English

Little or none is known about the social origin and meaning of the ancient rock paintings of Ethiopia and Horn of Africa. This article critically analyzed some of the ancient rock paintings of Hararqee (Eastern Ethiopia) with the intention to understand the social semiotical and rhetorical structures that underlie beneath these social ‘texts’. It did so through using the ancient Qaallu Institution of the Oromo of East and Horn of Africa as analytical device. Multi-disciplinary approach that combined concepts from various disciples was adopted as a guiding theoretical framework, while the Eurocentric approach that mystifies and de-Ethiopinizes them was rejected. Field data was collected from various sites besides archival data. Informants expert with the local’s social epistemology or wisdom were selected and used as ‘critical friends’. The results revealed both substantive and methodological insights. Substantively, it suggests that the Oromo Qaallu Institution and its sub-themes such as the pre- Christian belief in Black Sky-God, line of descent and identity, kingdomization, pastoral festival, and bovine symbolism crosscutting all of these. Methodologically, the unique Oromo social semiosis which can be referred to as ‘metaplasmic witticism’ appeared as the underlying rhetorical structure.

No history of a population is, probably, as ‘mysterious’ as the Roma
(“Gypsy”) people. However, the contemporary mitochondria, DNA,
phylogenetic and population history research confirms the Classical Greek
writers such as Herodotus’ position that Europe is but peopled by people
from East Africa known as Ancient Cushites or Ethiopians or Egyptians.
The Roma are consistently clear—they count themselves to Ancient
Nubian-Africans. This paper hypothesized the Roma People cannot be
different from the Ancient African Cushites, who ruled, lived and civilized
the three oldest continents. Classical as well as contemporary Roma and
Oromo-Cush, as well as Ancient Egypto-Meroitic, linguistic and cultural
lexicons were collected and analyzed in the wider comparative culturalhistorical-
evolutionary perspectives. The findings indicate that there is
significant lexical, grammatical and cultural-historical similarity which
supports the Ancient Cushite origin of the Roma language and people. Key
implications have emerged. The Roma people cannot be different from the
whole Euroasians who populated Europe and Asia moving out of Africa in
the three Millennia preceding the Christian era as well as the first Millennia
of this era. The Roma people populated Euroasia in the same way and
time the rest peopled the two continents moving out of (East-North)
Africa. Europe is as much homeland to them as it is to the rest of their
friends. The whole Indo-European languages must have been the
offshoots of these pioneers of human civilizations. The continuing racism
against the Roma People is but an irrational and crazy existent in the
heart of the ‘Modern’ and ‘Civilized’ Europe.

The aim of this paper was to comparatively analyze some
(Proto)Indo-European and Oromo-Cush phonological, lexical and
grammatical items and roots. It was triggered by competing
debates and models on (Proto-)Indo-European ((P-)IE) origin, one
of which is the Ancient Model pointing to Africa. (P-)IE and closest
relatives, Eurasiatic and Anatolian, data was collected from the
literature. Pertinent Oromo corpora and native speaker data were
collected. They were subjected to the Comparative Model analysis.
Quite intriguing results showing significant level of resemblance,
both in form and meaning, and implications emerged.

The thrust of this study was experiential observation of pre-service EFL student teachers’
inability to reflect in/on their practices at Haramaya University practicum context. The overall
aim of the study was to, firstly, critically analyze the problem in its context with the intention to
understand the facts of the situation of the problem and, secondly, make an inquiry into ways for
maximizing the student teachers’ ability to reflect in their context.
A qualitative paradigm and practitioner inquiry design were adopted. Grounded Theory Method
of data analysis was employed to systematically thematize, categorize and discover patterns and
processes in the data. Ten student teachers, as respondents and practitioners, as well as four of
their teacher educators, as informants, were selected by means of purposeful sampling, to take
part in the study. Participant observation methods that involve unobtrusive observation, complete
classroom observation, unstructured interview, reflective journaling and discussions and
practicum document gathering were used to collect qualitative data.
The findings of the Contextual Analysis showed that the core factor for the EFL student
teachers’ inability to reflect is mainly their lack of effective reflection tools for reflectionfor/
on/about-actions and lack of effective time for reflection-in-action. The data suggests that,
consequently, the central strategy of reflective practice they adopted was overdependence on and
replication of the existing school syllabi without critical reflection. Based on these Contextual
Analysis findings an Inquiry was next conducted, whereby participant student teachers were
engaged on reflective journaling for two semesters. The findings of the Inquiry showed
significant levels of improvement in their ability to reflect for/in/on action. For instance, the data
analysis showed that they steadily began to reduce non-reflective behaviors such as overadvocating
own actions, protectionism of self and peers, and exchange of distorted information,
each of which initially blocked reflectivity. Gradually, they began to take such reflective actions
as reflective observation of pupils’ behaviors, reflective planning of lessons and actions,
reflective classroom acts such as appreciative judgments of pupils’ behavior, revision of some
taken for granted assumptions, promotion of sharing of information in classrooms and effective
time management. Although some non-reflectivity behaviors such as context dilemma continued
to persist due to influence of macro factors, all the domains of EFL reflective skills—language
(English), teaching and inquiry—significantly improved.

This study was prompted by experiential confrontation with prospective teachers’ opting for fending off
effective reflection and harboring of silence, each of which debilitated developing adequate skills of
planning appropriate lessons and presenting them meaningfully. Choosing a practitioner inquiry design
formulated based upon works of Schön (1983, 1987) and Brookfield (1986, 1995), this study inquired
into ways for effective reflection within the existing condition. Ten pre-service EFL student teachers
were selected purposefully to take part in the study. Reflective journaling was employed both as a
research method and strategy of reflection. The finding indicates that Schön’s theory of trainer-trainee
collaborative reflection upon problematic materials of their situations is not only a robust explanatory
theory but also practical and useful strategy of EFL reflective practicum.

Hittite, in particular, and Anatolian, in general, encompasses both new insights and obscurantism.  Some point to African (‘Egyptian’) origin, others to Balkan and still some point, putatively and specifically, to Oromo-Cush origin. The general aim of this paper is to comparatively analyze Hittite and Oromo phonological, lexical and grammatical items. Hittite and Oromo, as well as, for historical and areal reasons, some Egyptian and (Proto-)Indo-European ((P-)IE), corpora are collected and comparatively analyzed. The results show significant level of phonological, lexical and grammatical resemblances. A large number of these are shared not only between and among the latter two but also Egyptian lexemes and (P-)IE roots and aspirates and pharyngeal reconstructions. The paper presents, in Section 1, the debates about the Ancient African and Anatolian relations will be briefly highlighted, justifying the causes of this study. In Section 2, comparative analysis and discussion of the data will be presented. In the final section, Section 3, conclusion and implications are drawn.

When Africologists talk of Stolen Legacy of Ancient Black African Philosophy and wisdom literature into/by Classical Greco-Romans or the Western, they blame first Homer and his “Iliad” and “Odysseys”.  Homer (700 BC) was, perhaps, the first-born or “ancient” of Greek Philosophy, a “classical”/“ancient” philosophy ONLY known as “known” but “lost” with all its cradlelands; almost all of the around 25 so-called “ancient” Greek cities associated with Homer are acknowledged as “lost” but SOME take a tea break if you ask them whether the language and the philosophies were also ‘lost’. Homer knows and mentions “Ethiopians” in his works. Here I discuss, only few points from Homer’s Iliad with comparative perspectives with the antique Oromo wisdom literature and Qaallu-Gada System. Significant level of similarities emerged from the analysis, none of which chance or universality cannot justify. Only cultural-historical origin from Oromo-Cush can explain it. The similarities might also be due to colonial era stolen legacy (by distortion in calque-parasitic tactic) or pre-colonial era world dominance of Black Africans.

The aim of this paper is to make a critical comparative analysis of Homer’s Goddesses as portrayed in The Iliad and Oromo Adheetee—the antique feminine fertility worldview of the biggest African Cushitic stalk. When Africologists talk of Stolen Legacy of Ancient Black African Philosophy and wisdom literature into/by Classical Greco-Romans or the Western, they blame first Homer and his “Iliad” and “Odysseys”.  Homeric “Ancient” Greek Epic Poems remain interesting not least that they are important given the ‘fact’ that Homer is, perhaps, the most influential of Classical Greek philosophers, and the founding father. Homer captures the interests of millions of scholars and literature students around the world for literary textual analysis. Themes in Oromo fertility symbolisms, marriage customs, songs of the New Born Ritual, etc. are found in Home’s Epic poems/songs.