Gufte — Oromo Cultural Soundscape from the Plateau July 26, 2026

Gufte — Oromo Cultural Soundscape from the Plateau

TC Press, London — Cultural Atlas Series

Ecology Lyrics Series — Oromo Cultural Soundscapes

A multi‑song lyrical universe rooted in land, rivers, wildlife, and planetary interconnectedness.

Gufte, a plateau northwest of Hacaacii, is one of the most distinctive highland formations in the Waamaa Dhidhessaa watershed. Its cliffs, rivers, trees, wildlife, and ancestral routes form a complete ecological and cultural system — a living map carried across generations.

This soundscape is part of the emerging Ecology Lyrics Series — Oromo Cultural Soundscapes, which includes earlier works such as:

• Hacaacii — New Oromo Modern Melody Released https://sites.google.com/view/the-codex-press/hacaacii-new-oromo-modern-melody-released
• Koottu Yaa Walee — From the Love of Two to the Love of a World https://sites.google.com/view/the-codex-press/koottu-yaa-walee-from-the-love-of-two-to-the-love-of-a-world
• Dhidhessaa — The Greatest Hidden River of Africa https://sites.google.com/view/the-codex-press/dhidhessaa-the-greatest-hidden-river-of-africa

These works originate from places that appear small and invisible to the world, yet they contain deep ecological wisdom. They show how humans survive in micro‑environments, how they interact with land, how they protect it, and how they maintain balance with wildlife and seasons. This is microeconomics from daily life, expressed through sound.

Gufte continues this lineage.

The video blends the sunset light of the plateau with the twin rivers Qarsaa and Killoo, flowing parallel before joining Kombolcha. In the foreground stand the small and elder Hoomii trees, guardians of honey culture, where bees nest in ancient trunks and people harvest honey from tree holes and traditional combs. Above them rises Odaa Guftee, the wide‑canopied tree that has long served as a symbol of assembly, wisdom, and continuity for the people of Gufte.

The music is built from lived geography: the descent from the plateau, the grazing fields of Dachaa Burqituu, the spring Burqitu, the river junctions, the honey‑badger Hamaa known for its fearless gentleness, and the tiger Qeerransa that roams the Hacaacii forest. Every element in the soundscape corresponds to a real landmark, a real memory, a real ecological relationship.

This is not fiction. It is Oromo homeland rendered as sound — a micro‑ecology that mirrors planetary interconnectedness.

Watch the cultural soundscape: https://youtube.com/shorts/-5CkCX-cjEc?is=YGTc-Fgi-ufTyQk0

Credits Lyrics: Temesgen Muleta‑Erena Melody: Gemin Visual Composition: TC Press Location: Gufte Plateau, Oromia Series: Experimental Microeconomics from Daily Life Umbrella Theme: Ecology Lyrics Series — Oromo Cultural Soundscapes