Discussion: Did Somali/Oromo identity did not exist prior to 1500s?

[NidarNidar]

You are conflating a single y-dna lineage with language.

Proto-Lowland East Cushitic likely began diverging into separate languages around 3,000–4,000 years ago (roughly 1000–2000 BCE), driven in part by the geographic separation of populations that later developed into proto-Oromo (inland highlands and lowlands) and proto-Somali (Horn coastal and semi-arid regions.

It happens to fit neatly between E-Y17859 and E-BY68781. With further testing, this could change, but it does not alter the fact that the divergence occurred a long time ago.

 

[The Oponian Guild]

Somali identity existed, but not all modern day Somali identifying people could be defined as stemming from those people.

 

[Garaad Awal]

Proto-Lowland East Cushitic likely began diverging into separate languages around 3,000–4,000 years ago (roughly 1000–2000 BCE), driven in part by the geographic separation of populations that later developed into proto-Oromo (inland highlands and lowlands) and proto-Somali (Horn coastal and semi-arid regions.

It happens to fit neatly between E-Y17859 and E-BY68781. With further testing, this could change, but it does not alter the fact that the divergence occurred a long time ago.

Oromo and Somali share a much closer relationship within the Lowland East Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family.

However, comparing founder effect lineages is not a useful approach, as it risks giving a misleading impression of the pop history of these two groups and may skew interpretations. Among us Af-Maxaa speakers in particular, who are often over-represented, much of our original paternal diversity has been lost. This is why it is important to cross reference with other lineages that are shared between Somalis and Oromos such as Cushitic Haplogroup A or other E-M35 Cushitic lineages rather than focusing solely on a dominant founder line.

For example, within E-BY68781, there are highly diverged Somali lineages from both Sool and Banadir. These lineages are just as authentically Somaloid/Omo-Tana as the current founder-effect lineage that dominates both Somali and Af-Maay speakers. Furthermore, we also have evidence of an Oromo E-Y638760 sample under E-Y17859, which appears to have diverged from the lineages of modern Somaloids (both Af-Maxaa and Af-Maay speakers).