Rendile, the long lost Somali clan that has been niloticized

[Weydamal]

Interesting. I can barely understand Afar but Rendille is pretty understandable.

The Rendille language is about 80 percent similar to Somali. It's considered as a dialect of Somali and not a separate language. The Jiiddu dialect of Southern Somalia is practically the same as Rendille and speakers of both dialects will have no problem understanding each other. Even for standard Somali speakers, Rendille can be understood with some effort. Look at the following examples in Rendille followed by standard Somali:

inam aa yimi inan baa yimi

us shele yimi isagu shalay buu yimi

us Koor ka yimi isagu Koor buu ka yimi

inam aa yeelaa inan baa yeelayaa

haantii ween haantii weeyneed

an dhafar aa qabaa anigu dhar baan qabaa

Inam aa dheer yehe inankii waa dheer yahay

Inam aa buur yehe inankii waa buuran yahay

Inam ma dheera inanku ma dheera

Inam aa doonaa inan baa doonayaa

dhiri aa kuleel dherigaa waa kulayl

aan urdaa waan hurdaa

aan dawo soo gade anigu dawaan soo gadey or gatey

Aabahaayaa gaal maalaya aabahay baa geel maalaya

us min aa dhisdaa isagu min(guri) buu dhisayaa

walax aan doono meleh waxaan doonayaa maleh

dheri mee dherigii mee


The vocabulary is practically the same but sometimes with a different accent, see the following examples:
abar habar
Ilim ilin
dowoxo dawoco
Ul ul
riy ri'
mantaan mataan
Jid jid
Gaal geel
Min min
War war
Luqum Luqum

As I said these are just examples of the 80 percent vocabulary that Rendille shares with Somali. The other words that we may not understand are probably proto Cushitic words we lost or words borrowed from other people they have interacted with.

They pronounce camel as gaal, while modern Somalis say geel. But theirs is the original pronunciation we lost and which remains in old Somali words or names like Abgaal, the father of camels, Gaal jecel, those who love camels, Hadhuub gaal, camel milk container etc.

Rendille are an offshoot of Somalis and have retained most of the Somali language, despite being surrounded by stronger more powerful non Somali neighbours. Most Somalis remain ignorant of this, but for all practical purposes, If the Rendille were living in , say Southern Somalia, they would be just another Somali clan, speaking a different Somali dialect.

 

[MARAQ DIGAAG]

^^
1. Rendille is a completely different language to Somali even if it is closer to Somali than other Cushitic languages .

2. Rendille is unintelligible to standard Somali speakers .

3. 80 percent of the vocabulary is not the same as Somali , as you can see from the video below .


4. Rendille are not an offshoot group , in fact they are a stand alone independent neighbouring Cushitic group .

# Suugo

 

[Grant]

The Ariaal subtribe are mixed and speak Samburu. This is what the Rendille say of themselves:

https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/07/rendille-people-africas-holders-of.html

"The Rendille descended through the Cushitic family lines with the Somali people. When the Somali people were traveling from the Suez Canal through Ethiopia the Somali people chose to go toward Somalia for good pastures. The Rendille people refused to go with them and separated to their present homeland around Marsabit. They had rejected the land of the Somali's and were thereafter called Rertit. The Somalis consider them rejected people.

Rendille warrior with flashlight - Kenya. Courtesy Eric Lafforgue

The name "Rendille" is a colonial misinterpretation of the word "rertit", which means "separated," "refused" or "rejected" in the Somali and Rendille languages.
The Rendille believe that they belong in the desert not by mistake but because it’s their "promised land". They have a prominent sub-tribe known as the Ariaal-Rendille which some anthropologist recognize as different people, but are of mixed Nilotic and Cushitic descent and speak the Nilo-Saharan Samburu language of the Samburu Nilotes with whom they cohabit."

 

[MARAQ DIGAAG]

Rendille does not mean reertit or reerdiid. That’s just Somali suugo Science !

 

[GeKo]

The Rendille language is about 80 percent similar to Somali. It's considered as a dialect of Somali and not a separate language. The Jiiddu dialect of Southern Somalia is practically the same as Rendille and speakers of both dialects will have no problem understanding each other. Even for standard Somali speakers, Rendille can be understood with some effort. Look at the following examples in Rendille followed by standard Somali:

inam aa yimi inan baa yimi

us shele yimi isagu shalay buu yimi

us Koor ka yimi isagu Koor buu ka yimi

inam aa yeelaa inan baa yeelayaa

haantii ween haantii weeyneed

an dhafar aa qabaa anigu dhar baan qabaa

Inam aa dheer yehe inankii waa dheer yahay

Inam aa buur yehe inankii waa buuran yahay

Inam ma dheera inanku ma dheera

Inam aa doonaa inan baa doonayaa

dhiri aa kuleel dherigaa waa kulayl

aan urdaa waan hurdaa

aan dawo soo gade anigu dawaan soo gadey or gatey

Aabahaayaa gaal maalaya aabahay baa geel maalaya

us min aa dhisdaa isagu min(guri) buu dhisayaa

walax aan doono meleh waxaan doonayaa maleh

dheri mee dherigii mee


The vocabulary is practically the same but sometimes with a different accent, see the following examples:
abar habar
Ilim ilin
dowoxo dawoco
Ul ul
riy ri'
mantaan mataan
Jid jid
Gaal geel
Min min
War war
Luqum Luqum

As I said these are just examples of the 80 percent vocabulary that Rendille shares with Somali. The other words that we may not understand are probably proto Cushitic words we lost or words borrowed from other people they have interacted with.

They pronounce camel as gaal, while modern Somalis say geel. But theirs is the original pronunciation we lost and which remains in old Somali words or names like Abgaal, the father of camels, Gaal jecel, those who love camels, Hadhuub gaal, camel milk container etc.

Rendille are an offshoot of Somalis and have retained most of the Somali language, despite being surrounded by stronger more powerful non Somali neighbours. Most Somalis remain ignorant of this, but for all practical purposes, If the Rendille were living in , say Southern Somalia, they would be just another Somali clan, speaking a different Somali dialect.

You seem to have studied their language well. Do you have a source to where you got all this information from.
Where's the jiddu dialect spoken is it close to af maay.

 

[Western4Life]

Stop begging the Afars. You are closer to others than the Afars

 

[Grant]

The Afar migrated from southeastern Ethiopia into the Danakil. This was a south to north migration.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Afar

Afar, Amharic Adal, Arabic Danakil (singular), a people of the Horn of Africa who speak Afar, a language of the Eastern Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. They live in northeastern Ethiopia, southeastern Eritrea, and Djibouti, where, with the Issas, they are the dominant people. It is thought that the Afar were the first of the present inhabitants of Ethiopia to elaborate their pastoral life into full-scale nomadism, descending from the highlands of southeast Ethiopia and migrating to the stony desert area of Danakil, the name sometimes used by Arabs to identify them.

 

[Weydamal]

You seem to have studied their language well. Do you have a source to where you got all this information from.
Where's the jiddu dialect spoken is it close to af maay.

First to the guy who keeps saying suugo and is named after chicken soup, this is not a cooking site, so we don't need culinary references from you. If you want to refute something please go ahead but spare us the suugo refernces.
Even in the video you posted a keen listener will hear many Somali words. As I said the vocabulary is almost the same, but with a different accent, therefore a Somali hearing dawoxo might not immediately understand that it's the same as dawoco, but a keen ear will definitely pick up the similarities.
Besides I gave enough examples to show how closely related these languages are.

Geko
You don't need to be an expert to study the Rendille language if you are Somali. It's like an Italian learning French. French and Italian have a lexical similarity of 85 to 90%. That means 90 percent of the words in Italian and French are the same. However the pronunciation is not the same. This means they might not have mutual intelligibility, but it's very easy for them to pick up their languages. Look at these examples, first in Italian, then in French.

Amo viaggiare j'aime voyager

io non parlo italiano je ne parle pas italliene

Qual e il tuo migliore amico quel est ton meilleur ami

Puoi parlare piu lentamente pouvez vous parler plus lentement

A piu tardi a plus tard

Ho freddo j'ai froid

Buon anno bonne annee

etc

In terms of vocabulary, Italian the followed by French:

La collera la colere

Il conto le compte

L'attaco l'attaque

Il fondo le fond

La causa le cause

Il burro le buerre

etc


This shows how close the languages are lexically, but if course their pronunciation is different. Same withe Rendille and Somali.

As for the Jiiddu, they are part of the Digil and live in the lower Shabelle region, around Qoryooley. Their language is neither standard Somali or Af maxaa nor Af maay, but it's closer to the later.

For sources on Rendille, there are many, but you may begin with the seminal work of Harold Fleming, which is available online:

Baiso and Rendille: Somali outliers.

There is also a dictionary of Rendille written by Steve Pillinger and Letiwa Galboran.


I think it would be very easy for any Somali to study and learn Rendille.

 

[MARAQ DIGAAG]

Weyd,

[The Rendille language is about 80 percent similar to Somali. It's considered as a dialect of Somali and not a separate language./QUOTE]

No linguistic scholar , not even the chap who undertook the study on the Baiso/Rendille you mentioned , has ever claimed that Rendille is a dialect of Somali . You need to provide evidence for this claim and a few related vocabulary will not cut it .

Rendille and Somali did indeed once belong to a proto-Somali or a Proto-Rendille-Somaloid linguistic community. Prior to that , they were part of a wider Eastern Cushitic linguistic community comprising the ancestors of Afar , Saho etc . Rendille is thus considered a stand alone language from Somali . The two languages later developed in very different locales and then the people took different migration routes across the horn .

What this doesn’t mean is that Rendille is an offshoot of Somali or that Rendille are Somalis . The development of these languages and “tribes “ comes well after
the original language separation .

It’s like saying Portuguese is an offshoot of Spanish , whereas in reality both are offshoot of an Iberia Romance language .

The relationship between Rendille and Somali is no different to that of Afar and Saho . The only difference is that Rendille may slightly closer to Somali than Afar and Saho are to each other .

You also wrote :

The Jiiddu dialect of Southern Somalia ispractically the same as Rendille and speakers of both dialects will have no problem understanding each other.

What is the evidence for this ?

[Even in the video you posted a keen listener will hear many Somali words.As I said the vocabulary is almost the same, but with a different accent/QUOTE]

Languages sharing vocabulary and speakers being mutual intelligibly are two different things . An English speaker will share a great deal of vocabulary with a French speaker due to Norman influences , but the language is German originally and structure wise .

Truth be told , there is a great deal of controversy as to whether Af Maay is a separate language or a dialect of Somali -same for Jiddu etc . If af Maxa tiri speakers are often unable to understand Af Maay in its purest forms , I doubt Somali speakers can understand Rendille speakers or most of what is said in that video .

The first “Somali proper “ most likely departed what is now South Eastern Ethiopia towards Southern /Western Somalia . The Rendille stayed put in Southern Ethiopia until the great trek to Northern Kenya was forced upon them by the rise of the Borana after the decline of Adal.The Sab Somalis who chose to retain farming settled in Southern Somalia ( the proto Somalis are said to have been agriculturalists ). The Maxa Tiri speakers ventured out with their livestock into all different directions of modern Somalia . These people became the Ajuuraan, Hawiye , Madanle, Darood and so forth . The Rendille are ancient cousins of those people . They are not an offshoot nor is their language a dialect of Somali .

 

[Apollo]

Next time I go to Kenya, I'll make sure to visit them and call them Nilotic cucks. Shaming Cushite ancestry.

 

[Blade1]

I swear, in every study where they sample random 100 or 200 people from Somalia, especially forensic studies I always spot people with recent Bantu ancestry. In Ethiopia or Eritrea where they sample big numbers I never see it.

I think it is more common than we think, especially in low class Somalis.

this then she's from North with Nigerian in her not one other somali I've seen had Nigerian exblain I'm confusha

 

[Grant]

Weyd,

Truth be told , there is a great deal of controversy as to whether Af Maay is a separate language or a dialect of Somali -same for Jiddu etc . If af Maxa tiri speakers are often unable to understand Af Maay in its purest forms , I doubt Somali speakers can understand Rendille speakers or most of what is said in that video .

The first “Somali proper “ most likely departed what is now South Eastern Ethiopia towards Southern /Western Somalia . The Rendille stayed put in Southern Ethiopia until the great trek to Northern Kenya was forced upon them by the rise of the Borana after the decline of Adal.The Sab Somalis who chose to retain farming settled in Southern Somalia ( the proto Somalis are said to have been agriculturalists ). The Maxa Tiri speakers ventured out with their livestock into all different directions of modern Somalia . These people became the Ajuuraan, Hawiye , Madanle, Darood and so forth . The Rendille are ancient cousins of those people . They are not an offshoot nor is their language a dialect of Somali .

Weyd,

---------------------------------------------------------------

Recognition of these languages is political. The academics already accept them on linguistic bases.




Somalia


Boon
[bnl] Jubbada Dhexe region: Jilib district, bush settlements. 59 (2000). Status: 8b (Nearly extinct). Alternate Names: Af-Boon. Dialects: None known. Reportedly similar to Somali [som]. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East. Comments: Distinct from Boni [bob]. ‘Boon’, low caste, including Yibir, Midgaan (Midgo, language Af-Midgood), Madiban, Tumal, Yahar, Yihir, and other clans.
More Information

Dabarre
[dbr] Bay region: Dhiinsoor district area, Dabaare; Jubbada Dhexe region: Bu’aale district; Shabeellaha Hoose region: Sablaade district. 20,000 (1998 J. Leclerc). Status: 6a (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Af-Dabarre. Dialects: Dabarre, Iroole (Af-Iroole). A very distinctive language in the Digil clan family. Dialects are clan names. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Muslim.
More Information


Garre
[gex] Bay region: southeast border area; Shabeellaha Hoose region: Qoryoley and Wanla Weyne districts. 50,000 (1998 J. Leclerc). Ethnic population: 100,000 (1992). Status: 6a (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Af-Garre. Dialects: None known. Reportedly linguistically similar to Boni [bob]. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Part of the Hawiye clan family. Consider themselves part of the Garreh people in Kenya, though they now speak different languages. Some ethnic Garre in Somalia speak Maay [ymm] as L1. Muslim.
More Information

Jiiddu
[jii] Shabeellaha Hoose region: west of Moqdisho. 20,000 (1998 J. Leclerc). Status: 6a (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Af-Jiiddu, Jiddu. Dialects: Distinct from Somali [som] and Tunni [tqq], usually grouped under Digil dialects or languages. Different sentence structure and phonology from Somali. More similar to Somali than to Baiso [bsw]. Reportedly some similarities to Konsoid languages and to Gedeo [drs], Alaba-Kabeena [alw], Hadiyya [hdy], and Kambaata [ktb]. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Muslim.
More Information

Maay
[ymm] Bakool, Bay, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, and Shabeellaha Hoose regions. 1,750,000 (2015). Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: Af-Maay, Af-Maay Tiri, Af-May, Af-Maymay, Maay Maay, Mai Mai, Rahanween, Rahanweyn. Autonym: Af-maay. Dialects: Af-Helledi. May be more than 1 language; dialects form a continuum. Within the Maay dialect continuum, at least two dialect groupings may be discerned, largely between the Digil clans (e.g, Wenle Weyn) and the Mirifle clans (based on Bay Bakool). The Digil consider themselves the “royal clan class” of the Maay-speaking Rahanweyn. Somali [som] is difficult or unintelligible to Maay speakers, except when learned through mass communications, urbanization, and internal movement. Different sentence structure and phonology from Somali. Af-Helledi is a Maay secret language used by hunters. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Little travel. Muslim.
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Mushungulu
[xma] Jubbada Hoose region: Jamaame district; urban areas Kismaayo and Muqdisho. 20,000 (1998 J. Leclerc). Status: 6a (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Kimushungulu, Mushunguli. Dialects: None known. May be the same as, or intelligible of, Zigula [ziw] or Shambala [ksb]. Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, G, Zigula-Zaramo (G.311). Comments: Descended from fugitive slaves who escaped from Somali masters in Middle Shabeelle region around 1840. Muslim, traditional religion.
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Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji
[gax] Gedo region. 41,600 (2000). Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: Southern Oromo. Dialects: Borana (Booran, Boran). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Oromo. Comments: The Oromo variety in Gedo is probably Borana; that in the Lower Jubba region is probably Orma [orc]. The Oromo spoken in the Lower Jubba region may actually be Orma. The Orma controlled that area until the mid or late 19th century. They move from lower Tana River inland toward Kitui District during rainy season. Muslim.
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Somali
[som] Widespread. 7,820,000 (2015). Total users in all countries: 16,224,000 (as L1: 16,128,400; as L2: 95,600). Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (2004, Transitional Federal Charter, Article 7(1)). Alternate Names: Af-Maxaad Tiri, Common Somali, Soomaaliga, Standard Somali. Autonym: اف سومالى‎ (Af-Soomaali). Dialects: Northern Somali, Benaadir, Af-Ashraaf (Ashraaf). Northern Somali is basis for standard Somali. Readily intelligible to Benaadir Somali speakers, but difficult or unintelligible to most Maay [ymm]. Those in Merka and Muqdisho speak Af-Ashraaf, a distinct variety which may have limited inherent intelligibility of standard Somali. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Muslim.
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Tunni
[tqq] Jubbada Dhexe and Shabeellaha Hoose regions: Baraawe, Dhiinsoor, and Jilib districts; Bay and Jubbada Hoose regions. 20,000 (1998 J. Leclerc). Status: 6a (Vigorous). Alternate Names: Af-Tunni. Dialects: Distinct from Somali [som] or Jiiddu [jii], usually grouped under the Digil dialects or languages. Different sentence structure and phonology from Somali [som]. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Somali. Comments: Maay [ymm] language influences. Nomadic. Muslim.
More Information

--------------------------------

Glad to see you recognize the Cushitic refugium in southern Ethiopia. 21 of 24 Cushitic tribes are there, so it is basic.

The Rendille say they separated from the Somalis at Marsabit. That is near Lake Turkana, on the grazing lands at the head of the Nile tributaries, in the same area as Namoratunga, the Oromo calender site. The Rendille say they came with the Somalis from the Suez canal. through Ethiopia.

That would have put them at Marsabit way, way before the Adal wars and before the separation of the Cushitic groups. It is also a strong indication that the combined migration was south in the Sudan before it turned east in southern Ethiopia/northern Kenya and then north into Somalia.

 

[Weydamal]

Brother ( or is it sister) Maraq,

Good points. At least you were more civil this time.

The debate on what is a language and what is a dialect borders more on the political than academic, as Grant has rightly said. It's easier to establish a relationship between two languages based on lexical similarity, morphology, syntax, phonetics, phonology and semantics.

Granted the issue of mutual intelligibility is used to distinguish between a language and a dialect. But this is an academic bias that is prevalent in the English world. For example black English or ebonics is considered a dialect of English, but how mutually intelligible is it with standard or other forms of English. If Tyrone says to Hamish, ima whup yo ass, do you think Hamish will understand it to mean I will beat you. He may if he is sufficiently keen and may relate it to , I will whip your arse, which is grammatically sound but not used in everyday speech.
Take the three Scandinavian languages, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. They are classified as different languages, yet are mutually intelligible. German and Dutch are mutually intelligible to a point but they are considered different languages.
On the other side of the world, Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible, but both are considered to be Chinese. For example In Mandarin they say wo, ni, ta to mean I, you and he, but in Cantonese they say ngoh, leih and keuih for the same words.
Arabic is considered as one language with several dialects. But as any Arabic speaker knows, these dialects are not mutually intelligible, especially if they are geographically distant. A peasant Moroccan cannot understand what a peasant Iraqi says when the talk in their respective dialects. Yet they are both considered to be speaking Arabic. To solve this problem. The Arabs have created standard Arabic out of classical Arabic, which the educated classes resort to when they want to communicate. But by your mutual intelligibility standards, Arab dialects are separate languages. Let me give you an example of a sentence in English and its translation in standard Arabic, followed by Algerian dialect, then Egyptian dialect.

One day Juha and his son were packing their things in preparation for travel to a nearby city, and they climbed on the back of their donkey in order to start the trip.

Fil yawm minal ayyam kaana Juxa wa ibnuhu yaxzimuun amtactahum isticdaadan li saffari ilal madiinal mujaawira fa rakibaa calaa dahri likay yabda'u rixlatum.

Qallek waxed ennahar kan Juxa w wlido yxadro besh yroxo lwaxed mdina, wkan candhom ximar.

Fi yom minal ayyam kan Guxa webno beyxadaro xaget hom cashaan yerooxo el balad elli gambahom farekbo el etnen xomarhom.

Of course there are some similar words like kaan, ximaar etc, but you get the point.

I showed examples of the similarity between Rendille and Somali, which is much closer than Algerian and Egyptian Arabic, both lexically and otherwise.You are prepared to accept Arabic is one language with several dialects, but not Somali and its several dialects.


Like I said, this is a political decision, the empirical evidence speaks for itself.


The Yiddish linguist Max Weinreich is said to have said a language is a dialect with an army and a navy.

 

[BirtaanJabin]

Rendille or Reer Diinleh or Reer Diinii theyre a subclan of SadeMareexan

 

[nine]

Rendille or Reer Diinleh or Reer Diinii theyre a subclan of SadeMareexan

Nice try but Reer Diini is a new sub clan

 

[James Dahl]

I investigated Rendille genealogy, the Rendille are a subclan of Ciroole and the Rendiile language is related to the Ciroole dialect, which is an af-Maay dialect.

Rendille Ciroole Maatay Maqare Samaale.

Their cousins are the Dabarre Maatay people. Cawrmaale are Cawrmaale Maqare Samaale.

I don't believe that Rendille refused Islam, they were never converted due to their remote isolation around mount Marsabit, the true name of Mount Marsabit is actually Mount Saaku. Sakuye are Rendille who moved to the north side of the mountain and are not really a separate people.

Around the mountain is the Chalbi desert which is desolate and difficult to cross. Because of the desert the Rendille were never conquered or invaded and are a time capsule of a pre-Islamic Somali society.

Tragically Christian missionaries are busy destroying this time capsule by endeavouring to destroy the last remaining Waaqist Somali religion.

 

[Weydamal]

I investigated Rendille genealogy, the Rendille are a subclan of Ciroole and the Rendiile language is related to the Ciroole dialect, which is an af-Maay dialect.

Rendille Ciroole Maatay Maqare Samaale.

Their cousins are the Dabarre Maatay people. Cawrmaale are Cawrmaale Maqare Samaale.

I don't believe that Rendille refused Islam, they were never converted due to their remote isolation around mount Marsabit, the true name of Mount Marsabit is actually Mount Saaku. Sakuye are Rendille who moved to the north side of the mountain and are not really a separate people.

Around the mountain is the Chalbi desert which is desolate and difficult to cross. Because of the desert the Rendille were never conquered or invaded and are a time capsule of a pre-Islamic Somali society.

Tragically Christian missionaries are busy destroying this time capsule by endeavouring to destroy the last remaining Waaqist Somali

The Rendille, the Sakuye and the Gabbra of Northern Kenya are one and the same, despite the fact that the latter two speak Oromo. They have the same clans and easily move from one community to another. The Sakuye and Gabbra are Oromised Rendille. This is well known to these communities and they acknowledge their relationship. Everything about these communities, from the clan names, camel culture, camel brands, rituals etc is virtually the same. They only differ due to the language shift that happened to the other after being overwhelmed by Borana Oromo.
Saakuye as you pointed out are named after Mt Saaku, which is now known as Mt Marsabit. This is their original homeland, together with their above mentioned relatives.
I have already mentioned that Rendille is close to Af Jiiddo. Jiiddu as you know was one of the sons of Digil, as was Maatey the father of Ciroole and Dabarre. Therefore your contention that the Ciroole Somali dialect is close to Rendille is not far off the mark.
Whether Rendille were Muslims who lost their religion, or were pre Islamic Somalis who never became Muslims is an interesting question.
According to the Rendille themselves, and the Somali traditions, it is believed that they were Muslims who lost their religion due to being overwhelmed by the neighboring Samburu Nilotes. They still retain a lot of rituals that can be attributed to Islam. Of course it is debatable that these rituals are derived from the monotheistic Cushitic religion.
One interesting word is the Rendille word for prayer, which is weysi. This is a word that Somalis use to mean the ritual washing before prayer. Is it a remnant of Islam in Rendille or is it just a Cushitic word that Somalis have modified after embracing Islam? Food for thought.

 

[MARAQ DIGAAG]

Weyd , I read your reply and will respond to it tomorrow . Remember my objection is to the claim is that “ Rendille is a dialect of Somali “. I will post a response detailing why I disagree with that .

 

[Weydamal]

Weyd , I read your reply and will respond to it tomorrow . Remember my objection is to the claim is that “ Rendille is a dialect of Somali “. I will post a response detailing why I disagree with that .

Maraq

I sometimes wonder whether French is Italian spoken with a German accent. But I'm sure the French will disagree with that.
I welcome your thoughts on this debate.

 

[samaalewarrior]

Theyre not somali wtf uff stop falseclaiming these Madow

They ain’t Madow