6.
1 indigenous and local governance
Indigenous system of governance have been used to maintain social order across Ethiopian
regions.
The Oromo geda
The Gaada of the Oromo is one of the well-studies indigenous systems of governance since
1950. Scholars studied the Oromo gaada include Baxter, haberland, and asmerom. The gadaa
system is ‘an age grading institution of the Oromo that has a complex system of
administration, law making and dispute settlement’. In the gadda system, political power is
transfer from one generation set luuba to another every 8 years. The Gaada system involves a
continuous process of law making and revision. And the law making has rooms for wider
participation of the people.
The Gedeo Baalle
The Gedeo of southern Ethiopia have an indigenous system of governance called Baalle. The
Baalle and the Gaada system of the Oromo have some similarities. Both have the same
periodic transfer of power. The customary law of gedeo is called seera.
Dere Woga of the Gamo
The gamo did not have centralized political system as the others. There peoples were
organized into several local administrations locally known as deres. The highest body of the
system assembly is called the dre dubusha, 2 nd sub-dere dubusha, 3rd guta/neighborhood
dubusha.
7.3. Indigenous knowledge and development
Indigenous knowledge passes from one generation to the next and enable indigenous people
to survive, manage their natural resources and the ecosystems surrounding them like animals,
plants, rivers, seas, natural environment etc. Knowledge of these elements form a set of
interacting units known as indigenous coping systems. Indigenous knowledge is relevant to
development process such as agriculture, animal husbandry, traditional medicine, saving and
credit, community development, poverty alleviation, and peaceful coexistence". The 1 st step
to mobilize capital in a country should depend on the local knowledge. So the key factor in
the development process is the in evolvement of those who possess indigenous knowledge.
7.4. Preservation, Challenges and Limitations of indigenous knowledge
Indigenous knowledge, which has generally been passed from generation to generation by
word of mouth, is in danger of being lost unless it is formally documented and preserved. The
loss of indigenous knowledge would impoverish society because, just as the world needs
genetic diversity of species, it needs diversity of knowledge systems. The rapid change in the
way of life of local communities has largely accounted for the loss of indigenous knowledge.
Younger generations underestimate the utility of indigenous knowledge systems because of
the influence of modem technology and education. Since indigenous knowledge is essential
to development, it must be gathered, organized and disseminated, just like western
knowledge.
Limitations of IK
There is historical and contemporary evidence that indigenous peoples have also committed
environmental sins' through over grazing, over-hunting, or over-cultivation of the land.
Practices based on, for example, mistaken beliefs, faulty experimentation, or inaccurate
information can be dangerous and may even be a barrier to improving the wellbeing of
indigenous people.
7.5. The Erosion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)
Recent and current rate of loss in indigenous knowledge is accelerating because of rapid
population growth, growth of international markets, educational systems, environmental
degradation, and development processes and projects, such as dams, rapid modernization and
cultural homogenization. The introduction of market-oriented agricultural and forestry
practices focused on monocropping is associated with losses in IK and IK practices, through
losses in biodiversity and cultural diversity. With the ready availability of many commercial
foods, some biodiversity seems to become less relevant, such as seed and crop varieties
selected over the years for their long-term storage attributes. In the short term, chemical
inputs seem to reduce the need to tailor varieties to difficult growing conditions, contributing
to the demise of local varieties. With deforestation, certain medicinal plants become more
difficult to find (and the knowledge or culture associated with the plants also declines). More
and more knowledge is being lost as a result of the disruption of traditional channels of oral
communication. Neither children nor adults spend as much time in their communities
anymore. As IK is transmitted orally, it is vulnerable to rapid change especially when people
are displaced or when young people acquire values and lifestyles different from those of their
ancestors. Also, in some countries, official propaganda depicts indigenous cultures and
methodologies as backward or out of date. Often, formal schooling reinforces this negative
attitude.