03/08/2025
Professor Mahdi Hamid Mude: Torchbearer of Oromo Language, Thought, and Resistance
By Oromia – My Country
In the chronicles of the Oromo Nation’s long and often painful journey toward cultural revival and linguistic sovereignty, some names shine like guiding stars—and among them, one of the brightest is Professor Mahdi Hamid Mude.
As a teacher, writer, editor, and linguistic pioneer, Professor Mahdi Hamid Mude stood at the intersection of education and activism. Through words and wisdom, he helped build the foundations of modern Oromo intellectualism—at a time when the Oromo voice was systematically silenced.
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A Voice in the Darkness: Founding of Barissa Newspaper
In the 1960s, when the very use of Afaan Oromo in print was considered a political act of defiance, Professor Mahdi dared to imagine and create the unimaginable—a newspaper in the language of his people. That vision birthed the Barissa Newspaper, the first and only privately published newspaper in Afaan Oromo during the reign of the Haile Selassie monarchy and the Derg regime.
As founder and editor-in-chief, Professor Mahdi used Barissa not only to inform, but to inspire. He published news, poetry, letters, and cultural commentary that resonated across Oromo communities—urban and rural alike. Barissa became more than a newspaper; it was a symbol of resistance, identity, and linguistic pride.
In an era when the Oromo language was banned from education, courts, and mass media, Barissa became a lifeline—proof that the Oromo language was alive, growing, and powerful.
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Scholar and Educator: A Master of Numbers and Letters
Though best known for his literary and journalistic work, Professor Mahdi was first and foremost a teacher. Trained in mathematics and physics, he taught with clarity and passion, believing that education was the most powerful tool for Oromo liberation.
He understood that the fight for Oromo rights was not just political—it was also linguistic and intellectual. Language, for him, was the vessel through which identity, dignity, and thought flowed. And so, while teaching equations and scientific laws, he also authored Afaan Oromo dictionaries, helping formalize and preserve the vocabulary of a people long denied access to their own alphabet in formal schooling.
His contributions to education extended beyond the classroom. He was a mentor to young Oromo writers, a supporter of student movements, and an advocate for Oromo literacy programs during times of national repression.
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Poet of the Nation: “Barisa Poems” and “Barisaa Letters”
Professor Mahdi’s literary legacy is preserved in works such as:
“Barisa Poems” – A poetic reflection of Oromo struggle, joy, and cultural wisdom. His verses are lyrical yet grounded, historical yet timeless.
“Barisaa Letters” – A collection of letters, essays, and reflections that offer a unique insight into the Oromo worldview and lived experiences under regimes of oppression.
These works were not only artistic contributions—they were acts of reclamation. He wrote with the elegance of a poet and the precision of a physicist, refusing to let the Oromo story be erased or told by others.
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A Dictionary in a Time of Silence
Perhaps one of his most enduring legacies is his work on Afaan Oromo dictionaries. Long before state institutions gave recognition to the Oromo language, Professor Mahdi took it upon himself to record, standardize, and explain the lexicon of his mother tongue. This task was monumental—not only in technical labor but in political symbolism.
In building dictionaries, he built a nation’s memory.
In preserving vocabulary, he preserved a people’s soul.
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Legacy and Reverence
Professor Mahdi Hamid Mude passed on not just words, but a torch—lit in the darkness, now carried by millions of Oromo students, writers, journalists, and cultural workers.
Today, as Afaan Oromo is spoken on university podiums, published in literature, broadcasted on radio, and sung on global stages, we remember that such a moment was once a dream, dared into being by men like him.
> He wrote when it was forbidden.
He taught when others were silenced.
He preserved when others tried to erase.
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Oromo Saying for Him:
> “Nama dubbii barreesse, lafa du’aa jira.”
“He who wrote truth lives even in death.”
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Conclusion: A Nation’s Gratitude
The Oromo Nation owes a debt of gratitude to Professor Mahdi Hamid Mude—
For his pen, his courage, and his unwavering love for Oromummaa.
May his legacy echo in every classroom, in every line of Afaan Oromo script,
In every young journalist who dares to write,
In every teacher who dares to teach,
And in every soul who dares to speak the truth.
Galatoomi, Professor Mahdi.
Oromia remembers. Oromia honors. Oromia continues.
Oromia-My Country
