Acculturation Preferences of the Ethiopian Majority, Vs Rastafarian Community in Shashemene, Oromia, Ethiopia

Gamachu Gishe Badasa, Mekonnen Sime Bedada
Page No. : 490-505

ABSTRACT

This paper aimed to address the acculturation preferences of Ethiopian majority and Rastafarian community living in Shashemene. The researchers were employed transformative mixed design with 349 participants of which 217 and 132 persons were selected from the majority and the Rastafarian groups respectively. For qualitative data, 30 key informants such as elders, legal consultants, and the community leaders were selected from two groups via purposive sampling technique. Relative acculturation extended model was adapted and used to measure acculturation choices of the participants. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion guides were also conducted with key informants. The present study was conducted in accordance with ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. The researchers performed data management and analysis using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 26. Furthermore, descriptive statistics such as percentages and graph were employed. Thematic analysis was used to explain the qualitative data. The finding revealed that 11.6 % of the majority group desired daily interactions with the minority. The study found that 54.7 % of participants from the majority were neither interested in learning about the culture of the minority nor willing to encourage participation. Most focus group informants noted that the interactions between the majority and the Rastafarians became rough since the 1950s. The results indicated that there have been recurrent encroachments by perpetrators. Over 26.8% of the Rastafarians tended to seek separation preference. However, there are Rastafarian people who, firmly claimed that they are descendants of Ethiopian, and have strong feeling of patriotism. It was reported that different levels of social workers and leaders have been discriminating against the minority; therefore, as with any residents of the town, they deserve fair services regardless of their backgrounds.


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