New wiki page Cushitic peoples

[Cam]

Good job!

 

[James Dahl]

Waaq is called by a different name among highland Cushitic people but it's the same god

Sidama and Kambaata people say Magaano instead of Waaq or Waaqa. Gedeo say Waaqa though. Even though Gedeo speak a language close to Sidama they are closely related to Guji people and are part of the larger "original Oromo" tribal family.

Also an important system in traditional Cushitic societies is age sets or Gadaa. This is no longer practiced in Somali society but is the basis of social organization along with the Waaqafeena religion in traditional pre-Islamic Cushitic society.

In the 15th century there was also a syncretic blend of Islam and Waaqafeena that was developed by the kingdom of Hadiya called Fandaano, though it is almost extinct today.

 

[James Dahl]

Gadaa/Luwa systems: (Sidama call their age sets Luwa)

Afar: Worshipped Wakh, there is still a trace of an age set system in some clans
Rendille: Worship Waaq, 6 gadaa cohorts are 14 years apart
Gabbra: Worship Waaqa: 6 gadaa cohorts are 9 years apart
Oromo: Worship Waaqa, 5 gadaa cohorts are 8 years apart
Gedeo: Worship Waaqa, 7 gadaa cohorts are 10 years apart
Sidama: Worship Magaano, 5 luwa cohorts are 8 years apart
Agaw (Qemant): Worship Mezgana, can't find info on age sets
Dasanach: Worship Waag, have age sets but can't find exact info on how many or year spacing

 

[James Dahl]

The highland and lowland Cushitic people were in ancient times probably the exact opposite of today, with there being more Highland Cushites and fewer Lowland Cushites. The Habesh expansion and conquest of the northern, central and even southern highlands over the centuries has made highland Cushitic language and customs a marginal force. The early Aksumite conquerors listed a dozen different tribes as they marched south, each was probably a unique Cushitic tribe now entirely lost to history, absorbed into Tigray or Amhara a millenia ago. Now only the Agaw and Sidama remain.

The highland and lowland split probably happened long ago, as the religious and social vocabulary there is a clear split with a common highland lexicon and a common lowland lexicon. The cultural division of highland and lowland is clear with what I am dubbing the "Waaq/Magaano line" between the highland common lexicon for religious and social ideas and the lowland equivalent.