Addooyyee: Girl’s Indigenous Friendship Institution in Oromoo, Ethiopia

Abstract

This thesis explores the role of the addooyyee institution in making friendship and sisterhood relation among girls. It aims at discussing the procedure by which addooyyee established between girls and used as girls’ friendship. During data collection, ethnographic methods such as observation, focus group discussions and semi-structured interview were employed. In data analysis, interpretive method was used to discuss the collected data. The analyzed data shows that, the addooyyee institution has vital role in making friendship and sisterhood relation among girls in their social, economic and cultural life. The institution strengthen the relation of girls during wedding ceremony, working hand crafts (hodhaa), and their journey to collect firewood and migira buqqisuu (uproot grass), decoration wisdoms and daboo dubartii (girls’ cooperative work). Girls run all the above systems through their addooyyee institution to help each other and to exercise their friendship and unity among the society as gender based traditional institution. The thesis concludes that the addooyyee institution enables girls to come together and help each other in their social, economic and cultural life. To windup, concerning bodies should have to use this readymade institution in helping girls to strength their relation in all aspects of social activities.