SUMMARY
The Arbore and Borana ethnic groups inhabit neighbouring areas in southern Ethiopia, near the border with Kenya. Soma Borana are also found across the border in northern Kenya. Albeit neighbours, the two groups belong to different regional states, with the Arbore living in the eastern-most part of SNNP (Southern Nationalities Nations and Peoples) region’s South Omo zone and the Ethiopian Borana residing in the Oromiya region’s Borana zone.
The Arbore and the Borana have a long history of friendly relations – described by some as ‘symbiotic’ – based on a belief of a shared ancestry and close cooperation. The fact that both groups claim a common origin meant that there was also closeness in matters of ceremonial importance. For instance, the Borana always took part in the initiation ceremony for new ritual leaders among the Arbore, bringing with them a bull for slaughter. Apart from the ritual and cultural exchanges, the two groups also complemented each other in terms of livelihoods. The Arbore and the Borana engaged in extensive trade, with the Arbore providing the Borana with sorghum, sheep and goats and the Borana in turn supplying the Arbore with salt, tobacco and cattle. In addition, the Borana were allowed to graze their cattle in Arboreland, while some Arbore spent the whole of the rainy season in Borana territory.
Despite this history of good relations, the past century has also seen incidents of armed conflict between the two groups. According to Arbore elders their relationship with the Borana for the first time became strained some 200 years ago, and since then, there has been both cooperation and conflict between the groups. The first strain was traced back to a time of relative plenty in Arboreland, with an abundance of pasture and water. These favourable conditions attracted both the Borana and another of the Arbores’ neighbouring groups - the Hamar – to temporarily migrate to the area. While the Arbore had friendly relations with both groups, the two were bitter enemies. When they were all congregated in Arboreland, the Borana took the chance to attack the Hamar, something that caused much upset among the Arbore. They subsequently warned the Borana to stop the bloodshed, but the latter refused. This led the Arbore to take action, killing the next Borana who killed a Hamar. According to Arbore elders, the Arbore and the Boranaa have been suspicious of each other ever since.
The relationship became further strained during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, in 1936–1941, when the Borana allied themselves with the European occupiers, and took the chance to raid the Arbore. This was avenged by the Arbore when the Italian occupation was over, as the group killed a number of Borana. After this spate of fighting, the groups made peace and the next four decades were characterised by improved inter-tribal relations, without any form of provocation or hostilities taking place.
After this peaceful period, the Arbore – Borana relationship deteriorated again, however. The year 1991 saw the outbreak of raids and counter-raids between numerous groups in the region, among them between the Arbore and Borana. Late in the year, the Hamar, together with a small number of Arbore, entered Borana territory and carried out a cattle raid, after which they drove away the stolen herd through Arbore territory into Hamar land. The Borana, assuming that the Arbore were responsible, organised a raiding party in order to retaliate and a large-scale clash was fought.
After this incident of fighting, moves were made by elders to re-establish peace in the area. In January 1993 a meeting was held between the Arbore and the Borana, where details in an envisioned peace accord were discussed. The meeting went so well that it was decided that all livestock was allowed free access to the extensive grazing areas between the two groups’ territories, which had become an unused no-mans-land after the 1991-92 fighting. It was also decided that in order to secure peace throughout the region, all affected parties needed to be included, since the Borana were in conflict not only with the Arbore at the time. Subsequently, at a March 1993 peace ceremony, the Arbore and the Borana, as well as 14 other groups (e.g. the Dassanetch, the Konso and the Hamar) agreed on a peace agreement, under which two fundamental principles were stressed: 1) the Borana’s traditional right over its land (with traditional right understood as right of use and not absolute ownership), and 2) the inalienable right of survival for all the Borana’s rival groups and their animals. The conference agreed that all non-Borana groups and a limited number of their cattle should be allowed to access Borana territory after harvest time and to stay there for a limited period, depending on the rain situation.
The non-state conflict between the Arbore and the Borana is first included in UCDP data in 1992. In June of that year, a clash between the two groups resulted in more than 300 deaths.
