Although Irreechaa, the largest open-air festival to take place on the African continent, has its roots in the Oromo monotheistic religion of Waaqeffannaa, it has evolved over generations to be a site of cultural pride, political resistance, communal unity and strength for Oromo people from all walks of life.
The mistake of establishing an Amhara regional state in the early 1990s, created the space to reconfigure an Amhara identity and an expansionist Amhara nationalism that has now become the source of destabilization in the country.
Named after the UNESCO inscribed Oromo people's indigenous, democratic government system known as "Gadaa," the special economic zone will have a budget of over 46 billion Birr and will connect the cities of Mojo, Adama, and Shashemane.
Although Irreechaa, the largest open-air festival to take place on the African continent, has its roots in the Oromo monotheistic religion of Waaqeffannaa, it has evolved over generations to be a site of cultural pride, political resistance, communal unity and strength for Oromo people from all walks of life.
The mistake of establishing an Amhara regional state in the early 1990s, created the space to reconfigure an Amhara identity and an expansionist Amhara nationalism that has now become the source of destabilization in the country.
This ambiguous state of affairs, in which the Oromo were nominally free, whilst in practise still colonised, was one of the most dangerous and critical of times in their history.