Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo language and Somali language in the Horn of Africa.[1][2][3]
Waaqa (Oromo pronunciation: [waːkʼa]) still means 'God' in the present Oromo language. Other Cushitic languages where the word is still found include Konso Waaqa; Rendille Wax; Bayso Wah or Waa; Daasanach Waag; Hadiyya Waaʔa; Burji Waacʼi.[4][5]
Some traditions indicate Waaq is associated with the Harari region.[6]
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. It was likely brought to the Horn by the speakers of the Proto-Cushitic language who arrived from North Sudan in the Neolithic.[2] In modern times, the religion has mostly declined ever since the arrival of Islam and Christianity.
This name for God was used mainly by Somali people and Oromo people before and after Christianity and Islam came to the Horn of Africa
There are also ancient names of villages which involve the word Waaq in the Somali and Oromo languages.
See also[edit]
- Somali mythology, including pre-Islamic culture
- Waaqeffanna, traditional Oromo religion
References[edit]
- ^ Thomas, Douglas; Alanamu, Temilola (2018-12-31). African Religions: Beliefs and Practices through History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-752-1.
- ^ a b Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 2001), p.65.
- ^ Samatar, Said S. "Unhappy masses and the challenge of political Islam in the Horn of Africa". Horn of Africa. 20: 1–10.
- ^ Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1982). "Consonant Phonemes of Proto-East Cushitic". Afro-Asiatic Linguistics. 7 (1): 42.
- ^ Sasse, Hans-Jürgen. An Etymological Dictionary of Burji. Hamburg: Helmut Buske. p. 186.
- ^ Mohamed-Abdi, Mohamed (1992). Histoire des croyances en Somalie : Religions traditionnelles et religions du Livre. Annales Littéraires de l'Université de Besançon. Vol. 465. doi:10.3406/ista.1992.2545. ISBN 978-2-251-60465-7.
Further reading[edit]
- Cerulli, Enrico (1948). "Les noms personnels en somali". Onomastica. Revue Internationale de Toponymie et d'Anthroponymie. 2 (2): 139–142. doi:10.3406/rio.1948.1044.
- Etefa, Tsega (2012). "The Indigenous and the Foreign". Integration and Peace in East Africa. pp. 127–167. doi:10.1057/9781137091635_6. ISBN 978-1-349-29788-7.
- Gascon, Alain; Hirsch, Bertrand (1992). "Les espaces sacrés comme lieux de confluence religieuse en Éthiopie" (PDF). Cahiers d'études africaines. 32 (128): 689–704. doi:10.3406/cea.1992.1533.
- Geda, Gemechu Jemal (2013). "Irreecha: An Indigenous Thanksgiving Ceremony of the Oromo to the High God Waaqa". In Cox, James L. (ed.). Critical Reflections on Indigenous Religions. Routledge. pp. 143–158. doi:10.4324/9781315575094. ISBN 978-1-315-57509-4.
- Abbas Haji (1997). "Pouvoir de bénir et de maudire : cosmologie et organisation sociale des Oromo-Arsi". Cahiers d'études africaines. 37 (146): 289–318. doi:10.3406/cea.1997.3515.
- Kelbessa, Workineh (2013). "The Oromo Conception of Life: An Introduction". Worldviews. 17 (1): 60–76. doi:10.1163/15685357-01701006. JSTOR 43809476.
- Mire, Sada (2015). "Wagar, Fertility and Phallic Stelae: Cushitic Sky-God Belief and the Site of Saint Aw-Barkhadle, Somaliland". The African Archaeological Review. 32 (1): 93–109. doi:10.1007/s10437-015-9181-z. JSTOR 43916848. S2CID 162114929.
- Mohamed-Abdi, Mohamed (1993). "Les anthroponymes Somalis". Collection de l'Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité. 495 (1): 177–184.
- Mohamed-Abdi, Mohamed (1993). "Villages-maisons-parcours ou la structuration Somalie de l'espace". Collection de l'Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l'Antiquité. 495 (1): 137–156.
- Prunier, Gérard (1997). "Segmentarité et violence dans l'espace somali, 1840-1992" (PDF). Cahiers d'études africaines. 37 (146): 379–401. doi:10.3406/cea.1997.3519.
