Military Organization, Structure and Performance among the Karrayyu Oromo

Abstract

The Karrayyuu have been varyingly portrayed as people wandering to confront others or who lived in conflict hotspots and were sympathetic to military violence. Other scholars who have shown positive compassion to the Karrayyuu have not dared to tell us how their military performance scaffolds their exit strategy from violent conflict and for maintaining them resilient. The Karrayyuu maintain their views that the conflict in the valley land largely emanated from the Karrayyuu’s opposition against repressive multilayered actors, who are assaulting them, confiscating their lands, and raiding their livestock. Among other issues, this study aims to reveal the Karrayyuu military organization, structure, and performance succumbing to the gadaa system and what this will contribute to understanding them in humanity. The study was conducted by undertaking a historical research approach of analytical narrative and descriptive protocols. The study findings indicate that Karrayyuu has formulated that their military systems are shaped by their local contexts and martial principles, codes, and taboos observed for all humans embedded in the egalitarian Gadaa system. Results of the study also indicate that, beyond the pastoralists’ stereotypic imaginary representations, the Karrayyuu practice of military performance is an agency for mitigating circumstances and intermediating their resiliencies for maintaining survival. The researchers recommend such a study on the Karrayyuu vantage point will contribute to bridging the existing gap and address prevailing flaws in the area.