Course Description

This course is part of  revitalizing the Gadaa System at national and international level. Its main purpose is to introduce the nature, history, structure, institutions, and fundamental principles of the Gadaa system. It is an introductory course, specially tailored to equip participants with  basic knowledge about the Gadaa System. The target participants of this introductory course are both the Oromo and non-Oromo.  The course is designed to introduce the Gadaa System to the Oromo and other Ethiopians living outside of Ethiopia as well as to interested non-Ethiopians from around the world. 

The course will introduce participants to: 

• the fundamentals of the Gadaa system, 
• the historical practice of the Gadaa system, 
• the age-set and Gadaa-grade institutions, 
• The roles, rites, and responsibilities of members in age-sets and Gadaa-grades, 
• the party system of Gadaa, 
• the concepts of right birth, 
• the Gadaa Cycles and cycles within cycles, 
• the staggered succession to power, 
• the Gadaa principles (Constitution), 
• the Gadaa passage rite and rituals, 
• the genealogical generation system, 
• the structure of Oromo polity and its dual moiety system,
• the legislative and non-legislative assemblies of the Oromo polity, 
• the separation between political (Gadaa) and spiritual (Qaalluu) leadership of the Oromo,  
• the structure of the Gadaa government, 
• the Gadaa Calendar and Waaqeffannaa
• The Siinqee institution, and
• Comparison of the Gadaa System to modern democracy, republicanism, and federalism. 

Course Level –  Introduction level

Registration starts  – April 5, 2023

• Course starting date and time – May 5, 2023 ( The course will be held on weekend days.)
• Course ending date  – TBD

Course location – On line 100%

Course Price – $100 ( Students with OLLAA Membership will pay a discounted price)

Course evaluation

• 2 Short Papers, fifteen points each (30%).
• 2 Quizzes, fifteen points each (30%).
• Class attendance and participation, ten points (10%).
• Final written essay, thirty points (30%).

Course Award – Certificate of Completion of the Introductory Course on the Gadaa System.

Course duration – 7 weeks. 

Introduction

The Gadaa System is an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo nation of East Africa.  It is a holistic system that encompasses social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental aspects of the Oromo people. Scholars have described the Gadaa System as “one of the most astonishing and instructive turns the evolution of human society has taken,” and “one of the most complex systems of social organization ever devised by the human imagination.”  Broadly speaking, the Gadaa System is the zenith of integrated social, political, cultural, and spiritual thoughts, and the epitome of popular democracy, pure republicanism, and minimalist government. 

The Oromo, descendants of ancient Kush who live predominantly in Ethiopia and Kenya but also found in dispersed descent communities in the entire East Africa and the African Great Lakes region, are pioneers in constituting a full-fledged popular democracy and pure republican form of government in Africa. Despite the widespread belief that modern democracy and republicanism that separate the three powers of the state and constitutionally limit terms of office were pioneered in the USA, the Gadaa System of the Oromo had done just that centuries prior, first entering written historical account in the 16^th century.  By the time the USA was founded, the Gadaa System was already a fully functional republican system. Based on the oral literature of the Oromo nation, it precedes the Athenian democracy.   

Although the Gadaa System has existed for centuries as a full-fledged republican democratic system, presently, not much is known or understood about it by both Oromo and non-Oromo. The inherent authoritarian state in Ethiopia since its modern formation in the late 19^th century, has contributed to the suppression of knowledge and practice of the Gadaa System. At the global stage, despite being one of the pioneer democratic and republican systems, the Gadaa System gained little traction among Western scholars as they struggled to accept that Africans had developed such a holistic socio-political system. However, since the Gadaa System was recognized by UNESCO as a ‘heritage of humanity’ and registered in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, it has attracted much more attention from near and far. Since 2021, the Gadaa system has been included into the regular curriculum for junior grades in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government has  committed to the revitalization of the Gadaa System. Western scholars have also started to show a renewed interest in the study of the Gadaa System. 

Description of the Gadaa System

The Gadaa System is an integrated socio-political and cultural system of the Oromo nation of the Horn of Africa.  It is a multifaceted form of an egalitarian, democratic, and republican political system.  It has structured the nation vertically into a dual moiety system of ancestries and horizontally into five non-lineage parties. It also has divided each party into two lubas (genealogical generations) of fathers and sons.  Qaalluus, spiritual leaders, head the dual moieties, which replicate in every Oromo polity.  The moieties are also further divided into descent lineage structures. 

Every member of a party passes progressively through eleven age-sets and eleven Gadaa-grades, every eight years, with distinctive duties and responsibilities. The Age-sets are 0–8 years (Daa’ima), 8–16 years (Ijoollee), 16–24 years (Qeerroo), 24–32 years (Dargaggoo), 32–40 years (Gaheessa), 40–48 years (Gameessa), 48–56 years (Maanguddoo I), 56–64 years (Maanguddoo II), 64–72 years (Maanguddoo III), 72–80 years (Maanguddoo IV), and above 80 years (Jaarsa). The Gadaa grades are Dabballee, Ittimakoo, Qondaala, Kuusa, Raaba, Luba/Gadaa, Yuba I, Yuba II, Yuba III, Yuba IV, and Gadamoojjii, in ascending order. The age-sets and Gadaa grades match perfectly only when a son is born at once after the fatherhood ceremony of his father. 

Politically, the most important Gadaa grade is the sixth grade, the Luba grade.  At this grade, the leaders of the new Luba (hayyuu Aduulaa), who had been elected at the end of the third grade and groomed for office since then, take state power from the retiring Luba of the preceding party, after they had been elected to the office of First Abbaa Gadaa and his two deputies by the Caffee. 

One of the Gadaas (parties) becomes the governing Gadaa for eight years in a regular cyclic succession every forty years. Only an elected Luba/Gadaa Council takes office and forms the Gadaa government. The elected Gadaa Council of the governing party works in close collaboration and in continued consultation with the elected representatives of the non-governing rest four parties (the opposition).  It also collaborates closely with elected representatives of the two moieties from among the same party that form a shadow government. 

The First Abbaa Gadaa, the head of the government, chairs the governing Gadaa Council. It governs through a mechanism of three subordinate Councils, one executive and two shadows each having representatives of the opposition parties as a member.  The Councils are chaired by the First Abbaa Gadaa and the two Second Abbaa Gadaas, respectively.  In addition to having several integrated Councils with separate leaders, the Gadaa System has a clear separation of powers.  State powers are separated primarily into legislative, executive, and judiciary.  The state power is also distributed both vertically and horizontally. 

The governing Gadaa/Luba Council is answerable to the assembly of the people, the Caffee.  The Caffee maintains the power to review the performances of the governing Council and the Abbaa Gadaas at the mid-term of their lease of office.  Should they have failed to uphold the Gadaa constitution (heera), Gadaa laws (seera), culture and customs (aadaa), moral, ethics, and natural harmony (safuu), the liberty of the Oromo, or any established public values and civilities, the Caffee may remove them from office and install a replacement. The Abbaa Gadaa, the senior hayyuu, or the Bokkuu chair the Caffee. A hereditary Abbaa Muudaa, who is apolitical, chairs the Assemblies of the Qaalluu. 

The pan-Oromo Caffee is the supreme authority.  It is the supreme legislative body of the nation; it only can amend the Gadaa constitution, make or amend laws of national scope, or declare national war or peace. The regional Gadaa governments, which usually have several local Gadaa governments under them, are self-governing Gadaa governments confederated to the pan-Oromo Gadaa government through the common Gadaa Constitution that has structured the Gadaa governments and the Oromo society uniformly. The local Gadaa governments are autonomous political entities that have their Caffee but are confederated with sister polities at several levels under the Gadaa constitution and common socio-political and cultural values and Oromummaa, Oromo national identity.

Demmeksa, D. M. (2020, pp. 162-164)

Main reference: 

Demmeksa, M. D. (2020). Gadaa System: Heritage of Humanity. Horten, Norway: Independently Published.

Other references:

• Legesse, A. (1973). GADA: Three approaches to the study of African societies. New York, NY, USA: The Free Press. 
• Bassi, M. (2005). Decisions in the shade: Political and juridical processes among the Oromo-Borana (Cynthia Slavadoi, Trans.). Trenton, NJ and Asmara, Eritrea: The Red Sea Press. [Originally published in 1996]
• Legesse, A. (2006). Oromo democracy: An indigenous African political system. Asmara, Eritrea: The Red Sea Press. 

Course Teacher

Deribie M. Demmeksa … full Biostart