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The well known anthropologist named Baxter (1978:151) defines Gada as “the ancient, enduring and complex system of age-grading that has also served as the basis of unique democratic political system.” Another famous scholar called Asmerom (1973) also says, “Gada is one of the most astonishing and instructive turns the evolution of human society has taken. It is among the most complex systems of social organizations ever devised by the human imagination.” As Dinsa (1975:13) puts, “ideally, no Oromo is outside the Gada system of government.” Hence, this all inclusive system of government, religious life, social cohesion, conflict resolution mechanism and ritual symbol of the Oromo people is still functional especially among the Borana, Guji and some other Oromo groups like Arsi, Bale and Shoa. It is a beautiful living culture that has great importance in the area of tourism, research and admiration of customary ways of life. |
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Sheik Hussein Shrine, locally called Dirre Sheik Hussein/ Anajina, is a heritage of both tangible and intangible nature. It is one of the prominent heritages whose UNESCO requirements are on the process of fulfillment to be registered as a world Heritage site. This inheritance is found in the Bale zonal section of the Oromia Regional State. The Shrine is almost 180 km away from the zonal capital named Robe. It is a marvelous pilgrimage site to where peoples of different religion and historical backgrounds make a bi-annual journey to celebrate both traditional ceremony and Islamic sect’s religious ritual. Anajina is a wonderful religious site where the bi-annual congregators pray to the Almighty God in the name of their family, citizens of the country and the world population as a whole, blesses each other, give thanks to God, show up in diverse traditional costumes and beads, resolve conflicts and conduct a muuda (“anointment”) ceremony. The Sheik Hussein Shrine is an ideal site whose all weather gravel roads connect it to the famous world heritage site of the Harar, Sof Umer Cave, Bale amountains National Parks and the Dinsho Forest. The wonderful scenery of the district is a best site for ecotourism activities and the construction of recreation centers. |
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The site of Melka Kunture, discovered in 1963 by G. Dekker, is located 50 km south from Addis Ababa along Alemgena Butajira asphalt road in the upper Awash Valley. Melka Kunture is the name of a ford of the Awash. The site extends for several kilometers on both banks of the river. Its interest is to present a long sequence of Paleolithic sites with lithic industries, faunas and sometimes Hominid remains, dated between 1.7 and 0.2 million years. The main sites are related to fluvio-lacustrine and volcanic formations and they are often on old terraces. Excavations and researches were carried out especially in the following sites: The researchers of Italian Archeological Mission included also the site of Balchit, located 7 km North from Melka Kunture. The locality extends over several km2 and is characterized by large concentrations of obsidian debris. It is possible to observe some obsidian outcrops included within the volcanic sediments. The exploitation of this obsidian source probably occurred since ancient Prehistory until modern times. At Melka Kunture one finds a very popular open archeological museum that depicts the overall actual prehistoric view of river side butchery. There are also other four traditional huts in which archeological findings are organized and displayed accompanied by captions, descriptions and maps of the area. |
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The Rock Hewn Church, locally called Adadi Mariam, is located in the central part of Ethiopia. It is found along Addis Ababa - Butajira asphalt road in the south western direction of theOromia Regional State. One finds this church after 67 km drive from Addis Ababa. It is just about 17 km away from the Pre-historic site of Melka Kunture. After visiting this two amazing sites any traveler could easily continue his journey towards the Tiya found in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples State. Adadi is one of the two rock hewn churches established in Ethiopia. Such an astonishing man made underground construction is the only one in the southern and central regions of the country. This church belongs to the category of the monolithic churches. Any how, the non existence of inscriptions can be mentioned as a barrier to state the exact time of the church’s construction. |
