The Machaa ( in short ''Macha'',

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: ሜጫ) are a subgroup of the Oromo people in western and Central

Oromia Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

. They live south of the Blue Nile (Abbai) in the northwestern part of the region of

and in parts of

West Shewa Zone West Shewa Zone () is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. West Shewa is bordered on the south by the Southwest Shewa Zone and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples ...

South West Shewa Zone South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

, Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinnee,

West Welega Zone West Wollega Zone () is a zone in the western part of Oromia Region, Ethiopia. This zone is named after the former province of Wollega, whose western part lay in the area West Wollega now occupies. West Wellega is bordered on the west by Kelam ...

East Welega Zone East Welega () is one of the zones in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This administrative division acquired its name from the former province of Welega. Towns and cities in this zone include Nekemte. East Welega is bounded on the southwe ...

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...

Jimma Zone Jimma is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Jimma is named after former Kingdom of Jimma, which was absorbed into the former province of Kaffa Province, Ethiopia, Kaffa in 1932. Jimma is bordered on the south by the Southern ...

Illubabor Zone Illubabor () is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Illubabora is named for the former province Illubabor. It is bordered on the south by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, on the southwest by the Gambela Region, on the ...

Kelam Welega Zone Kellem Wollega (Oromo language, Oromo: ''Qeellam Wallaggaa'') is one of the zones of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. This zone is named after the former province of Welega Province, Wollega, whose western part lay in the area Kellem Wollega now oc ...

, Horo Guduru and in parts

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

particularly

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, G ...

zones. A small group of them lives in the area north of the Blue Nile Wambara in the

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Benishangul-Gumuz () is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Er ...

. The area of Macha is a high plateau with undulating hills and some of the higher mountain ranges. Traditionally Macha hardly move below 1500 meters above sea level, since there is a risk of

sleeping sickness African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...

and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

would exist.

History

The Macha came in the second half of the 16th Century as part of the general expansion of the Oromo in the area south of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

. The Ethiopian monk Bahrey most important chronicler of the Oromo hikes called the Macha and Tulama as subgroups of the Borana and mentions various clans and lineages of Macha . The establishment of Macha in their present territory seems to be done in small groups and not by larger segments, so that the same clan names are present on a number of places in the area.. The Macha originally had a common

Gadaa Gadaa (pronounced "Geda" meaning "The Gateway" in Oromoo language) is the indigenous system of governance used by the Oromos in Ethiopia and northern Kenya. It is also practiced by the Konso, Burji and Gedeo people of southern Ethiopia. The s ...

system with

Tulama Tulama Oromo are an Oromo subgroup inhabiting the Shewa Zones of Oromia, Ethiopia, East Shewa Zone, North Shewa Zone (Oromia), South West Shewa Zone, Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Addis Ababa). See also * List of Oromo subgroups and clans ...

whose center (chaffe) was south of present-day Addis Ababa. But in the late 16th century, Macha established their own Gadaa with chaffe in Odaa Bilii / Tute Bisil upper Gibe Valley. A man named Makkoo Bilii called there, the independent Gadaa of Macha. In their lore, and Macha Tulama make mutually responsible for this break. In 1963 , Macha and Tulama Self-Help Association was established mainly by Oromo, but also by members of other ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia. This was first engaged mainly local issues and the promotion of local development began, but soon also for political and cultural freedoms for all Oromo use. As a result, it was banned 1967. In 1994, a successor organization was founded, which was banned in 2004 again. The Macha are the westernmost Cushitic Horners of the Horn peninsula.

References

* :de:Macha-Oromo * Jan Hultin: Mäč̣č̣a und Mäč̣č̣a and Tulama, in: Siegbert Uhlig (Hrsg.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Band 3, 2008, * Alessandro Triulzi: United and Divided. Boorana and Gabaro among the Macha Oromo in Western Ethiopia, in: Paul TW Baxter, Jan Hultin, Alessandro Triulzi
Being and Becoming Oromo. Historical and Anthropological Enquiries.
Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, 1996, (p. 251-264) {{authority control Ethnic groups in Ethiopia Oromo groups Borana Oromo