Veiled Children of Oromo – Assimilation of Some Oromo to Abyssinian Identity

This chapter explores the sociopolitical and psychological dynamics underpinning the assimilation of segments of the Oromo population into Abyssinian (Amhara-Tigrayan) identity constructs, with a focus on the late 19th and 20th centuries. It critically interrogates how systemic domination, missionary schooling, state-sponsored cultural erasure, and the hierarchical language of empire facilitated a process of identity "veiling" where Oromo individuals and groups were compelled or incentivised to renounce their indigenous heritage. Drawing on historical, linguistic, and ethnographic analysis, the chapter dissects mechanisms such as name changes, religious conversions, language shift, and ideological indoctrination that underpinned the Abyssinianization project. The author foregrounds the concept of "psychological dislocation" to describe the long-term effects of cultural alienation and historical misrepresentation, and highlights the loss of ancestral memory as a form of epistemic violence. This work challenges dominant narratives of national unity and calls for the recovery and rearticulation of Oromo identity within an emancipatory historiographical framework.