Religion In Africa

 Africans are the most religious people in the world, existing entirely in a religious paradigm. Religion maintains an unprecedented all-encompassing hold on society and the individual alike in the continent. Abrahamic religions constitute the largest denominations in modern day Africa with roughly 40% subscribing to Christianity and 45% adherents of Islam. The Abrahamic religions replaced native traditions and cultures along with myriad of uniquely African practices that sustained the population for millenniums. When developmental or governmental institutions not yet established in ancient Africa, religions dictated most events – and still do so today. And although the overwhelming majority identifies with either Christianity or Islam, indigenous religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism exist in Africa.

Religious indoctrination of impressionable youth commences early for African children. A staggering number of African children only receive religious teachings and rarely obtain non-religious formal education. Parents prioritize and ensure memorization of verses the children may not fully comprehend. The population disproportionately spends entire lifetime (from cradle to grave) on religion, starting with formative years where alternatives may not be available – usually by force or compulsion and not by choice or conscience. The youth are taught very early on not to think outside the box of religiosity. They are discouraged from questioning or examining religious content, and are instead taught glorified past religious conflicts that they are expected to emulate, with little chance of learning about contemporary life of the surrounding world. Faith of the family dwarfs facts and individual worth is measured by the degree of religiousness.

In Africa, the society, the government, the family and the individual function as a religious unit. Educational institutions serve as religious indoctrination centers where Western missionaries and Arab financiers compete for influence and recruit new converts. The countryside is littered with religious structures for mass worshiping, lacking institutions of higher education or societal capacity-building infrustructure that would alleviate the lives of the downtrodden. In this context, Africa does not appear considerably different from when the Europeans or Arabs initially conquered it. It is more religious than a century ago subsequently vastly lagging in social and economic progress. Historically, where national or societal institutions falter, religion intrudes with brainwashing, backwardness, oppression, ignorance and violence.  

In Africa intuitive thinking substitutes critical thinking through religiosity, leading the population to invest substantial emotional capital in religion. Intuitive thinking relies on intuition rather than critical reflection and accentuates belief in gods. Cognitive thinking abilities decrease belief in gods (Shenhav, A., Rand, D.G., and Greene, September 2011). Prolonged religious studying in formative years attenuates cognitive reasoning capabilities throughout life. Thus, religion being an emotional affair rather than an intellectual embrace, Africans are more likely to reason emotionally because of this mode of thinking. This type of thinking promoted by religions in which faith trumps facts has proven disadvantageous for Africans.

Discussing this taboo subject often invites confrontation, a subject that has contributed significantly to African conflicts (religion has caused more wars than anything else in history has) and gestates poverty and ignorance. Where poverty and ignorance remain prevalent, religion proliferates, and vice versa. If religions developed countries, Africa’s would have been superpower. Case in point, in the 1950s Egypt and South Korea had identical per capita incomes. Today Egypt's is less than 1/5 of South Korea's. Their standard of living diametrically oppose. When many African states gained independence there was an era of hope and jubilation about future prospects, however, today it's about religious conflicts, hatred, backwardness and oppression. Current generations are far more militant than previous generations which lack the opportunity to fulfill their full individual potential. This hindrance created failed states people flee en mass for greener pastures. 

All nations or continents were once as highly religious and superstitious as Africa yet most matured from religious domination. For example, the West went from Christian nations to secular democracies. As church and state separated it ushered an era of economic, social and political advancement leading to the current technological pinnacle. Increased educational attainment cultivated the decline of religiosity in Western civilization. Education has proven the enemy of religion. 

Religion in the West has been studied extensively without fear. It has largely been rendered as an irrational blind faith, while scientific discoveries repudiated religious myths. To some degree, it is viewed as immoral for its historical promotion of slavery, conflict, human sacrifice, celestial dictatorship and mandatory love/hate relationship in the concept of good vs. evil.

Children in Western nations are not susceptible to the level of religious indoctrinations African children experience, the secular Western education system promulgates critical thought, it distinguishes factuality from imagination. The secular education system encourages independent analytical thought that African children are inoculated from by religiosity. In the Middle East, where Islam spread from, many oil-rich nations now send hundreds of thousands of their youth abroad each year to obtain secular education. The top ten universities in the West now have campuses in the Gulf region. This, while exporting dangerous Wahabi ideology to African (and other) Muslim nations. It will ensure decades of religious conflicts, malfeasance and backwardness. Moreover, the continuation of the phenomenon of curtailment of critical thought.

Africans – engaged in a life long celestial battle of good vs. evil – typically point out the flaws of developed nations when faced with plausible explanations of the detrimental effects of religiosity. The African people are mummified by holy texts and anticipate a messiah to come down from the clouds and solve all problems for them. Unlike other religious peoples of the world, the Africans behave as though they're high on religiosity due to its grip on the mind. They proudly proclaim that (whichever religion conquerors imposed) is a blessing when evidence suggests that it has greatly hindered development and probably a curse. The African people defend religion with hawkish fervor, but would not study it in an honest and transparent fashion. They may not fully understand the given religion, but are sure it's the greatest thing ever, while simultaneously ignoring glaring facts of its associated repercussions. (For Africans, religion is helping tremendously, but only in their minds.)

The behavior of the African mind on religion presents impressive indications of its hold on the continent; people are euphorically self-righteous, absolutists and irredeemable. It increases delusions, hallucinations and pathological disorders leading to fanaticism and in some instances murder and genocide. The pattern is similar from Somalia to Nigeria, from South Africa to Algeria. Africans appear blinded by religion and accordingly detached from reality. A South African observer noted;

"I sometimes feel exasperated that so may of my countrymen fail to make what seems to me an obvious and self-evident observation about the damage religion is doing to our countries and continent. I always challenge my religious friends to take a simple drive through Sandton (which is white South Africa) and Soweto (which is black) and tell me what they see. All of them without fail, just stare at me like I am a mad man as they expect to make no profound discovery. The fact that on a drive through Sandton, they will pass countless large and beautiful company buildings, office blocks, hotels, restaurants, schools – is lost to them – while a drive through Soweto will suffocate them with churches and shebeens (liquor selling establishments) – with an occasional school here and there which on Sundays are also used as places of worship by the throngs of black worshipers.
The contrast is so obvious and is duplicated in every township.

The white man made sure that the shebeens and bottlestores (which were the first targets to be burned and destroyed during the 1976 student uprising) took care of destroying our bodies, while the churches intoxicated our minds. This sorry state of affairs is no different in the rest of Africa.

Even from an African historical perspective, religion makes no sense. How do the people who chain you and take into the holocaust of slavery, displaying such intense hatred for you – making your life on earth hell – still wish that you should go to heaven when you die. Of all the 4 most important things [Guns, Money, Knowledge and Religion] white people brought with them to Africa – they allowed us, and we are proud that – we have taken the most useless rubbish. If we want to change our continent – Africa – we are wasting time concentrating on leaders, because as products and reflection of the societies where they come from we will forever continue to be ruled by these scoundrels until we can find a way of changing our people. This will be the surest way of ensuring that the people’s products which aspires to leadership is of better quality. It is this toxic mindset of ignorance and deficient cognitive thinking that afflicts Africans which religion cultivates and gestates. If we want progress, we must fight ignorance with education in order to bring forth the progress Africa is starved off."

Religiosity has not moved the human developmental indexes for Africans, where children are programmed to think as though advancement is something for others to strife for, it has omitted the healthy skepticism required for a progressive society. The continent is still evolving and has not yet reached the age of enlightenment with symptoms of zombified collective. Most are conformist, because religion is more like a ritual which people follow without thinking, hence they are unable to see the corrosive nature of a religious mindset. Their consciousnesses is in deep sleep if not in comma.

Days are spent on seeking miracle healing through telepathic communications, performing Stone Age rituals to stave off (invisible supernatural beings; devils, demons, etc) and ward off diseases. For instance, while the world seeks medicine for the AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent, African religious institutions stipulate that the disease is consequence of sinning and that god(s) are punishing the sinners (with AIDS). People pray for rain rather than learn to purify water, only to have the sun scorch crops, and when prayers or gods do not deliver it is insinuated that people are not praying enough. It is an intellectual dishonesty and a common but disingenuous religious talking point, one similar to the popular African theory that “if the conquerors did not come we'd still be worshiping fictitious gods”, and the thinking that all knowledge comes from holy books.

It is a familiar occurrence to witness two Africans who - one believing the Bible from the accident of birth, and the other believing the Quran by the same accident - each label the other a nonbeliever. The African diaspora are often flabbergasted when they encounter Europeans/Arabs whose lives religion has little influence over. Africans are so religious they now send missionaries to Europe to revitalize religion in developed countries. "We out-Muhammad Muhammad and out-Pope the Pope" - Dr. John Henrik Clarke. 

In Africa religion is a closed book, not an open book of discoveries of the wonders of life. Leaders utilize it to gain and maintain power, it is a proven weapon on the vulnerable, and people often fall prey to it. The continent consists of societies where people attempt to live like the Arabs of the 7^th century, where people aim for high priesthood in Europe, and children conditioned to think that they were born with religious dogma when it is clearly a learned behavior. This is similar to suggesting that a child is born a communist, a capitalist, a socialist or a patriot. These are not innate human traits but dogmas a person accepts uncritically (usually as a child when they don't know any better and can't think for themselves). For example, a person would die for a country in the same way they would for a religion, or any other dogma, for that matter. It is essentially the thinking that a particular dogma accommodates that becomes an asset or a liability. Ultimately, any dogma that inhibits healthy skepticism is harmful.

An individual with only religious education suffers a mental gap about how the world works. Their views are skewed, their brain functioning only from a certain perspective, while completely ignorant about practically all else in life. And this is the tragedy of Africa. Religion has taken its toll on Africa; it has crippled its ability to reason, to think clearly, to understand itself. It has destroyed its confidence and diminished its ability to positively contribute to the world in proportion to its potential. Africa must initiate an honest debate regarding the subject matter. The mind killing fear that sustains religiosity must be lifted and the youth given the opportunity to think logically and forwardly. It must come out of the box of religiosity, not necessarily become irreligious, to experience and enjoy such secular/progressive values as human rights and freedom of expression that religions oppress. It must encourage free thought and enlightenment. Africa doesn't need aid, it needs critical thinkers, and currently those with critical thought flee to countries where they won't be oppressed. Countries in which the concept produced advancement and prosperity, countries that send aid to Africa.

There is no doubt that religion appeals to certain individuals but those enthusiastic about religion should not quell the cognitive development of unsuspecting African children. Basically, if religion is so great, and could stand on its own entreaties, it wouldn't prey on innocent children by frightening them with real or imaginary punishments. It would instead attract adults through rational enticement. As it is now, religions only exist on mass brainwashing of vulnerable children and the solicitation of those ripe for its domination. Religions contain both positive and negative elements, both warrant equal analysis without prejudice.

Soomaaliya: Siyaasadda Geeska Afrika ee Maanta

Guud ahaan dalalka dunidu waxay leeyihiin dan ee ma leh saaxiib, asii ay danta daleed qeexayso in dalku uu yagleelo saaxiibbo badan oo joogto ah oo danaha lagu gabraarto. Siyaasaddu na waa wixii suurogal ah oo kula gudboon, ma aha wixii aad lexejeclo u qabto ee waa wixii dantu ku jirto, ayada ayaa waddo kuu jeexda ee adigu waddada uma jeexdid. Isla mar ahaantaas na waa hawlaha dawladeed ee la xiriira arrimaha siyaasadeed ee dalalku ay leeyihiin. Dal walba xiriirka uu dal kale la leeyahay waa u siyaasaddiisa gaar ahaaneed ee uu aayihiisa, jiritaankiisa iyo ujeeddooyinkiisa ku furdaamiyo.

Haddaba siyaasadda Soomaaliyeed dhankaas waxaad mooddaa in ay muddo dheer dhantaalnayd oo ay ku dhisaalnayd dan-beel, horraantii burburkii dawladdii dhexe iyo ka dib ba. Ma muuqato dhiirrinaan, garasho iyo dhug loo leeyahay arrimaha adduunweynaha iyo siyaasadaha geyiga Geeska Afrika. Ma muuqato siyaasad xambaarsan danaha guud ee dalka. Waa la dheelliyay intii la liici karay, waa laga maahsanaa isbeddelada dhacayay oo la moogganaa qaab looga miro dhaliyo. Sidaas awgeed Soomaaliya ma yeelan saaxiib joogto ah oo dan siyaasadeed ay la wadaagto. Sidaas darteed siyaasadda Soomaaliyeed waxaa saameeyay jahowareer iyo habow.

Waxaa in muddo ah farogalin ku hayay dalal ay ugu darraayeen Itoobiya iyo Masar. Run ahaantii labadaas dal siyaasadda Soomaaliya dhumuc weyn ayay ku lahaayeen jiritaankeedii. Waxaa labadaas dal dhexaadiyay loollan gahayray oo ku salaysan biyaha webiga Niil. Sidaas awgeed ayay dawladihii is xigay ee Masar ay isku taxalujiyeen in ay Soomaaliya la yeeshaan gacansaar iyo saamayn ay ku fuliyaan danaha Masar. Waxay kaalin weyn Masaaridu ku lahayd dagaalkii ‘77dii ee Soomaaliya ku guuldarraysatay dhan siyaasadeed, militariyeed, dhaqaale iyo sibil ba ee waxyeelladiisii ay teer iyo maanta aloosan tahay.

Farogelintii Itoobiya ku haysay Soomaaliya labaantankii sano ee burburku jiray siyaasad ahaan iskaashigii Masar iyo Soomaaliya ayaa door weyn ku lahaa. Itoobiya waxay ka foojignayd dawlad Soomaaliyeed oo soo celisa xiriirkii militariyeed, dhaqaale iyo siyaasadeed ee ay la lahayd Masar. Kaas oo Itoobiyaanku u arkay khatar ku soo food leh maadaama Masar danayso in ay Itoobiya ku furto furimmo dagaal oo hor leh, gaar ahaan dawlad Soomaaliyeed oo aagga bari colaad kaga soo qaadda. Hankaas siyaasadeed ayuu Soomaaliya ka lahaa madaxweynihii hore ee Masaarida ee Anwar Saadaad markii uu u ololeeyay in Soomaaliya ku biirto ururka Jaammacadda Carabta.

Masaaridu dedaal dheer ayay had iyo goor ugu jiraan aafaynta Itoobiya. Tusaale ahaan waxaa jira ciidan kumaandoos ah oo ay Masar leedahay oo u tababbaran in ay ka dagaallamaan dhulal hawd iyo dhir miiran ah, taas oo Itoobiya ugu dhigan ciidan loogu talo galay dhulkeeda. Si ay cadaadis Itoobiyaanka u saaraan ayay Masaaridu xiriir dhinacyo badan leh la leedahay dalalka Suudaan iyo Soomaaliya oo labaduba soohdin dheer la wadaaga Itoobiya. Dhawaan waxaa magaalada Qaahira ee xarunta Masar warbaahinta ugu gooddiyay Itoobiya taliye sare oo ka tirsan ciidammada Sucuudi Carabiya, kaas oo si bareer ah oo aan looga baran Sucuudiyiinta ugu hanjabay Itoobiya ku na tilmaamay dal lid ku ah danaha iyo arrimaha dawladaha Carbeed.

Geesta kale dawladda Itoobiya waxay ku hawlan tahay taageero ay ka kasbato reer Galbeedka oo ay u muujiso in ay tahay dal qaddiim ah oo Kiristaan ah oo sabool ah oo ay ku oodan yihiin dalal ay ka jiraan Islaamiisteyaal xagjir ah oo yididdiilo weyn u leh in ay tirtiraan jasiirad Kiristaan ah oo dhexdooda ku taal. Itoobiyaanku waa dadka ugu waddanisan Afrika waxaa na ka jira barnaamijyo taban oo dadweynaha iyo ciidammada lagu baraarujiyo oo ku saabsan dagaalka qabow ee biyaha webiga Niil. Biyaha webiga Niil boqolkiiba sagaashan waxay ka soo gororaan buuraha Itoobiya. Biyuhu Masar waa u nolol oo la’aantood waa baa’ba. Dagaalka qabow ee labada dal wuxuu soo jiray teer iyo 1929dii markii la saxeexay Heshiiskii Niil.

Haddaba dagaalkaas qabow Soomaaliya dheef ugu ma jirto dhan walba, waxaa habboon in dalku gaar ka ahaado siyaasadaha isdiiddan iyo danaha qallafsan ee dalalku ay leeyihiin. Ogsoonaanta iyo u hoggaansanaanta xaqiiqdaasu waa in ay siyaasiyiinta Soomaaliyeed u lahaato taxaddar weyn oo aan yarayn. Isla mar ahaantaas waa in siyaasiyiinta Soomaaliyeed ay danaha dalka iyo dadka u baadigoobaan qaabka ay siyaasiyiinta dalalka kale ugu heeggan yihiin oo waxtarkooda lagu cabbiro heerarkaas.

Dhawaan ayay ahayd markii Masar ay Muqdisho u soo dirtay wasiirka arrimaha dibedda oo ay ku dhawaaqday iskaashi dheellitiran. Heshiiskaasu waxa uu durba walbahaar ku abuuray madaxda dawladda Itoobiya, waxaa xigay in ciidammadii Itoobiya ee saacidayay ciidammada dawladda Soomaaliyeed ee ku sugan gobollada Bay iyo Bakool dib-u-gurasho ku dhaqaaqay, sidaas awgeed na ay Shabaab qabsatay Xudur.

Danta siyaasadeed ee uu dal leeyahay waxaa ugu horraysa sugidda soohdimaha iyo xiriirka deriska, taas oo ka horraysa xiriirrada dal ama dalal fog lala yeesho, gaar ahaan marka uu loollan iyo dagaal qabow ka dhexeeyo dal dhaw iyo mid fog. Xodxodashada Masaaridu waa mid dan daleed lagu gabraarto oo aan u roonayn Soomaaliya iyo guud ahaan Geesta Afrika. Mar waa colaad hor leh, mar waa Carabaysi iyo saamayn, mar na waa siyaasad gurracan.

Masuuliyiinta Muqdisho waa in ay u dhugyeeshaan tagtadii shalay, waa in ay ka foojignaadaan ujeeddooyinka gurracan iyo dalalka durba meelo fog uga gacan haatiyay oo aan dhib hor leh loo loogin bulshada daashay. Khaas ahaan kuwii shalay ku dhaayaday ba’ii iyo hooggii ummaddu dhexmaquurtay oo ay weli ka soo kabanin. Ma jiraan gacaltooyo iyo gacanqabad ay Masaaridu iyo ururka Jaammacadda Carabtu Soomaaliya tareen oo la taaban karo muddadii burburka, haatan oo ay Soomaaliya cagaheeda ku istaagaysana ma muuqdaan kuwo hor leh, waxaa un muuqata fursad ay dareemeen oo burinayaan, taas oo waxyeello mooyaane aan faa’iidooyin u holladayn dalka iyo dadka.

Sooyaalka Farta iyo Buugga

Xog isu gudbintu waa abuurta dadka, waana asaaska xidhiidhka, iskaashiga iyo wada shaqaynta. Taa darteed kolka horeba dabciga qofka ayay ku jirtaa in uu fikirka iyo dareenka la qaybsado dadka kale. Dhanka kalena baahida nolosha ayaa keentay in la hindiso tab iyo xeelado walba oo lagu xidhiidhi karo oo aan dhawaaqa afka uun ahayn, iyo agab walba oo wax la isugu gudbin karo ama xog lagu kaydin karo: hadal, baaq, caroog, durbaan, oog iyo meel wax lagu xardho. In hadalka la qoro iyada oo la adeegsanayo far xarfo ka koobani waxa ay ka mid tahay dadaalkaa soojireenka ah, waxa ayna noqotay sida ugu waxtarsan uguna tayo wacan siyaalaha farriinta la isugu gudbiyo.

Boqollaal kun oo sannadood hortood ayuu aadamigu isku dayay in uu wax u sheego cid aan kolkaa la joogin ama faca dambe. Taasi waxa ay ka bilaabatay in wax lagu sawiro derbiyada boholihii lagu noolaan jiray ama sallaxa dhagaxa, iyada oo la adeegsanayo dhuxul iyo midabyo kale. Waxaa la sawiri jiray waxyaalo ku saabsan nolol maalmeedda sida dad, ugaadh, hawl ugaadhsi, qalabka nolosha loo adeegsado, dugaag iyo walxo laga saacidaysto ama la caabudo. Farta iyo wax ku qoristeeduna wax kale ma aha ee waa dhaqankaas oo horumar lagu sii sameeyay.

Farta dunida ugu fac weyn ee maanta la hayo waxaa laga helay magaalada abaadday ee Uruuk oo ku taalla Mesobataamiya (Ciraaq). Fartaas oo qolaba wax u taqaanno ingiriisida waxaa loogu turjumay Cuneiform script, waxaana la qiyaasay in soo baxday xilli ka fog 3000 oo sano Ciise hortii.Inta badan qoraallada fartaa ku dhigani waxa ay ku yaallaan xalleefyo ka samaysan dhoobo la qallajiyay, iyo weliba dhagxaan lagu xardhay, waana xisaabo dhaqaale oo wax lagu ka la iibsaday. Masar ayay iyadana isla xilligaa ka abuurantay farta lagu magacaabo hirogliif (hieroglyphs). Meel kastana waxyaalihii ugu horreeyay ee la qoray waxa ay ka hadlaan tirada iyo tayada alaabo la isdhafsanayo, arrimo diineed iyo xeerarkii lagu dhaqmayay.

Bilawgii fartu waxa ay ahayd astaamo waxa lagu sheegayo muuq ahaan sawira. Tusaale ahaan haddii gacan laga hadlayo waxaa la sawirayay gacan, sac haddii loo dan lee yahay laba gees, maalintana qorrax baa lagu astayn jiray. Taas ayaa dabadeed muddo dheer ka dib u gudubtay in la qoro astaan/xaraf u taagan cod afka ah.

Soo bixidda fartu ma ahayn wax mar uun iska dhacay, qunyar qunyar ayay se uga dhex kobcday afaf badan iyo dhulal ka la duwan. Ta Ciraaq iyo ta Masarka dib waxa ay kale oo ka dhaqangashay dhulalka Hindiya, Giriigga iyo Shiinaha.Farta Mesobataamiya ama Ciraaq ka dhalatay waxa ay ku faaftay afaf badan oo lagaga hadli jiray gobolka maanta loo yaqaan Bariga Dhexe, waxaana la soo adeegsanayay ilaa Nebi Ciise. Farta loo yaqaan alifba ee aynnu maant af soomaaliga u adeegsanno oo tii masaarida laga soo dheegay asal ahaan waxa ay soo baxday abbaaro 2000 C.h.

Faraha dunida soo maray waxa ugu weyn ee ay ku ka la duwanaayeen waa dhanka loo qoro. Tusaale ahaan hirogliifka masaarida waxaa loo qori jiray dhankii la doono: bidix iyo midig, kor iyo hoos. Alifbada iyadana bilawgii waxaa loo qori jiray dhan walba. Dabadeed farta Giriigga iyo kuwii ka sii tafiirmay ayaa u cagadhigtay in midig loo qoro iyada oo sadarrada la isku hoos taxayo. Haddii ay fartu ku bilaabatay astaamo sawir u ah waxa la tilmaamayo, dabadeed u horumartay xaraf u taagan cod afka ah, farta alifba waa isku jir. Tusaale ahaan xarfaheedu, sida b, t, j, waxa ay u taagan yihiin codad aynnu ku barannay, laakiin astaamaha ? & , ” ! ) iyagu codad ma aha ee waa calaamado aynnu wax isuku tusno.

Haddaba farta alifba oo sida aynnu xusnay ku abtirsata hirogliifkii masaarida oo aad isu soo bedbeddeshay waxa ay soo martay iyada oo ah wada shibbane miidhan ah oo aan shaqal lahayn, sida ay tusaale ahaan imika farta carabidu tahay kolka aan la xarakayn. Dabadeed iyada ayaa u sii gudubtay far isla alifba ah oo ka dhalatay dhulka Shaam ee dadkii fiiniiqiga la odhan jiray degganaayeen, fartaas oo loo yaqaan fiiniiqi. Haddana qiyaastii 1050 C.h. taa fiiniiqiga ayaa sii horumartay iyada oo ka kooban 22 xaraf oo wada shibbane ah loona qoro bidix. Taas ayay ka sii dhasheen faraha la ka la yidhaahdo cibriga, giriigga iyo aramaa’iga (armiin). Fartan ugu dambaysa ayay ka sii baxeen carabida iyo kuwo kale oo ka jira qaaradda Hindiya. Qaybtii Giriigga u gudubtay ayay ka sii tafiirantay fartan laatiinka ee maanta af soomaaligu ku qoran yahay.

Ilaa maalintaa idil ahaan farihii la soo adeegsaday waxa ay ka koobnaayeen shibbanayaal engegan, mana ay lahayn shaqallo lagu higgaadiyo. Taasi dabcan waxa ay dhimaysay garashada buuxda ee waxa la akhriyayo. Haddaba farta Giriigga intii aan laatiinku ka farcamin isbeddel weyn ayay ku samaysay alifba dii Fiiniiqiga ee u dambaysay. Isbeddelkaa waxaa ugu doorranaa fikrad cusub oo ah shaqallo lagu higgaadiyo shibbanayaasha. Xarfihii afka Giriigga dheeriga ku noqday ee ay iska tuuri lahaayeen ayay u adeegsadeen shaqal ahaan. Keenista shaqalku waxa ay ahayd guul weyn oo farta dunida u soo hoyatay, waayo maalintaa ka dib waxaa suurtogashay eraygii in si sugan loo higgaadiyo. Awel hadalka shibbanayaal aan shaqal lahayn ku qoran akhriska waxaa la la miciinsan jiray male iyo qiyaas, sida carabidu imika yahay kolka aanu xarakaysnayn. Sidaas ayay higgaaddaasi Giriigga u saldhigatay sannadihii 740 C.h., sidaa ayayna innagu soo gaadhay iyada oo laatiinka soo martay. Ha yeeshee shibbanayaasha iyo shaqallada fartaas cid waliba sida iyada la qumman ayay u adeegsatay. Tusaale ahaan xarfaha qaarkood dhawaaqyada ay af laatiinka ku lahaayeen af soomaaliga waa aynnu ka duwnay sida x c, iyo q.

Hirgelinta farta iyo waxqorista oo ka mid ah tallaabooyinka ugu waaweyn ee aadamigu qaaday waxa ay fududaysay nolosha oo dhan, waayo waxa ay suurtogelisay in xogta, aqoonta, waayo’aragnimada iyo dareenka habsami la isugu gudbiyo. Waxa ay korisay wacyiga dadka, waxa ayna xoojisay oo dhiirrigelisay waxsoosaarka maskaxeed jaad walba.

Hadalkii iyo garashadii dadka ee awel dabayshu sidatay ee waqtigu dilayay qoristu waxa ay u noqotay weel lagu dhaamiyo oo lagu dhiteeyo. Qiyaastii 2600 C.h ayuu dadku markii kowaad bilaabay in uu reebo wax qoran oo la akhriyi karo. Waxaa se la yidhi qoraagii ugu horreeyay dunidu waxa ay ahayd haweenay lagu magacaabi jiray Enheduanna oo ku noolayd magaalada Uruuk qiyaastii 2250 C.h. Waxa ay ahayd baa la yidhi wadaadad u sarraysa macbadka magaaladaas, waxa ayna qortay ducooyinka lagu cibaadaysto, ducooyinkaas oo awel afka uun laga akhriyi jiray. Iyada waxaa ku xigay ninka magaciisu shaacay ee Giriiggga ah lana yidhaahdo Homeros, kaas oo noolaa 600 C.h. Ninkaasi waxa uu qoray maansooyin badan oo sheeko ahaan u dhigan kuna saabsan taariikho iyo sheekoxariiro bulshadiisu lahayd. Maansooyinkaas oo laba qaybood ah oo lagu ka la turjumay Ilion iyo Odysseen muddo dheer waxaa loo haystay in uu Homeros isagu curiyay, waxa ay se taariikhda dambe caddaysay in ay ahaayeen waxyaalo soojireen ahaa oo uu ururiyay oo qoraal isugu geeyay.

Adeegsiga farta haddaba waxaa isku dhaafay bulshooyinka afka uun wax isaga tebiya iyo kuwa wax qora. Qolada hore hadalka waxa ay ka qiimaysaa inta ay xusuusan karto ee sida ugu fudud u hayn karto. Waxyaalaha muuqda ee la taaban karo ama tooska la isu la garanayo ayay qoladani fikirka u adeegsataa. Isla markaa aqoonteeda iyo waayo’aragmimada badankeedu waa ay ka lumaan, waana sababta dadka da’da weyn bulshooyinkaasi u qiimeeyaan, waayo iyaga ayaa ah xusuusta taarikhda laga hayo. Sidaa darteed bulshooyinka aan wax qorin aqoontooda iyo waxsoosaarkooda maskaxeed aad u ma kobcaan.

Taa beddelkeeda, bulshada wax qorta ku ma shuqlana in ay xogta ku hayso xusuusta maskaxda, waayo wixii qoraal ayuu ugu kaydsan yahay, sidaa darteed waxa ay haysataa fursad ay waxaa ku sii horumariso oo inta ay sii rogrogto ku talaxtagto. Isku tayo noqon maayaan halabuur afka laga tirinayo oo dabaysha raacaya, iyo mid la qorayo oo intii la doono la wadi karo iyada oo aan la isku shuqlin xusuusnaanta wixii la soo yidhi iyo sidii loo yidhi. Sababtaas ayay bulshooyinka wax qoraa u lee yihiin sheekooyin dhaadheer oo qaabaysan, halka ay qolada afka uun ka hadasha waxeedu yihiin qisooyin gaagaaban oo googoos ah. Taa ka sokow bulshooyinka wax qora waxaa isu gaadha oo qarniyo la isu gudbiyaa aqoonta qoran.

Far soomaalida

In kasta oo ay sugan tahay qorista af soomaaligu taariikhdii hore in aanay hirgelin, haddana garasho ahaan waa la malayn karaa in ay jireen iskuday taa ku saabsani oo weligood soo taxnaa. Kollayba soomaalidu bulshooyinka kale ee dunida ayay ka la mid ahayd baahida ah in ay hadalka u gudbiso heer aan afka uun ahayn oo lagu xidhiidhi karo. Waxaa kale oo malahaa xoojinaya meesha ay soomaalidu juquraafi ahaan dunida kaga taallo oo ah marin ay ilbaxnimooyinka dunidu weligood galaabaxayeen, kuwii hore, kuwii dhexe iyo kuwan cusub intuba. Taa waxaa dheer labada ummadood ee soomaalida hareeraha ka xiga (carabta iyo xabashida) oo muddo dheer afkoodu qornaa. Sidaa darteed waa la garan karaa in aan laga xog la’ayn jiritaanka fanka qorista, waana ay adkayd in la ismoogaysiiyo.

In aan maanta la hayn raadad hore oo muujinaya far soomaali jiri jirtay macnaheedu ma aha in aanay jirin, waayo wax qorista aan hirgelin qudheeda ayaa ka mid ah sababaha aynnaan taa maanta wax uga ogaan karin. Nasiibxumo wax waliba qoraal la’aan ayay u lumi jireen. Isla markaa la ma hayo aqoon soomaaliyeed oo u banbaxday soo baadhidda wixii jiri jiray ee masaladan ku saabsan. War u ma haynno waxa laga heli lahaa haddii cilmi ahaan loo baadho oo la qodo degellada soomaaliyeed ee gaboobay sida Saylac, Berbera, Maydh, Xaafuun, iyo magaalooyinka badan ee Banaadir.

Dhanka kale, fartu haddii aanay xilli hore soomaalida dhab uga dhaqangelin waxaa lagu xidhi karaa duruufo bulsheed oo ay reer guuraannimadu ugu horreyso. Waa run inta la xusuusto soomaalidu in ay reer guuraa u badnayd, nolosha reer guuraaguna waa mid fudud oo waxa la haysto ama lagu shuqlan yahay aad u kooban yihiin. Taasi waxa ay ka duwan tahay ta beeraleyda, ta ganacsatada iyo ta magaalada oo ay hab-nololeedkooda lamahuraan u tahay xisaabta, cabbirka, tirokoobka, kaydinta, qiimaynta tayada iwm. Sababtaas ayay fartu uga dhalatay ugana hanaqaadday dhulalka ay ku xoogaysteen beerashada iyo ganacsigu (tusaale ahaan Masar, Fiiniqiya, Mesobataamiya, Hindiya, Shiinaha, Giriigga iyo Xabashida).

Iyada oo weligeedba uu jiray dadaal ku saabsanaa hindisid far soomaali, xilliyadii dambe ee la xusuusan karo dadaalkaas midhihiisa waa la arkay. Waxaa la caddeeyay farta carabida in dhulka soomaalida laga adeegsan jiray taas oo maanta loogu yeedho Far wadaad. Magacaa waxaa loogu bixiyay wadaaddada ayaa badanaa ahaa qolada taqaan far carabida ay diinta ku barteen, iyaga ayaana fartaa u adeegsan jiray gudbinta farriimaha iyaga oo ku qoraya carbeed, ama af soomaali iyo af carbeed isku badhxan. Wadaadkii magaca weynaa ee la odhan jiray Sheekh Aweys ayaa laga xusuustaa dadkii sameeyay far soomaali ku dhisan xuruufta carabida.

Farta aadka u caanbaxday ee loo yaqaan Cismaaniya, oo firfircooni weyn ku yeelatay Koonfurta Soomaaliya, isuna dhigtay in ay noqoto ta af soomaaliga loo qaadanayo, ayaa ugu mudnayd dadaalladii hore ee far soomaali lagu raadinayay. Cismaan Keenaddiid oo ahaa nin gabyaa ah  ayaa fartaa curiyay waqti u dhexeeyay 1920 – 1922. Waxaa kale oo la hayaa far la baxday Boorama taas oo uu Sheekh Cabdiraxmaan Sheekh Nuur sannadkii 1933 ka abuuray degmada Boorama kuna dhaqmay.

Iskudaygaa waxaa ka mid ahaa firfircooni badan oo ay dad Yurub u dhashay arrinta geliyeen hayeeshee sababo aan la garanayn u hirgeli waayay. Jarmal, Ingiriis iyo Talyaani intuba taa waa ay sameeyeen. Agagaarka Dagaalweynihii II maamulkii Ingiriisku isaguna waa kii isku dayay in uu hirgeliyo far soomaali ku qoran xarfaha laatiinka, ha yeeshee dadweynaha oo wadaaddadu hoggaaminayaan ayaa ka horyimid iyaga oo leh “laatiin waa laa diin”, waayo waxaa loo arkay wax Diinta Islaamka lagu wiiqayo.

Dad door ah oo uu ka mid ahaa Xaaji Muuse Ismaaciil Galaal ayaa sannadihii kontonnadii iyo lixdannadii oo dhan waday halgan lagu doonayo in mar uun la helo far af soomaaliga loo adeegsado. Haddana laga soo bilaabo horraantii sannadihii lixdannadii kolkii dawladnimada la qaatay, guddi hawsha farta loo xilsaaray sida la sheegay waxa ay heleen hindisayaal badan oo ku saabsan farta ugu habboon, waxaana la keenay jaadad badan oo ay ka mid yihiin laatiin, carabi iyo kuwo cusub oo la abuuray. Ha yeeshee guddiddii waa ay ku adkaatay in ay go’aan qaadato sababta oo ah faraha tartamayay iyo awoodaha ku hirdamayay ayaa badnaa. Rafashadaas ayaa soo gaadhay sannadkii 1972 kolkaas oo awood millateri lagu fuliyay qaadashada farta aynnu maanta adeegsanno ee hirgashay.

Buugga iyo daabacaadda

Magaca buug oo af soomaaliga ka soo galay ingiriisigabook asalkiisu waa eray ka soo jeeda afafka la isku yidhaahdo germaani, macnihisuna waa jaad geedaha ka mid ah oo caleemo balballaadhan. Waxaa loo badinayaa sababta magacu geedkaa uga yimid in ay tahay iyada oo laga qori jiray looxaan xalleefyo ah oo geedkaa laga soo qori jiray dabadeed wax lagu dhigi jiray oo la isku rasayn jiray. Halkaa waxaa inooga muuqda wax u eg looxaanta aynnu Quraanka ku baranno laakiin ka sii yara xalleefsan.

Sidii aynnu soo aragnay, bilawgii aadamigu waxa uu qoraalka u adeegsaday dhoobo iyada oo qoyan wax lagu qoray dabadeed la engejiyay. Faraacinadii Masar waxa ay kale oo adeegsan jireen jaad cawska ka mid ah oo la daliigay. Waxaa kale oo wax lagu qori jiray loox, jidhif, saan, laf, iyo dhagax. Waxaa la og yahay intii Rasuulku noolaa (scw) Quraanka Kariimka ah in lagu qoray waxyaalahaa kor ku xusan badankooda.

Haddaba kumannaan sano ayay qaadatay in la hindiso warqadda oo noqotay waxa ugu habboon ee qorista loo adeegsado. Marka ay noqoto bilawgii soo bixidda buugga, waxaa la sheegaa nin Jabbaan u dhashay oo la odhan jiray Sun Tzu kaas oo buug ka qoray culuunta dagaalka. Waa buug dhaxalgalay oo cinwaankiisu ahaa Fanka dagaalka. Qarniyadii 400-300 C.h waxaa iyaguna dhulka Shiinaha falsafad diineed ku qoray laba nin oo ka la ahaa Konfucius iyo Lao Zi. Nin Giriig ahaa oo la odhan jiray Platon waxa uu isaguna qoray fikradihii macallinkiisa weynaa ee Sokrates la odhan jiray. Dabadeed isagana ardaygiisii Aristoteles ayaa fikradahaa sii horumariyay oo u rogay aqoon qaabaysan oo leh hannaan iyo manhaj.
Haddaba qarnigii 500-aad ayay bilaabatay in la sameeyo wax lagu sheegi karo ”buug” oo ka kooban bogag qoron oo isku xidhan. Kii ugu horreeyay ee muslinku waxa uu ahaa kitaabka Quraanka Kariimka ah. Khaliifkii kowaad Abuu Bakar ayaa amar ku bixiyay in Quraanka meel la isugu geeyo, hawshaasina waxa ay dhammaatay xilligii Cumar bin Khaddaab. Guddigii arrinta loo xilsaaray kolkii ay ururinta iyo qorista Quraanka abyeen, waxa ay ka doodeen magacii loo bixin lahaa. Dhawr hindise oo la isla soo qaaday ugu dambayn waxaa laga doortay in loo bixiyo Musxaf oo ahaa magac ay Xabashidu u yaqaanneen Injiilkooda. Afar nuqul ayaa dabadeed Musxafkaa laga dhigay oo loo ka la qaybiyay afartii gobol ee kolkaa muslinku haysteen xilligii Cismaan bin Cafaan.

Ilaa halkaa waxa la qorayo, kitaab ama wax kaleba ha lagu sheegee, waxaa lagu qorayay gacanta, haddii la doono in nuqullo kale laga dheegana mar kale ayaa gacanta loogu qori jiray. Muslinku waxa ay bilaabeen xeelad buugga lagu badin karo, taas oo ah qoraagu in uu buuggiisa rag badan isku mar u yeedhiyo oo ay nuqullo badan isku mar ka dheegaan. Haddaba sanadihii 760-nadii dalka Jabbaan waxaa ka bilaabatay farsamo wax lagu daabaco oo qoraalka asalka ah daabacaad u minguuriyay. Inta looxaan xuruufta lagu qoro ayaa dusha khad lagaga dhammuuqaa, dabadeed maryaha iyo wixii kale ee la doono lagu rogaa, halkaas oo ay wixii looxaanta ku qornaa ku sawirmaan. Farsamadaa reer jabbaan iyagu ma ay keenin ee sida la sheegay waxa ay kaga daydeen Shiinaha oo ay ka soo jirtay ilaa horraantii qarnigii 300. Isla dalka Shiinaha ayaa lagu daabacay buuggii ugu horreeyay dunida ee madbacadi soo saarto sannadkii 868, taas oo lagu hirgeliyay farsamadii aynnu kor ku xusnay. Isla dalkaa Shiinaha ayaa warqadda aynnu maanta naqaan lagu abuuray.

Adeegsiga warqadda, oo sida la og yahay aad u habboon dunidana aad uga hirgashay, waxaa la yidhi farsamaynteeda iyo wax ku qoristeedu muddo ayay Shiinaha u ahayd sir dawladeed oo la ilaaliyo. Dabadeed, sida la sheegay, niman farsamadaa yaqaannay ayaa maxaabbiis ahaan muslinka u gacangalay qarnigii 700-aad. Nimankiina waxa ay isku furteen in ay sirta warqadda muslinka u gudbiyaan.
Qarniyo kale oo badan ayay qaadatay in la gaadho ”Kacaankii Madbacadda”, taas oo suurtagelisay qoraalka intii la doono in la badin karo. Nin la odhan jiray Johannes Gutenberg oo Jarmalka u dhashay ayaa sannadkii 1454 sameeyay farsamadaas oo ilaa maanta la adeegsado. Maalintaas ayay bilaabatay in buuggu aad u faafo oo qof waliba qiimi jaban ku helo halkii awel dad aad u koobani heli jireen. Baybalka Masiixiga ayaa ugu horreeyay buug isaga oo badan ka soo baxa madbacadda Johannes Gutenberg. Maantana wax daabicidda waxaa qayb weyn ka ah farsamada la yidhaahdo digitaal oo ku shaqaysa kumbiyuutarka, taas oo tii hore ka hawl yar kana tayo wacan.

Haddaba sidii ay dunida ugu faaftay adeegsiga qalabkan cusub ee kumbiyuutarka la yidhaahdo, iyo waxa uu wato ee internet ah, qalabkaas oo wax allaalle wixii buug ama wargeys lagu qori jiray laga akhrisan karo, waxaa furantay iswayddiina ah: qoraalka warqadda ee buug iyo wargeys ahi ma waari doonaa? Dad badani taa rajo la’aan ayay ka muujiyeen, ha ahaatee khoborada arrinta danaysa badankoodu waxa ay ku hanweyn yihiin buugga warqadda ah in aan beddel kale oo dili kalaa jirin. Waayo, ayay lee yihiin, qofka iyo naftiisu weligood ku nefisi maayaan akhriska qalabkan ka samaysan waayirrada, caagga, birta, quraaradda iyo walxaha kale ee farsamaysan kuna shaqaynaya korantada. Qofku si uu akhriska ugu istareexo waxa uu u baahan yahay buugga oo ah wax dabiici ah oo gacanta iyo dareenka nafta ku habboon. Buuggu waa waxa ugu adeegsi fudud kolka ay tahay akhriska, qaadashada iyo haysashada intaba.

Ibraahin Yuusuf Axmed "Hawd"

Af Soomaaliga u Hiilli

Sannadka (2012) ayay ku aaddan tahay sannadguuradii afartanaad ee ka soo wareegatay hirgelintii qorista af Soomaaliga. Waxay ahayd 21kii bishii Oktoobar ee 1972dii markii la diiwaangeliyay qorista far Soomaaliga. Heerar kala duwan iyo halgan dheer ayaa loo soo maray ogaanta ama oggolaanshaha iyo xaqiijinta far uu afku ku dhigmo. Waxaa jiray siddeed iyo toban farood ay Soomaalidu soo alliftay oo ay ka mid ahaayeen fartii Cusmaaniya, fartii Kaddariya, Gudabiirsiya iyo qaar kale oo sannado badan laga dooday ayadoo loo kaashaday duruufihii iyo arrimihii jiray. Faraha jiray in laga doorto mid lagu wada kalsoonaado oo sugan oo dheellitiran waxay dooddeedu jirtay ka hor gobannimadii Soomaaliya. Waxaa lagu heshiin waayay mid qura oo Guddigii af Soomaaligu isku raaco. Ugu dambayntii waxaa la isku raacay far Laatiinka in lagu qoro af Soomaaliga oo uu soo agaasimay afyaqaankii Shire Jaamac Axmed oo xubin ka ahaa Guddigii af Soomaaliga. Biiraalihii la magac baxay "Iftiinka Aqoonta" ee uu afyaqaankaasi soo saaray goor ku beegan bartamihii lixdameeyadii ayuu ku soo bandhigay afka oo ku dhigan farta Laatiinka. Waxay ahayd markii ugu horraysay oo la qoray ama la akhriyay af Soomaaliga oo ku dhigan farta Laatiin. Waa guul xusid mudan oo taariikhi ah, aad iyo aadna loogu riyaaqay.

Muuhiimad weyn ayay ahayd qorista afku maadaama dadka Soomaaliyeed ee Geeska Afrika ku nool ay wax ku baran jireen ama ku qori jireen afaf shisheeyeed oo kala ahaa Carabi, Ingiriis, Talyaani, Faransiis iyo afafka dalalka deriska la ah Soomaaliya. Afafka shisheeye ma buuxin karin doorka suugaanta oo ayadu mudan magac-dhawgeeda mar walba oo af Soomaali la tibaaxo maadaama ay qayb weyn ku fadhido, sidaas awgeed ayuu Iftiinka Aqoontu ku saabsanaa suugaan, sheekooyin iyo taariikh, si loo muujiyo in Laatiinku ku habboon yahay far Soomaaliga. Qoraalka ka hor, qoraal beddelkiis suugaanta qaybaheeda kala geddisan oo oraah la tiriyay ah ayay facyadu isugu gudbin jireen taxanaha sooyaalka.

Hanashada qorista far Soomaaligu ku dhigmo waa guul ma-guuraan ah oo lama illaawaan ah oo ka mid ah guulihii laga dhaxlay taliskii waagaas dalka hagayay. Hirgelintu waxay ahayd guulside xambaarsan waddaniyad, ayaatiin iyo astaamayn Soomaalinnimo. Soomaaliya waxay gaar ka noqotay dalalka Afrika ee ku negaan afafka gumaystihii gumaysan jiray. Aqoonyahannadii iyo suugaanyahannadii Soomaaliyeed waxaa u suurogalay qorista riwaayadihii, heesihii, gabayadii iyo noocyadii kale ee suugaanta. Far Laatiinta la doorbiday faa'iidooyinka ay lahayd waxaa ka mid ahaa in buugaagta ugu badan iyo aqoonta casriga ah badankeed ku dhigan tahay alifbeetada Laatiinka. Sidaas awgeed ay dadka Soomaaliyeed u fududayso tarjumaadda buugaagta ku dhigan afafkaas.

Qoritaanka af Soomaaliga waxaa xigay abaabulkii lagu baahiyay oo lagu gaarsiiyay bulshada oo lagu taabbogeliyay barnaamijyadii ololihii reermiyiga ee Bar-ama-Baro. Sidaas oo ay tahay ayaa haddana waxaa jira weli in mar walba la akhriyo dhigaallo si silloon u dhigan oo aan afka loo turin oo si joogto ah loo dhaawaco. Waxaa taas siyaadiya in afaf kale laga doorbiday qorista ama barashada afka hooyo oo uu u cilladaysnaado dayacaad weyn oo halis galiyay jiritaankiisa oo dabargo' khatar ugu jiraa. Eeddaas waxaa leh qof wal oo Soomaali ah. Waxaana xallin kara Soomaalida. Ma aha in qof Soomaaliyeed afka hooyo yaso. Ma aha in mid kale ku faano af ama afaf kale. 

Qoritaanka af Soomaaliga ee uu hirgeliyay Guddigii Afku waxay ahayd ibo-furkii koowaad ee casriyeed ee af Soomaaliga. Waxaa uu u baahan yahay dayactir joogto ah iyo horrumarin. Hor-u-socodsiinta Soomaaligu waxay mudan tahay guddi la mid ah guddigii hirgelinta iyo u-xilsaaridda bareyaal aqoon ballaaran u leh xeerarka afka. Carro'edegta Soomaaliyeed wax badan baa afka lagu qoraa oo la akhriyaa, dhaliisha ugu weyn waxaa weeyaan in aan la adeegsan xeerarka u dhigan oo sidii la doono loo qoro. Burburkii dawladdii dhexe ee Soomaaliyeed horraantii sagaashameeyadii dabadeed waxaa soo baxay qoreyaal ciiddaas ka badan oo waxaa dadweynaha u ballaysimay door ay wixii ay doonaan qoraan cabburin la'aan oo ay ku bandhigaan aragtidooda gaarka ah. Gobannimada dhalatay oo qoraagu garwaaqsaday waxay xambaarsan tahay masuuliyad ay ugu horrayso midda uu mudan yahay afka wax lago qorayo oo gartiisa la siiyo.

Aqoonyahannadii hirgeliyay qoritaanka afka hooyo iyo mudnaanta afku leeyahay labada ba, qadderintooda iyo maamuuskooda, waxa lagu bogaadin karaa oo loogu abaalgudi karaa u hiillinta af Soomaaliga iyo in la samatabixiyo oo dhigaalkiisa aan lagu tuman. In boorka laga jafo oo si hagaagsan loo qoro oo la tixgeliyo xeerarka u yaal. U hiillinta af Soomaaligu waa taas waana marxaladda uu hadda joogo oo tibaaxaysa in uu hiil uga baahan yahay tolkiisa.

Fact vs Faith

The difference between faith and fact is the difference between reality and illusion. Facts are real and undeniable, faith is belief in that which cannot be proven factual. The two have no relationship and oppose each other, to accept one is to repudiate the other. Facts are evidence based on reason and reality removing any doubt, facts win over belief or imagination or wishful thinking. They guide us through rationalization in our daily lives which without we would be in trouble. A rational approach starts with data and then works towards a conclusion, belief starts with the conclusion and then works backwards looking for data that fits. In this regard theological explanation of reality - or belief - is trounced by scientific explanation of reality - or facts. Ultimately facts are something that exist, the truth. A truth based on actual experience and observation.

Faith on the other hand is belief in the absence of reason, something that is not based on proof. At one time all things were attributed to gods but as science has been able to explain them man has backed up and stopped making some claims, but goes on to continue saying that what's left unexplained is the works of gods. When the religious are confronted with facts profane ad hominem attacks follow because their views are shaped by faith and not facts and faith cannot explain facts. All religions share a prime universally common trait, (belief in lack of evidence i.e 'faith') most can be generalized in conversation and debate for utter lack of evidence. This is where in essence the scientific method is turned inside out. The virtuous thing is to just believe, to accept what you are told is truth, and that questioning or even looking for proof or evidence is a bad thing to do.

Faith is not subject to critical thought. It is only subject to critical FEELING. As if emotions were the key to knowledge. Also, interestingly/suspiciously in the faith tradition the lack of critical thought (aka questioning) of faith is thought to be a virtue. It unequivocally stipulates without any shred of evidence that god is a concept to describe the life force that bonds everything together. For example: A young person starts researching his or her religion only to create doubt that their religion is correct. This person goes to the local preacher and asks what he/she should do. The preacher responds "you must have faith". This simple statement tells the young person to ignore the evidence and believe regardless. Here the mind is shaped and boxed to only accept a certain view regardless of the objectivity of reason/reality and life of fear begins because without fear religion cannot exist on faith alone. Blind reliance on miracles, angels, demons and other supernatural invisible beings take precedent, inoculating the individual from rationality. This also exemplifies the established correlation between religiosity and low educational attainment.

The relationship between religiosity and lower intelligence and that between higher educational attainment and lower religiosity (religion vs intelligence) stems from the religious' intuitive thinking processes and the non-religious' reflective and analytical thinking respectively. And although both (intuitive thinkers and analytical thinkers) may possess similar understanding of fact versus faith the thinking styles differ significantly. Intuitive thinkers incorrigibly maintain childhood indoctrination whereas critical thinkers comprehensively analyze, question and reflect objectively. This type of thinkers tend to place greater emphasis on emotion compared to the other group, and prevalent in developing countries.

The critical component of fear in religion blurs reality and facts to sustain the belief system much of which is presented as self righteousness. Maintaining religious domination which clearly lacks facts and truth requires utilization of fear as a primal weapon. In early human evolution the survival instinct of fear has been exploited by religions for a variety of reasons. Constant fear is a mind killer. The acceptability of the idea of religious observance as a consequence of fear of death, hell, etc, remains accentuated to this day.

There have been thousands upon thousands of gods/faiths invented by men throughout the ages. Gods come and gods go, and yet not one has ever actually done anything or actually been seen or heard by anyone. Factually speaking none merit actuality since all are based on stories told ad nauseum without any regard for facts. (People have claimed to see or hear a god, but this can be discounted as hallucination or mental illness.) If religions were fact-based there would be no need for fear and brainwashing of susceptible young minds because facts would be presented instead. Faith is emotion based and shouldn't be confused with facts and reality. This rudimentary compartmentalization of religiosity, although vague, requires more comprehensive understanding and elucidation because of catastrophic consequences associated with it (death and destruction in appeasement of the unknown).

The Mawali

Throughout history each group of people in every corner of the world has had its own religion(s). Religion is a medieval philosophical construct in which the primitive man maintained societal control over the masses. It was dominantly structured institution filling the void of science or government to (philosophically) explain the inexplicable, lacking independent analytical investigation and substantiation. Religions thrive in belief and faith without facts by stifling independent thought. Faith is the ultimate blindfold for realizing the truth, it is the justification for believing in something that is not based upon tangible substance and empirical evidence. For the religious faith constitutes fact. The superstitious drivel religions permeate cultivate sensationalism and absolutism while counteractively opposing reason, logic and fact. It's basically conquer and subdue with fear, and promise of punishment and exceptionalism.

Religions share enormous similarities; each copies its predecessor(s) yet denies - or claims its predecessors have been corrupted - and rejects all other religions, and the extent to which they're similar is that if one is true then they might as well all be true. If gods were factual, and not based on blind faith, there would be thousands upon thousands of gods out there. Prior to the arrival of Islam the religion of Somalia was Waaq for thousands of years and was entirely locale in customs and identity. In the same way Islam remains entirely inherently characteristically Arabic, Waaqism was Somali in all aspects - although shared by Cushitic peoples of East Africa. When Arabs came to Somalia and Islam spread by the sword to that area it propagated complete fundamental transformation of society.

Similar methods were deployed elsewhere Islam spread to; initially spreading by the sword followed by persistent systemic indoctrination of the locals for centuries. All human developmental milestones and achievements of the conquered morphed into Arabism, and now referred to as "the golden age of Islam" despite the fact that there was nothing golden about it for the locals. Because Islam is undoubtedly an Arab centric religion, in Islam Arabs are considered the best people and non Arabs are "Mawali". Islamized nations became clients/slaves - or Mawali - for the Arabs. Since Islam (like Christianity) seeks to wipe out memory of and identification with pre-conversion history, cultural practices, traditional affiliations and loyalties prevalent in original geographical locales that may go against theological sanction, a gradual Arabisation of consciousness occurs, along with assimilation to the Arabic world view. In this sense a narrow racial identity is superimposed, oriented towards Makkah, glorifying Arabian culture, mode of dress, food habits, its general ethos, its conventions, the Rule of the Sharia' and also Arabic as the language of the Holy Book (even though they may not understand it personally). This is the fate of the Mawali.

The Mawali made great strides to disregard and destroy everything they cherished to now spend their lives becoming all things Arabic. Their lives are now bound to Arabism through Islam and they are to spend the rest of their lives becoming a better Muslim even if that means living like the 7th century Arab tribal desert dwellers from which Islam spread from. The conquerors imposed propositions that included learning Arabic to communicate with their new god, Allah. Evidently even most ardent Mawali Quranic scholars face difficulties understanding it and constantly contradict themselves. Yet despite the glaring inconsistencies they will form an unprecedented emotional attachment to it, they will claim all knowledge comes from the Quran, will claim it cures diseases and engage in cognitive dissonance.

For Arabs Islam is a national identity, they felt Allah has sent them this religion for their people alone and initially rejected spreading Islam to non Arabs. Islam gave them everything they could possibly want and more. A non practicing Arab Muslim feels closer to Islam than the most pious non Arab Muslim since for Arabs Islam is his/hers and others are simply emulating them to be closer to their Allah. Under Sharia law the Mawali cannot marry Arab women, although an Arab man might marry a Mawali women. It's a hierarchical system in which the Quraysh tribes of the prophet remain the highest and most favored by Allah;

Sahih Bukhari 4.56.704:

Allah's apostle said; "Authority of ruling will remain with Quraysh, and whoever bears hostility to them, Allah will destroy him as long as they abide by the laws of the religion."

Sahih Bukhari 4.56.705:

Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet said, “Authority of ruling will remain with Quraish, even if only two of them remained.“

A Mawali's life mission is to blindly follow what Arab rulers say – because only they are the blessed ones to have received Allah’s last message in their own language – and work for propagation of Islam so that an Arab can tomorrow become a Caliph. This is the reason why the more extremist a Mawali, the more likely they are to emulate Arabs while deliberately destroying their own culture and identity. The spread of Wahabbism has brought about a level of Arab-centric domination of non Arab Muslims unseen in modern times (consequent of Arab petro dollars). Simply put, they got money and began to expand the sphere of influence, for the Mawalis this has caused terror, suicide bombings, etc. This pattern has been repeated in much of history, it's the reason religions have caused more death and destruction than any other ideology in human history.

Oddly enough, Arab Muslim countries managed to largely escape unscathed by the horror that has befallen on Mawali nations. For example, a Yemeni Al Qaeda leaders ordered his Mawali extremists to go back to their nations and carry the terror there rather than in Yemen, which has most members of the group yet suffered minor terror attacks in comparison to Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan, etc. It's understandable that things were different a thousand years ago, but in this day and age, people are best served by their own critical thinking skills and comprehensive analysis of an ideology. Particularly one that is causing oppression, death and destruction across continents by overzealous and emotionally unstable/immature illiterate men with big beards who are against time itself and romanticize a return to glory days (in which their ancestors were slaves in bloody wars) that they have been told over and over. 

Today Islam remains nothing more than a political agenda for the racial superiority of Arabs and even moderate Muslims are under attack for not being completely pro Arab by Wahabi extremists. The Mawali (the Islamized non Arabs) cannot think independently and freely, their lives are a closed book. Life has been prepackaged for them and they have to followed sets of rules completely alien to them, whereas the exploration of life and its beauty is an open book for non Mawalis worldwide. The enjoyment and fruitfulness of life has been misconstrued as something foreign and out of their bounds. It's an unfortunate and terrible burden to carry. Curtailment of independent analytical thought and mass brainwashing are dangerous combinations regardless of who performs or how it's conducted.  

Entire civilizations have been completely destroyed replaced by oppressive theocratic Islamic governance systems. It's hard to imagine people entirely willingly succumb to a foreign set of rules and rituals, for this reason Islam spread by the sword and maintains by fear and oppression (oppression of the individual, the human soul, and the society) rather than free will.

Nabad Sugidda Soomaaliya

Dhaqan ahaan ka sheekaysiga siyaasaddu nolol maalmeedka bulshada Soomaaliyeed dhumuc weyn ayuu ku leeyahay. Marka dib loo jibaaxo taxanaha, waagii reer guuraaga la ahaa kolka labo geeddi bar ku kulmaan oo la geeddi-furo, marka reeryada ratiga laga rogo oo dhidibbada aqalka la qotomiyo ayaa shaah lagu tuuri jiray oo cabbidda shaaha lagu war iyo wacaal qaadan jiray. Gorfaynta siyaasaddu halkaas ayay ka bilaaban jirtay. Dhanka reer guuraaga war iyo wacaal la dhuro nolosha ayaa ku dhisnayd sababta oo ah muhiim ayay ahayd ogaanshaha deegaan roobabbow iyo caws leh. Markii magaalo la yimid caadadaan miyiga ka jirtay halkeedii ayay ka sii diiwaangashay oo magaalada ka dhaqan gashay nolol maalmeed ahaan. Maanta iyo dunida casriga ah oo siyaasaddu tahay garaad maaddo jaamacadeed iyo takhasus lagu hanto Soomaali ahaan dooddeedu weli waa qayb nolosha ka mid ah. Takhasus la’aan awgeed dooddeenna siyaasadeed ma leh faa’iidooyin dhiifoon. Waa un madaddaalo iyo murtiyayn. Sawaxanka ka yeera labadii Soomaali ah oo goob ku kulma, oo falanqaynta siyaasadda iyo meesha ay marayso lama huraan tahay, ayaa ah baashaal aan ujeeddo lahayn oo lagu mushaaxo.

Dood-siyaasadeedda ka arradan aqoon iyo waayo’aragnimo casriyeysan, oo isxiijin dabadeed lagu kala dareero, waxay ku meerataa wararka warbaahinta iyo aragti ka duulaysa wixii xun ba reer Galbeed baa ka dambeeya iyo sheeko beenaad (conspiracy theory). Sheeko beenaad waxaa lagu quudiyaa maskax u harraadan dhabta gunteeda ama ba lagu marinhabaabiyaa marka runta qaraarkeeda la saluugsan yahay si looga meerto xaqiiq qaraar. Doodda siyaasadeed marar ayay baashaal ka durugtaa oo been ku fiddaa oo bulshada u baahisaa is-maandhaaf iyo dhalanteed xal lagu seego oo hurisaa fadqalallo.

Maan harraadan waxbarasho ayaa lagu waraabiyaa oo ayadaa loogu guntadaa dhabta nolosha iyo nolol maalmeed hanan. Waxbarasho la’aan waxaa ku yoto’an saboolnimo la talantaalli ah aqoonyari curisa xagjirnimo - noocii ay doonto ha ahaatee. Dunida dal dharaar wal ba aan malaayiin ardayeed iskuul u aroorin ma jiro. Guusha ugu horraysa ee looga gol leeyahay ha ahaato nolol iyo maal abuur’e, ujeeddada ugu mug weyn ayaa ah nabad sugidda daleed. Dal dadkiisu aqoon lahayn ma horrumaro oo ma saldhigo oo ma sugnaado. Waxyeellada waxbarasho la’aaneed ayaa ah khatarta ugu weyn ee ku gedaaman nabad sugidda Soomaaliya. 

Waa arrin mudan dhiirrigelin dadweyne iyo waxqabad deg deg ah. Ugu horrayn ogaan ahaan tusaale ahaan in (i) cadowga koowaad ee Soomaaliyeed waxbarasho la’aan tahay, (ii) dhammaan dhibaatooyinka maanta isir ahaan Soomaali ku xayraaman (saboolnimo, qabiilaysi, xagjirnimo, iwm) aqoonyaridu u sabab tahay, (iii) qof aan waxbaran khasaaro ugu fadhiyo dalka, (iiii) waddanniyaddu tahay waxbarasho oo qalinku qoriga ka qiimo sarreeyo haatan. Wax soo saarka koowaad ee uu dal xaqiijiyo waa waxbarashada ubadka, inta uu waxbarasho hufan dadweynuhu hubin nabad iyo nolol wax ku ool ah lama filan karo. Soomaali ahaan ma jiro falgal ka muhiimsan. 

Waa tallaabada ugu habboon ee looga kaban karo dagaalladii sokeeyeed ee salkoodu dhaqaale darrida ahaa (hanti dhawr ama hanti goob), maadaama dabayaaqadii siddeetameeyadii dalka ka jirin qaab kale oo nolol lagu sameeyo. Waxaa ku suntan birimagaydada beesha nabad ku joogta ee waxtarka leh ee bulshadu ku caano maasho garashadooda; ka-soo-horjeedkeeda waxaa tagoogan waxmagarad bulshada liica oo hagardaamooyin u abuura dadka iyo deegaanka. Qof aan waxbaran asagu in uu aayatiin beelo keliya ma aha ee wuxuu khatar ku yahay dalka. Immisa carruur ayay kooxaha xagjirku iilka u direen? Waxaa hubaal ah in si fudud aan looga faa'iidaysteen bulsho aqoonteedu dheellitiran tahay.

Geesta kale, camalka iyo dabeecadaha guud ee bulshada ayaa ku gaaxsada aqoon sare. Isla weynida iyo kibirka, faanka iyo faataadhuglaynta, dabeecadaha qallafsan iyo dareen-larka – kul kul ku lar iyo gacan ka-hadal – anaaniyada, caadifad iyo ciil lagu go’doomo oo lagu saasaco ayaa aqoon looga baramoosaa. In aan la qabsan la’ nahay dalalka na marti sooray, in aan mar wal ba annagu isla saxsan nahay iyo ka digtoonaan la'aanta saamaynta shisheeyeed waa la mid. Sababta oo ah deggenaanshaha iyo miisaanka shaqsiyeed iyo bulsheed ayay waxbarashadu xigmaysaa garaad ahaan. Qaloonbiga, bullaanka iyo ortanka yeeraya oo un ku salaysan hebel iyo hebel baa wasiir ah, heblaayaa xildhibaan ah, kaas iyo keer baa madaxweyne ah, dhammaan waa lug-gooyo dan-beel ah oo la mid ah sheekaysigii siyaasadeed ee reer miyiga oo magaaloobay. Ujeeddooyin iyo natiijooyin ma leh. Waxaa cad in camalka bulshadu tebay isbeddel waxbarasho uu kaga barbaaro heerkii iyo meeshii uu waa’ ahaa oo haatan mutaystay casriyayn dhisaalaysan aqoon cusub.

Sooyaalka dhaw waxaa laga dheehan karaa tayo darradii waxbarashadii dalka ka diiwaangashay toddobaatameeyadii iyo siddeetameeyadii. Ka dar oo dibi dhal; labaatan sano ardayga Soomaaliyeed uma fariisan waxbarasho micne weyn dalka ugu taal. Waxay ku koobnayd laylisyo Carabaysi iyo buugaag Sucuudi Carabiya laga soo diray oo faafshey xagjirnimo lagu yaacay oo laga shallaayay oo hooyooyin badan goblamisay. Waxay ahayd waxbarasho gaashaanka ku daruurtay fikirka xorta ah ee aqoon isweydaarsiga iyo doodwadaagga ee cilmigu ku shidmo. Dabargoynta dhufatay haykalkii aqooneed ee Soomaaliyeed labaatankii sano ee burburku jiray oo dhalisay dhalanrog ballaaran ka-soo-kabashadeedu waxay qaadan doontaa ugu yaraan labaatan sano oo kale.

Cudud militariyeed iyo hay’ado sirdoon oo dalku unko waxaa ka muhiimsan waxbarasho lagu caano maalo oo waa hubaal haddii dhankaan dambe laga dhisnaan lahaa xalka Soomaaliyeed mar hore in la haleeli lahaa, oo laga waaban lahaa surunka aan cagta saarnay ee hadimaale. Haddii waa’ dalku lahaa ciidan xooggan, oo arrintu waa’ dambe isu beddeshay askari gaajaysan iyo nacab gudaha dalka uga fal fuliyay si fudud, dhanka nabad sugidda Soomaaliyeed maalgashiga wasaaradda gaashaandhigga muhiimad ahaan waa in ay la sinnaato maalgelinta wasaaradda waxbarashada.

Hammuunta loo qabo waxbarasho tayo leh oo dalka iyo dadku ku badbaado ayaa waxaa mataanaysa baahi loo qabo hoggaan qaayo leh oo qaabbila himiladaas weyn. Taas oo u baahan hoggaamiyeyaal hiraal leh oo hirgeliya olole lagu baraarujiyo dadweynaha oo ku haga hannaan waxbarasheed oo doorsan. Soomaaliya waxay u baahan tahay hoggaan u hooriya dhan aqooneed. Baahida Soomaaliyi u qabto taliye noocaas ah runtii dunida ma jiro dal kale oo qaba. Barta ay habas daalka la hawaarto in ay ka guclayso oo ka hayaamto hallawga ayaa ku mudan. Talis wal ba oo dalku yeesho oo kaalintaas gudan waaya waa uu fashilmay.

Hoggaamiyeyaashii dunida ugu doorka roonaa ee magac iyo maamuus dhigay dhaxal ahaan badigood waxay taabbo geliyeen waxbarasho aayatiin leh. Waxtarka ay leedahay waxaa ku dhisan taliska; waxbarashadu dadka ayay ka mashquulisaa oo hawlkar ka dhigtaa, oo nolol ku jeedisaa, oo ka du’daa gadood iyo mucaaradnimo joogto ah. Geeddi socodka nabadda magaalada Muqdisho iyo hareeraheeda haatan ka jira ee lagu han weyn yahay in uu saaqo dalka oo dhan dhawaan waxaa lagu hanan karaa fursad lagu hirgeliyo tabaabushle waxbarasheed lagu waaro dal, dad iyo isir ahaan ba. Maxaa kale oo gudboon?

THE LAND OF THE GODS: A brief study of Somali Etymology and its historio-linguistic potential

I. INTRODUCTION


When the author first began the present study of Somali etymology way back in 1982, it was more in the form of a hobby than anything serious. As a matter of fact, the author had neither the academic training nor the resources to embark on the study of a subject as complex as Somali etymology without even the benefit of a precedent. However, his success with the first set of words was an inspiration and convinced him that Somali was an indeed antiquated medium with a rich potential for historio-linguistic study.

In the course of the present limited study, the author not only had to enrich his somewhat rudimentary knowledge of Arabic and Oromo but also found it prudent to study Egyptology, Islam and Christianity – subjects he thought of potential value to the study.

For the purpose of the present study, the author carefully selected scores of important cultural words to work on. Occasionally, he had to ponder and sit on a single word for days, weeks or even months before he could split a word and understand its components. Naturally, the first word that topped the list was intriguing and often misinterpreted name of both the language and its speakers – Somali.

The present study is by no means conclusive. A lot more needs to be done to realize the full historio-linguistic potential of Somali. As an amateur linguist, the author hopes to stimulate interest among linguists, historians and archeologists and provide them with a fresh perspective of the country known as ‘The land of gods’. Its people and their language. If it succeeds in this endeavor, then it would have served its purpose.

II. THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Somalis are a homogenous race of mainly nomads and occupy a vast but sparsely populated territory between Djibouti on the red Sea and Tana River in the north-eastern Kenya. Believed a member of the Eastern Cushitic group, which also includes the Afar, Oromo, Rendille and others, Somali are Sunni Muslims of the Shafi sect. Though generally fanatic in defence of Islam, Somalis tend to be rather liberal in practice. Companions of the Prophet Muhammad reportedly migrated to the Horn of Africa only a few years after Islam’s appearance in its birth-place of Mecca. To this day, however, the faith is yet to make a significant impact on the lives of these hardy nomads and appears to blend well with some age-old pagan traditions.

Historically, very little was known about the Somali people’s pre-Islamic past. Despite recent fossil and genetic evidence which strongly advocate the theory that mankind originated in Africa, and East Africa in particular, there was relatively little archeological study of the Somali peninsula. Most archeologists and paleontologists tended to concentrate their search on the more hospitable and tourist-friendly countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. The logically more potential and geologically older terrain of Somalia was somehow ignored. The inhabitants of the Somali coasts were known to have contact and trade relations with the two known oldest civilizations of the world, namely ancient Egypt and Sumaria. Unlike ancient Egypt where scholars were able to uncover and translate numerous writings and records, our knowledge of Sumaria remained relatively scant and inadequate. The author, however, thought it of interest that Sumarian huts which were made of woven reed were an exact replica of a Somali nomad’s collapsible hut. Also strangely enough, the most important Sumarian deity, MARDUK, literally meant in Somali ‘The one who was once buried’.


Perhaps the earliest and most detailed historical record of Somalia was that of the famous Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut’s voyage to the Land of Punt in 1500 BC. On arrival there, however, the king and queen of Punt enquired of her why she came after her ancestors forsook them for a long time. Apparently, contact between the two countries did not begin with the queen’s visit but existed much earlier.

HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE, LUXOR




Ancient Egyptian records narrate how would-be Pharaohs were ritually required to go on a pilgrimage to ‘The Land of the Gods’ prior to their ascent to the throne. The name ‘The Land of the Gods’ and this ritual were apparently lost to historians who failed to appreciate the fact that the country was an important centre of religion and the cradle of idol worship.

DEPICTED ON THE WALLS OF HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE

- RELIEFS OF THE EXPEDITION TO THE LAND OF PUNT



- THE CHIEF OF PUNT AND HIS WIFE


- GOLD COLLECTED FROM LAND OF PUNT




Sadly, Egyptologists often worked on the premise that the ancient Egyptian civilization began along the fertile Nile Valley where farming and other so-called pre-requisites for civilizations were possible. Without disputing the fact that this civilization made tremendous development and reached its zenith along the Nile Valley, its humble beginnings could have originated elsewhere where time and conditions obliterated any visible signs of its existence. With its huge obelisks, gigantic pyramids, ruined cities and other priceless archaeological treasures, Egypt no doubt provided everything scholars ever dreamed of and much more – and they never looked beyond since.

While the mysterious ‘Punt’ was probably the ancestor of the Somali speaking people (? The Biblical Phut in Genesis), it was mainly ‘The Land of the Gods’ which captured the imagination of the author. It was an indisputable fact that, in ancient civilizations, religion dominated the lives of people and formed the pillars of their culture. Little wonder that most of ancient Egypt’s gods as well as the most important components of their culture came from the country they knew as ‘The Land of the Gods’.

Paintings of their gods show at least six held the common Somali nomad’s HANGOOL – a handy stuff hook-shaped at one end and a V-shaped at the other traditionally used for handling thorn bushes. Another three gods held the slender Somali spear. Ancient Egyptian traditional dresses, the Royal scarf worn around the waist as well as the (Ivory) headrest all reminds one of the present day Somalia. Curiously enough, the beautifully decorated scarf to this day remained part of a Somali nomad girl’s ceremonial attire and was called BOQOR. The word BOQOR was also the only Somali word for king. While the method of burying the dead with their belongings was also a pre-Islamic Somali tradition, there where the persistent reports of the existence of man-made hills in north-east Somalia- a probable predecessor to ancient Egypt’s geometrical pyramids.

Apart from the ancient Egyptian records, the only detailed mention of pre-Islamic Somalia was that by the Greek geographers and travelers Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy and cosmos Indicopleustas who visited the Red Sea coast between the first and fifth century A.D. According to their records, Somalia was then called Barbaria and its people were Barbars. The name Berber was apparently a corruption of Barbar and, therefore, Barbaria must have been the original homeland of the North African Berbers.

In all probability, the Red Sea Port city of Berbera was Barbara, the most important town in Barbaria. Perhaps it would be of interest to note here that the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyph was also called BARBA. Incidentally, BARBA in Somali meant ‘teach to write’ and was still in use in the old quarter of Mogadishu. BAR in Somali means ‘teach’ and BA was the first letter of the Hieroglyph as well as the Somali orthography. While the word Barbarism and Barbaric found its way into some European dictionaries in their correct spelling, they obviously referred to the hostile and ‘savage’ conduct of the North Africans who then were the only Barbars in contact with Europe.

Another unexpected source which the author found valuable was the two Holy Books of the two main monotheistic religions, namely the Bible and Qur’an. In the opinion of the author, the age of the two books and their reference to historical events renders them a valuable source which could not simply be ignored or dismissed. As a matter of fact, the two books provided some useful hints which added to the mounting etymological evidence at hand. For instance, the Biblical YAHWE (later turned Yehova and Jehova) was evidently the same as the Somali YAHU – traditionally invoked to ward off evil or danger. While the Cananite god ‘Pal’ was still present in Somalia in the same sense in one or two words, the ancient Aramaic name for the almighty, EBBE, was to this day the most commonly used names for God besides the Islamic ‘Allah’. The Biblical TUBAN-CAIN, whose profession was to make instruments (Genesis 4:22) was obviously a Greek mispronunciation of TUMAL, the Somali iron-monger.

According to the earliest interpretations of the Quran, the place where Cain slew his brother, Abel, was ‘GERIYAT’ which reportedly meant ‘The place of Death’. Incidentally, the hottest most desolate piece of desert in North-Western Somalia was called and thus also meant in Somali. GERIYAT (GEERIYAAD) lies about 25km south of the historical Red Sea Port of Zeila (probably the Biblical Zillah, the mother of TUBAL-CAIN). Also according to the Holy Quran, WAD (the ancient Hamite god) was one of the five idol-gods worshipped during the time of Prophet Noah. There was now etymological evidence that WAD was a Somali deity as also was HOBAL and several of ancient Egypt’s gods.

III. THE LAND OF THE GODS

Linguistically, Somali was classified as a member of the Eastern Cushitic sub-group of the Cushitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic family. Languages that belong to the Hamito-Semitic family were usually sub-divided into branches that represented dialects of the original parent language. These were Semitic, Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic and Chadic.

While some linguists rejected the existence of a genetic affinity between the Chadic and other branches of the Hamito-Semitic, others accepted it Similarly, on the basis of the low percentage of vocabulary items shared between the West Cushitic languages and other members of the Cushitic branch, some scholars classified West Cushitic as a separate branch of the Hamito-Semitic known as Omotic. Still others connect Omotic with the Chadic group.

In view of such considerable differences of opinion among linguists as to which language belonged to which group and the criteria to be applied in identifying a language, it would in the view of the author, be wise to expand the scope of the criteria to be applied. Just as new genetic evidence points to the fact that all human beings came from the same family of man and woman, available linguistic evidence also points to the same genetic origin of all languages. Obviously, the present criterion for classifying languages on the basis of the common origin of the most ancient vocabulary and word elements used to express grammatical relations were clearly inadequate and the cause of such difference of opinion. Consequently, a study of a language’s etymology would not only add to our knowledge of a people’s ancient history and culture but could also help in determining the age of a language as well as its relationship with other languages. However, the study of the word formation of a language was a rather complex subject and could only be attempted by a native with a fairly large reservoir of vocabulary, an inner feeling for the cultural circumstances in which a word formed as well as a working knowledge of other sister languages. Studying a language as a foreign medium was, in the opinion of the author, hardly enough to comprehend variations of the words of an ancient yet living language such as Somali.

Unfortunately, the present study raises more questions than it provides answers in a discipline already beset with conflicting theories and arguments. However, whatever linguistic characteristics Somali seems to share with other languages of the Cushitic group, the presence of a fairly large number of ancient objects of worship as well as names of God clearly separates it from the group and calls for a more comprehensive study of the language.

(P.S. For the purpose of clarity, gods of Somali origin identified in the study as well as Somali words used are rendered in the new Somali orthography.)

Contrary to the accepted traditional classification and the recent claim by Prof. M. Nuh (PhD UCLA 1981) that Somali separated from parent Cushitic some 3000 to 3500 years ago, it was evident from the study the language could well belong to the ancient stage of the Hamito-Semitic if not earlier. The fact that it survived almost intact over several millennia could probably be due to its speakers’ unchanged pastoralist way of life and their almost geographical isolation in the North-Eastern corner of the Horn of Africa.

Probably the most important word in the Somali language is its name, i.e. SOMALI. Often misunderstood and occasionally misinterpreted by Somali and foreign scholars alike, the author thought it befitting that the study should begin with it. Contrary to all erroneous theories advanced and meanings attributed to it, the name was a simple Somali noun describing the profession of its speakers, namely SOMAAL. In old Somali, so’ meant meat – now replaced by the modern word HILIB. Among speakers of MAI dialect, however, SO’ was still very much in use and was the only word for meat. The suffix MAAL means to live on or to make gain from. Hence SO’MAAL literally means ‘one who lives on meat’ – in other words a pastoralist.

Apparently, in ancient times, Somalis were more efficiently divided along professional lines as opposed to the present cumbersome system of lineage. The TUMAAL was the iron-monger, BAAJIMAAL was the potter and BIYOMAAL (literally the one who lives on or makes gain from water) was either a cultivator or a fisher. Presently, a sub-clan of the main Dir clan-family is called BIYOMAAL and live along the lower parts of the Shabelle river – though they practice both farming and pastoralism. To this day, however, the SO’MAAL, TUMAAL and BAAJIMAAL live true to their old professions. In line with similar words in the language, the difficult-to-pronounce Hamzah (’) in SO’MAAL was later dropped and replaced by the long vowel SOOMAAL.

The only other Somali word with the suffix MAAL was DUMAAL which meant ‘one who gained from death’. DUMAAL was the word commonly used for wife-inheritance. In Somali tradition, a man is expected to inherit the wife of his deceased brother. Similarly, in the event of death of one’s wife, her younger sister is usually given to him in marriage to take the place of her deceased elder sister. Therefore, in Somali, a sister-in-law was a DUMAASHI (which should have basically been DUMAAL-SHI).

WAD’AAD (now WADAAD), evidently the pre-Islamic word for priest (man of religion) was still commonly used and contained the ancient ‘Hamitic’ god WAD. Hence WAD’AAD, or more recently WADAAD, meant the attendant of WAD. In modern Somali, WAD meant ‘death’. Similarly, DAR’AAD (currently GARAAD) meant ‘an expert in law’ – probably the clan advocate. In modern Somali, however, GARAAD today means prince or Sultan of a clan.

Another supposedly ‘ancient Hamitic god’, HOBAL, also was evidently of Somali origin. HOOBAL – alternatively HOOYAL – was probably the best known of all Somali gods and continues to dominate Somali poetry and traditional folklore songs. Pagan Arabia’s most important god, HUBAL, was none other than the Somali HUBAL, co-opted and given an Arabised sound. In modern Somali today, HOBAL, was understood to mean ‘Artiste’. The ancient god was probably the patron-god of Somali literature.

Undoubtedly the most important aspect of the present study was the Somali-Egyptian relationship. Present linguistic evidence showed at least five of ancient Egypt’s gods came from or had obvious links with the country they at times called ‘The Land of the Gods’. For instance, the supreme sun god, RA’ (also alternatively called RA and RE) occurs as a component of a number of culturally-important Somali words. The all-important ritual word for slaughter, GOWRAC, clearly indicates the sun god was as old as the language itself. GOWRAC literally meant ‘cut for RAC’. The Oromo word for the same ritual was GORA’ with a Hamzah substituted for the more difficult to pronounce C (’). RA was the only god Somali shared with other Eastern Cushitic branch with the exception of Waq which it also shares with the Oromo. Other Somali words which also contained the supreme sun god GARAC (an illegitimate child), ARRAWEELO (AR-RA-WEELO), the legendary pagan queen who castrated a whole generation of the Somali menfolk. ARRAWEELO literally meant ‘The one who obeyed RA’. The Somali word for ‘wrong’ was GURRAC (GUR-RAC). GUR meant ‘the left hand’, which in most languages stood for ‘wrong’.

The two words GARRE (GAR-RE) and BARRE (BAR-RE) incorporated the third alias of the sun god, RE. Consequently, GARRE meant the same as GARAC – both meaning an illegitimate child. Hence the saying “GARRE GARAC MALE” – meaning the GARRE (a clan in the south) have no illegitimate child. It was an accepted tradition to this day among the clan that a newly-wed bride was immediately taken away by young herdsmen and could not be returned to her husband until she was pregnant. BARRE (BAR-RE) meant god’s rain. BAR means rain drops as in BARWAAQO (BAR-WAQ).

HOROUS, the second most important of ancient Egypt’s gods, also appears to have originated in the ‘Land of the gods’. The dark falcon deity (Somali ABOODI) still remains a much feared bird. It was believed to be particularly dangerous to newly-born babies and nursing mothers. A piece of the bird’s bones or its claw was traditionally tied around the infant as a protection against its harmful spells. In North-Eastern Somalia in particular, the male name HORUSE was given to a child of dark complexion. To protect themselves against the falcon’s evil eye, nursing mothers often carry a knife or a short stick of the WAGAR tree. Incidentally, the Egyptian pharaohs reportedly carried the same WAGAR stuff to the battlefield to ensure victory against the enemy.

OSIRIS, another of ancient Egypt’s gods who reportedly ruled the underworld after being killed by SET (Ed. Somali SED), was evidently a Greek distortion of ISIR and WASIIR in Somali. Today, Somalis sometimes refer to AB and ISIR in their denial of an accusation that was culturally horrendous. One usually says "I have neither AB nor ISIR for such an act" – meaning I have neither the genetic probability nor the cultural or religious orientation to commit such a horrendous act.

The pair WALCAN and WASIIR, now on their way to oblivion, were also used in a similar but slightly varying context. In modern Somali, however, ISIR was commonly used as a female name.

NEPHDEYS and BES, two less prominent ancient Egyptian gods, also appear to have some affinity with the Somali language. While NAF in Somali meant ‘soul’, NEF meant ‘breath’. Hence NEPHDEYS literally would mean ‘The one who releases breath – a function more or less attributed to the ancient god. BES in Somali meant ‘One who was in his or her deathbed’ – also a function the latter god was associated with.

The ancient Cananite god, PAL, was still alive in Somali in the same sense but probably in only two words – UUR-KU-BAALE-LE and YABAAL. The rarely used UUR-KU-BAAL-LE meant ‘One who has BAL in him’. One would usually ask: “How do you expect me to know your intentions? Do you think I have BAAL in me?” In essence, this meant only one who had BAAL in him could foretell the hidden or the unknown. YABAAL, possibly an alternative name for BAAL, was usually associated with the voice, of an invisible being that told one what to do or not to do in time of crisis in the wilderness.

Finally, the ancient Mayan Sea god, MANYA, simply meant sea in the Somali dialect spoken in the old quarters of Mogadishu.

IV. CONCLUSION

The above brief study of Somali etymology does not attempt to re-classify the language nor does it set its probable age. But the evident fact that Somali contains the two most ancient ‘Hamitic’ gods, WAD and HOBAL, at least five of ancient Egypt’s most prominent deities as well as two Semitic and one Cananite ancient names of god clearly calls for a thorough review of this medium hitherto classified as Eastern Cushitic.

True to its old name ‘The Land of the gods’, Somalia was probably a very important center of religion in ancient times and the probable cradle of idol-worship for both sides of the Red Sea and farther afield. The fact that the Horn of Africa was the oldest settlement that combined both Hamites and Semites also lends more credibility to the current popular theory that human species originated in the East African region.

Without any attempt to draw any conclusions, the present brief study merely seeks to shed some light on our knowledge of the Somali language and its mainly pastoralist speakers who until now attracted comparatively little attention from scholars. It was evident further study was needed not only to re-classify the language and assess its probable age but also to realize its full historio-linguistic potential.


By Abukar Ali

Somalis’ Aversion to Reality Based Politics

The purpose of this paper is to discuss reality-based politics and how that essential feature is peculiarly missing from our political discourse. Meanwhile, I will not to turn this short piece into didactic and moralizing dissertation. It is common knowledge that beyond crisis, Somalia is in dire straits in all aspects of the country’s societal life. So there is no need to dwell on that. What I am interested in discussing is the apparent gaping hole that the Somali intellectuals habitually tiptoe around when thrashing out issues related to Somali politics. Specifically, the very notion of trying to reach for plethora of quotes of long dead men and ancient parables from cultural milieus far removed from Somalia in terms of social organization and history.

Often the treatises put forth make for good reading as they are well crafted, even elegant. Their problem lies in the absence of much substance in bringing about clarity to the pressing issues of the day. The best of them identifies a well- known villain as stocking horse and rides it to death. In fact, if some of these pieces were food that one had to consume to get energy, their nutritional value would in all likelihood not be any better than the empty calories found in popcorn. Why? Because in the author’s rush to wax eloquent about amorphous philosophical concerns and far flung strategies, key elements including the reality on the ground, the historical record and the dictates of pragmatism, to say nothing of the imperative for fair play in social engineering are ignored. And, beyond the need to manage the present-day crisis, this issue of social engineering or its lack thereof is at the crux of Somalia’s political failure.

The Need for Crisis Management

In crisis situations, disputants are often forced to make important decisions. When an aggrieved party to an on-going political fiasco realizes what was a long brewing conflict is getting out of hand, the last thing this party needs to do is to delay corrective action. Under normal circumstances, strategic thinking is employed towards an optimum resolution. But when an entire society is lurching from crisis mode of operation to precipitously dysfunction, snap decisions are not only inevitable but in some cases necessary. Waiting until the situation is totally unmanageable is akin to pursuing fool’s errand.

Imperative of Power Sharing

Power sharing is too important a field to be left to debating societies given to chasing after idle exercises and trivial pursuits. Nor can the dimwitted policies of failed regimes such as the TFG in Mogadishu be expected to be magic potions or cure-alls; to many Somali communities they represent more like poison pills!

In the civil war wracked Arab country of Iraq, even the recent relatively successful election failed to diminish the struggle for power between the various communities. As in Somalia, the shaping of the draft constitution remains a major bone of contention. This is because its outcome will determine the formula by which resources will be shared between the regions and allocated within the purview of the central government. Equally important, it will delineate the degree to which communities will retain self-rule to be able to manage their own affairs. This is the reason why contending communities require having adequate voices in the corridors of power so that their issues of interest would be heard and acted upon satisfactorily.

In Iraq, the parties are all on record agreeing to a “federal system of governance that preserves the unity of the state, advances the aspirations of the ethnic and sectarian groups, and is administratively viable”. In other words, the federal states would control all affairs not explicitly assigned to the national government. No such luck in Somalia, which indicates that the situation is really as hopeless as it seems. Hence, self-interested obfuscation or over simplification will not lead to real solution; it can only delay the day of reckoning!

Still, in many ways, Somalia’s situation is not dissimilar to that of Iraq. All one has to do is to substitute sunni and Shi’a Arabs for the extant Somali clans and you get the picture. What is called for, therefore, is for commentators to have the presence of mind to be able to examine the situation with the objective reality in mind. That’s all. No need to fulminate ad infinitum about unspecified offenders and tangential, free-wheeling issues of all stripes.

There is a lot at stake. Not too many Somalis of good conscience would, under the current environment of excessive political corruption, be willingly to leave the fate of their communities to the tender mercies of the avaricious cabal in and around Villa Somalia. This is not so complicated a matter to appreciate. And no amount of over intellectualizing could conceal the simple truths that situation reveals about the low ebb into which the Somali society has fallen. Nor can we Somalis blame the whole sordid affair of repeated societal failures on Ethiopia’s reviled, ruling Tigre, minority regime—a community of mere three million members at best. (Somalis throughout the Horn of Africa and elsewhere are estimated to be over 20,0000,000 strong).

Congenital Problem Overlooked

Somalia’s self-styled politicians have become renowned for deceptive practices interspersed with hastily contrived unilateral decisions that are typically presented to the public on take it or leave it propositions. This is dangerous in a land without institutional checks and rampant abuse of power. The habit of entrenched mendacity on the part of the present ruling clique, aka, TFG has gone on far too long. This is in part because on a number of occasions, aggrieved communities decided not to challenge their set up in the interest of national unity or in the hope of helping to bring about a genuine reconciliation. That gesture of moderation allowed the foregoing problem to continue unabated. As a result the corrupt practices began to develop longer tentacles, greased by bribes. If these practices are not cut root and branch, they would choke the life out of not only specific communities but the society as a whole (sooner rather than later).

Conclusion

By engaging in unrestrained indulgences of malfeasance and misfeasance, the two Shariifs, their minions, diaspora enablers and sympathizers are all but ignoring the predicates of true national reconciliation, namely equitable distribution of power. Is it any wonder then that the wretched state of affairs wrought by the two wicked Shariifs and their surreptitious diaspora supporters failed repeatedly to engender confidence in the Somali people. This is another compelling reason why no one in his right mind would find fault with the communities at the receiving end of the cabal’s abuse of power, such as it is, for rejecting out of hand their latest proposed administration—a team some of the key members of which were recruited directly from Sheikh Shariif’s personal staff—to prolong the current TFG misrule. In this context, the exemplar role played by people including Awad A. Ashare, MP, deserves praise for talking truth to power or, in this instance, to those wishing to usurp the power that belongs to the Somali people, collectively. Mr. Ashare along with other courageous colleagues reminded the would-be emperors masquerading as national leaders that they have no clothes.

Finally, it has been said that geography is destiny. If corruption and mischief is going to be the order of the day in Somali politics for the foreseeable future then the Somali nation state will wither in the vine and may not make it to when and if sanity returns to the Somali peninsula. So it may very well become de rigueur that, to unite the Somali clans one day organically into a cohesive national polity, they may be justified to go their own separate ways (at least for the time being).

Ali A. Fatah