What the study found
The study finds that jila gadamojji, the Boran Oromo final rite of passage, has persisted from about 1930 to 2020 despite predictions that it would disappear. The authors describe it as an enduring part of Boran ritual life and a key marker for understanding time and history.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the study shows how different age- and time-reckoning systems, together with oral history, help shape social identity and relations with state institutions and representatives. The findings indicate that jila gadamojji remains important in the Boran ritual landscape and in how people understand the state and political time.
What the researchers tested
The article uses field research and archival research to examine jila gadamojji in Kenya over roughly 1930 to 2020. It also draws on oral narratives, life-history interviews, and group discussions to trace how events are remembered through gada cycles, political rituals, and state timeframes such as elections and parliamentary terms.
What worked and what didn't
The study reports that jila gadamojji persists and serves as a central temporal marker in contemporary oral narratives. It also finds that informants combine gada cycles with elections and parliamentary terms into overlapping chronologies, and that decentralisation since 2013 and the ritual site’s designation as a national monument in 2018 have further aligned these time frameworks across scales.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not give detailed limitations or discuss how representative the interviewed accounts are beyond noting fragmented but interconnected historical knowledge. The study is focused on Boran Oromo jila gadamojji in Kenya and should not be assumed to apply beyond that setting.
Key points
- jila gadamojji, the Boran Oromo final rite of passage, persisted from about 1930 to 2020.
- The study says the rite remains a key marker for organizing historical events through gada cycles.
- Informants also linked Boran ritual time with elections and parliamentary terms.
- The authors connect these overlapping chronologies to social identity and relations with the state.
- Decentralisation in Kenya since 2013 and monument designation in 2018 are described as further aligning time frameworks.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Boran Oromo jila gadamojji endures through changing time systems in Kenya
- Authors:
- Hassan Hussein Kochore
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-03
- OpenAlex record:
- View
Get the weekly research newsletter
Stay current with scholarly research without reading academic papers — one filtered digest, every Friday.