The Somali pre-islamic religion debate

[Arabsiyawi]

there are christian grave sites in somaliland

quoted the wrong post sry

 

[a y a n]

not really many people like the romans did convert to monetheistic relgion and they had a fucton of gods practiced in their lands it just took some time plus there quite many people whom studied in the middeleast so that did help spread the faith too

How long did it take for Islam to spread through Somalia? Not as long as it took the polytheistic Romans. Most sources say we were Monotheistic too

 

[Octavian]

How long did it take for Islam to spread through Somalia? Not as long as it took the polytheistic Romans. Most sources say we were Monotheistic too

it doesn't necessarily mean that we only prayed to one god it might just mean that waaq was perceived as being above other gods. When it comes to the spread of islam i would say that a mix of thing might have helped it spread to the extend that it did

 

[a y a n]

it doesn't necessarily mean that we only prayed to one god it might just mean that waaq was perceived as being above other gods. When it comes to the spread of islam i would say that a mix of thing might have helped it spread to the extend that it did

you came up with this on your own, no?

 

[Octavian]

you came up with this on your own, no?

yes

 

[Diaspora ambassador]

there are christian grave sites in somaliland

The horn used to be a trade hub for thousands of years. Unless there is data on the dna of the corpses we can not rule out that they where mere visitors like merchants.

 

[embarassing]

Check out Frumentius of Aksum bro. No missionaries from Rome came to convert Aksumites.

They were, they got their Christianity from the Byzantines who controlled Egypt. They have always come under and have been governed by the Egyptian church since who appoints their church leaders. It’s all from the Roman Empire.

 

[Arabsiyawi]

They were, they got their Christianity from the Byzantines who controlled Egypt. They have always come under and have been governed by the Egyptian church since who appoints their church leaders. It’s all from the Roman Empire.

Doesn't change the fact that the Origin of Christianism in Ethiopia and Eritrea isn't any type of foreign missionaries but the conversion of the king Ezana by a Syrian slave.

 

[ibn Yahya Al-Sooli]

Somalis worshipped a plethora of gods, not just waaq. They had a different god for a number of things. For example they also worshipped the sun god RAH from ancient egyptians, who they traded with, which is why the word for sun in somali is "qu-rax". rax = rah.

 

[King Khufu]

Most Somalis nomads were followers of Waaq, like other cushites in the horn.

He was associated with snakes (black mamba), sky and the wagar tree. Waaq was mentioned in the Quran as one of the false gods worshiped in Arabia; Wadd is Waaq, it's just the Arabian version. It was the national god of the Mineans of Yemen, the kings of Main called themselves Waqah, son of Waaq. And the people of Noah used it worship it.

Somalis worshipped a plethora of gods, not just waaq. They had a different god for a number of things. For example they also worshipped the sun god RAH from ancient egyptians, who they traded with, which is why the word for sun in somali is "qu-rax". rax = rah.

These two posts go hand to hand!

 

[embarassing]

Doesn't change the fact that the Origin of Christianism in Ethiopia and Eritrea isn't any type of foreign missionaries but the conversion of the king Ezana by a Syrian slave.

During a trip to meet with church elders, Frumentius met with Athanasius, Pope of Alexandria. After recommending that a bishop be sent to proselytize, a council decided that Frumentius be appointed as a bishop for Ethiopia.

By 331 AD, Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, he was welcomed with open arms by the rulers who were at the time not Christian. Ten years later, through the support of the kings, the majority of the kingdom was converted and Christianity was declared the official state religion.[12]

I don’t get your point? Their wiki page says the slave and the Egyptian Church, which was controlled by the Romans went there to proselytize aka foreign missionaries. It all ultimately comes from the Romans, both in Egypt and Ethiopia. I don’t get what you’re arguing. It says that slave was appointed their first bishop by the Egyptian Church.

 

[Djokovic]

I’ve seen many Somalis express different opinions regarding what somalis believed before embracing Islam, some say we were Christians, some say we followed waaq while others say we followed another animist belief, what do you guys believe our pre-islamic belief was?

Don’t know don’t care

 

[Removed]

There would have been records if there were large Christian community in Somalia, we followed Waaq

there are christian grave sites in somaliland

Wherever christianity went more time then not it came with literacy and abrahamic religions have a tendency of gaining a massive following when against other religions.

If Somalis were truly christian at a point there would be more evidence than alleged cross shaped graves that there are somehow almost no pictures of?!

 

[Aurelian]

Most Somalis nomads were followers of Waaq, like other cushites in the horn.

He was associated with snakes (black mamba), sky and the wagar tree. Waaq was mentioned in the Quran as one of the false gods worshiped in Arabia; Wadd is Waaq, it's just the Arabian version. It was the national god of the Mineans of Yemen, the kings of Main called themselves Waqah, son of Waaq. And the people of Noah used it worship it.

Can you provide us with sources?

 

[GeeljirePoet]

Somali identity and language emerged with Islam.That is to say,Somali is a product of the combination of Islam and Galla/Habesha cultures.No Somali was A GAAL since Somaliness signifies deviation from the parent GALLA /HABESHA ethnic groups at the very begining of Islamization in the horn .

 

[GeeljirePoet]

The present day Somali is


Mushakal.They possibly trace their roots and origins in Aragobba,Harla,Galla,Habesha,Adari ,Arab and possibly possibly Some now extinct proto-Somali groups .


Somali language is very ancient and that troubles my own theory but then I guess ,there must have been AN ANCIENT PARENT CLAN of all recent Somalised groups and that could possibly be Hawiya .



According to Richard Burton in his book First Footsteps in East Africa ,Hawiye considered themselves being the ancient and the original Somali while referring both Dir and Daarood as HASHIYAH .

 

[Juke]

Can you provide us with sources?

Divine Fertility

This book uniquely explores the impact of indigenous ideology and thought on everyday life in Northeast Africa. Furthermore, in highlighting the diversity in pre-Christian, pre-Islamic regional beliefs and practices that extend beyond the simplistic political arguments of the current dominant...

books.google.com

Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa

Sub-Saharan African history does not feature in the world history of the classical period because it continues to be dominated by an emphasis on local paradigms. Using hitherto unexplored sources, this study places parts of West and also East Africa on the map for the ancient world. It shows in...

books.google.com

Refers to Daarood as people of Wadd

Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions

The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions is the first comprehensive single-volume reference work offering authoritative coverage of ancient religions in the Mediterranean world. Chronologically, the volume’s scope extends from pre-historical antiquity in the third millennium...

books.google.com

Also,

Horn of Africa : an independent journal , vol. 20, p. 1-10 by the late Said Samatar

Waddad is the term for preist of waaq/wadd but Somalis use it now for a shiekh/sufi saint.

 

[Pipit]

I heard the Somali word for pray (tuko) comes from a crow deity in waaqism known as tok (or something close to that)

 

[Som]

Most of our ancestors were definitely Waaqist. Sada mire's book suggests some people in the north may have converted to christianity but I suppose it was just a nominal conversion.
For example the Bejas who are now muslin were actually Christian at the times of Christian nubia and Axum but they were described as still having pagan practices