We are investigating the construction of the Oromo culture of the colonised mind throughout its historical encounters with the Habesh (Amhara and Tigre). The Habeshas are the descendants of the diver invaders who migrated from… southern Arabia (now Yemen) to the Horn of Africa around the first millennium BC. Settlers intermingled with the indigenous Cushitic-speaking populations of the Horn of Africa.
It has been the shackles of the colonized mind of innate Oromos such as Gobana Dace the loyal servant of the warlord of Ankober, the under-dog Sahle Mariam Haile Melkot, known with mythical name “Menelik II” the pitch black Leopold II of Belgium Congo to the contemporary dictator Abiy Amed Ali, the POWs of the TPLF. They turned to the the primary hurdles from within that confronted the Liberation Struggle of the great Oromo Nation than their Habesha masters.Habeshas
Utilizing a colonial theoretical framewaork—specifically drawing from Frantz Fanon and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o—this study examines how the systematic dismantling of the Gadaa system, the imposition of the Amharic language, and the suppression of Oromo cultural identity served as mechanisms of psychological and social subjugation.
By analyzing the enduring legacy of this colonial encounter, the paper argues that the contemporary Oromo struggle is not merely political but profoundly existential, aimed at reclaiming a consciousness that was historically alienated by the quasi Ethiopian state’s genocidal and ethnocidal imperial project since the invention and the establishment of of the European dependent predatory empire.
She has been an exceptional product of the European colonizers of the North East Africa, Red sea and is coasts in the east and the great Nile river in the west, Britain, France and Italy.
The Cartography of Conquest
The contemporary artificial cartography of the African Continent bottleneck was drawn in Berlin conferences 1884 -1885 Scramble for Africa.The exceptional Abyssinian Empire demarcation included the Habesha warlords most importantly Sahle Mariam ” Menelik II” is a seminal event in African history, often masked by the historiography and the conquered the richest Oromoland and the entire South incorporated to the Abyssinia empire. Her size increased from five to six time larger than Abyssinia proper her original size,
It was narrated and framed by Debtras scribes as an “unification” or “re-conquest” of lost territories into the “Ethiopian exceptionalism.”Oromo scholars, most notably Prof.Asafa Jalataa, categorize it as a violent colonial encounter. The imposition of a centralized, monarchical state over the decentralized and democratic Gadaa system necessitated a psychological restructuring of the colonized subject.
To maintain control, the Abyssinian elite engaged in what Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o describes as the “cultural bomb”—annihilating the people’s belief in their names, languages, and environment.
The Mechanism of Alienation: Language and Religion
The Abyssinian project of nation-building was predicated on the hegemony of the Amhara-Tigrayan cultural core. Central to this was the institutionalization of the Amharic language as the sole medium of administration, education, and social mobility.
Linguistic Subordination: For the Oromo, the relegation of Afaan Oromoo to a “peasant” or “rebel” language created a status-based hierarchy. The colonized mind internalized the notion that to be “civilized” or “modern” was to be Amharic-speaking. This linguistic displacement severed the connection between the Oromo subject and their indigenous knowledge systems, oral traditions, and philosophy.
The Hegemony of the Orthodox Church: The expansion of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, coupled with the state, served as a tool for ideological pacification. By framing the Oromo Waaqeffannaa (the indigenous Oromo faith) as pagan or inferior, the colonial structure mandated a religious conversion that essentially demanded the abandonment of Oromo worldviews. This forced assimilation functioned to internalize the “superiority” of the Abyssinian identity.
The “Colonized Mind” and the Internalization of Inferiority
Drawing on Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks, we can observe how the Oromo subject, historically positioned as the “savage” used derisive pejorative), sought to navigate the empire by adopting the mask of the oppressor.
The “colonized mind” in the Oromo context manifests in two primary ways:
Cultural Schizophrenia: A state of being where the individual occupies a space between the ancestral Oromo identity and the state-sanctioned Abyssinian identity, often leading to a rejection of one’s own heritage to survive in the urban, state-dominated landscape.
Self-Censorship and Internalization of Hegemony: The long-term impact of imperial repression led many Oromo to view their own history through the lens of their oppressors, accepting the “barbarian” labels attached to their political autonomy and the “glorious” narrative of the Ethiopian state.
The Enduring Legacy: The “Empire” in the Contemporary State
The collapse of the monarchy (1974) and the subsequent Derg regime did not dismantle the structural foundations of the Abyssinian empire. The contemporary state, even under the guise of “federalism,” continues to struggle with the unresolved tension of the colonial encounter.
The legacy manifests in:
Land Alienation: The “Finfinnee” (Addis Ababa) master plan, which systematically displaces Oromo farmers, acts as a modern continuation of the 19th-century land expropriation. It reinforces the colonial reality that Oromo land is public property to be consumed for imperial-urban expansion.
Political Fragmentation: The “colonized mind” often makes it difficult to forge a cohesive national resistance, as the state effectively utilizes divide-and-rule tactics that rely on the historically induced feelings of local inferiority or dependency on central state power.
Decolonizing the Mind: Pathways to Self-Assertion
The project of “decolonizing the Oromo mind” is a necessary prerequisite for self-determination. This involves:
Epistemic Recovery: A return to the study and practice of the Gadaa system, not merely as an archaic curiosity, but as a modern framework for political and social organization.
Linguistic Reclamation: The elevation of Afaan Oromoo in academia and governance is an act of psychological resistance against linguistic imperialism.
Counter-Historiography: Challenging the Abyssinian-centric interpretation of Ethiopian history by centering the Oromo experience, thereby validating the historical legitimacy of Oromo sovereignty.
The “colonized mind” is not a permanent state, but a result of historical architecture. The Abyssinian empire’s legacy is a pervasive, ongoing psychological and political structure that seeks to keep the Oromo subject in a state of historical paralysis.
However, the resurgence of Oromo consciousness in academic, artistic, and political spheres signals an era of “decolonization.” By untangling the threads of imperial hegemony and re-centering the Oromo worldview, the current generation is navigating a path toward an existential liberation that is the absolute requirement for any authentic future political autonomy.
Selected References
Fanon, F. (1952). Black Skin, White Masks.
Jalata, A. (2005). Oromia and Ethiopia: State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. (1986). Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature.
Holcomb, B., & Ibssa, S. (1990). The Invention of Ethiopia: The Making of a Dependent Colonial State in Northeast Africa.