian missionary schools. With uneven distribution of schools and schooling, the outcome of such literacy was benefi cial to the northern settlers and not to the Sidama society. Lately, those Sidamas who made it to higher education were hindered from promoting their social and political heritage, and they were removed from Sidama to work or live in other areas. Some Sidamas managed to migrate to the outside world forming and strengthening the Sidama diaspora. Th e progress of the political movements, national awareness, and further studies complemented the eff orts in Sidama itself.7 CONTEMPORARY POLITICS Th e political arrangement that replaced the Derg in 1991 drew its social base from Tigray, led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which obtains its inspiration from Albanian communism. In rhetoric, and in order to rally support, the Front bandied about the “nations, nationalities and peoples”, decentralization and federations, and the use of national/local languages, issues that needed real reckoning. As the centralizing tendency of the Ethiopian polity worked against any realization of such goals, the regime revived the main thrust of the Ethiopian past. Indeed, the half-hearted pronouncements were made to ensure the social and political supremacy by the TPLF. On the front of political organization, soon aft er the assumption of power, the TPLF patched up surrogate parties such as the Sidama People’s Democratic Organization (SPDO) to serve one and only one purpose: to become its puppets. Th e core members of SPDO were prisoners of war taken during armed confrontations with the Derg army. Th e membership later expanded to include primary school teachers (who suff ered from low morale and low pay), aggrieved personalities, and the unemployed youth who were not accustomed to Abyssinian machination and treachery. It armed, supported and fi nanced the SPDO elements while terrorizing other groups and individuals. By promoting the mediocre, the TPLF demoted independent, creative and well-informed personalities as well as nationalist elders. Th e regime’s supporters were promoted as models to be followed while creative and critical thinkers were discouraged and undermined. Th e regime has progressively excluded true nationalists from Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 71 decision-making process. Th e regime’s propaganda tools presented intellectuals and business persons from the South as enemies of the people or anti-people. Th e SPDO is supervised by another satellite organization created by the TPLF, namely, the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front (SEPDF) which is a member of the EPRDF. According Lovise Aalen Th e TPLF’s strong regional and federal position is a stark contrast to the position of the southern EPRDF partner, the SEPDF, which is disempowered at both regional and federal level. Since the ruling party at federal level is Tigray dominated, Tigrayan interest are pursued and Tigray regional state maintains an exceptional position in the federation, while the governments of other federal units, including SNNPRS, remain weak and practically ineff ective (Aalen 2002:94). Th rough the so-called the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Regional State (SNNPRS) and the SEPDF, the TPLF sought to control the Sidama national capital, Hawaasa. Th e complicated agenda for the city resulted in the growth of urban slums, the spread of diseases, environmental pollution and civil strife. Th e ill-defi ned policy to make Hawaasa the regional administrative capital, supposedly under the control of the central government, harnessed insecurity among Sidamas culminating in popular protest and brutal massacre of hundreds of Sidamas by the government army on 24 May 2002. Known as the Looqe massacre, this is the most grave and historically signifi cant event in recent history. Th e massacre, which is apart of the ongoing process of genocide took place as the TPLF government security forces opened fi re on peaceful demonstrators who were protesting the destabilizing policies of the government. Over hundred lives were lost, and nearly all were Sidamas. Th e regime was criticized by human rights organizations and national governments. Th e Looqe massacre remains in the collective conscience of the Sidama public. Th roughout the nation, state-sponsored confl icts continue to claim lives and property. Times were when the regime creates confl ict (even warfare) while it joins the game as a non-partisan mediator. Several prominent Sidamas lost their lives in these incidents. Th is is in line with the old colonial style of divide-andrule whereby the colonized are separated from each other so that they cannot plausibly mount common struggle. It has been one of the measures to encourage the elites from oppressed people to be oblivious of, if not openly hostile to, the neighbors (i.e., the Oromo, Kafi cho, Wolayta, Hadiya, etc.) while they are compelled to master the culture, language and the values of the oppressors. In recent times, the Sidama nation experienced severe famine conditions. Th e government gave little or no attention. Most relief eff ort was provided by Irish Aid under the supervision of the independent local NGO, the Sidama Arrested Development in Ethiopia.

Development Corporation (SDC). Th e SDC is a grass root non-profi t organization established in July 1997 to help reduce poverty and foster sustainable development in Sidama. Its express mission was to harness the human and physical resources of Sidama so that the people could address the fundamental obstacles to development. Th e idea to establish SDC came from the Sidama people including those working in Sidama Development Programme (SDP) funded by Irish Aid since 1994. Th e Irish Aid program has assisted in the establishment of SDC both in terms of creating the critical awareness among the population through integrated rural development program and making the resources available for the establishment of the organization itself. Th e director of SDC, Wollassa Kumo, made signifi cant eff ort to secure external resources to help development eff orts in the land most neglected by Ethiopian authorities. He was forced to resign in April 2002, prior to the Looqe massacre, and fl ed the country subsequently. Th e development of Sidama nationalism owes its origins in the conquest and the growing discontent and deep-seated malaise caused by Ethiopian empire statehood. Th e spontaneous rise and fall of peasant uprisings and protests in Sidama in the past is progressively replaced by informed nationalist program that relies on written word. Literacy reinforces permanence and preservation of national treasure. Th e dispersal of Sidamas throughout the world is also strengthening the network of unity and nationalism in information age. Notes 1. Currently, the Sidama studies are developing in the Sidama Diaspora. Th e Sidama Concern online has established contacts among Sidamas and other scholars keen on Sidama studies. 2. Th e Coptic Orthodox Church is the main architect of religious aff airs of the northern ethnies. In the south, it was based in urban areas and garrison settlements where the majority of settlers spoke Amharic language. Braukamper (1992: 197) attests that the orthodoxisation campaign failed to go beyond the sphere of infl uence of the military colonists from northern Ethiopia. 3. Th e term “nation” here refers to people who share common descent, language, culture, history as well as subjective identifi cation with the political peoplehood. Yoram Dinstein noted that peoplehood is contingent on two separate elements: an objective element of being an ethnic group with a common history, a cultural identity, and a subjective element indicating itself as a people (Dinstein 1976:104). I dwelt on the terminology of nations and nationalism in other publications. See, for example, Seyoum Hameso, (1997a, 1997b). 4. Th e survey carried out by Th e Sidama Development Programme in 1995 indicated that Sidama had a population of 3.7 million. See also Th e Hutchinson EncyclopaeTh e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 73 dic Dictionary, 1991, p.368; and Th e U.S. Department of State, Country Profi le: Ethiopia, Th e Bureau of African Aff airs, 4 December 1997. 5. See Th e Sidama Concern, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1997, pp.6-7 for comparisons. Gada is an age-grade system of governance. It is based on consultative decision-making with constitutional limits on the exercise of power. Th e oral law for Sidamas and Oromos draw from the same word, seeraa, acting as a social sanction. Th ere is also an assembly system which aims to reach consensus under a shed of a tree known as odakoo for Sidamas, and odaa for the Oromos. Th e assembly system is cultural heritage shared by both the Sidamas (xadoo) and the Oromos (gummi). (See Legesse 1973; see also Bassi 1997). 6. In the same year of disturbance, 1974, a Mogissa age-set was initiated following the Hirbora age set. 7. Th e Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM) as the forerunner of the Sidama Liberation Front (SLF) was formed in the late 1970s. For most of the last decades, it operated from outside Sidama, but joined the TPLF/EPRDF dominated Transitional Government of Ethiopia in 1991 and was expelled from TGE shortly aft er. On academic and the media fi eld, Th e Sidama Concern focused on promoting the national, regional and international awareness about Sidama. References Aalen, Lovise. 2002. Ethnic federalism in a dominant party state: Th e Ethiopian experience 1991-2000, Report R 2002: 2. Chr. Michelsen Institute Development Studies and Human Rights. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute. Bassi, Marco. 1996. Power’s ambiguity or the political signifi cance of Gada. In Being and becoming Oromo: Historical and anthropological enquiries, ed. P.T.W. Baxter, J. Hultin, J. and A. Triulzi. 150-161. Uppsala: Nordska Africa Institute. Baxter, P.T.W. 1994. Th e creation and constitution of Oromo nationality. In Ethnicity and ethnic confl ict in the Horn of Afr ica, ed. K. Fukui and J. Markakis. London: James Currey. BCA. 1991. Th e Hutchinson encyclopedic dictionary. London: BCA. Braukämper, U. 1992. Aspects of religious syncretism in southern Ethiopia. Journal of Religion in Afr ica. XXII, 3:194-207. Brøgger, J. 1986. Belief and experience among the Sidamo: A case study towards an anthropology of knowledge. Oslo: Norwegian University Press. Dinstein, Yoram. 1976. Collective human rights of peoples and minorities. Th e International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 25, 1:102-120. Ensiminger, J. 1990. Co-opting the elders: Th e political economy of state incorporation in Africa American Anthropologist. 92:662-675. Ensiminger, J. 1996. Making a market: Th e institutional transformation of an Afr ican society. Cambridge University Press. Arrested Development in Ethiopia 74 Hamer, John. 1970. Sidamo generational class cycles. A political gerontocracy. Afr ica. 40:50-70. ___and I. Hamer, 1994. Impact of cash economy on complimentary relations among the Sidama of Ethiopia. Anthropological Quarterly. 67:187-202. ___ 1994. Commensality, process and the moral order: An example from Southern Ethiopia. Afr ica. 64, 1:126-144. __ 1996. Inculcation of ideology among the Sidama of Ethiopia. Afr ica. 66, 4:526- 551. __ 1998a. Th e Sidama of Ethiopia and rational communication: Action in policy and dispute settlement. Anthropos. 93:137-153. __ 1998b. Gerontocracy as a tradition and a mirror for the future. Th e Sidama Concern. 3, 3:5-11. Hameso, Seyoum. 1997a. Ethnicity in Afr ica: Towards a positive approach. London: TSC. __ 1997b. Ethnicity and nationalism in Afr ica. New York: Nova Science Publishers. __ 2004. Th e Sidama nation and the solidarity of the colonised nations. In State crises, globalization and national movements in North-East Afr ica, ed. Asafa Jalata. London: Routledge. Hoteso, B. 1990. Sidama: Its people and its culture. Addis Ababa: Bole Printing Press, [in Amharic]. Howard, Michael. 1996. Contemporary cultural anthropology. New York: Harper Collins. Jalata, A. 1995. Th e struggle for knowledge: Th e case of emergent Oromo studies. Th e Afr ican Studies Review. 39,2:95-132. Keller, E. 1987. Revolutionary Ethiopia: From empire to people’s republic. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Kertzer, D. I. and O. B. Madison. 1981. Women’s age-set systems. in Africa: Th e Lutuka of southern Sudan. In Dimensions: Aging, culture, and health, ed. C.L. Fry. New York: Preager. Kurimto, E. and S. Simonse, eds. 1998. Confl ict, age and power: Age systems in transition. Oxford: James Currey. Legesse, A. 1973. Gada: Th ree approaches to the study of Afr ican society. New York: Free Press. Spencer, P. 1965. Th e Samburu: A study of gerontocracy in a nomadic tribe. Berkeley: University of California. Stanley, S. 1966. Th e political system of the Sidama. In Th e proceedings of the third international conference of Ethiopian Studies. Addis Ababa. Vol. III. Th e Sidama Nation: An Introduction 75 Stanley, S. and D. Karsten. 1968. Th e Luwa system of the Garbicco sub-tribe of the Sidama (Southern Ethiopia) as a Special case of an age set system. Paideuma 14:93- 102. Stanley, S. 1970. Th e political system of Sidama. Proceedings of the third international conference of Ethiopian Studies, vol. III. 215-228. Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies. Th e U.S. Department of State. 1997. Country profi le: Ethiopia. Th e Bureau of African Aff airs, December. Th iongo, Ngugi. 1986. Decolonizing the mind: Th e politics of language and Afr ican cultural literature. London: James Currey. Wedekind, Klaus. 1980. Sidamo, Darasa, Burjii: Phonological diff erences and likenesses. Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 14, 131-176.Jun 28DeleteUndo deleteReport spamNot spam eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Jun 18 ▼ eyasu fitamo - eyasu.org - Public - Muted sidama people SA’U LAMALARANO TENNE E:MAILERA HARANCHO SOKKA BORREESOOMATI QAANGANITE.XAANO GIDDO’YA GALTINOTI SIDAAMU MANNI KADOTENI FULA DANDAANOTA SHARROTA DOOGO QINEESE SHARAMATE MIXO’YA WIDOONI HIGE LAME...Expand this post » eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Jun 18 ▼ eyasu fitamo - Posted from the web - Public - Muted -ewrt36t4eggrdgrgggggggdfdgdsasdggfdgzsdgdgewt eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Jun 13 ▼ eyasu fitamo - eyasu.org - Public - Muted American Chronicle | Ethiopia Establishes National Commodity Exchange: Sidama Coffee Regains its True Identity American Chronicle | Ethiopia Establishes National Commodity Exchange: Sidama Coffee Regains its True Identity 1 person liked this - eyasu fitamo eyasu fitamo - sidaamu manira xaate kada ikitino!!!!!!!!!!!Jun 17DeleteUndo deleteReport spamNot spam eyasu fitamo - SA’U LAMALARANO TENNE E:MAILERA HARANCHO SOKKA BORREESOOMATI QAANGANITE.XAANO GIDDO’YA GALTINOTI SIDAAMU MANNI KADOTENI FULA DANDAANOTA SHARROTA DOOGO QINEESE SHARAMATE MIXO’YA WIDOONI HIGE LAME LAMALAAGE KEERU SIDAAMI MANIRA IKKO YOOMO.AYIRADU TENNE SHARRO DAGANKERANNA DAGOOMINKERA HATTONO SIDAAMINKERA MAREEKITINANIRI SHARROTE ALBISAANO KEERE HEEDHINOONI? 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EYAASU FIITAMOJun 18DeleteUndo deleteReport spamNot spam eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Jun 18 ▼ eyasu fitamo - Posted from the web - Public - Muted Updates in Your Groups eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Jun 17 ▼ eyasu fitamo - Buzz - Public - Muted Reshared post from eyasu fitamo. our sidama peoples now becoming self dependant SIDAMIC VERSION xaa yanara sidaaminke mani rosinino ikko jiroteni umosi dandee uurate assani noo sharo tenneti yinanikie. teneerano kaima ikkitanoti diru diruni yuniversite eano rosaano kiiro hala'la,mimitu ledo sumuu yee loosate hexxxo mittu mittunku sidaami manni wodani giddo xabbe leelase sidaamu lophote kainota xawisanorichi giddo kulanireeti. ENGLISH VERSION Nw by the time sidama peoples with regard to education or capital becaming on developed 1 person liked this - eyasu fitamo eyasu fitamo has disabled comments on this post Comment Like Load more buzz Send a message

REFERANCE;EYASU FITAMO .ADDIS ABEBA UNIVERSITY STUDENT.