Shifting trajectories of inter-ethnic relations in Western Ethiopia: a case study from Gidda and Kiremu districts in East Wollega

Inter-ethnic relations in Ethiopia have always been complex and dynamic. As home to diverse ethnic groups with differing livelihood strategies and diverging social institutions, this country is beset with fluidity of relations, shifting allegiances, as well as building and breaking alliances. Yet, the amplitude of political temperature at the center seems to play a decisive role in the making or breaking of these relations at all levels: center and periphery. This article examines the dynamics of inter-ethnic relations in two districts, Gidda and Kiremu, located on the western edge of northern plateau of Ethiopia in East Wollega, Oromiya Regional State, in historical perspective. Based on extensive review of historical documents and on empirical data generated through successive fieldwork conducted during the early 2000s, the paper tries to shed light on changing trends of inter-ethnic relations among diverse communities inhabiting the two districts. The economic, political, cultural and ecological dynamics of these relations are placed in a wider regional and historical context, which includes the former Horro-Gudru Awraja (Amharic: “sub-province”). Competition over resources, particularly land, is identified as a major driving factor in conflict.