Medieval correspondence in the Somali peninsula

[Three Moons]

One of the interesting trivia I remember about the Futuh is how it mentions that during the mobilisation of the Adal army, on the eve of the invasion of the Abyssinian realm, Imam Ahmed sent letters to all of the major Somali lords and commanders, which were carried across the lands by three messengers.

The reason why this is so interesting is that it shows the importance of the ‘letter’ as a bringer of ‘news’ rather than the receiving party simply accepting a message through ‘word of mouth’ from a messenger or a courier, which is a characteristic of an oral society that a few outdated scholars have been pushing as the historic norm, but this institution and tradition of written correspondence is clear cut evidence of the importance of ink and parchment in the Somali peninsula historically.

It explains how Adal and Mogadishu despite the distance between their capitals could form an alliance against Abyssinia that was significant enough to spook the latter. The importance of ink and parchment also explains how multiple Riwaqs in the various Caliphates were exclusively attended by knowledge seeking students from the Somali peninsula, and why at hearing that Ibn Battuta was a scholar and not a trader, his status in the Sultanate of Mogadishu was instantly elevated to a higher status; where he was under the care of the city’s Qadi, received special lodgings and eventually an audience with the Sultan himself.

One of the oldest mosques in Mogadishu is the Jamia or Jama’a Mosque which literally translates into the ‘University Mosque’, and is one of the oldest ‘universities’ or ‘academies’ in Africa dating back to the 13th century yet the modern Somali Republic never seemed to have accorded it official university status like Morocco did with Fes and Egypt did with Al-Azhar, a missed opportunity which can be rectified in the future.

I’m certain however that future research will illuminate more examples of historic correspondence between Somalis and with their international allies. The primary sources are clear on the fact that it happened, the institutions to train and educate scholars were there, the international reputation of Somali scholars was celebrated in the Muslim world, and foreign scholars were treated with the utmost respect in Somali cities, all of which shows the prestige and importance of the written word in the Somali peninsula.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

Historic Somali society should never be seen as illiterate. It was a semi-literat society where wadads served as scribes for anynoe desiring to send a letter to someone far away.

You would come to a wadad and dictate your message. He would write the Somali using Arabic letters. You would then give the letter to someone in a caravan going to that location. Somali wadads deep inside the interior would communicate with their fellow wadads on the Banadir coast and in places like Harar in this fashion.

It was a society that was fully aware of writing and what it means to be literate, but very few people were fully literate.

 

[Three Moons]

Historic Somali society should never be seen as illiterate. It was a semi-literat society where wadads served as scribes for anynoe desiring to send a letter to someone far away.

You would come to a wadad and dictate your message. He would write the Somali using Arabic letters. You would then give the letter to someone in a caravan going to that location. Somali wadads deep inside the interior would communicate with their fellow wadads on the Banadir coast and in places like Harar in this fashion.

It was a society that was fully aware of writing and what it means to be literate, but very few people were fully literate.

Good post, but most people aren’t aware that the vast majority of the world had a literate minority and a semi-literate or illiterate majority. Its only with groups like the Chinese, and the Caliphates where this wasn’t the case, and in the early modern period with the invention of the movable-type by Gutenberg did reading and writing really take off in modern Germany and Europe.

We already know medieval Somali scribes maintained genealogical tables, sent correspondence letters regionally as well as internationally, and that as early as Sheikh Aw-Barkhadle there was a Somali adaptation of the Arabic script. We also know that Somalis were master seafarers, and wealthy merchants with a vast international trade network. What I’m therefore interesting in is whether any scribes left;

- A pilot manual or guide to navigate the seas. In Gujarat only a decade ago the first pilot manual dating back to the 18th century was discovered by a female researcher. Prior to that nobody believed Indians had a tradition of maritime knowledge.

- Textual evidence of correspondence between Somalis and international partners since we know there were alliances between the major powers on both sides of the Red Sea.

- Sultan’s lists, which are basically royal genealogical tables.

- Trade lists detailing transactions and products traded.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

One of the oldest mosques in Mogadishu is the Jamia or Jama’a Mosque which literally translates into the ‘University Mosque’, and is one of the oldest ‘universities’ or ‘academies’ in Africa dating back to the 13th century yet the modern Somali Republic never seemed to have accorded it official university status like Morocco did with Fes and Egypt did with Al-Azhar, a missed opportunity which can be rectified in the future.

It’d be a nice homage of respect to all the sheikhs and scholars who studied there in the past if the government recognizes the Jama’a Mosque as an official madrasa, makes it a UNESCO protected site, and renovates and expands it.