Settler-Colonialism Defined:
Settler colonialism—a structure premised on the displacement of Indigenous peoples and the establishment of a new, permanent society on their lands—has been extensively examined in history, anthropology, and political science.Yet the psychological underpinnings that enable, sustain, and reproduce settler colonial projects have received comparatively less systematic attention.
Drawing on social-psychological theory, cognitive anthropology, trauma studies, and post-colonial scholarship, this paper offers a comprehensive synthesis of the psychological mechanisms that characterize settler-colonialists as a distinct social group. Settler colonialism is sustained by an interlocking suite of cognitive and affective processes:
(1) colonial identity formation (social-identity, narrative, and mythic construction of the “settler”); (2) moral disengagement and system justification that rationalize dispossession; (3) cognitive dissonance and selective amnesia that maintain a coherent self-image despite evidence of injustice; and (4) collective trauma and intergenerational memory that reproduce frontier anxiety and the myth of a hostile “other.”
By integrating these processes into a multi-level framework—individual, group, and structural—we illuminate how settler colonialism persists across centuries, from early North American frontiers to contemporary Israeli-Palestinian, Australian, Canadian, Abyssinian, and other contexts.
The settler-colonial Abyssinian empire was invented in the mid-19th century to the early 20th century by resource less, and ravenous European scramblers, colonizers, slave traders, genociderians and ethnociderians.
They enabled the outlaw rival chieftains, warlords, gangs emerged in the region designated as Ras, (The Head) , Dejazmach, Fitawrari, etc, —functioned hierarchical command order. Three of them, Kasa of Gonder a son of Kosso vendor renamed to a butcherer name Tewodros 2, another Kasa of Tigray, renamed to Yohannis the 4 and Sahle Mariam, butcherer name Menelik 2, warlords became the best candidates of choices to European coloniers to be backed with all means neccesary to catapulte them up to the top of poltical power domiantoions in competing. They enabled and functioned as partitioners and share‑holders of of the scrambler for Africa singularly not victims.
Armying the cruelest outlaw village chieftains to their teeth
They armed the cruelest outlaw village chieftains to their teeth, mentored, financed, and sent mercenaries from all social groups, missionaries, Gun dealers and smugglers, slave traders, and looters of cultural goods and resources. As a result of about three decades of wars and conquest
one of the most backward, barbaric settler-colonial empires that preyed upon the entire South 6 fold richer and larger in size than “Habesha proper that trades with stolen, fake trade name contemporary “Ethiopia” has been demarcated.
The Abyssinian Empire has traditionally foregrounded political and military events, aggrandizing the psychological dimensions of its expansionist projects. The Amharic language of the settlers used as the dominant linguistic and cultural tools core of cultural genocides of the rule of the empires that embarked on a series of campaigns that extended their political hegemony over the Oromo, Afar, Somali, Sidama, Gurage, Walata and the rest about 89 indigenous ethno-nations incarcerated within this from God and the world forgotten prison house known with fake and stolen name Ethiopia for about at least two centuries.
The psychological of stealing and shameless blasted lies
These expansions were not only military conquests; they included the establishment of settler-colonies, land expropriation, the introduction of the Amharic language, and a nominal Greek-Egyptian version of the Hebrew folklore called the Christian Religion, to which they had converted.
We examine the psychological underpinnings of the Abyssinian and assimilate the elite narratives that mask their settler-colonial practices and military behavior, drawing on the social identity of the indigenous peoples, the psychology of dominance and aggression, collective memory, and trauma studies in this prison.
By analyzing archival sources, oral histories, and contemporary scholarly work, the study argues that (1) Amhara settler-colonialism was sustained by a composite identity narrative that fused imperial destiny with ethnic superiority; (2) warlords internalized and operationalized this narrative through personalized militarized honor codes and a “colonial mentality” that justified dispossession; and (3) the psychological legacy of this period continues to influence inter-ethnic relations in the contemporary settler-colonial Abyssinian empire.
Settler Colonialism as a psychological eliminaton and absoulte denial project
Wolfe (2016) argues that settler colonialism is “a structure, not an event,” sustained by elimination and replacement of Indigenous peoples. Psychologically, this entails: Essentialist ethnocentrism—the belief that the settler group possesses innate cultural superiority.
Future-Oriented Narrative—a mythic vision of “civilized” national destiny that justifies present dispossession. We apply this to the Amhara case, analyzing imperial discourses (e.g., Menelik 2s 1896 declaration of “civilizing” the south) and the concomitant settlement policies (allocation of gult, land grants, billeting the conquered and occupied land to the gun carrying fanatic conglomerate killer hordes, bare foot illiterate militias, wild beast who knew nothing except butchering, looting, slave raiding.
They acted as military leaders, administrators, tax collectors, and agents of cultural assimilation, and cattle raiding and eating raw like carnivores. They were named as half devil and half Habesha by local population they encountered in the life of the gafol system.
The creation of a bureaucratic apparatus staffed by semi-illiterate Debteras (priests) following in the footsteps of the cruelest chieftains gun-carrying, killer hordes, dogs of wars. What psychological mechanisms sustained Amhara settler colonial expansion, and how were they embodied in the warlords who stand as its principal agents? Furthermore, how did the Abyssinian Empire that emerged as a settler colonialist entity—often mythologized in various instances as “exceptional, non-colonized, bastion of liberation of Africa etc successfully solid lies to the world at large to the present.
Recent scholarship in settler colonial studies (such as Wolfe 2016; Veracini 2015) and political psychology (such as Staub 2013, Altemeyer 1996) offers new lenses for understanding how collective identities and individual agency intersect in imperial formations. Drawing on Patrick Wolfe’s foundational assertion that settler colonialism is structural, not merely a series of discrete events
We examines the Euro-dependent settler colonial Abyssinian Empire’s legacy as a system of predatory assimilation, cultural erasure, and racialized subjugation of the conquered indigenous population of Northeast Africa. Central to this analysis is the paradox of decolonization: while it demands the dismantling of systemic oppression by all means possible, contemporary decolonial movements in the Oromo diaspora and anti-Abyssinian resistance are frequently undermined by historical amnesia, misplaced allegiances, and the corrosive grip of authoritarian legacies.
The Abyssinian Empire’s colonial matrix was not an organic state but a constructed hierarchy sustained by predatory elites who weaponized both violence and ideological subterfuge. To move toward genuine decolonization, decolonial actors must reject superficial reformation and confront the entrenched psychological and material mechanisms of the operating structural colonialism.
The Structural Nature of Settler Colonialism
The Abyssinian Empire Patrick Wolfe’s theory of settler colonialism as a “structure, not an event” re-frames colonialism as a totality—a system of dominance wherein settlers seek to replace indigenous populations and repopulate territories to legitimize their rule. The Abyssinian Empire, under figures like Tewodros II, Yohannis IV, Menelik II, Haile Selassie, and, in contemporary times, war criminal and global pariah Ahmed, exemplifies this structural logic.
Far from being a natural extension of regional history, the empire was invented and constructed as an extension of European colonialism during the Scramble for Africa through invasion, conquest, genocide, ethnocides, ecocides, enslavement, land grab occupations of territories of the Oromo people and the entire peoples of the south—areas more than six times larger and richer than Habesha proper (mainly Tigre and Amhara)—to the whole south, and the entrenchment of a racially stratified “Amhara settler elite.” These elites, often dubbed “half devil and half Habesha” for their moral ambiguity and predatory survivalism, perpetuated a colonial matrix through:
1. Land Appropriation: The Abyssinian Empire systematized the theft of Oromoland, the entire land of the people of the south, incarcerated via military campaigns and garrison settlements, eradicating common tenure and replacing it with centralized, extractive governance. Land is that which holds profound truth to the Great Oromo nation, particularly for indigenous communities and rural populations who have an intrinsic connection with the earth. For them, land is not just a physical territory but an integral part of their identity, culture, and existence. It is the source of their livelihood, providing food, water, shelter, and spiritual nourishment.
The appropriation of land, therefore, is not just a matter of territorial acquisition but an appropriation of life itself. When land is taken away, it is not just the physical space that is lost, but also the cultural heritage, traditional practices, and community bonds that are intricately tied to it. The displacement of people from their ancestral lands can lead to a loss of autonomy, dignity, and self-determination, causing irreparable harm to their well-being and way of life.
As such, the appropriation of land is a violation of the fundamental right to life. It is imperative that we recognize the sacred relationship between land and life and work towards preserving the rights of communities to their ancestral territories, ensuring that their very existence is not threatened by the relentless pursuit of economic growth and development. Ultimately, respecting the intrinsic link between land and life is essential to building a more just and equitable world, where the rights of all people to their land, culture, and livelihood are respected and protected. Thus, the Oromo people say, “Lafni lafee, dha ” which means land is the backbone of life, as it is for the human body.
2 Cultural Hegemony: The Amharization project enforced linguistic and religious hegemony, positioning the nominal Abyssinian Christianity as the sole tool of the mimicry of the European colonial enterprise’s genocidal war under the guise of a “civilizational mission” to appropriate the lands and indigenous people. Indigenous Oromo Gadaa practices and Islamic communities in the south were marginalized as “primitive” or “defective.”
3. Economic Exploitation:The Empire’s revenue was built on the commodification of Oromo land and labor exploitation of the Oromos in all spheres of life and the people of the south and agricultural products like Coffee revenues making the empire’s leading export, minerals just to note some among many which Abyssinian elites hoarded resources enriched themselves and their cohesive circles and clans be able to buy modern weapons of war to use against the people and cling into power till the bullet got them in turn.
These mechanisms were not incidental but constitutive of the Empire’s survival since her invention and occupation of the south that carries almost over 80 %, of the burden of the empire. Oromia alone carries over 60% the burden of the barbaric empire on her shoulders
As Wolfe notes, settler colonialism produces the native it subjugates, rendering the colonized “excess populations” within their own lands. The Abyssinian Empire’s structural violence thus created a bifurcated society: a settler elite (Abyssinian’s and assimilates) and a dispossessed indigenous majority whose survival was contingent on submission or resistance ruled by loaded gun pointing at their heads , fears , suppression and rule of commanding posts..
Historical Amnesia of Some Oromo Political Elites: Their “Fatal Erratum” The historiography of the dependent and predator settler colonial Abyssinian Empire is clearer today than ever—from her invention, establishment, and maintenance of her viral modus operandi to the present date.
She has been one of the most backward empires, finding herself at the tail end of the 2024 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), as reported. The facts have been the loyal servants of the brutal, ruthless ruling gangs for long years; this is as clear as a diamond. One must swallow the bitter pill of truth and re-question oneself if the grey matter is working. If we have the power to think, as Oromo, with an uncontaminated, healthy mind that can ferret out truth from myth and fables and purify itself from all debris, there have been no more determined times and factors than now in the history of the liberation struggles of the great Oromo Nation.
Contemporary Oromummaa (Oromo nationalism), despite its radical potential to turn legs up and head down, is itself one of the most backward predator Abyssinian empires, and some of the populist degree holders often stumble into the abyss of historical amnesia. A “fatal erratum” aligns with forces that perpetuate colonial structures—this was Fanon’s warning of postcolonial leaders who mimic their oppressors.
The Oromo struggle, historically rooted in demands for liberation from the yoke of Abyssinian militarization, wars, and eviction, has been derailed by elites who deflect internal dissent as “foreign interference.”
This narrative, akin to a colonial “us versus them” logic, distracts from the material realities of Oromo dispossession and reinforces cycles of conflict.
The user’s critique of Oromos as “sheep flock following a shepherd” underscores a critical psychological dynamic: the trust placed in unworthy elites who prioritize personal aggrandizement over collective liberation. This phenomenon is not new; in fact, the establishment and maintenance of the empire from the 19th century, without assimilating the working class or the nominal Oromos—from Gobana Dachee to Abiy Ahmed—could never have existed in its contemporary form. Such collaborations, framed as strategic alliances, instead validated the colonial hierarchy they opposed in theory. They could circumvent colonialism rather than dismantle it. As a result, they began “dancing with gangs”—a term evoking the tragic complicity of Oromo elites with Abyssinian and foreign powers, sacrificing their communities’ interests for personal temporary gains or symbolic representation.
The psychological toll of this amnesia is profound. Fanon argued that decolonization requires a “complete disordering of all the familiar landmarks of everyday life,” yet Oromo activists risk replicating the very hierarchies they reject by clinging to symbolic resistance (e.g., cultural reclamation) without addressing the structural underpinnings of their oppression. True decolonization demands not only the rejection of Abyssinian cultural hegemony but also the dismantling of neocolonialist systems, including state surveillance, land privatization, and militarized repression.
The Corrosive Legacy of Abyssinian Warlords: “Half Devil and Half Habesha” The Abyssinian Empire’s endurance was not a testament to its intrinsic legitimacy but a consequence of its ability to co-opt and militarize predatory warlords. The legacy perpetuated a cycle of self-aggrandizement and erasure, like their ascent marked a decisive departure from
Haile Selassie Tafari Makonnen; to the current tenure of Abiy Ahmed. These figures embody the duality of the “half devil and half Habesha.” Their survival hinged on strategic violence, genocides, exterminating rivals, delusional criminals, and global pariahs as they consolidated power by subjugating the entire southern populations since their invention sanctified territorial expansion.
Indeed, there is nothing in this brutal historical continuum to extol; its hallmark has consistently been one of relentless self-aggrandizement and pernicious brutality.
The psychological trauma of this erasure is intergenerational:
Assimilation and Credentialism
Assimilation refers to the process by which individuals adopt the cultural norms, values, and practices of a dominant group, often at the expense of their own heritage (Gordon, 1964). In the context of postcolonial societies, assimilation is frequently institutionalized through education systems that privilege Eurocentric knowledge (Battiste, 2002). Credentialism denotes the societal emphasis on formal qualifications as the primary gateway to professional authority (Collins, 1979). When credentials are obtained within assimilative institutions, they encode a particular worldview that can become invisible to their bearers.
Unlike the post Berlin Conference of European colonizers of the Abyssinian settlers were not outsiders who portray themselves as distinct ethnic group (Amhara and Tigray) who weaponized their cultural identity to subjugate others. This internal colonialism, as Aimé Césaire described, was subtler but no less destructive. It required the cultivation of a parasitic elite who saw themselves as guardians of a “civilized” culture against the “barbarism” of the South..
Oromos, long denied political agency, and those who went through the settler colonial Abyssinian curriculum internalized the Abyssinian narrative of their own inferiority. Individuals who have undergone assimilation into dominant cultural norms and possess formal academic credentials that, paradoxically, lack critical engagement with Indigenous knowledge, moral, ethics. These assimilated and mis-educated degree holders often occupy positions within government agencies, NGOs, academia, and corporate social responsibility units.
After the notorious peoples revolutions of the 1974, 1991 and 2018 of the Oromo people revolutions the Abyssinian “half devil and half Habesha” elites retained control by co-opting assimilated nominal Oromos from every corner of social life from top to the bottom to their bureaucratic apparatus, ensuring structural continuity of the predatory settler colonial Abyssinian Empire. Thus captures the Abyssinian psyche: a moral corruption rooted in the imperative to dominate.
These historical figures, in their deluded self-importance, sought to redefine their very essence and uniqueness, leading not to prosperity or unity, but to a perpetual cycle of relentless wars, widespread hunger, state-sponsored terror, mass displacement, and desperate flight, etching a legacy of immense suffering rather than any discernible benefit to the populace they claimed to rule.
Indigenous Burdens
Burden is employed here in a multidimensional sense, encompassing:
Socioeconomic burden– higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and inadequate housing.
Cultural burden– erosion of language, traditions, and selfdetermination.
Political burden– limited participation in decisionmaking and systemic disenfranchisement.
These burdens are not merely outcomes but are continuously reproduced through policy design, implementation, and evaluation (Miller, 2015).
2.3. Theoretical Lens
Postcolonial theory (Said, 1978; Spivak, 1988) illuminates how knowledge production continues to serve colonial power structures.
Critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970) argues that education can either liberate or dominate, depending on its epistemic orientation.
Epistemic injustice (Fricker, 2007) highlights testimonial and hermeneutical marginalisation of Indigenous knowledge.
Conclusion
Toward a Decolonial Psychobiology
The structural violence of the Abyssinian Empire and the complicity of some educated people and political leaders in its perpetuation reveal a critical truth: decolonization is not just replacing one oppressive dictator with another oppressive dictator, as advocated by
The Abyssinian Empire’s structural violence and the complicity of some miscalculated gasholders and political leaders in its perpetuation reveal a critical truth: decolonization is not mere replacing one dictator with another worse dictator but a a battle for the narrative of itself, such as Oromoness, Radical change as stated by Angel Davis, simply means “grasping issues at the root” causes of oppression not superficially, and that requires structural transformation, dismantling the predatory Abyssinian settler colonial empires system.
To overcome cycles of confusion and misplaced loyalty, decolonization movements must confront the psychological traps of colonialism–internalized inferiority, historical amnesia, and the seductive lure of power.
The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) The Ultima Ratio, The Final Sort!
The influx of modern weaponry, ammunition, and financial support from European colonizers into the hands of competing Abyssinian warlord—often labeled by locals “half a devil and half Abyssinian”—in their competition for regional influence in advertently fueled Abyssinia’s expansionist ambitions. Enabling it to consolidate its power and exert control over the surrounding territories.
Oromo struggle, once a beacon of anti-colonial resistance, must reject the siren call of dancing with the gangs, one by one, and instead develop a policy that dismantles the entrenched structures of the empires rule. Only then can the last [become the first] be done, not by symbol-repudiation but by the material and ideological reconstruction of a world no longer haunted by the half-evil, half-bitter Habesha.
The main cancer in Oromo Liberation Struggles has been the habeshanaised neo-Gobaanas, nominal Oromos the pliable traitors and mental slaves who followed one of the worst narcissists, the cold-blooded killer like Abiy Ahmed Ali- his cohesive circles and puppets, who had been infected and had reached the stage of metastasis, which is irreversibility cannot recycled to Oromoness (Oromuummaa).The entrenched conglomerates of the offspring of the residual of settler colonial gangs, from within and and diaspora that upsurge and attempt to reshape the regimes’ apparatus back to the 19th century that led to apoptosis..
There are only two things life: either one is free while liberate or a slave while colonized physically and mentally. Now the hour is ticking either liberation Oromia to turn back to the slave of Abyssian tyrannies one after the other on our own ancestral soil for which heroes and heroines sacrificed thier life hence they encountered the aleins of the north (half devil and half Abyssinia. We must keep in mind that the armed struggle is, after all, a means of achieving sovereignty as much as a way regimes exercise to kill.There are no ifs, ands, or buts left.