Barento

Barento (Oromo: Bareentoo) is one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people. They live in the West Hararghe Zone, East Hararghe Zone, Arsi zone, of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia while the other subgroup named Borana Oromo inhabiting Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Addis Ababa, West Shewa Zone, West Welega Zone and Borena Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Barento are one of the two main moiety of the Oromo people in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, the Borana Oromo and Barentu Oromo people had differentiated from the confederation. The Barento people thereafter expanded to the eastern regions now called Hararghe, Arsi, Wello, and northeastern Shawa. The Borana people, empowered by their Gadda political and military organization expanded in the other directions, regions now called western Shewa, Welega, Illubabor, Kaffa, Gamu Goffa, Sidamo and in the 16th-century into what is now northern Kenya regions. The Borana and Barento groups are sometimes referred to as two early era moieties of the Oromo people. The Barento Oromo people in Arsi, Bale and Hararghe regions abandoned their traditional religions and the Gadaa system of governance in the 19th century, when they were converted to Islam. In eastern regions close to Somalia, about 98.5% of the Barento people now follow Islam. Some people away from Somalia border, in the Arsi Zone and the Bale Zone follow the traditional Oromo religion which is called Aadha, whose god is Waaq. People who follow Waaqa are often from the Borana Oromo people. List of Oromo subgroups and clans According to Barento there are two groups of Barento clans, the authentic Oromo and assimilated foreigners. The clans labelled Humbana are originally Oromo whereas the Sarri Sidama are non Oromo in origin and consist of various assimilated group including Harari, Somali etc.