Introduction
The following pages are extracts taken from an unpublished draft manuscript titled ‘Stars, Seasons and Weather in Somali Pastoral Traditions’ written by the late Musa. H. I. Galaal (1909-1982). I am currently re-editing and revising this valuable manuscript for future publication which was originally written by Musa. H. I. Galaal (in 1972); a distinguished Somali academician who has produced many pamphlets, essays, periodicals and books on the varied aspects of Somali culture-poetry, folklore, nomadic lifestyle and the vigour and richness of the Somali language.
In acknowledgement of our profound debt to Musa and his life’s work, we will honour him and pay our tribute by featuring in the coming months in Somaliland Times weekly publication extracts taken from his ‘Stars, Seasons and Weather in Somali Pastoral Traditions’ manuscript.
Text in Italics is where I felt a broader meaning or explanations was needed and are of my own words, including illustrations and graphics.
Your feedback/comments will be most welcomed.
Rashid Mustafa, X. Noor
rm_nur@hotmail.com
Part
one: First appeared in
Somali
astrological & meteorological traditions and literature
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Somalis,
particularly those who still follow the traditional nomadic life, have a
profound interest in, and knowledge of the weather, the stars and planets,
and their penetrating effects upon the lives of this people. This is
reflected in the language itself, which contains a large number of sayings,
riddles and songs which link astronomical phenomena to events in nomadic life
with which they are associated. I was myself a camel herder when I was a boy,
and I recall many of these sayings and songs. They have always interested me,
and during my life I have collected very many more. There are for example phrases, in the language (especially, those in replying to a greeting) that closely associate the weather and the well being of my people: such as the Dabayl Caafimmad, the breeze of health and tranquility. Nabaad iyo naq-roobaad, peace and the greenness that follows rain. Bash-bash iyo barwaako, this term has the underlying phonetic representation of waterlogged undergrowth which has soaked up recent heavy rains and means a period of plenty and prosperity, for all'. Some terms are deeply allusive: Abaar iyo oodo-lullul, meaning in the vicinity of a drought, also lurks the rattling or shacking of one's thorn-fence. The image here is of drought -stricken nomads who have lost all their livestock and try to force their way into the corrals of those more fortunate ones who still have cattle, or other livestock left. There are moreover, countless songs in Somali traditionally sung to girls, to camels or to cattle which link astronomical phenomena, as observed omens, to years of prosperity or drought, to the deaths of important persons, to wars or storms. This song I remember clearly from my youth: |
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Xaydho-dayihii, Kuu xiddiginjirey, Xareed bardiyo, Xays inoo sheeg.
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(My
beautiful camels)
The
reader of the Xaydho,¹
Who
is also the expert on stars,
Announces
a long-lasting supply of rainwater,
An
unexpected season of heavy rain
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Note:
1. Xaydho, this term refers to the fat that covers
the stomach of the goats. This fat was used in the past by the Somalis for
telling the future. It was removed from the goat and held to the light.
Inductions were then made from looking at the inside of the fat – about the
weather, wars, rain, etc.
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There is a famous saying ascribed to one or two such
persons who use to read the Xaydho for the
sultanate of the Iidaagale clan. On one such
occasion, in the coronation of Sultan Diiriiyey, of
the Iidaagale clan in around 1880’s, when the Xaydho readers completed their inspection of the fat,
they were asked what the Xaydho foretold regarding
the new sultan. One of the Xaydho readers said that ;“This new sultan, unfortunately will not
be as wise as his father use to be” , and the other replied, while gazing
at the fat: “ Even worse! According to my inductions his reign will be
long and live a long time, God willing” . Oddly enough, Sultan Diiriiyey
died at the ripe old age of around 80 to 85 ’yrs.
Going
back to our subject theme: Another song depicts the anguish felt by the
herder, seeing that the beginning of the spring rains and the passing of the
spring rains has gone by without a drop of rainwater. For, he knows that the
season for spring rains has begun, due to the setting of the Urur stars or Pleiades in the early hours of the
twilight. And the end of the spring rain season, due to the setting of the
stars in Afagaale or virgo
constellation Castor, Pollux, Procyon
and Gombiza. This is song
alliterated in the vowel letters: |
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Haddaan ururkiyo, Afaggaal ridey, Mugga eeddaa, Ilaah bayska leh',
Anna
orodkay, Waa intii hore.
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My
lovely cow,
now
you can see that the Pleiades (Urur) and the twin stars of
Virgo have set,
And
still there is no sign of the spring rains. I have laboured hard to keep you
well,
So
that you may live through the harsh dry season,
Be
witness, then, it is the Will of
God, (A traditional "Hees Lo'aad" or
cattle song)
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Particularly,
severe droughts seem to occur in the Somali nomadic regions every eight years.
The singer sings of this, with parched lips, to his lovely girl: Alliterated
in the B letter. |
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Beydaney
Berdaale gudh, Bullaalena gaabi orodkii,
Anna
biifihii dhigey,
Xaggaan biyo kaaga doonaa.
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Oh,
my lovely Beydan, The well Berdaale
is dry,
And
my horse Bullaale is old and weary,
How
can I then fetch water for your thirst?
(A traditional Hees Cayaareed or dance song )
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Knowledge
of the stars and the weather is part of every child's upbringing in the
nomadic countryside. In this chorus dance song made up of riddles,
alliterated by letter D, a group of nomadic girls challenge their nomadic
counterparts, the boys, to show their knowledge of the stars. |
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Young nomadic girls
challenge their nomadic counterparts, the boys.
End of Part One back
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Waar
xiddigaha maxaa dira? Maxaa deris iyo walaalo ah?
Maxaa
dan-u-heshiisyo ah?
Maxaanse
daabano kala gelin?
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Which
constellations are most ancient?
And
which are both neighbours and cousins?
Which
live in peace and unity, together?
And
which are strangers?
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and the boys answer
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Naa
xiddigaha waxaa dira
Dib-qalloocyadaa
dira,
Waxaa
deris iyo walaalo ah,
Afagaallaa
dushaas mara,
Waxaa
dan u heshiisyo ah,
Laxahaa
dan u heshiisyo ah,
Waxaanse
daabaano kala gelin,
Lixda
dameerajoogeen iyo,
Inta
uu dayaxu maro
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The
oldest constellation is Scorpio.
The
stars that are both neighbours and cousins
Are
those of the Virgo constellation.
The
Pleiades live in peace, in union and together.
And
the stars that are strangers to each other
Are
the six stars of Sagittarius
And
those that lie on the moon's path.
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Somali
astrological & meteorological traditions and literature
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The
stars play a vital role in the Somali nomadic countryside. Yet, for those
Somalis, who dwell in the urban cities, will show a great deal of enthusiasm
in the stars and their knowledge. Although, many Somalis of second or third
generation city dwellers will not have experienced, a true life in the
countryside. Yet, if you ask him/her the names of the stars, planets or the
time, the Pleiades set in winter or spring seasons, many will know the
answer. And this is because of the Somali language or the influence of
traditional & modern literature. For, you will always find a reference to
some star, planet or astronomical phenomena of some kind or another made in
every song played on the radio, theatrical play or a poem. Somalis love of
poetry and the verbal arts was, so much so that Richard Burton, the English
explorer, in his travels to |
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The country teems with "poets, poetasters, poetitos,
poetaccios": every man has his recognized position in literature as
accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of
magazines-the fine ear of these people causing them to take the greatest
pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetical expressions, whereas a false
quantity or a prosaic phrase excite their violent
indignation. Richard Burton, First footsteps in
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Because,
the Somali people are an oral society, much of their traditional and modern
literature has become inseparable from the stars and the heavens above. And
this can be said as to the reason why so many of the city dwellers know so
much of the stars, than of animal husbandry. The crucial distinction between different forms of Somali poetry is in the number of syllables in each line. The following rough guide may be found useful; |
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From
last week, we can see that the weather is all-important for the
nomadic people of this country: if rain fails at the expected season, there
is drought and suffering, heavy losses amongst the herds, and consequent
poverty, leading often to war. It is therefore hardly surprising that they should
have become so closely acquainted with the paths of the moon and the stars,
and should have come to rely so heavily on the interpretations and
predications traditionally drawn from "the stations of the moon", The stations of the moon, a fundamental concept in Somali astrology and weather prediction, and studied by the nomadic experts with great care and thoroughness, consists of twenty eight different groups of stars or stations fixed along the ecliptic path of the moon, and served to mark the life span of the Somali lunar month, number of days in each year, seasons and for weather predications and astrological forecasts . Each station has from one to over ten stars in its makeup. In addition, however, to the 28 stations along the visible path of the moon during each lunar month, there are said by Somalis to be one or two nights in every month during which the moon is not visible. These are the 'empty stations' when the moon is a 'new-moon' not in conjunction with any star or group of stars visible to the Somali observer. The period is known in Somali as "Dibbad or Dubbad" and means 'an invisible moon. Thus the Somali lunar calendar month will vary from 29 to 30 days The importance of the Urur group of stars or Pleiades constellation for the Somali nomad
There
is indeed a deep commitment of the Somali nomad to signs and portents, based
upon long tradition, and not subject to orthodox Islamic beliefs. There is a
proverb in Somali from the religious sections of the community that says;
'foolish people who spend all their time reading the stars would do better to
ponder on the Divine Will'. 'Malluug moogow Maruubsatadaada fiirsoy'. And
I recall a poem recited by an Arab sheikh, scorning the Somalis for their
over-dependence on astronomy and the astrological deductions made from it:
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Hadday
laxo dhacaan
Laxona
dhalaan,
Hor
Soomaali-qalinley siday yeelidoontaa?
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If sheep start lambing At the setting of
the Pleiades,
But the life giving (Seermaweydo) spring
rains failed,
What would the foolish Somalis do then?
(Jiifto or classical poem)
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The
Pleiades stars are known in Somali as "Urur" or "Laxo".
Urur means 'a confederation' because these stars 7 in total
are grouped tightly together and the latter word Laxo means 'sheep'.
The Pleiades play a very important role in the Somali weather lore system. Because,
rams and ewes are kept apart in the Somali country throughout the year,
so that the ewes do not give birth to new born lambs in the dry and
non-grazing seasons. Somali nomads let loose the rams with the ewes for
mating on the night of "Dambasamo" : this is the
night when in the middle of autumn (November) the moon is in conjunction with
the Urur/Pleiades on the 15th day of the lunar month or full
moon: the mating must be timed so that the lambs are born in a season of
abundance.
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When
full moon is in conjunction with the Urur group of stars or Pleiades on the
night (15th November) is known in Somali as 'the night of Dambasamo'
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Lambs
conceived on the night of "Dambasamo" will be born
about 150 days later, which should be in the middle of the spring rains
(April), and this is when the time the Pleiades will start to set at about
twilight. The nomad, therefore knows when to let the rams mate with ewes
in the middle of autumn by using the Urur/Pleiades as a point of cue,
and also will use the Pleiades as a precursor for tracking the time period
left for when the rains will begin in spring. Going back, to the Arab sheikh's poem, the verse 'the setting of the Urur/Pleiades' signify the beginning of the rain season, and this is the time when the sheep give birth to new born lambs, and if these rains fail it will spell disaster for the nomads and their sheep. In other words, the Arab sheikh is rebuking the nomads for not taking into consideration the Divine Will as being the force behind the rains and the cycles of seasons and not the Urur/Pleiades, stars or heavenly bodies as responsible for the onset of the rains. The nomad however would defend his over-reliant attitude by saying: ' not only on man has God conferred this knowledge, but also onto the animal kingdom as well'. The nomad will argue, that ' God has taught the "Cawl" a species of the gazelle the power to read the stars, for whenever it wants to mate, it does so, in accordance by reading the stars and knowing when the rains will begin, with God's leave.' There are countless phrases, songs, proverbs and poems in Somali, which ascribe these skills to the 'cawl gazelle and countless other wild animals. 'Cawl' in Somali is pronounced, in similar to the English pronunciation to the word ‘owl’ as in the night-bird ‘owl’. 'Cawl' is also a poplar Somali name given to boys. This Gabay by Cali Dhuux, recorded from Jaamac Daahir of Buuhoodle ascribes, these skills to the ‘Cawl’ or species of the gazelle (alliterated in the Somali vowel letter 'C' pronounced in English as 'ah'): |
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When
the male 'Cawl' wishes to mate with his females,
he
first makes astronomical calculations.
He
also knows their menstrual periods and the techniques of mating, The day he
wishes to cause propagation and offspring’s,
He,
placing first his front knees on to the female's back,
Judges
whether the young will be born in sun or green
from
signs in the heavens,
His decision
whether to continue mating or to descend is in accordance with his celestial
induction's. (Gabay or classical
poem)
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Markuu
cawlku cawlaa orgayn, waa u cibaaroone, Cisaday ku uuraysatiyo, caadaduu
garane,
Cashaday
calool gelahayaan, cannugga beertiisu, Curcurradiyo lawyada intuu, ku
cuskaduu saaro, Cirridiyo cagaar miday ku dhalan, caadka kor u eegye, Hadba
cirirka loo nuuriyuu, ku cimro-qaataaye.
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The
'Cawl' gazelle is the only gazelle species which mate's outside the normal
mating season, when all animals or gazelles are busy mating. For, whenever
there is a drought, because the major spring rains have failed, many of the
newborn offspring’s of the other gazelle species suffer and die. However, the
same is not true for the 'cawl' gazelle. For you will never see an 'cawl' gazelle with new born offspring's in times of failed spring rains, like you do with the other gazelle species. And this is attributed to the Somali belief that the 'cawl' stag gazelle knows when the rains will fail, because it gazes at the stars before it mates. And this is the reason the Somalis hold with such esteem this species of gazelle. One of the vital Somali seasons of the ‘Gu’ or spring rains is named after this gazelle. The three major ‘Gu’ or spring rains are called ‘Seermaweydo’ and ‘Diriir Cawl’ and ‘Diriir Sagaalo’. Some nomads will often go to great lengths in the middle of the night to keep a track on a nearby herde of 'cawl' gazelles, so that they can know when to let their rams mate with the ewes, and all this depends on whether the 'cawl' stag gazelles have started to mate or not. Because, in the time period which 'cawl' gazelles give birth to new born offspring's is about the same time as sheep give birth to their new born lambs (five months from the time of conception). |
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End of Part Two
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Somali
astrological & meteorological traditions and literature
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Somali
legend of the origins of the Milky-Way “Jid-Cirir or Cir Jiidh” The Milky Way is called in Somali "Jid-Cirir" which means "the path of the cursed child". This explains one Somali legend about the 'Milky Way’, which tells the story of a cruel son who use to beat his mother every day and drag her along the rocky ground in the hot sun. One day he was more vicious than usual, and pulled, dragging her by the leg over sharp bits of the rocky ground until she was torn and bleeding all over. Half-dead, she raised her eyes to the sky looking for some deliverance from her oppressor. The Almighty rescued the unhappy old crone by paralysing her son. He quickly died, and his body was cast up onto a special purgatory in the sky where he can still be seen as the constellation Orion known in Somali as “Nin la gigay” which means ‘The incarcerate one or man”. A representation of the rough ground over which he had dragged his poor mother was made for all to remember in the heavens - the Milky Way; and from that time on, no son has been cruel to his parents, fearing that he also would meet with the same fate. |
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The constellation Orion known in Somali as “NIN LA GIGAY”
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The Somali Sky-camel "awrka Cirka" Let us know have a look at the Somali traditions associated with the legend of the Somali 'Sky Camel "Awrka-Cirka". In the region of 'the coal sack' or 'Crux constellation’ the southern cross, an area known in Somali as "wadaamo-xooro or wadaamo-lugud", is said to appear in the shape or silhouette of a huge male camel on dark nights in the months of March to July. |
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Image is a rough depiction of the Somali night sky above the (9:60N 44:50E) Horn of showing outline of the sky-camel, its head lies left of the Crux constellation |
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The legend of the Somali Sky Camel "Awrka-Cirka" says
that the camel was once, long ago, positioned in the north, above the
mountains of "Cir-Shiida" in the district of Erigaabo Northeast
Somalia. The name of this particular mountain "Cir-Shiida" means
in Somali 'the summit, from where missiles were hurled at the sky'. "One year, as the legend says, there was a severe drought, and the people of the district suffered greatly, losing all their lively hoods, livestock's and animals decided to attack and kill the great 'sky-camel' as a source for food. First they built a huge platform on top of the highest mountain of the Erigaabo plateau, tall enough for the people standing on it to reach up to the tail of the 'sky-camel' and cut it off. The 'sky-camel' felt the pain and raced off to the south; where it is still to be seen to this day”. |
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Somali Sky Camel
(Awrka Cirka) under attack
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End of part three
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Somali astrological
& meteorological traditions and literature
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The 'Somali Sky-camel’
or ‘Awrka Cirka' also provides a basis for meteorological observation, i.e.
the timing of the major spring rains and the changing of seasons from one
season to another.
In the months before the
start of the main "Gu" (spring) rains, the 'sky-camel' is seen (
image 1 ) with its head down towards the East, as if it were about to start
drinking water, "Wuu afku-rubadlaynayaa" is the term known in
Somali for when livestock have their heads down drinking water, seen here
left in this image.
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Image
1:March night sky
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In April and May, its image ( Imager 2 ) is upright
again, and can be seen clearly between eight and twelve o'clock at night,
apparently satisfied, and chewing the cud heartedly. |
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Image 2:
April/May night sky
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In June and July, its head ( image 3 ) appears to be
turned upwards towards the zenith, its back falling towards the west,
apparently cropping the tops of the trees. |
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Image 3:
June/July night sky
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In fact, the three different periods of the grazing year in this
region of Towards 20th of April in the middle of the rains, when there is plenty of green grass and water, the animals have fed so well that they spend long periods contentedly sitting and chewing. And when the rains are finished in late June, and the green grass parches, the camels begin cropping the new tender leaves and buds from the tops of trees.
It is interesting thought that the region Sanaag in
The Maakhir coast, including the Erigaabo country famed for its
frankincense and myrrh since antiquity and often referred to by the ancient
civilisation of Egypt as 'the land of Punt', is the centre of an area in
which numerous ancient ruined cities, whose history is still unknown, have
been discovered; and there are also said to be cave paintings and rock
carvings still to be examined. The Somali legend of the 'sky-camel', and men's first ventures into the sky, may be indicative of a great ancient civilisation, which built observatories on the mountain ranges, and studied the heavens. One Somali saying goes, (alliterated in letter D); |
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"
Awrka-cirka nin daya mooyiye
Nin dayoo ka taga mooyiye Nin dabrada dad laga waa..... |
"
Man could only gaze at the sky-camel
Gaze and turn away None could conquer it or make it tame." |
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This Somali proverb simply reminds us; that 'some things in life
will always be beyond man/woman's wildest dreams, regardless of one’s wealth,
power or stature in life’. |
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End of part four
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Somali astrological
& meteorological traditions and literature
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The Somali name for
planets is "Malluug" or "Siyaariin" or “Meere” and all
three names reflect a regulated motion in movement. Most nomads believe the
planets to be huge stars with special courses of their own: they are commonly
defined by Somali traditional astro/weather-lore experts as "heavenly
bodies that move round on their own orbits, and with the sun". The
number of such planets, according to various traditional beliefs, is as few
as five or as many as nine. A few experts include the moon among the planets,
but most take it to be a satellite of the earth. Mercury is considered by
some as a planet, and by others as a star. There is therefore no general
agreement about what are planets and what are not, and moreover, although all
these bodies are named in Somali tradition, it is very difficult to match the
Somali names to the planets identified in Western astronomy. The Somali names
themselves vary greatly in different regions of the nomadic country. More
research is needed into the whole question of the identification of these
planets, and my chart giving the names of each planet in different Somali
regions by no means is complete.
Names for the Planets in different Somali regions
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Although there is a
considerable uncertainty about the identification of the planets recognised
by Somalis, there is no doubt that they do constitute an important part of
the sky studies of Somali astro/weather-lore experts, and are thought to have
astrological influences that are by no means negligible.
The commonest Somali
names for Venus are "Maqal xidh-xidh" or "Waxaro
xidh-xidh", both names have the same connotation and mean 'the rounding
up of sheep's and goats, at sunset back into their pens'. All Somalis accept
it as a planet. There is a riddle traditionally associated with Venus, and
its periodic absences from the night skies. Sometimes it is reckoned to be
absent for only six nights - to correspond with alternating roles of Morning
Star (in the East) and Evening Star (in the West). When the absence is of six
days, it is said on its return to greet people with question "How did
you spend the night" - as if it had gone on a journey and was delighted
to see its old friends once more. But sometimes the absences is reckoned to
be for sixty days, and then the greeting given is said to take the form of
another question: "What have you lost while I have been away" and
finally absences considered to last for six months, it is believed to ask:
"What wealth have you still left?" The absences of six nights are
traditionally held to foretell a year of plenty; those of sixty nights will
be hard but not unendurable. But from an absence of six months the assumption
is that there will be great drought and suffering in the land. The presence
of this planet in the sky is thus considered to exert a mysterious protective
influence over people. Because of the serious implications read into the
period of its absence from the sky, the "maqal xidh-xidh" is
closely watched by the local astronomers and weather-experts.
Significant in a
different way are the movements of the planet Mars, known in Somali as
"Saxal-Guduud". It is believed to ‘meet and live with' each of the
twenty-eight stations of the moon (these stations of the moon are called in
Somali “Goddad” and mean ’trench, den, hole or place of moon’s station or
sojourn’) once in a cycle of thirty-three years. The stations of the moon, a
fundamental concept in Somali astrology and weather prediction, and studied
by the nomadic experts with great care and thoroughness, consists of twenty
eight different groups of stars or stations fixed along the ecliptic path of
the moon, and served to mark the life span of the Somali lunar month, number
of days in each year, seasons and for weather predications and astrological
forecasts . Each station has from one to over ten stars in its makeup. In
addition, however, to the 28 stations along the visible path of the moon
during each lunar month, there are said by Somalis to be one or two nights in
every month during which the moon is not visible. These are the 'empty
stations' when the moon is not in conjunction with any star or group of stars
visible to the Somali observer. The period is known in Somali as "Dibbad
or Dubbad" and means 'an invisible moon. Thus the Somali lunar calendar
month will vary from 29 to 30 days.
It thus plays host to
each station for an indefinite period, sometimes for one or two months,
sometimes for seven or even more months. The host planet is thought to
contaminate the station for as long as they stay together, thus to bring evil
fortune to any person born under this station, or to a clan associated with
it. The severity of its contamination is said to depend on whether the other
planets are in conjunction with certain stations of the moon. It is said by
the Somalis that when "Saxal gudduud" and "Mariikh" or
'Mars and Saturn' are close together, the astrologer predicts "Gob-Gob
Magan gashay" meaning the fall from power of a noble clan or nation, and
its consequent search for protection with another clan.
The same is also said
about "Saxal Cadde" or 'Jupiter', in that when it is in a certain
station; and ‘Mars or Saxal Gaduud’ is in conjunction with one's birth sign
or station, one will face a great battle against all misfortune. For the
duration of the conjunction, therefore, it is considered wise to efface
oneself as much as possible, to avoid quarrels or involvement in other's
quarrels, and most decisively to avoid tribal wars. The enfeebling influence
of Mars (Saxal) in conjunction with one's personal birth station is
considered a great curse. This is beautifully suggested in the following
anonymous "gabey" or 'poem' (alliterated in letter S):
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Adduunyadu nin bay
saaciddaa, sare u qaadaaye.
Ninna waaba saranseerisaa, yare silleeddaaye. San barra ka taag-daran ninkuu, Saxalku fuulaaye |
Life in
this world allows one man, to grow prosperous,
While another sinks into obscurity, and is made ridiculous A man passing through the evil influence of red Mars is feebler than a new born lamb punched on the nose |
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End of part five
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