Oromo Basics
The Oromo are the largest ethnic group in this country.
What is Ethiopia?
True or False: Oromo men’s clothing clearly marks their ethnicity.
What is False?
What is the term for a headpiece worn on the forehead?
What is qarmaa?
What does “buda” mean?
What is the evil eye?
What object is often worn around the neck to protect against buda?
What is an amulet?
Afaan Oromo is one of the most spoken languages in Africa. Name two other widely spoken African languages mentioned.
What are Arabic and Hausa?
Name two ways women’s clothing communicates identity.
What are clan, class, region, or life stage?
What is the most prized possession of an unmarried Oromo woman?
What is the ambarka necklace?
What profession is most commonly associated with buda?
What is metalworking (smiths)?
Why are amulet contents kept hidden?
What is because the unknown increases their protective power?
What do the Oromo call their homeland?
What is Oromia?
Why did beadwork and jewelry become more significant in Oromo art after the 1980s?
What is because famine, drought, and displacement made portable personal art more important than home-based arts like basketry?
List the four historical stages of qarmaa materials.
What are leather, silver, industrial metal, beaded?
What is haaxixa, and what dual purpose does it serve?
What is scarification that enhances beauty and diverts the gaze?
How do jewelry and shiny objects protect against buda?
What is by attracting and redirecting the harmful gaze?
Approximately how much of Ethiopia’s population is Oromo?
What is about 40%?
What is the meaning of “Afran Qallo” and how is it represented in bead patterns?
What is “Four sons of Qallo,” represented by a diamond divided into four parts?
Why did silver qarmaa become less common after Egyptian occupation?
What is because the Egyptians removed much of the Maria Theresa Thaler silver supply?
What are the three functions of tumtuu tattooing?
What are aesthetic beauty, eye health, and gaze redirection?
Name one cultural tension that defines Oromo aesthetics.
What is reveal vs. conceal, attract vs. repel, or beautify vs. disfigure?
Despite being the majority, the Oromo have historically faced what three types of marginalization?
What are political, economic, and social marginalization?
Why are Oromo women who wear Western clothing often questioned in Harar?
What is because dress is a key social identifier, and those who cannot be easily categorized attract suspicion?
What are two ways ambarka necklaces function beyond decoration?
What are displaying political voice and signaling skill or interest in a mate?
What is kula and why is it considered “modern”?
What is facial nail polish decoration that replaces tattooing/scarring and is seen as cosmopolitan?
Why is women’s adornment considered a form of political resistance?
What is because Oromo nationalism is suppressed, and body art becomes a subversive way to express identity?