Old ruins on Bajuni Islands

[Three Moons]

The cadow researchers of-course like clockwork attributed these ruins to a lost white race or the next best cope; they wuzz Arabs;

Local residents of the Bajuni Islands;

Girl with a face-mask;

Grandpas playing the ancient game of Mancala;

 

[Three Moons]

Apparently the pillar tomb culture of the South was similar to the pillar tomb culture of the North, and most likely a pre-Islamic Cushitic tradition.

 

[Xeda]

are they still in intact?

 

[Three Moons]

are they still in intact?

Yes, though I’m more concerned with the welfare of the locals. They need schools, a decent hospital and other amenities through governmental assistance and investment. These Islands could be Somalia’s Mauritius, Maldives or Seychelles.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

Apparently the pillar tomb culture of the South was similar to the pillar tomb culture of the North, and most likely a pre-Islamic Cushitic tradition.

Just say it as it is, it’s a *Somali not a Cushitic tradition. You don’t see this amongst the Afars or Oromos.

 

[Three Moons]

Just say it as it is, it’s a *Somali not a Cushitic tradition. You don’t see this amongst the Afars or Oromos.

Neither is inaccurate, but I know you are offended by the term ‘Cushitic’ from the thread you posted a while back , but until Somali researchers are brave enough to coin a term like ‘Somalic’, a term like Cushitic is more inclusive of the wider Somali language family / historical groups as a whole. I refuse to use the term Somaloid, which sounds like a slur similar to ‘Mongoloid’.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

I refuse to use the term Somaloid, which sounds like a slur similar to ‘Mongoloid’.

Kkkkk that’s fair, though Somalic sounds nice

 

[Midas]

Wow those look really well built. wonder how many ruins like this there are throughout somalia. Either unknown by non locals or buried underground. Makes the chinese chronicle that says hamar had multiple story buildings sound a lot more believable.

 

[Midas]

But why does it feel like every old building in somalia went to shit in the last hundred years? Presumably those buildings were already centuries old.

 

[Yahya]

Wow those look really well built. wonder how many ruins like this there are throughout somalia. Either unknown by non locals or buried underground. Makes the chinese chronicle that says hamar had multiple story buildings sound a lot more believable.

Who knows. We really must fund archaeology in our country to find what is hidden beneath the ground.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

But why does it feel like every old building in somalia went to shit in the last hundred years? Presumably those buildings were already centuries old.

A cultural revival is needed across all of Greater Somalia. In terms of architecture, all coastal cities from Djibouti down to Xamar need to adopt the old coastal style with modernized features while also getting UNESCO status for old quarters/districts like in Xamar or Saylac. I’m glad that some diaspora see this and are already putting this into action bit by bit.

Architect Searches for Lost Identity in a City Ravaged by War

Omar Degan wants to transform the way the Somali capital of Mogadishu rebuilds by tapping into the country’s cultural heritage.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Three Moons]

But why does it feel like every old building in somalia went to shit in the last hundred years? Presumably those buildings were already centuries old.

Many of them went derelict or crumbled in the last 30 years. Prior to that there were restorations and maintenance projects happening at Zeila, Taleh, Mogadishu, Barawa, Merca, etc.

 

[Midas]

It's weird how we had so many towns both ones that people still live in and abandoned ones. But we somehow weren't able to persevere our own script and develop a Continous writing tradition. I mean look at the the ethiopians these guys didn't have urban centers and still produced tens of thousands of manuscripts.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

It's weird how we had so many towns both ones that people still live in and abandoned ones. But we somehow weren't able to persevere our own script and develop a Continous writing tradition. I mean look at the the ethiopians these guys didn't have urban centers and still produced tens of thousands of manuscripts.

You can look at one of my old posts for my explanation on that

Somaliweyn as a whole were historically not an oral society any more than most societies were. The ottomans literacy was only 5%, in India and Middle East were the same too. In most of Europe the literacy rates were abysmal and only exploded after the Industrial Revolution. Tbh the places that had any significant literary tradition in Somaliweyn would be the coastal towns and cities, sedentary farming/settled regions like Hararghe, the south, and old islamic areas in the North.

Many foreign scholars like Lewis couldn't get their hands on Somali manuscripts kept in private libraries (because they didn't trust him most likely) in the 1900s so he quit and parroted the whole “oral society” bullshit and everyone else has been singing it since.

Truth is, every major clan and sub clan, each major city and town had learned men that kept a record of lineages, the important saints, trade agreements, poetry, treaties and historic events. Cassanelli for example during his research on the medieval South was well aware that the various old towns and cities he visited had sheikhs and learned men who had manuscripts in their possession detailing their history but he failed to access them because of a lack of trust with them.
Once Somalia is at peace and research is done in the country, it’ll be possible to undo these old academic stereotypes and gross generalisations placed on the people and country.

 

[Midas]

You can look at one of my old posts for my explanation on that

So what your saying is our situation is more like that of how nobody knew about the timbuktu mansucripts up until a couple of decades ago because it wasn't obvious and somalis in general but especially learned somalis where very secretive and didn't trust foreigners. How many do you think survived the Civil War?

 

[Midas]

Wallah It still bugs me when I read about research or watch lectures on east africa or the horn of africa or the Indian ocean world. And somalis are nowhere to be found or are just mentioned in a line or two . when historically we were incredibly large part of this trade and had massive ramifications on the poltics of these regions. whether your talking about the interior or the coast.

 

[Burqad]

Neither is inaccurate, but I know you are offended by the term ‘Cushitic’ from the thread you posted a while back , but until Somali researchers are brave enough to coin a term like ‘Somalic’, a term like Cushitic is more inclusive of the wider Somali language family / historical groups as a whole. I refuse to use the term Somaloid, which sounds like a slur similar to ‘Mongoloid’.

That’s correct. There were somalic peoples who are now extinct like Madinle,Mahaaw etc.

Somalis proper don’t enter the south until 1400’s.

 

[Yami]

Civilized Bajuuni mashallah

 

[Aseer]

The cadow researchers of-course like clockwork attributed these ruins to a lost white race or the next best cope; they wuzz Arabs;

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Local residents of the Bajuni Islands;

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Girl with a face-mask;

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Grandpas playing the ancient game of Mancala;

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The 3rd architectural photo looks like a big structure, it looks like a amphitheatre.

 

[Three Moons]

The 3rd architectural photo looks like a big structure, it looks like a amphitheatre.

It does, but adjust your perspective and scale, because its more likely a room inside the ruins to store candles, celadon wares for incense and other items, since this could be a pre-Islamic religious site.