The Gadaa system of the Oromo people represents one of the world's most enduring and sophisticated indigenous democratic governance systems. This article examines the recent peaceful transfer of the Alangee (ceremonial baton of authority) from the 70th Gadaa leader, Abbaa Gadaa Goobana Hoolaa (Gadaa Meelbaa cycle), to the 71st Abbaa Gadaa of the Tulama Oromo, Geetuu Taliilaa (Gadaa Muudanaa cycle), which occurred at the sacred site of Ardaa Jilaa Dhaka Koraatti in June 2026. Drawing on documentary analysis and scholarly literature on the Gadaa system, this study analyzes the democratic principles embedded in the Gadaa system, particularly its mechanism for peaceful power transfer, term limits, checks and balances, and popular participation. The findings demonstrate that the Gadaa system offers valuable lessons for contemporary democratic governance, including the routinization of peaceful succession, the separation of powers, accountability mechanisms, and the subordination of rulers to customary law (Seera). The article argues that indigenous governance systems like Gadaa should be recognized not as relics of the past but as living democratic traditions that can inform and enrich modern political practice in Ethiopia and beyond. By engaging critically with questions of power, legitimacy, and the limitations of liberal democratic frameworks, this study contributes to decolonial political theory and offers a theoretically grounded analysis of how indigenous institutions address the universal problem of constraining political authority.
| Published in | Science Development (Volume 7, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13 |
| Page(s) | 133-143 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Gadaa System, Alangee, Peaceful Power Transfer, Indigenous Democracy, Tulama Oromo
| [1] | Aliye, Ashenafi Alemu. 2019. "The Gada System and the Oromo's (Ethiopia) Culture of Peace." Skhid, no. 2(160): 45-51. |
| [2] | Aliye, Ashenafi Alem. 2020. "African Indigenous Leadership Philosophy and Democratic Governance System: Gada's Intersectionality with Ubuntu." Journal of Black Studies 51(7): 727-759. |
| [3] | Baissa, L. 2004. "The Oromo Gada System of Government: An Indigenous African Democracy." In State Crises, Globalisation and National Movements in North-East Africa, 101-121. Routledge. |
| [4] | Bassi, Marco. 2024. Gadaa across Domains: A Long-Term Study of an African Democratic Institution. Trento: University of Trento Press. |
| [5] | Bassi, Marco, and G. Megerssa. 2008. "Failed Modernization of the Ethiopian State: Oromo Perspectives on Ethiopian Political Culture." The Journal of Oromo Studies 15 (1): 79-111. |
| [6] | Baxter, P. T. 1978. "Boran Age-Sets and Generation-Sets: Gada, a Puzzle or a Maze?" In Age, Generation and Time, 151-182. |
| [7] | Benashvili, Giorgi. 2015. "Peaceful Transfer of Political Power and Its Characteristics in Georgia." Revista Moldovenească de Drept Internaţional şi Relaţii Internaţionale 38 (4): 48-55. |
| [8] | Berisso, T. 2018. "The Oromoo Gadaa System: Why Considered Democratic?" Gadaa Journal 1 (1): 01-08. |
| [9] | Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. "Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology." Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77-101. |
| [10] | 2022. Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. London: SAGE Publications. |
| [11] | Chala, Dejene Gemechu, and James Merejo Choroke. 2022. "The Politics of Symbols: The Incorporation of Gadaa Symbols into State Constitutional Rhetoric in Oromia, Ethiopia." The Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Language Studies 9 (2): 3-18. |
| [12] | Daraje, Gutema, and Aung Kyi Phyu. 2025. "Gadaa System: Indigenous Political and Administration System of Oromo People in Ethiopia." GRADUS 12 (1): 1-5. |
| [13] | Debele, Esayas T. T. 2018. "Relevance of Gadaa Values and Practices in Current Development." Arts and Social Sciences Journal 9 (3): 1-5. |
| [14] | Demmeksa, Dereje Megersa. 2020. "Gadaa Constitution." In Gadaa System: Heritage of Humanity, 91-130. Independently Published. |
| [15] | Deti, H. B., and K. G. Jebessa. n.d. "Indigenous Knowledge vis-à-vis Development: The Potential of Gadaa System in Industrial Leadership Development." |
| [16] | Dinagde, G. G. 2019. "An Indigenous Unwritten Constitution: Examining the Gadaa Governance System in Light of Modern Democratic Constitutional Principles." In A New Frontier: Ushering in Lasting Change in Oromia, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. 33rd Annual Conference Proceedings, 92-107. |
| [17] | Geda, G. J. 2015. Pilgrimages and Syncretism: Religious Transformation among the Arsi Oromo of Ethiopia. Doctoral dissertation, Universitaet Bayreuth. |
| [18] | Gibler, Douglas M., and Jaroslav Tir. 2010. "Settled Borders and Regime Type: Democratic Transitions as Consequences of Peaceful Territorial Transfers." American Journal of Political Science 54 (4): 951-968. |
| [19] | Graham, Emmanuel, Ransford Gyampo, Paul Faanu, and Eric Yobo. 2017. "The Third Peaceful Transfer of Power and Democratic Consolidation in Ghana." Journal of Pan African Studies 10 (5): 99-128. |
| [20] | Gutema, Megersa M. 2017. "Democratization through Indigenization: The Role of Gadaa System in Reducing Political Conflicts." Abyssinia Journal of Business and Social Sciences 2 (1): 30-37. |
| [21] | Gutema, Worku D., and Dejene G. Chala. 2016. "Investigating the Hidden: The Lukaa-lukee System among the Kuttaayee Oromo, Ethiopia." The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 48 (1): 110-126. |
| [22] | Hallpike, C. R. 1976. "The Origins of the Borana Gada System." Africa 46 (1): 48-56. |
| [23] | Hassen, Mohammed. 2025. "Oromo Institutions that United, Inspired, and Sustained Arsi Oromo's Heroic Resistance against Imperial Expansion and Its Long-Term Consequences (1881-1892)." The Journal of Oromo Studies 29 (2): 60-94. |
| [24] | Hinew, D. 2021. "Integration of Gadaa Values into Ethiopia's Mainstream Political System: Potentials and Challenges." Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal 10 (3): 28-36. |
| [25] | Hinnant, J. T. 1977. The Gada System of the Guji of Southern Ethiopia. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Chicago. |
| [26] | Jalata, Asafa. 2007. "Applying Gada Principles in Constructing the State in the 21st Century Oromia." In Coffman Memorial Union Great Hall on July 28-29, 2007 Minneapolis, Minnesota, 24. |
| [27] | "Foundations of a State in Oromia: Applying Gadaa Principles in the Twenty First Century." The Journal of Oromo Studies 15 (2): 133-189. |
| [28] | 2012. "Gadaa (Oromo Democracy): An Example of Classical African Civilization." Journal of Pan-African Studies 126. |
| [29] | 2018. "The Contested and Expanding Meaning of Democracy." JIS 2 (2). |
| [30] | "Review Essay: Are the Tulama and Wallo Oromo Habasha?" Sociology Mind 11 (4): 125-146. |
| [31] | Jalata, Asafa, and S. Harwood. 2016. "The Oromo Nation: Toward Mental Liberation and Empowerment." The Journal of Oromo Studies 1: 203-237. |
| [32] | Jang, H., and D. Kreiss. 2025. "Safeguarding the Peaceful Transfer of Power: Pro-Democracy Electoral Frames and Journalist Coverage of Election Deniers during the 2022 US Midterm Elections." The International Journal of Press/Politics 30 (3): 775-796. |
| [33] | Kassa, G. N. 2012. "Gada Theory and Practices." Paper presented at Oromo Study Association (OSA) Annual Conference, University of Minnesota, July 14-15. |
| [34] | Kumsa, A. 2019. "The Oromo National Memories." Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Социология 19 (3): 503-516. |
| [35] | Legesse, Asmarom. 2000. Oromo Democracy: An Indigenous African Political System. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press. |
| [36] | Levine, D. N. 2014. "The Oromo System." In Greater Ethiopia, 128-145. University of Chicago Press. |
| [37] | Marchick, David, Ashley Tippett, and A. J. Wilson. 2022. The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America's Presidential Transitions. University of Virginia Press. |
| [38] | Masabo, C. J. 2019. "Reflection on Electoral Democracy and Peaceful Transfer of Power: The Tanzanian Experience." Tanzania Journal for Population Studies and Development 26 (2). |
| [39] | Mekonnen, G. 2025. Generational Wisdom: Lesson from the Oromo People. |
| [40] | Naas, M. 2023. "Aristotle, Derrida, and the 'Peaceful Transfer of Power' in Democracy." Reading Continental Philosophy and the History of Thought 171. |
| [41] | Namera, N. B. n.d. "Gadaa as a Method of Realizing of Rule of Law and Citizens Equality: The Case of Odaa Hullee." In Glimpses of Recent Advancements in Social Science Research. |
| [42] | Negari, W., and M. Mishra. 2018. "Indigenous Knowledge for Good Governance and Development: Unleashing the Wisdom of the Gada System." Amity Journal of Management 1 (2): 13-29. |
| [43] | Nicolas, A. 2021. "In Search of Democracy: Gadaa as a Political Ideal, or the Legitimacy of Traditional Authority in Times of Turmoil and Unease." In Challenging Authorities: Ethnographies of Legitimacy and Power in Eastern and Southern Africa, edited by S. Calkins, S. Graw, and M. Hüsken, 147-184. Cham: Springer International Publishing. |
| [44] | Roba, G. O. 2025. "Luba: Understanding the Intricacies of Generational Set, Age and Identity in the Gada System, Ethiopia." African Identities: 1-16. |
| [45] | Sagni, D. 2020. Odaa Naffuro, Gadaa Center of Amuru Oromo in Folkloric Perspective. Master's thesis, Jimma University. |
| [46] | Schlee, G. 1989. "Zum Ursprung des Gada-Systems." Paideuma: 231-246. |
| [47] | Sefera, A. E. 2019. "Role of Women in Tulama Oromo Gada System: The Case of Ilu, South-West Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State." IJCN 2: 7. |
| [48] | Singh, Y. P. 2026. "Peaceful Transfer of Power and Democratic Resilience: Global and Indian Perspectives." Journal of Political Science 1 (5). |
| [49] | Sirna, Z. 2012. "Ethiopia: When the Gadaa Democracy Rules in a Federal State." Bridging Indigenous Institutions of Governance to Modern Democracy. |
| [50] | "A Future Gaze: Gadaa Oriented Constitutional Structure for Oromia." Gadaa Journal 1 (1): 09-25. |
| [51] | Sirna, Z. T. 2019. "Beyond the Canon of Liberal Democracy: A Lesson from Gadaa for Consensual Democracy." Gadaa Journal 2 (2): 89-104. |
| [52] | Tasgara, A. 2021. "Challenges and Opportunities of Homegrown Ways of Peace Building: The Case of Gada System in Borana Community of Southern Ethiopia." International Journal of Systems Science and Applied Mathematics 6 (1): 9-21. |
| [53] | Teso, A. B., L. K. Hamado, and G. T. Chalenka. 2016. "An Investigation of Participatory Governance Embedded in Gadaa System: Manbadha General Assembly of the Arsii Oromo in Focus." Journal of Languages and Culture 7 (10): 93-104. |
| [54] | Tolessa, T. 2013. "A History Story of Oromo Cultural Troupes (1962-1991)." Journal of Science, Technology and Arts Research 2 (1): 86-94. |
| [55] | Tuso, H. 2000. "Indigenous Processes of Conflict Resolution in Oromo Society." In Traditional Cures for Modern Conflicts: African Conflict 'Medicine', 79-94. |
| [56] | Tyson, S. A. 2023. "The Peaceful Transfer of Power and the Social Contract." The Journal of Politics 85 (1): 125-138. |
| [57] | Yongping, F. 2006. "The Peaceful Transition of Power from the UK to the US." The Chinese Journal of International Politics 1 (1): 83-108. |
APA Style
Abdi, M. T. (2026). Gadaa as a Model of Democratic System: The Peaceful Transfer of Power (Alangee) of Tulama Oromo. Science Development, 7(3), 133-143. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13
ACS Style
Abdi, M. T. Gadaa as a Model of Democratic System: The Peaceful Transfer of Power (Alangee) of Tulama Oromo. Sci. Dev. 2026, 7(3), 133-143. doi: 10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13,
author = {Megersa Tolera Abdi},
title = {Gadaa as a Model of Democratic System: The Peaceful Transfer of Power (Alangee) of Tulama Oromo},
journal = {Science Development},
volume = {7},
number = {3},
pages = {133-143},
doi = {10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.scidev.20260703.13},
abstract = {The Gadaa system of the Oromo people represents one of the world's most enduring and sophisticated indigenous democratic governance systems. This article examines the recent peaceful transfer of the Alangee (ceremonial baton of authority) from the 70th Gadaa leader, Abbaa Gadaa Goobana Hoolaa (Gadaa Meelbaa cycle), to the 71st Abbaa Gadaa of the Tulama Oromo, Geetuu Taliilaa (Gadaa Muudanaa cycle), which occurred at the sacred site of Ardaa Jilaa Dhaka Koraatti in June 2026. Drawing on documentary analysis and scholarly literature on the Gadaa system, this study analyzes the democratic principles embedded in the Gadaa system, particularly its mechanism for peaceful power transfer, term limits, checks and balances, and popular participation. The findings demonstrate that the Gadaa system offers valuable lessons for contemporary democratic governance, including the routinization of peaceful succession, the separation of powers, accountability mechanisms, and the subordination of rulers to customary law (Seera). The article argues that indigenous governance systems like Gadaa should be recognized not as relics of the past but as living democratic traditions that can inform and enrich modern political practice in Ethiopia and beyond. By engaging critically with questions of power, legitimacy, and the limitations of liberal democratic frameworks, this study contributes to decolonial political theory and offers a theoretically grounded analysis of how indigenous institutions address the universal problem of constraining political authority.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Gadaa as a Model of Democratic System: The Peaceful Transfer of Power (Alangee) of Tulama Oromo AU - Megersa Tolera Abdi Y1 - 2026/09/29 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13 DO - 10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13 T2 - Science Development JF - Science Development JO - Science Development SP - 133 EP - 143 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2994-7154 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20260703.13 AB - The Gadaa system of the Oromo people represents one of the world's most enduring and sophisticated indigenous democratic governance systems. This article examines the recent peaceful transfer of the Alangee (ceremonial baton of authority) from the 70th Gadaa leader, Abbaa Gadaa Goobana Hoolaa (Gadaa Meelbaa cycle), to the 71st Abbaa Gadaa of the Tulama Oromo, Geetuu Taliilaa (Gadaa Muudanaa cycle), which occurred at the sacred site of Ardaa Jilaa Dhaka Koraatti in June 2026. Drawing on documentary analysis and scholarly literature on the Gadaa system, this study analyzes the democratic principles embedded in the Gadaa system, particularly its mechanism for peaceful power transfer, term limits, checks and balances, and popular participation. The findings demonstrate that the Gadaa system offers valuable lessons for contemporary democratic governance, including the routinization of peaceful succession, the separation of powers, accountability mechanisms, and the subordination of rulers to customary law (Seera). The article argues that indigenous governance systems like Gadaa should be recognized not as relics of the past but as living democratic traditions that can inform and enrich modern political practice in Ethiopia and beyond. By engaging critically with questions of power, legitimacy, and the limitations of liberal democratic frameworks, this study contributes to decolonial political theory and offers a theoretically grounded analysis of how indigenous institutions address the universal problem of constraining political authority. VL - 7 IS - 3 ER -
Department of Sociology, Arsi University, Asella, Ethiopia
Information