A History of Haramaya District, East Hararghe, 1941-1991
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Date
2015-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
A number of historical researches were done on the different aspects of the city of !-Iamr blilihe
history of the surrounding areas of th e cily was less treated. The aim of this th esis is tofill sOlli e
of the gap by reconstructing the socio-economic and political History of Haramaya distri ct/i'om
1941 to 1991.
The th esis allempts to show the physical and geographical advantages, which had dire ct impaci
on the socio-economic, cultural and political conditions of the area in the period under
discussion. 1t has also investigated when and how the Oromo settled in the area. 1t allempted 10
throw light on how the society was influenced due to its contacts with the Hararis, th e Egypliam
and centrally appointed officials and settlers since the time of Menliek.
The thesis investigates the impacts of Lake Haramaya and th e long distan ce trade 017 Ih e
beginning ofselilement and development of the town. 1t attempts to identifY the role oftradit iunal
leaders like daminas and garadas in the post i94i administration of th e district. i t hilS IIlsu
evaluated Darg programs like the format ion of peasant association s, Producers ' cooperatil'e .
service coope rat ives and villegisation fi"om th e political point of view based on the actual lo cal
applicability and indicate how th e go vernment used it as a means to facilitate administratiun
activities at the kebelle level.
A number of scholars described the SOCiety of Harar(in a sense of geographical inferenc e) in
general and that uf Haramay in particular as' the " must sociable". There is also an old
established saying that ,."/.L":;: (J{fJo'j !"e,f~/JY" ,P':, fl'J ftlY"'<f/J· that means that I-Iara"; s
adapted th emselves easily not only with human being but also hyena as well. in additi on to this
in the recent past UNESCO awarded !-Iarar as r ";'1'Cr,' £,uo;'f'):tt h-I';/'/ that means a ICily 0/
Love and Tolerance). The thesis attempts to assess the validity of this generalization.
Khat is not only C/ cash crop but also part of their identity and culture. So, the society has great
resectionfor it. That is why one informants ofEzikiel described khat as the " LeafojAllah " /t is
also clear that their every daily activity were related with Khat. It is du e to this that i descr ibe it
as a "spices of social life . " The thesis attempted to analyze situations and com across with
probable how and why it was so,
The thesis made a briefoverview to reconstruct the agricultural history of the district by giv ing
spec ial focus in Khat. When heard the word cash crop the first thing which come to 01lr mind is
its economical value. But khat for the Hararghe SOCiety in general and that of l-iarallJaya in
particular was their priurity choice not only because of economic but also eco logi cal, poliliat/
as well as cultural interrelated factors.
The thesis carefully examined these factors and attempted to show how it caused radical
transformation of the SOC iety Fom subsistence agriculture to cash crop Produ ce rs. It hm also
analyzed why khat look the upper hand in their subsequent rivalry especially over co/fee .
The the s is gives comparalive analysis of conditions of the livelihood ofpeasanls o/the districi ill
the pre-reform and post reform period. Lastly, it assesses the role of the opening uf I-Iorwll o) "0
Agricultural College of Agriculture in the life of the rural community in generol ami, ill /Jrilllun
and secondaty education in particular. The then Finance Minister of Ethiopia, Abdlll a:i:
Mohammed had a speciall11emOlY in his child hood thaI Ihree birr cha nged his way o/liJi!. The
thesis briefly addressed why this was so.
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Keywords
History of Haramaya District