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22-2 003 PDF
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SOMALIA'S JUDEAO-CHRISTIAN
HERITAGE:
A PRELIMINARY SURVEY
Ben I. Aram*
INTRODUCTION
*Ben I. Aram is the author's pen name. The author has been in ministry among
Somalis since 1982, in somalia itself, and in Kenya and Ethiopia.
1
These are part of both the Lowland and Highland Eastern Cushitic language
clusters such as Oromo, Afar, Hadiya, Sidamo, Kambata, Konso and Rendille.
4 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
2
See Braukamper (1973:29) for his observation derived from his study of
Hadiya, Sidamo and Oromo in southern Ethiopia.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 5
Recent years have been a particularly dark period for the Somali
nation, as yet the unresolved civil war enters its second decade. There has
been no effective national government since the end of 1990. Countless
peace agreements have been broken and frequent attempts to rebuild a
national government have yet to succeed.
faults both Somali and foreign scholars in this and calls for more
recognition of the history and culture of the primarily southern sedentary
societies. While I. doubt Mohamed Haji was considering religious
diversity, my purpose for this paper resonates with his final plea:
"The time has come to assess Somalia's history and culture in a more
serious way. It is time to incorporate all Somalia's cultural heritage in all its
diversity in a comprehensive and more meaningful future Somalia."
(Mohamed Haji 1995:21)
Jomo Kenyatta once said, when the missionaries arrived, the Africans had
the land, the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us to pray with our
eyes closed and when we opened them, they had the land and we had the
Bible. The Minority clans in Somalia experienced similar situations when
some Arab Sheikhs with their disciples arrived in their country. The
Minority clans have been in Somalia a long time, but other Somali clans
have been here a short time and the other Somali men only knows about
3
Five are Lowland Eastern Cushitic (Af-Maay, Af-Tunni, Af-Garre, Af-
Dabarre, and Af-Jiiddu) and are related to Standard Somali (Af-Maay and Af-Garre
being the closest and Af-Jiiddu being the most distant), while the other three are
Bantu: Chi-Mbelazi, Ki-Bajuuni (themselves dialects of Ki-Swahili and Ki-
Mushunguli (essentially the same as Ki-Zigua in NE Tanzania).
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 7
himself (sic) and what he's been told. He came to himself up in the desert
of Arabia and he can't get any information that goes beyond the Desert.
(Moharnoud 1996:2)
4
For example a message posted to the Newsgroups: soc.culture.somalia by M.
J. Ciise discussed the metaphysical foundation of Somali traditional law (Xeer
Soomaab) and, via linguistic analysis, showed some terms related to pre-Islamic
religion (Maxarned Jaarnac 1996).
8 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
WRITTEN EVIDENCE
How long Christianity lingered elsewhere along the Gulf of Aden coast
of northern Somalia is not known, but there is a fascinating account from
St. Francis Xavier's visit to the nearby island ofSoqotra in 1542 (Freeman-
Grenville 1966:135-137). In a letter dated 20 September 1542, he wrote to
the Jesuit headquarters in Rome about his encounters with inhabitants of
that island. They claimed to be converts of St. Thomas, and seemed to be
totally illiterate and without any Scriptures. Their "priests" were also
illiterate, but were able to do their daily prayers from memory, despite the
fact they were in a language they did not understand. 7 They had totally
forgotten the sacrament of baptism, but had Lenten fasts that parallel those
of the Monophysite Ethiopian Orthodox Church (hereafter referred to as
EOC) in terms of length and severity. St. Xavier remarked several times
5
The source of highly sought-after frankincense and myrrh.
6
See also Triminghams' quotation oflbn Hawqal from 978 (1952: p. 51).
7
St. Xavier speculated it was Chaldean, which is a reasonable hypothesis,
since Syriac was used as a liturgical language in the Middle East and among the
Mar Toma Christians ofKerala in south India.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 9
how proud the Soqotrans were of being Christian, and of their hostility to
Yemeni Muslims. In northeast Somalia, there is one Somali clan, the Carab
Maxamed Saalax who trace their genealogy to Soqotra8 . At present, both
the inhabitants of that island and their related clan in Somalia are Muslim.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
8
CQW. 1999. Personal communication. Nairobi, Kenya
9
An Arabic term for Christians, somewhat derogatory. It can be speculated
that these ruins were the work of what Ehret terms the Ahmar-Dharoor people; he
postulates that the modem agropastoral Somali clan of Samaroon (Gadabuursi) are
their modem descendants (Ehret 1995:242-247)
10
In the Somali orthography, "c" represents the "ain" sound also found in
Arabic and Hebrew.
10 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
through one end of this stone. Cabdi also displayed other engraved stones,
some in a cursive script that did not appear to be like Arabic or Ethiopic
script. In the same location, Cabdi found a stone structure that he believed
was a place of worship.
Genealogical Issues
Somali clan structure is based on genealogy, with many people
knowing their genealogy beyond their 20th paternal ancestor. As with other
non-Arab Muslims, Somalis link founders of particular clan families (eg.
Isxaaq, Daarood) with famous Arab sheikhs who arrived from Arabia many
centuries before, married a local girl, and founded a clan. In particular,
clan genealogies were rooted in the Qureysh clan of the prophet
Muhammad. Abdalla Omar (1995: 117-134) has provided some intriguing
analysis of these claims, along with dating Islamization of many clans to
the 15th century. Despite the fact they spoke their own language, not
Arabic, Somalis used to like to emphasize that they were Arabs. This
distinction was particularly made vis-a-vis other Africans; however, racial
discrimination against Somali migrant workers in Arabia, and
disappointment with the lack of Arab relief aid and peacemaking help
during the current civil war, have combined to severely erode this claim of
Arab origin.
11
As a caution, while it seemed these archaeologists had genuine artifacts, the desire
for funding may have influenced what the Christian relief workers were told.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 11
The remaining three clans still exist today. The low-caste magician
clan of Yibir is found mainly in eastern Ethiopia, Somaliland and northern
Somalia. Some sources consider Yibir to be a corruption of the Somali
word for Hebrew, "Cibraant'. During the civil war, Yibir refugees in
Kenya publicized their supposed links with the Falasha of northern
Ethiopia. This was no doubt linked to their desire to find re-settlement in
Israel, just as the Falasha had done. Some Yibir claim their early king
Bucul 1 Bacayr 13 was Jewish and defeated by the Islamic missionary Aw
Barkhadle in a contest of magic that took place in northern Somalia.
12
An alternate pronunciation is spelled "Bucur".
13
Also known by a Muslim name of Maxamed Xaniif.
14
Literally, "paleskins".
12 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
Baraawe. Lewis (1969: 42) refers to possible Yemeni Jewish origins for
some of the coastal city dwellers but does not elaborate. I have heard
various accounts of the Begedi (inland from Merka) and Xaatim 15
(Baraawe) also being of Jewish descent.
Sabbath Observance
While living in the small town of Homboy, Jilib District, in southern
Somalia in 1988, I noticed that a significant portion of the population
obeyed the injunction of a local religious leader not to cultivate their fields
on Saturdays. These people were disciples of Sheekh Ibraahim from the
Garre clan, whose father had founded the town in the early 20th century.
They believed that farm work on Saturdays would result in various plagues
striking their fields. Those observing this Sabbath rest worshipped
normally with other villagers at the mosque on Fridays. I have been told of
a family from the Baadacade clan in Buulo Burte in central Somalia that
observed a similar taboo on Saturday work 17 • If this issue were to be
surveyed, it is likely that more instances would be found.
1
~ In the Somali orthography, "x" represents an emphatic, aspirated "h".
16
They are found in the Quran, but are not normally used by Muslims in most
Arab lands (contrasting with the common usage of names like Yuusuf, Ibraahim,
Ismaaciil, Muuse, and Sulaymaan).
17
ACX. 1997. Personal communication. Nairobi.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 13
Some sections of the Sheekhaal clan in eastern Ethiopia use the cross
as a brand on their camels. They also inscribe a cross on stones marking
graves. This mark is called summaddii awliyo, meaning, "brand of the
saints". The Sheekhaal are a small priestly clan 19 , aligned with the Hawiye
clan family and are famed for their knowledge of Islam. Certain sections of
20
the Karanle (Murusade) Hawiye clan brand their camels with a cross • The
21
Karanle are located both in central Somalia and in the Shabeelle valley at
Iimi within Ethiopia, adjacent to Oromo clans inhabiting the Bale
mountains. It is likely that further investigation would reveal that other
clans use the cross as a livestock brand.
18
From the Arabic term.
19 Their name is derived from the word sheekh in Arabic, meaning a religious
authority.
20
ACX. 1997. Personal communication. Nairobi
21 Ceel Buur district in Galguduud Region and Mgooye District in Lower
Shabeelle Region.
14 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
DISCUSSION
22
It is similar to the use of the cross as an artistic motif by the Muslim Berber
Tamasheq (Tuareg) nomads of the Sahara in Algeria, Mali, and Niger.
23
Themselves all part of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
24
Levine is not making a political statement by this regional term, which
would include northeast Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and northern Kenya.
Rather, he is pointing out that millennia of contact between speakers of three
branches of the Afro-Asiatic language family (Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic) have
resulted in many unifying religious and cultural features. Ehret (1998) provides
insight into the differentiation of this language family.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 15
25
Udessa (1994) provides a detailed view of this fiom the Guji Oromo
context.
26
Interestingly, while this custom is usually called by its Somali name
dabshid, it still is called by a Farsi word Neyruus by some Somali, showing its link
to pre-Islamic Persia
27
Schlee uses the term "Proto-Rcndille-Somali" culture to describe these
three ethnic units.
21
Mainly from the Garre clan.
29
For a Muslim perspective on this isst:e, see Abdi Ali I 993.
16 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
from the rest ofthe Somalis by the Borana section of the Oromo from 1550
until the late 19th century, these three ethnic groups did not cross the line
into full conversion to Islam. Schlee points out that the Rendille (who
retained their language, which is fairly close to Somali) were the earliest to
separate from the "Proto-Rendille-Somali". They have fewer Islamic
elements than the Gabbra and Sakuye (who adopted the Borana dialect of
Oromo). The unusual way that Oromo traditional beliefs could supplant
Islam is further attested by an account I heard that the Ajuuraan in Kenya,
while still maintaining Islamic identity had adopted many elements of the.
religious rituals of their Borana neighbors 30 •
The veneer of Islam had extended only to usage of some Arabic names
for days of the week, some months and some religious terms like "ala/ 31 "
and ''dikir32 ". In particular, the Rendille and Gabbra remain largely non-
Islamized, so studies of their religious beliefs are very useful in both
reconstructing Somali pre-lslamic religion, as well as discerning external
religious influences paralleling those within Somali cultural history 33 •
According to Schlee the Gabbra have a self-perception of their religion as
non-pagan and on par with Islam (134).
30
YuusufTadiija. Personal communication. Muqdisho, 1983.
31
Derived from the Arabic word halaal.
32
This is an Arabic word for religious chanting;, meaning literally
''remembering the names of God". The chants used in the a/modo sacred fire
ceremony contain Arabic words, including references to Mekka and Medina.
33
Schlee poses an interesting example that Gabbra and Rendille, with their
common Proto-Rendille-Somali heritage use sheep as a peace offering when ending
hostilities between them; however, this does not take place with the neighboring
Turkana, who have a much more distant Nilotic culture.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 17
the Hadiya people in the Bale mountain area, so much so that the majority
of Arsi are actually of Hadiya background.
speak Amharic, their origins were from the Central Cushitic Agaw people.
Gamsts' (1969) study of another Agaw group, the Qemant gives fascinating
insights to the syncretism of Judaism with indigenous Cushitic religion. He
describes their religion as "Pagan-Hebraic" (29-43); whatever elements of
Judaism reached the Somalis and other closely related people was likely
similar.
To illustrate how far south Judaism may have spread in Ethiopia, the
account of Queen Gudit, the nemesis of the Aksumite Kingdom should be
noted. According to Ser~ew (1972), quoting an ancient Ge'ez manuscript,
Queen Gudit was Jewish 4• Her kingdom ofDamot lay to the southwest of
the Aksumite Kingdom. It is quite likely she was from one of the Agaw
tribes that had embraced Judaism in earlier centuries35 • Taddesse (1972: 40-
43) gives additional details on Gudit's destruction of Aksum in 979;
however, he identifies "Damoti" as being further south in the Sidamo
region and terms Gudit pagan rather than Jewish. Balisky (1997: 8-9) gives
a comprehensive view of all possible locations for Damot; he essentially
agrees with Sergew and concludes it was near the Gibe River valley, in the
area now inhabited by the Gurage and Oromo people.
34
He does cites some authors who hold that she was pagan.
35
Trimingham (1952: 52) discusses the possible geographical and religious
origins of "Guedit", as well as citing a contemporary Arab historian, lbn Hawqal
who referred to her war against Aksum. Furthermore, he attributes Judaistic
111
influences unique to the EOC to the conversion of Judaized Agaw in the 9111 and 10
century (35-36, 53-54). For further details on the unique degree of Judiasm
persisting within the EOC (particularly with regard to Sabbath observance) see
Harnmerschmidt (1965: 1-12).
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 19
Somalis. Lewis (1969: 54-55) recounts the legend that Bucul Bacayr's
(Maxamed Xaniif) wife Xantaale is buried in Harar36 and that Yibir still
make pilgrimages to her tomb.
36
Other Somalis believe that Xantaale is buried in Jigjiga.
37
The history of the Church in southern Arabia is not well documented; the
main sources I found were Bell (1968:1-63; 134-161) and Trimingham (1952:32-
55). Both authors stress the close relationship between the Christian Aksumite
Kingdom and the Christians of Najran. Bell (1968: 36 indicates that the Arabian
Christians were also Monophysite.
20 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
Balisky's (1997: 82, 95, 103) study of the Omotic Wolaitta39 people
documents survival of Christian terminology from the medieval period,
although this was to a lesser extent than among the Kambata. As with the
Kambata, survival of Christian terms is particularly in clans claiming their
origins from medieval settlers from northern Ethiopia.
31
The Kambata!Hadiya version of Ge' ez Kristoos.
39
The Wolaitta live across the Great Rift Valley, to the west of the Kambata
andHadiya.
40
Brauklimper (1973) provides additional background on the effects of the
Muslim-Christian warfare on religious allegiance of the various Highland Eastern
Cushitic groups.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 21
41
His kingdom of Adal (Awdal) had the most influence in what is now
Somaliland and in neighboring Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia
42
Their sphere of influence began in the Shabeelle River valley of southern
Ethiopia and extending through much of central and southern Somalia.
22 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
Mohamed ( 1992: 189) claims that Islam made little progress in the interior
until the late 1800's; however, he does not document this position.
CONCLUSION
43
1bis would make it the southenunost of the cluster of eastern Ethiopian
Islamic kingdoms that were frequently warring with the Christian Abyssinian
kingdoms.
44
In particular, pilgrimages to tombs of saints and animal sacrifices, both
overlain with an Islamic veneer.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 23
may have included a brief, incipient Christian era. At this point it is wise to
recall Unseth's (1999: 157-158) caution to Sudanese and Ethiopian
Christians against any spiritual pride based on historical heritage. 45
However, consideration of the above evidence demonstrates that
Christianity cannot be labeled merely as a recent arrival to Somalia,
brought by European colonialists.
We can nevertheless rightly ask: Why did Christianity not take root
among the Somali? Taddesse (1972: 43) points out that the lowland
nomads had significantly differentiated from the highlanders before the
coming of either Christianity or Islam. Braukamper (1988: 772; 1997:323)
observes that the EOC emphasis on over 150 fast days per year where
animal products could not be consumed made it essentially impossible for
pastoral nomads to be members of the Church. Furthermore, the EOC
taboo against camels46 stood in total opposition to survival of a people who
depended so heavily on this animal for food, drink, and transport in a harsh
environment where other livestock could not survive. On the other hand,
some of the nomadic Tigre in lowland Eritrea were members of the EOC
from antiquity until 1820 when they converted to Islam (Trimingham,
1952: 112). How they managed to be practicing Monophysites is not clear.
How flexible EOC clergy (especially pioneer missionaries) would have
been with pastoralists is a matter for conjecture. Balisky (1997: 79) cites an
example of one of Takle Haimanot's associates, Filopos, who evangelized
in the Mt. Zuqwala area allowing recent converts there to continue some of
tlieit"traditional sacrifices.
45
See also the apostle Paul's caution in his letter to the Philippians, 3:4-9.
46
While this is rooted in Mosaic law (Leviticus 11 :4) and is part of the unusual
Judaistic element within EOC theology, this anti-camel taboo is also shared by the
cattle-herding Oromo within their traditional belief system.
24 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 22.2 2003
of the core gospel message with unmanageable fasting and food taboos
would have created a deep-seated weakness in early Somali Christianity in
the face of competition with the apparently more culturally suitable religion
oflslam.
LITERATURE CITED
Abdalla Omar Mansur. 1995. The nature of the Somali clan system. In
The Invention of Somalia. Pp. 117-134. Ed. by Ali Jimale Ahmed.
Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press.
Abdi Ali Ngurusi. 1993. Long Lost Islamic Faith in Rendille. AI-ls/am
(Nairobi, Kenya). September issue. 24-25.
Abdi Mohamed Kusow. 1992. The Genesis of the Somali Civil War: A
New Perspective. In Proceedings of the Sixth Michigan State
University Conference on Northeast Africa. Pp. 183-194. Ed. by John
Hinnant & B. Fine. East Lansing, MI, USA: Michigan State
University.
Ali Abdirahman Hersi. 1977. The Arab Factor in Somali History: The
Origins and the Development of Arab Enterprise and Cultural
Influence in the Somali Peninsula. University of California, Los
Angeles: Ph.D. Dissertation. 334 pp.
Bell, Richard. 1968. The Origin ofIslam in its Christian Environment. The
Gunning Lectures. Edinburgh University, 1925. London: Frank Cass
& Co., Ltd.
Aram Somalia's Judeao-Christian Heritage 25
Brown, Monty. 1989. Where giants trod: The Saga of Kenya's Desert
Lake. London, Quiller Press. 431 p.
Ehret, Christopher. 1995. The Eastern Horn of Africa, 100 B.C. to 1400
A.D. The Historical Roots. In The Invention of Somalia. Pp. 232-262.
Ed. by Ali Jimale Ahmed. Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press.
Lewis, I. M. 1969. Peoples ofthe Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar, and Saho.
Ethnographic Survey of Africa, North Eastern Africa. Part I. ed. D.
Ford. London: International African Institute. 177 p.