Waaq worship and age sets in Cushitic nations

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I am doing a survey of Cushitic nations and seeing if I can catalogue the age sets, moieties, societal lexicon and name of Waaq.

One interesting find I've already discovered is Oromo is not one tribe but rather about 6 different tribes with their own moieties and age sets, but they share a language and their age sets use a fixed 8 year cycle, so they have a more ancient common origin. The other is that clearly in ancient times, the pre-Somali people used a loose 7 year cycle and not every cycle installed a new age set, as both the Rendille and Gabbra, the two closest Somali relatives, both used 7 year cycles with a new age set every 14 years or so, but by no means fixed and if needed a new age set could be installed in 7 years or 21.

Here are my findings so far:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...IqFGWPhdIW4rbEo9IG8nUCrogT2cT9cfkquM9/pubhtml
 
Question for Somali people with knowledge of their own clan customs:

Is there a remnant of some kind of 7 or 14 year cycle introducing new members of the clan, or some kind of ceremonial remnant of clan members being grouped together by age? This custom probably died a thousand years ago for some clans but there might be some ceremonial traditions lingering on in a clan or two.
 

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Question for Somali people with knowledge of their own clan customs:

Is there a remnant of some kind of 7 or 14 year cycle introducing new members of the clan, or some kind of ceremonial remnant of clan members being grouped together by age? This custom probably died a thousand years ago for some clans but there might be some ceremonial traditions lingering on in a clan or two.
I don't understand. What is a new member of a clan? A baby? What is this age set system?
 
I don't understand. What is a new member of a clan? A baby? What is this age set system?

The age system is sort of like the western concept of Millenials or Generation Z, every 14 years (or for Oromo every 8 years) there is a new "age set". The way that Waaqist societies are organized, the age sets correspond to a series of ranks and the age set as a whole moves through the ranks, taking over for the previous age set at regular intervals. Eventually you are promoted to Luba and your age set is in charge of the tribe for 14 years, then after this you go into semi-retirement as Yobe.

In Oromo society you are circumcised when you enter the third rank at the age of 16. Rendille and Gabbra circumcise when they enter the second rank at 14. After you are circumcised you can marry and are the lowest rank of adulthood.
 
I'm curious why somalis were the only ppl that never built a temple or statue for their beloved Waaq at the time the were worshipping him. Did they go all isis and destroy the statues and temples when they converted? how can you claim to worship something and not even build a temple for it?

Where there even any proof this waaq god existed in somalia or was ever worshipped?
 
I'm curious why somalis were the only ppl that never built a temple or statue for their beloved Waaq at the time the were worshipping him. Did they go all isis and destroy the statues and temples when they converted? how can you claim to worship something and not even build a temple for it?

Where there even any proof this waaq god existed in somalia or was ever worshipped?

None of the people who currently worship Waaq build temples or statues, the masjid of Waaq is under a large holy wagar tree, which symbolically connects heaven to earth.

Waaqism has no monuments or buildings, and ancient Somalis had no writing, so the only clue is left in names of places and abtiris, where Waaq is everywhere.
 
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I'm curious why somalis were the only ppl that never built a temple or statue for their beloved Waaq at the time the were worshipping him. Did they go all isis and destroy the statues and temples when they converted? how can you claim to worship something and not even build a temple for it?

Where there even any proof this waaq god existed in somalia or was ever worshipped?
We may have built places with mud that did not stand the test of time. Or maybe we never built anything at all. It can also mean that we never settled in one place long enough to even build a place for such. Or that the tradistionalist religion did not have the same structure as the religions of today, that we never felt the need to pray but it was something spiritual that was with our daily lives and practices. Who really knows?
 

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Do you mean age grades?

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Yes this is the system, the grades are different from the sets in that the age grades are the levels that you move through in life, whereas the age SETS are the name of the "generation" that moves through the grades.
 
I am doing a survey of Cushitic nations and seeing if I can catalogue the age sets, moieties, societal lexicon and name of Waaq.

One interesting find I've already discovered is Oromo is not one tribe but rather about 6 different tribes with their own moieties and age sets, but they share a language and their age sets use a fixed 8 year cycle, so they have a more ancient common origin. The other is that clearly in ancient times, the pre-Somali people used a loose 7 year cycle and not every cycle installed a new age set, as both the Rendille and Gabbra, the two closest Somali relatives, both used 7 year cycles with a new age set every 14 years or so, but by no means fixed and if needed a new age set could be installed in 7 years or 21.

Here are my findings so far:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...IqFGWPhdIW4rbEo9IG8nUCrogT2cT9cfkquM9/pubhtml
wow very interesting !
 
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