OromianEconomist

Oromia of Dhaqabo Ebba: The Cradle of Mankind Is Also A Home of The Oldest Living person Known to Humanity September 10, 2013

Dahqabo Ebba, Oromo elder,   who is over 160 years is the oldest living person known  to humanity.

He is a resident of  Dodola town, Oromia.

http://www.unpo.org/article/16351

OTV (Oromiyaa TV)

In  interviews conducted  in his native language Afaan Oromo  Obbo Dhaqabo Ebba counts his age based on Oromo Gadaa system calendar. According to  traditional Oromo Gadaa system every member of the society goes through the Gadaa time grade. Obbo Dhaqabo Ebba has lived 4 Gadaa cycles. one Gadaa cycle has 5 stages. One stage is for 8 years. One Gadaa cycle is 40 years, (8*5).  Obbo Dhaqabo has already completed 4 Gadaa cycles (4*40) which are 160 years. He involved  in the Gadaa system in its full functioning time in all its structures and  development stages from Dabballe to Jaarsa. He still living after the 4 cycles means he is actually over 160 years. The Journalist of Oromiyaa TV did not yet ask him how many years since his last 4 Gadaa cycles was completed. Gadaa ways of timing is exact to know own birth years and historical events. In his fascinating life that has touched 3 centuries (from middle 19th century to the present 2nd decades of 21st century which  has been over 160 years he remembers all major  political, social, economic and environmental events and changes.  He remembers from a time when the Ethiopian empire still expanded south to Oromia such as 1880’s the time the Abyssinian Menelik start to occupy  the Oromo capital Finfinnee (Abyssinians named it Addis Ababa). At this event and the time  of  first Italian  invasion he used to travel to Finfinnee (Addis Ababa)  for his livestock  trading.  He mentioned that  he engaged in farming (crops and livestock) but also in commerce. it took eight days on horseback to cover the 150 miles between his village and  Finfinnee (Addis Ababa). In 1895 ( at the time of Italian invasion) he was already a married  person of two wives and his first son ( over 100 years old with him  at interview) was a young boy and able person to look after his livestock. “When Italy invaded the country, I had two wives and my son was old enough to herd cattle,” he said, referring to Italy’s 1895 invasion of his country.  “Not even one of my peers is alive today.” He knows and remembers by naming  all Abyssinian rulers, Menelik to present who have been in Oromia (Oromo land) since the occupation of Finfinnee in 1880’s.

Mohammed Ademo of Opride  said. “Given that the Oromo like many African cultures are an oral society, ‘each time an elder dies, a library is lost.’ Ebba’s is one such library from which much can still be preserved.”

http://www.voaafaanoromoo.com/content/article/1756208.html

As elaborated in the works of  “Oromia: an Introduction,”  by Gadaa Melbaa ( book published in Khartoum,  1988),  the following is a brief description of how the Gadaa system works and the gadaa Grades:  “There are two well-defined ways of classifying male members of the society, that is the hiriyya (members of an age-set all born within the period of one Gadaarule of eight years) and Gadaa grade. The Gadaa grades (stages of development through which a Gadaa class passes) differ in number (7-11) and name in different parts of Oromia although the functions are the same.”

The  Gadaa grades:-

1. Dabballee (0-8 years of age)

2. Folle or Gamme Titiqaa (8-16 years of age)

3. Qondaala or Gamme Gurgudaa (16-24 years of age)

4. Kuusa (24-32 years of age)

5. Raaba Doorii (32-40 years of age)

6. Gadaa (40-48 years of age)

7. Yuba I (48-56 years of age)

8. Yuba II (56-64 years of age)

9. Yuba III (64-72 years of age)

10. Gadamojjii (72-80 years of age)

11. Jaarsa (80 and above years of age)

http://gadaa.com/culture.html

   http://www.unpo.org/article/16351

http://now.msn.com/dhaqabo-ebba-ethiopian-farmer-is-160-years-old-reporter-claims

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