Stephanie G. Mathis Oromo is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. They make up more than 40 million people, or more than a third of the population. They have, however, been marginalized, economically exploited, and politically oppressed by successive Ethiopian regimes. Since the 1960s, the Oromo people have been seeking self-determination by various means of resistance. This includes armed struggle under the banner of the Oromo Liberation Front.
Music played an important role in the Oromo Resistance Movement. Music is used as a tool of defiance in many societies, especially in those where political discussion is frowned upon. It allows artists and fans to resist dominant cultural, political, and socio-economic forces. Oromo musicians, from amateur singers to legendary musicians, have used protest music as part of their fight for freedom, equality, and justice.
Hachalu Hundessa was one of these musicians. The young singer-songwriter became known for his poetically eloquent songs of protest. In June 2020, he was killed. A year later, three men were found guilty of the crime. However, no motive was provided. Many people believe that it was a politically motivated assassination.
Read More: Hachalu Hundessa is a charismatic musician who didn’t hesitate to champion Ethiopian Oromo.
Hundreds of thousands of young people across Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest regional state, took to the streets in protest, demanding justice for Hachalu. Members of Oromia’s large diaspora also staged protests in US and European cities. The Ethiopian government used the protests and ensuing violence ( reports at the time suggested that more than 80 people were killed) to justify its crackdown on Oromo opposition political parties.
As a political geography, I am interested in the struggles of those who are dispossessed. One of their overt and covert forms of protest is the song. I studied Hachalu’s works after his death: Maalan Jira, The Sacred Song of the Sea and Anthology of Songs. (Do I even exist? ), Jirra! We are still alive/there! And Jirtuu? Are you there? There is more to my interest than a scholarly analysis. I have an emotional attachment. I was a member of the Qubee generation which spearheaded the Oromo protests from 2014-2018, to which Hachalu’s songs gave inspirational impetus.
The paper that resulted from this study shows how Oromo music protests like Hachalu reveal a history of violence and geography through land restitution and political persecution. Protest music is more than a mere record of historical events. It also helps to create a collective identity and can inspire political movements. I am also trying to understand what Hachalu Hundssa represents, and what it is like to destroy an object that represents the power of resistence.
Three Key Songs
Hachalu Hundessa, a native of Ambo Town in the West, 120 km from Addis Ababa’s capital, was born in 1984. When he was in secondary school, Hachalu Hundessa was involved with Oromo student groups. He was arrested by the government for his activism when he turned 17 and spent five years behind bars. Sanyii Mootii, his debut album was created while he was in prison. The album was released in 2009. It immediately made him famous.
Protests by Minnesota Oromo in the wake of Hachalu Hundessa’s murder in 2020. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Maalan Jira was the first song that I analysed. (Do I even exist? The title track of his 2015 album. He describes the occupation in the 1880s of Finfinne, today Addis Ababa. This led to the dispossessed of the Tulama Oromo Clans. They were evicted from their ancestral home and sacred places.
He guides the viewer or listener through a mental history map. The lyrics could be seen as a fight to demolish the institutions and discourses that the Ethiopian state has long imposed on the Oromo. Some can then interpret Hachalu’s murder as an attempt to silence counter-histories within Ethiopia.
Hachalu’s 2015 release, Malaan Jira is the album title track.
Jirra is the second song I wrote in my newspaper! The second song in my paper is Jirra! (We are still alive! He emphasizes the Oromo’s determination, placing the resistance in actual places. He identifies areas where the movement was strong and explains the convergence of Oromia’s different corners towards the same goal.
What is the third song Jirtuu? The third song, Jirtuu? The historical events of land dispossession and political persecution are exposed once again. He asked the audience: “Where are we?” and then encouraged them to say: “Say that we are in Bole!”
