Kingdom of Jimma - History

History

The origins of Jimma are obscure, although prior to the Oromo migrations the territory this kingdom came to occupy had been part of the Kingdom of Kaffa. According to legend, a number of Oromo tribes (variously given from five to 10) were led to Jimma by a great sorceress and "queen" named Makhore, who carried a boku (usually connected with the abba boku, or headman of the Oromo Gadaa system) which when placed on the ground would cause the earth to tremble and men to fear. It is said that with this boku she drove the Kaffa people living in the area across the Gojeb River. While this suggests that the Oromo invaders drove the original inhabitants from the area, Herbert S. Lewis notes that Oromo society was inclusionist, and the only ethnic differences they made are reflected in the history of various kinship groups.

Eventually, the Oromo grew unhappy with Makhore's rule, and through a ruse deprived her of her virginity, and destroyed her power. The various tribes then pursued their own courses, loosely bound into a confederation that held councils at Hulle, where laws were passed under the abba boku; at this point, Jimma was commonly referred to as Jimma Kaka.

At first, the Badi of Saqqa were the predominant clan (which led to the alternate name of Jimma Badi), but late in the 18th century another group, the Diggo of Mana, began to extend their domain, conquering the Lalo clan who lived around Jiren, and gaining access to the market and trade center at Hirmata (later called Jimma). Mohammed Hassen believes that the Badi lost their predominant position in part due to raids by king Abba Bagido of Limmu-Ennarea, but also due to constant infighting. It was during the reign of Abba Jifar I that the kingdom of Jimma coalesced, and after this time Jimma was frequently referred to as Jimma Abba Jifar. King Abba Jifar also converted to Islam, and began the long process of also converting his entire kingdom to that religion.

Under king Abba Gomol, the ancient kingdom of Garo was conquered and absorbed into Jimma. King Gomol settled wealthy men from his kingdom in the former state, and brought important men from Garo to live at Jiren, thus integrating the two polities.

It was shortly after his son Abba Jifar II assumed the throne that the power of the neguses of Shewa began to reach into the Gibe region for the first time in centuries. As Lewis notes, "Borrelli, Franzoj and other travellers accorded him little hope of retaining his kingdom for long." However, heeding the wise advice of his mother Gumiti, he submitted to Menelik II, and agreed to pay tribute to the negus, and counseled his neighboring kings to do the same. However, none followed his example, and King Abba Jifar instead found himself enthusiastically aiding his Shewan master conquer his neighbors: Kullo in 1889, Walamo in 1894, and Kaffa in 1897. In 1928, the tribute of Jimma amounted to MT 87,000 and an additional MT 15,000 for the army.

Following the death of Abba Jifar II, Emperor Haile Selassie seized the opportunity to finally annex Jimma. As Harold Marcus observes, the kingdom's "autonomy had been undermined by the declining world economy, the deteriorating health of its ruler, the road that slowly advanced from Addis Abeba, the advent of air power, and the transcendent needs of modern, centralized power." On 5 May 1932, the official newspaper Berhanena Selam editorialized that the kingdom was in danger because her king, Abba Jifar, was old and ill and his grandson and heir longer properly obeyed the central government and was using the kingdom's revenues to build up an army. Seven days later, on 12 May 400 soldiers and a team of administrators descended upon Jimma and brought the kingdom to an end. During the reorganization of the provinces in 1942, the last administrative traces of the kingdom vanished into Kaffa Province.