Were Somalis Pagans before Islam or did we have a history of following other Abrahamic faiths?

[empressjamila]

Were somalis all pagans before Islam or were there Christian (like orthodox) or Jewish communities? It would have made sense considering our proximity to Ethiopia & the Middle East. Thoughts?

also why is it seen as ceeb to wonder what our religion was before Islam? I don’t see it is a big deal just acknowledging our history

 

[Lebron James]

Waaq practice in Somalia was ancient times before islam was introduced to us by traders, the only reason why these topics are shunned down open in our community is because of the older generations quickness to takfiir you if you ever doubt anything to do with Islam.

Some of these religious niggas in our community had ancestors believing in Waaq like it was the truth, still niggas believe in it i remember seeing that somali social comedian supermanboy posting a video expressing his devotion to Waaq and how it was ok to be Somali and a Waaqist.

 

[Abdisamad]

Waaq practice in Somalia was ancient times before islam was introduced to us by traders, the only reason why these topics are shunned down open in our community is because of the older generations quickness to takfiir you if you ever doubt anything to do with Islam.

Some of these religious niggas in our community had ancestors believing in Waaq like it was the truth, still niggas believe in it i remember seeing that somali social comedian supermanboy posting a video expressing his devotion to Waaq and how it was ok to be Somali and a Waaqist.

Waaq sounds like a black crow making a noise.. Somalis who believed that must've been really primitive like the Australian aboriginals or one of those African tribes with lip plates

 

[Calmone20]

Yeah we were pagan and we were waaqists.

 

[Abdiweli gass]

Dir clan were Christians/Jews. Pre-islam .
Dir have many similar to Jewish names. Plus Christian burials found all over waaqoyi. Lastly the absence of waaq within their abtirsi. Darod & hawiye both have waaq in their names/abtirsi. Some clans are even named waaq. This is my hypothesis

 

[Periplus]

Waaq sounds like a black crow making a noise.. Somalis who believed that must've been really primitive like the Australian aboriginals or one of those African tribes with lip plates

It was a religion based on the crow.

You are right with the onomatopoeia lol.

 

[Apollo]

Waaq sounds like a black crow making a noise.

It was a religion based on the crow.

You are right with the onomatopoeia lol.

It was the name of a sky god, not the name or sound of a crow.

 

[Periplus]

It was a sky god, not the name or sound of a crow.

Oh, I was always told that Waaq was a crow and was named such due to the sound it makes.

 

[Apollo]

Oh, I was always told that Waaq was a crow and was named such due to the sound it makes.

That's some BS Somalis made up more recently to discredit the past.

 

[Abu Hesi]

This waaq curiosity needs to die already.

 

[Apollo]

There are some Oromo tribes who still fully practice this religion:

Waaqeffanna - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Yukon_Niner]

There are some Oromo tribes who still fully practice this religion:

Waaqeffanna - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Kinda glad Somali's shun this shit because what the f*ck

The Waaqeffanna religion has no scriptures or holy books that exist today.[1] The Waaqeffataas believe that Waaqa gave the Oromo a holy book, but it was swallowed by a cow. Because Waaqa was angry, he didn't provide a second book. The believers of this religions hence look for the lost book in the intestines of cows. Where the religion is practiced, experts are called after cow slaughtering ceremonies to examine the lining of the intestines for meaning.[1][20]

"waaqa lo' ba holy booka cuney"

I'm genuinely hoping this is just an Oromo spin off

 

[Moholin01]

Dir clan were Christians/Jews. Pre-islam .
Dir have many similar to Jewish names. Plus Christian burials found all over waaqoyi. Lastly the absence of waaq within their abtirsi. Darod & hawiye both have waaq in their names/abtirsi. Some clans are even named waaq. This is my hypothesis

Waaq was probably a Southern/Central Somali cult. No evidence to suggest that the northern Somali clans also engaged in Waaqism.

 

[Apollo]

Waaq was probably a Southern/Central Somali cult. No evidence to suggest that the northern Somali clans also engaged in Waaqism.

Northwest.

Siwaaqroon live as north as Djibouti. Alula is at the 11th parallel north latitude while Hargeisa is closer to the equator at the 9th parallel north (the lower the number, the closer to the equator).

Also, all Oromos had that religion. Why would Somalis be any different before Islam?

Isaaq abtirsis are notably shorter than Darod ones as well, so not sure if that is really reliable.

Lastly, Waaq could have meant something totally different dialectally into the early modern period (1500-1800s). It could have just meant God in certain dialects and had nothing to do with that old religion.

It could very well just be that the word Waaq was lost in the Northwest Somali dialect, but still they had that religion before Islam as well.

 

[Juke]

Lastly, Waaq could have meant something totally different dialectally into the early modern period (1500-1800s). It could have just meant God in certain dialects and had nothing to do with that old religion.

It could very well just be that the word Waaq was lost in the Northwest Somali dialect, but still they had that religion before Islam as well.

It's not like the word isn't in the Dir-Isaaq lexicon unless they use another word for affluence other than barwaaqo

 

[Moholin01]

Northwest.

Siwaaqroon live as north as Djibouti. Alula is at the 11th parallel north latitude while Hargeisa is closer to the equator at the 9th parallel north (the lower the number, the closer to the equator).

Also, all Oromos had that religion. Why would Somalis be any different before Islam?

Isaaq abtirsis are notably shorter than Darod ones as well, so not sure if that is really reliable.

Lastly, Waaq could have meant something totally different dialectally into the modern period (1500-1800s). It could have just meant God in certain dialects and had nothing to do with that old religion.

It could very well just be that the word Waaq was lost in the Northwest Somali dialect, but still they had that religion before Islam as well.

I mean, until any physical evidence or historical documents are found it's all just conjecture. There's no reason to believe every Somali clan followed the same religion before Islam. If the history of the Greek city-states, Predynastic Egyptian towns and Mesopotamian city-states are anything to go by, different Somali clans probably honoured or worshipped different deities. Not to mention the evidence of Christianity and Judaism gravesites found in Somaliland. Barwaaqo is one word. Not enough to suggest anything.

P.s. by "Northern" clans, I mean Dir and Isaaq. Every clan came from the North if you go back far enough in time.

 

[Apollo]

I mean, until any physical evidence or historical documents are found it's all just conjecture. There's no reason to believe every Somali clan followed the same religion before Islam. If the history of the Greek city-states, Predynastic Egyptian towns and Mesopotamian city-states are anything to go by, different Somali clans probably honoured or worshipped different deities. Not to mention the evidence of Christianity and Judaism gravesites found in Somaliland. Barwaaqo is one word. Not enough to suggest anything.

The Somali language (Maxaa variants) is extremely similar to each other. People who followed different religions in the past would have strong social barriers and this would also be reflected in the language, but it isn't. Only very minor differences.

I sincerely doubt that Waaqism didn't exist in the Northwest.

 

[Username]

Why do some people get upset over Waaq? History is history, it's interesting to know, whether you like it or not.

 

[Dima&Damo]

Funny That Dir Clan Claim To Be Oldest But Have No Waaq In Them

 

[Blackhesus]

Waaq sounds like a black crow making a noise.. Somalis who believed that must've been really primitive like the Australian aboriginals or one of those African tribes with lip plates

Those lip plates represent something very significant back in time that couldn't be written down.