By Demitu Argo

Abstract

Music has been used across the world to express political discourse, social segregation, basic human rights, and conventional rules. Music's role in conveying the will to freedom and justice is widespread in the world in general and in Africa in particular. For instance, South Africa's freedom song Nkosi Sikele'l Africa (God bless Africa) played an important role in the struggle against apartheid. Similarly, music has played a pivotal role in the Oromo political resistance against successive Habasha tyrant governments. Music in the Oromo political struggle can be seen as a liberating force, which uplifts, inspires, and shows the way for people to take part in the struggle against injustice and inequality. Oromo musicians and songwriters used their lyrical messages to serve social causes, to make political statements, and to voice the plight of oppressed peoples. Oromo artists have been basing their messages on their unique style of music, with fiery sounds and traditional Oromo sounds to call for an end to violence and inequality in their own country, Oromia, where the Oromo have been brutalized and denied their basic human rights.

Through music, Oromo artists have revealed and developed their social, political and moral identities. In this paper, I situate Oromo music within broader themes in the world music. I also explain how Oromo artists, through their influential lyrics, have helped the Oromo deal with their sufferings, loss, frustration, and continued quest for social and political freedom. Oromo music has been used as a key element of political resistance by motivating the Oromo people to act against the injustice imposed on them. This paper focuses on three points. First, the paper explores the process and consequences of the expropriation of Oromo lands. Next, it covers the suffering of the Oromo people under the colonial regime, i.e. prosecutions, acts of genocides, imprisonments, and mass killings over the course of more than 100 years. Finally, the paper discusses the current Oromo situation and the acts of fierce high school and college students’ rebellions against the current ethnically ruled Ethiopian government.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2008 Oromo Studies Association Annual Conference at the University of Minnesota on August 2, 2008.

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