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Oromo being the most numerous among cushitic groups and in Ethiopia as whole, Somali, Sidama and Afar are other members of the cushtic group. Majority of them practice agriculture, but we have cattle breeders and pastorialists too.

Traditional dance: Oromo

Ethiopian Sumali

A muslim man

Colourfully dressed girls

Traditional dance

Of the Cushitic groups, the Oromo are by far the most numerous. They also constitute the majority of the country's population, albeit with a little edge over the Amhara, who come in second in population size. Once pastoralists, a majority of them are now sedentary, practicing agriculture, while those inhabiting the more arid areas of the country are in the main cattle breeders. The Oromos inhabiting the central parts of the country have adopted Christianity, while those living in the peripheries toward the south, west, and east have embraced Islam.

Though different Oromo "monarchies" had emerged in the nineteenth century (perhaps even earlier), Oromo society was, and still is, traditionally based on the gada (or age-group) system, in which a man's life is divided into age-sets of eight groups.

The Somali, another Cushitic group, are predominantly pastoralists or semi-pastoralists, breeding camels, cattle, and goats. Their social organization is based on a clan system, to which they are primarily loyal. As with other pastoralist groups, conflicts over watering holes and grazing rights are frequent, but they also have their own indigenous ways of settling conflicts, which are mediated by councils of elders.

The Sidama (further divided into the Alaba, Derasa, Hadiya, Kambata and the Sidama proper) also are mainly agriculturalists. Like their northern Semitic counterparts they cultivate different crops, in addition to coffee and tobacco. They also grow enset, which, in some areas, constitutes their staple food. The Sidama have traditional local rulers, whose position is strengthened by an age-group social structure similar to the gada of the Oromos.

The Afar, inhabiting perhaps one of the most inhospitable desert or semi-desert areas in Africa (perhaps even in the world), are found in the northeastern parts of Ethiopia, as well as in Eritrea and Djibouti. The majority are semi-pastoralists, while a few of them have settled, mainly in Aussa, specifically around Dubti and Assayita. Almost all of them Muslims, they are organized into confederacies, tribes, and clans. Like the Somali, their wealth consists of camels, cattle, and goats.