An Africological Analysis of the Oromoo Theology

Abstract

Oromoo theology is one of the endogenous African belief systems but has been less studied from philosophical and Afrocentric perspectives. Adopting Africology as a guiding metatheory, this study aimed at analyzing the Oromoo Theology in its historical-comparative context to explain the fundamental questions of the philosophy of religion. Data were collected from elderly experts of the theology, ritual speech acts, praise songs, and linguistic and symbolic expressions of the theology; and subjected to in-depth philosophical and comparative analyses. The results indicated that the Oromoo theology is deeply intertwined with Oromoo cosmology and mythology. This theology encompasses the doctrines of Natural theology, African ancestral spirituality and moral realism. The cultural-historical analysis further shows that Oromoo theology bears the ingredients of Ancient Nile Valley sacred epistemology. The analysis further indicates that this theology corresponds—not contradicts—with the contemporary realist philosophy particularly a realist eco-philosophy. As such, Oromoo theology spotlights new insights into the origin, meaning, and function of religion in human history. Beyond theology, Oromoo theological belief system offers wholistic perspective to our understanding of peace and environment during this time of global climatic and security crises. The findings further confirm the African origin of theology and the critical role of Africology metatheory in African and Oromoo historical-cultural studies.