Abstract:
This thesis deals with the Process of State Formation in Wallaggaa: the Case of Leqa Neqamtee (ca.1800-1900). The Oromo of Leqa-Neqamtee had a democratic political institution known as the gadaa system until the recent past. Eventually, in the first half of 19th century they had formed monarchic institution in which power is monopolized in the hands of a few individuals who officially denied the survival of such an indigenous egalitarian political institution. However, the process of such political transformation from gadaa to state and the history of this state have not been compressively researched in case of the Oromo of Leqa-Neqamtee. Thus, this thesis tries to probe the process of political change among the Oromo of Leqa Neqamtee from gadaa to state and it tries to show a history of that state from its inception to its eventual incorporation into modern Ethiopian Empire with the objective of filling the scanty research left up on this research area. In order to construct this thesis both primary and secondary sources has been collected, analyzed, interpreted and integrated into the thesis as input information. During I conducting this thesis I faced with some challenges. Among these challenges; the shortage of finance and unwillingness of some individuals to be interviewed and the lack of sufficient written primary source on the study area are the major one. However, I constructed this thesis by systematically cross-checking the existing literature with oral traditions. Therefore, based on my sources I tried to construct a history of the process of state formation in Wallaggaa: the Case of Leqa-Neqamtee from 1800-1900.
