Documentation and Analysis of 'Sera Gada' among Karrayyu Oromo

The Gada system is a system of peaceful co-existence and source of laws in which religious and secular rituals are performed, peace and order are protected, disputes are settled, justice is administered and power of government is democratically transferred from one Gada class to other. Hence, in Gada system the Oromo strengthen their social ties and harmony by means of Gada rituals. Gada rituals are very vital in that they make power transfer easy, smooth and bearable. They also cultivate the new generation into a tradition of peaceful power transfer and democratic principle. Thus, ‘Sera Gada’ refers to a set of rules, norms, values and moral codes that regulate the Gada system. It could be mythological, ideological, economic, political and social issues of the Oromo people. In Karrayyu, different ‘Sera’are made, revised, and repealed in the assembly of the Congress of five Gada classes -‘Tuuta Shanan’ under the sacred tree known as ‘Oda.(sycamore tree) which in Oromo tradition, symbolizes an assembly site where ‘Sera Gada’ are enforced.