Zaila is an Arabic name in origin

[Garaad Awal]

Does Saylac have a Somal etymology tho or perhaps Ethio-Semitic Harla or even Canfar?

 

[attash]

The name Mogadishu comes from “the place of the goat.” مقعد شاة
But the locals pronounce it Mogadishu. This novel is not old. There are sources dating back to the 19th century that mention the Arabic origins of the name

That doesn't make sense. How could Somalis mispronounce the word "maqcad", as "moq", when "maqcad" is made up of sounds that are found in Somali as well?

 

[Qeelbax]

That doesn't make sense. How could Somalis mispronounce the word "maqcad", as "moq", when "maqcad" is made up of sounds that are found in Somali as well?

Niggas be making shit up out of nacayb

 

[Burqad]

Zeila is the Arabic name. Saylaac is the Somali name and that has a meaning.

 

[Somali_patriotic]

Zeila is the Arabic name. Saylaac is the Somali name and that has a meaning.

The zaylac original name is Awdal, right?

 

[Burqad]

The zaylac original name is Awdal, right?

no, it is saylac

 

[Somali_patriotic]

no, it is saylac

Awdal=Zaylac

 

[Haragwaafi]

It’s not clear at all. Zayla’s etymology is still a mystery because of its distant and ancient character, just like Berbera its most likely a remnant from antiquity, though no Somali scholar has ever attempted an elaborate etymological study of old Somali words and terms to make any sweeping statements as you have done in your first post.

What you are attempting in this thread is tantamount to taking a historic reference to ‘Damascus Steel’ and then claim the name must be of foreign origin and Damascus, the Syrian city, was named after it. This is like taking the luxury fashion cloth Kashmir Shawl and then claim the disputed region of Kashmir was named after it.

What would be appropriate however is to theorize that the city of Zayla influenced the Arabic term for beads, as its clearly an old trade commodity and the city itself predates the poetry book by centuries.

But, even that is a stretch as Zayla seems to have several other meanings in Arabic, and is also an ancient name in Hebrew and Greek with completely different meanings.

How's is it a mystery when it has Semitic roots and not usual Somali that doesn't have ز sound? we know for sure that town used to be part of an Arab dynasty states or kingdoms in the region starting with Ifat or Wafat sultanate of Banu Makhzum

 

[Three Moons]

How's is it a mystery when it has Semitic roots and not usual Somali that doesn't have ز sound?

Because there are Zaylas in the Indo-European Greek, Persian and Semitic Hebrew languages, too. If an ancient city like Berbera has Greek roots in its etymology what makes you think a more recent world civilisational language like Arabic is the definitive origin of an equally ancient Somali city like Zayla, especially when the book in the original post used as evidence is younger than the city itself and there are earlier references to Zayla under that specific name in other books that predate it?

I personally wouldn’t have a gripe with it having an Arabic origin, it’s an important language utilised by our ancestors with many benefits, and the language of the Quran. I just don’t think the evidence presented in this thread is sufficient to make such a bold claim.

we know for sure that town used to be part of an Arab dynasty states or kingdoms in the region starting with Ifat or Wafat sultanate of Banu Makhzum

Nonsense, if the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him had been a Han Chinese, all of those medieval lineages would trace back to China, and individuals here no doubt would claim Ifat and other polities in the Horn were ruled by Han Chinese monarchs

 

[Haragwaafi]

Because there are Zaylas in the Indo-European Greek, Persian and Semitic Hebrew languages, too. If an ancient city like Berbera has Greek roots in its etymology what makes you think a more recent world civilisational language like Arabic is the definitive origin of an equally ancient Somali city like Zayla, especially when the book in the original post used as evidence is younger than the city itself and there are earlier references to Zayla under that specific name in other books that predate it?

I personally wouldn’t have a gripe with it having an Arabic origin, it’s an important language utilised by our ancestors with many benefits, and the language of the Quran. I just don’t think the evidence presented in this thread is sufficient to make such a bold claim.



Nonsense, if the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him had been a Han Chinese, all of those medieval lineages would trace back to China, and individuals here no doubt would claim Ifat and other polities in the Horn were ruled by Han Chinese monarchs

The old name of Saylac that was recorded by the Greeks was Avalites which is Awdal but Arab presence in that coastal town changed it to the name we know it today Zaylac زيلع

 

[Three Moons]

The old name of Saylac that was recorded by the Greeks was Avalites which is Awdal but Arab presence in that coastal town changed it to the name we know it today Zaylac زيلع

Then provide a primary source(s) dating between the 6th to 13th centuries AD that explicitly states the Arabs either built the city, were the rulers or lived there as a majority. No secondary sources by scholars from the 19th to 21st centuries please.

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

Brother, I was wondering if you read about the Ali Qasim's article about the himyar inscriptions in Mogadishu?

Nah send it, I haven't come across any surviving inscriptions that were uncovered during excavations so far

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

The old name of Saylac that was recorded by the Greeks was Avalites which is Awdal but Arab presence in that coastal town changed it to the name we know it today Zaylac زيلع

The Arabs that spread Islam there right or did the name change after that ?

 

[Haragwaafi]

Then provide a primary source(s) dating between the 6th to 13th centuries AD that explicitly states the Arabs either built the city, were the rulers or lived there as a majority. No secondary sources by scholars from the 19th to 21st centuries please.

I didn't say Arabs were majority there or built the city but the leadership in there and around the region were in the hands of Arabs or Arabized Somalis or Habesha as Ifat Sultanate originated from Shew and expanded to Somali coastal cities

 

[Haragwaafi]

The Arabs that spread Islam there right or did the name change after that ?

After and it was the name of Muslim lands in the region to distinguished it from the Christian dominated high lands of Abyssinia

 

[Three Moons]

I didn't say Arabs were majority there or built the city but the leadership in there and around the region were in the hands of Arabs or Arabized Somalis or Habesha as Ifat Sultanate originated from Shew and expanded to Somali coastal cities


View attachment 297090

Maqrizi, the library scholar who never set foot in the Horn, let alone Somalia? Though I did request a primary source (which you provided) this is not what I expected considering the confidence of your earlier post. There are contemporaries of the early Walashma Dynasty like Ibn Battuta and Al-Hamawi who actually VISITED the major cities like Zeila and Mogadishu and highlighted their dark skin, emphasised that they were not ‘Arabs’ but Barabir, spoke a unique non-Arabic language and practiced a lifestyle consistent with the traditional Somali lifestyle.

What Maqrizi recorded is no different from what modern clans still claim today, but you wouldn’t consider the average Somali an ‘Arab’, why then would you employ a different logic when it comes to their medieval counterparts?

Is Somalia today ruled by Arab leaders? Your answer will either contradict your current position or it will highlight it as a non-sequitur, there is no alternative.

 

[DALMAR0_0]

The name Mogadishu comes from “the place of the goat.” مقعد شاة
But the locals pronounce it Mogadishu. This novel is not old. There are sources dating back to the 19th century that mention the Arabic origins of the name

The locals pronounce it how its predominantly pronounced...but that doesn't mean its the original pronunciation.. its not a coincidence that Mogadishu is extremely close to "muuq-disho"

 

[Aurelian]

The name of the city of Zeila appears to be of Arabic origin
زيلع
1-نوع من الخرز تلبسه النساء
Zaila
A type of beads worn by women
الزَّيْلَعُ : خَرَزٌ تلْبَسُهُ النساءُ
Al-Zaylaa: Beads worn by women
The source is from the book Jamharat al-Arab written in the fourth century AH
What is the matter with these coastal cities and their Arabic names? Even Mogadishu has Arabic origins

not necessarily. For example saying hot in arabic sounds exactly as xaar which means poop in somali. And saying watermelone in Somali qara or in other dialects kharo sounds exactly as the arabic word, khara which also mean poop.

 

[Aurelian]

The name Mogadishu comes from “the place of the goat.” مقعد شاة
But the locals pronounce it Mogadishu. This novel is not old. There are sources dating back to the 19th century that mention the Arabic origins of the name

this explanation meant shah which means king in Farsi, but the name Mogdishu, could also meant Moq-disho. eye-taking beauty (breathtaking beauty)-

 

[Maakhri from dhahar]

How's is it a mystery when it has Semitic roots and not usual Somali that doesn't have ز sound? we know for sure that town used to be part of an Arab dynasty states or kingdoms in the region starting with Ifat or Wafat sultanate of Banu Makhzum

The letter “ za ز ” in ( zayla زيلع ) is not an original letter, but rather a distortion of the original Somali letter (dh) , which has no counterpart in the Semitic languages ( Arabic, Hebrew, etc.).
It is an incorrect pronunciation of the Somali letter ( dh ) .

for example ,
The people of the Levant and Egypt also pronounce The letter “ ḏ ذ ” in the Arabic word
( auḏun أُذْن ) which means ( ear) as “ z ز ” ( azun أُزُنْ ) and the Hebrews say ( אוזן ózen ) which means ( ear ) .

Or as the people of the Levant and Egypt pronounce ( Abu Dhabi أَبُو ظَبِي ),
as ( Abu zabi أَبُو زَبِي ) .


Also, the letter ( z ز ) in the word ( zarāfa زرافة ) which means ( giraffe ) is a corruption of the Somali letter ( dh ) which has no counterpart in the Semitic languages ( Arabic, Hebrew, etc.) .
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