Cultural Post #3

[Melale Hailu]

For this cultural post, I will be talking about the Gada System, the indigenous democratic socio-cultural system of the Oromo people. The Gada system is very important because it is the core of Oromo culture- the Gada system is the foundation of Oromo culture, the root, and it holds up the different branches of Oromo culture. As a Global Studies major, I think the importance of the Gada system also lies in something bigger than Oromo culture. There is often a prevailing belief that democracy is not compatible with African culture and people because it is a Western conception therefore it would be in the best interest of  African people to stop trying to implement democratic systems in their countries because it will inherently never work. The Gada system is particularly important because it disproves this widely-held belief-that democracy is the brainchild of the West. The Gada system was created and used by the Oromo since approximately in the 1400s (but it can go back even further than this). The tree (Odaa in Afaan Oromo),  is culturally significant in Oromo culture because it is under a sycamore tree that the Gada Assembly takes place. It is during the Gada Assembly that the community gathers together and engages in healthy dialogue and reaches a consensus about their community. The system has many functions but generally, it regulates political, economic, social, and religious activities of the community dealing with issues such as conflict resolution, reparation and protecting women’s rights, enforcing moral conduct, building social cohesion, and expressing forms of community culture. The making and reviewing of laws are also integral to the system's functions. The way the system is structured is also indicative of its emphasis on collaboration, community, and the rule of law. So firstly there are five permanent parties and unlike the Western system of democracy where a party can lead consecutively, these 5 parties are never in competition with each other. Every party is in power, taking turns. These turns are 8 years long. So over the course of 40 years, all 5 parties would have had a chance to lead & serve the people. Life under the Gada system is also separated into stages, each lasting 8 years. This means that every member of society has specified roles based on what stage of life they are in. It’s in the 5th stage that a member has the chance to be elected leader, the “Abba Gaada”. Abba means father and “gada” means era. Very interestingly, as I mentioned earlier when talking about the system's functions, one of the system's major tenants, known as “Sinquee”, is the safeguarding of women's rights. So although, of course,  it is evidently a male-centered system, women have historically had a large participatory role in it, especially when it comes to this tenant of “Sinquee”. In fact, if the Abba Gaada dies during his 8-year term, his wife who is known as “Hadha Gada” (mother of the era), takes his place-not a male successor. There is actually a surprising amount of academic scholarship that studies the role of women in the Gada system arguing that without their significant role again especially in upholding this major tenant, the system would be fruitless.