Re-membering Dismemberment: Haunting Images of Amputation at Aanolee and Oromo Political Subjectivities in Ethiopia

Abstract

This ethnographic study examines how the late nineteenth century Aanolee massacre in Ethiopia is remembered by the Arsi Oromo in gestures of amputation and memorial monuments. Haunted by vivid images of the amputated body, descendants of those who experienced this collective historical trauma have recast the past with implications for Oromo subjectivities. During recent periods of political violence, the dismembered bodies of the past have become reference points for Arsi Oromo seeking to reconstitute their collective social body. They literally "re-member" their community by having larger families and meeting under Odaa trees that represent the traditional Oromo political system and social body. This research suggests that secondary hauntings constituted of memorializations of the violated body can remain so emotionally potent as to facilitate new political responses and imaginaries among peoples with historical trauma.