Continuity and Change in Ye- Gordena Sera System Continuity and Change in Ye- Gordena Sera System Of Kistane-Gurage Traditional Local Governance Kistane-Gurage Traditional Local Governance
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Date
2005-06
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Publisher
AAU
Abstract
This thesis is about traditional local governance found among m t peopl of the
south, west and east part of Ethiopia and it tries to bridge til ga p in lit ratur on
the su bject. In the study, I explore Ye-Gardena Sem syst m of Ki tan -Gurage
traditional local governance and its development over time. Sem y t m, which i
fo und among most peoples of south Ethiopia, has been us d as a major body of
government for centuries. The system encompasses all the norm, value and
conducts of the people. The Gurage in general and the Ki tane in particul ar
adop ted the institution since antiquities.
In Ye -Gardena Sera, elder's councils stand at the apex of the ystem at va riou
levels of territorial and lineage segmentation. But, th incorporati n in the
Ethiopian state deprived the institution its independent control ov r internal and
external relations. However, the declining role of the Sem as th highe t political
institution among the Kistane did not lad to the compet breakdown of the
whole system . The Sem has continued to exist all over tluough the three
Ethiopian modern regimes, despite challenges incurred by the state.
In the thesis, I examine the interrelationship between the political syst m and the
soci o-economic life of the people. The study shows tha t the Sem play's significant
role in the peopl e's social, cultural and economic life, with in the w id e r Kistane
socia l structure. I also looked at the traditional system and its substantial
contribution in local development arena. The incorporation and the subsequence
modernization process of the state through new judiciary and bureaucratic
institutions; large-scale migration of the people out of Kistane-I and; and the
process of urbanization, are major factors for the transforma tion tha t exhibited in
the traditiona l institution. However, the system continues to be the people's
fcwored system in the area of conflict resolution and peopl e's day-to-day life.