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Presentation
OROMUMMAA: NATIONAL IDENTITY AND POLITICS OF LIBERATION
The OLF Eastern US Regional Mid-Year Conference (2010)
  • Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Abstract

Local and fragmented Oromummaa and national Oromummaa are interconnected, but not necessarily one and the same. For instance, if you were born into an Oromo family in an area where the Oromo language is widely spoken, you automatically learn this language without relating it to Oromo national culture and liberation politics. In several Oromia regions, under Ethiopian colonialism, there are Oromos who speak Afaan Oromoo and express local culture without comprehending Oromo national culture and politics. Such Oromos may claim that they were born with Oromummaa. But this kind of Oromummaa is local and fragmented and little to do with Oromo nationalism. Oromo nationalism is built on the Oromo national cultural identity and liberation politics. Realizing the significance of Oromo nationalism, the Ethiopian colonial state has localized and fragmented Oromo culture and identity.

Publication Date
Spring April 24, 2010
Citation Information
Asafa Jalata. "OROMUMMAA: NATIONAL IDENTITY AND POLITICS OF LIBERATION" The OLF Eastern US Regional Mid-Year Conference (2010)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/asafa_jalata/15/