Barento (Oromo language: Bareentoo) is one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo people, a Cushitic peoples ethnic group.[Asafa Jalata (2010), Oromo Peoplehood: Historical and Cultural Overview, Sociology, University of Tennessee Press, pages 5, 11-12]
Demography
Barento are one of the two main moiety of the
Oromo people in the
Oromia Region of
Ethiopia. Between the fifth and eighth 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.]
Religion
The Barento Oromo people in Arsi, Bale and Hararghe regions abandoned their traditional religions in the 9th century, when they were converted to Islam.
Some Barento Oromo away from Somalia border, in the Arsi Zone and the Bale Zone follow Orthodox Christianity.
Subgroups
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 people, Somali people etc.
