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Oromos among Waaqeffanna, Christianity and Islam

[ Posted On: 2007-04-04 ]

Contrarily to Amharas and Tigrays, Oromos became acquainted with either Christianity or Islam relatively recently. However, nowadays Waaqeffanna (an Oromo monotheistic Weltanschauung and wisdom tradition), Christianity and Islam are the three major doctrines that the Oromo people follow. To the extent that all these doctrines may be wisdom traditions, some people view that Waaqeffanna is a better answer to the Oromos for the challenge of the wind of friction between the religions of the Middle East. This is especially supported through comparisons between Waaqeffanna and the other two religions. A recent study by Dr. Marco Bassi of Bologna University in Italy suggests that Oromo religion is monotheist and similar to Christianity and Islam. Another scholar of the 17th Century, M. de Aimeida had the following to say: "the Gallas (Oromo) are neither Christians, moors nor heathens, for they have no idols to worship."

To be succinct and pertinent in our analysis, we should clarify that Waaqeffanna is rather a monotheist Weltanshauung that one could not properly call it ‘religion’. A all-encompassing theoretical system of popular beliefs and systematic faiths is far from being a religion. This does not undermine its importance whatsoever. The quintessence of the religion is an understanding, interpretation, and identification of the Holy, constantly involving holy places, sacred objects, temples, priests, and rituals.

In search of a Kushitic Monotheism

Throughout long centuries of emigration and isolation, various developments may have led the Kushitic Oromos to the monotheistic and aniconic conceptualization of the faith. Ethiopian Meroe was particularly polytheistic, and the religious impact of Khammitic Egypt on the early Kushitic phases of civilization with epicenter at Kerma and at Napata was polytheistic.

Of course, there were great schools of monotheism in Egypt, and the phenomenon may have also characterized Ancient Kush – Meroe – Ethiopia. The Hermupolitan and the Heliopolitan dogmas and systems IN ancient Egypt were of strong monotheistic inclination, contrarily to the Memphitic and the Theban systems; furthermore, a great monotheistic rise of Aton occurred in the 14th century BCE with Akhenaton and Nefertiti at its top. Certainly, all this does not allow us to say that the Ancient Egyptians were monotheistic. The same concerns the Ancient Ethiopians, the Kushites, whom the Ancient Egyptians considered as highly experienced Black Magic practitioners! Of course, we can find some monotheistic elements among the Meroites, but this does not lead to eventual conclusions of convinced Africanists that ‘Kushites were typically monotheistic’.

Monotheism concerns the Semitic peoples as well; we attest early Semitic monotheism in Mesopotamia already during the 3rd millennium BCE. We have strict Assyrian monotheism in Nineveh during the Sargonid times (722 – 625 BCE), and we have explicit Babylonian polytheism during the Nabonid times (625 – 539 BCE). The same is correct for the Indo-Europeans, we have monotheistic Zoroasterian Persians during the Achaemenid times (550 – 330 BCE), and we have polytheistic and monotheistic tendencies in Greece.

Viewing all this with an eye on religions in which ‘Prophets’ were believed to have a particular role to play, modern scholarship has concluded that what characterized the Prophets’ minds was a basic concept and a precise principle. Theirs was always an abstract perception of the Divine in a totally monotheistic way. Cultic, social, historical and ideological data did not matter to them, and were meaningless for their intellectual endeavors. Prophet Eliyah may well have known details about the Egyptian monotheism of Aton, as introduced by Pharaoh Akhenaton, an entire historical phenomenon to which Moses and the Exodus seem to be an emanation and a continuation, but we cannot afford to say that Eliyah was ‘inspired’ by that fact andideology. We have full proof that the prophetic thought is a high level abstract conceptualization, not an inspiration due to earlier events. The early priestly monotheistic perception of the Creation, as attested in some Assyrian – Babylonian, Hittite and Egyptian holy texts, seems also to be a matter of abstract conceptualization. Later literary, religious, and ideological compilations were not.

Finally, there is no such a system of thought as ‘Kushite monotheism’ or ‘Semitic monotheism’ or ‘Indo-European monotheism’. Monotheism is monotheism; the cultural environment may vary but matters very little. Akhenaton, Solomon, and Sinakherib as rulers, and the editors of the ‘Egyptian Book of the Hours’, of the Assyrian Messianic Epic ‘Etana’, of the Hermetic ‘Poimandres’ (the first book said to be written by God Himself, this time not by Allah but by Hermes Trismegistus), and of the books of Jonah, of Daniel and of Tobias, as well as Thales, Pythagoras and Socrates, as authors and conceptual thinkers, are all very close to one another.

Retracing a Kushitic Monotheism in periods antedating the Exodus may be a difficult and meaningless endeavour. Yet, there are intellectuals deploy a great effort in this direction. In a 2001 article, John Graham, a Canadian who worked for an NGO in Ethiopia and also wrote extensively on the cultural history in Ethiopia, reported the following: "Moses, for one, is said to have derived his monotheist beliefs from the example of Waaqa [equivalent of God – hence Waaqeffanna]. As with Moses, the staff is a sacred object for the Waaqa followers." By staff, he was referring to Bokku, a stick like object, held by any Oromo leader, and Kalacha, a rare spiritual symbol kept by Oromo Qallus – spiritual leaders. This sort of approaches cannot prove anything.

With the Exodus dated at the times of Merenptah, Akhenaton antedates Moses approximately120 years; we can safely claim that the great grandfather of Moses lived at the times of Akhenaton. There is a continuation of ideas, ideological and philosophical, theological and literary approaches, with plenty of social - historical events ensuing from one another. The ‘white terror’ of the restored Amun Theban polytheism, as practiced by rulers controlled by or expressing the Theban priesthood, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, Seti I and Ramses II, was awful for the monotheistic party of Egypt during all that time between the collapse of the Amarna monotheism of Akhenaton and the Exodus. Under Moses many Egyptians left along with the Hebrews! So, we can say that without Akhenaton there would be no Moses.

But comparing the rise (or restatement) of a monotheistic religious system among fugitive masses in the desert and solitude of Sinai with a monotheistic Weltanschauung of a settled Nile community that emigrated further in the south through the African pasturelands of the Blue Nile Valley, when different peoples, cultural backgrounds, and languages are involved, seems to be farfetched. Furthermore, there is a period of no less than 3000 years that separates the two systems of thought and belief! It leads to generalizations that help nobody.

Pondering on possible reasons for the lack of a prophet among the Oromo people, several Oromo intellectuals specified that it is quite relevant of Kushitic mentality to sidestep from the responsibility of being God’s messenger. This might be so, and if we limit the subject within Waaqeffanna, Hebrew religion, Judaism, and Christianity environment, we have to conclude that no prophet originated from the Oromo people. But if we apply the Islamic approach, it is not quite sure! According to Islam, there have been several unknown or unidentified prophets at all times and allover the world. Of course this statement concerns the period before the last prophet, Muhammad, who has been described as the Seal of the prophets, but however this approach enlarges the realm of the prophecy tremendously. To state an example, it can mean that Akhenaton was a prophet, and/or that an unknown average fellow of that – or any other – period before the prophet Muhammad could have been a prophet without any other person understanding it. So, in this case, there may have been a Kushite prophet.

Long discussions have also been dedicated to the correspondence of the terms Muslim and Waaqeffata among Oromos. Taking into consideration the Islamic belief that non Muslims believing in Monotheism are genuine Muslims, even if they never heard of Islam, one can draw the conclusion that the two terms are interchangeable and overlap each other and that a Muslim is a Waaqeffata and vice versa.

The time of the formation of Waaqeffanna is another seminal issue. Since we know that in Meroe prevailed a polytheistic system turning around Apademak, Amun, Isis, Horus and other Meroitic and Egyptian gods, we can safely conclude that any eventual monotheistic current was limited and rather covered. It must have taken some centuries for the ancestors of the Oromos, errant around the banks of Blue Nile, to shift to a monotheistic system without idols, which is Waaqeffanna as system attested over the past three to four centuries. The change may have gradually come within a virtually different natural environment, for instance settlement far from the Nile.

Lacking explicit eschatological and messianic dimensions, Waaqeffanna is devoid of any sort of related fanaticism. This is in striking difference from numerous fanatic people waiting a Messiah, Jesus, Mahdi, Maitreya, and other mythical figures – or misinterpreted historical figures, which makes no difference – said to come for a second time to save the world (God only knows from what !!!!).

Quite interestingly, colonial powers proved to be unable to manipulate elements of the Waaqeffanna in order to create generations of extremist Oromos, as they did in the case of Islamic extremism. And among the Muslim Oromos, Islamic extremism and fanaticism do not exist. This is probably due to the fact that the Oromos accepted Islam in recent times, after negative developments had taken place within Islam, but at the same time the Oromo proselytes accepted Islamic teachings and ideas over an earlier monotheistic background (Waaqeffanna), and were therefore able to stick to diachronic monotheistic principles, rejecting therefore to attribute importance to points relevant of rigid and narrow-minded interpretation and deformation.

Oromo Muslims devoid of the Decay of Islam and the Islamic Extremism

It is crystal clear that if the negative developments within Islam had not taken place, and if the Western Colonial powers had not found, studied and observed the decayed beliefs and the perverted and obscurantist mentality of the forefathers of the present day Islamic terrorists 200 – 250 years ago, French and English agents, academia, intelligence and diplomats would not have got the opportunity to manipulate them further, to manage them in this disastrous way without them being able even to detect and realize it. It is certain that within Islam a gradual superposition of always more perverse, more deformed and more devious theoretical systems created a lethal environment for Lights, Philosophy, Great Ideas, Art Concepts, Knowledge and Wisdom. The greatness of the Islamic civilization was truly targeted by perverted and malignant false theoreticians and philosophers, who had totally misunderstood its nature.

Whatever was shaped a School of Interpretation around Hanbal was vicious alteration of the Spirit of Islam. On this was superimposed an even worse development, the introspective system of Ibn Taimiya, a reaction against the experience of the Crusaders. During those times no one perceived Ibn Taimiya as a threat because he was insignificant, and his theories could influence the minds of the low level, uneducated, illiterate and marginal people. But the system advanced and expanded a lot in the next three to four centuries to the prejudice of the Erudite, the Learned, and the Wise scholars of Islam who lost gradually their contact with the besotted and fanaticized masses that were guided by the satanic sheikhs – followers of the perverted and barbaric system of Ibn Taimiya. When the Sultans and the Shahs realized that there was a problem, the locusts were already allover the place.

The point of no return had already been crossed when the fanatic, ignorant and satanic sheikhs, threatening with massive support they had gathered, obliged the Sultan to close down the observatory of Istanbul, as well as all centers of knowledge, research and creative thought. The Closing down of the Ottoman State Observatory in 1579 is the date of the real end of Islamic Civilization and of Islam itself. Following that date barbarism replaced civilization throughout Islam, and the last structures of civilization had ended approximately 100 years before the arrival of Napoleon. The Islamic World was out of competition with the West for a foreseeable future.

The same barbaric and satanic sheikhs rule many Islamic countries today. This is either seen, as in Iran, or hidden, as in Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They want to expand their bestial antihuman system allover the world; this is what they believe when they say that Islam will be accepted throughout the planet at the end! It has to be stressed that this barbarism is not Islam, but 'Islamic Terrorism'. On the other hand, the concept of Islam prevailing allover the world had completely different meaning for great philosophers like Nezami, Ferdowsi, Tabari, Makrizi, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina, Ibn Khaldoun and Mohyieldin Ibn al Arabi.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis - is Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, Islamologist, Historian and Political Scientist. Dr. Megalommatis, 49, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages.

| View Profile & All Articles By: Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis |

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