The story
Gada System Assembly Festival in Borana/Oromia
Every eight years, Borana Oromo elders hold a Baallii ceremony transferring leadership power under the Gadaa system, an indigenous democratic governance tradition UNESCO recognised as intangible cultural heritage in 2016. The related Gumi Gaayo general assembly gathers leaders to review customary law, and a festival built around these events showcases a living, functioning governance system rather than a historical reenactment.
Every eight years, the Borana Oromo of southern Ethiopia's Oromia region hold a Baallii ceremony transferring power between Gadaa leadership generations under the Gadaa system, an indigenous form of democratic governance that has regulated Oromo political, economic, social and religious life for centuries and which UNESCO inscribed as intangible cultural heritage in 2016.