Shared Identity of Horses and Men in Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we draw attention to human-horse relations among the Oromo of West Shewa and the importance that men in particular ascribe to horses known as farrda mia. These horses are not a distinct breed; they attain their status through a process of selection based on attractiveness and mutual compatibility with their owners. Farrda mia are important in ceremonies, racing, and personal prestige to the degree that they constitute a cognitive affective unity with the men they allow on their backs. The relationships between Oromo men and their horses evoke novel conceptions of identity. Through reciprocal trust, exclusivity, naming, and performance, Oromo men and their horses constitute cognitive, affective centaurs that challenge conceptions of self- contained, self-embodied, human individuals.

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