Dabshid, the true Somali New Year (July)

[SultanuuFicaan]

"The festival of fire falls on July 27 or 28 and marks the beginning of the Somali solar year. Although Somalis, like all Muslims, follow the lunar year, they use the solar year for the timing of crop production and livestock husbandry. At the festival of fire, people build bonfires, splash water, and, in some communities perform stick fights and dances. This festival, called Neeransh or Dab-shid, is probably a remnant of fire and sun worship dating back to Persian influences. "



Page 27 http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED377254.pdf

 

[SultanuuFicaan]

"When I was a kid in Jammaame, in every early August, the farms were at their harvest time. Maize, sorghum, beans, peas, sesame, pumpkins, cotton and many types of fruits were ready for harvest: mango, grapefruit and lemon and water melon. This is the time of the plenty and it is time for celebration.



The Dab Shid is a time for celebration of the bounties. But not only that, the culture of Dab Shid is a remnant belief of the past, probably when the Somalis believed in ” Waaq”. It indicates a time when Somalia was not a Muslim country – a pagan period of time.



The Dab Shid is the beginning of the Solar Year in Somalia. Each family starts a fire and it is required that each member jumps over it in order to move, for example from 8 to 9 years old. I remember I used to jump every year one time in order to move to the next year. If I did not do that, it simply meant that I was not blessed for the next year. Such belief has faded away over the years and in its place Islam has taken deep roots.



As time passed and the Somali people moved from the ancient times to the Islamic periods, and Somalis became Muslims, the tradition of Dab Shid did not die but it evolved slightly into a religious ceremony. The burning of the fire is still here, but it also signifies a new connotation: – a time for the southern clans to come together in a general assembly meeting, whereby the Sub-clans show their force and their number.



The clans read Qura’an and slaughter mainly 114 sheep or goats (an animal for each surah of the Qura’n), hoping that the new year becomes a good year without any crisis, famine, draught or flooding or a locust year or a year free of spreading diseases.



The people pray together to hope for the best year to come. Clans such as the Baadicadde, Abgaal, Shiidle, Sheeqaal, Biimaal, Gelledi, Wacdaan, Murusade, Ajuuraan, Gaaljecel and many others in the South, particularly along and between the Rivers Shabeelle and Juba celebrate the Dab Shid. In the Jubaland area, the practice of Dab Shid is well known to Mareexaan, the Reer Guri type. the Absame, Awrtable, and even Harti and Cawr Maleh, the Gaaljecel, Dagoodi, Garre and Ajuuraan and others.



Apart from the belief, the people come together for folklore dances, endless competitions for 3 days. Exhibitions of clan dances and manueuvers. Dab Shid is a time when people enjoy.



In Afgooye District, 30 km west of Mogadishu, the two main clans, Wacdan on the Eastern Bank of the Shabeelle River and the Geledi clan on the West bank of the river compete in Istunka, which means the “smacking”. The men from the clans line up in rows facing each other and a referee from a third minority clan blows the buun made from an Ankola cattle or a big shell. That marks the Istunka Celebrations for the Dab Shid.



The case of Dab Shid in Marka, the Capital City of Lower Shabeelle Region is different. It is purely done with the fire celebrations and the folklore dances. The dances are so attractive that the people of Mogadishu flock to participate and enjoy the great festival of the Aw Cusmaan.



In Jilib and Jammaame of Lower Juba, the celebrations are done through the show of force of the clans. The Biimaal and the Sheeqaal clan mix the celebrations with religious rites, mainly done on remote sites on the Indian Ocean, such as Kurta Sheikh. The men parade though the towns and villages, waving spears, with their “lashins” heading the poems – a sign of a successful year.



In the Northeast in Puntland, the dab-shid is not well known. There is something called Nayruus in which some clans celebrate. But the Nayruus in Puntland is imported from Iran and across the Arabian Gulf. The song of Abdulkadir Ali Egaal, sang by Halima Khaliif Magool and Mohammed Sulaimaan describes the Nayruus as ” Nayruusku waa ciid waa nagi adduunyaduu”"

http://www.jowhar.com/2014/10/07/da...lture-that-evolved-into-religion-and-culture/

 

[Shangani]

We jumped over fires for good luck when we preformed it.

 

[SultanuuFicaan]

We jumped over fires for good luck when we preformed it.

 

[Arman]

This festival, called Neeransh or Dab-shid, is probably a remnant of fire and sun worship dating back to Persian influences. "

I doubt that.

Are there any other holidays that are pre-Islamic?

 

[SultanuuFicaan]

Istunka celebration - existed for several centuries, created during the AJuuran period and further developed by the Geledi Sultanate

"This is a yearly mock fight known as ‘Istunka’ or ‘Dabshid’ which takes place at the river-side town of Afgooye, situated on the bank of the Shebeele River about 30 kilometers south-west of Mogadishu, the capital city of the Somali Republic. The Istunka tournament was developed in the middle ages and still practiced annually in the town of Afgooye. Symbolizing the defense of one’s community and honor, it coincides with the beginning of Somali New Year and the start of the main harvest season. Istunka was originally performed in full combat gear, with battle-axes, swords and daggers. However, for safety reasons, performers later replaced those weapons with large sticks or twigs. As there aren’t fights today between one village to another as in the ancient days, still the performance of istunka remains purely a traditional battle with sticks between the inhabitants of Afgooye ; those who reside on the western bank of the river delta that intersects the town confronting others on the eastern bank.

The purpose of this voluntary fight between the people of the town’s two sectors demarcated by the river-bed is, mainly, to mark the beginning of the harvesting season by the famers inhabiting in the regions flanking the course of the river, which falls about the end of July or early August. However, other significances may be attached to this important event, such as the widespread belief amongst the natives that failure to stage the fight would entail misfortune and evil omens to the people, such as failure of crops followed by famine and plague. It is also considered that the natural progressions of the population would be hindered since it is strongly believed that large proportion of the women may not conceive at all. They believe that no rain will come if the practice of Istunka stopped. Several other traditional activities are also performed in the regions of lower and middle shabelle and Banadir region. The most common one is the bonfire “DABSHITKA” where the people gather sticks and hay and set them fire. Young boys and girls jump over the fire which indicates they’re jumping over all the difficulties in the year to come “SHAR XIJAAB” at the end of the festival, the two groups embrace each other with love after their committee of elders tell them to stop the game whereas earlier, the late regime used water canoes to stop the fighting when the ran out.

Such beliefs held by the majority of the natives would, however, seem superstitious, particularly in this age of human progress and enlightenment. Nevertheless, considering the perpetuation, throughout the centuries, of this traditional fight, the practice is now a well-established phenomenon amongst the people in that it attracts the notice of the other sections of the Somali people living in many regions of the country.

Warrior’s Décor

On the appointed day the members of the contesting parties both young and the old take their respective sides of the arena – a spacious field that affords ample space for the necessary maneuvers by the antagonists. The dress and weapon of the participants are prescribed by usage: a loin cloth known as “ma’wis” and a “Garbassar” usually used by Somali ladies as a shawl; a cloth band tied round the head with a decorative silken tassel attached to it and hung over the forehead, and a string of amulets or talismans worn round the neck or arm, usually form the warriors décor. Each combatant is equipped with a dozen or so sticks freshly cut from a certain tree famous for its strength and durability; these he holds in his left hand in one bunch, taking one at a time until he consumes them all on the bare bodies of his opponents."

 

[Arman]

Istunka celebration

"This is a yearly mock fight known as ‘Istunka’ or ‘Dabshid’ which takes place at the river-side town of Afgooye, situated on the bank of the Shebeele River about 30 kilometers south-west of Mogadishu, the capital city of the Somali Republic. The Istunka tournament was developed in the middle ages and still practiced annually in the town of Afgooye. Symbolizing the defense of one’s community and honor, it coincides with the beginning of Somali New Year and the start of the main harvest season. Istunka was originally performed in full combat gear, with battle-axes, swords and daggers. However, for safety reasons, performers later replaced those weapons with large sticks or twigs. As there aren’t fights today between one village to another as in the ancient days, still the performance of istunka remains purely a traditional battle with sticks between the inhabitants of Afgooye ; those who reside on the western bank of the river delta that intersects the town confronting others on the eastern bank.

The purpose of this voluntary fight between the people of the town’s two sectors demarcated by the river-bed is, mainly, to mark the beginning of the harvesting season by the famers inhabiting in the regions flanking the course of the river, which falls about the end of July or early August. However, other significances may be attached to this important event, such as the widespread belief amongst the natives that failure to stage the fight would entail misfortune and evil omens to the people, such as failure of crops followed by famine and plague. It is also considered that the natural progressions of the population would be hindered since it is strongly believed that large proportion of the women may not conceive at all. They believe that no rain will come if the practice of Istunka stopped. Several other traditional activities are also performed in the regions of lower and middle shabelle and Banadir region. The most common one is the bonfire “DABSHITKA” where the people gather sticks and hay and set them fire. Young boys and girls jump over the fire which indicates they’re jumping over all the difficulties in the year to come “SHAR XIJAAB” at the end of the festival, the two groups embrace each other with love after their committee of elders tell them to stop the game whereas earlier, the late regime used water canoes to stop the fighting when the ran out.

Such beliefs held by the majority of the natives would, however, seem superstitious, particularly in this age of human progress and enlightenment. Nevertheless, considering the perpetuation, throughout the centuries, of this traditional fight, the practice is now a well-established phenomenon amongst the people in that it attracts the notice of the other sections of the Somali people living in many regions of the country.

Warrior’s Décor

On the appointed day the members of the contesting parties both young and the old take their respective sides of the arena – a spacious field that affords ample space for the necessary maneuvers by the antagonists. The dress and weapon of the participants are prescribed by usage: a loin cloth known as “ma’wis” and a “Garbassar” usually used by Somali ladies as a shawl; a cloth band tied round the head with a decorative silken tassel attached to it and hung over the forehead, and a string of amulets or talismans worn round the neck or arm, usually form the warriors décor. Each combatant is equipped with a dozen or so sticks freshly cut from a certain tree famous for its strength and durability; these he holds in his left hand in one bunch, taking one at a time until he consumes them all on the bare bodies of his opponents."

Thank you.


Where do you find this though? Is there a book I can read?

 

[oday1kenobi]

Probably started indigenously amongst the southern agricultural Somalis and the synonym for dabshid 'nayrus' was probably added by the Arab/Persian traders who visited the southern coast later.

It's like how many English words have gained french synonyms from the Norman's (french speakers of Scandinavian descent) which complimented the English language greatly.

 

[Grant]

http://www.messagetoeagle.com/namoratunga-people-of-stone-and-ancient-astronomical-observatory/

Namoratunga, west of Lake Turkana, is linked to the Southeastern Cushitic calendar system, and predates the separation of the Southeastern Cushites at 300 BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabta_Playa
http://www.colorado.edu/APS/landscapes/nabta/

The similar observatory at Nabta Playa in Upper Egypt/Sudan was more advanced than anything closer to the Nile Valley and was associated with an advanced pastoralist culture in the area of the Cushitic homeland, going back at least to 9000 BC.

A connection between the two and Dabshiid seems highly likely, giving additional credence to the notion the proto-Sam migration was from the South.

 

[Prince Abubu]

http://www.messagetoeagle.com/namoratunga-people-of-stone-and-ancient-astronomical-observatory/

Namoratunga, west of Lake Turkana, is linked to the Southeastern Cushitic calendar system, and predates the separation of the Southeastern Cushites at 300 BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabta_Playa
http://www.colorado.edu/APS/landscapes/nabta/

The similar observatory at Nabta Playa in Upper Egypt/Sudan was more advanced than anything closer to the Nile Valley and was associated with an advanced pastoralist culture in the area of the Cushitic homeland, going back at least to 9000 BC.

A connection between the two and Dabshiid seems highly likely, giving additional credence to the notion the proto-Sam migration was from the South.

Interesting theory. Though, I have to admit, I've never heard of Dabshid as a Northern Somali.