Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo language and Somali language in the Horn of Africa.[1][2][3]

Waaqa (Oromo pronunciation: [waːkʼa]) still means 'God' in the present Oromo language. Other Cushitic languages where the word is still found include Konso Waaqa; Rendille Wax; Bayso Wah or Waa; Daasanach Waag; Hadiyya Waaʔa; Burji Waacʼi.[4][5]

Some traditions indicate Waaq is associated with the Harari region.[6]

In Oromo and Somali culture, Waaq, Waaqa or Waaqo was the name of God in their pre-Christian and pre-Muslim monotheistic faith believed to have been adhered to by Cushitic groups. It was likely brought to the Horn by the speakers of the Proto-Cushitic language who arrived from North Sudan in the Neolithic.[2] In modern times, the religion has mostly declined ever since the arrival of Islam and Christianity.

This name for God was used mainly by Somali people and Oromo people before and after Christianity and Islam came to the Horn of Africa

There are also ancient names of villages which involve the word Waaq in the Somali and Oromo languages.

See also

References

  1. ^ Thomas, Douglas; Alanamu, Temilola (2018-12-31). African Religions: Beliefs and Practices through History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-752-1.
  2. ^ a b Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Publishing Group: 2001), p.65.
  3. ^ Samatar, Said S. "Unhappy masses and the challenge of political Islam in the Horn of Africa". Horn of Africa. 20: 1–10.
  4. ^ Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1982). "Consonant Phonemes of Proto-East Cushitic". Afro-Asiatic Linguistics. 7 (1): 42.
  5. ^ Sasse, Hans-Jürgen. An Etymological Dictionary of Burji. Hamburg: Helmut Buske. p. 186.
  6. ^ Mohamed-Abdi, Mohamed (1992). Histoire des croyances en Somalie : Religions traditionnelles et religions du Livre. Annales Littéraires de l'Université de Besançon. Vol. 465. doi:10.3406/ista.1992.2545. ISBN 978-2-251-60465-7.

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