Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo and Somali languages. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Waaqa (Oromo pronunciation: [waːkʼa] ) still means 'God' in the present Oromo language. [5] Other Cushitic languages where the word is still found include Konso Waaqa; Rendille Wax; Bayso Wah or Waa; Daasanach Waag; Hadiyya Waaʔa; Burji Waacʼi. [6] [7]
In the present-day Somali language, the primary name of God is now the Arabic-derived Allaah. [8] The term Waaq survives in proper names and placenames. The Somali clan Jidwaaq (meaning ‘Path of God’) have derived their name from Waaq. [9] Names of towns and villages in Somalia that involve the word Waaq include Ceelwaaq, Caabudwaaq and Barwaaqo. [10] [11]
Waaq is also a word in Arabic for protector ( واق ) and occurs in the Quran. [12] [13] Some traditions indicate Waaq to be associated with the Harari region. [14] The Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi mentions in his Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya that Waaq used to be a generic name for God, in comparison to the Turkic people’s tenets of Tengri. [15]
In Oromo and Somali culture, Waaq, Waaqa or Waaqo was the name of God in their pre-Christian and pre-Muslim monotheistic faith believed to have been adhered to by Cushitic groups. [16] It was likely brought to the Horn by speakers of the Proto-Cushitic language who arrived from North Sudan in the Neolithic era. [2] In more recent times, the religion has mostly declined since the arrival of Islam and Christianity to the Horn of Africa. [17]
The Oromo people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya. They speak the Oromo language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to the last Ethiopian census of 2007, the Oromo numbered 25,488,344 people or 34.5% of the Ethiopian population. Recent estimates have the Oromo comprising 45,000,000 people, or 35.8% of the total Ethiopian population estimated at 116,000,000.
Somali is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken primarily in Greater Somalia, and by the Somali diaspora as a mother tongue. Somali is an official language in both Somalia and Ethiopia, and serves as a national language in Djibouti, it is also a recognised minority language in Kenya. The Somali language is officially written with the Latin alphabet although the Arabic script and several Somali scripts like Osmanya, Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used.
Musa Ag Amastan (1867–1920) was the Chief (Amenokal) of the Kel Ahaggar Tuareg from 1905 to 1920. Based in the Ahaggar, he formed part of the Kel Ghela.
The Rendille are a Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Eastern Province of Kenya.
The Marehan is a Somali clan, which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families, the Darod.
The Yibir, also referred to as the Yibbir, the Yebir, or the Yibro, are a caste of Somali people. They have traditionally been endogamous. Their hereditary occupations have been magic making, leather work, the dispensing of traditional medicine and the making of amulets. They belong to the Sab clan and sometimes referred to as a minority clan, they perform menial tasks.
Maurice Delafosse was a French ethnographer and colonial official who also worked in the field of the languages of Africa. In a review of his daughter's biography of him he was described as "one of the most outstanding French colonial administrators and ethnologists of his time."
The Konso, also known as the Xonsita, are a Lowland East Cushitic-speaking ethnic group primarily inhabiting south-western Ethiopia.
Somali studies is the scholarly term for research concerning Somalis and Greater Somalia. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography and archaeology. The field draws from old Somali chronicles, records and oral literature, in addition to written accounts and traditions about Somalis from explorers and geographers in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. The Somali Studies International Association is the primary organization for Somalist scholars. Bildhaan, Somali Studies, Horn of Africa and the Anglo-Somali Society Journal likewise serve as the field's main periodicals. Since 1980, prominent Somalist scholars from around the world have also gathered annually to hold the International Congress of Somali Studies.
Somali mythology covers the beliefs, myths, legends and folk tales circulating in Somali society that were passed down to new generations in a timeline spanning several millennia in Somalia and Djibouti dating back 6000 years ago. Many of the things that constitute monotheistic Somali mythology today are traditions whose accuracy have faded away with time or have been gentrified considerably with the coming of Islam to the Horn of Africa.
The Harari people are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group which inhabits the Horn of Africa. Members of this ethnic group traditionally reside in the walled city of Harar, simply called Gēy "the City" in Harari, situated in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia. They speak the Harari language, a member of the South Ethiopic grouping within the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic languages.
The predominant religion in Somalia is Islam, with tiny minorities of Christians, traditional African religions and others.
The Harla, also known as Harala, Haralla are an ethnic group that once inhabited Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic or Semitic branches of the Afroasiatic family.
Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn, popularly known as Aw Barkhadle or Yusuf Al Kownayn, was an Islamic scholar and traveler based in Zeila, Somalia. According to Dr. Enrico Cerulli, Yusuf Al Kawneyn is referenced in the Harar manuscripts.
The El Molo, also known as Elmolo, Dehes, Fura-Pawa and Ldes, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the northern Eastern Province of Kenya. They historically spoke the El Molo language as a mother tongue, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Cushitic branch, and now most El Molo speak Samburu.
The Bursuuk or also written as Barsuk, Barsuq and Barsoub is a clan belonging to Madahweyne sub-clan of the Dir clan family and are not related to the Musa Ali section of the Arap who adopted their name. They largely live in Ethiopia, in the Somali Region, especially around the ancient city of Harar and between the city and Jigjiga.
The Tomal, also known as Tumal or Tumaal, is an artisanal caste among Somali people. Their traditional hereditary occupation has been as smiths and leather production, and they have been endogamous.
The Jidwaq is a major subclan, part of one of the largest Somali clans families, the Absame Darod. Jidwaq are well known for their conquests in Abyssinia during the 1500s they played a very prominent role in the Adal Sultanate. They are famous for bringing the largest army and were very loyal to Imam Ahmad. Jidwaq have produced notable generals such as Ahmed Girri Bin Hussein who was the right hand man of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.
Waaqeffanna is an ethnic religion indigenous to the Oromo people in the Horn of Africa. The word Waaqeffanna is derived from Waaq which is the ancient name for Creator in various Cushitic languages including the Oromo people and Somali people. The followers of the Waaqeffanna religion are called Waaqeffataa and they believe in the supreme being Waaqa Tokkicha. It is estimated that about 3% of the Oromo population, which is 1,095,000 Oromos, in present-day Ethiopia actively practice this religion. Some put the number around 300,000, depending on how many subsets of the religion one includes. This number is still up for debate by many African religious scholars.
Dakkar, also known as Dakar, or Deker, was a historical Muslim town located in present-day eastern Ethiopia. It served as the first capital of the Adal Sultanate after its founding in the early 15th century by Sabr ad-Din III.
Chapter: Ar-Ra'd. Verses: 13:34 and 13:37.