Bakhar or mahkar: It appears that a system of underground structures that were designed to preserve the freshness of harvested grains existed both in Somalia and ancient Egypt. The possible similarity of bakhar in Somalia and mkhr in Egypt is supported by the similarity of this reservation technique. So, the technique and the terms may carry similar economic information. The technique regards the augmentation of grain consumption. The grains are stored in underground construction or in another storing device for two main purposes: saving a portion of the harvest for long-term consumption in case the agricultural production fails; preserving the freshness of the grain by keeping them within their ears. In Egypt, the practice was mentioned in a story that relates to the experience of Joseph, son of Jacob, in Egypt about 3800 years ago. In that Qur’anic story, we are told that the Egyptians were storing some of their harvests within their ears for long-term consumption.7 The existence of the practice is affirmed by archeology. It shows that even the pre-dynastic Egyptians were storing the surplus of their harvests in large clay bins [39]. So at the time of Joseph, the Egyptians probably developed an underground or overground food storing system named makhar. Similarly, the Somalis adopted an ancient system of underground grain storehouse for similar aims. The farmers dig a 3 to 5-meter hole, quadratic or semi-quadratic, to reserve some of the newly harvested grains, and probably the incense, within their ears and a convenient bag for long-term consumption. The system is called Bakhar, or Bakar, Bakhar > Bakar. The similarities in the name, the purpose, and the technique in the two countries may represent self-explaining evidence for the same root as we also noted here other economic terms that the Cushitic, particularly the Somali, share with the Egyptians (Figure 4).Eritrea kicked out NGOs. That is the trick. Before the 90s, nomads actually used to farm especially in Jubaland and NFD. They would farm maize and sorghum seasonally and store them underground in sacks called 'bakaaro', hence suuqa bakaaraha in Xamar. During the drought when there is no milk, they would dig up the sacks and eat the stored grains till the rains arrived. This practice continued until the NGOs arrived and started giving people free food.
That’s exactly how they would do it. It would be stored in the earsBakhar or mahkar: It appears that a system of underground structures that were designed to preserve the freshness of harvested grains existed both in Somalia and ancient Egypt. The possible similarity of bakhar in Somalia and mkhr in Egypt is supported by the similarity of this reservation technique. So, the technique and the terms may carry similar economic information. The technique regards the augmentation of grain consumption. The grains are stored in underground construction or in another storing device for two main purposes: saving a portion of the harvest for long-term consumption in case the agricultural production fails; preserving the freshness of the grain by keeping them within their ears. In Egypt, the practice was mentioned in a story that relates to the experience of Joseph, son of Jacob, in Egypt about 3800 years ago. In that Qur’anic story, we are told that the Egyptians were storing some of their harvests within their ears for long-term consumption.7 The existence of the practice is affirmed by archeology. It shows that even the pre-dynastic Egyptians were storing the surplus of their harvests in large clay bins [39]. So at the time of Joseph, the Egyptians probably developed an underground or overground food storing system named makhar. Similarly, the Somalis adopted an ancient system of underground grain storehouse for similar aims. The farmers dig a 3 to 5-meter hole, quadratic or semi-quadratic, to reserve some of the newly harvested grains, and probably the incense, within their ears and a convenient bag for long-term consumption. The system is called Bakhar, or Bakar, Bakhar > Bakar. The similarities in the name, the purpose, and the technique in the two countries may represent self-explaining evidence for the same root as we also noted here other economic terms that the Cushitic, particularly the Somali, share with the Egyptians (Figure 4).