Samaale is as old as the Somali ethnic group; it is the foundation myth upon which my identity and that of other Samaale clans is based upon. We will probably never know how it arose and who this mythical ancestor is.
The Biimaal did not, and have never made a living out of water. Contrary to popular opinion, they were mainly a nomadic clan that have only recently adopted agro-pastoralism after the Italians emancipated their imported Bantu slaves.
Wiki: Somalis
"Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several
Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the
ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words
soo and
maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous
pastoralism of the Somali people.
[33] Another plausible
etymology proposes that the term
Somali is derived from the
Arabic for "wealthy" (
dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.
[34]
Alternatively, the ethnonym
Somali is believed to have been derived from the Automoli (Asmach), a group of warriors from
ancient Egypt described by
Herodotus, who were likely of
Meshwesh origin according to
Flinders Petrie.
Asmach is thought to have been their Egyptian name, with
Automoli being a Greek derivative of the Hebrew word
Semoli (meaning "on the left hand side").
[35]
An
Ancient Chinese document from the 9th century CE referred to the northern Somalia coast — which was then part of a broader region in
Northeast Africa known as
Barbara, in reference to the area's
Berber (
Hamitic) inhabitants
[36] — as
Po-pa-li.
[37][38] The first clear written reference of the sobriquet
Somali, however, dates back to the 15th century. During the
conflict between the
Sultanate of Ifat based at
Zeila and the
Solomonic Dynasty, the Abyssinian
emperor had one of his court officials compose a
hymn celebrating a military victory over the
Sultan of Ifat's eponymous troops.
[39] Simur was also an ancient
Harari alias for the Somali people.
[40]"
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Somnet:
bareento wrote:Greetings Brother Jaidi,
"What is the meaning of the word Tumal?
Could it be that Tumal is only linked to the socio professional occupations not necessarly a clan/tribe as we understand it today...
...just like the Tumtuus in oromo,those who work the metal ie making weapons: the word Tumtuu comes from Tumu meaning beating like
when they beat the red hor iron?
B.
Yes that is it exactly. Tumaal= blacksmith, metalworker. Tumtuu sounds similar and has the same meaning so I'm guessing its the exact Oromo equivalent."
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http://beeshadireed.blogspot.com/2012/05/sawiro-beesha-biyomaal-bimaal-dir.html
"The real name of Bimal is
JAMAL, but nicknamed as
‘Bimal’ meaning ‘being
handsome’ in Arabic, or
‘purified’ in Urdu."
Also written:
Biimaal, Biyomaal, Biymaal, Biyamal, they arrived in the Merka hinterlands long before the Bantus.
In somali:
biyo = water
maal =
finance, milk, pus, livestock, milking
In the middle Shabelli, "water finance" makes sense both for farming (which some Biimaal did) and for livestock. The Geledi and Ajuraan also made major efforts to use and control the water, being described as "hydraulic empires". It only makes sense that whoever controlled Merka would have tried to exploit the Shabelli resource.
Tumaal and Soomaal are both occupations, and Biyomaal, while a late nickname, follows the form. Samaal sounds like cows were involved.
