Somalis or Somali people, are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. The Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim.Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Press: 2001), p.1 Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.The Collapse of the Somali State: The Impact of the Colonial Legacy by A.M. Issa-Salwe (Page 1)
According to some scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. This ancient historical kingdom is where a great portion of their cultural traditions and ancestry are said to derive from.Egypt: 3000 Years of Civilization Brought to Life By Christine El MahdyAncient perspectives on Egypt By Roger Matthews, Cornelia Roemer, University College, London.Africa's legacies of urbanization: unfolding saga of a continent By Stefan GoodwinCivilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature By Felipe Armesto Fernandez Somalis and their country have long been identified with the term Barbar (or ). The 12th century geographer al-Idrisi, for example, identified the Somali Peninsula as Barbara,Marina Tolmacheva, "Long-Distance Arab Sailing in the Indian Ocean before the Portuguese," in Early Maritime Cultures in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean: Papers from a Conference Held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (African Studies Program) 23–24 October 2015, with Additional Contributions, ed. Akshay Sarathi, p. 216, available at https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/download/9781784917128. and classical sources from the Greeks and Romans similarly refer to the region as the second Barbaria.Lionel Casson (ed.), The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Princeton University Press, 1989), p. 45.
Somalis share many historical and cultural traits with other Cushitic peoples, especially with Lowland East Cushitic people, specifically the Afar and the Saho.Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho by I. M. Lewis Ethnic Somalis are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 17.6 million), Somaliland (5.7 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Kenya (2.8 million), and Djibouti (586,000). Somali diasporas are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Western Europe, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa and Oceania.
Etymology
Samaale, the legendary common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. One other theory is that the name is held to be derived from the words and , which together mean literally "go and milk". This interpretation differs depending on region, with northern Somalis implying it refers to camel's milk,Who Cares about Somalia: Hassan's Ordeal; Reflections on a Nation's Future, By Hassan Ali Jama, page 92 while southern Somalis use the transliteration which refers to cow's milk. This is a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people.I. M. Lewis, A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa, (Oxford University Press : 1963), p.12.
Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic word for wealthy (), referring to Somali riches in livestock. Historian Mohamed A. Rirash maintains that the etymology of the ethnonym derives from the compound term —with meaning 'to herd' and referring to 'livestock'—initially serving as an occupational label for Somali pastoralists before evolving into the collective name for all ethnic Somalis.Rirash, Mohamed Abdillahi (1988). "Effects of Sixteenth Century Upheavals on the History of the Horn" (PDF). Proceedings of the Third International Congress of Somali Studies: 253.
Alternatively, the ethnonym is believed to have been derived from the Automoli (Asmach), a group of warriors from ancient Egypt described by Herodotus. Asmach is thought to have been their Egyptian name, with Automoli being a Greek derivative of the Hebrew word (meaning 'on the left hand side').
A Tang Chinese document from the 9th century CE referred to the northern Somalia coast—which was then part of a broader region in Northeast Africa known as Barbaria, in reference to the area's Barbar (Cushitic) inhabitantsDavid D. Laitin, Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State, (Westview Press: 1987), p. 5.—as Po-pa-li.Lee V. Cassanelli, The shaping of Somali society: reconstructing the history of a pastoral people, 1600–1900, (University of Pennsylvania Press: 1982), p.9.Nagendra Kr Singh, International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties, (Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2002), p. 524.
The first clear written reference of the sobriquet Somali dates back to the early 15th century CE during the reign of Ethiopian Emperor Yeshaq I who had one of his court officials compose a hymn celebrating a military victory over the Sultanate of Ifat.I.M. Lewis, A modern history of the Somali: nation and state in the Horn of Africa, 4, illustrated edition, (James Currey: 2002), p.25. Simur was also an ancient Harari alias for the Somali people.
Somalis overwhelmingly prefer the demonym Somali over Somalian, which may be viewed as incorrect since the former is an endonym, while the latter is an exonym with double suffixes.Michel, A. D. A. M. "Panorama of Socio-Religious Communities1." Indian Africa: Minorities of Indian-Pakistani Origin in Eastern Africa (2015): 69. The hypernym of the term Somali from a geopolitical sense is Horner and from an ethnic sense, it is Cushite.Woldu, Demelash. Exploring language uses and policy processes in Karat Town of Konso Woreda, Ethiopia. Diss. University of East Anglia, 2018. The constitution of Somalia defines every citizen as a Somali.
History
The origin of the Somali people which was previously theorized to have been from Southern Ethiopia since 1000 BC or from the Arabian Peninsula in the eleventh century has now been overturned by newer archeological and linguistic studies which puts the original homeland of the Somali people in Somaliland region, which concludes that the Somalis are the indigenous inhabitants of the Horn of Africa for the last 7000 years. Ancient rock paintings, which date back 5000 years (estimated), have been found in Somaliland region. These engravings depict early life in the territory. The most famous of these is the Laas Geel complex. It contains some of the earliest known rock art on the African continent and features many elaborate pastoralist sketches of animal and human figures. In other places, such as the Dhambalin region, a depiction of a man on a horse is postulated as being one of the earliest known examples of a mounted huntsman. Inscriptions have been found beneath many of the rock paintings, but archaeologists have so far been unable to decipher this form of ancient writing.Susan M. Hassig, Zawiah Abdul Latif, Somalia, (Marshall Cavendish: 2007), p.22 During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here with their respective industries and factories.pg 105 – A History of African archaeology By Peter Robertshaw The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to 4th millennium BC.pg 40 – Early Holocene Mortuary Practices and Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Southern Somalia, by Steven A. Brandt World Archaeology © 1988 The stone implements from the Jalelo site in Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West.Prehistoric Implements from Somalia by H. W. Seton-Karr pg 183 In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians.Phoenicia pg 199The Aromatherapy Book by Jeanne Rose and John Hulburd pg 94 According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidal structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia may date from this period.Man, God and Civilization pg 216
In classical antiquity, the Macrobians, who may have been ancestral to the Automoli or ancient Somalis, established a powerful tribal kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia. They were reputed for their longevity and wealth, and were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men".The Geography of Herodotus: Illustrated from Modern Researches and Discoveries by James Talboys Wheeler, pg 1xvi, 315, 526 The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers. According to Herodotus' account, the Achaemenid emperor Cambyses II, upon his conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE, sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.John Kitto, James Taylor, The popular cyclopædia of Biblical literature: condensed from the larger work, (Gould and Lincoln: 1856), p.302. The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains.
Several ancient city-states, such as Opone, Essina, Sarapion, Nikon, Malao, Damo and Mosylon near Cape Guardafui, which competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade, also flourished in Somalia.Oman in history By Peter Vine Page 324
Islam was introduced to the area early on by the first Muslims of Mecca fleeing prosecution during the first Hejira with Masjid al-Qiblatayn being built before the Qiblah faced towards Mecca. The town of Zeila's two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to the 7th century, and is one of the oldest mosques in Africa.
Consequently, the Somalis were some of the earliest non-Arabs that converted to Islam. The peaceful conversion of the Somali population by Somali Muslim scholars in the following centuries, the ancient city-states eventually transformed into Islamic Mogadishu, Berbera, Zeila, Barawa, Hafun and Merca, which were part of the Berberi civilization. The city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam,Society, security, sovereignty and the state in Somalia – Page 116 and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries.East Africa: Its Peoples and Resources – Page 18
The Sultanate of Ifat, led by the Walashma dynasty with its capital at Zeila, ruled over parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. The historian al-Umari records that Ifat was situated near the Red Sea coast, and states its size as 15 days travel by 20 days travel. Its army numbered 15,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Al-Umari also credits Ifat with seven "mother cities": Belqulzar, Kuljura, Shimi, Shewa, Adal, Jamme and Laboo.G.W.B. Huntingford, The Glorious Victories of Ameda Seyon, King of Ethiopia (Oxford: University Press, 1965), p. 20.