A worthy research of the late Prof. Ghaandi.
This was an interesting discovery. The name Somali being corrupted form of an Arabic word 'Ψ°Ω Ψ§ΩΩ
Ψ§Ω (affluent), which became => Zul Maal, and deformed as => Somal'. It is full of gems, and I shall try to summarise it if time permits.
Part I:
Part II:
References:
- 1493 B.C: A journey commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, 18th Kingdom of Egypt.
- 15th century: Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a manuscript of unknown author, a seafarer / explorer of Alexandria, Egypt, resource found at the library of the University of Heidelberg. Another copy is available at the British museum. It comprises 7,500 words and details his journey through the Somali coast, trade (import and export), peoples at coastal towns etc.
Notable writings of relevance came 8 centuries later with Arabian seafarers and explorers in Africa. Notable figures included:
By centuries:
- 9th: Abu Zayd Hasan
- 9th & 10th: Ibn Khurdat Beh
- 10th: Istakhri
- 10th: Ibn Awqal
- 10th: Mas'udi
- 10th: Muqadasi
- 11th: Al Bayruni
- 10 & 11th : Al Qassimi al Fardousi
- 12th: Idrisi
- 12th & 13th: Yaqut al Hamawi
- 13th: Gazwayni
- 13th: Ibnu Sa'id
- 14th: Abu Fida
- 14th & 15th: Dimishqi
- 14th: Ibn Wardi al Halabi
- 14th Ibnu Battuta
- 15th: Bakawi
In the
16th century, of importance is the book Futuh al Habasha by Shihab al Din Ahmed bin Abd al Qadir, aka Arab Faqih, Ahmed Ghurey era, in which he details Somali tribes engaged in wars against Christians.
In the
19th century, at the commencement of the Scramble of Africa, Europeans explorers reached the Horn. Notable figures (correct spelling of names to be confirmed) included:
- Richard Burton, UK
- Guyan, France
- Potico, Italy
- Roberto Priccati, Italy
- Venderkan, France
- Rewal, France
- Guttenberg, Germany
- Policci, Austria
- Paccuni, Italy
Research lifespan:
Research started 30 years ago, and this was the result of a long study.
It was presented:
- Firstly in 1988 in Paris at the Arab World Institute.
- In Mogadishu in Jun. 1989 at the 5th Somali research conference.
In the same year, it was presented at:
- The Centre for academia, culture, and heritage
- At the National university.
- At the national library.
- After that, the doctoral research continued over a 10 year span, and followed by more presentations i.e. in 1992 & 1993 in Paris, in 1993 in Ottawa, in Paris 1995, and in 2007 in London. This lecture was in 2014.
In the Somali context, more than
8,300 people of authority, tradition, and religious backgrounds had been consulted, and interviewed for the study.
Old names of the land:
- Punt (of people): Pharoahs considered land of the gods, land of forefathers, and of sacred connotation;
- Azania (origin: bahr al khazain): Coastal areas serving as storage and reserve location for seafarer and ships on the Red sea and Indian ocean.
- Bilad al Ajam: Land of the non-Arabs.
- Barbari: Possibly names after the city of Berbera and areas nearby.
- Zinji: Colour of the people.
Orgin of the name of Somali:
First noted in an Amharic song denoting defeated peoples in the 15th century ('ween 1414 - 1419), in which victories of the King at the time was being recounted.
In one theory:
Somali originating from ' Ψ°Ω Ψ§ΩΩ
Ψ§Ω - thu al maal', which become 'zumaal' as in Western Arabia, where letter 'Ψ° - th' is pronounced as 'z', and 'cos there is no 'z' in Somali, it became 'su al maal', which over time morphed into 'soo maali - soomaali'.
In another:
Sab & Samaale: a combination of the two (2) words forming the name Somali. In linguists, 'Sab | Sabo' is an inhabited land where people are not nomads, but sedentary, most likely farmers. For example, in the nomadic culture, 'sabool', a poor person is someone, who does remain in one place, does not have much wealth in terms of livestock, and does not move from one area to another like the typical nomads.
In another theory, 'So', which in Somali means 'meat', denotes 'So Maal' being 'one with wealth' tying it back to the 'soomaal' theory.
In another:
'Digil and Mirifle', with 'Digil', which has similar meaning as 'Sab', also meaning a source of steady water, a natural 'wadi' or lake, whereas 'Mirifle (mirifleh), origin - mirif' is the debris / litter / algae on top / sides of body of water. This denotes two types of people, with the 'Digil' being the already settled or native whereas 'Mirifle' are the new settlers.
Origin of the people:
Two schools of thought:
a) Immigrants, who migrated to the Horn.
i) This theory derives its esteem from their physicality besides hue tone, language etc.
- It argues people of the Horn are of Gagauz (Oghuz) extraction originally from the mountainous regions of Central Asia viz. Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan etc.
ii) 2nd theory is of the view that the Horn was inhabited by people of Bantu extraction. Then began migration from the Arabian peninsula by Arabian tribes, who settled to form Oromo peoples, and displaced Bantu peoples. Then came a new wave of migrants, who were of the Somali people, who in turn pushed Oromo farther inside into the lakes region.
b) Then, there is the theory of there being a Kushitic origin, which has its root in linguistics. it looks at: a) origin of words, and b) grammatical and syntactic structure of a sentence. It argues that Somali belongs to the Kushitic languages, of Afro-Asiatic origin.
Such languages are spoken by peoples from South-Eastern Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somali, and Kenya. Such people include Somali, Oromo, Beja, Saho, Rendiile, Booni etc.
It further argues Kushitic languages are older than 7,000 years, and their origin is Sudan whence it travelled through Ethiopia and Kenya to Somalia. It argues the homestead of the Somali language is where Booni people reside today in the border between Kenya and Somalia.
Origin of Kushitics:
Historically, in Sudan, where there was the Kingdom of Kush, which 8 centures B.C. toppled the Pharoah's Kingdom, is where Kush civilisation has its roots. Marwah (Meroe) was the capital of the Kingdom.
In the Biblical sense, Nouh had three sons: Sam, Ham, and Yafith (Other sources say he had 4 sons: Sam, Ham, Yam, and Japheth (Yafeth)). Ham had 4 sons: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Can'aan.
To be continued.
