The language of the Oromo has been identified as eastern Cushitic by numerous linguists, including Christopher Ehret. Omotic languages are found in the south-west and Nilo-Saharan languages are more common on the western periphery of Ethiopia. In the south, the eastern Cushitic languages discussed by Ehret are spoken. The Semitic languages dominated in the north including Ge’ez, the ancient ecclesiastical language. Pankhurst provides a basic overview of the distribution of the linguistic groups in the region of Ethiopia. The early inhabitants of northern Ethiopia are believed to have been a fusion of Cushites, who were indigenous to the area and Semitic peoples from Arabia. This information indicates that the Oromo were present in or near the Abyssinia kingdom from a very early date. According to Hassen, this river was the boundary between the Christian kingdom and. This information is significant to Oromo history in two ways, first, it is one of the earliest uses of the term “Galla” and second, this river holds significant importance to the early Ethiopian kingdom. Due to the description, this river is believed to be the Wabi Shebelle River (identified on the map located here as the Webi R. In an early map completed by Fra Mauro in 1460, there is a reference to a river, which he named the Galan river. Besides the influences of these religious systems, ethnic groups in this region had a diversity of religious belief systems. Abrahamic religions have had a strong presence in this area Judaism from the 10th century BCE according to the Kebra Nagast, Islam since the 7th century, and Christianity from the 4th century, making Ethiopia one of the oldest centers of both Christianity and Islam on earth. The culture of the Amhara which inhabited northern Ethiopia was dominated by religious interests. These trade relations were an important element in the spread of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism into the area that comprises modern-day Ethiopia. Ethiopia had global connections throughout Asia and the Middle East, maintaining strong trade relations with Egypt, Arabia, the Mediterranean, and Eurasia. The diverse history of Ethiopia provides a unique venue for studying cultural change. The Oromo who lived within the borders of modern-day Ethiopia used elements of their own culture to maintain their distinct identity in spite of the influence of non-Oromo religions and they molded these religious systems to accommodate their cultural identity between the 16th and 19th centuries.
This is a monumental task that cannot be adequately achieved at this historical moment. The critical and comprehensive understanding of the classical Oromo civilization requires studying the historical, cultural, political, philosophical, religious, linguistic, and geographical foundations of Oromo society. Whichever viewpoint is taken sufficient historical documentation exists to date their movement into Ethiopia in the mid 16th century. Most recent research contends that both the Somali and Oromo lived in southern Ethiopia and that the Oromo moved further into the area that makes up the modern state of Ethiopia beginning in 1532.
This view provided an explanation for the movement of the Oromo into this area in the 16th century.
The traditional view held that the Oromo had occupied most of the Horn of Africa until around the 10th century when the Somali moved in from the south and forced the Oromo out of this area and toward the area that makes up the modern state of Ethiopia. The Oromo people, like the other peoples and nationalities of the country, have immense tangible and intangible heritages which have been created over centuries in the interactions of the people with natural and social environments and which stand as the manifestations of the identity of the people. The Region has a common border with all Regional States of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, except Tigray National Regional State.
The Oromo people is the largest of the Cushitic speaking groups of people in Africa and also the largest ethnic group of Ethiopia.
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