Gelemso
Galamso (also spelled Gelemso, and in Oromo Galamsoo), is a town in West Haraghe of Oromia Region, Ethiopia, Gelemso is located eastern Ethiopian is far from country capital 301 km and second way 413 km in the western periphery of the highly networked mountain chain referred to by the natives as Fugug and by geographers as the Ahmar Mountains most people say that city
of love locally [Biyyaa Jaalala]. Gelemso on 2013 EC became separate woreda in the West Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Regional State, it has a latitude and longitude of 8.81667°N, 40.51667°W. Gelemso is the origin of a variety of Jimaa called by the same name (Gelemso).
Oral history says the name Galamso came from the Oromo phrase Galma Usso, meaning the Hall of Usso or House of Usso, a mosque named for a man who came to preach Islam to the Ittu Oromos in the 13th century, called by his followers Aw Seid, and by the Oromos with his given name Usso after he was made ilma gossa or the adopted son of the Warra Qallu clan of the Ittu Oromo. As galma usually refers to the worship house under the traditional (Waqefanna) religion of the Oromos, we may wonder why the mosque was called so. The Oromo elders explain the case as follows.
The Ittu Oromo who are usually mentioned as the native Oromo group of the Chercher highlands, says Aw Seid was the first person to start an Islamization campaign in their land. His real name was Seid Ali and according to the oral history of the Ittu Oromo, he was a Sharif (i.e. descendant of Prophet Mohammed) It was in latter periods that his followers who believed in his sainthood added a prefix Aw to his name, in the manner of the Harari and the Somali who call their saints and national heroes so. (Aw meaning father in Harari language, and male saints are usually called with this title.). Since then, Seid Ali has been called Aw Seid.
Local history tellers say that in order to achieve his target, Aw Seid had to seek a means that enables him live in the land of the Oromos with full citizenship rights, which could be accessed under the tradition of the Oromo people at that time. Accordingly, he became ilma gosa or the adopted son of the Warra Qallu sub-group within the Ittu Oromo division of the Eastern Oromo, and on his adoption ceremony, the Oromos named him Usso.
When Aw Seid built his mosque in the southern part of the current site of Galamso town, the Oromo started to call it galma Usso. Here, as elders say, galma stands to notify the spiritual significance of the newly built structure, (even though galma originally refers to the worshiping house of the traditional Oromo religion, the Oromos used to call the worshiping house of any faith by this name) and Usso denotes the owner of the house (in this case Aw Seid). The name Galma Usso was introduced in this way, and in the long period of time, it evolved to Galamso.
This story is not documented, while the Islamization effort of Aw Seid has been discussed by different scholars. However, as the name Galamso can never be found at any other place in the Oromo lands (in the whole of Ethiopia and the world either), and as it has no exact meaning in Oromo or any other language, it might be sound to conclude the ancient Galma Usso gave rise to the current Galamso, the name of the town.
of love locally [Biyyaa Jaalala]. Gelemso on 2013 EC became separate woreda in the West Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Regional State, it has a latitude and longitude of 8.81667°N, 40.51667°W. Gelemso is the origin of a variety of Jimaa called by the same name (Gelemso).
Oral history says the name Galamso came from the Oromo phrase Galma Usso, meaning the Hall of Usso or House of Usso, a mosque named for a man who came to preach Islam to the Ittu Oromos in the 13th century, called by his followers Aw Seid, and by the Oromos with his given name Usso after he was made ilma gossa or the adopted son of the Warra Qallu clan of the Ittu Oromo. As galma usually refers to the worship house under the traditional (Waqefanna) religion of the Oromos, we may wonder why the mosque was called so. The Oromo elders explain the case as follows.
The Ittu Oromo who are usually mentioned as the native Oromo group of the Chercher highlands, says Aw Seid was the first person to start an Islamization campaign in their land. His real name was Seid Ali and according to the oral history of the Ittu Oromo, he was a Sharif (i.e. descendant of Prophet Mohammed) It was in latter periods that his followers who believed in his sainthood added a prefix Aw to his name, in the manner of the Harari and the Somali who call their saints and national heroes so. (Aw meaning father in Harari language, and male saints are usually called with this title.). Since then, Seid Ali has been called Aw Seid.
Local history tellers say that in order to achieve his target, Aw Seid had to seek a means that enables him live in the land of the Oromos with full citizenship rights, which could be accessed under the tradition of the Oromo people at that time. Accordingly, he became ilma gosa or the adopted son of the Warra Qallu sub-group within the Ittu Oromo division of the Eastern Oromo, and on his adoption ceremony, the Oromos named him Usso.
When Aw Seid built his mosque in the southern part of the current site of Galamso town, the Oromo started to call it galma Usso. Here, as elders say, galma stands to notify the spiritual significance of the newly built structure, (even though galma originally refers to the worshiping house of the traditional Oromo religion, the Oromos used to call the worshiping house of any faith by this name) and Usso denotes the owner of the house (in this case Aw Seid). The name Galma Usso was introduced in this way, and in the long period of time, it evolved to Galamso.
This story is not documented, while the Islamization effort of Aw Seid has been discussed by different scholars. However, as the name Galamso can never be found at any other place in the Oromo lands (in the whole of Ethiopia and the world either), and as it has no exact meaning in Oromo or any other language, it might be sound to conclude the ancient Galma Usso gave rise to the current Galamso, the name of the town.
Map - Gelemso
Map
Country - Ethiopia
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| Flag of Ethiopia | |
Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out to the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. Southwestern Ethiopia has been proposed as a possible homeland of the Afroasiatic language family. In 980 BCE, the Kingdom of D'mt extended its realm over Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia, while the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region for 900 years. Christianity was embraced by the kingdom in 330, and Islam arrived by the first Hijra in 615. After the collapse of Aksum in 960, a variety of kingdoms, largely tribal confederations, existed in the land of Ethiopia. The Zagwe dynasty ruled the north-central parts until being overthrown by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, inaugurating the Ethiopian Empire and the Solomonic dynasty, claimed descent from the biblical Solomon and Queen of Sheba under their son Menelik I. By the 14th century, the empire grew in prestige through territorial expansion and fighting against adjacent territories; most notably, the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543) contributed to fragmentation of the empire, which ultimately fell under a decentralization known as Zemene Mesafint in the mid-18th century. Emperor Tewodros II ended Zemene Mesafint at the beginning of his reign in 1855, marking the reunification and modernization of Ethiopia.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETB | Ethiopian birr | Br | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AM | Amharic language |
| EN | English language |
| OM | Oromo language |
| SO | Somali language |
| TI | Tigrinya language |